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pecuniumOn the flip side of my last post, there are those Christians who don't subscribe to the pernicious doctrines I was railing against in my last post (disjointed though the beginning was).
Sojournors
An excerpt.
Confessing Christ in a World of Violence
Our world is wracked with violence and war. But Jesus said: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God" (Matt. 5:9). Innocent people, at home and abroad, are increasingly threatened by terrorist attacks. But Jesus said: "Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you" (Matt. 5:44). These words, which have never been easy, seem all the more difficult today.
Nevertheless, a time comes when silence is betrayal. How many churches have heard sermons on these texts since the terrorist atrocities of September 11? Where is the serious debate about what it means to confess Christ in a world of violence? Does Christian "realism" mean resigning ourselves to an endless future of "pre-emptive wars"? Does it mean turning a blind eye to torture and massive civilian casualties? Does it mean acting out of fear and resentment rather than intelligence and restraint?
Faithfully confessing Christ is the church's task, and never more so than when its confession is co-opted by militarism and nationalism.
3. Christ commands us to see not only the splinter in our adversary's eye, but also the beam in our own. The distinction between good and evil does not run between one nation and another, or one group and another. It runs straight through every human heart.
We reject the false teaching that America is a "Christian nation," representing only virtue, while its adversaries are nothing but vicious. We reject the belief that America has nothing to repent of, even as we reject that it represents most of the world's evil. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23).
...The Lord Jesus Christ is either authoritative for Christians, or he is not. His Lordship cannot be set aside by any earthly power. His words may not be distorted for propagandistic purposes. No nation-state may usurp the place of God. "
Sojournors
An excerpt.
Confessing Christ in a World of Violence
Our world is wracked with violence and war. But Jesus said: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God" (Matt. 5:9). Innocent people, at home and abroad, are increasingly threatened by terrorist attacks. But Jesus said: "Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you" (Matt. 5:44). These words, which have never been easy, seem all the more difficult today.
Nevertheless, a time comes when silence is betrayal. How many churches have heard sermons on these texts since the terrorist atrocities of September 11? Where is the serious debate about what it means to confess Christ in a world of violence? Does Christian "realism" mean resigning ourselves to an endless future of "pre-emptive wars"? Does it mean turning a blind eye to torture and massive civilian casualties? Does it mean acting out of fear and resentment rather than intelligence and restraint?
Faithfully confessing Christ is the church's task, and never more so than when its confession is co-opted by militarism and nationalism.
3. Christ commands us to see not only the splinter in our adversary's eye, but also the beam in our own. The distinction between good and evil does not run between one nation and another, or one group and another. It runs straight through every human heart.
We reject the false teaching that America is a "Christian nation," representing only virtue, while its adversaries are nothing but vicious. We reject the belief that America has nothing to repent of, even as we reject that it represents most of the world's evil. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23).
...The Lord Jesus Christ is either authoritative for Christians, or he is not. His Lordship cannot be set aside by any earthly power. His words may not be distorted for propagandistic purposes. No nation-state may usurp the place of God. "
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Re: Respect means that G_d is a word that entails many religious teachings
Date: 2004-11-16 09:54 pm (UTC)The seeds of the reformation go back more than a hundred years before Henry, and are much stronger in Europe, esp. the northern portions then they were in England.
The first real evidence of reformative tendencies in England were when John Wycliff translated the Gospels into English, in the IIRC, Mid-4th century.
When Wycliff's ideas (Scriptural referent was all which was valid, no dogma, nor doctrine, nor yet even church was needed) got to Jan Hus in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic, around Prague) he tried to have the ideas discussed (in a slightly less dramatic way then Luther did, and with fewer theses; 45), but they were shelved.
A small spat between King Wenceslaus (of the carol) and the university led to the foreign (mostly German) faculty leaving, and taking Hus' heresies with them. Because of Hus' questions, the doctrines of Wycliff came to the attention of the pope, Gregory XII whodenounced it,and Wycliff was summarily excommunicated, and burnt at the stake, posthumously (his bones were disinterred for the punishement).
The heresy spread, and Hus was forced to leave Prague, which only made it worse.
Because the things he was teaching (or thought to be) he was condemned, in a stacked trial, offered opportunities to recant (which he said he could not, as the chaarges were false; which was basically true, at least as they were presented) and burned at the stake.
His martyrdom (even if it was for a heresy) and his belovedness to the people of Bohemia, led to schism and war in Bohemia. While the hussites were supressed (and the region is still primarily Roman Catholic) this was the kindling spark of Protestantism, at the turn of the 15th century.
TK
Yes, what he said.
Date: 2004-11-16 11:05 pm (UTC)