Comments on Living Water: I am positive that I am not the only Christocentri...

Mark --Thanks for the note. I share your concern a...

2006-08-08T15:30:00.000-07:00

Mark --

Thanks for the note. I share your concern about the disparity between activism and acting as our brother's keeper.

And I also agree that some are more inclined towards activism than others.

The core of my concern tends to be towards the secular tone of much of Quaker activism -- and its orientation towards directions that are not grounded in the life of the Spirit or the scriptures.

Advocating for right stewardship of resources is one thing, but some of the more militant environmental stances one encounters among liberal Quakers must be attributed more to secular than spiritual concerns. Climatologists don't seem to think that global warming is a threat, but I hazard that most liberal Quakers do -- and are certain that fossil fuel consumption is to blame. Neither the Democratic or the Republican party can lay claim to Friends principals, yet I once again hazard that most liberal Quaker meetings are solidly Democratic.

When activist stances drive membership in the society, when we focus more on condemning the wrong in others than winning our own battle with sin and helping others do the same, we are lost.

In the Light of Christ,
~ Charles Rathmann

Charles, I have a number of thoughts on the subje...

2006-08-08T06:15:00.000-07:00

Charles,
I have a number of thoughts on the subject of activism. One of them is that it appears to me that there is a lot of emphasis on political activism, and not much emphasis on engaging with people directly - the feeding the poor, clothing the naked, visiting the imprisoned from the verses in Matthew 25 that Robert Hopper is referring to. I find this troubling.

On the subject of being too inward vs. too outward, I have often looked to the story of Mary and Martha as some comfort that the inward work is important (I feel it leads to the outward work and that the outward work is not a replacement for the inward). But these days I also look to Paul in 1 Corinthians 12, that we are all one body and we have different functions, none more important than the other. There are people who feel called to be political activists. There are people who are called to tend to the needy. There are people who are called to minister to others and give them the spiritual support they need to continue their work. It is not right to expect everyone to do the same work.
With love,
Mark

Charles, your comment...This secular focus causes ...

2006-07-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Charles, your comment...

This secular focus causes many Friends, I fear, to forget that the battle between good and evil is not an outward political one any more than it is an outward military one.

...resonates with me in so many ways. Even though I hail from the evangelical arm of Friends, I still find myself forgetting that our battle isn't one of flesh and blood. If it were, all of this would be so much easier. I often wonder how much I marginalize myself from God's grace and will when I talk about and act out my heart for social justice without simply acknowledging Christ.

Thanks for the reminder.

Dear Friends,Our fellowship with one another is an...

2006-07-12T18:02:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

Our fellowship with one another is an important expression of our Christian witness to the world. Some of the acts of a faithful Christian are described in Matthew 25:35-36. These acts are beyond politics, and come as a result of faith and the fruits of the Spirit--as it is said elsewhere in Scripture, "against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:23). The early Friends work and impact on social issues was an outgrowth of their foundation in and on the Everlasting Gospel of Christ Jesus. The peace testimony was not a political strategy or program, but an all-encompassing way of relating to creation, from the very personal and private to the relations with those who oppressed and tormented them. This did not exclude firm words of admonishment to those who oppressed and tormented them, but these words were not weapons hurled in anger or self-righteousness. This is a major difference between political activism and Christian witness--Christian witness seeks to heal and sees the potential for redemption even in the oppressor, while political activism seeks to gain advantage and beat the opponent. I can only say that we need to love one another as the Lord loved and loves us.