As a tangent to our church/state discussion (it doesn't look either side is going to convince the other, btw) ... I wanted to offer some words on the "hostility toward Christianity, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson doesn't reflect Christianity" debate.
One of my pet peeves are holier-than-thou Christians. I have little patience with people who preach hate and intolerance. It is not biblical. And it subverts the primary duty of Christians, which is to shine a light on the grace of salvation available through Jesus Christ. You may not like what I just wrote, but you should read on, because while I do believe in grace and salvation, I do not believe it is my place to pass judgment on you. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians: "What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church." The Bible is full of this command: "Do not judge, or you will be judged." No Christian has any business telling another person, "You will burn in hell." That is exactly the kind of judgment we are commanded most not to pass. If you were to ask me point blank, "Am I going to burn in hell because I don't believe in Jesus Christ." I would say, "I do not know." I don't know your heart and I certainly don't pretend to understand all of the mysteries of God. As Paul said, "now we see through a class but darkly." As for judging believers, I am again cautious. While Paul warned believers not to associate with people who claimed to be fellow believers, but still pursued a life of immorality and debauchery, he also taught that we should not judge fellow believers. "Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another," he wrote to the Roman believers. "Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your bother's way." I believe that when properly applied, Christianity is a loving, tolerant religion -- as loving and as tolerant as humanly possible. There is no room in it for bigotry, hate and hostility. If you are judging Christianity because of the actions of some bigots you have known or seen or television or read about, you are making a mistake. Christianity is not the sum of the people who profess it. It is about a personal relationship with God. It is a relationship that only you can work out for yourself with fear and trembling. If there is an indeed a final judgment and you are asked to testify on your behalf, and you say, "I didn't follow Christ because I didn't like Jerry Falwell." The simple question back will be, "But did you try to know Christ?" Jerry Falwell is immaterial to the entire issue of the validity, or possible lack of it, of Christianity. H. ______________________________________________________________________ This list and all House of Fusion resources hosted by CFHosting.com. The place for dependable ColdFusion Hosting. Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
