Denial Of Indigenous Rights Continue
I’ll let the pictures do the talking…
Here’s a grabbing quote;
“Christianity is a mystery religion. When you’ve wrung the mystery out of Christianity, you’ve wrung its neck.”
I love history …
ON EVANGELICALS AND INTERFAITH COOPERATION
An Interview with Tony Campolo by Shane Claiborne. May I highlight some sparks? There’s more in the interview!
“When people ask me if I am an evangelical, I must make sure we have a proper understanding of the word. If by evangelical we mean one who spreads the Good News that there is another Kingdom and another Emperor, another economy and peace than Rome’s, another Savior than Caesar . . . then, yes I am an evangelical.” So here we sit down together and have a cross-generational conversation on inter-religious cooperation, as evangelical Christians.
… We don’t have to give up trying to convert each other. What we have to do is show respect to one another. And to speak to each other with a sense that even if people don’t convert, they are God’s people, God loves them, and we do not make the judgment of who is going to heaven and who is going to hell.
… I’ve got to believe that Jesus is the only Savior but being a Christian is not the only way to be saved. A student at Princeton once asked Protestant theologian Karl Barth, “Do you think that other religions can be valid avenues to God and His salvation?” Barth answered, “No! No religion can provide a valid avenue to God and His salvation. Not even the Christian religion. Only Jesus Christ can serve as mediator to God.”
Keeping the Faith – TIMES Interview with the Archbishop of Canterbury
This caught my attention:
“You yourself once thought it possible that same-sex relationships might be legitimate in God’s eyes.
Yes, I argued that in 1987. I still think that the points I made there and the questions I raised were worth making as part of the ongoing discussion. I’m not recanting. But those were ideas put forward as part of a theological discussion. I’m now in a position where I’m bound to say the teaching of the Church is this, the consensus is this. We have not changed our minds corporately. It’s not for me to exploit my position to push a change.One gay activist said bitterly that he hoped you liked your newfound friends, but it strikes me that you don’t have many. Your position seems very sad and lonely.
It feels burdensome, of course. And making decisions that will lose you friends, compromise people’s perception of your integrity — that’s very hard. On the other hand, that is only a part of the reality. First and foremost, I’m a priest and a bishop, and what I have to do is to celebrate sacraments, to pray, to try to convey the reality of God. I don’t spend all my days in self-pity.Do you see it as the taking up of a cross?
Well, of course. And anybody who expects to go through a Christian life without a cross is deluding themselves.”
Success Covers a Multitude of Sins
I sat down in the afternoon and thought about myself … and the word “success” didn’t really crop up that much.
This is more than cute … I loved this part. Way to go Dan!
“what are you guys doing at Vintage Faith to question those underlying assumptions of consumer faith?
We are asking God to transform us into a worshiping community of missional theologians.Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Say that again.
We’re asking God to transform us (because it can’t be done through human effort); into a worshiping community (because we want to be worshipers first); of missional theologians (because if we’re on a mission in our culture we have to be thinkers).We’re calling the church more of a missional training center as much as we can. We’re launching community groups. We’re calling them “community groups” even though we see them as house churches, but that name has weird connotations for some.”
Ben Zander on performance and transformation
This is good:
“It’s not (always) about success/failure, it’s about contribution
Rather than asking questions such as “Will I be appreciated?” or “Will I win them over?” and so on, ask “How can I make a contribution?”
Slow down — Let Go — Open up … simple and profound.
I love the ‘refuge’ you provide to the local community.
Ray – I was meditating based on 2 Cor. 3:4-6 this morning, and spent some time dwelling on two words “confidence” and “competence”. I feel strongly that we live in a world defined by “changes” – and because we’re in constant flux the two words which occupy our being is “confusion” and “uncertainty”. As I sat and prayerfully reflected on the passage, conversed with Jesus about it … I’m reminded how Christ is first our refuge and also our resource who gives us the confidence and the competence we need – often through the ordinary events and people around us. My prayer is that I could point people there … to a place where we don’t have to be imprisoned by confusion and uncertainties, or build our lives on illusions of false certainties, but in all honestly admit our weaknesses, brokenness, and limits and let Christ’s message , model and person work in us (and through us)! 🙂
Thanks for your kind words (as always).