Linkathon 9/26, part 1
- “We are all apologists”
- “There are many things about Mr. Darwin’s legacy and contribution to science that I very much appreciate, but when absorbed into the fabric of our culture and society in unhealthy ways, not so much.“
- The future of books: comments and conversations?
- So, how did second century Christians view Adam?
- “…this is the sort of wonderful and profoundly Christ-like welcoming every church should offer her visitors.“
- Brian McLaren presided over his son’s same-sex wedding.
- “A movement set up to defend doesn’t do a good job of handling pilgrims who want to–need to–move off the beach blanket. This scenario leads to a problem for people like Haseltine: where do I go and what do I believe? That is the “middle space.”“
- “I have often wondered–quietly and usually to myself–what would happen if we could edit the Bible.“
- “The story many receive today is that either Genesis is right and science wrong, or science is right and Genesis is wrong. Watson contends that sells the story of their relationship short and misses out on big chunks of good thinking.“
- If he wasn’t Anabaptist, he’d probably be an Anglican. (Website was down for maintenance when Linkathon part 1 went live)
Strong linkathon… much to chat up
Is advocacy for homosexual behavior “progressive?”
Seems to me the “heyday” homosexuality Being embraced was millennia ago–how very regressive!
I would like to add this link from Tullian Tchividjian
http://liberatenet.org/2012/09/the-man-at-the-bottom/
He takes a shot across the bow of evangelical preaching, and then hits his target.
Billy Graham’s biggest contribution to the Christian world. 🙂
So I have heard insults of “evangelicalism” and, with this linkathon, now “post evangelicals.”
Can someone help me a bit?
Perhaps referencing the definition of Wikipedia as a base would help:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicalism#section_1
Someone addressing, say poverty, if done within the wide confines of what the Bible says and regarding it as truth, would NOT be Outside the walls of evangelicalism, but could be outside most evangelical practice….or do I misunderstand?
People challenging the “status quo” of Christianity as it is typically practiced yet still believe the essentials of the faith are still evangelicals right?
I consider myself “evangelical” yet would rather dive into a sewage treatment plant than suffer the rest of my days in some suburban comfortable and lame mega church. Evangelical does not mean kool-aid drinking cookie cutter status quo-bot.
Or can someone show me the way?
Or is there some new term to be coined?
jtk,
I do not equate evangelical with either “evangelicals” or “evangelicalism”
jtk,
“People challenging the “status quo” of Christianity as it is typically practiced yet still believe the essentials of the faith are still evangelicals right?”
“Evangelical does not mean kool-aid drinking cookie cutter status quo-bot.”
And thus is the problem. Lutherans were the first evangelicals. The original name of the Lutheran Church in Germany was The Evangelical Church. But we stopped using it, because the term got hijacked (not unlike the homosexuals hijacking the word gay) – by what we see as modern day evangelicals.
So, the term evangelical is pretty clear, good and accurate… but “evangelicals” and “evangelicalism” ain’t us.
jtk, gotta say … i think i’d take the mega church over the sewage treatment plant 😯
I should clarify “Lutherans were the first evangelicals.”
I am speaking of the more modern era – not to be confused with those in the 1st century church who were Lutherans before the term Lutheran was coined. 😉
What does evangelical mean? Seems to me that every person has their own definition for that word.
Update on an old Linkathon item:
http://danielbwallace.com/2012/09/26/jesus-wife-fragment-judged-a-fake/
Thanks for the update from Dr. Wallace, Xenia.
Mclaren kinda found himself in a predicament, huh? Not that he was ever a conservative Christian anyway, but that would be kinda tough to be a minister, and have a child grow up gay.
I agree Josh. If you think about it though, the Bible wasn’t something that Brian Mclaren revered too much anyway so why not go with the flow… sad
Many devout believers have children who grow up to be big sinners. These parents have to walk the tightrope of showing as much love, affection and understanding as possible without joining their children in their sins. A parent of a homosexual has to keep lines of communication open, has to demonstrate their continuing love, has to do everything they can to try to bring them back to God without chasing them away from God. For each parent there has to be a line they will not cross. The line in the sand might include house rules against allowing the lover to spend the night in the house, not attending a “wedding,” etc. This applies to sins other than homosexuality, too: No drugs in the house, no swearing in the house, no profanity-laced music in the house, no boyfriends spending the night, etc. The parent has to be gentle but firm. If the child throws a fit, well, who are we more afraid of, God or our children? But as far as lies within us, we should strive for peace, not neglecting the truth.
Em,
Hyperbole perhaps.
But the ole communist revolutionary in me can’t stand the echo chamber of a church that doesn’t reach the lost…..I can’t get from whatever it was that the disciples in the gospels and in the Book of Acts did to alotta modern incarnations of the church.
I accept their right to exist, call them brothers but I couldn’t live the rest of my life in that environment.
I gotta give back, gotta reach those with the F U Flipflops that I used to wear…..
Xenia, good words, words worth repeating and repeating in the onslaught that just doesn’t let up …
i think we miss the significance of homosexuality’s acceptance today … it is a symptom of a diseased society – IMO, we’d do better to follow what i think Xenia is advising, let our stand be gracious and clear and then go about the business of the Kingdom
IMHO, the growing manure pile is the problem, swatting the flies it produces is not the solution … does today compare to Nineveh? they listened to Jonah’s warning for awhile and then went on to destroy themselves – dunno – everyone’s got me pondering today 🙂
Em, yep. Somehow, Christian parents of children involved in a sinful lifestyle need to avoid two extremes. They can’t abandon their children to the streets and they can’t officiate at their homosexual “wedding” and begin bragging about how open-minded they are for accepting this atrocity. Even if the children throw themselves into the street we have to be, like the father of the prodigal son, ready to take them back. If they want to come back unrepentant they can still come, but with rules.
Xenia, i think we’re tracking alike on this phenomena – it is the fruit of a sin-accepting society (i was going to x that out because of the double entendre ) – in a way our fellow humans who are swept up in the plethora of sexual aberrations are victims, but just not in the way that they want to rationalize
jtk,
“can’t stand the echo chamber of a church that doesn’t reach the lost…”
My church reaches the lost every time we baptize a baby.
I understand Brian’s predicament more than most here. My dad was a pastor and though my current role is not in a church, it’s very much a pastoral role. My sister recently had a boyfriend move in with her and she asked me to perform the upcoming wedding. Initially, I struggled with doing it, but said yes on the condition that they abstained. She assured me they would. A few weeks later she announced she was pregnant. She text me to tell me she was asking someone else to perform the wedding.
Did I make the right decision morally? Relationally?
MLD,
If you keep the kids you baptize through college, hats off to you.
That was the case with the last Lutheran student I met at the local college.
D.A. not sure who your question is addressed to in #20, but i think my response to your sister would have been: if you can stay celibate while living together, barring extenuating circumstances, you probably have no business marrying each other in the first place – just sayin 🙂 cuz i can
Em, I would agree with you. the extenuating circumstances being what they were the guy was kicked out of his previous place and my sister had just undergone some surgery, in which she should have have abstained for 6 weeks for recovery.
I have a close friend who moved into an apartment about 6 weeks before he got married. They both had separate rooms and different work schedules that they were able to barely abstain. It can be done in some circumstances.
#4 – “…..
2. History was not a linear trajectory from Adam – first created perfect, then fallen – through sinful humanity to Christ and beyond. History began with the incarnate Christ, such that Adam was made in his image…”
okay, that’s a new thought for me … don’t know how critical it is … not going to hang my hat on it
jtk,
“If you keep the kids you baptize through college, hats off to you.”
Oh, we probably don’t do a better job than anyone else keeping the kids on the reservation. But that’s what guys like you are for, is to bring out in them what God gave them in their baptism.
The baptized aren’t lost (yet) they are just in a far off country – but you awaken the holy spirit that has been in them all along.
I applaud your efforts.
MLD, thank you for that link at #3. That “shot across the bow” blasted a huge hole in the hull of the get-better-gospel-ship!
i second #26 – thank you both – i almost overlooked that link today
So TBN gave two hours to Glenn Beck last night….. guess I shouldn’t be surprised. They’ll re-run it today.
http://www.glennbeck.com/restoringlove/
TBN and Glen Beck … so the truth is we are in bed with politics and we sell ourselves… the harlot rides the beast … religion loves politics…
Jesus’ servants continue to find swords…
What a study this election is on who we are …
I… of course am above it all… don’t you wish you were as I.
This election has stirred things up.
Count my parents among those who now think Mormons are “probably OK”.
“Count my parents among those who now think Mormons are “probably OK”.”
I think that Mormons are OK – in fact I think Mormons are great! – just not Christians
By “Probably OK”, they mean “Probably going to Heaven”.
I don’t think Mormons are great. I think they are propagators of a very deceptive, evil religion.
I posted the TBN thing not because of politics but because of the Mormon connection. It’s another step in legitimizing something that is demonic and false into the “let’s not be so quick to condemn category.” As TBN is seen by millions this is no small thing.
I don’t know anything about the Glenn Beck event so I can’t comment on that. I do agree with the concerns of Mormonism being legitimized by having an assumed religious/spiritual event led by a Mormon broadcast on a “Christian” tv station. The shame of it all is, is that TBN has any legitimacy in the first place and can have a significant influence on the Christian culture/community. TBN is a horrible organization and the fact that Christians support it and give it legitimacy in the first place is a shame. Some who support it I feel sorry for as they do not know better. Others should know better.
Well, anyone who takes TBN seriously will not have a hard time accepting Mormonism as orthodox Christianity. Those folks will swallow anything.