Posted on 04/08/2015 5:14:40 AM PDT by Gamecock
The other day I submitted a thread titledBen Carson Easter Post On Facebook
Here is his latest, on how as Christians, we are to tolerate others.
In my opinion, being tolerant of someone else's beliefs is not a denial of faith in Christ as our Savior. Through our example of acceptance and love, we have the ability to attract rather than repel others. We must remember that we are all God's children and that our Savior died for everyone, whether they accept the sacrifice or not. The way in which we treat others is critical, and we should not make the mistake of thinking that those who believe and behave differently than us are not good people.
“we should not make the mistake of thinking that those who believe and behave differently than us are not good people.”
It bugs me when someone who should know better refers to others as “good people” or when they say so and so is a “good man.” I know Carson is an Adventist, but he should still know that men can only be considered good by fallen sinners when viewed in relation to other fallen sinners. Man’s problem is that we aren’t viewed in relation to other sinners. We are viewed in relation to God’s standards and He is HOLY HOLY HOLY. Isaiah used the device of repeating the word holy three times to indicate He is utterly HOLY.
This is how the Bible describes natural men, men without Christ.
Romans 3:9-118
9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:
17 And the way of peace have they not known:
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
Because of all of that, which is the true condition of mankind, there are no good men. We are all guilty before our thrice holy God. Paul made it clear why we need the righteousness of Christ. Without His imputed righteousness, there is nothing a sinner can do to be saved.
Make up an excuse stating why you cannot go. Anyone who attends a homo wedding is condoning it in my book.
The sad thing is that the “Agenda Drivers” do not go after obnoxious, intolerant people like the phelps crowd. Nor do they go after huge businesses with teams of lawyers. They go after little old lady florists, mom-and-pop pizzerias, and self-employed cake decorators.
It is predatory and evil. These folks who are being targeted are not “intolerant”. They just want to be able to balance making a living with their deeply held beliefs. The goal is to seek out and destroy independent businesses and self-employed artisans...in short the people who made America.
Question, if we were able to do that, why did Jesus have to die on the cross?
Another question, when Jesus said that, and everything else He said, was He under the Old Covenant or the New Covenant?
What bearing does the Covenant He lived under have on what He said when it comes to some interpretations?
I just don’t approve of their lifestyle, nor the concept of gay marriage
They will not tolerate disapproval.
Of course we can’t stop sinning.
Of course he told us to sin no more.
But all of that is different that the moral equivalence woven into Carson’s posts.
My sister didn’t know what to do. She could not see herself attending, shaking hands, congratulating, etc. She discussed it with me and we both agreed that attending is condoning. The only other option would have been attending and speaking the truth at the “wedding”, but this did not seem at all appropriate.
She decided to tell her friend the truth. She told her that she just could not attend because she held fast to God’s teachings. She basically spoke the truth, in love. She did not attend, nor did she acknowledge the occasion in any way.
He has said other things I have a problem with.. not a fan of his.. . Tolerance is no where taught in the scriptures.. but I can’t help wondering why all this “tolerance” they preach is so one sided ..
“Here’s an example. My sister was invited to the wedding of a friend’s daughter - a lesbian “wedding”. My sister is a Christian. What would have been appropriate for my sister?”
Food? Liquor? We can’t make a judgment without facts.
They won’t invite me. They know I won’t say anything and they know I’ll be polite and supportive but they know I don’t approve.
If you know you are doing something wrong and you are doing it anyway, you don’t want to be reminded of that. Even by inference.
Yet Jesus said to the church at Thyatira, “But I have this against, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they committ acts of immorality...”
Your sister made a very intelligent decision. I wish more people would act in the same fashion as she did.
Jesus drove the money exchangers out of the temple with a whip and turned some tables over.
But we do not read of him going into a bar or whore house and doing the same thing as he knew there were some people in these places closer to God than some of those in the Church.
Also Peter had quite a few words to say about the people destroyed in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah while Paul said plainly enough that homosexuality was an abomination and it is plain Peter was talking about the same thing.
The people in Church have every right to point out faults of other Church members as long as they first go to them privately and do not charge them publicly unless they have witnesses.
But before doing that we need to make sure our own hands are clean and for most of us that may be a big problem.
Making a statement that child abuse or homosexualism is an abomination is not judging any one, it is just a statement of fact.
Accusing an individual of being such is a different story.
I believe God would just tell us to keep our mouths shut on most worldly issues but since the problem has also crept into the Churches, here we are.
I believe in tolerance other wise how could I put up with myself.
But when some one goes public with their positive views on something that by nature is an abomination I believe I have every right to disagree with them.
My hands do not have to be clean to call an abomination an abomination.
They go after little old lady florists, mom-and-pop pizzerias, and self-employed cake decorators.
Food? Liquor? We can’t make a judgment without facts.
Indeed.
I wonder how those who preach tolerance would tolerate it if someone cheated them out of money, or broke into their houses, robbed them and beat them up or raped them or their wives and daughters?
That’s really the only option.
Attending is condoning and any refusal will be taken personally. If the other party is offended at a polite refusal, then the problem is theirs, not yours.
Easier said than done when it comes to family, I know, but the line needs to be drawn somewhere.
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