Posted on 05/01/2005 11:57:54 AM PDT by Antoninus
Christ did not just practice Judaism, He encouraged it.
Jesus was an observant Jew. As an observant Jew, Jesus worshipped as a Jew.
But Christ is neither a Jew nor a Gentile. Jesus preached faith that did not fully agree with what the Jews beleie and call Judaism. People who know of God through His energies do so regardless of whether they are Jews or Gentiles.
Righteous? Who is righteous?
I want them to change
Now you are talking! But you should say, I want to help them change! That's where compassion comes in. Forgiveness does not mean approval. Forgiveness means recognizing ourselves in their iniquity, and also recognizing that they have a soul than can change them into the image of God.
Being angry with them does nothing. But why do you want them to change? Just so they would stop denying God's goodness and tempting others to turn their backs on God? Or because you think they can be saved -- and stop hating God? If you believe that they can be saved, then you actually love them, but can't bring yourself to admit it.
I don't think you're getting everything I'm saying. It is possible to love someone and be angry at them. If someone wants to be in hell themselves, I'm sorry for them. If they're forcibly dragging others with them, I'm angry. Doesn't mean I don't love them.
By "righteous anger" I mean justified and useful anger. I'm not saying that I am righteous. You're not familiar with that term?
No, it's not biblical. If there were such anger, it would be divine, for sure, and not human. Anger separates us from God (James 1:20). No man's anger is righteous.
All you can do is offer love to those who hate God. Pray for their salvation. If they repent, they will be saved. If they don't, they condemn themselves.
All the ills you are angry about come from the fact that people reject God. So, rather than trying to fix one problem at a time, the answer is in God. If all the world repented, and loved God with all our hearts and minds and soul, and our neighbor as ourselves, there would have no wars, crime or any kind of evil.
I agree that the only solution to any ill is for each individual to surrender his/her life in loving obedience to God.
That said, when those who are utterly rebellious to God exert great will and energy into deviating others into grossly sinful behavior, proselytize atheism, promote every manner of sinful acts as normal, they mislead so many that it is a service to God to speak the truth about these ills.
When a whole generation or two has been indoctrinated into atheism (or so-called religion that is nothing but self centered atheism with a fake pious mask) and extremely nasty hedonism, their hearts become very hard. When their hearts are very hard, they cannot even hear a message about God. Not that that message should not be broadcast - it should, by everyone who knows of God's existence and wants to serve Him.
But simultaneously there needs to be efforts by those who are willing to make such effort to fight against the lies the atheists, homosexualists, euthanasists and so on are spreading.
When I say "fight" I mean with words, obviously.
Yes, of course. That kind of "fight" is avoiding evil. You are right about their "hard hearts." They worship everything but God, and that kind of worship leads nowehere but into deeper darkness.
In their arrogance they don't realize that God gave everyone a ticket and told them which train to catch, but if they do't get on the right train, there is no telling where they will end up!
Hollywood, for one, is among the major culprits for presenting everything ungodly as a "virtue". How does one make young people understand that, when the majority find Hollywood's productions so "entertaining"?
People need to understand that they can "fall in love" with God. That a loving relationship of obedience to God is more satisfying than anything the world has to offer. The more those of us who are on the path to God are actually experiencing a taste of that real love ourselves, that love shines out and touches other hearts.
The real seed of all separation from God is our envy of God's Lordship - we fallen souls want to be the Lord of our own lives. Realizing our own helplessness is a key.
Theory doesn't do it.
But at the same time, people need to withdraw from being absorbed in the darkness in order to be in the light of God.
You are soooo right. Keep "fightin'" my friend, keep touching those hearts.
we fallen souls want to be the Lord of our own lives. Realizing our own helplessness is a key
Yup, that's the root of it. We inherit that propensity and pass it on to our own offspring.
But at the same time, people need to withdraw from being absorbed in the darkness in order to be in the light of God
And that alone can turn even a criminal into a saint. Our hope is not in imperfect social structures to rid the world of evil, but only the changes that come from embracing God as our savior.
May God bless you, my friend.
Thank you. The same to you.
I would bet that the new Detroit Archbishop Algernon will be receptive to dealing vigorously with the problems of ministry at your school and finding new folks to replace the ones promoting perversions. May God bless you in your studies and in the discernment of your vocation. Please remember the Knights of Columbus in your prayers (and become one of us?)
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