David_Watson
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12 years ago @ Touchpoint - Animism, America, Reli... · 1 reply · +3 points
The real issue here is about doing what's right in God's sight for those who cannot take care of themselves. One of the functions of government should be to protect the weak members of society. This is quite different than coddling the lazy members of society or saying that every member of society should be paid the same regardless of capacity, training, excellence and hard work. There are differing values for the way in which individuals support society. Not everyone has the capacity or is willing to work hard enough to become a physician, scientist, engineer, business owner and etc.
In a society that has the Creator God as a significant part of it's worldview, everyone should be given the opportunity to develop to his or her capacity. This is for the good of the society. This is not socialism, which tends to bring everything to a common minimum. It seems to me that most socialistic systems want to make sure everyone reaches the same level of incompetence so that the elite in charge can keep what they have. The socialistic worldview is based on the view that there is limited stuff that must be kept and protected, and just enough is given out to keep people happy while the elite can enjoy their wealth of stuff.
OT law allowed for those with capacity to excel and rise up in society. But it also recognized that power would supplant ability, so every fifty years the table was reset (Year of Jubilee) to make sure that power was not the basis for society, but that capacity and hard work were the basis for society. You will note that the value of everything was measured by the time remaining to Jubilee. Jubilee is not a system that can be made to work in modern society. But we can make sure that every person has access to quality education and opportunity to excel. Quite frankly, this seems to no longer be the case in America. When I attended university my tuition, books and fees were less than $250 per semester. A month's work in the summer covered all my educational costs for a year. Today, university education starts at about $250 per semester hour, or about $4,000 per semester including books and fees. At $10 per hour one has to work 800 hours, or about 5 months full time to pay for one year of university. In other words, the average person cannot go to university and survive without loans or support in some form. The system has developed into one that only the elite can have easy access. This is a table that needs to be reset. Power and wealth should not be the determining factor for getting an education if one has capacity for learning and giving back to society. A Creative worldview society would make sure that everyone has access to education at a fair price. This resets the table every generation, allowing society to continue to develop, improve, and create. Power and influence will always be a part of the fallen world. But we can put in systems that attenuate this power.
This is too big a topic for a complete review. This article is about worldviews - Creative or Animistic; and the impact these worldviews have on society.
Blessings!
David Watson
12 years ago @ Touchpoint - Animism, America, Reli... · 0 replies · +2 points
12 years ago @ Touchpoint - Animism, America, Reli... · 0 replies · +2 points
12 years ago @ Touchpoint - Mentoring – Dealing ... · 0 replies · +1 points
Blessings!
David Watson
Irving, TX
12 years ago @ Touchpoint - Opinion - Insider Move... · 0 replies · +1 points
Blessings!
David Watson
12 years ago @ Touchpoint - Church Planting Essent... · 0 replies · +1 points
Blessings!
David Watson
12 years ago @ Touchpoint - Church Planting Moveme... · 0 replies · +1 points
Blessings!
David Watson
12 years ago @ Touchpoint - Church Planting Moveme... · 0 replies · +1 points
Blessings!
David Watson
12 years ago @ Touchpoint - Opinion - Insider Move... · 2 replies · +1 points
Blessings!
David Watson
12 years ago @ Touchpoint - Opinion - Insider Move... · 0 replies · +1 points
The methods we use encourage insiders to read the Bible and determine for themselves what they must do to be obedient. Practice is not taught. We simply ask, "In your context what must you do to be obedient to Scripture?" We don't teach people to pray, we ask, "In obedience to this passage, how will you pray?" We don't teach how to worship, we ask, "How will you obey the Scripture in regard to worship?" We don’t teach baptism, we ask, “How will you be obedient to the baptismal passages?”
We teach obedience to the Word of God. The local group determines how they will be obedient. This means that obedience often looks just like what the culture will need and respect. We teach our outside leaders to deculturalize their presentation of Scripture to avoid transmitting their home culture, and ask the inside leaders to find ways to be culturally obedient. But there are times when obedience to the Word cannot be cultural, no matter what. In these cases Scripture must trump culture. There are simply times when Believers must give up cultural practices in order to be obedient. Note Paul’s writings when he encourages new Believers to abandon sinful practices.
Blessings!
David Watson
Irving, Texas