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tic to reclaim this beloved holiday make it ours again transform it into a season that truly inspires the celebration and honor of our lord and how did jesus say those who love him would truly honor him they would keep his commands and what were those commands loving god and our neighbor enemies included with everything within us so does it honor jesus when christians force the world to adhere to god s standards or even worse our standards in the name of god or trying to conform the world to an outward appearance that is more convenient for us instead of demonstrating concern for the heart does it honor jesus when we selfishly demand and economically blackmail secular businesses to recognize our precious holiday and meet our needs is our faith so fragile that we need the world to validate it by continuing to water down a holiday they don t fully understand nor should be expected to understand it s not a biblical mandate to celebrate christmas but it is a mandate to honor jesus by living out his teachings we could flex our religious muscle and force worldly institutions to half heartedly recognize christmas to appease us make our lives easier and more pleasant but would our victory for christmas be a loss in honoring christ would our victory be just one more terrible witness to the world where we exert domination over the world through force condemnation and judgment instead of reaching the world with sacrificial love service kindness and compassion why are we so intent on cleaning up the world s outward image instead of reaching hearts are we like the pharisees who care only to clean the outside of the cup while leaving the inside filthy and empty what difference does it make if the secular leaders and businesses recognize christmas in name to appease us only to remain inwardly unaffected confused and resentful these outcries to restore christmas will only ensure that we christians can stroll through the mall hearing our favorite christmas music enjoying our favorite man made traditions and hear a merry christmas from a minimum wage working cashier after overpaying for stuff we don t really need wow i can hear the well done my good and faithful servant now ah but there is hope what if we took the teaching of jesus seriously what if we saw this ban of christmas as a unique opportunity what if we overcame evil with good turned the other cheek loved those who hate us blessed those who curse us lose our secure comfortable lives so we might save it in the end wouldn t it come as a baffling shock if christians everywhere put down their picket signs ceased the boycotts dropped the christmas lawsuits and instead showered politicians business owners and aclu workers that show disdain for christmas christians with thoughtful gifts invitations to our christmas celebrations letters of prayers not condemning ones asking nothing in return what if christians took all the money they are spending on lawsuits over christmas and used it to serve the poor the marginalized and sick what if we stopped courting the approval and recognition of the rich and powerful and focused on the least the lost and the last of this world what if christians recreated our christmas celebrations and invited the world instead of demanding the world get it right and include us how much harder would it be for the world to label us as judgmental condemning intolerant superficial hypocrites if we actually lead by example by service by radical ridiculous unconditional love see jesus is no naive optimist he is a genius by responding to cruelty with kindness insult with blessing neglect with service rejection with embrace it proves our opponent wrong it shows their true colors it halts their accusations it could inspire a rethinking of their assumptions it makes us a people separated unto god it clears the way for reconciliation healing renewal forgiveness and transformation when we take the bait and repay evil with evil eye for eye dollar for dollar insult for insult when we demand our due we not only lose in the end but we become our enemy for we are guilty of the same offenses tactics and attitudes for what good is it if we only show love to those who love us do not even non christians do this aren t we called to a higher standard so let s do what jesus would have us do on the day we ve chosen to celebrate his birth lose our holiday to save it after all lose the war on christmas to truly win it posted by tia lecorchick at 11 03 am 1 comment email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest monday november 29 2010 my google map view local shops and restaurants in a larger map posted by tia lecorchick at 10 35 am no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest wednesday october 20 2010 loving our enemies where to begin this post is part of the bless those who curse you campaign s synchroblog the links to other contributors can be found at the bottom of this post jesus makes me laugh sometimes i laugh at his snarky comebacks to the pharisees sometimes i laugh when i think of him walking on water perhaps with a hint of playful mischief in his eyes as he beckons peter to follow sometimes i laugh at his blatant disregard for social customs religious traditions and the accepted orthodox theology of his day but then other times there s a different sort of laughter that jesus elicits from me it happens when i encounter some of his most radical teachings but i tell you do not resist an evil person if someone strikes you on the right cheek turn to him the other also if someone forces you to go one mile go with him two miles give to everyone who asks you and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you or but i tell you who hear me love your enemies do good to those who hate you bless those who curse you pray for those who mistreat you if someone takes your cloak do not stop him from taking your tunic and if anyone takes what belongs to you do not demand it back do to others as you would have them do to you this laughter isn t an intellectually amused reaction to jesus razor sharp wit it is not the laughter that comes from the awe of what must have been a bizarrely beyond all reason experience nor is it the semi maniacal laughter over jesus flipping his culture s most precious ideologies upside down no this kind of laughter comes from utter almost appalled disbelief love my enemies bless those who curse me pray for those who mistreat me don t fight back but turn the other cheek don t resist an evil person if someone steals my coat give them the shirt off my back too give to everyone who asks of me without expecting to ever be repaid no this isn t the laughter of the amused it is the laughter of the offended the dumbfounded the convicted and yet after the initial shock wears off about just how insane the way of christ is and how miserably i fall short of it all there is something so brilliant and beautiful happening behind jesus words it s not just that jesus commands us to love our enemies but he s undermining the entire belief that we even have any enemies to begin with paul picked up on this when he wrote for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but principalities and powers people are not our enemies people get caught up in the systems of principalities and powers become enslaved to those principalities and powers even acting as agents of them but people themselves are not our enemies they are our fellow image bearers they are our fellow human beings who god loves just as much as he loves us it applies to the thief the terrorist the hypocrite the liar the angry the greedy the self righteous the bitter the wounder the wounded the violent the religious other the sexual other the political other loving our enemies is the way to affirm the innate dignity and worth of every person even when they deserve it the least it s the way to stop the cyclical nature of violence revenge bitterness unforgiveness and hatred it s the tiny window into the glorious bigger picture beyond our individual wounds and pet ideologies loving our enemies sometimes shows us that we ourselves have often been an enemy to the other who have we declared to be our enemies who have you declared to be your enemy loving our enemies where to begin perhaps we must first realize that we don t actually have any others blogging on this topic david henson at unorthodoxology can anybody find me somebody to love george elerick at the love revolution toxicity brian ammons at nekkid ressurrection loving those who curse us brambonius blog love your enemies bless those who curse you mark sandlin at the god article a call to political authenticity for christians danielle shroyer a prayer for our enemies and for us posted by tia lecorchick at 9 29 am 1 comment email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest conservative christians and same sex marriage a match made in america i m a christian a christian with very conservative roots no less despite this background i ve been surprisingly fortunate enough to become dear friends with many beautiful people in the glbt community i absolutely support my glbt neighbors in their struggle for equal rights and privileges under the law at the same time my theology tends to be a little more conservative don t think of jerry falwell pat robertson conservative but more tony campolo conservative on the issue so i submit this post in the spirit of friendship and seeking common ground is it possible for one to be both a conservative christian and support same sex marriage for many this sounds like an oxymoron but after some careful reflection i believe conservatives can accept the secular legalization of same sex marriage without compromising their convictions on homosexuality or marriage in general we should ask ourselves the following questions to what extent do we impose our religious morals onto others through the law to what extent should we depend on the government to uphold our religious views on sexual ethics and marriage are opponents of legalizing same sex marriage consistent with other sexual violations within society such as adultery fornication divorce and remarriage while christians have a responsibility to teach the tenets of their faith to the world we should not seek to impose the tenets unique to our faith onto the broader public in a free and pluralistic society commitment to the christian faith or any faith for that matter and compliance to the moral expectations thereof should be completely voluntary and not enforced through governmental law at the heart of the conservative christian position is the belief that homosexuality is a sin and marriage has traditionally been between a man and woman therefore as christians we must prevent same sex marriage from being validated under the law but to what extent should christians or people of any faith seek to impose their religious beliefs onto the broader public through the laws of the land certainly we have quite an inconsistent application as to which biblical sins should be permissible under our laws such as fornication divorce and remarriage the bible has a lot to say on these issues much more than it does on homosexuality btw yet there are not many christians seeking to enforce those standards on the broader public through the law where are the efforts to reform common law marriages two unmarried people obtaining the legal benefits of a married couple or for the government to only allow divorce in cases of adultery or a law to forbid divorced people from getting remarried many christians also believe the bible forbids unequally yoked marriages christians marrying outside of their faith should the government deny marriages to interfaith couples previously divorced couples or force couples seeking a divorce to remain married is it the government s place to only grant legal marriages to those who meet traditional biblical requirements most of us instinctively know that while these issues are very important to how we live out our faith and conduct our faith communities we should not force society to conform to all the standards of our faith faith and conformity to the moral standards thereof must be voluntary christians have every right to express their views on homosexuality and if that is ever threatened i would stand up for the freedom of speech and the right of religious communities to conduct themselves as they see fit but consider for a moment that one does not have to give up or even compromise their beliefs about homosexuality in order to accept same sex marriage within our society consider c s lewis argument for the legalization of divorce in great britain could the same logic be applied to the same sex marriage debate in america before leaving the question of divorce i should like to distinguish two things which are very often confused the christian conception of marriage is one the other is the quite different question how far christians if they are voters or members of parliament ought to try to force their views of marriage on the rest of the community by embodying them in the divorce laws a great many people seem to think that if you are a christian you should try to make divorce difficult for every one i do not think that at least i know i should be very angry if the muslims tried to prevent the rest of us from drinking wine my own view is that the churches should frankly recognize that the majority of the british people are not christians and therefore cannot be expected to live christian lives there ought to be two distinct kinds of marriage one governed by the state with rules enforced on all citizens the other governed by the church with rules enforced by her on her own members the distinction ought to be quite sharp c s lewis mere christianity p112 much like c s lewis argued for divorce allowances in a secular society that went beyond the biblical allowances so can the conservative christian argue for same sex marriage in a secular society and yet retain for themselves and their churches the standards in accordance with their faith christians often support the rights of others that are in direct conflict with their faith for instance one of the very founding principles of our nation is the freedom of religion this means we guarantee the right for all people to practice the faith of their choosing and worship freely i would think for traditional christians one of the worst sins would be to worship other gods yet many traditional christians sometimes religiously devoted to the constitution affirm the freedom of religion for all people our government recognizes other religions and provides tax exempt statuses for all kinds of houses of worship christian mormon jewish muslim hindu and buddhist so under our current policies the government rewards and legitimizes other religions yet traditional christians believe it is a sin to worship any other god beside god the father through jesus christ how do we reconcile this we...