Christian Writers

XxMattxX

XxMattxX · Wed Oct 26, 2011 10:22 pm

I though that this would kind of help, and it's a mixture of life experience and input from respected men of God and those who know what they are talking about. If that's credible enough..

----------------------------------

"Worshiping Jesus in our own way".

That's a wonderful theory, but it just doesn't line up with the word.
Let me explain.

People often confuse the idea of a "personal relationship with God", with a "personal interpretation" or "personal method" of God.
Now, God doesn't instruct us to make up ways to be close or worship or believe in him.
He already *gave* us the instructions in his word, which we are instructed to live by.

So the reason people often argue that people are *shoving* God or practices down their throat is because they just often don't understand what we need to base our relationship with God off of.
The bible.

We reference to it when we defend ourselves, but it's made for more than just that.
Let me try an analogy:

Let's say that we are trying to build a building. Often, there is a proper sequence.
First know with what and whom you are dealing, gather materials, gather help, dig deeper (depending on how high you want the building to be) and lay the foundation.

Same goes for Christ.
-First know who you are living for-Christ.
-Know the purpose behind your actions- to build his kingdom. And if your motives are wrong, break it down and start over.
-Get a real bible. It's the only way, you simply cannot lead a strong spiritual live without one. Period.
-Surround yourself with those who share a similar purpose. This is why God commands us to attend church, or at least a youth or bible study group with sound doctrine.
-Research what you don't understand. Don't just believe the majority when it comes to God. God doesn't operate on human reasoning, which seems to be popular many times.
-Grow up. Stop seeing things in a superficial way. God tells us that everything has a deeper meaning. Now that you live in a deeper way, live like it. Those who are not aware are the easiest of targets. The easiest to lead astray and deceive.
-Be consistent. Just like your physical body, your spiritual body needs to be fed daily. And just like any real strong and true friendship, you need to make time to meet with God and talk to him as though he gave his life for you. Oh, wait.

Often time, this get's ignored.
People want to receive all of the benefits of being a real Christian, without actually being one.

:0
Oh,that's sounds VERY offensive!!
So what?

This isn't off of some secret code or handbook. It's of the most popular book in the world.
SO maybe we don't know how, don't know why, or just don't want to be close to God but we all need to understand that God has already *set* rules for his children.

And we are in no place to add to or take away from them.

So my point is that God doesn't ask us to define Christianity for him. It's his definition we live by. That's it. So this explains why we often say that Christianity isn't the "hippie" religion. It's already been defined. Over 2000 years ago.

All or nothing. When we accept Christ, we accept all of him- not just the stuff we agree with.
We accept the forgiveness, the entrance into heaven, the trials, the loss of approval from the sinful majority, the old- and we accept peace, the salvation, the healing, and the only approval that *does* matter.

So one man of God once told me:

"You see, Christianity is, by far, the hardest religion follow. It requires the most out of any world religion. The only thing no man can be forced to , or easily seem to give. His heart."

You all- if we want to do this "Christ" thing, let's do it right, okay?
Because I'm all for sugar time, but I don't have much of a sweet tooth when it comes to sugar-coated gospel.

Any thoughts?

I though that this would kind of help, and it's a mixture of life experience and input from respected men of God and those who know what they are talking about. If that's credible enough..

[center]----------------------------------[/center]

"Worshiping Jesus in our own way".

That's a wonderful theory, but it just doesn't line up with the word.
Let me explain.

People often confuse the idea of a "personal relationship with God", with a "personal interpretation" or "personal method" of God.
Now, God doesn't instruct us to make up ways to be close or worship or believe in him.
He already *gave* us the instructions in his word, which we are [i]instructed[/i] to live by.

So the reason people often argue that people are *shoving* God or practices down their throat is because they just often don't understand what we [i]need[/i] to base our relationship with God off of.
The bible.

We reference to it when we defend ourselves, but it's made for more than just that. 
Let me try an analogy:

Let's say that we are trying to build a building. Often, there is a proper sequence.
First know with what and whom you are dealing, gather materials, gather help, dig deeper (depending on how high you want the building to be) and lay the foundation.

Same goes for Christ.
-[b]First[/b] know who you are living for-Christ.
-[b]Know[/b] the purpose behind your actions- to build his kingdom. And if your motives are wrong, break it down and start over.
-[b]Get[/b] a real bible. It's the only way, you simply cannot lead a strong spiritual live without one. Period.
-[b]Surround[/b] yourself with those who share  a similar purpose. This is why God commands us to attend church, or at least a youth or bible study group with sound doctrine.
-[b]Research[/b] what you don't understand. Don't just believe the majority when it comes to God. God doesn't operate on human reasoning, which seems to be popular many times.
-[b]Grow up.[/b] Stop seeing things in a superficial way. God tells us that everything has a deeper meaning. Now that you live in a deeper way, live like it. Those who are not aware are the easiest of targets. The easiest to lead astray and deceive.
-[b]Be[/b] consistent. Just like your physical body, your spiritual body needs to be fed daily. And just like any real strong and true friendship,  you need to make time to meet with God and talk to him as though he gave his life for you. Oh, wait.

Often time, this get's ignored.
People want to receive all of the benefits of being  a real Christian, without actually being one.

[center]:0
Oh,that's sounds VERY offensive!!
So what?[/center]

This isn't off of some secret code or handbook. It's of the most popular book in the world.
SO maybe we don't know how, don't know why, or just don't want to be close to God but we all need to understand that God has already *set* rules for his children.

And we are in no place to add to or take away from them.

So my point is that God doesn't ask us to define Christianity for him. It's his definition we live by. That's it. So this explains why we often say that Christianity isn't the "hippie" religion. It's already been defined. Over 2000 years ago.

All or nothing. When we accept Christ, we accept all of him- not just the stuff we agree with.
We accept the forgiveness, the entrance into heaven, the trials, the loss of approval from the sinful majority, the old- and we accept  peace, the salvation, the healing, and the only approval that *does* matter.

So one man of God once told me:

[i]"You see, Christianity is, by far, the hardest religion follow. It requires the most out of any world religion. The only thing no man can be forced to , or easily seem to give. His heart."[/i]

You all- if we want to do this "Christ" thing, let's do it right, okay?
Because I'm all for sugar time, but I don't have much of a sweet tooth when it comes to sugar-coated gospel.

Any thoughts?

shiney1

shiney1 · Wed Oct 26, 2011 10:27 pm

Amen to that.

Ranger51

Ranger51 · Wed Oct 26, 2011 10:38 pm

What Jojo said!

TheRobster1991

TheRobster1991 · Thu Oct 27, 2011 3:20 pm

Wow girl, you have a high calling!

Cole

Cole · Thu Oct 27, 2011 4:52 pm

Amen! You need to repost this on the Wall.

shiney1

shiney1 · Thu Oct 27, 2011 9:41 pm

No, don't. It will cause a tiresome redundant debate.

XxMattxX

XxMattxX · Thu Oct 27, 2011 11:54 pm

lol
ahaw ahaw

Ranger51

Ranger51 · Fri Oct 28, 2011 12:18 pm

She posted it on the wall.... O.o
*braces self for massive explosive debate* >o<

Cole

Cole · Fri Oct 28, 2011 2:22 pm

All of this is to Rubric. Also, if I appear disrespectful at all in my posts, please let me know.

...

I have to say that I don't think you totally understand what I'm saying--I think you're taking my argument too literally. : ) Let met explain a little more.

When I say mention "this world", I'm referring to the morality of the world, not necessarily the methods of people (such as language). From what I have witnessed, a majority of Biblical interpretations are sprouted from people trying to justify their sin, the sins of others, or try other worldly concerns. This is what I mean when I speak of the world. The concerns and philosophies of this world hardly ever match up with the concerns of God. The Bible tells us who this world is ruled by. His name is Satan. Though there is plenty of goodness in this world by the grace of God, this place is earmarked to be destroyed for a reason--it is fallen and corrupt.

I do honestly believe that we need to wrestle with the Bible! The Bible requires heavy study, but I've found that anyone who passionately examines the Bible will come to the same basic conclusions--as long as they are not influenced by the world.

I'm not talking about the finer points of our theology. Christians will argue endlessly with each other about the smaller things. However, it's the meat, the heart of Christianity that truly matters and hardly ever do we disagree on the foundations that establish the path of Christ. It is what honestly matters.

I believe the Bible is practically faultless. Though aspects of it may change or vary depending on the translation, language, or time, the heart of Christianity is always present in the Bible. Christ has established a New Covenant and the Covenant is very clear. Christ expects us--commands us--to live according to His Covenant. This goes back to one of my recent posts; why would Christ establish a Covenant--a Law--and leave it totally undefined, leaving us to fend for ourselves and try to interpret His law?

I have faith that the Bible's Inspirer has also sustained and protected the document thus far so that it has withstood human error and fault. I believe that the Bible is divinely inspired and granted to us by the intentions of God. I believe that the Bible is the Sovereign Word of God.

I do not believe that we can follow Christ in our own way. It is His way or no way, and I believe that the Bible--the written heart of God--clearly defines the way we need to live in order to walk with Christ.

All of this is to Rubric. Also, if I appear disrespectful at all in my posts, please let me know.

...

I have to say that I don't think you totally understand what I'm saying--I think you're taking my argument too literally. : ) Let met explain a little more.

When I say mention "this world", I'm referring to the morality of the world, not necessarily the methods of people (such as language). From what I have witnessed, a majority of Biblical interpretations are sprouted from people trying to justify their sin, the sins of others, or try other worldly concerns. This is what I mean when I speak of the world. The concerns and philosophies of this world hardly ever match up with the concerns of God. The Bible tells us who this world is ruled by. His name is Satan. Though there is plenty of goodness in this world by the grace of God, this place is earmarked to be destroyed for a reason--it is fallen and corrupt.

I do honestly believe that we need to wrestle with the Bible! The Bible requires heavy study, but I've found that anyone who passionately examines the Bible will come to the same basic conclusions--as long as they are not influenced by the world.

I'm not talking about the finer points of our theology. Christians will argue endlessly with each other about the smaller things. However, it's the meat, the heart of Christianity that truly matters and hardly ever do we disagree on the foundations that establish the path of Christ. It is what honestly matters.

I believe the Bible is practically faultless. Though aspects of it may change or vary depending on the translation, language, or time, the heart of Christianity is always present in the Bible. Christ has established a New Covenant and the Covenant is very clear. Christ expects us--commands us--to live according to His Covenant. This goes back to one of my recent posts; why would Christ establish a Covenant--a Law--and leave it totally undefined, leaving us to fend for ourselves and try to interpret His law?

I have faith that the Bible's Inspirer has also sustained and protected the document thus far so that it has withstood human error and fault. I believe that the Bible is divinely inspired and granted to us by the intentions of God. I believe that the Bible is the Sovereign Word of God.

I do not believe that we can follow Christ in our own way. It is His way or no way, and I believe that the Bible--the written heart of God--clearly defines the way we need to live in order to walk with Christ.

shiney1

shiney1 · Fri Oct 28, 2011 9:40 pm

Finally!! Hayden you are great

If only people would now listen.

Ranger51

Ranger51 · Fri Oct 28, 2011 10:21 pm

*bursts into applause* I completely agree! Christianity is based on the basic heart of Christianity - love and grace - not the tidbits that everyone seems to bicker about.

Rubric

Rubric · Sat Oct 29, 2011 11:03 pm

It's probably wise to preface this with points of agreement, there's probably a fair bit more common ground than we've gone to the bother of admitting up until this point. There's extensive thematic work in the Bible which has a fairly clear meaning: the historicity and divinity of Christ, the existence of the New Covenant, the prophesying of Jesus in the Old Testament (did a study of Isaiah recently, it was a massive eye opener to that). Heaven and Hell are clearly present as well, but what their exact function, in a mechanical sense, is is incredibly vague. Consider the debates concerning Annihilationism as one drop in a pool.

What I've also done, what I'm currently doing and procrastinating to keep at bay, is my Honours Thesis in English Literature. One of my primary texts is Ayaan Hirsi Ali's Infidel, which is essentially about her journey toward Apostasy of Islam in Europe. Ayaan reflects on her time living in Saudi Arabia:

"Whenever we heard of an execution or a stoning, my mother always said "It is God%'s will and who are we to judge it" But we also knew that no Somali could ever win if a Saudi decided to take him to court" (51)

Her main criticism of Islam (aside from misogyny) is that the responsibility for interpreting the divine text is deferred to divine processes, and that there is no accountability from the men who do actually interpret and apply Islamic law. It would be naive to assume this is limited to Islam. I see the same motivation in your own approach, though obviously I do not equate your motivations or responsibility with those to which Ayaan refers.

"I have faith that the Bible's Inspirer has also sustained and protected the document thus far so that it has withstood human error and fault."

I'm not talking about human error, not really. I'm talking about 2000 years (much longer for the OT) of incredibly complex, and incredibly haphazard evolution of language itself. Next to that, I'm talking about an incredibly complex, similarly haphazard evolution of social norms and customs. In applying your reading of the words of a modern translation of the Bible, you attach Transcendental meaning to scratches of ink on a page. If you defer responsibility for interpreting the Bible to the divine process, then you risk egregious error. I refer you to the wall post made my Robster concerning Corinthians and the role of women in Church. Knowledge of the customs of the period clearly informs a reading of Corinthians as it should be applied to our time, but that knowledge is obtained outside of the Bible. And that's not really a minor issue. Think of the centuries of gender discrimination those passages in 1 Timothy or 1 Corinthians have affirmed, because people refused to re-examine themselves. I refer you to slavery, and the role of the bible in affirming it and eventually bringing it to a close. I think Frederick Douglass's autobiography reinforces this point if you have the opportunity.

You've redefined your definition of "the world" to mean, essentially, things associated with the fallen world and with Satan. Clearly that's not what I refer to in my posts, so I thank you for clarifying. I refer to completely lay processes by which the role of women, of words, of families, of civil justice (including capital punishment, very widely), of war, of Nations and the Nation-state have completely changed. There is a meaningful interpretive process that must be undergone to understand what Jesus said when he established the New Covenant, because we are not 1st Century Jews living in the Holy Land. I'm not saying the Bible should be a reader-oriented text, and your putting those words in my mouth constructs a straw man which reduces this debate.Think of the parables. Do you really deny a meaningful interpretive process for these? Especially the ones to which he provides no exegesis?

If you apply the Bible without interpretation then you're doing it wrong. If you read yourself into the Bible, and frame your understanding of it around aspects of your own life that you are unwilling to examine in light of Christ's words, then you are also wrong. Our lives and times inform our reading of the Word just as the Word informs our living in these times.

This was a fairly shambolic post and there's much that I meant to reply to but did not. We'll see where this goes.

It's probably wise to preface this with points of agreement, there's probably a fair bit more common ground than we've gone to the bother of admitting up until this point. There's extensive thematic work in the Bible which has a fairly clear meaning: the historicity and divinity of Christ, the existence of the New Covenant, the prophesying of Jesus in the Old Testament (did a study of Isaiah recently, it was a massive eye opener to that). Heaven and Hell are clearly present as well, but what their exact function, in a mechanical sense, is is incredibly vague. Consider the debates concerning Annihilationism as one drop in a pool.

What I've also done, what I'm currently doing and procrastinating to keep at bay, is my Honours Thesis in English Literature. One of my primary texts is Ayaan Hirsi Ali's Infidel, which is essentially about her journey toward Apostasy of Islam in Europe. Ayaan reflects on her time living in Saudi Arabia:

"Whenever we heard of an execution or a stoning, my mother always said "It is God%'s will and who are we to judge it" But we also knew that no Somali could ever win if a Saudi decided to take him to court" (51)

Her main criticism of Islam (aside from misogyny) is that the responsibility for interpreting the divine text is deferred to divine processes, and that there is no accountability from the men who do actually interpret and apply Islamic law. It would be naive to assume this is limited to Islam. I see the same motivation in your own approach, though obviously I do not equate your motivations or responsibility with those to which Ayaan refers.

"I have faith that the Bible's Inspirer has also sustained and protected the document thus far so that it has withstood human error and fault."

I'm not talking about human error, not really. I'm talking about 2000 years (much longer for the OT) of incredibly complex, and incredibly haphazard evolution of language itself. Next to that, I'm talking about an incredibly complex, similarly haphazard evolution of social norms and customs. In applying your reading of the words of a modern translation of the Bible, you attach Transcendental meaning to scratches of ink on  a page. If you defer responsibility for interpreting the Bible to the divine process, then you risk egregious error. I refer you to the wall post made my Robster concerning Corinthians and the role of women in Church. Knowledge of the customs of the period clearly informs a reading of Corinthians as it should be applied to our time, but that knowledge is obtained outside of the Bible. And that's not really a minor issue. Think of the centuries of gender discrimination those passages in 1 Timothy or 1 Corinthians have affirmed, because people refused to re-examine themselves. I refer you to slavery, and the role of the bible in affirming it and eventually bringing it to a close. I think Frederick Douglass's autobiography reinforces this point if you have the opportunity.

You've redefined your definition of "the world" to mean, essentially, things associated with the fallen world and with Satan. Clearly that's not what I refer to in my posts, so I thank you for clarifying. I refer to completely lay processes by which the role of women, of words, of families, of civil justice (including capital punishment, very widely), of war, of Nations and the Nation-state have completely changed. There is a meaningful interpretive process that must be undergone to understand what Jesus said when he established the New Covenant, because we are not 1st Century Jews living in the Holy Land. I'm not saying the Bible should be a reader-oriented text, and your putting those words in my mouth constructs a straw man which reduces this debate.Think of the parables. Do you really deny a meaningful interpretive process for these? Especially the ones to which he provides no exegesis?

If you apply the Bible without interpretation then you're doing it wrong. If you read yourself into the Bible, and frame your understanding of it around aspects of your own life that you are unwilling to examine in light of Christ's words, then you are also wrong. Our lives and times inform our reading of the Word just as the Word informs our living in these times.

This was a fairly shambolic post and there's much that I meant to reply to but did not. We'll see where this goes.

Cole

Cole · Sun Oct 30, 2011 1:40 pm

I think you will be fairly pleased to hear that, for the most part, I completely agree with you. (Also, could you point out where I put my words in your mouth? I am sorry if anything appeared that way. I am usually very good at keeping away from logical fallacies.)

I fear I might have made myself unclear, since you appear to think that I believe the Bible should not be interpreted, which is not one of my beliefs. As I said before, I think the Bible honestly needs to be wrestled with. We cannot settle with what is on the page before us. We really need to delve deep into the Scripture to truly comprehend it. However, when we are to do this, we must absolutely put our worldly concerns aside and honestly search for what God's intentions are.

One of the biggest issues of "worldly concerns" interfering with our understanding of the Bible is the unbelievably massive issue regarding homosexuality. Many people believe--to an obsessive extent--that this action is completely righteous contrary to what Scripture tells us (this is what the world tells them, right?), so their understanding of that piece of Scripture is twisted because they want to justify it. This ends up leading to a dangerous chain of events, because they think that if they can make excuses for one piece of the Scripture, the entire Bible can be warped to fit their own lifestyles or the lifestyles of others. They do not understand that God cannot be fit into our lives; we must fit ourselves into God's agenda.

This is what I mean when I speak of the world interfering with the Bible. And this is what I meant when I said this:

Christ is not made of smoke. He is of stone! [...] If we can interpret His words to fit our will, then what good are His words?

We cannot expect that everything in the Bible is up to interpretation, especially just because we disagree with aspects of it. If the Bible is liquid, then what good is it as a foundation? If it is made of clay, what good will it do as a sword?

If we can make the Bible say whatever we want it to say, then what good is it as a weapon for us to use against wickedness or a foundation for us to stand on in the midst of this world? I believe we need to rigorously study the Bible. In that I wholeheartedly agree with you. But, we need to do it in a way that the world is not interfering with our understanding.

I would also argue that what may appear to be large issues in Christian debate honestly have no place in our salvation, such as the role of women in our church (pardon me if anyone is very sensitive about this topic). However, it is agreed by many scholars and historians that Christ was one of the most influential women's rights activists in history, if this says particularly anything about this topic.

As I said before, people will argue endlessly about the finer points of the Christian doctrine, but hardly ever do we question the key points to following Christ. Which is why I think we need to turn back to the main point of our argument: Can we follow Christ in our own way or not?

This is where this argument started from. This is why I originally began this debate.

I think you will be fairly pleased to hear that, for the most part, I completely agree with you. (Also, could you point out where I put my words in your mouth? I am sorry if anything appeared that way. I am usually very good at keeping away from logical fallacies.)

I fear I might have made myself unclear, since you appear to think that I believe the Bible should not be interpreted, which is not one of my beliefs. As I said before, I think the Bible honestly needs to be wrestled with. We cannot settle with what is on the page before us. We really need to delve deep into the Scripture to truly comprehend it. However, when we are to do this, we must absolutely put our worldly concerns aside and honestly search for what God's intentions are.

One of the biggest issues of "worldly concerns" interfering with our understanding of the Bible is the unbelievably massive issue regarding homosexuality. Many people believe--to an obsessive extent--that this action is completely righteous contrary to what Scripture tells us (this is what the world tells them, right?), so their understanding of that piece of Scripture is twisted because they want to justify it. This ends up leading to a dangerous chain of events, because they think that if they can make excuses for one piece of the Scripture, the entire Bible can be warped to fit their own lifestyles or the lifestyles of others. They do not understand that God cannot be fit into our lives; we must fit ourselves into God's agenda.

This is what I mean when I speak of the world interfering with the Bible. And this is what I meant when I said this:

[quote]Christ is not made of smoke. He is of stone! [...] If we can interpret His words to fit our will, then what good are His words?

We cannot expect that everything in the Bible is up to interpretation, especially just because we disagree with aspects of it. If the Bible is liquid, then what good is it as a foundation? If it is made of clay, what good will it do as a sword? [/quote]

If we can make the Bible say whatever we want it to say, then what good is it as a weapon for us to use against wickedness or a foundation for us to stand on in the midst of this world? I believe we need to rigorously study the Bible. In that I wholeheartedly agree with you. But, we need to do it in a way that the world is not interfering with our understanding.

I would also argue that what may appear to be large issues in Christian debate honestly have no place in our salvation, such as the role of women in our church (pardon me if anyone is very sensitive about this topic). However, it is agreed by many scholars and historians that Christ was one of the most influential women's rights activists in history, if this says particularly anything about this topic.

As I said before, people will argue endlessly about the finer points of the Christian doctrine, but hardly ever do we question the key points to following Christ. Which is why I think we need to turn back to the main point of our argument: Can we follow Christ in our own way or not?

This is where this argument started from. This is why I originally began this debate.

Snoink

Snoink · Wed Nov 02, 2011 6:05 am

Yay for the most part! Just one little thing...

So the reason people often argue that people are *shoving* God or practices down their throat is because they just often don't understand what we need to base our relationship with God off of.
The bible.

Reading the bible is really important and you definitely have to follow it (because it's awesome like that), but you should also strive to have a prayerful life... since our God is a Living God and He will act in our lives because of His love... and prayer is totally a direct line to God, basically.

So! Read the bible! It's awesome! But don't forget to pray as well. It's a beautiful thing! <3

In fact, I find that praying before reading the bible and after reading the bible is soooo wonderful, because it helps open us to the Holy Spirit and everything. Just make sure that you read it with the Spirit... sometimes, it's easy for us to ignore certain passages because they are very frightening for us and they reveal to us that we are so very sinful. But, we have to remember that Jesus died so that we might be saved, even though we are sinners. And so, with Jesus' love in our hearts, we can read the bible properly so that we can remain in Jesus' love by following His commands. So! Don't be afraid!

And Rubric! You are getting too technical! There is so much joy to be had, but it is hard to be joyful when you are constantly looking through a microscope. Trust me... I know from experience... your eyes get kind of screwy. So, look through it with that lens, yes, because that is beautiful too, but don't forget to look at its entirety. Looking at God's Word both microscopically and macroscopically and astronomically and spiritually will make most mortals leap for joy.

Yay for the most part! Just one little thing...

[quote]So the reason people often argue that people are *shoving* God or practices down their throat is because they just often don't understand what we need to base our relationship with God off of.
The bible.[/quote]

Reading the bible is really important and you definitely have to follow it (because it's awesome like that), but you should also strive to have a prayerful life... since our God is a Living God and He [i]will[/i] act in our lives because of His love... and prayer is totally a direct line to God, basically. :) So! Read the bible! It's awesome! But don't forget to pray as well. It's a beautiful thing! <3

In fact, I find that praying before reading the bible and after reading the bible is soooo wonderful, because it helps open us to the Holy Spirit and everything. Just make sure that you read it with the Spirit... sometimes, it's easy for us to ignore certain passages because they are very frightening for us and they reveal to us that we are so very sinful. But, we have to remember that Jesus died so that we might be saved, even though we are sinners. And so, with Jesus' love in our hearts, we can read the bible properly so that we can remain in Jesus' love by following His commands. So! Don't be afraid! :)

And Rubric! You are getting too technical! There is so much joy to be had, but it is hard to be joyful when you are constantly looking through a microscope. Trust me... I know from experience... your eyes get kind of screwy. So, look through it with that lens, yes, because that is beautiful too, but don't forget to look at its entirety. Looking at God's Word both microscopically and macroscopically and astronomically and spiritually will make most mortals leap for joy. :D

Rubric

Rubric · Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:05 am

To be honest I don't think there's much to be had from continuing this as a debate. If we continue much farther I think we'll probably keep reclarifying our opinions until we realise we were never that far apart to begin with, or getting adversarial in a non-constructive way.
I still have misgivings about the prioritisation of what you seem to consider "minor" and "major", although as Snoink points out I'm focussing through a pretty magnified lens and everything looks pretty major from where I'm sitting.
In regards to Homosexuality, which you seem to highlight as a major rather than minor issue, I'll admit I'm one of many Christians trying to reconcile a literal reading with a more nuanced, historicising and humanist position. I see this issue shaping the behaviour of Christians I know in very negative ways, and in the opposite direction that it sounds like you do.
So yeah I'll leave it at that, cheers for the exchange of ideas and thanks to Snoink for stepping in before it had a chance to get out of hand.
God bless.

Just for Clarification :)

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