By now you probably know at least something about the mess involving NAE President (resigned), Ted Haggard.
Back in April, Tim Bayly was riffing on Haggard's loose remarks concerning homosexual practice. Read it and weep.
Friday, November 03, 2006
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8 comments:
This whole story makes me sick to my stomach. How are we, Christians in other countries, looking up to American evangelicals, proclaim Gospel and promote Biblical Christianity (as in 'look at the USA, they do it right'), if such things surface? It is very good they do surface, but it is not good that they occur...
Isn't it enough to have to refute Catholics, New Agers, JWs and Muslims? Must we now also stand ashamed for those who were supposed to lead us?
God Bless us and help us...
Ann, your cry shames me as an American. I for one would never say, "Look to America, we do it right."
I think one of the most important principles pressed on me as a brand-new Christian (apart from the core truths of the Bible) was this: I am a Christian for one reason, and one reason only: because of Jesus Christ. The foundation of my faith, the focus of my faith, the core and center of my faith, is Jesus. I believe in the OT because of Jesus, I believe in the NT because of Jesus, I believe what I believe about right and wrong, truth and error, because of Jesus.
That is what has held me during terrible, heartbreaking disappointments, sins, treacheries, hypocrisies... it's not that it doesn't matter, but it isn't what my Christian faith is about. I learn about that from the Bible, period.
Now, I am supposed to have examples (1 Corinthians 11:1), and am supposed to try to be one (Titus 2:7) -- but ultimately, we'd better look to Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2). Everyone but Jesus can and will fail.
You are absolutely right. Nevertheless, this story is very, very sad. Signum tempori...
Dan, your answer to Ann's questions was one of the most common sense answers I've heard on the issue. Very good.
And yet, as spiritual leaders, II Cor. 6:3 is terrifying and should be motivating.
What a sad day. What a mess. I hope our grief is more for the cause of Christ than for the cause of the GOP. It's funny how our knee-jerk response is to think of how it will effect the election rather than the Kingdom.
I believe that one way that God will bring about a new Reformation is to clearly show the lines of delineation between a fraudulant, indulgent "Christianity" and a return to orthodox Christianity. I believe that God is doing something good in all of this.
Candy, I believe that, too...
Truly, the Judgement begins with the House of God.
DJP, you don't agree with Tim that all Scriptural instruction should be inculcated into Federal law, do you? While Haggard's exegesis is, well, ...weird, I find Tim's logic to be even more flawed. Where are you at on this?
Where did he say that?
Where I am is at the need to read more reasoned, specific, Biblical discourse. I'm certainly not a reconstructionist, but Christians should bring the wisdom of God's law to how we "do" citizenship, and to the impact we have on laws. Clearly, if we try to outlaw sodomy, per se, consistency would demand we also outlaw all extra-marital sex. Is that a good idea?
I'd say the very least is that we not legitimatize immorality. I'd not favor any requirement to recognize immoral couplings, nor to protect them in law. I tend to be a Republitarian, for instance. If the term "private business" is to mean anything, I don't see telling employers that they have to accomodate their employees' immoral lifestyle. Nor, of course, should "gay" "marriage" even be a possibility.
'Tain't simple.
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