Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Pastors at the Pub

I thought this might make an interesting CM discussion question:

Artisan has what we call "Pastors at the Pub" one Wed. night a month - an informal adult discussion of scripture and present culture. A couple of us went this month and these were the passages. I've forgotten exactly what question Brian posed but it had to do with "...in the light of 911..." and "turning the other cheek". The guys and guests brought up a lot of interesting Biblically cultural and historical information that added a lot to the text but here are the passages:

Luke 6:28-30
(NIV)
". . .bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back."

"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited."

Romans 12: 14-21 [NIV]
"Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord. On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

I think that trying to teach our kids that being fair and being right aren't as important as how you treat people was perhaps one of the harder issues for our kids to grapple with. In a culture where children are taught to look out for themselves, how do you grapple with this?

1 comment:

  1. I think that this is a great idea. This is the type of open, conversation culture that we seek to develop here.

    I would love to have a Pastors at the Pub here.

    As for your questions...yeah tough one. I always want to be able to teach kids to do what is fair and right. But I want them to be able to do so with care and concern for those whom they might hurt if they come across wrong.

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