Posts
Please feel free to add your own in the comment section. I find that these sayings are very prevalent in the Emergent Groups and in Post Modern Culture.
"There is absolutely NO absolute truth" (Are you absolutely sure?)
"We will not tolerate, intolerance!" (Yeah I can tell)
"We hate it when people use the word hate" (Me too)
"You people are all Heresy Hunters" (does that make you a hunter yourself?)
"You should not judge" (Isn't this a judgment?)
"There is no right or wrong" (so how do we know this statement is right?)
"We will hold you to your own standard even though we do not accept it" (but arent you accepting it by holding someone to it?)
"We are Christians and you don't have a right to tell us who is Christian and who is not" (didn't you just tell me who was a Christian, so only you have that right?)
"There is no authority" (And who gave you the authority to make that claim?)
"We are open minded and inclusive" (Unless of course you are conservative right?)
"We are not sure about anything" (Are you sure about that?)
"We never question our own doubts" (Doubtful that you do)
"We are not arrogant to think we have the truth but we know you are
wrong" (so what are you claiming here?)
Added today 9/26/08
"We need to disagree agreeably" Brian MaClaren (So are you agreeing or disagreeing then?)
-Before we let principles dictate how we view something or let scripture dictate it, we should "listen" for 5 years and be quiet, then we might have the answers- a summation from MaClaren on Homosexuality (so does this mean then that we cannot know if things are right or wrong without spending a predetermined amount of time "listening", how many issues fall into this category? ridiculous!)
Yes, Yes, I Know it is July 10th
24 minutes ago
14 Comments:
Jesus said that those who believe in Him would know the truth. See the if/then statement Jesus gave in John 8. Notice the condition in order to know the truth! Yes, those who do not abide in His word will not know the truth and therefore will continue in their bondage.
John 8:31-32 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
I did Google searches on each of the little quotes you post here. I didn’t find a single one on an emergent related website (but several of them are found on the anti-emergent sites). Maybe I missed them. Since you mention that “these sayings are very prevalent in the Emergent Groups”, would you mind posting a few links to the emergent sites that show these very prevalent sayings. It would be helpful for fact checking your claims.
ok here's an example from Brian McClaren one that encompasses most of Andy's examples including:
"We are not sure about anything"
"There is no right or wrong"
"We are not arrogant to think we have the truth but we know you are wrong"
BRIAN MCCLAREN:
Frankly, many of us don't know what we should think about homosexuality. We've heard all sides but no position has yet won our confidence so that we can say "it seems good to the Holy Spirit and us." That alienates us from both the liberals and conservatives who seem to know exactly what we should think. Even if we are convinced that all homosexual behavior is always sinful, we still want to treat gay and lesbian people with more dignity, gentleness, and respect than our colleagues do. If we think that there may actually be a legitimate context for some homosexual relationships, we know that the biblical arguments are nuanced and multilayered, and the pastoral ramifications are staggeringly complex. We aren't sure if or where lines are to be drawn, nor do we know how to enforce with fairness whatever lines are drawn.
Perhaps we need a five-year moratorium on making pronouncements. In the meantime, we'll practice prayerful Christian dialogue, listening respectfully, disagreeing agreeably. When decisions need to be made, they'll be admittedly provisional. We'll keep our ears attuned to scholars in biblical studies, theology, ethics, psychology, genetics, sociology, and related fields. Then in five years, if we have clarity, we'll speak; if not, we'll set another five years for ongoing reflection.
Let me guess Didymus - you also disagree agreeably... its not word for word so you are going to discount the obvious fact that Brian McClaren spins everything he says to avoid taking any responsiblity for a position, especially a Biblical one!
Didymus,
I hope you do not dodge this, but before I answer you I want to understand why you insist on using a pejorative statement like "anti" to describe websites that disagree with Emergent Theology. What would be classified as "Anti-Emergent" in your opinion? And if we get to throw around such terms so carelessly, can I then say that Emergents are "Anti-Christian"? Since, many of them deny the foundations of the Christian faith...
What you do is you take the focus off the issue and label someone who disagrees with you as the "bad guy" by using the "anti".
What you do with your "anti" word is lump a person and their ideology together in a disparaging way. It just does not seem to jive with what you claim as part of your openness and acceptance. Really this is about your heart you are still using the words of the propaganda machine.
Andy,
You ask, I hope you do not dodge this, but before I answer you I want to understand why you insist on using a pejorative statement like "anti" to describe websites that disagree with Emergent Theology. What would be classified as "Anti-Emergent" in your opinion?
Well, use pro- and con- then, anti- only means those sites that openly disagree with emergent, that’s all.
What you do with your "anti" word is lump a person and their ideology together in a disparaging way.
I didn’t know you were so sensitive Andy; I’ll try to be more careful of your delicate sensibilities in the future.
It just does not seem to jive with what you claim as part of your openness and acceptance. Really this is about your heart you are still using the words of the propaganda machine.
Oh cut the BS, I’ve been reading and commenting on your blog for a while now so I’m not a complete novice to your efforts to denigrate, belittle and vilify anyone and all who do not capitulate to your point of view. You made an accusation above that I think is demonstrably in error, I commented, if you want to reply – fine, if not – also fine.
(And don't you take the focus off the issue with the anti- label.)
anythingbutlukewarm,
I disagree agreeable with Brian McLaren on a number of things, but with you I just disagree.
You know didymus, I commend the preaching and teaching of one Pastor Mark Driscoll to you. I think his teaching might provide you with some insight that you might otherwise miss out on. Check out Resurgence.com for some podcasts and the like from Driscoll.
Prodigal,
Thanks for the recommendation. I am familiar with Mark Driscoll and have listened to a few of his podcasts in the past.
Didymus,
I already know you are "unassailable" which is why I put the poster up top. "Your critics have you all wrong" you know that is just another straw man right?
Thanks for appealing to the "golden ring" of Emergent Apologetics!
[didymus: shrugging shoulders, walking away, mumbling to himself, “does Andy know what a straw man argument even is? Oh, but he must, his whole blog is full of them"]
Straw man "A discussion technique used to refute an opposing view by misrepresenting it"
Where are you misrepresented?
Just because you do not like the image in the mirror doesn't mean that the mirror is bad.
Where are you misrepresented? I have to smile at that question.
Your analogy with the mirror isn’t exactly working, and since I don’t want to say something that may appear cruel, let me just say that I find it hard to take any useful criticism out of your critique of Emergent.
But don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy the trash talking we do here on your blog. It’s slow here at my work right now, and your posts and comments always hit the spot. You should reply more often than every few days.
Sorry Thomas I will try and comment more often
While you are bored try watching the last two videos I posted you might find some interesting content.
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