Over the past few years, God has placed within us a desire for mercy ministry. With this call, he has provided us with a number of wonderful opportunities to love and grace others. But whereas we originally began answering the call with the idea that we would be bringing mercy and grace to others, we have come to find that transformative power in God’s call has more frequently been directed towards us. God has taught us many things over the past few years. Just when I feel I’m getting to the point where I “get it," God reminds me that he still has quite a bit of work to do on me. |
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I wrote a few weeks back about the Syrian refugee issue. Dwelling more on the topic got me to thinking about some of the deeper questions that arise - particularly the issue of how morality and "oughts" are derived. Whereas in the last post I focused mostly on what our response should be, in this post, I want to explore why I think consistent Christians should strongly consider throwing off the stereotyping of refugees (and other groups) and allow the refugees into the U.S. (with strong and reasonable precautions and adequate vetting) - or at the least have a positive attitude towards them and help them abroad. I also want to explore why I think systems without a strong moral grounding - particularly on an atheistic system - can't consistently argue for the same acceptance and love. This is by no means intended to say that atheists aren't altruistic or can't be altruistic. Rather, I am fascinated with the atheistic worldview and what should logically follow from holding that worldview consistently. Since atheism provides such a strong juxtaposition to Christianity at its core, it helps to highlight Christian thought and importance. I want to explore the grounding of acceptance and stereotyping from both worldviews.
"Often lacking an appreciation of the comprehensive implications of the kingdom of God, many missionaries have focused on evangelism to save people's souls, but have sometimes neglected to 'make disciples of all nations.'" - When Helping Hurts, p. 45 I am currently reading one of the most painful books ever written. The pain doesn't come from the arduous task of reading boring text, but rather from the wedging in of a truth to my life that I, my society, and Westernized Christianity have attempted to repel for nearly a century. When Helping Hurts has thrown more conviction and revelation my way in the first chapter than any book in my recollection. I'd like to lay that out in this post for others to see, but also for my reference - on those days when I need to remember what it's all about. Power. Fame. Money. Many would put their life on the line for any of these. The chance to obtain any one of these things might make risking failure worthwhile. In the sense that all humans have these same desires, this common pursuit unites humanity. It's something we all share, whether rich or poor. But in another sense, the very desires we hold in common, are desires which seek to separate us from the rest of humanity. Each of these common pursuits ends in our separation from others. To have power means to have influence and control over others. If I am to be powerful in any real sense, others must be powerless, or at least less powerful in comparison to me. We can see the same thing with fame. Were all people to have the same fame and notoriety, of what significance would the word "fame" have as compared to "normal?" One who seeks fame would never want everyone else to be famous, for then fame would carry little weight and influence. Likewise, money would be of little value were everyone to have an abundance of it. Income and wealth require disparities for them to carry any useful distinction and significance. And so it is that the very desires which tend to control us and unify us in our humanity, are likewise pursuits which seek to separate and distinguish us.
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*The views and ideas on this site are in no way affiliated with any organization, business, or individuals we are a part of or work with. They're also not theological certainties. They're simply thinking out loud, on issues and difficulties as I process things.
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