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Jean wrote: "In the end, what fulfills the law? Compassion! Why can't we have faith in the revealed God of the New Testament?" Here is what Jesus said (Matthew 7:12-14) 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. 13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. In any case, what is your implication here? That we dump the Old Testament because it runs contrary to our "enlightened" 21st-century sensibilities? God is the same God, of both the Old and New Testament. Beware of the same pick-and-choose approach of which you accuse the "fundamentalists."
Jean wrote: "Gender is archetypal; it is not biological." Now, you've really lost me. The differences between men and women are, on the contrary, quite biological. What are you claiming here?
Jean wrote: "Marriage is to be a microcosm of love, teaching us how to sacrifice for the good of others." Let's see what God has to say: Genesis 2:18-24 18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." 19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said,
"This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called 'woman,

for she was taken out of man." 24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." So, marriage is indeed the things you mention, but it is specifically defined here as union of a man and a woman.

Doug, if you've ever raised children you know that you must first give them standards and guidelines so that their selfishness does not run the show. With time your children grow up and are mature enough to not be simply legalistic. They can learn mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. It takes time and incredible maturity to come to this level of selflessness. A powerful milieu in which to learn this level of selflessness is marriage and family. (why do you think we call it "matrimony"? Because mercy, compassion, and forgiveness fulfill the "standards"!) God thought humanity was ready, evidently, 2000 years ago to understand the progressive revelation of His unchanging nature: that the law is fulfilled through mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. The sum total of love is standards plus compassion and forgiveness. Where is the compassion and forgiveness? Evidently, we were only ready for the law prior to that -- a black and white, simplistic understanding of right and wrong. I do not read in any of your notes a focus on compassion, mercy, or forgiveness. You seem to be relying on legalism to conduct your life and form your attitudes. You speak of moral relativism. Jesus made clear that compassion is the pinnacle of love. You seem quite comfortable relativizing that! Jesus came to turn our hearts of stone into hearts of real flesh. Why do you fear that growth? God thinks you are ready!! I believe that justice can be reconciled with mercy. But it's a sacrifice on the part of the merciful one. I believe that Jesus' sacrifice was that reconciliation, a signal from God about His nature which hadn't yet been revealed. He came to inform us of the true nature of love: it's not just law! Give up your stony heart, man!

As you measure, so it will be measured out to you. I'm praying that people who can not tolerate sin in others have no need themselves for God's tolerance. To receive mercy you must believe that Jesus' mercy is for other sinners too. To believe in Jesus is to believe in mercy. To follow God's commandment is to love -- to see the beauty in the other. That is what God does for us.
Ted had to soldier on alone because he was surrounded by christians who are possibly grounded more in fear rather than love. I imagine they were focusing on his sin and how it is unacceptable to God so they didn't want to have any part of it (publicly). That's the irony of this outward show of perfection -- it springs from fear of someone judging our sin. I think that was Paul's message in his letter to Romans -- the law only shows how we are unable to be perfect. That is why we need to embrace tolerance. We're all sinners. And no, that's not just an excuse to sin; it's an attempt to not be legalistic so that I can follow God's commandment to love and have mercy, compassion, and forgiveness for my neighbors. Would it be fair to say that Jesus might include "do not judge" as a law to be followed? It is God's place alone to judge. Only God knows why Jesus told us not to judge. There are so many of God's laws listed in the Pentateuch; historically, we (the Jews) have had to decide which laws take precedence. Jesus clarified which law takes precedence. I understand that the standard is an important aspect of love. But mercy fulfills! We can't have love without mercy, compassion, and forgiveness!
I'm not espousing sin, I'm just yearning for our hearts to be less stony than they appear; if we could all realize that we're all sinners -- truly and couragously -- we would not judge each other. In the end, we all need tolerance and mercy and forgiveness. Jesus spent time with sinners and he did not judge them. Jesus was not feared by the sinner. He was embraced by the sinner. We would find the kingdom among us if all sinners felt safe enough to embrace Jesus' disciples, we who call ourselves christians. We would fulfill our covenant and be a blessing upon all nations (Gen 12:2). Doug, I totally understand that we don't want the world overrun with the passionate energy that can become perverse if not disciplined. But I think there's a reason God gave us mercy to sum up His self-revelation: it is a necessary component to the kingdom that requires a special understanding of the God of our salvation. In your first post you say that Christ calls us to a higher standard. I think that higher standard is the tremendous sacrifice we must make (learned through the example of Christ's sacrifice) to see beauty where evil co-exists. That's what God does for us. WHY is this aspect -- mercy, compassion, forgiveness -- such a necessary component of the kingdom? How does the light of mercy and forgiveness transform darkness? It MUST, for that was God's paradigm. It is my will to follow God's will: that my heart be transformed to God's will that I love through mercy and compassion, just as He loves me. A heart that loves my neighbor and enemy is my desire. If my heart is at war with sinners then I can not love them. If I can not tolerate them, then I can not love them (or myself for that matter). I suppose this means that we differ on this point: I feel that if I can not tolerate something or someone that means my heart is at war with them. There is no compassion. You might be more spiritually mature than me in that if you can not tolerate something then you are still at peace and love the thing you can not tolerate. Or maybe you admittedly hate it/them???? Is it possible to love your enemy? I am not being disrespectful or sarcastic. I am only trying to cultivate my heart to God's will. I feel that God has conquered sin through mercy.