| I've had my differences with Frank Turk in the past...but couldn't resist posting the following. I just ran across it this morning and thought...wow...I need this on my blog if for no other reason than that I need to read and re-read it. |
From "Other Loudness":
So listen to me: this statement -- this thesis which my pastor has proposed and is working out in his own life and the life of our local church -- that "The Gospel is the solution to culture" is not just a slogan which you have to contemplate with some kind of zen-like objective of becoming nothing. This is the serious business of first being utterly humbled by the hands that were pierced through by the nails which we deserved, and the head which was mocked and slapped and crowned with thorns instead of the perfect diadem it deserved, and the side from which blood and water flowed to prove He had died from the punishment; then it is a matter of being that humble before people who aren't that humble, and who think you are stupid and weak for being humble -- until they either kill you for being like the firstborn of many brothers, or they finally see His loving face and feel His loving hands and hear His loving voice in your declaration that they know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus who was crucified.May I never forget this. May I be willing to live this sort of life. May the reality of the crucified Christ ever be before me.
That doesn't get us a republican majority in the House or the Senate, and it won't get us a pro-life President who will actually seek to protect the innocent and the oppressed: it gets us killed for the sake of our fellow men -- economically, socially, emotionally, professionally, in all the ways our heart and minds and souls can manifest this truth. It doesn't earn us the respect of those who say they like our Jesus but can't understand us: it makes us witnesses -- martyrs -- to truth.
Don't buy the t-shirt. Don't get the plastic symbol for your car. Don't pretend that you can join the club and once you have a membership card it's all good. Get real. Get serious about whether the death of Christ means something more than entertainment and personal gratification.
Great thoughts, Rebecca. This is what it all boils down to, isn't it? Are we serious about whether or not the death of Christ means something? I am going to be asking myself that question a lot.
ReplyDeleteI am afraid I don't really understand the whole God/Jesus thing....no disrespect to you, but don't you think that all the problems on earth are quite often down to religion. Each person believes their religion is the answer otherwise they wouldn't believe in it. If we all think that then where is the compromise? that is what starts wars...that is what created countries and cultures.
ReplyDeleteAs far as America goes, as the country that effectively leads the world, the president has some responsibility not only to the american people, but also to uphold views that are progressive, and inclusive of the majority. A good president should unite people, not exclude people...
As far a pro-life goes- what is the policy on rape? If you fall pregnant because of rape what should you do? The kiling of the unborn child would be the same if you opt for abortion but if you give birth to the child you will have a burden you may not have been ready for, and the evidence of an awful experinece looking at you every day, and what if the child grows up with the same demented genes as its criminal father...please clarify...