'Private' religion - a Western mistake.....
Submitted by Forgiven on October 28 2001 09:45:24
In reply to I guess what makes it hard for me to understand is submitted by kiowas on October 28 2001 01:31:12
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one of the features of modern Western culture is a tendency to leave spiritual issues out of normal conversations. It has become the standard thing to do, but to the extent that it entered the church, it is a big mistake. We should, in an ideal world, be talking freely about how we are getting on in our spiritual life, especially if we are having problems. I'm sad that your church's culture hasn't encouraged this on you; one of the things that God has provided me in my life in recent years is a prayer partner who has been someone whom I've been able to share almost everything with. The stories I hear of other cultures suggest that it is us in the west who are 'out of step' in this; and the model of the Methodist 'class' meeting indicates that it is one that previous generations of Christians also found helpful. Of course the biblical model is that of Christians being brothers and sisters - with the expectation that brothers and sisters do actually help and encourage one another! Of course the BL issue encourages us to be a lot more 'private' than most people; and so some of us have found a degree of accountability via the online community. I hope that somewhere somehow you will find a degree of real fellowship and sharing, as such is the expected pattern for Christians. |
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