Re: The 'mildly theistic forum'?
Submitted by Ben on February 21 2002 06:53:47
In reply to The 'mildly theistic forum'? submitted by Forgiven on February 21 2002 02:29:34
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Hi Forgiven, You and I are coming from a very similar place theistically. Someone in an earlier thread used 1 Corinthians 10:2323 Everything is permissible--but not everything is beneficial. This is a pretty good starting point for understanding where the lines get crossed. One of the places that I go is to Jesus himself, the greatest evangelist who ever lived. One of the apparent things in the gospels is that Jesus always healed people who were ailing, and in that way won many hearts. When we share our faith with people we need to be very aware of their immediate needs first. If someone is crippled, is blind or is very sick, it is that ailment that is overwhelming their life. He first addressed this, before asking them to come to faith. I think that in the case of boylovers, myself included, the needs for compassion, for understanding and for fellowship are so great, that you need to look to these needs first. Had Jesus come up to the paralytic, or the blind man and started shouting for them to repent, they would not have given him the same attention. Go also to the Beatitudes (Mat 5:1-11) where Jesus talks about how blessed are the weak, because for them just a little bit of faith is much harder to have. Jesus always met people where they were in life. There are definately examples of him being more forthright with people. In the Temple courts, Jesus was surrounded by arrogant Jews who insisted that they WERE Godly, yet were making a marketplace out of God's holy dwelling. These people didn't need compassion, they needed some sense knocked into them. Or the Samaritan woman, who needed understanding and knowledge of the gospel message, yet also needed someone to tell her that her sinful life was wrong. Yet Jesus didn't condemn her, or flail his convictions at her. He knew that she could handle a certain amount of instruction, and he gave it to her in a compassionate way. I don't believe that people were attracted by Jesus' threats of fire and brimstone. They were attracted by his humility, his confidence, his wisdom, his compassion....all fruits of the Spirit. I have found that people are convicted best by the bible itself. Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any doubleedged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." I try to gently show people what the bible says, meeting them where they are. Otherwise, I just turn them off. I hope that this is helpful to you. I really admire your courage in your post below. You stood by your convictions and that is always worthy. You are not alone. Love, Ben |
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