Monday, September 25, 2006

His spirit was grieved...

I don't think I ever quite understood statements like this from scripture before, but yesterday I think I finally experienced it for myself. My grieved spirit was the result of chasing a couple of links for books that ended up at the Amazon.com pages for books like Velvet Elvis, by Rob Bell and Renovation of the Heart and Divine Consipiracy, by Dallas Willard.

I am deeply saddened by the "reviews" so many people feel they have the right to post that do nothing better than assault the characters and personalities of these authors and fellow disciples. I guess at some level I knew that this would be inevitable as people began to explore discipleship to Jesus in a postmodern context. I have often made the statement that I believed I would be reviled as a heretic by those whose version of faith is thoroughly entrenched in modernism. But frankly, the reality is much more gruesome and depressing than I had anticipated.

Of course it's high irony that those who cast doubt on the veracity of the faith of these and other esteemed authors, themselves ignore the simple message of 1 John: If any claims to know God, yet does not love, he deceives himself and the truth is not in him. Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.

Until next time.

His,

Nate