Be Intolerant :: Vol 3
December 7, 2003
I’ve had some good conversations with others about this topic, and just found a few spots in the blogging world where they have linked to Be Intolerant :: Vol 2, and wanted you to be aware of those too.
* Emergent Village’s Board :: Some good discussion going on here.
* Youth Specialties’ Forums :: A bunch of youth pastors are talking about this book over at Youth Specialties. Check it out.
* Rod’s Rants :: His title for his entry was “extremely charged rant or… i’ll regret this in the morning“, so it’s definitely worth a read.
* St. Stephen’s Musings :: Here, Karl gives you the Orthodox position. He writes the following in his entry, “Are you a Finder or a Seeker….Or Something Else? Part II“: “One of the settled but largely unspoken pieties of our time is the notion that ’seekers’ have greater moral authority than ‘finders.’ It is a silly piety when stated clearly. But whenever it is openly challenged, one sees how entrenched it is,” writes McClay from the article referenced in Part I. Boy, is he right. From the intensity we bring to our discussions of how truth, tolerance, and the Gospel intertwine, it is clear that we need to have a more holistic understanding of what it truly means to be both a seeker and a finder. No doubt, fundamentalism puts far too great an emphasis on the finding of truth and not much on the journey of repentance and Christian growth. As a reaction to this the current tendency is to over-emphasize the seeking and to down-play all truth claims so as to permit people to “explore” their faith.
* Modern Heresy or Passionate Spirituality? :: Briefly mentions Ryan Dobson and the book in his entry, “on unconditional love.”
Tags: Intolerance, James-Dobson, Ryan-Dobson
Posted in Rants
Adam Walker Cleaveland: 
December 7th, 2003 at 9:46 pm
I’ve been following your blog since you wrote your original post about this book and it has given me much to think about. My only thought of any note so far is this: of the youth I know (either high school age or just above) there is a lot more passion displayed and thought given to their faith than what I see from myself and my generation now or myself and my generation when we were their age, to say nothing of the generations above my own. Youth of today are passionate about what they believe and do anything but sit on the fence. I’m not sure if this is the case throughout the continent but I’d guess that it’s somewhat similar throughout. This generation does not waffle in their commitment as some might think. What is being misinterpreted as “sitting on the fence” is a radical commitment to Christ and a dedication to reach out to lost friends in particular and the world in general. The youth I have seen in my own youth group make me question just how much I’m doing to be a witness every day of my life because that’s what they are. That’s what I’ve seen, anyway.
November 4th, 2004 at 10:27 pm
I don’t think that Ryan is saying that we have to be ultra suit and tie insane seperatist fundameltalist. He’s just saying that we DON’T have to say that abortion, homosexuality, or living a life of sin is okay, because it isn’t.
As Christ did, we are to love the sinner, but hate the sin.
As Christians, we MUST NOT be afraid to say, “hey man, what you are doing is wrong.” And you CAN do that in a loving and caring way. Don’t condemn, just pull aside a sinning friend and express your concerns.
The book, which I have read and am reading again, is a challenge to those Christians who look the other way on sin to quit being a pansy and worrying about how their “friends” percieve them and start worrying about what God is gonna say come judgement day.
When you get there, is he gonna say “you foolish and wicked servant” or is he gonna say “You have done well, wise and faithful servant?”
I’d prefer the latter of the two.
Check out Ezekiel 33:6-9 if you want a frightening wakeup call,