It's Not The Sale Of Sacrifical Doves, But Something Tells Me
if He were here, some tables might be overturned.
S-Town Mike weighs in with yet another "outsider" POV on Justice Sunday.
Datta Dayadhvam Damyata Shantih Shantih Shantih
if He were here, some tables might be overturned.
5 Comments:
I couldn't agree more. I have been thinking about a counter-argument based in scripture to the whole idea of Justice Sunday II.
So, are you going down there with your righteous indignation? I am thinking about it.
I go back and forth. I'm praying very hard about what to do.
Katherine, I was reading "Trying to follow" and was just wondering if you think you are showing this person Christian love or not? I mean, it seems like picking out the fact that he used an apostraphe when it wasn't needed isn't all that important. Also, I was wondering what your church is doing for those who have been cut from TENNCare? I would be interested because as it is most churches can't even get thier members to tithe 10% of their income...and with that being the case I really thing Christians will have more influence by influencing the structures over which have some power in this situation (i.e. our legislation). Do you think that churches will really be able to deal with the over 700,000 people whose care has been compromised?
I think it is great that you are thinking about doing something for "Justice Sunday." What will it be? I think that there will be many peace groups out (including one that I am apart of) that will see the "Christian" aspect of it being the ones who are inside the church. It would be great to see some counter to that stereotype.
Well.
Good questions.
1. I do think I was showing Christian love. The post was about education in America, and I don't think it's loving to pretend that EIA isn't broken. The reason I pointed out the apostrophe was because here is a reasoned, intelligent person with (presumably) a good American education, and they aren't even getting the basics right. Rich or poor, education in this country is in crisis. That's the point I'm trying to make. Being a Christian is NOT about turning a blind eye to problems. It's about being willing to step up and offer a Christ-centered solution to those problems. I am so weary of people saying "that's not very Christian" whenever they feel criticized. Dudes, "Go Ye and Sin No More" is not exactly the easiest thing to hear, but it's very Christian.
2. What is my church doing for those kicked off TennCare? Not enough. No one is. I grew up (all together now, on the count of three--Mennonite!) and charity was definitely taught to be the provenance of the Church. I believe that to this day. I think that more Christians would give to The Church if they saw The Church In Action. So often, those tithe checks get turned into sanctuary carpeting and powerpoint presentations. I am in favour, and am trying to get together a multi-denominational extracongregational charity for those in health care crisis. Call it a form of local missions. I think that's what's needed. Sadly, the corporate body of any one church is not equipped to meet this need. However, the Bride of Christ, regardless of where we worship, can do this.
3. Justice Sunday. I don't know how to handle it. I don't want to attend Cole Wakefield's thing, because it's also taking place in a church. I posted the other day about the meaning of Sanctuary and why I think it is important to distinguish politics from worship. I wouldn't mind going to a protest of sorts if it did not take place on church grounds. What peace group are you are part of, and what form will your action take?
In Christian love then, here are a few of your gramatical and syntactical errors:
"...was because..." (should be "...was that...")
"American education" ("American" would involve the other international countries on the 2 continent region referred to as "America")
"...get turned into... " (should be "are turned into")
"...people saying 'that's not...'" (should be a comma before the quote)
I don't know how productive or loving you feel that it is when they are your own errors; but I think that here rests my point. It doesn't matter to me what errors you make. I will enjoy your thoughts despite the irony of an educated person making errors. I don't believe that the message you were attempting to convey was at all convoluted by your grammatical or syntactical errors.
1.The problem I see with your viewpoint is that you neglect the cultural context of the "go ye and sin no more" scripture in that Jesus was addressing her relative freedom from her shameful way of life and her new identity as His child....not to mention the mercy He extended in even addressing her??
2. You didn't address my question, I don't think. I was wondering if you really believe that the church is equipped to deal with this crisis. It is obvious that it isn't, so what should we do about it now? Not theoretically and not in "attempt," but in reality. Some churches have been physically present at protests, public sit-ins, and other meeting. Unless you don't feel passionate about this issue, I don't think it is really enough to be trying to get something together with your church...when you could be actually doing something, right? So what are you doing? And what is your church doing?
3. Personally I will be traveling prior to college resuming (over Justice Sunday) but the Nashville Peace and Justice Coalition (of which I have been apart since I moved to Nashville) will be attending and I have been apart of planning thier presence there. They will be outside of the event, but on the church grounds. They will not be in the sactuary because the good people planning that day's events made it a point only to hand out tickets inside of churches and most of the members of this coalition are not exactly church-goers. I am dissapointed that I have to be out of town, but that is the form that my action will take as it refers to this event.
I hope you have a chance to address a few more of my concerns. Thanks!
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