Its so convenient to whip out the "You aren't supposed to judge" scripture when someone is harassing you about your laziness (Matthew 7:1) or to go straight to Colossians 3:18 when your wife is giving you a hard time (and neglect the verse immediately after it).
Any human who has even looked at the bible will find parts that they don't like. Whether it is the loving your enemies thing or God's judgment - to not struggle with the text is to not be Christian.
So! It pains me greatly when an organization takes it upon themselves to cleanse the Bible of liberal sounding words and ideas (and for the record, this is really just a pendulum swing - there are definitely those who would like to liberalize the Bible as well).
What blows my mind is that someone would think this is a good thing.
There is a reason the Ten Commandments are concerned about using God's name inappropriately and why the Book of Revelation warns not to take or add to the book...
Because when God rubs us the wrong way, our first response is to get rid of this annoyance. You have to understand, I post this because I am just as culpable of manipulating the Bible or Christian tradition to achieve my own ends.
Think about it - if you haven't struggled with God in a long time, maybe its time* to get a little closer? Its a lot more fun and a lot less boring than whatever excuse for Christianity we are living with right now.
(* - okay, so maybe your life is tough right now and you need God's comfort, so be it. Either way, the point is you need more God in your life, go for it.)
Any human who has even looked at the bible will find parts that they don't like. Whether it is the loving your enemies thing or God's judgment - to not struggle with the text is to not be Christian.
So! It pains me greatly when an organization takes it upon themselves to cleanse the Bible of liberal sounding words and ideas (and for the record, this is really just a pendulum swing - there are definitely those who would like to liberalize the Bible as well).
What blows my mind is that someone would think this is a good thing.
There is a reason the Ten Commandments are concerned about using God's name inappropriately and why the Book of Revelation warns not to take or add to the book...
Because when God rubs us the wrong way, our first response is to get rid of this annoyance. You have to understand, I post this because I am just as culpable of manipulating the Bible or Christian tradition to achieve my own ends.
Think about it - if you haven't struggled with God in a long time, maybe its time* to get a little closer? Its a lot more fun and a lot less boring than whatever excuse for Christianity we are living with right now.
(* - okay, so maybe your life is tough right now and you need God's comfort, so be it. Either way, the point is you need more God in your life, go for it.)
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