I think it should be an absolute that YOU post a warning when making a statement like this. So, those of us that happen to be drinking a beverage that our liberty allows us to drink, it doesn’t cause said drink to exit ones nostrils!

it’s both, I think.

I agree – for some reason rules are easier to follow than liberty… maybe it’s fear of screwing up… maybe it’s laziness – who knows.

Neil

One thing I’ve always thought is that people often enter churches out of a broken desire to have someone else tell them what to do, who to be and what to think, rather than live a life of faith themselves where they have to tackle these questions, and those that blur these categories remove all the thinking from the process, because if everything is an absolute, then you never have to think or live a life of faith again.

I was looking for things discussed recently (which were not absolutes) that were more based in orthopraxy (which tends to be more law-centric, when it comes to absolutes). This was not an intentional oversight.

No problem, thanks for the clarification!

I think the move to dominate others is a sin-sickness that precedes Christ’s action in our lives and thus has nothing to do with weakness, but everything with “godding” over everything in our path…

Perhaps using the term substitutionary was opening a can of worms unnecessary to this thread, so whilst for me it is an absolute, I won’t pursue that discussion here.

Perhaps I was reading too much into it, as well.

However, regardless of how we understand the death and resurrection of Jesus, surely it should in some way be right at the apex of every true Christian’s “absolutes” category?

Yes – that is the basis of the gospel, according to Paul to the Corinthians:

Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

I understand you weren’t going for an exhaustive list, and I’m not trying to nit-pick, but your selection of absolutes seemed totally law-centric.

My apologies again – I was looking for things discussed recently (which were not absolutes) that were more based in orthopraxy (which tends to be more law-centric, when it comes to absolutes). This was not an intentional oversight.

but I don’t agree that having a strong conviction necessarily means someone is weaker…

It might mean after their own theological reflection they’ve come to a conclusion they want to dominate others with.

That’s not weakness, that’s projection of your will…

Your argument is not with me, then, but with Paul’s definition of the ‘weaker’ brother. When someone holds that a conviction (in this model) is an absolute, he is indeed the ‘weaker’ brother, regardless of the strength/dominance of their will (which is a multiplication of his spiritual weakness, not a refutation of it). Why? Because he does not understand the work of Christ and the basis of his own -praxis…

That is a great statement and I believe best reflects the Spirit of Christ in matters of practical liberty. The conscience of our brothers and sisters must be the foundation of our considerations. Practicing things like drinking should be done in private or with like minded brethren and not bragged about in front of others. Let us recognize that our flesh wants to glory in our liberty by enjoying the way it sometimes affects others.

That is not Christ.

BTW – I have a pamphlet that lists all the things God approves of and all that He doesn’t. He knew He could trust me with it!