Comments on: 10 Things Christianity Must Do

By: jstambaugh

jstambaugh — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 05:08:26 +0000

Ryan, thanks for posting this. It’s truly lovely.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 03:19:00 +0000

Kick-ass list. I’d add to the part about creedal Orthodoxy and put in the word “generous” as in a “generous orthodoxy.” I’m not as big of a fan of Wright’s reading–though I agree with the thrust of his argument, I find his reading slips into a modernistic interpretation in some ways. I prefer Herbert McCabe:

To say that Jesus rose from the dead is, among other things, to say that in spite of the fact that his love for us in obedience to his mission led to his death — or in fact because his love led to his death — he is still present to us, really present to us and loving us in his full bodily reality. It is not just that we remember him or imitate him, or that he lives on in a religious tradition. The good news is that he rose from the dead, that he went through real death to a new kind of bodily life with us. So that when we encounter someone who needs us, when we find the hungry and the imprisoned and the homeless, we can really say that here we encounter Christ, not in some metaphorical way, but literally. He personally is with us. The difference between having faith in the literal bodily resurrection of Jesus and not having such faith is, at one level, the difference between really discovering Jesus in the needy and oppressed, and simply thinking that it is a rather beautiful idea. It is the difference between really believing, like Abraham, that God asks the impossible of us, to find life through death, creation through destruction, that God makes the impossible possible for us, and not believing in God — thereby making him just some part of the machinery of our world.

found here:
http://www.inhabitatiodei.com/2010/06/14/he-personally-is-with-us/

By: Islamic Mysticism: Sufism as Reconciliatory Movement « theophiliacs

Islamic Mysticism: Sufism as Reconciliatory Movement « theophiliacs — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:08:03 +0000

[...] Frankly, I’m a little skeptical of posting this last entry on Islam. I’m not even sure why, really. It’s long, it’s probably out of the range of interests for a lot of our readers, and some of our readers seem to be annoyed at my recent foray into Islamic studies. Nonetheless, I think Christians must strive to better understand Islam (I am, at this point, at least echoing the feelings of other theophilicas: see this post, #4). [...]

By: jstambaugh

jstambaugh — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:36:35 +0000

Thank you for your comments Don! A few years ago I was fortunate enough to have several devout Muslim co-workers with whom I was able to dialogue concerning religion. What I found was that we agreed on things like concern for the well-being of the poor, the sanctity of life, the need for self-control and spiritual discipline in one’s own life, and the need for understanding and toleration of other religions. I understand that there are Muslims in the world who preach and act out very different values, and that there are verses in the Qu’ran that endorse very different values, but I still believe my co-workers are sincere, and that there are commonalitiies. The fact is that our Scripture has many bloody and violent passages in it, and that Christian history is full of wars fought in the name of God, and yet there are and have always been those Christians who have been witnesses to the non-violent, self-sacrificing love of Jesus, and the merciful Justice of God the Father. Are there not Muslims who witness to similar qualities of Allah?

In any event thank you for your kind words, and for reading our site! I hope to continue thinking through difficult subjects with the likes of you.

Peace of Christ,

James

By: Don in Phoenix

Don in Phoenix — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:35:48 +0000

James,

I’m glad comments aren’t closed on this post…because I agree with all but #4.

Islam, though monotheistic, does not share moral and ethical concerns with Christianity. Islamic law, in contrast to Hebrew law, is more concerned with retribution to criminals than justice to victims. Is it not Islamic law that turns thieves into beggars, rather than hard-working servants paying back their victims?

Is it not Islam’s deity that calls for the murder of infidels (specifically, Jews and Christians)?

The bloodthirsty god of Islam is a demonic perversion of the Creator, and as Christians who renounce violence, we must denounce Allah’s violence as well, and call for Yahweh’s justice, rather than Allah’s retribution. Any sense of morality or ethics that does not recognize the humanity of offenders and the need for restitution over retribution is immoral and unethical, and we can have no common cause with it.

Any system of morality and ethics that treats rape victims as criminals is neither moral nor ethical. We have no common cause with Islam, nor shall we. Jesus is Lord, Allah is not.

Other than that, I’m in full agreement with you.

By: Roger Griffith

Roger Griffith — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:16:06 +0000

Sarah, thank you for your list of post trib articles. I hope that we can agree that Jesus is coming back. You are post-trib, I am pre-trib, and most Christians are simply pro-pan. They are “pro” because they are all for it, and they are “pan” because they beleive it will all pan out in the end since God is in control. God bless you in your service for our Lord!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 07:04:18 +0000

Several Google articles should be required reading. They are “Famous Rapture Watchers,” “Pretrib Rapture Diehards,” and “Deceiving and Being Deceived” – all by the same evangelical historian. If you are still shockproof, by all means read “Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty” on the “Powered by Christ Ministries” site. For fairness and balance, Sarah