Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
Thanks for stopping by and telling us how much you hate, and that God is going to get us.
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The person who tries to walk the Christian walk soon finds themselves in an existentialist dilemma: the world around them is quite un-Christian, but as soon as they speak up and point this out, they find out that they're worse! Not only are they as bad as everyone else, but now they've added hypocrisy to their sins by pointing out those of the rest! James trenchantly notes the safe path, that true Christian religion is to keep oneself unspotted from the world (including, I daresay, making anonymous posts on discussion forums) and to visit widows and orphans in their afflictions. That's it. Anything more, and you're quickly in league with the evil one.
Now, in the church it's somewhat unavoidable, if we're to be called church, the house of God. Paul said, "Remove the evil man from your midst" - obviously evil must be called out, and expelled. And if the evil is running the show, and the church is caught in the tide of evil, and is spell-bound and won't listen, then it must be shouted from the housetops. An example might be if the son of the supposed minister of the age is caught abusing the help (and yes it was abuse) in the ministry offices, and the witnesses are railroaded and run out of town, then it must be shouted.
But then the second part kicks in, that who among you is without sin? I believe that's where the prayer comes in. If it wasn't necessary, Jesus wouldn't have taught us to pray, "Forgive us our trespasses, even as we forgive". So I do apologize for my uncharitable spirit, and try (yet again) to get it right, to communicate without hatred, insulting, blaming, judging etc etc. I do apologize if some of my posts lacked "life" or "joy" or "peace", as nebulous as that is to ascertain. And I try to forgive others and bear with them in love.
WL acolytes have a convenient dodge, that of subjectivity. They've been conditioned to "sense" when someone is "negative". Now, Ron Kangas can speak something to them from the podium and it's supposedly adjusting or correcting or rebuking. You know, calling a spade a spade... good old Christian tough love. But God help you if you try to point out error to the speaker at the dais! Then you're supposedly full of the gall of bitterness and hatred, rancor, divisiveness and so forth.
Today I'm reminded that my rebellious and angry teenage self was perhaps closer to God than my religious later life. Why? Because my teenage self was honest. I was angry. My later life covered over my anger with a veneer of religiosity. It's been a hard road, but it's the only one I know and I'm going to keep going. I ask forgiveness of others, and I forgive others. And we go on. We can pray for one another, to be healed of our anger and fear and shame. We can be honest and peaceful at the same time. Jesus was. How could he have healed others, unless he was peaceful! Try healing someone when you're angry....
And he gave us all his peace. He bought it, paid for it, and gave it to us. Now we have to hold it, and not let go.