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My latest rant on race:
There is a sizable chunk of the Reformed community -- of which I used to be a member (heck, I still have my "YRR Charter Member" card around here somewhere) -- that is puzzling me.
There is a sizable chunk of the Reformed community -- of which I used to be a member (heck, I still have my "YRR Charter Member" card around here somewhere) -- that is puzzling me.
Now while it is true that a better recognition of our fallen state means a better understanding of how great God is to save us, these people bastardize this concept by focusing on the wrong end of the equation and absolutely fetishizing their depravity.
Isaac Watts& #39; self-reference of "such a worm as I" is absolute narcissism compared to how these people view life. Rather than focusing on God& #39;s greatness, they focus on their own sinfulness -- and oh, by the way, that incidentally means that God is great.
For every one of them, their life verse -- by deed, if not word -- is 1 Cor 11:28a ("let a man examine himself"). They delight in discovering/realizing sin in their lives of which they were previously unaware (though, thankfully, dealing with it).
They view, as the apex of spirituality, the self-doubt that the disciples had at the Last Supper when they asked about the betrayer, "Is it I, Lord?" and wrap themselves in similar levels of self-doubt.
Now, to be clear, nothing of what I& #39;ve said is caricature or exaggeration. TBH, we& #39;re basically talking about the me (and my peers) of 10 years ago.
And yet here& #39;s the rub.
And yet here& #39;s the rub.
In the last few years, many pastors and teachers (including many in Reformed community itself) have been speaking on race -- including many white men who have confessed to previously-unrealized racism in their hearts. Many have also called their brethren to "examine themselves".
Suddenly, the sin-fetishizers misplace their feces. They scream that the pastors/teachers are "drifting away from the Gospel", and in an instant, their life verse changes to Luke 10:29a ("But he, wanting to justify himself").
Worst of all, these people who loved to detect sin in their own lives -- without a hint of irony -- are now absolutely certain that there& #39;s nothing wrong with them, nor anyone they know.
How in the *hell* do you do that?
(BTW, I didn& #39;t use the word "hell" to be emphatic or controversial. I was just answering my own question.)
(BTW, I didn& #39;t use the word "hell" to be emphatic or controversial. I was just answering my own question.)
