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Because that is what His audience at the time knew and thought about God!!! You can't teach anything new without connecting it to what is already known or believed. that is why He had to be circumspect about spiritual things. They were terrified of Spirits and God. Retaining their carnal fears, ignorance, and superstitions has been the most egregious negligence of so-called religious leaders, IMO!
Jesus quoted the OT (a misnomer for Jews, as we know) to throw the words the authorities lived by back in their faces to dodge their traps. He was very clever about it.
Jesus quoted the OT (a misnomer for Jews, as we know) to throw the words the authorities lived by back in their faces to dodge their traps. He was very clever about it.
Not quite. He chastised them for adding to scripture.
That's not watering-down, it is facing reality and understanding that God is bigger and more complex than what men have written about in a book. It means we know we don't have all the answers, and that is what I think frightens fundamentalists most.
I always go back to The Good Samaritan, which exactly demonstrates the difference between fundamentalism and progressive spirituality. The fundamentalist priest and Levite followed the rules and left the man in the ditch. The Samaritan who took the chance that the written laws were not always valid in every context showed Christian love to the man in the ditch.
Beautifully-put, MQ. Not to mention all the times Jesus broke "the rules" to show the intent and compassion that following him entailed.
God is not going to be put into anyone's box and is so much grander than our minds can begin to comprehend. He embraced everyone, even those society banned. Can't we as Christians do the same?
I remember as a kid in a fundamentalist church, we were indoctrinated that a smoker could not be a Christian. Welcoming and loving and embracing smokers does not indicate support of a bad habit. It just means we love the person.
If God wants to "convict" a smoker, that's up to God, NOT us. I think we can apply this to any lifestyle -- the church should welcome them and leave any judgement up to God.
Beautifully-put, MQ. Not to mention all the times Jesus broke "the rules" to show the intent and compassion that following him entailed.
God is not going to be put into anyone's box and is so much grander than our minds can begin to comprehend. He embraced everyone, even those society banned. Can't we as Christians do the same?
I remember as a kid in a fundamentalist church, we were indoctrinated that a smoker could not be a Christian. Welcoming and loving and embracing smokers does not indicate support of a bad habit. It just means we love the person.
If God wants to "convict" a smoker, that's up to God, NOT us. I think we can apply this to any lifestyle -- the church should welcome them and leave any judgement up to God.
I agree a person can be a smoker and be saved, be an alcoholic and be saved, can be gay and be saved, etc, etc...!
But that person will be convicted of that sin sooner of later and what will they do about it?
For example, I was saved for a year going to church with alcohol in my system and many times on my breath! My love for the Lord grew and so did my hatred for sin. Finally, and might I say reluctantly, The Lord brought me out of that dependence! It took a year but He did what I couldn't do on my own.
This is the trait of a born-again Christian, the Love for God grows and the Hatred for sin will also grow, or there is a problem in the midst!
Whatever sin it may be could go on for years, several years, but there will be a hatred for that sin in the born-again believer, if that person properly understands that sin nailed our Lord to that Cross!
That's not watering-down, it is facing reality and understanding that God is bigger and more complex than what men have written about in a book. It means we know we don't have all the answers, and that is what I think frightens fundamentalists most.
I always go back to The Good Samaritan, which exactly demonstrates the difference between fundamentalism and progressive spirituality. The fundamentalist priest and Levite followed the rules and left the man in the ditch. The Samaritan who took the chance that the written laws were not always valid in every context showed Christian love to the man in the ditch.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sand&Salt
Beautifully-put, MQ. Not to mention all the times Jesus broke "the rules" to show the intent and compassion that following him entailed.
God is not going to be put into anyone's box and is so much grander than our minds can begin to comprehend. He embraced everyone, even those society banned. Can't we as Christians do the same?
I remember as a kid in a fundamentalist church, we were indoctrinated that a smoker could not be a Christian. Welcoming and loving and embracing smokers does not indicate support of a bad habit. It just means we love the person.
If God wants to "convict" a smoker, that's up to God, NOT us. I think we can apply this to any lifestyle -- the church should welcome them and leave any judgement up to God.
I agree a person can be a smoker and be saved, be an alcoholic and be saved, can be gay and be saved, etc, etc...!
But that person will be convicted of that sin sooner of later and what will they do about it?
For example, I was saved for a year going to church with alcohol in my system and many times on my breath! My love for the Lord grew and so did my hatred for sin. Finally, and might I say reluctantly, The Lord brought me out of that dependence! It took a year but He did what I couldn't do on my own.
This is the trait of a born-again Christian, the Love for God grows and the Hatred for sin will also grow, or there is a problem in the midst!
Whatever sin it may be could go on for years, several years, but there will be a hatred for that sin in the born-again believer, if that person properly understands that sin nailed our Lord to that Cross!
I call them Christian Democrats or visa vera. I understand it as the political views of the Dems placed in Christianity. There about or so on.
I'm sure someone will disagree!
It's irrelevant, you either live after the flesh and die, or live by the Spirit and live (Romans 8:13).
Christianity is a massive <<cut>>, in the "Wide Gate to Destruction" (death), where all are "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing" (Matt 7:13-15).
Last edited by mensaguy; 08-27-2021 at 08:55 PM..
Reason: We don't call churches cults.
I call them Christian Democrats or visa vera. I understand it as the political views of the Dems placed in Christianity. . . .
Now, Charlie, if you think about it carefully, you'll realize that your description of progressive Christianity is a bad caricature - a textbook example of a straw man.
First of all, progressive Christianity has nothing to do with partisan politics. Generally speaking, it is about finding Christ in the least of these. Republican brothers and sisters of ours do that! And I think you will have to agree that it was not Democrats who put the least of these into Christianity, but the Lord Himself.
Someone said in a previous post that progressive Christians tend to value science. They are open to modifying doctrine in light of scientific discovery and rational analysis. This gets them into trouble with brethren who believe that doctrine is unchangeable.
Heck, Charlie, I'll bet you've got a couple of progressive Christians among your GOP friends. We're everywhere, you know.
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