Marginal Christianity

  Posted on June 26, 2013 by thad Perhaps because of what I do for a living, I have been asked about gay marriage many times over the last couple of years. With very few exceptions, each of the questions I’ve been asked is some variation of the same question: What is your position on gay marriage? Some ask to make sure I’m on the right side of the issue; some ask because they are conflicted about which side is right, but they feel pressure to choose a side (and to choose the right side, obviously). I understand the desire to be right. I understand the pressure to choose. I understand that right and wrong still matter. The question that all of the questions seem to be asking still makes sense to me. And yet the more I am asked the question, the more I am convinced that we are so collectively obsessed with position  we have forgotten that Jesus has at least as much to say about posture . My observation of the Church is that we usually give our first and best energie

http://www.allanbevere.com/2014/05/orthodoxy-and-heresy-and-necessary.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+allanbevere%2FROss+%28Allan+R.+Bevere%29&utm Scot McKnight  has written an excellent post  on  the  proper and improper use  of the  term heresy. There is no doubt that some Christians throw the term around quite loosely and dangerously, while others reject the importance of the word altogether. Others have attempted to redefine the term to support their own agendas, such as heresy doesn't involve what one actually believes, rather it is used only for people who disrupt the unity of the church. It is indeed true that heresy does cause such disruption, but it is not the disruption that is heresy, but the heretical beliefs that lead to disruption. Scot starts with two inappropriate ways that the term is used: First , there is the  slipshod  use: a "heretic" is used here for anyone who doesn't believe something we mig