Conference lgp30::christian-perspective

    
    >What comes to mind when you think of "easy Christianity"?

    Liberal theology.

    		Alfred

    Upholding the doctrine of Christianity:
    
    1. Realizing Christianity is a faith based belief.
    2. Accepting on that belief.
    3. Being the salt of the earth.  Letting your light so shine among men.
       Being a living witness and showing Christ to others through your 
       actions, i.e. living the Spirit filled life.  (Point three is moot
       without points one and two.)
    4. Sharing your faith with others as prescribed by the Great
       Commission,  (Matthew 28).
       
    Perverting the gospel of Christianity (Easy Christianity if you will)
    
    1. Doctrine and salvation based on self (Good works, philosophy, etc.)
    2. Christ' atoning sacrifice secondary to self, (Works, philosophy,
       etc.)
    3. Belief in many ways to the One True God, (Nullifying the Word of
       God.)
    4. Basing one's eternal life on feelings and emotions (Everybody does
       this from time to time.)
    
    -Jack

re: Note 912.0 by Richard "Peace Power Ranger" 

>What comes to mind when you think of "easy Christianity"?

The type exemplified by the bumper sticker I've seen that goes

		.---------------------------.
		|  The Bible says it        |
		|      I believe it         |
		|          That settles it  |
                `---------------------------'

Peace,

Jim

    .3
    
    That's really humorous... 
    
    

    .3  That's the closest to Bonhoeffer's answer so far.
    
    Shalom,
    Richard
    

    And I celebrate Bonhoeffer's 1st amendment right to state it!!
    
    -Jack

    Actually, Bonhoeffer was German.  But it would be good if such
    rights extended beyond the U.S. Constitution, eh?
    
    Richard
    

    Yes, that would be great because it would essentially defuse
    totalitarianism in the world.  I say difuse rather than eliminate
    because I see our BoR rapidly eroding.  
    
    Let's talk about this a little more:  The Bible says it,
    					  I believe it,
    					  That settles it!
    
    I think the meaning here is more personal than authoritarian.  It shows
    the bumper sticker owner to have strong convictions about this.  
    I know more people who may as well have this sticker on their car:
    
    The Bible says it,
    I don't believe it,
    That settles it!
           or
    The Bible says it,
    I believe some of it,
    That settles it.
           or
    The Bible says it,
    I believe what makes me feel good,
    That settles it!
    
    All four of these stickers have equal merit.  Because faith is based on
    free will, I can no more dislike you for your beliefs than dislike you
    for choosing vanilla over chocolate ice cream.  
    Without reading Bonhoeffer, my opinion is that easy Christianity is one
    of no conviction, no sacrifice, no foundation, and the propensity to 
    latch onto a label to feel good about ones self, which isn't really 
    Christianity at all.
    
    -Jack    

re: Note 912.8 by Jack

Jack, 

As I read it, the problem with "bumper sticker faith", even the variousone you 
imagine, is that very little thought/struggle/work has been applied to the 
statements.

>    All four of these stickers have equal merit.  

And the merit for each of them in my opinion is pretty low.

>                                             Because faith is based on
>    free will, I can no more dislike you for your beliefs than dislike you
>    for choosing vanilla over chocolate ice cream.  

Agreed.

>    Without reading Bonhoeffer, my opinion is that easy Christianity is one
>    of no conviction, no sacrifice, no foundation, and the propensity to 
>    latch onto a label to feel good about ones self, which isn't really 
>    Christianity at all.

Agreed.  That is the point I was making.
    
Peace,

Jim

BTW,

I have the same dislike of the "Just Say No" approach to drug use. 
To me it says "don't think about it".  I have no stats to back this up, but my 
own observations are that that message also got tied in to beneficial drugs 
and medication.  Many people who could have benefitted from various drug 
therapies were denied because either they or their doctors misapplied the 
slogan.  I am not promoting recreational use of drugs.  I am promoting 
thinking about it, studying it, and making a well informed choice.

Peace,

Jim

re: Note 912.11 by Jack,

>    As you can see, I hate bumperstickers!!
    
You won't find any on my car!  (I don't like them either.)

Jim  .-)

'course, some rusty old cars are held together by bumperstickers.

    I agree with you Jim, from an adult point of view.  I firmly believe in 
    substantive non wishy washing solutions.  I am not a Nancy Reagan lover
    by any means, but I believe the "Just Say No" campaign was taylored to
    give youth a new mindset since they are more apt to cave in to peer
    pressure and the like.
    
    BTW., I am not a proponent for bumper stickers.  They can actually hurt
    your testimony; especially if you are a Boston driver!!!!
    
    -Jack

For Dietrich Bonhoeffer, it meant the opposite of counting 
the cost and being willing to pay the price.  I agree with
him.

Very few of us are like Dietrich Bonhoeffer or Keith Green.
It is understandable - but lamentable.

Collis

    
    .13
    
    Please elaborate... :-)

Hitler put Bonhoeffer to death, just days before the end of WWII.

He was involved in a plot to kill Hitler.

/john

    .15  True.  In a sense, Hitler succeeded where Bonhoeffer failed.
    
    Richard
    

    Interesting after thought.  Samuel Adams is labeled in history as kind
    of a mean spirited zealot who wouldn't think twice about stabbing a
    redcoat.  I have no idea about his religious views but it brings about
    an interesting question.  
    
    Both Hitler and King George were tyrants.  Hitler in my mind is in a
    different league all together along with others like Stalin, Nero, 
    the Kings of Babylon and the like.
    
    Nevertheless, they were both tyrants and the question is this. 
    Bonhoeffer plotted to kill Hitler, Peter cut off the servants ear but
    was told to put away his sword.  For the record, I probably would have
    emulated Bonhoeffer but the question is: Regardless of Nationalism or
    Religion, was Bonhoeffers stand condoned by God?  How about Samuel
    Adams?  Does Nationalism/Religion justify the action?
    
    -Jack

That Bonhoeffer opposed Hitler was to his credit.  The majority of his
contemporaries did not.

Richard

Easy Christianity, I think, encompasses the 'no real investment' style
of some Christians.

I see it from time to time here in CHRISTIAN-PERSPECTIVE.  There are
folks who do not care to share in any meaningful fellowship.  They do
not wish to reveal too much about themselves on a personal level.  They
do not want to be your friend.  Sometimes, they don't even want to
introduce themselves.

Like some intangible orthopedic device, they want to correct.  They
want to straighten the wayward and the searching.

I can sympathize.  There are only so many hours in day.  You can't take
time to make friends with everyone.  So, one must base one's actions on
one's priorities.

Richard