Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!psuvax1!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: jrossi@jato.jpl.nasa.gov (The Electric Sol) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Strangers in a Strange World Message-ID: Date: 30 Nov 89 08:26:34 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Jet Propelled Lab - Pasadena CA Lines: 49 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article <5087@jane.uh.edu> MATH1H3@jane.uh.edu (David H. Wagner) writes: >*strangers* in the world..." But the Christian is not to try to fit in, even >though he serves God in this world. John wrote in his first epistle: "Do not >love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love >of the Father is not in him. For God so LOVED THE WORLD, he gave his only begotten son. Sound familiar. Guess God the Father dosen't love himself. Actually, this is where "Buddhist detachment" fits in. The person who loves the world, and hasn't the love of the Father in him is the person who is still lost because of his desires and attachments to the world. There is nothing wrong with "loving" the world in the proper sense. There is nothing wrong with appreciating the beauty and wonder of the world. But its important not to be attached to this world, or interested in "having" the world. It is important not to KILL other people because you want their part of the world. >sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and >does--comes not from the Father but from the world. Where did the world come from? Isn't it fair to say that whatever comes from the world comes from that which made it? Who made this lustful, boastful beast? Who created this animal and gave it intelligence. Who gave it a desire and will to live and survive in this world? Who created the hormones that operate in these beasts that cause them to be attracted to members of the opposite sex. Who created the sinner that chose to sin in the Garden of Eden? Who created the serpent who tempted these creatures? Who created the world and all its temptations. Who shaped a woman's breasts? Who created beauty? >pass away, but the man who does the will of the Father lives forever." The >Christian lives in the world under tension between his desire to serve God and >the desires of the world. The Christian lives in the world under tension between his fear of God and the desires of the world. By forsaking the desires of the world, the Christian hopes to avoid eternal punishment. -- -jrossi@jato.jpl.nasa.gov "Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils -ames!elroy!jato!jrossi is still choosing evil." -Cptn. Trips **********************STANDARD DISCLAIMER******************************