Comments on: Reposts: Is Christianity Broken? & Recovering Christianity’s Balance http://ceruleansanctum.com/2006/08/reposts-is-christianity-broken-recovering-christianitys-balance.html Looking for the 1st century Church in 21st century America Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:35:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Steorling http://ceruleansanctum.com/2006/08/reposts-is-christianity-broken-recovering-christianitys-balance.html#comment-5680 Steorling Thu, 31 Aug 2006 15:45:38 +0000 http://ceruleansanctum.com/2006/08/reposts-is-christianity-broken-recovering-christianitys-balance.html#comment-5680 Forgive me, I'm very new to blogging but it seems to me that the reason we have such "tags" as Emerging Church, Calvinist, Evangelical, Charismatic, etc. is that the two ends are always the loudest. Perhaps the solution to the problem isn't less talking, but more. The vast majority of brothers and sisters that I interact with fall into all sorts of "camps" but what they agree on that makes them brothers and sisters and not just seekers is their belief that Christ died as an atonement, rose again, and is seated with the father. I have been skating about the blogosphere in general (and the Godblogosphere, as you put it) and I have yet to see a presentation of the gospel. So, I'm guessing the purpose of all the talking isn't evangalism, but something else. But you're right about seekers and others looking on...in fact, I found your site through a series of links (don't ask me to repeat it. lol) from Atheist Revolution. {Where God is to blame for absolutely everything evil and therefore he (and evil, incidently which really confuses me) must not exist. Classic.} If you would like an education, extreme perhaps, go and look at what the "unwashed masses" are saying about Christians...about the Conservative Right Talibanists taking over American politics, etc. (What, we're winning? I had no idea?!) That much anger and complete lack of cohert logic comes out of pain and hurt....some directed at God for everything that hasn't gone "right" in the lives of the writers and the world generally, but a huge amount of the venom and rage is aimed at Christians for how the "world" has experienced us as a people. We are judgemental, uncaring, mindless, fascists in the eyes of our accusers. I grew up in a "interdemoninational" evangelical community that included "completed" jews, "born-again" catholics, psalter wielding puritans, and everything in between spanning at least 26 world cultures (and that's only what I can actually count from personal experience.). Our board argues about Expositional Teaching, Discipleship, the Role of Women in the Church, Divorce and Remarriage, Modes of Worship, Curriculum for the Youth Program, the usual. These are issues that church boards should be wrestling with and I understand your concern about the blogosphere getting involved in these discussions and heavier theological questions before the eyes of those that would really like to bring back martyrdom en masse. But imagine if 100 christians started blogs tomorrow that chronicled their walk instead, that linked to every charitiable organization they supported with their time as well as their money, that created a new sphere of sites with every like-minded (as in Gospel Espousing) christian that would join them from anywhere on the globe, could not that be as much a force for truth in the universe as My Space? *that last was sarcastic...never have figured out how to write sarcasm* I guess I'm really not contributing anything at this point....but just imagine what the Godosphere might look like if people "lived" "spoke" "wrote" of the Gospel and it's life changing power on a more personal level rather than always focusing on the "great debates" that aren't really ever going to be ended until Christ's return -when he will take each one of us aside and share our error with us so we'll finally know Him (and his heart) completely. Forgive me, I’m very new to blogging but it seems to me that the reason we have such “tags” as Emerging Church, Calvinist, Evangelical,
Charismatic, etc. is that the two ends are always the loudest. Perhaps the solution to the problem isn’t less talking, but more. The vast majority of brothers and sisters that I interact with fall into all sorts of “camps” but what they agree on that makes them brothers and sisters and not just seekers is their belief that Christ died as an atonement, rose again, and is seated with the father. I have been skating about the blogosphere in general (and the Godblogosphere, as you put it) and I have yet to see a presentation of the gospel. So, I’m guessing the purpose of all the talking isn’t evangalism, but something else.

But you’re right about seekers and others looking on…in fact, I found your site through a series of links (don’t ask me to repeat it. lol) from Atheist Revolution. {Where God is to blame for absolutely everything evil and therefore he (and evil, incidently which really confuses me) must not exist. Classic.} If you would like an education, extreme perhaps, go and look at what the “unwashed masses” are saying about Christians…about the Conservative Right Talibanists taking over American politics, etc. (What, we’re winning? I had no idea?!) That much anger and complete lack of cohert logic comes out of pain and hurt….some directed at God for everything that hasn’t gone “right” in the lives of the writers and the world generally, but a huge amount of the venom and rage is aimed at Christians for how the “world” has experienced us as a people. We are judgemental, uncaring, mindless, fascists in the eyes of our accusers.

I grew up in a “interdemoninational” evangelical community that included “completed” jews, “born-again” catholics, psalter wielding puritans, and everything in between spanning at least 26 world cultures (and that’s only what I can actually count from personal experience.). Our board argues about Expositional Teaching, Discipleship, the Role of Women in the Church, Divorce and Remarriage, Modes of Worship, Curriculum for the Youth Program, the usual. These are issues that church boards should be wrestling with and I understand your concern about the blogosphere getting involved in these discussions and heavier theological questions before the eyes of those that would really like to bring back martyrdom en masse. But imagine if 100 christians started blogs tomorrow that chronicled their walk instead, that linked to every charitiable organization they supported with their time as well as their money, that created a new sphere of sites with every like-minded (as in Gospel Espousing) christian that would join them from anywhere on the globe, could not that be as much a force for truth in the universe as My Space? *that last was sarcastic…never have figured out how to write sarcasm*
I guess I’m really not contributing anything at this point….but just imagine what the Godosphere might look like if people “lived” “spoke” “wrote” of the Gospel and it’s life changing power on a more personal level rather than always focusing on the “great debates” that aren’t really ever going to be ended until Christ’s return -when he will take each one of us aside and share our error with us so we’ll finally know Him (and his heart) completely.

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