Re: Concordist sequence--why be a concordist? (off list)

From: RFaussette@aol.com
Date: Fri Jun 27 2003 - 20:43:53 EDT

  • Next message: Debbie Mann: "Faith Ministries"

    In a message dated 6/27/03 1:38:40 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
    richard@biblewheel.com writes:

    > I couldn't imagine saying something like this because we come to Christ for
    > salvation from sin and death, not for things. It still sounds like a
    > misrepresentation of the Gospel for which untold thousands of Christians have
    > abandoned everything, including their lives.
    >
    > Am I still missing a piece of your puzzle?
    >
    > Richard
    >
    >

    I don't think Sheila is trying to misrepresent the gospel. Although I
    appreciate what you are saying, I also welcome what Sheila is saying. The fact of the
    matter is that truly Christian communities enjoy great prosperity. If it is
    God's will that Christian communities prosper, then that is good. Many early
    Christians thought they had to be martyred to be Christlike, but seeking
    martyrdom was an act of personal will, not the will of the father. Was it really
    necessary for Origen to castrate himself? Of course not, but he was obsessing
    over Jesus' sacrifice. The sacrifice is made in order to do the will of God, not
    the will of man and hairshirts are unnecessary to enter the kingdom, but a
    willingness to brave any obstacle and make any sacrifice is necessary - that
    doesn't mean we deliberately pursue misery, poverty and death. You abandon what
    the Father wills, not what you will.

    From David Sloan Wilson's Darwin's Cathedral - Evolution, Religion, and the
    Nature of Society:

     “Calvin’s Ecclesiastical ordinances specified a decision-making structure,
    an educational system, a health care system, and a welfare system.”36 The city
    of Geneva“ created the Geneva Academy, which eventually attracted students
    from throughout Europe. Training was so thorough that it was said that the boys
    of Geneva talked like Sorbonne doctors.”37

    “The effect of Calvinism on Geneva was so profound that the city assumed an
    importance in world affairs out of all proportion to its economic significance…
    Calvinism caused its community of believers to behave adaptively in the real
    world, which is all that evolution can be expected to accomplish.”39

    Christianity is good for you in this world and the next. A Christian need not
    be self conscious about wealth. A true Christian will do good things with
    wealth.

    rich faussette

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