No full-scale blog posts tonight.
Bible study ran until almost 11:30. . . We had a great time discussing John 16. It was an interesting mix of peeps, including a Word-Faither and a dear brother from Berkley, CA. 2 hapless Mormon missionaries invited themselves to dinner (and got more than they bargained for.) During Bible study we talked about the ways in which God uses suffering in this life, and about what it means to pray "in Jesus' name." This is something foundational for anyone coming out of the Word-Faith movement, since the phrase is turned into a magical formula in that sect.
I was able to talk separately with the Mormons for a good half-hour. We talked about everything from the King Follet Discourse and the nature of God to the objective nature of Biblical truth vs. the subjectivity of Mormonism. Tapir-back riders even came into the picture. Everyone was gracious and friendly, but they still looked a wee bit shaky as they walked out the door.
I love my work.
Posted by Discoshaman at novembre 14, 2003 03:51 AM | TrackBack
Excellent.
Posted by: Carol at novembre 14, 2003 04:02 AMThat sounds AWESOME.
I am both jealous and in awe.
Yes, this sounds very cool. And, you know, I had never heard the term "Word-Faith." Googled it, recognized it immediately (we get those puke-inducing Kenneth Copeland commercials on television in the mornings)...just had never heard it referred to like that.
People usually love their work when they do it well! ;-)
Posted by: Eric at novembre 14, 2003 05:10 AMDid you sing the song for them?
Posted by: Paul Baxter at novembre 14, 2003 04:20 PMDiscoshaman,can you tell us more about a day/week in your life? I would love to hear more about your work and what you do and your experiences.
Posted by: at novembre 14, 2003 06:25 PMMe too. (Seconding the request for a "day in the life".)
Were the Mormon missionaries from the US? How difficult it would be for them, having gone so far to preach their message, to reconsider now, at this stage. Of course God makes these appointments for us and stranger things have happened! But I pray they'll be haunted by a remembrance of your encounter, and that it will lead them more and more towards Christ. I pray you'll see those two again.
Kathy
Posted by: Kathy at novembre 15, 2003 12:02 AM
Jared-
Thanks for the kind words. But from what I know of you, it's nothing you aren't doing yourself. :-)
Eric-
It's a mess. I grew up in the Word of Faith movement. The outer fringe of the outer fringe. You can't imagine how grateful I was to discover Calvinism. And normal people.
Paul-
We didn't get that far, sadly. I'll lead them in a redition of it next time though. :)
Anon and Kathy-
Thanks so much for asking... Unfortunately, our mission has some protocols about what we publish. I need to get anything I post online cleared with my team leader (they weren't thinking about daily blogs when they made this rule.) Because of this, I tend to keep my work separate from the blog. This post pushed the boundary a bit. If you'd like, though, I'd love to put you on our e-update list. Just drop me a line at jbush@mtwukraine.org. :-)
And Kathy, I'm so glad to see you here. I read your stuff all the time. It's nice that the Duchess has an ally like you in her crusade. . .
As far as the Mormons go, they were from the US. I run into Mormons regularly, and always take time to chat with them. Many go home disillusioned after their mission, and I like to do anything I can to plant black seeds of doubt. At the same time I'm always careful to be kind to them. Given the rigor of their mission, most of them are grateful for any American who will just be nice to them, it seems to me. :)
Posted by: Discoshaman at novembre 15, 2003 01:35 AMI'd be interested to read a brief account of your transition from Word-Faith to Calvinism. Word-Faith just seems so inherently anti-Christian in its mindset that it's hard for me to understand how someone could go from there to orthodox Christianity without an actual conversion experience. I don't mean that I think it impossible -- I just don't understand it.
Posted by: pentamom at novembre 15, 2003 07:37 PMPentamom-
Thanks for asking... The Duchess said, "That sounds like a good blogpost." I'll write one up in the next few days. :)
Posted by: Discoshaman at novembre 16, 2003 09:01 PMThere's a superb, long-out-of-print biography,'CHARLES SIMEON OF CAMBRIDGE' by Hugh Evan Hopkins, still available at http://www.torontochristianbooks.com/simeon.htm. It's a wonderful example of what Christianity was once considered to be, both in public and private life.
That site also has a lot of new and unplayed out-of-print Christian music cassette bestsellers, CDs, and hymn records from the 1980's and '90's. Try:
http://www.torontochristianbooks.com/cassette.htm
http://www.torontochristianbooks.com/records.htm
http://www.torontochristianbooks.com/demorecs.htm
http://www.torontochristianbooks.com/oldcds.htm
There's a substantial listing of other useful resources, too, on the huge http://www.torontochristianbooks.com main page, including their interesting list of exclusive reprints at http://www.torontochristianbooks.com/reprint2.htm.