Maggie's Farm

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Sunday, March 22. 2009

From today's Lectionary. "God so loved the world..."

John 3:14-21


3:14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,


3:15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.


3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.


3:17 "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.


3:18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.


3:19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.


3:20 For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.


3:21 But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God."

Posted by Bird Dog at 05:21 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

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This seems to be a good place to post a link of Brian Head Welch, formerly of the group Corn, giving his testimony. Very inspirational to see what God can do in peoples lives.

http://vimeo.com/2439676
#1 sean on 2009-03-22 09:56 (Reply)
Responding to the lectionary excerpt with anything but a nod may be risky. I have at times been contemptuous of Christian teaching, as C.S. Lewis was. Like Lewis, I have learned to be ashamed of my contempt. Unlike Lewis, though, I still find myself doubtful of the central tenet: that God had to incarnate Himself in order to placate Himself for the sins of His own children. If this isn't Christianity's central tenet, then 2000 years of tradition have been seriously distorted.
My dad would have found a better path and I'm sure God would, too.
The closest I can get looks like this: God didn't need to incarnate Himself to forgive us. We -- at least some of us -- needed to see a punishment before we could accept forgiveness. We needed the visible sacrifice. God's grace forgave us; the Passion was the proof we demanded, not God's price.
#2 Geoff on 2009-03-23 15:08 (Reply)

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