More recent reflections

More recent reflections.

Intellectualism can stifle the church, making it less passionate about God and its mission. It produces an elitism that is the direct opposite of the humility of Christ. But anti-intellectualism has produced a superficial form of Christianity, making the church conform to the pattern of the world because it is not transformed by renewing the mind - doing the exact opposite of Romans 12:1-3.

"Jesus modeled innocent suffering in two respects. He suffered even though he did not deserve it, and, in the midst of abuse, he did not retaliate." (Joel Green on 1 Peter 2:21-25)

We all come to the Bible with our biases. For many, it's likely to be our middle-class, Western Christian tradition from the church fathers to the Reformation, and to its 21st-century forms. We, generally speaking, either embrace that heritage or react against it.

I think there is at least one difference between a person living in poverty and injustice overseas and a middle-class Westerner who has chosen to live among the poor overseas: The former has no choice, but the latter has made a choice, and has the freedom to make that choice.