tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17540148.post1055814092542766061..comments2023-08-23T08:45:53.071-06:00Comments on Paradoxy: SinEugenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431724892247691165noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17540148.post-54392012355385156622009-07-19T00:02:56.910-06:002009-07-19T00:02:56.910-06:00That's an interesting thought. The church cer...That's an interesting thought. The church certainly tends to see itself in terms of its authority over its members, and sometimes even works to extend that authority to govern the behavior of others outside its walls...Eugenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05431724892247691165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17540148.post-46085656641634185722009-07-18T16:13:37.994-06:002009-07-18T16:13:37.994-06:00This is just awesome. I'll quote you on my blo...This is just awesome. I'll quote you on my blog. I think you're on to something when you suggest that legalism is partly a mass-society problem. We want these universal rules because modern life makes it especially hard for people to get to know one another - all that mobility and individualism. Has the church unthinkingly modeled itself on the impersonal nation-state, instead of the body or the family?Jendihttp://www.jendireiter.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17540148.post-37456057098450360972009-07-01T08:39:42.269-06:002009-07-01T08:39:42.269-06:00Setting aside our need to be in control of everyth...<i>Setting aside our need to be in control of everything can be extremely difficult to do - fundamentalists, for all their talk about submitting to God's authority, merely seek to hold onto that control by reducing God's will to a cudgel that can be wielded against others (violently if necessary) in the name of love. Real love for others, however, respects the uniqueness and autonomy of others by relinquishing our desire to reshape them in our own image. And real love for God includes giving up every effort to usurp the authority that can only rightfully belong to him.</i><br /><br />I liked this whole post, but this bit especially. Very well said.KellyKnoreply@blogger.com