tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8801438723165620856.post7570588636584418594..comments2023-11-05T03:41:06.107-05:00Comments on <b>FAITH, HOPE, LOVE ... and REASON</b>: Faith vs. Ideology? What is the difference?Joseph Holbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14444064378832759436noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8801438723165620856.post-47707511898082273732014-01-04T13:32:50.978-05:002014-01-04T13:32:50.978-05:00Michael, thank you. Pope Francis seems to be "...Michael, thank you. Pope Francis seems to be "stirring it up" in a quite positive way. One of my friends,, a strongly committed atheist female in her late 20s ... has been deeply impressed by some of his comments. It has been the first time she has ever had anything positive to say about Christians .... we should keep him in our prayersJoseph Holbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14444064378832759436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8801438723165620856.post-79103393164278880282014-01-04T10:10:40.850-05:002014-01-04T10:10:40.850-05:00I thought I would add this quote from Pope Francis...I thought I would add this quote from Pope Francis that I thought fit into this conversation and some of the books we have been reading. <br /><br />VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis has said men studying for the Roman Catholic priesthood should be properly trained or the Church could risk "creating little monsters" more concerned with their careers than serving people.<br /><br />Michael Tomkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15119972938641124272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8801438723165620856.post-534737782394793872013-12-13T18:09:44.671-05:002013-12-13T18:09:44.671-05:00Joseph, here are some thoughts in response to your...Joseph, here are some thoughts in response to your example:<br /><br />For the individual believer, I agree that it is more important that we bring our own actions under the Lordship of Jesus than that we try to establish what we consider to be just laws in our nation. As you point out, the Roman Christians were good examples of that.<br /><br />However, we do live in a country with a "Dan and Patti Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14536270277796829582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8801438723165620856.post-19241042063699714522013-12-13T12:52:45.899-05:002013-12-13T12:52:45.899-05:00Let me add another thought ... most Christians (li...Let me add another thought ... most Christians (liberal or conservative) would likely agree that unwanted pregnancies are to be avoided and that ending one with an abortion is tragic if not wrong. <br /><br />However, the assumption that we can make it "illegal" and use the power of the state to enforce a ban on abortions presupposes that we live in a society with a government based onJoseph Holbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14444064378832759436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8801438723165620856.post-5916145712619376362013-12-13T12:20:12.460-05:002013-12-13T12:20:12.460-05:00John Churchill, a dear friend and Baptist pastor/c...John Churchill, a dear friend and Baptist pastor/church planter, holds very strong spiritual AND political convictions. And yet, he is one of the meekest men I have ever met, which is ironic, considering he is a retired Lt. Colonel from the army and knows how to command. Yes indeed Dan, meekness is strength "under" control <br />Joseph Holbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14444064378832759436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8801438723165620856.post-33480822302417485052013-12-13T08:59:21.869-05:002013-12-13T08:59:21.869-05:00As to the how...so much depends on our attitudes. ...As to the how...so much depends on our attitudes. If we have an attitude of humility, we will be willing to listen to others, even if we strongly disagree. And we will be willing to leave the "winning" in the hands of God.<br /><br />Much of what Joseph described in the statement above has to do with attitudes of the heart. "Meekness" has been described as strength under Dan and Patti Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14536270277796829582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8801438723165620856.post-76208548428195112012013-12-13T08:38:01.401-05:002013-12-13T08:38:01.401-05:00There is a statement that I believe came from the ...There is a statement that I believe came from the Moravians: "In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in ALL things love." Of course, the problem comes in identifying which things are essential. The Bible seems to identify only a few things that are essential to determining whether or not we are in Christ -- and then it calls us to love our enemies.<br /><br />I think there Dan and Patti Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14536270277796829582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8801438723165620856.post-29826547543830731162013-12-13T08:20:33.992-05:002013-12-13T08:20:33.992-05:00So ... let me take a stab at it. The mystery comes...So ... let me take a stab at it. The mystery comes in perhaps when a pro-lifer is willing to recognize that there is some room for debate about when life truly begins. Does it really begin at conception? or perhaps when the egg is implanted in the wall of the uterus? <br /><br />Perhaps there can be humility in recognizing that female believer might find abortion personally abhorrent, but choose Joseph Holbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14444064378832759436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8801438723165620856.post-80833861078470768242013-12-13T08:12:22.452-05:002013-12-13T08:12:22.452-05:00the problem is, both sides of the public debate (p...the problem is, both sides of the public debate (pro-life, and pro-choice) are held with with absolute and opposing certainty -- there is no room allowed for humility or mystery. Joseph Holbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14444064378832759436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8801438723165620856.post-47703619568400551322013-12-12T12:07:26.279-05:002013-12-12T12:07:26.279-05:00I like the paragraph you developed, as well as the...I like the paragraph you developed, as well as the question at the end of the above post. Maybe we could run a test case with your paragraph: abortion. When it comes to this issue, how would you distinguish between the certainties that characterize ideology and the mysteries that characterize faith? Clearly, folks who bomb clinics or murder doctors who perform abortions would be ideologues in Brian Emmethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16119537229186664059noreply@blogger.com