Fred Nile has been in the media of late holding the NSW government to ransom, wanting the removal of optional ethics classes in exchange for the passage of other unrelated bills before parliament.
Nearly twenty years ago I got to see Fred preach to the choir, quite literally, as he addressed a conservative Baptist church.
Fred started by reading from Romans (Romans 13). It’s the famous passage were Paul says that the rulers and authorities have been put there by God. Fred then went on to explain that what Paul meant to say was that all people in authority or government should be Christians. He gave no reason for why Paul meant to say something completely different to what he actually said and it seemed like he just really wished that's what the text actually said.
At the time I had a strong urge to stand up and yell "are you Friggin' serious?!? The foundation for your ministry is based on what you think Paul meant to say?!?" But, I was sitting next to my new girlfriend's parents and at the time impressing them seemed more important than yelling out and getting stared at by a hundred ticked off Baptists.
None the less since Fred was famous and it's the only time I've heard a justify a ministry by basing it on something that was meant to be in the bible (but wasn't actually there). So it's something I've not forgotten.
I like to think of myself as some who diligently tries to follow Jesus and takes the bible very seriously. The problem is that I'm pretty sure Fred does too and, we have very very different ideas about what this means.
I suspect that Fred's attitudes, actions and his parties policies are not based on what Jesus said and but rather what Fred wishes he said and did. They are not based on what the bible says but on what he wishes the bible "meant to say".
Nearly twenty years ago I got to see Fred preach to the choir, quite literally, as he addressed a conservative Baptist church.
Fred started by reading from Romans (Romans 13). It’s the famous passage were Paul says that the rulers and authorities have been put there by God. Fred then went on to explain that what Paul meant to say was that all people in authority or government should be Christians. He gave no reason for why Paul meant to say something completely different to what he actually said and it seemed like he just really wished that's what the text actually said.
At the time I had a strong urge to stand up and yell "are you Friggin' serious?!? The foundation for your ministry is based on what you think Paul meant to say?!?" But, I was sitting next to my new girlfriend's parents and at the time impressing them seemed more important than yelling out and getting stared at by a hundred ticked off Baptists.
None the less since Fred was famous and it's the only time I've heard a justify a ministry by basing it on something that was meant to be in the bible (but wasn't actually there). So it's something I've not forgotten.
I like to think of myself as some who diligently tries to follow Jesus and takes the bible very seriously. The problem is that I'm pretty sure Fred does too and, we have very very different ideas about what this means.
I suspect that Fred's attitudes, actions and his parties policies are not based on what Jesus said and but rather what Fred wishes he said and did. They are not based on what the bible says but on what he wishes the bible "meant to say".
1 comment:
I've heard so many stories of people who have heard a preacher say something, and have bit their tongue, because they didn't think it was the right place. But they never end up saying anything.
For example, a lady at a leaders camp who instructed those there that they needed to pray in a certain language that she had received from God after praying to him. One of the camp leaders, surprised that no-one had questioned this, went up to her and asked "if God only listens to prayers in this language, how did he hear you before he gave you the language?"
I think as someone who is going to be a preacher, I have to be very careful about what I say in the pulpit as it is often left unquestioned.
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