You’d be surprised at how little I do any of those holidays except Thanksgiving, especially now that the kids are grown. But I can’t get away from Christmas completely, though I dislike the materialism exceedingly. So, you are right - if I am going to be obligated to do the superficial stuff, I would do well to do the deeper stuff too.
I read and thought on Galatians a lot in January, and to me it is about avoiding legalism. The Baptist Church has a remarkable amount of legalism quicksand, especially for diligent and earnest believers, and it is very easy to get mired in guilt. It was quite a journey for me to leave that for grace, and I don’t want to substitute any other kind of legalism for it.
It is interesting to me that the end of Galatians 3 talks about the Jewish law as a tutor/school master and the beginning of Galatians 4 talks about the elementals being guardians and managers until the person comes of age - maybe the elementals played the same role for gentiles as the law played for Jews. I guess that why I wasn’t thinking of elementals as being inherently harmful or wrong, just inappropriate for a grown-up believer.
The Baptist view of saints and angels is, why would you pray to them when you have a direct path to the Trinity. Also, in Baptist circles, just about any spirit is regarded with suspicion because it might be a demon in disguise. I’ve been trying to pick my way out of this tangle, trying to decide if it is okay to be friends with the plants in my yard. (I know it sounds silly that I even have to wonder.). So after thinking on it awhile, I asked the Holy Spirit; and the thought that immediately popped in my head was that the plants were like my co-workers; and elements, principalities, and powers were like branch chiefs, division directors, and regional administrators. See, I work for the federal government and you can have friends all over the agency and ask questions and ask for a little help. But if you want a big project done, their branch chief has to authorize it. I wouldn’t dare go to their branch chief with a petition; I’d go up through my chain of command. So that is where I am now. How to I stay in my chain of command and avoid letting anything become a legalistic obligation.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2022-02-22 03:56 am (UTC)I read and thought on Galatians a lot in January, and to me it is about avoiding legalism. The Baptist Church has a remarkable amount of legalism quicksand, especially for diligent and earnest believers, and it is very easy to get mired in guilt. It was quite a journey for me to leave that for grace, and I don’t want to substitute any other kind of legalism for it.
It is interesting to me that the end of Galatians 3 talks about the Jewish law as a tutor/school master and the beginning of Galatians 4 talks about the elementals being guardians and managers until the person comes of age - maybe the elementals played the same role for gentiles as the law played for Jews. I guess that why I wasn’t thinking of elementals as being inherently harmful or wrong, just inappropriate for a grown-up believer.
The Baptist view of saints and angels is, why would you pray to them when you have a direct path to the Trinity. Also, in Baptist circles, just about any spirit is regarded with suspicion because it might be a demon in disguise. I’ve been trying to pick my way out of this tangle, trying to decide if it is okay to be friends with the plants in my yard. (I know it sounds silly that I even have to wonder.). So after thinking on it awhile, I asked the Holy Spirit; and the thought that immediately popped in my head was that the plants were like my co-workers; and elements, principalities, and powers were like branch chiefs, division directors, and regional administrators. See, I work for the federal government and you can have friends all over the agency and ask questions and ask for a little help. But if you want a big project done, their branch chief has to authorize it. I wouldn’t dare go to their branch chief with a petition; I’d go up through my chain of command. So that is where I am now. How to I stay in my chain of command and avoid letting anything become a legalistic obligation.