tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395646.post2375317164218873693..comments2024-03-06T19:21:15.708-05:00Comments on RealChoice: A response to the Tiller murderChristina Duniganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04785550737493692252noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395646.post-78637246698701118182009-06-01T15:49:22.053-04:002009-06-01T15:49:22.053-04:00Lilliput, Why? -- because sin makes one sick. And ...Lilliput, Why? -- because sin makes one sick. And it makes society sick. It's like poisoning the water we drink and the air we breathe. To just sit back and say nothing and do nothing while sin is spewing vileness into the world is unthinkable. The attitude expressed in your first paragraph is breathtakingly flippant about a very serious matter.<br /><br />Perfection does not come in this life, but in the life to come -- in Heaven. God has called us to holiness in this life, as much as we can, by His grace. But it doesn't mean we should just ignore all the sin and filth around us.Kathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10118292622669944944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395646.post-16171872109142062902009-06-01T15:39:08.855-04:002009-06-01T15:39:08.855-04:00Lilliput wrote:
Naaman, in that case - why can't y...Lilliput wrote:<br /><I>Naaman, in that case - why can't you allow women to have as many abortions they want and then confess and say sorry just before they die and then all is forgiven.<br /><br />Alternatively, if as you say we as a human race are sinful, and nothing we do will change that - then again, women should be allowed to abort on demand.</I>The Grace of Christ is not a "Sin All You Want, Then Get Out Of Hell Free!" card. Our sins still grieve our Father in Heaven. Yes, we are forgiven ... but that does <B>not</B> give us permission to sin. Paul addresses this very point in Romans 6.<br /><br />Also, we cannot forget that the sin of abortion has a cost beyond the spiritual harm that all sin causes. Specifically, abortion kills innocent human beings. Even if you don't believe in sin <B>at all</B>, abortion is a massive violation of human rights. There are several pro-life atheists (such as The Raving Atheist) who oppose abortion purely because of human rights, with no reference to sin at all.<br /><br />Lilliput also wrote:<br /><I>We can do this until such time that whatever needs to happen to make us "perfect" will happen - and I'm begging you to enlighten me with what that actually is?</I>The Holy Spirit works inside believers to make us perfect. Theologians call this process "sanctification". I'm not really sure if it finishes when we die ... or when Jesus comes back at the End of Days. However, I know that it doesn't happen during our earthly lives. (Unless we happen to be alive when Jesus returns.)<br /><br />It's important to note that our sanctification is not an earthly process. I cannot make myself righteous and perfect through my own self-effort. If I could, then Jesus would not have needed to die for me. Rather, our sanctification is a matter of Grace, as performed by the Holy Spirit. However, we can thwart the Holy Spirit's action in our lives through our own free will. (I didn't lose my free will when I became a believer.) Thwarting the Holy Spirit is one of the effects of sin. I won't grow in the Grace of Christ if I'm still clinging to my old sinful ways.<br /><br />---<br /><br />Sanctification is a tricky bit of doctrine, and many people have gotten it wrong over the years. The most important point is this: Trust in Christ, and He will do what He promised to do.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01302890840211374931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395646.post-85356976844636459612009-06-01T10:01:31.874-04:002009-06-01T10:01:31.874-04:00Naaman, in that case - why can't you allow women t...Naaman, in that case - why can't you allow women to have as many abortions they want and then confess and say sorry just before they die and then all is forgiven.<br /><br />Alternatively, if as you say we as a human race are sinful, and nothing we do will change that - then again, women should be allowed to abort on demand. <br /><br />We can do this until such time that whatever needs to happen to make us "perfect" will happen - and I'm begging you to enlighten me with what that actually is?Lilliputhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10793985988929869028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395646.post-87511400027613509052009-06-01T09:31:13.089-04:002009-06-01T09:31:13.089-04:00Lilliput:
To blame Christianity for the existence...Lilliput:<br /><br />To blame Christianity for the existence of human sin is a serious logic error. Real Christians don't pretend that we're immune to sin. Furthermore, we don't pretend that the Church is immune to sin. Scripture is very clear that <B>both</B> individual Christians <B>and</B> even the Church itself will fall into sin repeatedly. That's actually part of the Good News!<br /><br />Weird, huh?<br /><br />Of course, the News wouldn't be Good if the story ended there. If all we had was sin, then it would be Bad News. The Good News is that fact that Jesus died so that we would not be trapped in sin. Yes, we'll fall into sin from time to time, but Christ gives us a way to be free. He promises us that our sins are only temporary, and we will eventually be <B>perfect</B> ... just as He is perfect.<br /><br />There is nothing inherently wrong with Christianity. However, there is something inherently wrong with <B>the entire human race</B> -- sin -- and Christians are part of the human race. Does that make sense?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01302890840211374931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395646.post-38343041141701007722009-06-01T09:23:04.683-04:002009-06-01T09:23:04.683-04:00Christina, thanks so much for (re-)posting this ex...Christina, thanks so much for (re-)posting this excellent essay. It can be very difficult to explain why abortion is a monstrous evil and yet anti-abortion violence <B>is also</B> a monstrous evil. Your explanation does a good job on both counts.<br /><br />Thank you for blogging as you do.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01302890840211374931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395646.post-38861011459060766782009-06-01T07:30:29.832-04:002009-06-01T07:30:29.832-04:00I'm with C.S. Lewis on this one, that it makes a l...I'm with C.S. Lewis on this one, that it makes a lot more sense to say that Tiller was a bad Christian than to say he wasn't a Christian at all.<br /><br />And the fact that Tiller was in a church does indeed show that professing Christians can do terrible evil, yes.Christina Duniganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04785550737493692252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395646.post-47042624226427391702009-06-01T06:03:19.637-04:002009-06-01T06:03:19.637-04:00Its certainly very ironic that he was shot on the ...Its certainly very ironic that he was shot on the way to Church - when all of you don't believe he is Christian. It reminds me that Hitler did most of his recruiting in Church, Salem witch hunts were performed by the pious, and the Crusades were a model of G-ds mercy. <br /><br />When will we realise that there must be something inherintly wrong with the religion itself?Lilliputhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10793985988929869028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8395646.post-39454733652697599142009-06-01T06:03:19.253-04:002009-06-01T06:03:19.253-04:00Its certainly very ironic that he was shot on the ...Its certainly very ironic that he was shot on the way to Church - when all of you don't believe he is Christian. It reminds me that Hitler did most of his recruiting in Church, Salem witch hunts were performed by the pious, and the Crusades were a model of G-ds mercy. <br /><br />When will we realise that there must be something inherintly wrong with the religion itself?Lilliputhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10793985988929869028noreply@blogger.com