Posted by giveawayboy on May 28, 2002 at 03:24:29:
In Reply to: Claro que sí posted by PS on May 27, 2002 at 14:42:33:
: Whenever I hear something like this, I realize I am getting old; I am so tired of these kind of debates that I rarely respond to them anymore. I realize that even if I should win a decisive victory in the debate, I will never convert my victim; rather, I will likely more firmly polarize him/her against my beliefs. I believe the important issue for us as children of faith is discovering how to live redemptively within the context of this ongoing controversy.
: I personally do not feel my calling as a Christian (or our calling as a church now) is to engage in a battle for correct understanding of these issues. Rather, our calling is to love and accept those within the body who are wounded by this kind of arrogance. Secondly, our calling is to reach out to those outside the body with the kind of love Jesus demonstrated--accepting those who came to him, despite the condemnation of the religious fundamentalists of His day. If we display this kind of love, people will never equate our faith as being the same kind they see in fundamentalist evangelical doctrine. The more we are criticized and condemned, the more the people we long to reach will come to us. Was it not so with Jesus? How many people did He ever reach in the Sanhedrin? The people who followed Jesus were those whom the Pharisees, scribes, and priests had already judged unworthy. Some of the best advertising Jesus received was the contempt of the contemptuous.
: So in answer to your question, "Am I wrong here?": In the eyes of the Christian fundamentalists of our society, you are. I hope you stay wrong. I hope we all do.
: I am going to err, I choose to err on the side of love and grace, rather than on the side of condemnation. There is One that judges; I will defer to His righteous judgment.
********************************
Well said! Just like Bob's post. I have so much I could say, but it stands on it's own!
With love always, Bill