Today’s title comes from a thread about science. .The original text was recycled from Traditional Catholicism, but reposted on TC. Part of the thread was.

(I hope that doesn’t sound pompous and aspergery.)

I think “pompous and aspergery” is our goal. Even pompous, aspergery types need Jesus.

Yeah. There is a place for intelligent conversation. TC is trying to go there — stopping conversations that turn into monkeys flinging mud at each other, and becoming a place for thoughtful conversations. This cannot be a bad thing. But there needs to be a balance.

1 Peter 1:13-23

13Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. 14Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. 15Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; 16for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

17If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. 18You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. 20He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. 21Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.

22Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. 23You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God

via Daily Lectionary Readings — Devotions and Readings — Mission and Ministry — GAMC.

The trouble with living completely inside your head and thinking continually about theological issues is that most people are not there. Most people are swayed by rhetorical manipulation, by their feelings, by what their friends say.

Yes, we need people to think clearly. We need Christian Geeks. Theology Geeks. Traditional theology geeks. As Bonald commented yesterday, the two groups who get in the neck are the hard core, crunchy theological groups who have kept the faith: the Catholics and the Calvanists.

But we need to live it. We need to be doing good. We need to be loving each other.

And the latter is difficult. The intellectual end of the spectrum tends to be full of querulous, crunchy types… and I will confess, like Alte, that I am much less abrasive when speaking than I am when writing. We have to love our brothers and sisters, even though they may be Papists or hard shell Baptists. (and yes I am including the Anglicans. God bless them. The Englishmen who sheltered John Stott, invented the Alpha movement, and more recently developed the 24/7 prayer movement and Boiler Rooms are Anglican. There is live there as well as committees spraying theological DDT …)

We are crunchy, not that socially ept, and combative. We will be accused of being Aspergery, Pompous or both.

Meh. Our job is to be faithful and to love each other.