We should maintain that if an interpretation of any word in any religion leads to disharmony and does not positively further the welfare of the many, then such an interpretation is to be regarded as wrong; that is, against the will of God, or as the working of Satan or Mara.

Buddhadasa Bikkhu, a Thai Buddhist Monk


Thursday, February 27, 2014

What the Church Has Going For It

Sometimes churches with strong budgets, professional music programs, well-equipped buildings, and the admiration of their civic communities can miss a deep truth: there is no real social justification for the church.  It proclaims a word that is often not welcome, with a love that is easily scorned, to a world that is quick to be cynical  in the name of a Christ who was rejected and despised.  Congregations with frail reources, meager programs, struggling ministries, sagging buildings, and not enough people to fill up the choir loft may more quickly understand that, finally, all the church has going for it is Jesus.


Thomas G. Long, Hebrews (1997), p.  48