tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post3805698316877485338..comments2024-03-27T15:47:46.091-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: Therapeutic Deism in the Confessional. . .Pastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-55694778897236280272019-07-06T11:47:49.807-05:002019-07-06T11:47:49.807-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-61274453165667100262019-07-03T17:43:33.299-05:002019-07-03T17:43:33.299-05:00Pastor Peters, thank you for this excellent blog p...Pastor Peters, thank you for this excellent blog post. You have captured precisely the problem I see over and over again on the "Christ Hold Fast" and "1517 Legacy" websites, where "feeling bad" is elevated to the level of genuine repentance and where Holy Absolution appears, in many cases to be, little more than "Don't worry, God loves you" and where there is absolutely zero indication that the Christian life is actually a "life" to be "lived" in freedom, and there must be grace filled striving after holy living precisely because of what Christ has done for us and how we are, in face, given new life in the Holy Spirit.<br /><br />Superbly done, sir.Rev. Paul T. McCainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04846468267196335350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-17579811597121989872019-07-03T10:00:19.258-05:002019-07-03T10:00:19.258-05:00If I may add to the above. It is well to remember ...If I may add to the above. It is well to remember that Jesus, knowing our weaknesses and the power of the "Old Adam" within, said the Comforter, the Holy Spirit of the triune God, would come to His followers to aid, nourish, and strengthen each, and that the constant conviction and instruction would sanctify and bless us on our earthly journey. He gave us Baptism and the sacrament of the Lord's supper for the remission of sin and for our edification in the faith. We are far from helpless, as God gives us armor in which to resist temptations within and without. We may be weak and vulnerable at times, but we are never helpless. This also is grace at work in the life of the believer.John Joseph Flanaganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06596324816480709495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-67867401468856028562019-07-03T08:40:33.634-05:002019-07-03T08:40:33.634-05:00You have made excellent points about our tendency ...You have made excellent points about our tendency as fallen creatures to excuse or rationalize our sins, sometimes even justifying them.<br />I think we must remember that each of us, throughout the course of a 24 hour period, can receive and process a multitude of thoughts, images, and memories, entertain lust, desire, and sin in a staggering number of overwhelming ideas, some of which pass through our minds with the speed of a freight train. Try as we must to control every dark thought, every lustful sexual desire, every carnal inclination, and every scenario our imaginations nourish, we, being fallen, will often fail. We feel ashamed, guilty, and sometimes question our own salvation. How can Christ be my Savior when I am so weak and unable to resist even the very thoughts of sin, high plague me all the day long? That is why we can never see ourselves as anything more than sinners saved by grace, and humility must be real, our spiritual pride gone. Even when you love the Lord, you sin regularly in your mind, if not in practice as well. None of us can escape this reality until we are called home to the Lord. Be patient with the overwhelmed sinner, as Jesus knows our state, and He came to save us from our sins.John Joseph Flanaganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06596324816480709495noreply@blogger.com