Excellent and needed word. I’m reminded of this quote from Lewis’ Screwtape Letters.
“There is going to be some benevolence, as well as some malice, in your patient's soul. The great thing is to direct the malice to his immediate neighbors whom he meets every day and to thrust his benevolence out to the remote circumference, to people he does not know. The malice thus becomes wholly real and the benevolence largely imaginary.”
Thank you for writing this. I was thinking about this after hearing Vance talk about the topic, and wanted to do some research and you have saved me the time. A minor critique, the adversarial nature of the writing prevented me from restacking your article. I have some progressive friends and they wouldn’t be open to reading it when they’re described as “boneheaded” I believe we can win them to our side with the kindness that the Holy Spirit wishes to foster within us to spread the gospel. Using this kind of language only serves to keep them entrenched in their ways of thinking. However, this is your Substack and of course you are free to do what you like. This is just a friendly suggestion. Grace and Peace 😇🙏🏼
I hadn't given much thought to articulating Ordo Amoris - to me, it's just "dial tone" -- always there, recognized and expected, so doesn't everyone else?
Clearly, the answer to my question here is, "No." This is one of the challenges to understanding the broken nature of man and how discordant the fallen mind becomes with the divine mind and heart of an eternal God.
In recognizing our state of corruption, we might begin to see just how hopeless we are without grace. Isabelle's comment reminds me of the kind of selective fist-shaking some do after cherry-picking one side of scripture -- and just how futile it is -- in light of their failure to acknowledge and submit to God's ordered creation.
Such heads really start exploding when you bring up the apostasy of churches that ordain women pastors and elders, or those that 'celebrate', officiate and approve of same-sex marriages. They have chosen to only hear one part of God's counsel and have accepted and embraced the lie that love is love, and love loves equally across all things.
I respect your opinion and your right to voice it but strongly disagree. When we dissect “the none commandment greater” than “love thy neighbour as thyself” in order to justify the hate/racism/homophobia we feel towards those who are different than us, we lose the entire point of the great gift that Jesus gave us in making this a Christian’s “golden rule.” Perhaps undocumented immigrants (trying to create a better life for themselves and their families) can cause chaos, but let’s refer to my personal favourite verse: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn; and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” I wish you a blessed and happy day and will be unfollowing this account that spreads hate under the guise of teaching the gospel of Jesus.
I see what you did there. You've reclassified law-breakers as, "undocumented." We might as well take that to its logical conclusion which is approving of sin, and applauding those who sin. Doesn't make ANY difference as to the why or how, it is still sin and something that a perfectly Just and Perfectly Holy God absolutely hates.
Same God sent His ONLY Son (a perfectly righteous one at that!) to the burden of the cross as a payment for these sins of ours. Don't for a microsecond think sin is A-OK just because it fits your own personal idea of righteous outcome. That is Satan talking.
In case you've been asleep, Isabellle, EVERYONE ever born on earth is **DIFFERENT** from each other. When you cherry-pick scripture like you have, you are blinded toward God's FULL counsel and are only entertaining a small part to suit your own preconceived ideology. God's fuller counsel never, ever prohibits Christians from judging or using good discernment as it relates to others and our navigation in life. Only fools and the blind pretend in this fashion.
Go ahead an unfollow so you can surround yourself in a bubble of fantasy. Nothing in Michael's essay here even remotely encourages hate. That is coming from you, because you absolutely hate to be wrong and cannot stand to be corrected.
Excellent and needed word. I’m reminded of this quote from Lewis’ Screwtape Letters.
“There is going to be some benevolence, as well as some malice, in your patient's soul. The great thing is to direct the malice to his immediate neighbors whom he meets every day and to thrust his benevolence out to the remote circumference, to people he does not know. The malice thus becomes wholly real and the benevolence largely imaginary.”
Great quote!
Thank you for writing this. I was thinking about this after hearing Vance talk about the topic, and wanted to do some research and you have saved me the time. A minor critique, the adversarial nature of the writing prevented me from restacking your article. I have some progressive friends and they wouldn’t be open to reading it when they’re described as “boneheaded” I believe we can win them to our side with the kindness that the Holy Spirit wishes to foster within us to spread the gospel. Using this kind of language only serves to keep them entrenched in their ways of thinking. However, this is your Substack and of course you are free to do what you like. This is just a friendly suggestion. Grace and Peace 😇🙏🏼
Thabiti’s comment on Ordo Amoris being natural and not “supernatural” is grace destroying nature.
https://open.substack.com/pub/joshrobinson/p/ordo-amoris-and-the-war-against-chaos?r=2m6ol&utm_medium=ios
🎯
I hadn't given much thought to articulating Ordo Amoris - to me, it's just "dial tone" -- always there, recognized and expected, so doesn't everyone else?
Clearly, the answer to my question here is, "No." This is one of the challenges to understanding the broken nature of man and how discordant the fallen mind becomes with the divine mind and heart of an eternal God.
In recognizing our state of corruption, we might begin to see just how hopeless we are without grace. Isabelle's comment reminds me of the kind of selective fist-shaking some do after cherry-picking one side of scripture -- and just how futile it is -- in light of their failure to acknowledge and submit to God's ordered creation.
Such heads really start exploding when you bring up the apostasy of churches that ordain women pastors and elders, or those that 'celebrate', officiate and approve of same-sex marriages. They have chosen to only hear one part of God's counsel and have accepted and embraced the lie that love is love, and love loves equally across all things.
Isaiah 5:20 is here.
I respect your opinion and your right to voice it but strongly disagree. When we dissect “the none commandment greater” than “love thy neighbour as thyself” in order to justify the hate/racism/homophobia we feel towards those who are different than us, we lose the entire point of the great gift that Jesus gave us in making this a Christian’s “golden rule.” Perhaps undocumented immigrants (trying to create a better life for themselves and their families) can cause chaos, but let’s refer to my personal favourite verse: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn; and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” I wish you a blessed and happy day and will be unfollowing this account that spreads hate under the guise of teaching the gospel of Jesus.
I see what you did there. You've reclassified law-breakers as, "undocumented." We might as well take that to its logical conclusion which is approving of sin, and applauding those who sin. Doesn't make ANY difference as to the why or how, it is still sin and something that a perfectly Just and Perfectly Holy God absolutely hates.
Same God sent His ONLY Son (a perfectly righteous one at that!) to the burden of the cross as a payment for these sins of ours. Don't for a microsecond think sin is A-OK just because it fits your own personal idea of righteous outcome. That is Satan talking.
In case you've been asleep, Isabellle, EVERYONE ever born on earth is **DIFFERENT** from each other. When you cherry-pick scripture like you have, you are blinded toward God's FULL counsel and are only entertaining a small part to suit your own preconceived ideology. God's fuller counsel never, ever prohibits Christians from judging or using good discernment as it relates to others and our navigation in life. Only fools and the blind pretend in this fashion.
Go ahead an unfollow so you can surround yourself in a bubble of fantasy. Nothing in Michael's essay here even remotely encourages hate. That is coming from you, because you absolutely hate to be wrong and cannot stand to be corrected.