tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19733180.post820756601848815125..comments2024-03-24T07:56:33.811-05:00Comments on Allan R. Bevere: Is a Non-Christian My Brother or Sister?Allan R. Beverehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07903011101108437513noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19733180.post-41272213099563762872011-01-23T16:56:40.127-05:002011-01-23T16:56:40.127-05:00Lara, I do not understand your point. Could you cl...Lara, I do not understand your point. Could you clarify?Allan R. Beverehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07903011101108437513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19733180.post-75173712312452680042011-01-23T16:55:34.400-05:002011-01-23T16:55:34.400-05:00Pam, I don't think it is important to see this...Pam, I don't think it is important to see this or that person as not my brother or sister. I'm not sure why the governor of Alabama even went there. It could be said that since the NT writers reserve such family terminology for their fellow believers, by implication they are excluding unbelievers. While that is probably true, they do not go out of their way to explicitly say that. So I don't see the need nor do I think it helpful to say what Bentley said.<br /><br />The NT writers consistently use the term "brother" (and, of course, by default, "sister") for their fellow Christians. It's an in-house way of referring to each other. Of course, there is something theologically significant at work here as well. As far as "theological siblinghood," the NT puts the point of beginning at saving grace.<br /><br />For me it's not an issue of who is in and who is out. I am quite content to leave those matters to God. Rather I see this kind of family language as a claim of what God is planning to do for the world in Christ and through his new humanity the church. Ultimately brother/sister language in the New Testament is about reconciliation. That is why "in Christ there is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female."<br /><br />As far as the doing/believing distinction, I dislike the overemphasis of one over the other. The liberal tendency is to put the weight on doing as opposed to believing, while the conservative emphasis is on believing over doing. I think we need to hold the significance of both together. I think we misunderstand both when we put undue weight on one over the other.Allan R. Beverehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07903011101108437513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19733180.post-54874320091913240122011-01-22T19:16:24.613-05:002011-01-22T19:16:24.613-05:00I'm not sure this is about being superficially...I'm not sure this is about being superficially nice or polite to people.<br /><br />I think Christ's work was/is ontological and his salvific work is not erased by my thoughts, beliefs, submission, acceptance, whatever. Therefore, in my mind all people are ontologically brothers and sisters.<br /><br />In Methodist terms, does siblinghood start at prevenient grace or at saving grace? Some are saying it's the saving grace that's important. I don't see why, particularly.<br /><br />Maybe you can explain to me why it's so important to say that this sort of person is not my brother or sister?<br /><br />We seem so bent on defining our beliefs by defining who is "out of the club". This drives me crazy. Why not just define our beliefs and let God have the ultimate decision on who is outside of the family? Are people afraid that if we don't know who is outside the family then we can't stand firm on what we believe?<br /><br />If it were up to me, I'd much rather have the person who <i>did</i> God's will as a brother or sister than the person who didn't do God's will but professed the Lordship of Jesus. So, as my husband says, maybe it's a good job I'm not God. :DPamBGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11324370506889227234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19733180.post-36212174093652410282011-01-22T16:05:38.045-05:002011-01-22T16:05:38.045-05:00The only problem with using the idea that those wh...The only problem with using the idea that those who follow Jesus' will as qualification of "family" is that we're all fallible. In other words, I may be incredibly compassionate to the stranger who walks in the door of my church because Jesus taught me to do that, but then turn around and be nasty to the woman who co teaches Sunday School with me simply because she rubs me the wrong way.<br /><br />No one but God is perfectly consistent. How might this impact the conversation?Vayhinoreply@blogger.com