![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
The Gospel According to Potter.
Nov. 21st, 2005 07:45 pmMy church in Irvine has some strong Republicans and some strong Democrats. We have some people who enjoy modern (noisy and active) worship and those who still hate the idea of guitars in church, electric or otherwise (thankfully, we offer both types of worship services). And yes, we have those who think Harry Potter promotes satanic witchcraft and those who were in line for the 12:01 showing Thursday night.
Full disclosure time: the pastor at Irvine Presbyterian wrote "Hoodwinked by Harry?" so it's not hard to figure out what his personal feelings are on the last subject. But given the controversy on that and other subjects, he felt yesterday was an appropriate time to break out Romans 14 for a sermon.
The controversies when Paul wrote Romans were eating meat (all good? just kosher? veggies only?) and whether to worship on the Sabbath or whenever. Paul personally had no issues with eating whatever you liked (he doesn't mention how he feels about the Sabbath), but it's interesting to note what he has to say to people on both sides. You can read the whole thing at Bible Gateway in several translations, but here's a quick excerpt:
Accept Christians who are weak in faith, and don't argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. For instance, one person believes it is all right to eat anything. But another believer who has a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. Those who think it is all right to eat anything must not look down on those who won't. And those who won't eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. Who are you to condemn God's servants? They are responsible to the Lord, so let him tell them whether they are right or wrong. The Lord's power will help them do as they should.
In other words, if your conscience tells you not to eat meat (watch Harry Potter, whatever), don't. If your conscience gives you no grief on the subject, enjoy it and appreciate whatever God gives you from the experience. But in either case, it is not your job to split the church over the matter. Don't say those who went to see the movie are any less Christian for doing so, don't say those who refuse to go near it are any less Christian either.
Maybe one person is strong enough to discern what's good and bad in the movie and can filter accordingly while another can't and should avoid the whole thing because of that. If they've said "God, I want to follow you," God will convict those who fall in the latter category and will leave those in the former alone. (And for those who haven't made that prayer, it's not our business to tell them what God wants from them when they haven't yet decided they want to hear it from God Himself. Tell them that God has a better plan for them, and leave it between them and God to determine what that plan is.)
Not even my two cents, but I thought it was worth passing on...
Full disclosure time: the pastor at Irvine Presbyterian wrote "Hoodwinked by Harry?" so it's not hard to figure out what his personal feelings are on the last subject. But given the controversy on that and other subjects, he felt yesterday was an appropriate time to break out Romans 14 for a sermon.
The controversies when Paul wrote Romans were eating meat (all good? just kosher? veggies only?) and whether to worship on the Sabbath or whenever. Paul personally had no issues with eating whatever you liked (he doesn't mention how he feels about the Sabbath), but it's interesting to note what he has to say to people on both sides. You can read the whole thing at Bible Gateway in several translations, but here's a quick excerpt:
Accept Christians who are weak in faith, and don't argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. For instance, one person believes it is all right to eat anything. But another believer who has a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. Those who think it is all right to eat anything must not look down on those who won't. And those who won't eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. Who are you to condemn God's servants? They are responsible to the Lord, so let him tell them whether they are right or wrong. The Lord's power will help them do as they should.
In other words, if your conscience tells you not to eat meat (watch Harry Potter, whatever), don't. If your conscience gives you no grief on the subject, enjoy it and appreciate whatever God gives you from the experience. But in either case, it is not your job to split the church over the matter. Don't say those who went to see the movie are any less Christian for doing so, don't say those who refuse to go near it are any less Christian either.
Maybe one person is strong enough to discern what's good and bad in the movie and can filter accordingly while another can't and should avoid the whole thing because of that. If they've said "God, I want to follow you," God will convict those who fall in the latter category and will leave those in the former alone. (And for those who haven't made that prayer, it's not our business to tell them what God wants from them when they haven't yet decided they want to hear it from God Himself. Tell them that God has a better plan for them, and leave it between them and God to determine what that plan is.)
Not even my two cents, but I thought it was worth passing on...
