Evangelical Outpost has a regular feature called “Thirty-Three Things”. I’m not there yet. I hope to be consistent with three things for now.
(1) I’ve been hearing and reading a lot lately about how when Jesus said “on earth as it is in Heaven” he wasn’t just talking about “thy will be done”, but also “thy kingdom come.” While that is a true and worthy assertion, what about “hallowed be thy name“? Many (please forgive my vague and largely inexcusable use of the word “many”) who point this out are advocating social justice that “lives out the Gospel” but doesn’t preach it.
But is the name of the Father to be hallowed on earth? Can we truly do that if we don’t “teach them to obey everything [Christ has] commanded”? Then we must preach and practice putting Christ above all else, including our good works.
(2) In related news, “Love God” and “Love your neighbor” are two separate commands. They are not, together, the Greatest Commandment. (continue reading…)
This, from one of Andrew Sullivan’s readers:
Suppose that through no fault of your own you fall from a great height and that I happen to be beneath you. Looking up, I see that you are headed straight for me and will crush me to death when you land. Suddenly I notice off to my left a red button and a nearby sign that reads “Push red button to disintegrate any object above you.” Thinking fast, I push the red button, you are disintegrated, and I am spared from being crushed to death.
Have I done anything wrong? No: morality permits me to kill you in order to save myself–this is a self-defense killing. But notice that you were completely innocent. The conclusion, then, is that morality permits, at least in certain cases, the killing of innocents.
Does anyone agree with the second sentence of paragraph 2? It’s just a ridiculous statement. Darwinism permits it; naturalism permits it; but what moral or ethical authority endorses this kind of killing? Sure, if you’re being attacked, but that’s not the killing of an innocent. (continue reading…)
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