I have never claimed to be a big fan of his.....it's not fair to say I didn't like him....I didn't know him, other than what I heard from him.....I can say that rarely agreed with or liked what I heard from him.....In my opinion he did some damage to the cause for Christ by letting his mouth get away from him and then having to come back and apologize....With that said I do think the man stood for what he believed and for that I can respect him even if I didn't agree with what and how his beliefs came across. I am sure was received today with open arms as he arrived home. As I sit here watching CNN, they are covering many of the things that he came out and said and it makes me cringe....the name calling and the directed hate is what is so troubling.....You can't call someone a name or use a derogatory term out of one side of your mouth and then say "but I love them" out of the other.....it doesn't work like that in terms of Calvary like love.
His death is sad.....and like I said....it is not my place to, nor do I, doubt his salvation.....we all are in need of a Savior.....I just wish he could have been a little more Christ like in his love for others. On the flip side of that.......he pretty much avoided any scandal (a la Swaggart, Baker and others)...aside from his words. Those who were close to him say what you got from the media was not the true Jerry Fawell.....and that could be, and most likely is true....I just think that when you are given a platform like that you have to be very careful about how you come across....because people who don't know you can only go by what you say.
So my question is this......did the good things that Jerry did out weigh the not so good things...and do you think people view Christians in light of both.
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A story just occurred to me. During a recent SBC annual meeting, people announced that one of bin Laden's top guys was killed and the place erupted in applause. That didn't sit well with me. Kind of reminded me of people in Arab countries cheering over 911.
And I'm sure there are those who feel that way about Jerry dying. The point is, this overreaction stuff really sends the wrong message.
In one of Rob Bell's messages, entitled, Calling All Peacemakers, he talks about the myth of redemptive violence. That violence brings more (read "heightened") violence and so forth and so on and until someone is eliminated, there is no end in the cycle.
UNLESS, someone does something so different from violence, something that might be called love, forgiveness, incongruous grace ... that strikes such a dagger into the heart of violence ... and death ... and it ends the cycle.
Doesn't take long to realize the ultimate example of this was Christ himself. In one swift motion, he brought a devastating end to the sin cycle and the violent consequences. Unexpected, unmerited, and certainly incongruous, this is the model we are to follow in our age of escalating rhetoric and hate.
I think this illustration has great application when reflecting upon JF. For or against or in the middle, to make sense of the man is an overwhelming task to me. I will strive to react, not overreact, to build bridges, not divide further, and to keep my verbal sword in the scabbard, as Christ admonished Peter to do.
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