I've been a member of this church since 04,
It's a good church with good honest people who truly long to be closer to their God.
That said,
they frighten me.
I turn on the news and hear about the West Borough Baptist Church, and if I asked anyone about them they'd surely shake their heads and cluck in remorse that any thing like that could come out of Jesus's teachings
"So Extreme"
"They aren't displaying the Love of God"
"The bible doesn't teach that"
it's all very comforting, but the more I heard about it the more I began to wonder
How extreme are they really??
Extreme:
adj.
1. Most remote in any direction; outermost or farthest: the extreme edge of the field.
Extremists tend to isolate themselves from society,
either through rules or through actual physical space.
They frequently move from place to place as the area either becomes more crowded or as the surrounding populace becomes less hospitable to their beliefs.
2. Being in or attaining the greatest or highest degree; very intense: extreme pleasure; extreme pain.
Extremists are always pushing to become that which they worship
and often do not stop to evaluate their goals or consider the consequences
3. Extending far beyond the norm: an extreme conservative.
Rules are an integral part of any Extremist lifestyle,
separating themselves from others in a clear unmistakeable way is often the goal.
This is seen as being "set apart" or "chosen"
4. Of the greatest severity; drastic: took extreme measures to conserve fuel.
Extremists are constantly striving,
either against each other or the "evil ones",
to become closer to their prospective goals (God, Land, physical perfection, etc.)
They have a tendency to see the world in terms of black and white
and have problems showing empathy or compassion for anyone they see as wrong.
I think what really scares me isn't that I haven't met a single member
of my church that doesn't swear by at least three of these four definitions,
it's that not too long ago I did too.
{img credit: Aisha} {img credit: undercoverage.net}
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, November 10, 2010
and is filed under
definitions,
doctrine,
judgement,
people skills,
questioning
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