The Simple Pastor
Simplicity & Generosity
Bibliophilia (09.09.10): An abundance of reviews this week – which means lots of choice and recommendations and sh... http://bit.ly/9Kpslp 3 hrs ago
A few days ago my friend Matt Hosier wrote this post in which he (rightly) pointed out that our society has some strange ideas about what to tolerate or not tolerate. His examples were our strange acceptance of promiscuity and our hostile rejection of obesity. I wondered (in a comment on his post) whether Matt had gone a bit far in saying obesity didn’t matter, I wondered whether it wasn’t in fact linked to sin in some way.
I posted a comment and in reply I got this post. The ante has been upped, the stakes have been raised and he challenged me for a response. So here it is (it’s a longer than usual post in reply)
Healthy debate makes for more interesting reading but there are a whole number of things that (boringly) I actually agree with. For example, it’s very easy to slip into self-righteousness about body image, the healthy and thin among us become examples of righteousness because of how we look. This is rubbish. 1 Samuel 16:7 famously tells us that God isn’t nearly as impressed by outward appearances as we are. While James is talking about material wealth you could easily apply his admonition against favouritism (James 2:1-4) to our perception of a person based on physical appearance. (more…)
I believe Jesus when he said 'life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions'. I believe he offers something better. This blog is mostly about that search.
I'm also a church pastor, a bookshop owner, a husband, a father, a keen runner, reader, and motorcyclist. These and a few other things make guest appearances from time to time.