Things I Think…
1. When Christians don’t want to try any available solution to a problem that has been politicized, they will tell you that the only solution is “the Gospel”…
2. When “the Gospel” is the only solution, then no other solution serves the purpose they desire to see fulfilled and in some cases, addresses problems they simply want ignored…
3. The Gospel by itself solves nothing, the Gospel believed and lived solves all…but if those who claim it don’t live it, the power of the Gospel is neutered in the person and the culture…
4. When I hear someone say that the only solution to a problem is the Gospel, what I really hear is that it’s a problem they only want solved by their choice of political remedy…because we know that not all will believe the Gospel…
5. It seems contradictory that those who believe the Gospel is the only solution to a myriad of issues are also the ones who refuse to make the churches where you hear the Gospel safe from abuse and corruption…
6. If the only solution to all that ails us is a massive conversion such as has never been seen in the history of the faith…then why isn’t all our time and money being pored into facilitating that instead of the culture wars? I think I know the answers…
7. You can’t demonize people you disagree with, then pretend you’re offering them the Gospel…you’re simply offering them a chance to agree with you…
8. I’ve weaned off much of social media in favor of books…where people have the space to place things in context and use nuance…and I’m under no obligation (self imposed or otherwise) to respond without thinking…
9. Classical music doesn’t move me…consider this a confession…
10. The older I get, the more minimalist I become…love God and neighbor and avoid stuff that keeps you from either…
re #8 Laissez faire social media is destroying us. Sure, they regulate some folks, but not others. The more virulent the controversy the better. Angry bitter people generate income.
I couldn’t agree more with your perspective on the idea that “the Gospel is the only solution”. A friend posted something the other day to the effect that “it’s not a gun problem, it’s a sin problem”. To me that is avoiding the hard discussion, where we talk about assault weapons in the hands of “sinners”. I’d like o say more but it has all been said already, time after time. I grieve for our nation, for the next generation, and beyond. Until those in power are willing to put aside their partisan politics and make compromises and concessions, little if anything will change.
By the way, your #9 is terribly disappointing. How can one not be moved by Bach’s “Air on the G String”? (the inspiration for Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale”) But since it was a confession, I hope that you find forgiveness . . . although I wouldn’t hold my breath!
āThe Gospel is the only solutionā is similar, if not identical to “God told me…” It is the end of discussion or dialogue which, most likely, is the intent,
Agree with 1-8 and 10.
I affirm your right to confess #9. Iāve loved classical as long as I can remember. That being said, like any genre, I enjoy some selections a lot more than others.
What Duane said.
If I was paid every time some one told me, āGod is telling youā¦ā
Whenever I hear classical music, I keep waiting for the bass to kick in…
Reuben, Thatās right there with āwhere God guides, God provides.ā Itās just trite sloganeering.
Does Ennio Morricone’s work (composer for Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns) count as classical music? š The piece called “The Ecstasy of Gold” from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is my favorite.
2 thoughts:
– I’m tired of hearing people call every social cause they support “a Gospel issue.” If everything is a Gospel issue, then nothing is a Gospel issue.
– I’ve seen many believers saying things like, “The real issue is the wicked heart of man.” True. But if you have a wicked man whose heart is set on evil, would you rather he be armed with a knife or a gun and a thousand rounds of ammo?
Jeff T.
Good thoughts. Here is a decent article on gospel issues.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/what-are-gospel-issues/
“But if you have a wicked man whose heart is set on evil, would you rather he be armed with a knife or a gun and a thousand rounds of ammo?”
How does the Sermon on the Mount answer that question?
There are social issues that the Bible addresses…it may be more accurate to call them “kingdom” issues.
For example, the scriptures address migrant issues about a hundred times more than it addresses homosexuality…idolatry more than anything…we like to put limits on who the “good news” is for…
Your little post about migrants the other day when you reminded us of the devastation to Mexico of NAFTA (I donāt think you mentioned it by name) was one of the most helpful reminders.
Sooner or later this nation must give account because of the hell our policies guarantee in poor nations. These careless lockdowns and our proxy war are the latest iterations. Not to mention our monetary policies.
It is also the poor nations that most warmly welcome the message of Christ. But thatās always true prosperity guarantees apostasy.
As for the scripture message: The Old Testament is a mishmash on the nations. From incursion and conquest to exile for oppression. Thereās some work for us to do exegeting all that.
All these things also give fresh reasons for people to find refuge in futurist eschatologies. Surely we think, the kingdom can be better than this.
Just thoughts.
Dread,
I didn’t mention it by name…but you are correct.
I could have spoken to the farce that is the war on drugs and the criminal allegations of invasions and “open borders” but I would have mainly been talking to myself.
“Sooner or later this nation must give account because of the hell our policies guarantee in poor nations”
We’ve been creating fresh hells since the sixties…God bless America as she creates carnage then criminalizes those who flee from it…
Here’s my exegesis…what are called aliens and strangers in the OT are called “neighbors” in the NT…
Michael
Yes thatās pretty good exegesis.
1-8 and 10 remind me that a Christian author wrote in the last century that when evangelicals rush to say “Jesus is the answer” there’s no evidence they’ve given any thought about “what is the question?” It may have been Francis Schaeffer who said that fellow evangelicals were quicker to just declare “Jesus is the answer” than they were to understand what questions were being asked or why they would matter to people for whom Jesus was expected to be the answer.
Now I’m decades older and I dissent from a few of Francis (and Frank) Schaeffer’s ideas of solutions and regard father and son as having had a nasty habit of agitprop but however much Francis Schaeffer butchered writers like Kierkegaard or misunderstood what John Cage was going for Schaeffer did, at least, actually try to think about what questions writers and artists like the above asked through their works.
For 9, … waiting for the bass to kick in …. well, there are those concerti for double bass and orchestra by Giovanni Bottesini. š
Michael, when you talk you are never talking to yourself.
even though the fruit your words bear is seldom what you wish it wereā¦
grateful for youā¦
“Whenever I hear classical music, I keep waiting for the bass to kick inā¦”
Michael, I laughed so hard at this…. š
I hear you. While I do have a few select classical pieces I enjoy, I usually find that I want rhythm and a good bass hook!