#29

A very good post – well conceived and clearly stated.

Of all those who have worked so hard to discredit religion in general and Christianity in particular the “righteous” have done the most damage. The Pharisees were the “righteous” of their day. They could quote chapter and verse and justify any act with scripture. You point out the truth – the core of actual religion starts with the love of God and all else proceeds from there – just as Jesus said. Scripture is a guide and important as a corrective to excess emotion. To paraphrase: “What would love do without knowledge? Go astray. What would knowledge do without love? Puff up.” But love ranks supreme. Augustine said “Love and do what you like”. And Paul points out the traits of those who truly love. Love is the starting point and the final goal. Those who think this too easy have never really tried it. Those who think it simplistic have never truly experienced it.

We live in a culture that is close to entirely lacking in love. It is rapidly becoming a nightmare for many – too many. We have certainly seen such in the past. But this time the phenomenon appears to be world wide. And in the past there was always some place or group that one could look to for refuge and stability. If the west falls that place will no longer exist.