Check out Bible Girl's blog (link on the right). She is a writer for the Dallas Observer, which is part of the alternative press. In her blog, Julie Lyons addresses current issues from a sound Christian perspective. By this I means she is a believer, and she holds to the authority of Scripture. You may not agree with everything she says, but she holds to belief in Jesus as the only way to God, and she extols the love of Christ to all people. She writes to an audience comprised of believers and those hostile to the faith. However, she responds with grace, love, and truth to all her readers, even those who write mean, hostile remarks to her.
Here is a tiny excerpt from her blog entitled "The Slippery Middle Ground on Gay Marriage" (Sept 13, 2006):
The evangelical faith loses every bit of its meaning and power when it is
separated from love, the eternal principle behind the gospel of Jesus Christ.
But this love is not some squishy, infinitely malleable thing that exists apart
from truth—the truth revealed in the Bible. It is a love that constrains: from
hatred, and from sin.
Comments like these make me shout "Amen" (in my head of course, I was raised Southern Baptist after all), and keep going back for more.
Anyway, it is a good read.
6 comments:
This is so great! I like the tack you take, which is that even if we don't agree with everything, we're all still siblings in Christ -- plus, it makes for great conversation and the challenging of each other in faith. I love the freshness with which she writes, too. So, thanks for sharing the link. I'll be sure to visit her regularly!
Thanks for the link. I look forward to checking it out. It seems that often those who hold the line regarding Truth err in regards to love. And those who do all in the name of "love", often compromise Truth along the way. It is refreshing to see an outspoken believer defending God's Word and His Way and yet doing it with a humble and loving spirit.
Yes! Yes! That is it. Unity in diversity is what Christian community is all about.
Christianne, as you have said on your blog, God takes each of us down the path he has chosen. It is amazing to me how each journey is unique, yet God uses each unique journey to teach the same truths, because all truth is God's truth.
A good friend once pointed out that in the story where Jesus heals the blind man by putting mud on his eyes and then removing the mud, Jesus didn't remove the dirt and filth from the rest of the man's body. Jesus simply removed the dirt from his eyes. Sometimes when dealing with others, we try to address all the issues in their life, when God may be dealing with one thing at a time.
Rebecca, you are so right. It is so hard to find a good balance between truth and love.
As for diversity in the faith, one of my professors at DTS once said, "When I was young, there were many things, many truths of the faith, I would have died for. The older I get, the fewer things there are that I would die for."
I think there is great wisdom in this. There are several truths of the faith that we cannot compromise on - God is three in one. Jesus is both God and human. Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus, God the Son, who died on the cross as payment for my (and your) sins. The authority of Scripture. And a very few other tennents of the faith. But when it comes to things like speaking in tongues, worship styles, new earth creationism vs. old earth creationism, or premillenialism vs. amillenialism, it's just not worth dividing the body of Christ.
All truth is God's truth. Unfortunately, we all hold to heresies. If we knew which beliefs of ours were wrong, we would probably change them. God takes us down unique paths, teaching us truth. But he doesn't teach us all truth at once. He teaches us gradually in his great mercy.
What an amazing and wonderful God we serve!
Let me add my AMEN! to the chorus. I checked out a few of the articles & well on my way to becoming an avid fan. I love it when Christians are willing to speak out in truth & LOVE on the tough issues & be open to some healthy discussion on the matters. I will be visiting her regularly.
Thanks for the link!!
The DTS prof was Kreider, wasn't it? I'll never forget the "foreskin" remark in his clas...
Lisa - Actually, no, but yes. The DTS prof I referred to was Dr. Richard. However, Dr. Kreider was the first person I ever heard admit that we are all heretics. I guess it has become so ingrained in me that I forgot to credit him for it. Oops. Please don't burn me for my plagarism. Although, is it really plagarism if it has become my own belief?
Post a Comment