1 Corinthians 13
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
James Dobson, the ultra conservative religious leader of Focus on the Family, accuses Barack Obama of "distorting" the Bible and "dragging biblical understanding through the gutter."
Can someone please inform Mr. Dobson that his often loveless understanding of the Bible and all the past sway that it had on large numbers of Americans is now over in this 2008 election? His power to influence is greatly diminished.
Please tell Mr. Dobson that we flatly reject loveless messages of any kind by any persons whether they embrace bits of truth or not. (Rarely anything is all false.) The movement for change has begun. We will no longer ostracize people because of shortcomings, failures or personal choices. Let God be God and not us.
We will no longer accept self-righteousness over love. Love will supersede hate and fear mongering. Love will not be impeded by religious fanatics of any kind. The Focus on the Family should be love. No dogma or fanaticism shall we accept; we are now a much more loving and wiser people.
God bless each of us. God Bless the United States of America
4 comments:
Great stuff, Judith. Timeless as ever. "Rarely anything is all false." That explains the appeal of so many different religions, belief systems, methodologies, etc. Just today Pew released the outcome of a new survey, that Mr. Dobson will not be pleased with...
"A major survey by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life finds that most Americans have a non-dogmatic approach to faith. A majority of those who are affiliated with a religion, for instance, do not believe their religion is the only way to salvation. And almost the same number believes that there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their religion."
(http://religions.pewforum.org/reports)
THIS gives me hope.
As you well know, John, I am a firm believer in the message of Jesus Christ. He, by the way, is the only one who professed of all the prophets of great religions "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) But I am not the Judge. What gives me hope is that God is love. This is my eternal message.
Wow, I have MUCH to say in response, but I'll have to get back to you later. Please, stay tuned! In the meantime I advertised this blog in a comment I made on my own blog. You will now be so flooded with viewers let's hope it doesn't crash your site! ;-)
Anyway, I always appreciate the dialogue.
Thanks, John, for advertising the site--much appreciated. I too always appreciate the dailogue. I was most confident that the words of Christ in John 14:6 would engender some thought. You are indeed a thoughtful person. This I greatly value.
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