"As your poets have said"

Come Lord Jesus!

"Cretans are always liars, beasts, and gluttons". Thus I quote the Apostle Paul in Titus.....Now that's racial stereotyping, even if he is quoting one of their own people.

I suffered collateral damage recently, when trying to illustrate how the doctrine of eternal conscious torment had grown during the pre-reformation times to be something even Paul would not recognize.

I inadvertently offended a person who thought I was church bashing, and I am saddened.First because my background as a Presbyterian taught me to bash other beliefs with vim and vigor, and I often return to that habit, as habits are hard to break.

Second, I am saddened because truth and growth can not really be attained without critically looking at the things we have been taught, and even when it is done in love it is still painful to admit you believed a "doctrine of man" instead of a divine revelation.

Now I have never been to Crete, but I would not I would not desire to quote Paul's quote, or to practice ethnic slurs or to use Paul as an example of how it's OK to slam people and cultures.

Since this blog refers to my growing up southern, and sometimes engages in a bit of judgment against the southern ways of thinking, I guess I should renew my desire to be more like Paul usually is, "let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth but only that which builds up" (my translation from memory of some verse somewhere".

Dear Cretans, how you doing with those nagging habits? Learning to tell the truth more?, acting like gentleman in public? Getting those buffet splurges when you feed at the trough for hours under control? Praise the Lord, bless you, see you in church on Sunday?