Re: Stumbling Block
Submitted by d on April 07 1999 at 23:48:56
In reply to Stumbling Block Submitted by Ben on April 07 1999 at 21:29:34
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b) is what I do. You may find that God will eventually place you into another congregation. I would encourage you to talk to your mentor to find out where (in the Bible and in church history) his congregation gets this idea from. Let him know your concerns in general terms. If masturbation and having lustful thoughts is a sin, it ranks in there with speeding (the Bible says obey the laws of the land). On the other hand, sin is sin, so speeding ranks in there with murder. Geesh, I think I just twisted my brain into a knot (FYI, I do speed a lot, but usually only a few MPH - if I didn't speed I would get run over). There is a fourth option, I think this is the one I think former US President Jimmy Carter (who was ridiculed for confessing "adultry in his heart" for lusting after another woman [he is married]) uses: d) accept that it is a sin and that you will always be a sinner in this way. Know that God will forgive you anyway, "70 times 7" (basically, an infinite number of times) and that with help, you may sin less and less over time in this way. Another note: a) is not guarenteed to fail, but will require divine intervention Don't do c), not because of this anyway. There are other churches out there with more liberal views. By the way, I attend a nominally liberal church, but I attend a conservative meeting every week to give me some balance. Perhaps you should find a more liberal Christian group which doesn't have a time conflict with the church you are now attending. The two can compliment each other. I've enjoyed your posts, keep posting. -d (david_tx on IRC) |