tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post4913489115736723743..comments2024-03-27T15:47:46.091-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: We laugh at irreverence...Pastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-47458447454096544592012-09-10T00:41:01.175-05:002012-09-10T00:41:01.175-05:00"But the problem we have is that irreverence ..."But the problem we have is that irreverence keeps going further and further and it has become a consuming fire that has left a trail of destruction of our once sacred institutions, truths, practices and shrines (both in and out of church)."<br /><br />Thank you for saying this. I wish my pastors understood this. When I nicely expressed the lack of reverence in our church to them, I was dismissed by one and ignored by the other. It's like a hen house & treated like a gymnasium now. Makes me so sad.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-34681575541280000042012-09-08T17:36:05.437-05:002012-09-08T17:36:05.437-05:00Being baptized, by itself, is not "enough&quo...Being baptized, by itself, is not "enough" to make a fully formed disciple of the Lord Jesus. For that, one needs the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, liturgy, hymnody, catechism, etc. Paulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-33941145522804228412012-09-08T13:29:04.648-05:002012-09-08T13:29:04.648-05:00Sorry, a few words were omitted in my posting. Th...Sorry, a few words were omitted in my posting. The penultimate paragraph should start with the sentence,"But, knowing that 90% of those Germans who committed atrocities against humanity during the Nazi regime were baptized, one has to wonder, “Is Baptism enough?” "were baptized" was left out of the original post.<br /><br />George A. MarquartAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-80377278480398511052012-09-08T13:24:09.112-05:002012-09-08T13:24:09.112-05:00Dear Rev. Peters: I have difficulty finding the w...Dear Rev. Peters: I have difficulty finding the words to express my agreement with you on this matter. The decline in morals and values in our society is obvious to anyone who knows what morals and values are. It is a symptom of our country’s and even our church’s illness. It is also a sign of things to come – none of them pleasant.<br /><br />The question is, “can this decline can be stopped, or even reversed?” Here is what Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, had to say on the matter a few days ago, “the Church wants to influence everyone, ‘including state figures and ordinary people so that the morals the church preaches are adopted by our people's consciousness.’" That may also be our temptation, to preach the Law for the sake of good order in society. But as Christians we know that good deeds do not make good people, but good people do good deeds, and that the only way to make people “good”; that is wanting to do the will of God, is through rebirth in water and the Holy Spirit, so that a new person may rise from the waters of Baptism, who “has the mind of Christ.”<br /><br />But, knowing that 90% of those Germans who committed atrocities against humanity during the Nazi regime, one has to wonder, “Is Baptism enough?” In the Parable of the Sower our Lord tells us what happens when the seed falls on unsuitable ground. Is the believer responsible for being “good soil”? In all likelihood, at least at the time of our Lord, the same person who sowed the seed prepared the soil for it. I suspect herein lies the reason why the early Church would not baptize children of unbelievers. It is the responsibility of the Church, of parents, of family, of teachers, of friends to provide the environment in which the seed can grow and survive in spite of all of the troubles that will assail even those whose faith is growing in “good soil”. This is part of the preaching of the Law, the Third Use. We talk a lot about witnessing to those outside of the Kingdom, but we rarely address the matter of our responsibility to provide “good soil” for our own children and theirs. If we give it some thought, we begin to realize just how difficult this can become.<br /><br />Obviously I have not exhausted the topic, but before deciding on tactics, one has to decide on strategy. Am I on the right path, or is it more complicated?<br /><br />Peace and Joy!<br />George A. Marquart<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com