Friday, January 4, 2008

"Reasonable" Christian

I'm reading the old testament and I've just got to Elijah. God told Elijah to go live in a wadi and let the ravens feed him. The average "reasonable" christian of today would have Elijah committed for that kind of behavior.
Jesus Christ got angry, sad, tired, etc... He used strong words. In the temple action, where He chases out the money-changers, He actually uses a whip of cords to chase people out.
Now when I use biblical examples, people inevitably get confused and assume I'm drawing parallels between one situation and another; no, my home is not the temple; no, I'm not trying to equate myself to Elijah, or any other figure. What I am saying is that there was strong emotion AND, by most people's standards, unreasonable behavior going on, and no one can or should judge a Christian by a standard of reasonableness.

I like soft, round, edges as much as the next guy, but I don't worship them. My feelings should be respected. It isn't appropriate to just claim they are inappropriate or out of proportion to the situation. You can't be a peacemaker by just papering over things.

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