Radical Christian Gentleness (Article)

[LearningToLetGo]

I came across this article today and thought it worth reading and perhaps discussing.

Although I am not familiar with the work cited in this article, the thesis promoted in the article itself is very much in line with my understanding of Christ. I'm curious what other people think.

Radical Christian Gentleness in an Era of Addictive Outrage​

APRIL 20, 2023 | GEORGE MARSDEN
Anger is one of the most seductive of human emotions. The great temptation when we’re hurt, threatened, or offended is to fight back. We want to respond in kind, to give as much as we get. And especially if we’re angry in what we see as a righteous cause, we’re likely to want to stand up and fight for what’s right.

Since we live in an age marked on all sides by anger, grievance, and resentment, including among Christians, it’s especially helpful to step back and listen to Jonathan Edwards’s wisdom on this topic. Though he lived in a time very different from ours, he often encountered these perennial human traits even among the parishioners of colonial New England churches.

In a striking, but too often neglected, passage in Religious Affections, Edwards insists an essential trait of any true Christian is “the lamblike, dovelike spirit and temper of Jesus Christ.” He presents this point as nothing less than a fundamental of the faith. He insists the evidence in Scripture is so “very abundant” as to prove such traits are essential marks of true Christians.

The full article is linked below:

Radical Christian Gentleness in an Era of Addictive Outrage

Some in Reformed churches who have most celebrated Edwards have also celebrated manly militancy in ways contrary to what Edwards sees as an essential quality of a genuine child of God.

www.thegospelcoalition.org

 

[Papa Smurf]

Hello LearningToLetGo, the last sentence of the article that you posited for us goes as follows,

At the end of the day, Edwards insists all true Christians are dominated by Christlike traits.

I agree with Edwards about this, a true Christian should be continually dominated (more and more, in fact) by Christlike traits/behavior as he/she progresses in sanctification throughout this life. Therefore, an excellent way to help us have the assurance that we really are who we claim and believe ourselves to be (true Christians, that is) ..... or that we are not ..... can be found in the following passage from the Book of Galatians.

Galatians 5​

19 The deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,​

20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,​

21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.​

.​

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,​

23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.​

If our lives are characterized less and less by deeds of the flesh (see v19-21 above), and have begun to be/are now characterized more and more by the Spirit's fruit instead (see v22-23), then I believe that there can be little doubt that we are who we claim to be, Spirit-led Christians.

God bless you!!

--Papa Smurf
p.s. - I would also like to talk about why Radical Christian Gentleness (or as Edwards put it, “the lamblike, dovelike spirit and temper of Jesus Christ”) on the one hand has nothing to do with some sort of "weakness" on the part of the believer on the other, but I'll leave that for another post (Dv).

Galatians 5​

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.​

​

 

[LearningToLetGo]

If our lives are characterized less and less by deeds of the flesh (see v19-21 above), and have begun to be/are now characterized more and more by the Spirit's fruit instead (see v22-23), then I believe that there can be little doubt that we are who we claim to be, Spirit-led Christians.

I very much agree with this. The older I get the less I value righteousness and the more I value kindness.

p.s. - I would also like to talk about why Radical Christian Gentleness (or as Edwards put it, “the lamblike, dovelike spirit and temper of Jesus Christ”) on the one hand has nothing to do with some sort of "weakness" on the part of the believer on the other, but I'll leave that for another post (Dv).

I could not say it better myself. It takes a remarkable amount of strength to not fight when angered, even more strength to not even show anger despite it broiling and bubbling just beneath the surface.

Anger is a form of cathartic release. It's almost sexual in a way, so to deny it even when justified is a difficult thing indeed. But with practice it gets easier. I remind myself that everyone is suffering, the brigand and bully most of all. I remind myself that even they had mothers and try to see them as their mothers must have on the day they were born. Despite the fact that a person may be forty years old and 200 pounds of drunken rage, they are still but an infant at heart and deserve some love.

 

[Papa Smurf]

The older I get the less I value righteousness and the more I value kindness.

Hello again Jason, I don't think that I've considered contrasting those two. Perhaps I am thinking on a somewhat different wavelength about them however? If you wouldn't mind, please elaborate a bit more (about why you value of kindness over righteousness). Thank you

God bless you!!

--Papa Smurf

 

[LearningToLetGo]

Hello again Jason, I don't think that I've considered contrasting those two. Perhaps I am thinking on a somewhat different wavelength about them however? If you wouldn't mind, please elaborate a bit more (about why you value of kindness over righteousness). Thank you

God bless you!!

--Papa Smurf

Righteousness is morally justified anger whereas kindness is simply kindness.

In life there are many times when I would be morally justified in being angry. If I allow myself to actually be angry in those situations then I end up walking around perpetually angry and that's not good for me or anyone else. Instead I turn the other cheek, so to speak. I let go of my moral justification for anger by realizing that even that is a trap and I embrace compassion and kindness -- or at least I try to by making that my focus.

In other words I realize that the people who cause me to suffer are themselves also suffering. My morally justifiable righteous anger towards them won't reduce the overall suffering in the grand equation -- just the opposite! So I take the loss. I swallow my pride and do the only thing I can do to truly reduce the pain and suffering in the world and I let it go.

Jason

 

[Lanolin]

hmm when the Holy Spirit is grieved, we cry. Also, if we grieve the Holy Spirit, He will leave.
We don't want the spirit to leave, but that's what happens. The Holy Spirit does not get angry although He's powerful.

Thinking of doves, I don't think they ever get angry. We'll I've never seem them squabble and fight with each other like cocks and other birds. They just fly away.

Angry birds probably target people they don't like though. You don't want your eyes pecked out. I am somewhat protected (I wear glasses)