I do not understand those who say that Jesus was nice and that he did not preach hellfire. That God’s love is such that he does not stand repelled by the evil we have done. Those who consider our spiritual feelings as some kind of virtue.
For the pagans have those. The principles of sorcery: that by naming something that is, exist in our society.
Paul commented on this in Romans 2 when he argues that we have the law within our heart: and that set of rules, which we all have, damns us, for we break the very rules and vows we are committed to. Our guilt bears witness before us.
For when Jesus expands the law to that which God wishes, we are all found wanting.
“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
(Luke 6:27-38 ESV)
The last two verses have been used as a kind of perverse proof test. That we should not ever judge, we should not ever condemn: so that those who flaunt their sin will be saved. The current evangelical heresy of conflating feeling good about yourself and cherishing pride as a sin (which we call “self-esteem” when we have our work clothes on) with salvation has led to a toleration of that which is wrong.
It has led to a lack of leadership. For to lead, you have to keep to the rules yourself: otherwise you are an actor, a hypocrite. And this lack of stoicism, lack of a sense of duty among men, has caused rebellion in the ranks. (Not helped by calling any leadership by men a restriction on women and abusive: the irony that women are harsher on each other than men is becoming more obvious as the feminists control more of the instruments of mass propaganda).
And God above all, because without God at the helm, well, you’re lost. Take it from someone whose been lost a long, long time and has been clawing her way back for years. … For a long time, God felt like something I had to fit into my life, but, no. Now that I’ve purposefully included God above all things, everything else falls into place almost without effort (psychologically; physically, boots on the ground? bit of a different story, but still more manageable than pre-God).Kids change everything, and mostly for the better. It’s OK to be a champion and a soother of boo-boos and to give praise; but it’s similarly appropriate to tell them “no” or disapprove of behavior that is not Godly or simply socially acceptable (in most Christian households, I suppose this is one and the same).
There is a reason my theology is reformed. It is due to those occasional., painful, moments of self honesty, when I look and what I have done this week, this day, and I count them as wanting. People may say that I am nice: but one thing psychiatry teaches you is how to method act: how to sit in a room with someone who repels you, or terrifies you, and remain in a therapeutic, listening position. How to hide what you are thinking. [Which why be a reason psychiatrists are seen as fake: we are not being that real in the room. We are acting a role].
I am forced to the position that Calvin ended up in. Anything that I do which is good is not me, but God. Given my instincts, I would be driven by Utu (revenge or recompense) not Aroha (love, working in the pest interest for others).
Finally, Christ stands as a warning against the activists, the Social Justice Warriors. When you condemn, when you protest, against yourself you are protesting, and the actions you damn you are guilty of.
