I thought this as interesting since I wrote about this a while ago...
Their quote:
"the ordeal serves to underscore the rather selective view of tolerance that we often encounter in the Emerging Church Movement."
If the emerging church teaches tolerance... I say that it must reach higher...
It shows that the real issue is the lack of desire to actually find out what we do believe... it is really laziness.
I do not mean that as a cut. In fact I know that this person that said this teaches others to be not only intolerance, but to be unkind and unloving...
In fact to sit here and realize I deleted a whole blog because I desire peace, as Christ calls us to be peacemakers... and to see that even more hate is spewed toward me shows me something more... I never want to even know what they believe as if it leads one to act and behave and treat others a lesser... I would rather follow the teachings of Scripture:
Philippians 2:3-8
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!"
I no longer see these men as enemies... for we are all our own worst enemies and no one needs more than that... we condemn ourselves and hate ourselves... in that without Christ we should. Yet, when one comes to know the Risen Savior... and received His Life... we see that we are not free men anymore to choose to hate... or even to just tolerate... we are called to love... and nothing less... Love God, and Love one another...
I have read from men blogs like these that say we do not need to love those who are not what they deem "elect"... which is ironic as it is God who deems us elect according to Scripture. But, choosing to be wiser than God places one in a precarious place. To deem others as less than oneself is to spit on Christ ... to tear His beard and swear at Him... It is to hit Him and scream "Prophet, who hit you?" It is to strip Him naked and beat Him until He is not recognizable... It is to then without mercy, deem Him lesser to carry His own Cross... until He could no more... then to take nails and drive them through His hands and feet... and leave Him to die on a Cross.
To deem one lesser... or to not "in humility consider others better than yourselves" we are only playing religion... and religion is the game that murdered Jesus and did not recognize Him as King...
Hate is not a Christian virtue. To hate sin is to only lead us to the Kindness of God... it is to lead us from our repulsion of ourselves to lead us to repentance. Then Jesus having reconciled us already at the Cross... Raises us to New Life... we are not the pitiful sinful creator, but a new man... clothed in Christ Jesus Himself. We do not have are hearts restored... but are given completely new ones... Ezekiel calls out even today, "Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!" and where do we get this "new heart"? From God Himself through Jesus Christ. (Ezekiel 36:38)
I know Jesus was tolerated be some... even being God... yet He still died for them and even while on the Cross forgave them... Jesus tolerate the religionist at least for a season. Jesus wants you... the person... He does not want one to hide behind religion. Yet, The Father does tolerate the religionist... as He knows that by contrast to His Son the Religionist will drive people to the Real Salvation of Jesus... in that God's people will never settle for sloppy seconds of the religionist table. We will dine with the King... and never will dine with the swine. We will cherish the pearls of great treasure... and never again cast them before swine. In the end Jesus will set all things right... and the religionist will then be tolerated no more
Tozer had this to say:
"To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul's paradox of love, scorned indeed by the too-easily-satisfied religionist, but justified in happy experience by the children of the burning heart. The Pursuit of God, 14"
iggy
"To be right with God has often meant to be in trouble with men." Man the Dwelling Place of God, 114. ~ Tozer
(UPDATE: i have been getting a lot of people coming from oldtruth.com which is fine. But, I want you to know I have been banned from there. It seems that Jim does not want me to see what he is saying or what you are saying... but feel free to send me an email... The only thing I could see on his site was the summary and this was a response to the statement quoted above as misleading to what I actually believe... I do not care nor do I desire to ever go to his site... so Peace! Blessings! and check out the whole series of the Religionist)
For all I have written on Religionists check here
"If you throw a rock into a pack of dogs, the one that howls is the one you hit." ~Anonymous American proverb
