Sunday, July 30, 2006
Greg Boyd
1,000 of Greg Boyds estimated 5,000 member church walked out on his sermon titled "The Cross and the Sword." What is your reaction to this? Should the United States still be declared a "Christian nation" should we steer clear of the political right? Namely, just because someone says they are a christian and say they are against abortion should they get our vote? This article stirred a lot of emotions in me, I want to get a discussion going before I post my reaction. What do you think? http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/disowning-conservative-politics-is/20060729195809990004?ncid=NWS00010000000001
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4 comments:
Oh Karla - A can of worms have ye opened!! Hmmm...I read the article (Dan and I love reading the New York Times for this very reason) and am a bit hesitant to respond to it - this is a "hot button" topic and I think, right off the bat, it's something we need to be careful about when dialoguing.
First and foremost we need to be concerned with what scripture teaches us - not someone like Greg Boyd. He is not the inspired word of God, BUT we do know (or at least I believe) that scripture is the inspired Word of God.
So - that is all I will write for now - the posts should be interesting. Anie and I have several conversations about "conservative democrats" - what do the terms "Republican"/"Democrat" really mean. etc.
I'm anxious to read and anxious to hear your comments.
Labels. I think Greg Boyd is doing a spiritually healthy thing in avoiding any labels other than that of being a follower of Christ. There is NOTHING worth being associated with or labeled with in this life other than Jesus Christ. Nothing. For him to involve his ministry or the minstry of his church in politics would be the same as labeling or identifying certain issues as Christian or non-Christian. Individuals answer to God ALONE, not in political parties or groups of any sort. Greg Boyd is wise.
pam
Whoever thought I would agree with Greg Boyd!! Not completely, but for the most part. We, as Christians, are primarily citizens of heaven. We should not be bound to any particular political party or ideology save Christ and Scripture.
There is a difficult balance, though, when looking at our faith and our temporary home. Romans 12:18 tells us to, if possible, live peacably with all. Which indicates Paul did not feel that that was always possible. Psalm 72:4 says of the king, "May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!" I believe that this responsibility falls to all "kings" put in place by God (Rom 13:1). They are to defend their people against oppressors. We, as temporary citizens of the US, have a responsibility to review the actions of our elected "king" to determine if his actions are properly in line with these scriptures, and if they are, to support him in this regard. But our primary role here on earth, is to be Christ's ambassadors, to lay our lives down (individually) for those who would seek to kill us (individually).
Frankly, I have a hard time understanding how anyone who holds fast to Christ can vote for people who promote the killing of others whether they be in the womb or suffering from painful and chronic diseases, or who are partially brain damaged. Pastor Sam Crabtree gave an excellent message on this matter during a Wednesday night service at Bethlehem (bbcmpls.org) this last January.
No political party is perfect and we should encourage more Godly behavior in our leaders. More Godly people should run for political office in order to bring to an end injustice and sin.
Most disturbing comment of the article: "[Pastor Boyd]...thinks homosexuality is not God’s ideal." Not God's ideal? It's nowhere near ideal! It's not even the last resort! It's not an option, period.
As far as Pastor Boyd not favoring abortion, I would encourage readers to read his comments as facilitated by Justin Taylor's blog. Simply google "Greg Boyd abortion" and visit Theologica.blogspot.com. Justin gets it right: false dichotomy.
More reading.
Justin Taylor
http://theologica.blogspot.com/2006/08/greg-boyd-in-nyt.html
and
A.B. Caneday (Theo Prof @ NWC)
http://woodchipsandmusings.blogspot.com/2006/08/lets-get-politics-out-of-pulpit-in-all.html
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