Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!mips!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: credmond@watmath.waterloo.edu (Chris Redmond) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: 1st amendment (was: religious courses in a secular school) Message-ID: Date: 14 May 91 04:04:48 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: University of Waterloo Lines: 37 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article math1h3@jetson.uh.edu writes: >In addition, I do not believe that it is the mission of the Christian >church to make the world more perfect. Our mission is to preach the Gospel >so that souls may be saved from eternal punishment, and receive eternal >life instead. If the world becomes better in the process, then may God be >praised, but I believe the world is destined for destruction on Judgement >Day. (see Rev. 20). Also by me. No doubt there are verses that can be quoted (and soon will be), but my recollection is that Jesus said very little about preaching anything so that souls might be saved from eternal punishment. He did, however, say a great deal about feeding lambs, visiting the afflicted, helping "the widow and orphan" (a nice old-fashioned phrase meaning "welfare recipients") and doing other things which, to my mind, can be summed up as "making the world more perfect". Accordingly I do think that is the mission of the Christian church. And, as the Salvation Army will tell us, there's no point preaching to people who haven't had dinner. (This must really be my day for disagreeing with postings on this group -- three rebuttals in one noon-hour!) [I can think of three passages where Jesus sends people to preach: the sending of the 12, the sending of the 72, and the Great Commission. In 2 of 3 cases he threatens punishment for those who don't heed the preaching. In the sending of the 12 (Lk 9 and par), the threat is implied: If people don't listen to them, they are to shake off the dust as a warning. In the sending of the 72 (Lk 10), the threat of judgement to those who don't hear is quite clear and extensively described. The fate of Sodom will be better on Judgement Day. Nothing against feeding people, of course. Jesus did that as well... --clh]