Que
aʒɑ̃ prɔvɔkatœr
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2009
- Posts
- 39,882
Repentance is simple, but difficult. It offends one's pride. It interferes with one's natural inclinations.
Free associating here but I'm liking that word inclination because of its root. To incline conotes lazing away life to me.
Where I was going with this is I rarely hear repentance mentioned. I thought perhaps the idea had passed from favor. Historically, I think of it as foremost of the topics for itinerant preachers.
I come from a background that encourage is proselytizing. Often when people were discussing hi there specific individuals are groups of people that might be receptive to proselytizing I often thought they got it wrong. "So and so is already fairly pious, they'd make a great Christian!" Those people didn't stand to benefit a lot from hearing the gospel in the sense that it wouldn't have a particularly dramatic effect on their life because they're already living most of those principles.
Conversely, those with the least pious lifestyles stand to gain the most dramatic relief as they shrug off the shackles of habits and practices that are self-defeating. The trick is in convincing them that those inclinations are, in fact, self-defeating.
I'm a fan of puritanical ideas about working ones way to Salvation. The challenge that presents for me personally though is that I tend to want to be self-congratulatory about progress, and surly and resentfull about setbacks thrust upon me. I often joke that when things go well, I feel clever, when they don't I feel unfortunate. Those two paradigms are not compatible.
Free associating here but I'm liking that word inclination because of its root. To incline conotes lazing away life to me.
Where I was going with this is I rarely hear repentance mentioned. I thought perhaps the idea had passed from favor. Historically, I think of it as foremost of the topics for itinerant preachers.
I come from a background that encourage is proselytizing. Often when people were discussing hi there specific individuals are groups of people that might be receptive to proselytizing I often thought they got it wrong. "So and so is already fairly pious, they'd make a great Christian!" Those people didn't stand to benefit a lot from hearing the gospel in the sense that it wouldn't have a particularly dramatic effect on their life because they're already living most of those principles.
Conversely, those with the least pious lifestyles stand to gain the most dramatic relief as they shrug off the shackles of habits and practices that are self-defeating. The trick is in convincing them that those inclinations are, in fact, self-defeating.
I'm a fan of puritanical ideas about working ones way to Salvation. The challenge that presents for me personally though is that I tend to want to be self-congratulatory about progress, and surly and resentfull about setbacks thrust upon me. I often joke that when things go well, I feel clever, when they don't I feel unfortunate. Those two paradigms are not compatible.