You can make observations and draw conclusions based on evidence Panthro, without being unfairly judgmental. I'll spare you a whole sermon on Matt. 7. That whole judgment thing is a cop opt IMO. Be careful, because in your attempt to make me out to be some higher than thou, you are in essence pointing the finger at yourself. Aren't you in fact judging me for making judgments. In doing so, you are not being intellectually honest. To say that you never make judgments about things, and only speak for yourself, is a bold statement. I'm sure I can surf the content of SPS and come up with a few examples that would bring that into doubt. So, to say we can't speak intelligently, with all the information available to us with research groups like Barna, etc., is unfounded.
The bible doesn't say "don't judge," and end there. That is the most misinterpreted scripture in the good book. And the favorite of people living in habitual sin. If there were no jugding then people wouldn't be graded, hired, fired, convicted of crimes, etc.
The Bible exhorts us to beware of evildoers and false prophets and to avoid those who practice all kinds of evil. How are we to discern who these people are if we do not make some kind of judgment about them? Jesus warned of hypocritical judgement. In other words. If I were giving up pasta for lent, and then judging Gus for doing the same, I would be a hypocrite. Or, if I were calling out Gus for announcing his fast, and then proclaiming my own sacrifice on another thread, I would be a hypocrite. So, if you are judging me, for being judgmental, well..............
We are to RIGHTLY divide the Word of truth. Handle it with fear and love.
Being spiritually enlightened produces a natural byproduct. Awareness. First let me say, I am not spiritually enlightened because I am more pious than anyone. Any spiritual enlightenment I have is from the grace of God alone. And any I lack is my own stubborn fault. I can take no credit, only blame. But, I can testify unashamedly of the work of Christ in my life and how he has literally
transformed my view. So, with even the slightest spiritual enlightenment, you become aware of the exceptionally sinful nature of sin. You begin to see how flippantly our culture treats the sacrifice of Christ. If you don't, you aren't being nonjudgmental, you are being willfully ignorant, and intellectually dishonest.
why don't you focus on a group that isn't at least trying to take part in an opportunity like lent?
Because, it aint passing the smell test. Why did Jesus confront the Pharisees?
Panthro. I am aware that many of my comments can stir up unrest, and antagonism. But there is a method to this. The Bible says we are to examine ourselves and see if we are
IN the faith. And that we are to TEST things. If I am the only one who can come on to a silly chat board, and be the hand of reality that smacks people out of their slumber, and causes them to look into their own hearts, then I accept the role. If that gets a few people huffy, then so be it. Jesus, Paul, Peter, Stephen, etc. seemed to do that same thing.
Remember when the rich young ruler came to Jesus and said, "good teacher, how can I inherit eternal life." ?
I can only imagine the response of people today, if asked that question. But look at Jesus' response. Very enlightening indeed.
So, I look at threads like this as an opportunity to shift things. Whether Gus or anyone wants to confess, this was a thread about SELF. "What am
I doing. What are YOU doing." I always want to redirect that back to the Cross. And yes, like Christ, I want to get people to snap out of their daily rituals, and take a look inside. Christ did things that were highly unpopular. In fact, if He said some of things He said in the bible, to us directly in this day, I bet many if not most would take offense. If one truly stands for the Gospel, there will be much back lash. And just like in the times of Christ, most of that back lash will come from those who are so called "religious." One needs only look at this board when we went to a "religious" board and see what apathy and disdain people treat matters of spirit and faith.
