http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/recommendations-confessions-of-a-good-christian-guy-by-tom-davis-good-intentions-by-charles-north-and-bob-smietana ...dispatches from the post-evangelical wilderness Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:12:04 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/recommendations-confessions-of-a-good-christian-guy-by-tom-davis-good-intentions-by-charles-north-and-bob-smietana/comment-page-1#comment-257617 Scott Miller Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:07:18 +0000 http://www.internetmonk.com/?p=2161#comment-257617 I agree with being more transparent and being less the squeeky clean 1950's vision of Christianity that many play on Sunday morning. However, many of these books, especially the Every Man's Battle books, spend way too much time talking about sin and then add grace as an afterthought. My friend read Every Man's Battle and came away with, "well everyone does it". While Paul talks in Galatians and Romans about struggling with sin, I don't think that he meant struggling with it to the extent that we struggle with it - where the battle seems lost or hopeless just because I am unwilling to die to self. Paul also spoke scripture and truth, going beyond the acknowledgement of sin and into "do not offer up your bodies as instruments of wickedness". We, and me especially, need a balance between transparentness and true repentence. I don't want to be like an AA member, lamenting over my alcoholism/sin, yet constantly talking about it at every meeting. I want to be free from it. I John still bothers me with the "if we say we don't have sin we lie and tell not the truth", and yet if we continue to sin we do not know Him. There is some middle ground where the fruit of the Spirit is in action and we are not going out of our way to sin. I agree with being more transparent and being less the squeeky clean 1950’s vision of Christianity that many play on Sunday morning.
However, many of these books, especially the Every Man’s Battle books, spend way too much time talking about sin and then add grace as an afterthought. My friend read Every Man’s Battle and came away with, “well everyone does it”.
While Paul talks in Galatians and Romans about struggling with sin, I don’t think that he meant struggling with it to the extent that we struggle with it – where the battle seems lost or hopeless just because I am unwilling to die to self. Paul also spoke scripture and truth, going beyond the acknowledgement of sin and into “do not offer up your bodies as instruments of wickedness”.
We, and me especially, need a balance between transparentness and true repentence. I don’t want to be like an AA member, lamenting over my alcoholism/sin, yet constantly talking about it at every meeting. I want to be free from it.
I John still bothers me with the “if we say we don’t have sin we lie and tell not the truth”, and yet if we continue to sin we do not know Him. There is some middle ground where the fruit of the Spirit is in action and we are not going out of our way to sin.

]]> http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/recommendations-confessions-of-a-good-christian-guy-by-tom-davis-good-intentions-by-charles-north-and-bob-smietana/comment-page-1#comment-257608 dumb ox Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:11:04 +0000 http://www.internetmonk.com/?p=2161#comment-257608 ...it isn't Catholic either. Didn't mean to be exclusive. Sorry. …it isn’t Catholic either. Didn’t mean to be exclusive. Sorry.

]]> http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/recommendations-confessions-of-a-good-christian-guy-by-tom-davis-good-intentions-by-charles-north-and-bob-smietana/comment-page-1#comment-257605 dumb ox Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:01:14 +0000 http://www.internetmonk.com/?p=2161#comment-257605 "transparency and vulnerability in Christian community": Amen! We want to tell others what's wrong with them, their church, their doctrine, etc., but we can't openly discuss what's wrong with us, with our church, with our doctrine. That flat-out is not protestant. “transparency and vulnerability in Christian community”: Amen! We want to tell others what’s wrong with them, their church, their doctrine, etc., but we can’t openly discuss what’s wrong with us, with our church, with our doctrine. That flat-out is not protestant.

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