tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post114298597904070324..comments2024-01-29T14:24:46.852-05:00Comments on Wes Ellis: Ever Reforming Churchwellis68http://www.blogger.com/profile/06087588494600746854noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-1143250016382196482006-03-24T20:26:00.000-05:002006-03-24T20:26:00.000-05:00Geo,Where did that question come from? What does i...Geo,<BR/>Where did that question come from? What does it have to do with my post?<BR/>-Weswellis68https://www.blogger.com/profile/06087588494600746854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-1143200296949714012006-03-24T06:38:00.000-05:002006-03-24T06:38:00.000-05:00Mike Wrote:First, I suggest that you read every po...Mike Wrote:<BR/>First, I suggest that you read every post on this blog and show me one instance where Wes has “taught that God is primarily an angry vendictive God.”<BR/><BR/>Question:<BR/>In your theology where do people who have not accepted Jesus as Lord go when they are done on this earth? What do you teach about that?<BR/><BR/>Peace<BR/>Grogee HellowGeohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10584842245004324985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-1143177696984264492006-03-24T00:21:00.000-05:002006-03-24T00:21:00.000-05:00Yea you're right Mike. Sorry I was so foolish.Yea you're right Mike. Sorry I was so foolish.SteveWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11297300421121106669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-1143167545732628392006-03-23T21:32:00.000-05:002006-03-23T21:32:00.000-05:00Mike,There's alot of wisdom to what you said. I th...Mike,<BR/>There's alot of wisdom to what you said. I think you're right on.<BR/><BR/>Bruce and Steve,<BR/>I hope that we don't end up so hung up on this. I hope you'll consider what Mike has said and I hope we can move on, still remembering that we agree on what is most important.wellis68https://www.blogger.com/profile/06087588494600746854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-1143166096164438142006-03-23T21:08:00.000-05:002006-03-23T21:08:00.000-05:00Bruce,I cannot image how rewording an arrogant sta...Bruce,<BR/><BR/>I cannot image how rewording an arrogant statement makes it less arrogant. <BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>Steve,<BR/><BR/>Since you feel the need to “defend” your friend, I’ll address the rest to you.<BR/><BR/>For starts, I did not say Bruce was arrogant. I said his statement was. I figure it is possible, and even likely for people to misstate themselves or even make uncharacteristic statements from time to time. Thus I addressed the statement he made rather than his character.<BR/><BR/>However, his initial comment was:<BR/><BR/>“Somehow, I find it very difficult to become interested in "movements", unless it's the one that happens in the bathroom.”<BR/><BR/>I wondered at the time he said it, if he was not being witty. I might use a similar type of humor myself from time to time, however, the rest of his comment assumes a very serious attitude. And the next comment continued that serious tone. So I deduced that even the original comment was more arrogant than the one I pointed out. In effect, he said that Wes’s whole post is less interesting to him than his own bowel movements. That is pretty raw in my book!<BR/><BR/>I find it highly ironic, if that is true, that Bruce would read and comment on this post at all. That is unless he actually is looking to make arrogant statements. And when I pointed out the hubris of his second comment, he did not offer that he was trying to be witty, instead he became very defensive. He posted a comment suggesting that I might want to hurt him. Later he deleted that comment and asked how I would like to see it reworded.<BR/><BR/>I just told him that I really see no point in rewording it. His second arrogant statement suggested that he has some better “knowledge” of God than other people, and that if he had the kind of substandard knowledge others have, he “would not trust Christ either.” By using the phrase “not being able to trust,” Bruce is suggesting that there is something defective about how others relate with Christ, and he does not suffer from that defect. It has a condescending tone to it.<BR/><BR/>Now you come along saying you are defending your friend who you “have never seen anything closely resembling overbearing arrogance and pride about.” But I am saying, I have seen plenty, and now I have pointed it out to you as well.<BR/><BR/>But then you deflect the issue by suggesting that perhaps he is “reflecting on” (however you use the word in such a way as to suggest that “reacting to” would fit better) “the fact that most Christians have been taught that God is primarily an angry vendictive God as far as most of the world is concerned which tends to make it very difficult to see Him as trusting.” If Bruce had been “reflecting on” then perhaps he should have said so. It is amazing that you seem to know so clearly what he meant to say and did not. <BR/><BR/>Then you say that you and Bruce were both originally taught this stuff, and have “struggle[d] to break free” from it. You paint a picture of a great struggle that you and Bruce must face when dealing with people who don’t know what they are talking about with regard to Jesus. It seems to me that by suggesting that this struggle lies behind Bruce’s seemingly arrogant statement, you are thus also suggesting that he is having that struggle with Wes and perhaps the rest of us who comment here.<BR/><BR/>However, there are two things to rebut in that. First, I suggest that you read every post on this blog and show me one instance where Wes has “taught that God is primarily an angry vendictive God.” I don’t think you will even find a comment on a post by any of the readers that could be construed as such, and if you did, I assure you that it does not carry much weight here. Therefore, the struggle you and Bruce are waging is misplaced on this blog, unless the second rebuttal holds true. That is perhaps the two of you need to perceive Wes, his blog, and perhaps many of his visitors who comment here (and for that matter “most Christians” as you say) as your opponents in order to feed your arrogant egos. <BR/><BR/>I am glad you have struggled against such lousy teaching. I hope you will keep it up, when you find it to struggle against. However, that is not being taught here. And, in fact, I see very little of it these days; I would argue that it is in fact not true of “most Christians.” But if, when and wherever you find it, I encourage you to stand against it. I would stand with you against it. But that is not what is happening on this blog.<BR/><BR/>This is the way I see it. The statement was, “overbearing[ly] arrogan[t] and pride[ful]” to say the least. But if the statement is not characteristic of Bruce, and you too, and is part of your struggle against people who teach that God is angry and out to get you, then turn your guns elsewhere. My comment is not meant to hurt, but to challenge hubris. If Bruce is really humble instead of arrogant, let him retract the statement, and perhaps the two of you could hold out an olive branch on this blog rather than struggle against phantom teachers of wrath.<BR/><BR/>Many blessings…Agent Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17797031158032033042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-1143149537392942312006-03-23T16:32:00.000-05:002006-03-23T16:32:00.000-05:00Come on Wes, some theology isn't worth entertainin...Come on Wes, some theology isn't worth entertaining.<BR/><BR/>But I think it is great to discuss different theologies. I would agree that it is healthy to do so. I would also agree that it is very unhealthy to not permit other points of view from being openly discussed but just try that in your average Sunday school class.SteveWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11297300421121106669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-1143138301055518202006-03-23T13:25:00.000-05:002006-03-23T13:25:00.000-05:00Steve,I commend you for sticking up for your frien...Steve,<BR/>I commend you for sticking up for your friend. <BR/><BR/>I don't think you should think so little of the "theology of others." These "others" are your brothers and sisters in Chirst. I wouldn't say you should subscribe completely to someones theology but it is healthy and important to find harmony among different theologies. These people have thought and studied and prayed, asking the same questions we are. They don't search for right understandig only for themselves but theology is for you, for me, for us. Theology's primary task is the service of the Church. It's good to appretiate the ideas of others... it's one way of entering into community.<BR/><BR/>The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you." The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you."<BR/>-1Cor 12:21wellis68https://www.blogger.com/profile/06087588494600746854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-1143136893460145702006-03-23T13:01:00.000-05:002006-03-23T13:01:00.000-05:00Mike, Bruce is my freind and I have never seen any...Mike, Bruce is my freind and I have never seen anything closely resembling overbearing arrogance and pride about him.<BR/><BR/>I think he is simply reflecting on the fact that most Christians have been taught that God is primarily an angry vendictive God as far as most of the world is concerned which tends to make it very difficult to see Him as trusting.<BR/><BR/>I was taught that and so was Bruce. For me atleast, it has been a difficult struggle to break free of the theology of others and learn to trust Father to reveal Himself to me as He is. Now I see Him completely different. <BR/><BR/>Before I was full of doubt and couldn't trust Him. Now I embrace Him as the One who I can depend on as having nothing but good intentions for me and for all of us. Bruce has helped me see Him in that way and I am happy to defend his good intentions.SteveWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11297300421121106669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-1143065560507598232006-03-22T17:12:00.000-05:002006-03-22T17:12:00.000-05:00How would you have preferred I worded it?How would you have preferred I worded it?brucedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06839887792626090688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-1143061249608062092006-03-22T16:00:00.000-05:002006-03-22T16:00:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.brucedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06839887792626090688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-1143056263900048962006-03-22T14:37:00.000-05:002006-03-22T14:37:00.000-05:00Wow! Bruce,The hubris of that last statement is st...Wow! Bruce,<BR/><BR/>The hubris of that last statement is stunning.Agent Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17797031158032033042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-1143051873112793592006-03-22T13:24:00.000-05:002006-03-22T13:24:00.000-05:00That's cool, Wes. I do admit that the body of Chri...That's cool, Wes. I do admit that the body of Christ does have a corporate dimension, but I don't think it looks ANYTHING like the church in it's current form... emerging or not. I think it is built around a community of close proximity, brought together and unified by one simple revelation... Christ. Nothing more, nothing less. The problem is, we aren't comfortable with Christ alone. We want something more. That's why we invent religion. We like it's rules, practices, and rituals. We find security in those things that connect us to Christ (seemingly), but never seem to understand that it's not about us connecting ourselves to Him, but the fact that He connected Himself to us... from the very beginning.<BR/><BR/>I don't blame people for not being able to trust Christ. If I knew Christ the way they did, I wouldn't trust Him either.brucedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06839887792626090688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-1143047730328900712006-03-22T12:15:00.000-05:002006-03-22T12:15:00.000-05:00Bruced,I guess I just have a more opetemistic outl...Bruced,<BR/>I guess I just have a more opetemistic outlook on religion. Yes, we've seen it institutionalized for far too long, but outside of the institution it's a beautiful thing. Religion or not Jesus called us to be "revolutionary," so to speak, and we can't do that alone. Only in the context of community is the Image of God portrayed. You are a Christian and therefore part of a family with a long past. We're a part of a movement to be a blessing to the world. That's the kind of religion I'm talking about. Now, when this movement of Christ followers becomes too institutionalized and starts caring more about doctrines than actually following God then change needs to happen.wellis68https://www.blogger.com/profile/06087588494600746854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-1143043029635369732006-03-22T10:57:00.000-05:002006-03-22T10:57:00.000-05:00Somehow, I find it very difficult to become intere...Somehow, I find it very difficult to become interested in "movements", unless it's the one that happens in the bathroom.<BR/><BR/>What I do find interesting though, is Jesus, and knowing that He reached out to me, and found me.<BR/><BR/>Jesus brought to us a revolution from religion, and we took that seed of relationship and organized it into a religion.brucedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06839887792626090688noreply@blogger.com