G'day Allan and the Group
At 10:54 PM 16/12/03 +1100, aleggett wrote:
<snip>
It is time we stopped being nervous Nellies and started to teach our faith
in language that makes sense. Even growing up in the 50's and 60's, by the
time I was 12 or 13 there was a tension going on within me as to what I was
being taught in Sunday School or RE at school and what my brain was telling
me made sense.
Likewise. I stopped calling myself a Christian for my years 11 and 12 (we called them 5th and 6th year) at High School rather than have my religion identified with that of the local ISCF. My faith in these years was between God and me, basically.
So what am I saying. Well frankly, I can't be bothered getting into
arguments with people who take the literal approach to scripture and use it
to defend their own prejudices which frankly is what is going on in the
current debate.
I'd agree that some people are doing this. But I don't think you're being fair to tar us all with this brush.
The God I know and teach is as much a part of the reality of
GLBT people as this God is part of the reality of straights or whatever.
Agreed.
If one part of the church wants to sit in their fortress and try and defend
what quite frankly I believe is nonsense, then let them do it. In the mean
time, lets get on with developing a theology (or spirituality) that makes
sense in today's world and just as importantly, lets have the courage to
confidently sell that spirituality in the marketplace. In other words, lets
talk with confidence about the God we have found in Jesus. This man in whom
I believe we have seen the fullness of God in our humanity in the way he
lived and loved and whose spirit continues to live in all who live in love.
This for me makes sense. This is a message I can share with confidence.
I'd like to join you in this endeavour. But I don't think we need to throw away the Bible to do it, and you haven't said we should. We just need to understand how it fits in.
My impression of those who would take the Bible "literally" is that they have no idea what the word means, and that they tend to like translations such as the NIV, which isn't actually very literal at all.
So, how does the Bible fit in, in your opinion?
Let me tell you how it fits in to my life. I am under its authority. If I know what it's telling me to do, and I don't do it, then I'm disobeying God.
I'm also under the authority of the Holy Spirit, and of the Church. I expect these three to give the same message. If they don't I'm worried. Two out of three doesn't win.
It's not always easy to tell what God is saying. But my experience is that for every time I seriously wonder what God is saying to me, there are many others when I do know, and the problem is rather that I don't want to do it.
YiCaa
email: andrewa @ alder . ws
http://www.zeta.org.au/~andrewa
Phone 9441 4476
Mobile 04 2525 4476
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