The Mail Bag
To avoid answering a bunch of email…
“Before you became an Anglican I knew where you stood on doctrinal issues. Now, you seem to believe everything and nothing. How can we trust your work if you won’t be clear about what you believe?”
First…you don’t need to trust me. There are these things called “books”…people called “pastors”…and a place called “church”…
Before I became an Anglican I was Reformed. Reformed theology is a systematic wonder and I still have some sympathies with it. However, like all systematic theologies there are some socks hanging out of the suitcase. To make everything fit in the systematic suitcase you have to compromise something else in it. I simply do not think that’s intellectually honest, so rather than argue with the Reformed confessions, I went someplace that allows me to travel with some things hanging out of my luggage.
Anglicanism isn’t about one strict doctrinal formulation on everything. It’s about how we worship. The ties that bind us are the liturgies and the Book of Common Prayer both of which are utterly orthodox and thoroughly biblical.
I’m completely bored with most doctrinal disputes and equally as captivated by the person and work of Jesus Christ.
I believe what the church has believed in all times in all places.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died, and was buried;
On the third day he rose again;he ascended into heaven,he is seated at the right hand of the Father,and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic Church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and the life everlasting.
Amen.
Why don’t you write on abortion?
What’s left to say? I can’t think of any other issue that has been addressed as completely, consistently, and frequently by Christians across denominational lines. The only thing I have to add to that conversation is a call to be consistently pro life across all issues and that just gets me nasty letters…because some lives do matter more than others…
Why don’t you write much about Calvary Chapel anymore?
I will if something merits my attention.
Calvary Chapel as a movement is on institutional hospice care.
Part of that is because of the insane power struggles, part is because it’s lost any sort of unique identity outside a small remnant.
All denominations are facing these identity crises as they attempt to be something they’re not or all things to all people…
How can a Democrat be a Christian?
The same way a Republican can…by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Both parties are opposed to biblical concepts of human flourishing in some ways and support it in others.
My identity is found in neither…
Do you pray for President Trump?
Yes, but the content of my prayers is probably different than yours…
Why do you make fun of biblical prophecy?
I don’t.
I make fun of people who think they can find it in current events and the newspaper…or the online equivalent.
You do realize that every prophecy update since Darby has been a false report, don’t you?
Quit being a mush mouth…what do you believe about the Bible?
I believe it’s the inspired ,sacred, text of Christianity that contains all things necessary for salvation.
I believe it is filled with paradox, mystery, and symbolism.
It reflects the cultures it was written in, the people inspired to write it, and eternal verities from the mind of God.
It is in essence a narrative of creation, fall, redemption, and re-creation.
I focus on that narrative to make sense of the book…
phoenixpreacher@gmail.com
Michael,
I’d say we have broader ranging agreement than ever. When I am challenged on consistency in pro-life issues I insist that the one calling for it also possess it. Then I find out it is a ruse to intimidate and shut up pro-lifer. So far no one who has challenged me on that issue besides perhaps you avows a pro-life message as pertains to abortion. So thanks. Furthermore, who gets to decide all that is in the cluster? So I am fine with people ‘choosing’ which issues to highlight without calling them hypocritical.
I’m in on all this.
We’re one big, ecumenical, happy family 🙂
Wha are “pingbacks? “. ?
I am not making any sort of a ruse…I simply think that if one wants to claim biblical fidelity to life one must be consistent or explain why they’re not… 🙂
em – they don’t want to be referred to that way anymore. Please, it’s 2019.
Em,
Pingbacks are notices that another site has linked to this one.
On that point Michael, and I generally agree, but I had a friend make a good point…
He says that when people give that answer, it is the same as answering Black Lives Matter, with All Lives Matter. It broadens the scope, and thereby, weakens the point.
Oh, now we’re calling them pingbacks, next we’ll say “Build a wall between us and other sites!”
Josh,
You’re killing me here… 🙂
Josh, not following, it is up there to the right of comments ?
Thank you, Michael…. guess i just never noticed – if i ask again, it will be the short term memory loss, old age thing. ?
(I’m making stupid jokes, em. Ignore me 🙂 )
Josh, thought you might be kidding…. I promise not to call anyone a pingback from here on out…. can i still say peabrain? LOL
Hey, i kind of like pingback…. I suspect many of my comments here are pingbacks…
PING !
If you are referring to me…peabrain will fit nicely 🙂
Odd thing about your statement on the bible, Michael – I’ve read it a few times and can not find one disagreement.
Josh,
Those who disagree will do so over what I didn’t say…
While in a humorous mood, visiting a news site just now a pop up ad for the “best toilet paper for seniors.” Say What? ? ?
Josh, hope you’re not a peabrain, cuz you’re smarter’n me ?
Is the Bible the Word of God, does it contain the Word of God, or is it an inspired text about God. Could you clarify?
This is not academic, because in the Bible, particularly the OT, God interacts with His people through His voice. Moreover, His word are performative. That is God’s Word accomplishes what it says. In your view, is the Bible the living and active Word of God?
Thanks, Michael! What you wrote describes why I am Anglican in heart; they seem the least angry Christians I know.
I knew the Lutheran Inquisition would soon arrive.
I think the Bible defies these attempts to define it .
God uses it as He sees fit in a given time and place.
I said what I believe about the Scriptures and refuse to submit to demands to fossilize it in doctrine.
Rick,
Thank you…that has been my experience as well.
“Before you became an Anglican I knew where you stood on doctrinal issues. Now, you seem to believe everything and nothing. How can we trust your work if you won’t be clear about what you believe?”
Try wading through almost 500 years of Anglican theology – Reformed, Catholic and everything in between… and all worshipping together. To be Anglican requires nuance, not dogmatism. It also requires the ability to say, “I might be wrong”…
“To be Anglican requires nuance, not dogmatism. It also requires the ability to say, “I might be wrong”…”
And I may well be…
Nice job, Michael. I’m not an Anglican but there are an awful lot of things about it I like…as
well articulated by your answer(s).
As an addendum to my answer to Jean…his view is orthodox and it helps support the rest of their confessional positions.
I simply believe it says too much and prefer a broader approach…I don’t demand that anyone choose either as a mark of orthodoxy.
Thanks, bob1!
Don’t know if anyone else is aware of the irony in that the founder of Lutheranism is cited as
the individual (of any in Xn church history) that championed individual freedom of conscience.
Yet some of his offspring appear to be suffering from theological hardening of the arteries.
Happens in most traditions, I think.
bob1,
LOL – Hate to correct you again, but the individual freedom of conscience isn’t your suspected free willy theology – it is an individual freedom of conscience from the RCC dogma as dictated by the pope.
We Lutherans keep getting slammed here for being too tied to the Lutheran Confessions – not a freedom to do as we please
Check it out.
But in the end I am much like Michael in that I don’t require anyone in the world to believe like me — except those who wish to join me at the communion rail.
If someone is happy having the sum and substance of their Christian faith, they are perfectly free.
Hmmm it nuked part of what I wrote which was to be – if someone is happy with the apostles’creed being the sum and substance of their Christian faith, they are free.
The Apostles Creed is not the sum and substance of my faith.
It is the foundational compilation of core beliefs that other aspects of my faith can build on.
I am happy with the Apostles’Creed being the summary explanation of my Faith. It is not a treatise on the experience of the individual Christians walk IN the Faith
As those of closed communion huddle shoulder to shoulder protecting their sacred rail, i am quite happy to go next door and partake with my less enlightened brothers and sisters after hearing a simple warning to not partake if my situation fits the “unworthy” described
Free willy?
You must be confusing your Lutheranism with the whale movie.
🙂
Michael, you seem to try to pass as a theological minimalist (which is fine with me) – and you use the creed as some sort of building block to that theology. But why is that unique? The Book of Concord leads off with the 3 ecumenical creeds and builds from there. So hey, we are all the same. 🙂
MLD,
I use the creed to be as inclusive as theologically possible.
You use it in other ways…
Em, have you ever considered that perhaps you are not the unworthy one, but the folks you choose to commune with are you know, those less enlightened next door?
Perhaps you have no issue, but I just could not walk into an ELCA church and commune with them – I would not commune in a UCC church – which have given up the faith completely (for God’s sake, these were the old Puritans. What about an Anglican church that allows Bishop John Shelby Spong to keep wearing his purple clergy shirt even though he denies just about everything credited to Jesus in the scriptures. We mentioned last week Nadia Bolz Weber and her golden vagina brigade.
These are just small samples of those who I am sure would still confess the apostles’s creed (either with fingers crossed or redefined terms) and allow you at their rail.
I am a little more introspective than just saying “let’s belly up to the rail.”
You use it in other ways…
now you are being judgmental with who handles scripture which way – which again is OK with me.
I’m not being judgmental at all. I’m simply outlining why I do what I do.
MLD
For the 5,000th time… we get it. We know your position. We’ve heard it over, and over, and over again. I’m sure the purity of LCMS outshines the sun… ?
Then again, some of us have a different point of view, which, as you say, “is OK with me”.
Duane, in your anti Lutheran rage and quick fingers to type, you missed my earlier point – I don’t care that people don’t believe what I do. However, it does seem to be a constant irritation that people are offended at closed communion – as you prove each time the topic arises.
Now to my point with Em, I was trying to be helpful that it may not be wise for a believer to just walk into the church next door and partake of their table.
None of this has anything to do with the purity of my practice. The fact that you draw a line and rope off the table at a different point than do I should be telling that neither of us have an open trough.
“Duane, in your anti Lutheran rage…”
Not me… I don’t rage. I’m an Anglican.
Duane – LOL – the subtle, silent rage 🙂
MLD
Subtle… maybe.
Silent… seldom.
No rage. Just amusement.
Michael,
I am somewhat chastened by your response to my last question, so I am somewhat hesitant to ask a follow on. Would you entertain one?
I will. Just be aware that I’m running about the area and may respond in parts.
Duane – I aim to amuse. See the thing is you always answer to my LCMS or Lutheran side – I never mention your Anglican stuff. I just assume we should be evaluated on what we say we believe and not so much with whom we align.
So when you say “I’m sure the purity of LCMS outshines the sun…” – you are not addressing my thoughts, but attacking an institution – I am not an institution let alone that institution.
MLD @ 2:46, i have been encouraged by Roman Catholic clergy to join them at the communion table even tho i am not one.
I did not do so because of the issue of transubstantiation … I respect your interpretation, but i belong next door… and i am a. bit more careful in choosing that church than you are giving me credit for today. ?
Thank you, Michael.
I don’t know what you might have that is similar to a confirmation class or new member class, but assuming you will have such a class or classes once you become a priest, will you teach what the Bible is to your students consistent with what you’ve written here today in the article and in your comments?
Jean,
Why would I teach something other than what I wrote?
I don’t lead a double life…
I ask because you have arrived at your current beliefs, I understand, as the result of your personal journey, a journey which has included unanswered prayer and suffering. It that’s correct, then is it fair or wise to present your experience as a paradigm for teaching? We all have issues of one sort or another, even MLD. But, perhaps there are some things we hold as a result of our experiences that we would not wish on another. Just asking.
Jean,
You insult me.
My journey has included affliction and unanswered prayer.
It has also included an immense amount of study from a historical and theological perspective and endless ongoing dialog with far better theologians than myself.
To posit that any doctrine I teach in the church is based on nothing but personal experience is to say that I have not and am not putting on the work that my vocation demands.
My position on the Scriptures is fully within the Anglican confession of faith and historical orthodoxy.
Em, your refusal to commune with the RCC folks because you disagree with the RCC over transubstantion proves my point that no one thinks open communion is a good idea. So really we just argue over where we draw the line to close the table.
btw, we invite all to come worship with us and in actuality we invite all to the communion rail. We just ask those who are not in co?union with us to cross their arms and receive a pastoral blessing.
I’m just trying to understand you concerning the Bible. I admit to being new to Anglicanism. on the Anglicans Online Website, The Catechism:
http://anglicansonline.org/basics/catechism.html#The%20Holy%20Scriptures
It has the following Q&A regarding the Holy Scriptures, which is what the Bible is called in the 39 Articles:
“Q. Why do we call the Holy Scriptures the Word of God?
A. We call them the Word of God because God inspired their human authors and because God still speaks to us through the Bible.”
The Answer to the Q&A seems not to dissimilar to what I believe.
Jean
It’s called plenary inspiration….
verbal plenary inspiration?
Jean,
The Anglican communion…for the umpteenth time…is not centered on doctrinal precision, but common worship.
We are proudly broad theologically…and our confessions are written in such a way that Dr. Arnold the Anglo-Catholic, and Dr. Packer the Reformed theologian, as well as me in the middle can all affirm them heartily and worship as one.
My view, Duane’s, and Dr. Packer’s all are acceptable in the Anglican framework.
I hope I’m not sidetracking the conversation, but…
this is a question for the Anglicans or anyone who might know – —
Was C.S. Lewis considered an Anglo-Catholic? Maybe that’s too broad a question, but…
inquiring minds wanna know 🙂
bob1,
Duane may correct me, but I think he was definitely Anglo-Catholic…
Another thing to consider is this:
Just because individual church X in denomination Y has their beliefs, creeds, confessions proudly displayed on their website does not mean all or even some of the members, church elders, pastors, etc. 1) actually believe it any varying degrees and 2) put it into practice. Something in Matthew and Isaiah about lips honoring but their hearts far….
The same thing goes with the leadership of denomination Y.
For example, on paper the Episcopal Church in America believes the 39 Articles and theoretically Michael could attend one of their churches. But I suspect Michael would have serious reservations about doing so (unless he thoroughly did his homework on that particular local church). If I am correct, Michael’s particular Anglican group as a whole takes the 39 Articles much more seriously. Michael by the way, I really do admire your Archbishop Beach (if I am right). The love of Christ just emanates from the man.
CM,
The ACNA is much more conservative than the Episcopal Church.
At that, I’m more traditional than the ACNA…
The Archbishop does seem like a kind man…perhaps too kind as things are getting a bit loose for my tastes… 🙂
Michael,
Hasn’t the ACNA had ecumenical talks with the LCMS in the recent past?
Then why the hell are the Lutherans on here seeming to give you the theological
third degree??
Honestly…
bob1,
As I told my bishop, those talks are a waste of time and money.
We also have ecumenical talks with The Orthodox Church.
Anglicanism is ecumenical…and it’s probably time that we realized that other folks aren’t…
bob1/Michael
No correction needed. Lewis was on the “High” side of the church…
On “talks”, I think Michael is correct.
bob1,
Even if we were to bridge the theological differences, the communions have two utterly incompatible ethos.
There is a perceptible Anglican way of interaction and debate that puts a high value on civility and grace…part of my Anglican journey is adjusting my natural combativeness to fit my new companions.
I’m always ready to fight, Anglicans are always ready to have a conversation… 🙂
Lutherans, in my experience, reflect the ethos of their founder.
Both have their place, but probably not in the same physical space…
LCMS talks with many groups to see where there is common ground. However, common ground rarely leads to the objective of the other agency which is usually pulpit and altar fellowship.
Now the ELCA will bed down with anyone as the have with the Episcopal USA, PCUSA, UCC and the Christian Reformed.
Thanks, Duane and Michael.
My experiences with Episcopalians mirrors your WRT civility and dialogue. I mean, look at some of the fruits: Lewis, Stott, Packer, Tutu, Wright. The list goes on.
I know which side of this I’m on…there’s more than enough fighting and strife today.
Now the ELCA will bed down with anyone as the have with the Episcopal USA, PCUSA, UCC and the Christian Reformed.
MLD=OCD
No one cares. Except you and maybe one other
bob1,
The beauty of Anglicanism for me is that I don’t have to pick sides and I’m free to think and grow and enjoy the whole Body of Christ.
It’s not for everyone…I rejoice when anyone finds their ecclesiastical home.
Even Lutherans… 🙂
bob1, for someone who just made the boast of knowing which side he was on and boasting allegiance with gentle souls like Lewis, Stott, Packer etc. – you came right out of the gate proving yourself a liar with a personal attack and name calling.
Hey, when was the last time someone told you “shame on you bob1!!”?
MLD @4:06, could i just clasp my hands behind my back? Crossing my arms across my chest seems a bit dramatic – ostentatious even…. IF i want a blessing from your Pastor….
God keep us all … sheep we are
I said early on in this conversation I don’t care what anyone else believes or does not believe, but that does not restrict me from stating what I believe and maybe even why.
Some are theological minimalist and some are more rigorous. Even so there are things we can do together and somethings we cannot. We CAN play softball together in a city church league – we CAN interact with each other on a blog – we cannot have communion together.
What is it Meatloaf once sang? Two out of three ain’t bad.” 🙂
Wow.
My church can interact with your Lutheran church in a softball league? Maybe?
Jesus said, “I pray my followers will be able to play together in a softball league —
I mean, will be one as I and the Father are one. ”
🙂 🙂
bob1, I didn’t say maybe – I say we definitely can play ball.
I note that you are sure to add “Lutheran” in every comment as your pejorative punctuation.
So from which group do you associate?
Also, if you are going to be quoting Jesus, then why don’t you start agreeing with me so we can be one as Jesus and the Father are one?
From an immigration lawyer on Facebook…
“I am an immigration lawyer at a nonprofit organization, and I wish to say something.
Recently, with the forcing out of DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen for not being “tough enough” on immigration, President Trump has resurrected the idea of separating families who arrive at the U.S./Mexico border to seek asylum, including those who present themselves at Ports of Entry to seek admission according to the proper procedures spelled out in U.S. immigration law.
This afternoon, I met with a single mother and her 14-year old daughter from Honduras. The daughter had a 4-month old baby boy, dressed in a purple dinosaur onesie, who grasped my finger and blew raspberries at me.
The daughter had gotten pregnant at age 13 when five members of the MS-13 took turns raping her. They came three nights in a row before the mother finally fled to her sister’s house in another town. There, the mother went to ask police to help. But the police, who are themselves on the payroll of the gang, reported their location to the local gang hierarchy, who cross-checked with the MS-13 cell in their hometown and verified that they had tried to escape. In broad daylight, unmasked men with guns broke down the sister’s doors, dragged them into a car, drove them to an auto repair shop, and raped all three.
Four months later, the mother had managed to borrow enough money from a cousin in the United States to pay a smuggler to take them through Guatemala to Mexico.
Two months later, in early December 2018, mother and daughter made it to the U.S. border in Laredo, Texas. The daughter was now seven months pregnant. They presented themselves at the Port of Entry and the mother said that they were afraid to go back to Honduras. They were put in separate rooms, where male Border Patrol officers interrogated both mother and daughter. They were then held in separate cells in what is known as the “hielera” (Spanish for “freezer”) for 4 days. Neither received news of the other.
The pregnant daughter was in a cold room where the only place to sleep was a concrete floor. She was given only a thin Mylar blanket that looked like aluminum foil. She and 10 other girls shared one toilet with no privacy curtain. The fluorescent lights were never turned off. She could not eat the food. She only drank water. The water came from a faucet on top of the shared toilet.
When the contractions began, she thought she just had stomach cramps. She was given aspirin. The next morning, when she was taken to a hospital, her mother was not informed. She did not give birth there. A male Border Patrol agent waited on a chair on the other side of the curtain in the emergency room waiting area. When the doctors determined that she was stable and released her, the agent drove her back to the concrete holding cell. One day later, mother and daughter were brought into a room together, given papers to sign, and driven to a local bus station where they were released. At that station, volunteers took them to a temporary shelter for migrants. They stayed there for one night until the same cousin arranged to buy tickets on a Greyhound bus. They traveled two days from Texas to reach Colorado.
Five days later, the girl gave birth. The baby was born at 7½ months. The two women don’t know the medical term for what is wrong with him. They just know that he has “a hole in his heart.” That is not a metaphor. The baby boy has a hole in the wall of one of the chambers of his heart.
This mother and child won’t win their asylum case. It doesn’t matter how unfair that seems to you, or if “that can’t be right,” or if you’re thinking any of the other phrases that most Americans who aren’t immigration lawyers (or immigrants) think when they hear stories like this and can’t believe them. The harm that these women suffered, and are likely to suffer again if they are deported to Honduras, is a “private harm.” They won’t be able to prove that it was perpetrated by a government actor or agent, specifically motivated by their membership in a particular social group, under the near-impossible standards for asylum made mandatory for all U.S. immigration judges by Attorney General Jeff Sessions (a political appointee and not a judge) in Matter of A-B- in June 2018. Nor will they be able to prove that their rapists were motivated by their (the victims’) race, religion, national origin, or political opinion.
In the perverse world of asylum law, what matters is not so much THAT you will be harmed, but WHO will harm you and WHY they will harm you. In a way, we are telling these two women that even here in the United States, the country that they believe will protect them, those men who hurt them are more important. Let me rephrase that. I had to tell them that, to their faces, today. I had to tell them in so many words that because their rapists didn’t rape them for the right reasons, they will likely be sent back to be hurt again.
For all those who say they should have come here legally: they did. There was no “line” for them to get into for a visa to immigrate to the United States. They didn’t have a U.S. citizen or Permanent Resident family member to petition for them, nor a U.S. employer to sponsor them. So they made the only lawful choice they could. They walked up to an official Port of Entry on the Texas border, stood in a line, and asked for protection. They did exactly what they were supposed to do under the law.
It seems to me that almost all evil in the world, from playground bullying to sexual abuse to genocide, results from valuing some human beings more than others. We repeatedly and willingly forget the most basic lesson that most of the world’s religions teach: that because every single human being is a child of God, every single human being has equal value. In fact, each human life has value far greater than we can comprehend, because God loves us all equally and infinitely – just as we love our own children beyond measure.
When we value a child born on one side of a human-drawn line on a map more than a child born on the other side, we have forgotten what every prophet through the ages has tried to teach us. We have failed both children.”
All I can say is: Well said and AMEN! Emphasis intended.
I second Dave’s commendation. Thanks Michael for posting this.
I’m reading a book about Elie Wiesel. He says something similar to
what this Facebook poster says about the value of each human being.
They shouldn’t be treated like pawns in a chess game.
He’s also adamant that religion can be a force for good OR a force
for evil. I believe it’s up to each of us to see that we’re utilizing
our faith to help others, not create artificial barriers.
You won’t like my comment..
This lawyer is lawyering… He’s taking a bona fide example of a bona fide asylum seeker with a heartbreaking need to whitewash the questionable asylum seekers in these hoards that are taking advantage of an opportunity to scam our inadequate system today – we don’t seem to recognize the danger of this chaos. This world wide scramble to migrate north doesn’t bode well… Think demographics and mobs
Em,
You are grossly misinformed…and I’ll leave it at that.
i do not fault you…it takes forever to cut through the lies that the media and the right has told for the last ten years.
It breaks my heart that this is what this country has come to.
I do want to take a moment to thank my dear Roman Catholic and Anglican brothers and sisters who are working tirelessly to bring aid and comfort to the migrants.
The current immigration laws and policies will lead to America being like CC. No identity at all, is that what God wants for us? No.
People coming into America should want to assimilate into our culture or go where they can. imho
Michael @ 1:49
I love your compassion and desire to walk the Christian’ talk…
I hope i am misinformed, but …..
directambiguity,
The opposite is true. I contend you don’t understand Calvary Chapel, let alone the present political landscape that demands “Wonderbread or get the hell out.” That creates inbred people. Period. Mayonnaise may be spicy from your worldview, but you have segregated yourself to stupidity if you think culture threatens you. That is precisely what Calvary Chapel has always been, and always will be, unlettered, unlearned, incapable homogenized dead people.
imnsho
I should add, narcissistic in their “doctrine”
FWIW
Those who fear the dangers of Christian based homogeneity are, i think, safe… unless you think the tenants of Islaam might have a downside
There is every reason right now to see a changing dynamic at work in the world
If trends unfolding now continue, I think it could be [emphasis on could] that the next generation will see prophesies of John and some interesting choices presented to them
IMNSHO. ?
I agree with Reuben where he claims that “culture” is no threat.
Makes me wonder why the Left creates non existent straw man cultures and runs them on fear and threat.
Such non existent entities;
1. White privilege culture – a threat
2. Traditional marriage culture – a threat
3. Man dominant rape culture – a threat
Thank you Reuben for your strong stand that culture is not a threat. You best comment yet.
The right conceives it’s own straw men to foment fear and threat…this administration has it down to an art form.
We are run on both sides by lying swine.
My point wasn’t necessarily political – just to point out that “culture” itself is no threat. Since Reuben pointed out the fear mongering on the right (anti CC) I just pointed out the other side – but only for the purpose that “culture” is not a thing.
Either we have varying definitions of the word or i am old and confused… As a Christian living my Faith there are cultures where i would feel threatened – in today’s China, on some university campuses, in some Israeli communities etc. ?
Em, not by the “culture” but by the people.
MLD, can you have a culture (not thinking petri dish) without people? ?
“Makes me wonder why the Left creates non existent straw man cultures and runs them on fear and threat.”
I would submit, and I think it has been mentioned, all are guilty of such tactics.
The problem is too often when we don’t have enemies it becomes necessary for some to make some up to advance their personal agenda.
I often wonder how a man not even thirty years of age could take over the world, think Alexander the Great. Why would any mature man of his day voluntarily side with someone who had zero experience in life? Some call it charisma.
Of course we in our modern state of information, freedom of speech and thought would never do such a thing. Now if we can just build a … or make it illegal to… our lives will be secure and filled with harmony.
If anyone is interested (or maybe folks here are already aware, since there seems to be a high level of theological acumen here…) there is at least one other Lutheran denomination other than ELCA and LCMS…..the North American Lutheran Church. I have a very good friend who is a pastor in this denomination, and I find him to be very interested in ecumenical discussion. There is much common ground with the ACNA, in liturgy, theology, sacramental participation, and I would say, in the generous spirit of ecumenical that is well-spoken of in this blog.
**ecumenism, not ecumenical, in that last sentence. Blasted auto-correct.