Wednesday, October 20, 2004
i found the following question, addressed by a fellow michiganian to bishop john shelby spong, a little odd, to say the least:
hmmm. yes, it sure is difficult to try to carry on Christianity while disregarding the crux (pun intended) of the Christian faith. i fail to understand why anyone would sound miffed that '[p]reachers, liturgical rites, hymns and religious education curricula' would teach the doctrine of the atonement. instead of trying to '[o]vercome' this 'widespread Christian belief' in the context of Christianity, it seems more sensible to find a new religion, or perhaps to create one's own, which is exactly what the rev. dr. kathleen seems to me to wish to do. the truth would be much better served if we altered dr. kathleen's final sentence to read, 'Personally and pastorally, "atonement" thinking remedies a mire of destructive results caused by the Fall and I, for one, would well appreciate cogent analysis and exposition of how we might best approach this doctrine.'
bill, i know you're reading this and i expect a response forthwith.
dave, i hope you're reading this and will thus call me perhaps around 11:30 p.m. EST tomorrow.
The Rev. Dr. Kathleen from Michigan writes:
"Overcoming the widespread Christian belief that "Jesus died for my sins" seems an insurmountable challenge! Preachers, liturgical rites, hymns and religious education curricula continue to reinforce "atonement theology/theories." Would you do a series on "atonement theology/theories" &ndash [sic; i don't know what this means--ed.]; their origins, rationale, continued justification, etc.? Personally and pastorally, "atonement" thinking creates a mire of destructive results and I, for one, would well appreciate your cogent analysis of how we might best approach this."
hmmm. yes, it sure is difficult to try to carry on Christianity while disregarding the crux (pun intended) of the Christian faith. i fail to understand why anyone would sound miffed that '[p]reachers, liturgical rites, hymns and religious education curricula' would teach the doctrine of the atonement. instead of trying to '[o]vercome' this 'widespread Christian belief' in the context of Christianity, it seems more sensible to find a new religion, or perhaps to create one's own, which is exactly what the rev. dr. kathleen seems to me to wish to do. the truth would be much better served if we altered dr. kathleen's final sentence to read, 'Personally and pastorally, "atonement" thinking remedies a mire of destructive results caused by the Fall and I, for one, would well appreciate cogent analysis and exposition of how we might best approach this doctrine.'
bill, i know you're reading this and i expect a response forthwith.
dave, i hope you're reading this and will thus call me perhaps around 11:30 p.m. EST tomorrow.
