Subversive Christian Unity

In a previous installment I told of the woes of Jack Clark, a mentee of mine who had come to the end of things with his erstwhile girlfriend, Anna.* He had thoughts toward marriage and children, and she had wanted nothing of that. I suggested to him that he look into the apostle Paul's teaching about the church as the bride of Christ, and the reflection we see of that in the secular matter of women, men and marriage. I thought that would gain him a wider perspective in which to evaluate his own woes. I hinted that there was more besides in the rest of scripture, that shows us the true nature and high significance of being created male and female; Paul is not speaking in a vacuum. I was fortunate to come across a brilliant short talk by N.T. Wright which ties up a good deal of the biblical imagery and thought in an overview. Of course I thought Jack had to see it, and we watched it together when he visited me again. I thought I would post it here too. Jack's feelings by ...

A young man came to see me the other day. I had not seen him for several years, but I remembered him clearly. I had been, I hope, of some help to him previously in his spiritual growth, as his teacher, challenging him and offering the kinds of unsolicited advice that a young man may see as helpful in retrospect, if not at the time. He was back now seeking advice. There was this girl, see... As he talked about her it was clear that he was thoroughly smitten. Cupid had scored a direct hit. My young friend was head over heels. The trouble was that the young lady returned his affections unequally. She thought he was nice. She wanted to keep him as a friend. She had feelings and desires. As for the rest it was no dice, buster. She didn't want to date him anymore, now that she knew he had real and deep feelings for her--feelings of love, the real and dangerous kind that can spin your life around. His thoughts had turned to marriage and children and committing his life to her happine...

Abp. Jensen Audio (mp3) from about a decade ago: Archbishop Peter F. Jensen, an Anglican from Australia, explains his view of Protestantism versus Roman Catholicism, and explains what is right with Protestantism. He has a high regard for Roman Catholicism, and a good understanding of it, enough so that I think that Catholics will find his explanation accessible. Not that Catholics will agree--but they will understand. That is a useful start. The talk is about an hour long. Talk 1 "Why I am a Protestant Christian" If you enjoy that, you may wish to listen to the other talks in the same series. Talk 2 "Why I am a Reformed Christian" Talk 3 "Why I am an Evangelical Christian"

I have for a great many years enjoyed Hank Hanegraaff's sturdy good sense and clear explanations. Here he gives a very concise version of the cause of many divisions in Christendom, concentration on theological minutiae as opposed to what he terms "the main and the plain things."  

I saw this on Facebook and thought it worth passing along. If taken to heart, this thinking would cut down on Christian website traffic by half, with the good result of freeing up people's time and attention to discuss things on a better footing.