tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949422246633548404.post878484505305102699..comments2024-02-07T11:31:44.141+03:00Comments on On Life in St. Petersburg: Ancient Consensual Scriptural TeachingElizabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15283395756742923658noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949422246633548404.post-17869726552347916432009-07-18T03:03:35.799+04:002009-07-18T03:03:35.799+04:00Those are good points, Sue. I think you and V(ital...Those are good points, Sue. I think you and V(itali) are right about Christ focusing more on the people. When you stop and look someone in the eye, some of those issues go right out the window and you wonder why they seemed so important. Or the opposite might happen; you realize that this is what you had been fighting for, and that you would like to fight more fervently.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15283395756742923658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949422246633548404.post-11288673608532187582009-07-17T20:27:26.196+04:002009-07-17T20:27:26.196+04:00Elizabeth, I love reading your thoughts - really t...Elizabeth, I love reading your thoughts - really thought-provoking and edifying to me, even when I don't always agree with every interpretation! <br /><br />In the quotes from the book, the one I find most salient is this one:<br /><br />"Apply the ancient ecumenical method of discernment to contested questions."<br /><br />I think the church could use a lot more of true biblical discernment applied to "contested questions" and I think the answers would often surprise a lot of people (myself included at times of course). <br /><br />To that end, while I do not agree with everything that the poster "V . . . ." wrote I do agree with some of points who and where Jesus would focus on and I think that sometimes our broader church-y interpretations of scripture tend to focus on a few "controversial or "contested" hot-button issues and in so doing overlook the people and issues and activities that Jesus gives the most attention to. <br /><br />To help with this, I find an occassion re-reading of I John to be most helpful - he really boils it down to the basics. Love God. Follow his commands. Love one another.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949422246633548404.post-14441341420478276742009-07-17T19:22:23.662+04:002009-07-17T19:22:23.662+04:00John Paul II was on his list of participating lead...John Paul II was on his list of participating leaders.<br /><br />I think by "dress code" I was referring to morals (boundaries). Kind of a long-shot, but I can see how some churches might take it in that direction.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15283395756742923658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949422246633548404.post-81682302442311736612009-07-17T17:50:31.193+04:002009-07-17T17:50:31.193+04:00I'd also have an uphill battle with the langua...I'd also have an uphill battle with the language, but I think I like the idea that orthodoxy is resurging. Sadly, in my parish it WAS. But the parish that seems to be overtaking ours is NOT of that ilk. Catholics call it the "new Catholic Renewal" - the resurgence of orthodoxy in many parishes - led first by JP the Great and now by our present Pope. Our parish was in the midst of it, but a change of pastor can transform everything unfortunately.<br /><br />Dress code? I didn't get that idea from your list of his primary suggestions. In real life that particular idea just stems from the sense that we should outwardly show respect for the sacred - occasion or place - through modesty and care in what we wear. I don't "preach" it, but I try in a little way to teach it to my children, with varying success; somedays you are just lucky to GET to church.<br /><br />Thanks so much for wading through this for us. I'd love to read the book, but know I never will have the time and energy, unfortunately - so I'm glad to have the Elizabeth Review.Anniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12623179886908222942noreply@blogger.com