tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15178007.post8534563188556333395..comments2024-02-25T16:56:47.627-05:00Comments on Magdalene's Egg: Post-Scriptum PostFather Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18170260624474428623noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15178007.post-50063872296838043142010-10-24T13:55:34.149-04:002010-10-24T13:55:34.149-04:00Yup. Or as we say in New York, "eggs-frickin...Yup. Or as we say in New York, "eggs-frickin'-zackly."Father Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18170260624474428623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15178007.post-85904984828532110622010-10-23T19:34:57.821-04:002010-10-23T19:34:57.821-04:00The "I didn't leave them, they left me&qu...The "I didn't leave them, they left me" line certainly is designed to give comfort and justification to those who are leaving. But it is repugnant, to avoid putting it mildly. It is also theologically suspect. It assumes that the user of the line is a rock of stability, one whose views have not altered and who has not changed themselves. That is a possible but suspicious claim, especially since there seem to be many who have actually moved in the opposite direction in their opposition to whatever decisions their church had made.<br /><br />But what makes it repugnant and theologically suspect is not the veracity of the claim that the church has moved around them, but the center of the claim itself. It is an inherently self-centered claim. It is the speaker who becomes the standard of measure. Even if it is true that they have had truly stable opinions on the matter at hand, it still fundamentally places their own judgement above that of others, including the duly constituted governance of the church body in question. It also places the emotional or ideological satisfaction of the speakers own needs and preferences over the needs and health of others or the whole. I'm reminded of Luther's description of sin as <i>in curvatus se</i>.Mark Christiansonhttp://www.restenergy.netnoreply@blogger.com