Re: [TruthTalk] Bible vs "Community"

[Judy Taylor]

On Mon, 18 Apr 2005 10:02:23 -0500 "ShieldsFamily" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:             “Within the spiritual community there is never, nor in any way, any immediate relationship of one to another, whereas human community expresses a profound, elemental, human desire for community, for immediate contact with other human souls, just as in the flesh there is the urge for physical merger with other flesh.             Human love is directed to the other person for his own sake, spiritual love loves him for Christ’s sake. Therefore, human love seeks direct contact with the other person; it loves him not as a free person but as one whom it binds to itself…It desires to be irresistible, to rule. Human love has little regard for truth. It makes the truth relative, since nothing, not even the truth, must come between it and the beloved person.”                                                                         Dietrich Bonhoeffer ~ Life Together Wow! Bonhoeffer perfectly describes "inordinate affection" (Col 3:5 which we must put off) here and this is a frequent problem in Church communities - it has been in our daughter's church where a woman considered herself the soul mate of another woman (both married) and began acting possessively even to the point of stalking when the object of her love resisted this close bond.    One also notes that what Bonhoeffer calls "a profound, elemental, human desire for community and immediate contact with other human souls" happens with gang activity.  Anderson Cooper hosted a program on it last week which was  frightening and so sad that I had to turn it off.  A Mexican mother had two sons (both handsome and in the prime of their youth) shot in front of their own home.  The older one belonged to gang; the other joined the Marines and was killed before he could leave for Iraq.  Cooper pointed to the same desire for human contact as what lures youth to the gangs.  Most young members are from a one parent home and are looking for companionship and human contact when they get home from school and their parent is working to keep a roof over their head.   Just two examples of how what some call love leads to destruction.  Love without truth does not fly because it puts us out from under God's blessing.   jt     From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Debbie Sawczak Regarding the below...yes, their relationship with Jesus (which, Izzy, involves his "indwelling presence"), shared as members of a community.