tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20011186.post-48214059616819272802008-03-19T19:58:00.000-07:002008-03-19T19:58:00.000-07:00Rattle,<BR/><BR/>I read this today and thought of you. <BR/><BR/>Black America has yet to come to grips with its responsibility to tackle head on the problems that plague our communities. White America has yet to acknowledge the fact that here in the "home of the free," true liberty has evaded many for far too long.<BR/><BR/>"Too often these conversations are ended before they've truly begun, due to the ignorance, intransigence or simple unwillingness of people to acknowledge the validity of what the other side has to say."<BR/><BR/>Why do you have such and unwillingness to acknowleget that people on the other side have things of value to say?<BR/><BR/>Why do you talk about biblical truth and then quote Russell Kirk? <BR/><BR/>Why do you believe the 3 million Christians living in Iraq prior to this war now find it of greater pleasure to be displaced from their own country?<BR/><BR/>Why do you believe statistics about conservatives giving a larger percentage of their money when you won't believe the statistics of how many people have died in Iraq from our war?<BR/><BR/>What right do you have to call the ethics of Jesus secondary to the 'whole counsel of God?' As far as I know, Jesus is God. So, to say that one trumps the other is simply maddening. Don't claim to use big terms like 'full counsel of God' to trump those who use other language such as 'ethics of Jesus.' It strikes of pride and arrogance. Do I need to quote a dozen Bible verses to remind all of us that the biblical text is clear on the consequences of pride? <BR/><BR/>See. This is the irony of being 'biblical.' We can talk about the biblical text all day, but you are AT LEAST as guilty as me.<BR/><BR/>You claim to be above pride and arrogance.<BR/><BR/>You claim to be a voice that can judge the hearts of men because it's your calling to help us see the truth. Yet, you judge everyone. Everyone.<BR/><BR/>So, what truth do you hold to be true beyond the Constitution of the United States as interpreted by Thomas Jefferson? Should we be required to own property to vote as he had hoped? Should we still be allowed to own slaves as he thought was a right?<BR/><BR/>Or has the Spirit of the living God given us wisdom to see the errors of some of Jefferson's ways as well? Are we learning as God moves among us, or do we 'conserve' to keep things as they once were when... <BR/><BR/>What date exactly do we use as our point of 'conserving?' Is this when Calvin was born or died? Was it prior to nuclear weapons? Was it when Reagan gained control over that Communist regine of Carter? Or was it simply when Leave It To Beaver was as wonderful as sliced white bread?<BR/><BR/>You see. You leave a lot of questions as well. It's not really so simple. Perhaps we need to recognize that followers of Jesus, or perhpas the newly defined 'followers of the whole counsel of God,' have had a tough go of it. <BR/><BR/>Following an all powerful and all knowing and always present God is not so easy to understand. Even those 12 disciples screwed up and screwed up and screwed up. Still, Jesus turns to Peter and says, "On you I'll build my church." Talking about a looser.<BR/><BR/>But we now come along and claim that we know all there is to know, and we claim that anyone with a different party affiliation has the biblical text all messed up and...<BR/><BR/>WHAT RIGHT do we have to narrowly define God as we see fit? What gives you the right to ignore Solomon's great warnings about pride? What right do you have to know with absolute clarity the biblical truths of every God breathed word of the text when great scholars such as John Calvin and so many other argued for hundreds of years?<BR/><BR/>Rattler, my friend in Christ, above all else we need humility and love. For without these, we are nothing.Randyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01663135907402873552noreply@blogger.com