I am in. // Lennart
Sent from my iPad On May 1, 2012, at 5:20 PM, [email protected] wrote: > > Ernie : > VERY good. I don't know about the 100%, for me there are some > important demurers, but it would be beside the point to argue. > Well said, the spirit in which he wrote cannot be faulted one iota. > And yes, a really useful RC approach to the issues raised. > Think I will use it for my own purposes in the future. > > About Adam , I'd put it this way : A real world Adam is beyond recovery > since he would have lived, say, ca. 100,000 BC in what is now Ethiopia > or elsewhere in the area of the Great Rift Valley, in a primitive Shamanistic > society. The first Cro-Magnon. > > It would be good to somehow know a lot more about him, and maybe > archeologists / paleontologists will find new circumstantial evidence that > will help us piece together some valuable information into a better picture > than we now have, but probably we will never know. > > Personally, I'm inspired by this, the rise of our species from primate > beginnings > into a being with almost limitless potential. > > OTOH, the image / metaphor of Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden is as > meaningful as any "mythic" image can get since it is solidly based on history, > viz, the rise of civilization in "Edin" --a real place-- in Mesopotamia. > From there came forth if not all, nearly all, religion and what we call > culture > and the arts of invention and just about everything else we treasure > as civilized men and women. > > The story has 1000 uses ( by conservative estimate ) and is a morality play > in miniature capable of teaching 1000 lessons. That's not bad, > when you think about it. > > > Billy > > > ------------------------------------------------ > > 5/1/2012 1:17:42 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] > writes: > A nice Radical Centrist take. I agree with pretty much everything he says. :-) > > Converging Zone 20 Reasons Why the Christian Right & Left Won’t Adopt Me by > Frank Viola > http://www.convergingzone.com/faith/20-reasons-why-the-christian-right-left-wont-adopt-me-by-frank-viola/ > > 20 Reasons Why the Christian Right & Left Won’t Adopt Me by Frank Viola > > Converging Zone - Coaching : Equipping : Empowering : Mobilizing : > Transforming > Why the Christian Right Won’t Adopt Me > > Like F.F. Bruce, I believe words like “plenary” and “inerrant” are > unnecessary when speaking about the truthfulness of Scripture. > I don’t believe the Bible clearly addresses the question of the eternal > destiny of those who have never heard or understood the gospel of Jesus > Christ. > I don’t believe Scripture answers every question posed to it. And there are > many questions, including theological ones, which are shrouded in mystery. > I believe that racism and sexism are serious problems in the USA and > shouldn’t be viewed as “lesser” than other moral evils. > I believe that slander, hatred, greed, and fits of rage are just as sinful as > fornication and stealing (so did Paul – 1 Corinthians 6:10-11; Galatians > 5:19-21). > I don’t know whether to whistle or wind my watch, to laugh or cry at The > American Patriot’s Bible. > I believe that God loves the poor and taking care of them should be just as > high a priority as other social issues, if not more. > While I don’t believe the theory of evolution with respect to human origins > is air-tight, many genuine and devout Christians (past and present) believe > it to be fact (“theistic evolution”). And because Christ has received them, > so do I. > I believe a narrative approach to the Bible is a far superior way to > understand Scripture than a systematical approach. > While I disagree with him on many things, I find some of what Brian McLaren > teaches to be valuable. > Why the Christian Left Won’t Adopt Me > > I believe the Bible – all of it – is divinely inspired, completely true, > fully authoritative, and wholly reliable. > I believe that when Jesus said He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no > man comes to the Father but by Him, He wasn’t lying. Nor was He being narrow > minded. (And I believe Jesus of Nazareth actually uttered those words.) > Though I possess neither, I don’t believe it is a sin to own a Cadillac > Escalade or a private jet. > I believe that accusing people of racism and sexism when they aren’t racist > or sexist is just as wrong as racism and sexism. > I sometimes think that there is too much talk about rights and not enough > talk about taking responsibility. > I believe that Paul’s words in 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 still hold true today. > Postmodern deconstructionism, while helpful in discounting modernity (whose > fundamental tenants challenge Christianity), is inadequate for bringing one > to the Truth, who is Christ. > I believe there is a big difference between the world system and the > ekklesia, and the former is God’s enemy (1 John 2:15-17). > There are still many first-rate scholars who argue that there are sound > historical and scientific reasons for believing that Adam was a real, > historical person. And it is wrong to ridicule and scorn them. > While I disagree with him on many things, I find some of what John MacArthur > teaches to be valuable. > The Family to Which I Belong > > Note that I could easily lengthen the list and expand each point. But this is > a blog post, not a book. > > Of course, not everyone who aligns themselves with the Christian Right > affirms each point I’ve listed above. Yet many do. The same is true for those > who align themselves with the Christian Left. Yet many do. > > And just for good measure, I don’t believe in making a fetish out of > political or theological centrism. > > That said, it’s okay if the Christian Left and the Christian Right movements > won’t adopt me. You see, I belong to the Family of God, which is made up of > all who have the Lord’s life within them. And that includes my sisters and > brothers in Christ who are on the left and the right. > > It may surprise some that I have close friends and family members who are on > the far right on the political and theological spectrum, and they are > intensely and passionately involved in the political process. > > I also have close friends and family members who are on the far left on the > political and theological spectrum, and they are intensely and passionately > involved in the political process. > > I’m glad that they are following their vision, conscience, and passion as I > believe all believers should. > > Let me say two things parenthetically at this point: > > (1) It’s fascinating to me that people who are part of the Christian Left and > the Christian Right routinely accuse one another of accommodating the culture > and supporting Caesar and Empire. > > (2) As a generality, the Left believes in speaking to “power.” However, when > it does, it’s usually in the areas of contra racism, alleviating poverty, > protesting against unjust war, etc. In general, the Right also believes in > speaking to “power.” However, when it does, it’s usually in the areas of the > fight against abortion, pornography, etc. > > Very rarely do we see leaders or movements today in the spirit of Joseph > Cardinal Bernardine who advocated “the seamless garment,” protesting against > abortion as well asthe causes which produce poverty and unjust war. To > Bernardine, to fight against abortion, war, poverty, and the death penalty > was to be consistently pro-life. > > Let me add a postscript: Being a liberal Democrat doesn’t make one “cool” > anymore than being a conservative Republican makes one “moral.” So it seems > to me anyway. > > End of parenthetical statement. > > Again, I’ve always encouraged Christians to follow their vision, conscience, > and passion regarding what they believe God’s will is for the world. And I > applaud believers who are laboring in the trenches with respect to God’s > Kingdom work. As I’ve written and spoken elsewhere, such work is important to > me, and it’s something in which I’m actively engaged myself. > > For that reason, while I may disagree with my friends and family members on > various theological, social, and political points, we love, respect, and > support one another. Especially in the work of helping those who are needy > and suffering, both on the justice side and on the mercy side. > > And our differences have never affected our relationship. > > So even if the Right and Left movements won’t adopt me, I happily declare > that I am kin to all genuine followers of Jesus, regardless of their > political or theological bent. > > And they will know we are Christians by our love for one another. > > “They drew a circle that shut me out — a heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. > But love and I had the wit to win. We drew a circle that took them in” (Edwin > Markham). > > Rick Warren and N.T. Wright > > In closing, I really appreciate what Rick Warren said recently in an > interview with ABC News: > > “The coarsening of our culture and the loss of civility in our civilization > is one of the things that concerns me most about our nation. We don’t know > how to disagree without being disagreeable. The fact is, you can — you can > walk hand-in-hand without seeing eye-to-eye. And what we need in our country > is unity, not uniformity. There are major differences, politically, > religiously, economically in our nation. We have many different streams in > our nation … What is solvable is how we treat each other with our differences > … In fact, the Bible tells me in I Peter, show respect to everyone, even > people I totally disagree with. So I’m coming from that viewpoint in that we > must return civility to our civilization in order to get on. But the reason I > do that is because of the deeper reason, there’s a spiritual root to my > reason for civility.” > > This post fits nicely with my Beyond Evangelical (short for beyond > evangelicalism) series. So I’ll be making it one of the chapters in the > upcoming book by the same name. > > On a related note, not long after I wrote this post (it’s been in the queue > for over a month), I learned that N.T. Wright just wrote a piece that lists > how both the “left wing” and the “right wing” (his words) misread the Bible. > His approach is “beyond evangelical,” and it serves as a great companion > essay to this post. > > See also, Christianity in Crisis: A Response to Andrew Sullivan’s Newsweek > Article > > Related: > > Rethinking Women in Ministry > > Exclusive Interview with N.T. Wright & Other Such Things > > Franks Website > > POSTED IN » Faith > > About the author: Editor View all posts by Editor > > The Converging Zone Network (CZN) desires to connect people and provide a > platform to share their unique passions, experiences, and purposes. It > begins with connectivity, and then purpose filled relationships that share > life, resources, encouragement, and community building strategies. CZN > believes in transformational life coaching, as coaches are trained listeners > who relationally and strategically unlock and release others into their > destinies. Through seeking to understand, while listening to Wisdom, they > assist others in the discovery of their authentic identity, purpose, and > pathway for life. CZN desires to see people set free toward authentic lives > of significance. > (via Instapaper) > > > > Sent from my iPhone > > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community > <[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org > > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community > <[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
