Dave Hoffman

Husband. Father. Completely fallible leaning on grace. Degrees in philosophy & accounting, cuz pragmatism. Evangelical ethos but not THAT kind of evangelical.

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@_BraveJustice For me it comes down to seeking truth but doing so with an attitude of humility. I believe truth can be discerned, but I also recognize that the Bible is full of examples of people pridefully self-assured that they fully knew God’s mind only to be proven mistaken.

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@AlsoACarpenter I wonder something similar when people say that issues of injustice can only be solved by individual hearts being changed, but yet those same people press their politicians to pass laws against a myriad of things they personally object to.

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@GingerSnapKid Psalm 25 is a good source of encouragement during times of struggling.

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@JohnFea1 “First Baptist Church-Dallas will celebrate Trump at Christmas.” There, fixed it for you.

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@KSPrior I pray that there ARE historians 100 years from now.

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@TheAlanNoble Constant while I had Covid in February. Since then, frequent times when I struggle more than usual with concentration and focus. I had relatively mild Covid symptoms, brain fog and physical exhaustion were the main issues I struggled with, and those have persisted.

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@AlanLCross So many no longer speak as Christians, but rather speak as members of a political tribe and as advocates for those political leaders.

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@RadioFreeTom Which is the real “war on Christmas,” this or “Season’s greetings” at a retail store?

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@laurchastain22 God’s word.” I was like, What?!?! How can you not recognize how you are conflating the “God’s-eye” description of the justification/sanctification of the universal church in Christ, with a local church organization with all its human faults and frailties and sins?

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@laurchastain22 words against problems and abuses in the churches to which he wrote? This mindset calls to mind a pastor of a previous church who proclaimed, “the Bible says the church is the spotless bride of Christ, so if you raise any criticism of our church, you are denying the truth of /2

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@laurchastain22 Our previous church was having difficulties. People were discouraged and leaving, it was obviously at a crossroads. The denomination office had us send the pastor on a personal retreat to map a path forward. He came back with a long list of suggested new additional programs.

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@KSPrior The Grinch, in the original Seuss story (not the subsequent movie adaptations).

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@JohnFea1 These folks are perpetually fearful that the destruction of America and/or the church is imminent, and perpetually outraged. Heck, they were angrier going into the 2020 election than they were going into 2016, after 4 years of basically getting everything they wanted under Trump.

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@staceylawson74 @JoshBir62484207 @hershaelyork I am not SBC so I can’t directly address your denominational discussions. But my own personal concern would be Christians denouncing with such a broad brush (as the politicians do) that it conveys the idea that there are no issues of racism that legitimately need to be worked on.

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@JoshBir62484207 @staceylawson74 @hershaelyork Worthy of debate and discussion? Absolutely. Needing clarification from Biblical truth? Sure, as with all things. Worthy of the panic and fear and alarm and outrage and threats of doom fostered by conservative media and politicians and Christian voices? Come on.

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@JoshBir62484207 @staceylawson74 @hershaelyork It’s an apt term. It is all over conservative media & politics. It’s fear tactics. It’s the latest in a long line of things that are going to destroy the country (or in conservative Christian circles, destroy the church). I am old enough to have seen many such things come and go.

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@staceylawson74 @hershaelyork @SBTS …and then never have to deal with them again” situation, which is what I am sure he means when he says he will “always” be this, i.e. it will be a constant process and a constant dependence on the Spirit throughout life on this side of heaven.

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@staceylawson74 @hershaelyork @SBTS Resign? No, and I would appreciate his candor and humility much as I would a pastor who shared his struggle with lustful thoughts (which Jesus calls adulterous) and shared how he deals with them so as to not act on them. Repent? Certainly, but our sins are rarely a “repent once…

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@staceylawson74 @hershaelyork Let me answer this way. I may congratulate myself that I am not an “adulterer” yet Jesus showed me that if I lust after someone not my wife, I have committed adultery in my heart. I am not a “murderer” but I have at times held hatred in my heart. Does that answer about “racist”?

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@staceylawson74 @hershaelyork …and (2) I need to consider how my experience as a white person in majority-white America has benefitted me (or at least been neutral) and leaves me unable to fully understand the experiences of minority persons, so I should listen to those experiences to better understand them.

[Dave Hoffman @DBHoffman42]

@staceylawson74 @hershaelyork …but I also recognize that (1) I grew up in a small town with virtually no minorities and a history of racism, so I would be foolish to not consider how that had shaped my perspective (despite having been blessed with parents who taught me to respect all people and races)…