Things I Think…
1. You can’t love the Lord your God and hate your neighbor…whether your neighbor is undocumented or has a big Trump sign in his yard…
2. America is divided beyond repair…the ministry of reconciliation has been subsumed by hopes of “victory”…
3. I am part of the problem…I have no desire to share a table with fascists…and whether I like it or not, this is sin…and I don’t like that…
4. It is in times like these of blatant apostasy and performative cruelty that the true Christian soul is in the greatest danger of deceiving itself into believing that God has already completed their sanctification…
5. May God grant me the ability to be faithful and uncomfortable at the same time…
6. A Spirit filled person lives out of their left brain in a right brained world…and knows that there are many things beyond explanation…
7. There is no greater evidence that man has a sin nature than social media…
8. Another example of the sin nature is that theologians and lay people alike prefer the Pauline epistles to the words of Jesus…because they take the edge off…
9. Example three of the persistence of the sin nature…we’ve never had more tools with which to understand Scripture, nor more rampant apostasy among the “elect”…
10. For those who inquired…Liam and I are both on the mend…it’s good to have a companion to share our weaknesses with…
#10 – What did you guys have? Cat Scratch Fever? Cataplexy? Worms?
KevinH,
It’s almost that weird.
I had a raging kidney infection and uti…I was really sick.
I started getting a little better…and Liam was getting really sick.
Ran all the tests…exact same problem.
Neither the vet or my doctor want to discuss the matter… 🙂
Well I’m glad you guys are on the mend.
If you need, I might have some old tapeworm pills in the cabinet from one of our past dogs.
KevinH,
I think we’re both vaccinated… 🙂
Re: 1, 3, and 7.
I have tried my best to love and peacefully coexists with Trump supporters online (thought 1). Somedays it is really hard. It has also been hard in seeing some in the fold say I should shun them, destest them and have nothing to do with them.
It is tempting, but like you Michael, I too see that desire would be sin (thought 3). I also am seeing this more and more on FB, and even LinkedIn (thought 7), where you’d think people would keep posts professional.
Continue to mend Michael and Liam!
I feel the fatigue, been thinking about this song quite a bit
https://youtu.be/s4PFhssacbE?si=UgD35T28MD7zhGzk
Dan,
I can’t talk about the hate in someone else’s heart until I deal with the hate in mine…
very true with myself as well.
I find it easier to talk to Trump supporters in person vs online. There’s something about being invisibly on a keyboard that brings out the snark in me. Usually my conversations are with people at church who just automatically think I’m a Trump loyalist. Something comes up, my opinion is solicited and I respond that I didn’t vote for him. If I’m roundly pounded, I politely walk away. If asked why, we usually get a good dialogue going.
“In the New Testament our enemies are those who harbor hostility against us, not those against whom we cherish hostility, for Jesus refuses to reckon with such a possibility. The Christian must treat his enemy as a brother, and requite his hostility with love. His behavior must be determined not by the way others treat him, but by the treatment he himself receives from Jesus; it has only one source, and that is the will of Jesus.”
Bonhoeffer
Much easier said than done…
I’ll admit I don’t know how to make friends with people who cheer the persecution of my immediate family.
Josh,
I don’t know how top do this either…the quote Duane left from Bonhoeffer is true and makes it all the more difficult.
Yet…this is what separates the Christian from the world…
I’m not sure that the spirit of this is any different than the guy who thinks you can’t go to heaven if you vote Democrat because of _______________ – pick your issue. I know you can parse it but #3 hints at your own discomfort with your present intransigence. I mean – fascism = those who support what you hate? Sounds that way. Make room for simple ignorance or just being wrong.
I remain – normally cowed and silent due to the scorn but figured it’s a sunny day and ☂️ maybe.
On a more interesting note I find myself more and more questioning of the doctrine of sin nature, though not doubting that all sin. It is an issue that has me trying to birdie from the rough at The Open. It’s thick. The word “sin nature” doesn’t occur in the text, and sarx is a complex web. The issue has lots of consequence.
We’ve moved each other before this could be a place of wiggle room.
I am glad the thou and the cat are better
Foxhole Dread
Dread,
I think I’m speaking from a foundation of Scripture and tradition…hate is not to be a part of the Christian walk.
Yet (to be honest) I find myself hating those whose hatred I abhor.
These are difficult times to try to walk in the Spirit in.
There was a point when I could chalk it up to simple stupidity or having been deceived…I have a hard time excepting those reasons as the facts and people pile up.
The presence of a sin nature in humanity is the important discussion of the day. This is because we have finally created something in AI that could end us all. We were wise enough, but just barely, to put some fences around nuclear proliferation. The talk of safeguards around this new menace are regarded as foolishness or worse.
It is evident that every devise humans create ends up in darkness….how we explain that theologically isn’t nearly as important as simply recognizing the truth.
#6 has provided me the proverbial bone to chew on for some time. Gracias.
fil,
We’ll have to get together and discuss that someday…I think it’s key to understanding a bunch of stuff…