Posted by:
caffiend
(
)
Date: April 18, 2018 03:39PM
Although I'm personally, uncomfortable with displays of ecstasy, they are not restricted to the religious sphere, but can be seen at rock concerts, New Age celebrations such as Woodstock or Burning Man, ancient and contemporary bacchanalia, and private events. The issue is, do people change for the better? I'm sure the answer varies widely. I admit to being embarrassed that the Christianity Today writer chose to use the Cane Ridge event as a template for revival, perfect for taking out of context to "prove" Christian irrationality.
The preaching of Charles Finney, the Wesleys, Dwight L Moody, Erik Prince, George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon, and Billy Graham would have been more suitable examples. The gist of the article was the contrast between a fervently emotional and a temperate, contemplative experience of repentance and conversion. Mine was very much the latter (as you know, Hie). Both have their truths, and their drawbacks.
Without God, everything is ethically and culturally negotiable. What was wrong in the past is permissible now, and vice-versa. I maintain, without reservation, that original sin is a viable and constant truth: as we "advance" a species, so does our capacity for treachery, brutality, mass cruelty and murder, pride & selfishness, and all kinds of evil--that is, sin.