As important as the truths of faith are, and vital as it may be to try to reclaim our culture such as it is, sometimes we are reminded that people just don't know much. Even if they darken the conscience by sin, people often need friendship and acceptance as a basis for coming to terms with their need before God.
On the other hand, some people have used this as a substitute for preaching the gospel, or they believe the two things are synonymous. They are not.
Still others value comity so highly that they fail to hold anything at all in the end. They don't know any truth more important than the warm feelings they cherish. They are indeed pleasant. Yet I don't think the yet to be redeemed would say, "Feel free to smile and hold my hand on the way to Hell."
Things to think about. But that reality in the extreme is why I appreciate the work being done at Called to Communion so much. They are not sheep-stealers or Catholic triumphalists; they are actually fighting against those things that threaten the basis of knowledge of God Himself. If you knew them personally as I do, some of you would not be so quick to pass judgment. I digress.
St. Peter tells us to give a reason for our faith precisely because he knows that faith without reasons (and reason) isn't worth much. But God valued the mind of man (all-inclusive)--no, the whole of man--that He became man to save us. The message is this: It really did happen. God has the dirt on his feet to prove it.
So if I ask you a direct question about how you know what you know, I expect an answer. This isn't for sporting fun; the very truth borne to the world concerning the Word Incarnate is at stake. I would not lose Him for anything, certainly not for pride, or career, or tribal loyalty. Bear that in mind. I'm not in the mood for the theological equivalent of the United Nations. [Where comically inept and corrupt people talk about solving problems while making them worse?--ed.] Exactly.
On the other hand, some people have used this as a substitute for preaching the gospel, or they believe the two things are synonymous. They are not.
Still others value comity so highly that they fail to hold anything at all in the end. They don't know any truth more important than the warm feelings they cherish. They are indeed pleasant. Yet I don't think the yet to be redeemed would say, "Feel free to smile and hold my hand on the way to Hell."
Things to think about. But that reality in the extreme is why I appreciate the work being done at Called to Communion so much. They are not sheep-stealers or Catholic triumphalists; they are actually fighting against those things that threaten the basis of knowledge of God Himself. If you knew them personally as I do, some of you would not be so quick to pass judgment. I digress.
St. Peter tells us to give a reason for our faith precisely because he knows that faith without reasons (and reason) isn't worth much. But God valued the mind of man (all-inclusive)--no, the whole of man--that He became man to save us. The message is this: It really did happen. God has the dirt on his feet to prove it.
So if I ask you a direct question about how you know what you know, I expect an answer. This isn't for sporting fun; the very truth borne to the world concerning the Word Incarnate is at stake. I would not lose Him for anything, certainly not for pride, or career, or tribal loyalty. Bear that in mind. I'm not in the mood for the theological equivalent of the United Nations. [Where comically inept and corrupt people talk about solving problems while making them worse?--ed.] Exactly.
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