Please Read This Post!!
The title of my post is the borrowing of the title of the post above!
Posted over at http://relevantchristian.wordpress.com/
I came upon this frustrated (note I didn't say frustrating) blog post, who eloquently states some of the same feelings I have about how Christians treat each other when they disagree on theology/issues and when they both claim to have a "biblical" view for their interpretations. It really irritates me that we (and I'll lump myself into this, because I've been guilty of it), that we can't even unite on the one thing that IS blatant in the message of Christ: to act out of love.
Everything in the Bible is interpretive. Even the "literal" interpretation is just that: a choice of interpretation. You don't have to agree with everything Joe states or quotes, that's not my intent. My prayer is that you can be touched by the SPIRIT of the desire that he has (and that I share) that we can recognize our differences and put them aside in the name of love. In the name of Christ.
let me know your thoughts!
Great perspective on Joe's piece! I will link to you on my blog! This will get the point across!
ReplyDeleteThanks Erica,
ReplyDeleteThe more people that can read Joe's words, I think the better. my HOPE is that people will think long and hard about what they say and how they say it. Re-prioritize, so that we, as followers of Christ, can move forward together. I think it's time!
thanks for your comment and link!
j
You hit the nail on the head.
ReplyDeleteThis is something that we at Relevant Christian have been harping on. There is no choice when it comes to loving 'the world'. We are commanded to do so.
it baffles me beyond belief why some cannot and will not understand what that means.
Peace
Jimmy@relevantchristian.com
Thanks Jimmy for your time and response.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that I have done it justice. My primary goal was simply to get more people to read the original post. Anything I can do to further the cause I'm happy to do!
you said: "There is no choice when it comes to loving 'the world'. We are commanded to do so.
it baffles me beyond belief why some cannot and will not understand what that means."
I couldn't agree more. There is a lot in the Bible theologically that is up for debate, but this is one that seems hard (i would argue impossible) to ignore, thus to me (IMHO), all other "theological opinions" comes secondary. So WHY can't we be united under this???? *Sigh.... pipe dreams:/
thanks Jimmy!
I agree completely. The hard part of that though is discerning what love really means in situations, its a struggle with life that is the struggle with love. There is a wonderful song on a group called Blue Scholars that talks about the struggle with love (Bayani). I bring this up in light of Mark Driscoll's now infamous speech and emergent bashing. I'm sure the man thought it was out of love. So was it love? Were his comments about the three men he had issues with really out of love regardless if he thought they were? I bring it up to bring to light that what some see as love others may see as harmful, and destructive. In this case I found Driscoll's discussion destructive, irresponsible and anything but full of love. That having been said I see where expressing ones views can hurt but still be full of love. Maybe the difference is painful words that are full of love are full of hope?
ReplyDeleteOur discussion group (divine conversations) just had a talk about this the a couple of months back. We agreed that the main mandate of the Bible/Christianity is to love others, but that love is subjective. My fav. author Frederick Buechner states it like this:
ReplyDelete"[Jesus] is telling us to love our neighbors in the sense of being willing to work for their well-being even if it means sacrificing our own well-being to that end, even if it means sometimes just leaving them alone." (Beyond Words--entry on "Love")
(He's a really good author to check out!)
I agree about Driscoll's words, but he's not the only one. Jump over to tony Jone's blog: http://tonyj.net/2008/03/24/i-derenounce-you/
It's another perspective on the whole Piper/emergent thing you were reading on clearly's blog.
I think sometimes love does hurt. My question is in how often we use "tough love". I think that many critics hide behind the technique of "tough love", which to them means I'm gonna be mean here but it's for your own good. However, the true understanding of that technique is very intimate and is bound on the strength of the relationship in order for it to work successfully. Many critics usually have NO relationship with those of emergent/Postmodern Christianity. In that Tony Jones post, he said that Piper didn't even know who Jones was, and Jones is head of Emergent Village.
no, I think that the subjectivity of choosing the best loving attitude is best based on the understanding of the parties, and the trust-relationship built up between the two. I don't see a lot of that in this dynamic between the "emerging" and those that have beef against. That's why I can't sit there and simply discredit their beliefs, I don't see that as unloving, but by asking questions perhaps a conversation will arise where we can show love!??
Great comment!