Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: pmafire!geoff@uunet.uu.net (Geoff Allen) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: gulf crisis, spiritual help for peace Message-ID: Date: 18 Sep 90 07:51:59 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: WINCO Computer Engineering, INEL, Idaho Lines: 58 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu I wrote (concerning praying in an organized effort that made Christian prayer to God equivalent to meditation to create positive energy): >> "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers..." > And mls@sfsup.att.com (Mike Siemon) responded: >For the love of God! Paul is talking about *marriage*, about >a lifelong union in one flesh. How do you get that? I know that the verse is most often applied to marriage, but there is nothing in the context to indicate that this is the only application. Before this passage, Paul is discussing the Ministry of Reconciliation and his efforts to minister to the Corinthians. Then comes the section about being yoked with unbelievers. Then he goes back to addressing the Corinthians and mentions the results of his previous letter. I see nothing anywhere in there indicating that marriage is the topic. In fact, Paul concludes the 'yoked' section with: Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. II Cor. 7:1 Sounds rather broad in scope to me. > Even if you do think of all >non-Christians as "sevants of Belial" and spiritual enemies, >are we not taught to pray *for* our enemies? Absolutely. > Is it really >so hard to pray *with* them, for the peace of God? You need >not frame your prayers in non-Christian ways, you may wish >to avoid public prayer with them in their forms or "on their >terms" -- Which is what this particular call was. It implied that there was no difference between Christian prayer and meditation on Vishnu (or whatever). By participating _in_this_particular_organized_effort_, it seems to me that Christians would be implying that they agree with that viewpoint. >Some of the responses I have seen to this request for prayer >have sounded a lot more like bigotry than like Christianity. I've never intended to sound like a bigot. But I do believe that New Agers (for example) are deluded and the last thing I should do is encourage their beliefs and practices. -- Geoff Allen \ Since we live by the Spirit, uunet!pmafire!geoff \ let us keep in step with the Spirit. bigtex!pmafire!geoff \ -- Gal. 5:25 (NIV)