Goodness comes into the world not so much through organizing the behavior of others, but through individualistic, spontaneous acts of self sacrificial love. --- unnamed Baptist minister
This quote was found in the comment thread for an entry on the blog of The Fall of the Evangelical Nation author Christine Wicker.
What do you think ? It strikes me that a lot of what the "opposition" groups (AAC/ACN/CCP + whatever add'l alphabet soup they use) do revolves around attempts to organize the behavior of others. Their desire for an Anglican Curia, attempts to take over Episcopal Church dioceses and occasional threats to remove same from TEC, their constant haranguing for TEC to "repent." It seems to boil down to "if you won't be good, we'll make you be good!"
I see very little self-sacrificial love in these machinations, and maybe that's a sign. Fruits of the Spirit and all that.
[hat tip to Dan at Culture Choc for the link to Wicker's site]
5 comments:
I know it is "pushing my product" (i.e., Julian of Norwich) but I cannot help myself.
She wrote:
"When other men's sins come to mind, the soul that wishes to be in repose shall flee from that as from the pain of hell, searching in God for remedy for help against it, for the beholding of other men's sins makes, as it were, a thick mist before the eye of the soul, and we cannot for the time see the fairness of God..."
(Do forgive her masculine generics -- after all, it was over 600 years ago!)
Please Sir, continue to "not be able to help yourself" anytime you wish. We luvs us our Dame Julian, yes we do :)
Loving the post and the comment from John-Julian as well!
being a fan of VonBalthasaar, who posits that Jesus himself slowly learned who and what he was through obedience to God's will and self-sacrificial love, I agree completely with this pastor's comment. Sadly the Christian universe seems divided between those who follow the Great Commission(baptize 'em and tell how to follow the rules) and the Great Commandment (love one another as you have been loved). I am in the latter group. I approach antinomianism - I believe there is only one law - the Great Commandment. Following that subsumes all else and is the only thing that heals all human evil in the world. The rest 'is just commentary.' thanks -
Oh, Fr. Craig: yes, yes, yes, YES, and YES!
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