tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19505042.post5344710865931766609..comments2024-01-29T06:02:39.583-08:00Comments on Suzanne's Bookshelf: Thoughtful BelieversSuzanne McCarthyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07033350578895908993noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19505042.post-69578383527266449072009-04-19T20:46:00.000-07:002009-04-19T20:46:00.000-07:00Sue --
Gutsy post. I guess it depends what you m...Sue --<br /><br />Gutsy post. I guess it depends what you mean by moderates. I think the moderate Christians have been critical of fundamentalist excess. For example the television commercials the United Church of Christ used to run (<A HREF="http://church-discipline.blogspot.com/2007/07/united-church-of-christ.html" REL="nofollow">samples of these commercials</A>). Or their slogans: <br /> * We don't sing "come some ye faithful"<br /> * "If Jesus embraced Lepers, Prostitutes, & Convicts, shouldn't we?"<br /> * "Our faith is over 2000 years old. Our thinking is not."<br /><br />The problem is not that moderates aren't critical of fundamentalist excess but that evangelicals and fundamentalists tolerate awful behavior from within their own groups. They have alliances of convenience. The patriarchy camp encourages racists even though they themselves quite often have the same attitudes about racism as the moderates. Many biblical literalism support patriarchy even though they consider things like the "umbrella of authority" to be outright heresy and a denial of the sufficiency of Christ (for women and children).... <br /><br />Or to pick the example we recently discussed, the strong encouragement for lying and ad-hominum that is very typical of fundamentalist discourse. I mean just look at MacArthur's latest series of dishonest attacks on Driscoll regarding the Song of Solomon like Driscoll made this views up. MacArthur is very well respected despite the fact that in book after book after book he deliberately misrepresents the people whose views he is opposing.CD-Hosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00304535091189153224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19505042.post-12285642525672217442009-04-16T07:57:00.000-07:002009-04-16T07:57:00.000-07:00Sue,
I've been thinking about this post. And think...Sue,<br />I've been thinking about this post. And thinking about my church. The church I go to has no clue about the debates that rages on the internet and elsewhere.<br />Is it because they are irresponsible?<br />Or is it because they are hardworking, middle class people who are not looking for positions of power and influence. They take their faith seriously and try to walk out the love of God in their average, day-to-day life? They lead the quiet life the Bible talks about, out in a rural area.<br />They'd never tolerate a man abusing a woman and would go confront it in the home if need be. My preacher preaches against it from the pulpit.<br />But they have no clue they may be the exeption rather than the rule.<br />What is my position then?<br />Should I direct their attention to the debate? or let them live quietly, changing lives one at a time?Mara Reidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16385458933795539928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19505042.post-41846757349562772572009-04-15T18:45:00.000-07:002009-04-15T18:45:00.000-07:00Jim,
I have read some of your stuff and I really ...Jim,<br /><br />I have read some of your stuff and I really appreciate it. I am depressed that some of the bibliobloggers promote - <br /><br />- blonde jokes<br />- homophobic rants<br />- diatribes against the overweight<br />- ideological geopolitics<br />- lectures on holy hierarchy in marriage<br /><br />I used to thinik that the worst sin at a bibliobogger dinner was a fart joke. That I could have put up with.Suzanne McCarthyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07033350578895908993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19505042.post-36417776575750897872009-04-15T14:50:00.000-07:002009-04-15T14:50:00.000-07:00Thanks for getting us to listen to Valerie Tarico!...Thanks for getting us to listen to Valerie Tarico!<br /><br />Did you hear Roland Martin (hosting CNN Campbell Brown's show this week)? <br /><br />Here's a bit:<br /><br /><I>All this week, we've been taking an honest look at how different people, folks of different faiths live their beliefs. And tonight in our series "Test of Faith" we ask the question, can you love God, go to church every Sunday and not be a die-hard social conservative?<br /><br />I say, yes, because I'm in that boat. I'm an evangelical, but I think the faith we should focus on more [issues than fundamentalists focus on]. . . . <br /><br />. . . I, as a Christian, care about [many social issues too] but they rarely top the religious rights agenda. Politicians from both parties have gotten my vote based on their overall agenda not just one or two hot button issues. So, is there a place for progressive evangelicals in this country?<br /><br />Three guests here to help answer that question, Reverend Joel Hunter, pastor of Northland Church. He's also the author of "A New Kind of Conservative." Reverend Serene Jones, president of the Union Theological Seminary, as well as Frank Schaeffer. His book "Crazy for God."</I>The full transcript is at <A HREF="http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0904/08/ec.01.html" REL="nofollow">http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0904/08/ec.01.html</A>.J. K. Gaylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07600312868663460988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19505042.post-49860266743379321062009-04-15T05:29:00.000-07:002009-04-15T05:29:00.000-07:00I wonder how much of this has to do with moderate ...I wonder how much of this has to do with moderate (and liberal) Christians being silent, and how much has to do with the voices closer to the extremes either being louder or being more interesting to the media and thus getting more attention.<br /><br />At any rate, <A HREF="http://exploringourmatrix.blogspot.com/2007/10/more-from-middle.html" REL="nofollow">finding</A> the <A HREF="http://exploringourmatrix.blogspot.com/2007/10/radical-middle.html" REL="nofollow">middle ground</A> is something I'm passionate about, and I try to be as vocal and public as I can. I get criticism from both sides, which I take as a good sign! :)James F. McGrathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02561146722461747647noreply@blogger.com