“You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:34
Christians know the miserable bondage we were all in.
We know that a corrupt, malign, or false ideological or religious system will produce bad fruit.
But we also know that an ideological or religious system is corrupt, malign or false when it produces bad fruit.
"Now John Laws has made his last broadcast. We cannot hear his voice again. But we can tune into another Voice – the Voice from above. We can pick up today the gospel of this other John, the one who tells us of the man John Laws admired." – @mpjensen https://t.co/b4p1TPqU20
We do not find Paul concerning himself with the size of churches or with questions about their growth. His primary concern is with their faithfulness, with the integrity of their witness.
Those trying to quell inner doubts about their position fear debate because they fear changing their minds. That's why they'd rather broadcast declarations of unshakeable certainty than engage in dialogue. They aren't trying to change minds, they're reassuring themselves.
To repeat: Every preacher in every pulpit this Sunday and for Sundays to come should be proclaiming radical grace, respect for others, moderate language, opposition to violent speech in concrete terms...and if that is "political," make the most of it.