Wednesday, March 17, 2004
Faith: who is the enemy?
How strange some Christians are. As Andrew's comment (to The West: Freedom of conscience reminds me, so many of us seem to think of Muslims, Hindus and other non-Christian religious people as our opponents. (Or at least we sometimes sound that way...)
How blind! In the West, we live in a society that in its public speech denies spirituality, or seeks to relegate it to each individual's 'private' world. While the public space is aridly materialist.
Our neighbours are (by this) denied the creator's touch in their lives. Under these circumstances, how can we see those who seek God in the wrong places as "the enemy"?
Surely the first and greatest enemy is the one who denies God, deadens spirit and proclaims that matter is all-powerful, all-giving, all we need to experience heaven on earth is consume more.
But that enemy we welcome into our homes, eagerly invite into our heads... It's not just the poor we starve through our greed, we condemn ourselves to spiritual starvation rations (Am 8:11-12 but read the whole chapter!) ¶ 9:31 AM
[to Del.icio.us]
How strange some Christians are. As Andrew's comment (to The West: Freedom of conscience reminds me, so many of us seem to think of Muslims, Hindus and other non-Christian religious people as our opponents. (Or at least we sometimes sound that way...)
How blind! In the West, we live in a society that in its public speech denies spirituality, or seeks to relegate it to each individual's 'private' world. While the public space is aridly materialist.
Our neighbours are (by this) denied the creator's touch in their lives. Under these circumstances, how can we see those who seek God in the wrong places as "the enemy"?
Surely the first and greatest enemy is the one who denies God, deadens spirit and proclaims that matter is all-powerful, all-giving, all we need to experience heaven on earth is consume more.
But that enemy we welcome into our homes, eagerly invite into our heads... It's not just the poor we starve through our greed, we condemn ourselves to spiritual starvation rations (Am 8:11-12 but read the whole chapter!) ¶ 9:31 AM
[to Del.icio.us]
