Christianity is indeed offensive to the natural human
mind;
jt: How did the "truth" get changed to
"Christianity" Lance?
At times the two are
incompatible..
and yet it is often made offensive by its
representatives for
the wrong reasons.
jt: Been there, done that, also. We lived
in AR for 2yrs and
I started attending the local rcc because
I could not handle
the Bible Belt Baptists. I didn't
understand what being "saved"
was all about and the aggressive
manner of the preacher sent
me running the other way ATST I knew he was well meaning.
I've been rebuffed occasionally while "speaking the
truth"
and, in hindsight deserved it!
jt: So you weren't suffering for the sake
of righteousness??
God grant us the discernment to recognize the
distinction
between being offensive and saying things that are
intrinsically
offensive. Let's not confuse our role with that of the
Spirit of
God. Lance
jt: This won's happen until we
learn obedience. Jesus did
and said nothing he had not first seen his
Father do and say.
When we learn to be led by the Spirit of
God and follow the
Master's voice it
will happen. ATST everyone
wasn't pleased
with Jesus; he made people angry ... judyt
----- Original Message -----
Sent: March 28, 2004 11:39
Subject: [TruthTalk] Some Questions
about Getting to know you.
God did not make the body of Christ to be all fingers or toes or
eyeballs.
The body needs some of each to be complete. We need one
another.
With that in mind, it seems inappropriate to me to tell a brother or
sister
not to speak (write) to us again. By the same token, it is wrong
to cram
our opinions down someone else's throat. Maybe if we all went
back
and studied what Paul had to say love was? Terry
jt: I agree with you on both counts Terry. It's not good to take up
offenses and it's not good to cram our own opinions down other's
throats.
I've heard the saying "People don't
care how much you know, until
they know how much you care." in
the past and wondered where this
saying originated. Do any of the scholars on TT know?
This idea may be the basis for Churches like Saddleback in CA who go
out
of their way to create an environment which makes the unbeliever
feel good
but is founded upon the principles of mass marketing rather than
God's Word.
I have to say that the Church I was raised in, although spiritually
dead, was
full of nice folk who acted like they cared about me but were void of
truth.
a) How does "speaking the truth in love"
happen? Does it take place by
osmosis or does someone need to make a concerted effort?
b) Since the truth has never been popular to ppl walking in the
flesh,
is someone who is willing to go out on a limb with it walking in
love or lifting
themselves up?
judyt
