In a spiritual world of quick fixes and vague emotion, is it crazy to believe there is still a place for insights based on simple, basic, theological understanding. I believe it is worth exploring.
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Monday, June 19, 2017
A Touch of Humor - Positive and Negative
Should the negative aspects of life be part of our worship? How should this be done?
I think that there are churches that teach about the hard realities of life without glossing over them.
Many times the problem is that the teachers are young and have not experienced much of the negative aspects of life. Hence, they are ignorant and uncomfortable discussing these things.
I agree that there are churches who do a good job in this respect. Nor would I discount youth as a factor here. But I do think there is a tendency in many churches to avoid these things. Perhaps not totally deny them, but give the impression that if become a Christian we will not have any "real" problems or we will be too joyful to notice. This is not in my perspective a good outlook on things and it sets people up for problems later on.
I like the idea that we give thanks in all things but not for all things.
For example Mike. On a personal note. I give thanks for you and the way that you are dealing with the cancer that has attacked you and your wife. Your writing on the prayer blog both humbles and inspires me. I thank and praise God for you.
On the flipside I cannot be thankful for the cancer or the suffering that you both are experiencing. In contrast, I regularly pray against the things that are afflicting you and ask God to remove them from you.
I think that there are churches that teach about the hard realities of life without glossing over them.
ReplyDeleteMany times the problem is that the teachers are young and have not experienced much of the negative aspects of life. Hence, they are ignorant and uncomfortable discussing these things.
I agree that there are churches who do a good job in this respect. Nor would I discount youth as a factor here. But I do think there is a tendency in many churches to avoid these things. Perhaps not totally deny them, but give the impression that if become a Christian we will not have any "real" problems or we will be too joyful to notice. This is not in my perspective a good outlook on things and it sets people up for problems later on.
DeleteI like the idea that we give thanks in all things but not for all things.
ReplyDeleteFor example Mike. On a personal note. I give thanks for you and the way that you are dealing with the cancer that has attacked you and your wife. Your writing on the prayer blog both humbles and inspires me. I thank and praise God for you.
On the flipside I cannot be thankful for the cancer or the suffering that you both are experiencing. In contrast, I regularly pray against the things that are afflicting you and ask God to remove them from you.
Hope that helps explain my views a bit.
I would agree that is a helpful distinction. There are clearly those who want to minimize the reality of the genuine suffering in suffering.
Delete