I’m already sort of breaking my “no more posts until the book is done” rule already, but this was too delicious to pass up: “The Case for Idolatry: Why Evangelical Christians Can Worship Idols”.
Secondly, and even more significantly, we need to read the whole Bible with reference to the approach of Jesus. To be a Christian is to be a Jesus-person: one whose life is based on his priorities, not on the priorities of subsequent theologians. And when we look at Jesus, we notice that he welcomed everyone who came to him, including those people that the (one-God worshipping) religious leaders rejected – and that Jesus said absolutely nothing about idols in any of the four Gospels. Conservative theologians, many of whom are friends of mine, often miss this point in the cut-and-thrust of debate, but for those who love Jesus, it should be at the very heart of the discussion.
Positivism meets sola scriptura OCD dorkdom.
And my favorite comment:
Andrew, my cousin came out as an idolater a few weeks ago. Until then, I had made comments and remarks in my blog and to others that would be taken as hurtful and demeaning towards idolaters. I’ve come to realize, based on his testimony to me, that I’ve been wrong about idolatry. I’m glad that you’ve taken the first steps towards a great understanding of the love that Jesus has for us all, idolaters or no.
3 Comments
Oh, yes, and Jesus didn’t mention space aliens, or computers, or a lot of other things that weren’t an issue among the folks He spent most of His time. I suppose it never occurred to anyone that Jesus wasn’t going to address things the Jews had right.
When the test results come back with leukemia, your doctor isn’t going to sit you down and talk to you about the herniated disc you don’t have.
Ha, might have to read the full article sometime.