I haven’t been posting much lately due to being ill for the past week. However, to give all my readers something to check out, I decided to post another link. Besides, it’s a good follow-up. Some of you may remember the link I posted to Matt Hill Comer’s blog entry about returning to his childhood church. Well, recently, he received a comment from another member of that church. Matt made a public reply, and it’s well worth reading. The strength of his response is astounding, not to mention well merited (in my opinion at least).
As I commented on Matt’s entry, it amazes me how some evangelical and fundamentalist Christians have abstracted the concept of love to such a degree that they can justify just about any behavior or attitude they might have about people they see as “sinners.” If that’s love, I can’t say as it’s worth very much.
Sigh. It tears my heart out to be affiliated with some of these people. Many of us hope and pray that our actions will speak miles of distance between hatred and love.
I don’t know if you’ve ever seen this, ChristiansConfess.com. It was started by a friend of mine…where we apologize for crap like this. It’s just a small sliver of the world, but I think it might help some people know we are not all like that.
Have a Merry Yule, Solstice, and/or Christmas, Jarred.
Erin: I just checked out ChristiansConfess.com. It’s an interesting idea in some ways. At the same time, I don’t think it’s really possible or appropriate for some Christians to apologize for the inappropriate and hurtful actions of their fellow Christians. It’s taking responsibility for something that has nothing to do with them. At the same time, I notice many of the apologies focus on the mistakes the individual speaker has made herself, which I think is a fantastic idea. And in that sense, I think the site is a great idea, because it demonstrates in very real ways that some Christians are willing to take responsibility for their own shortcomings and seek reconciliation.
Thank you for your holiday wishes. I’m looking forward to the Yule ritual tomorrow night (while simultaneously nervous about leading said ritual). And I’m sure Christmas with my parents will be quite enjoyable.
I think you’re right about not apologizing for others’ actions, but on the other hand, many outside of Christianity see us all as one lump faction with the same fundamentalist values and attitudes. I do find people are sometimes surprised to find we are not all the same…and there are so many misconceptions, too…and many of us don’t want to be generalized.
Wish you the best with your ritual and the time with your family!
Glad Yule, Jarred!
It’s 8.05pm right now, I’ve had a bit of sleep, but mostly I’m still reeling from last night’s bonfire festivities.
We went apple-happy last night; people brought lots of apple stuff. Apple schnapps, apple pie, apple cider, apples for kebabs, apples everywhere!