Open Blogging
“From the time of the early church and the apostle Paul, the cross remains the one and only proclamation (1 Cor. 2:1–2):3 Christians shall know only one way, that of being nailed to the cross with Christ. Only dying his death with him leads to resurrection and to the kingdom. No wonder that Celsus, an enemy of the church, was amazed at the centrality of the cross and the resurrection among the Christians.The pagan satirist Lucian was surprised that one who was hung on the cross in Palestine could have introduced this death as a new mystery: dying with him on the cross was the essence of his bequest.The early Christians used to stretch out their hands as a symbol of triumph, imitating the arms extended on the cross.”
This is from an astounding piece in Plough about the early church...perhaps one of the best pieces I’ve ever read on what the church should look like and act like…I commend it to all.
It should be required reading for anyone claiming Christ…
Now, it’s all yours today…
Reposting
I thought this was encouraging.Looks like we’renot as divided as is commonly assumed.
“Eight in 10 U.S. adults agree on a variety of issues that reflect core aspects of U.S. democracy.
“These include that using violence to achieve political goals is never OK;
that elected leaders should compromise to get things done;
and that having a mix of races, religions and cultures benefits the nation.
Americans also express a desire to limit the political influence of wealthy individuals and businesses and believe there is a difference between facts and opinions.”
https://news.gallup.com/poll/696494/americans-show-consensus-democracy-related-matters.aspx
I wonder about that…
I frequent a small convenience store…the clerks like me a lot, even though we’re from much different backgrounds and places.
Their conversations are frequently radically right wing and MAGA…I wonder how we’d get along if they knew I find these things abhorrent.
Probably not well…and that would be very sad…
Well, YMMV, for sure! I live in a university town where I’d guess 3/4 and probably more would agree with those tenets.
Rural areas… probably not as much, for sure. Probably way less in many cases…
bob1,
The problems with many surveys is that different groups of people fill the same words with different meanings, and the context those surveyed are answering from makes another big difference. For instance: one may say that they believe that elected leaders should compromise to get things done, but believe the leaders they voted for have already compromised enough, and now it’s the other side’s turn.