http://rediscoveringchurch.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/dont-take-them-out-of-the-world/ Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:18:16 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 http://rediscoveringchurch.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/dont-take-them-out-of-the-world/#comment-36 Jim Darlack Tue, 13 May 2008 17:48:28 +0000 http://rediscoveringchurch.wordpress.com/?p=35#comment-36 Good post. Thanks for pointing out the context of that passage. We're still <i>in the world</i> even if we're not <i>of it</i> and Jesus did not want us to be <i>out of the world</i>. Now it seems that one of the real problems is that even those monkey-hating, hymns-loving folks of yesteryear were thoroughly bathed in their own culture whether they wanted to be or not. In fact, they let their own theological agendas be determined by the culture they were trying to argue against. So, it seems that the whole anti-culture thing can be an insidious mask of just how "worldly" we already are. If I can point to all of the ills of my culture, it makes it easy to ignore my own "ills." Good post. Thanks for pointing out the context of that passage. We’re still in the world even if we’re not of it and Jesus did not want us to be out of the world. Now it seems that one of the real problems is that even those monkey-hating, hymns-loving folks of yesteryear were thoroughly bathed in their own culture whether they wanted to be or not. In fact, they let their own theological agendas be determined by the culture they were trying to argue against. So, it seems that the whole anti-culture thing can be an insidious mask of just how “worldly” we already are. If I can point to all of the ills of my culture, it makes it easy to ignore my own “ills.”

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