The Burden of the Reformed: Exhibit A
I mentioned in Godscrum Episode 14 that the unpleasant rhetoric coming from some Reformed believers was sounding a lot like the harshly polarized left/right political flaming going on in the country. For those who might want to see some objective evidence, I'll offer up the site A Slice of Laodicea as exhibit A. Here's some examples:That entire article and mindset is straight from the pit.
Where does this ungodly abandonment of reason and intellect come from?
I'm mad. You can mess with my church, you can mess with my business, you can mess with anything else that I can see with my eyes, but when someone messes with the Word, I just can't take it.
They are gnostic to the core. I left a good broadside at the site.
This scares me and I am fearless. What would happen if my doctor diagnosed me with cancer but didn't tell me? I need the TRUTH to direct my actions correctly. What are these people thinking?
Once again, the arrogance of the Emergents rears its ugly head. They are so convinced of their moral and intellectual superiority that they write stuff like that and expect people to take it lying down. And then accuse the protesters of being nasty and urinating in their house. What incredible arrogance!
Use the Bible, that well-known double-edged sword. I know they don't believe in that book, but it still has the power to bring them down.
I'd like to add that I too pray that the Lord gives me the strength and courage to defend Him and speak the truth if and when I am put into a position to speak to thousands who are unbelievers.Let me say that I understand the passion that's behind what they're saying. If I believed that I needed to defend God's Word from a satanic attack, I'd be pretty passionate too. But the person they're referring to is Alan Hartung, creator of the A Different Perspective podcast and blog, and one of the most patient and reasoned Emergent writers I've found. Alan's also the creator of the Spiritual Formation website. I can't believe that the people that are trying to cast him into the pit of Hell have bothered to examine the body of his work.
But that's really part and parcel with a fear-driven mindset. Every encounter becomes flight-or-fight when you're either an innie, in which case you parrot all the right thinking, or an outie, in which case you are a spawn of Hell.
Pretty please, don't go picking fights with those guys. I mention this exchange as a case in point how anger and fear can penetrate the church and actually work at odds against truth-seeking and truth-telling. I pray for patience and understanding when I read their words, and believe me when I tell you that it took a lot to resist the temptation to go snarky on them. There's no there there in waging rhetorical war on fellow believers. Suffice it to say that I'm not persuaded by their conviction and I'm not dissuaded by their accusations, and I hope no one else is either.
posted by Zeke @ 9:28 PM
5 Comments:
What do you think about Alan's approval of the F-word? He thinks it's ok for Christians to say that word. Do you agree with him? Just wondering.
Which do you think is more profane: saying about something, "that's f-ing great!" or calling someone "a mutant spawn"?
I think that Jesus made it pretty clear when he said "You have heard it said x, but I tell you y" that violation of the law comes from the heart. And to me, the quotes I posted here are far more distasteful than the use of the f-word in any particular context.
I dealt with the issue of profanity in Episode 2 of Godscrum, my podcast. I use profanity in the podcast to illustrate a point, so be forewarned.
But why is that when the question is asked "is the F-word" wrong for Christians to say, the answer is given with comparison to some other sin or problem? For example, if you were to ask me "is lying wrong?" and I respond with "it's not any worse than those people who don't lie but do murder people". Can't there just be a yes or no, rather than a comparison?
No.
Now that was funny Zeke!
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