Shaun “Powerball” Pierce, whose writings have been featured on this blog
(here,
here,
and here),
has taken my suggestion to start his
own blog. Wander on over and say hello. 🙂
Powerbloggin’
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Tag Archives: Christianity
Correcting and Reproving vs Instructing and Teaching
I don't read my Bible nearly so often as I should. I suppose I could use the typical Catholic excuse that I get a dose of Scripture every time I go to mass, but I think that's a cop out. Catholics may not believe in sola scriptura but that's no reason that we should be scriptura ignara. But I digress.
During Tuesday's RCIA class, I opened my Bible to follow along with the lesson. Out of curiosity, I looked at the pages I had marked. Have you ever had the experience of opening the Bible to a random spot and finding something that seemed to speak directly to you in your current condition? Well that happened to. I found the following to be very comforting in my frustration dealing with people on both sides of the Red vs. Blue battle.
"He who corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man and he will increase in learning.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. For by me your days will be multiplied,
and years will be added to your life.
If you are wise, you are wise for yourself;
if you scoff, you alone will bear it."
After contemplating those verses, I thought of this bit from the Gospel According to Matthew that seemed appropriate. It also has broader application to God-blogging.
"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you."
Christian Carnival 43
Christian Carnival
43 is up. I haven’t had a chance to read any of the posts yet, but here are
a few that caught my eye. Be sure to check out the whole list. 🙂
Rodney of The Journey
shares with us his thoughts about Christian
Bloggers and the difference between blogging about faith issues, and blogging
about the perspective our faith gives us.In his post "Blame
the Republicans? No, This Time It’s the Christians" Nick Queen of Patriot
Paradox, nice guy and founder of the Christian
Carnival, shows us how Christians are now the reviled enemy of the Left because
we were decisive in reelecting No. 43.Diane over at Crossroads
(and fellow Glendale Presbyterian Church member) writes about mindless Christian
support of Bush and the neo-cons in her post "Day
Before-Last Thoughts".Having names that are very similar also lent itself to similar post material as
Dick Cleary of Viewpoint discusses
how the Left is now scared to death of "Those
Horrid Christians", not unlike Nick Queen did previously.Phil of Another Man’s Meat
writes about the sincerity of the Democrats call to recapture "religious language"
in "In
Order to Be Sincere, You Must First Really Be Sincere". In the "aftermath"
of the election Democratic strategists are saying that they need to develop a strategy
to recapture the language of religion in order to get votes. It’s a strategy that
says, "capture the language and you’ll capture the ideas and the voters."
It’s a strategy that Phil maintains will not work because "in order to be sincere
you must first really be sincere."In "Christians
and Blue Counties", Jeremy Pierce, a.k.a. Parableman
thoughtfully examines regional demographics in light of the election, and rightfully
claims that Christians in "red" states and "red" counties might
do well to move to heavily "blue" parts of the country, so their good
influence could be used to bring the gospel to those places.At Weapons of Mass Distraction,
Derek examines in "The
Bottom Line" that Democrats don’t understand why they’ve lost Middle America,
because to the liberal mind, any worldview built on a foundation of faith in a transcendant
God is utterly irrational. Therefore they can’t believe anyone actually lives that
way, and why they feel justified in saying so in such condescending terms.In his post "Further
rumination on sola Scriptura", Scott, The
Crusty Curmudgeon, follows up on some of the comments he received by a Catholic
blogger on his last Carnival entry on the authority and sufficiency of Scripture.
Swim Back
A couple days ago, Episcopalian priest Pontificator advised his Episcopalian readers
to flee
the ECUSA with great haste. He told them to join either the Orthodox or the
Catholic Church. Yesterday, an
Orthodox priest pleaded his case. Today, a
Catholic priest pleads his.
Father Addison Hart is a convert. Being a convert myself (though from the ELCA,
not the ECUSA), I’m usually pretty happy when someone crosses the Tiber. However,
every once in a while I wish some people would swim back. This guy is an – how shall
I say it? – uninspiring priest. He seems to have converted simply because the RCC
sucks less that the ECUSA. Here are some of my "favorite" bits of this
sad monograph.
Signs, Symbols, and Reality
Yesterday's RCIA class was about baptism. An interesting question was raised by one of the students. He wondered when and why the Western Church switched from full immersion baptism to sprinkling. Going under water is supposed to symbolize death. We are baptized into Christ's death and rise with Him into life. How does sprinkling symbolize that?
Don't get me wrong, I don't think the sacrament, when performed in that manner, is void. It's just that the symbolism seems to be lacking. It reminded me of a 'Not So Quiet' Catholic corner post I've been meaning to comment on. It's about a priest who doesn't understand the point of ringing bells and washing hands.