August 21, 2011

Have read several blurbs lately about us all growing in the only important possible Christian way, as community--more of the "in the company of poets" nonsense. Perhaps this perspective accounts for so much of the lame Christian poetry being written. Salvation is a one at a time thing. Our first job is to work to save our souls. I don't know, maybe this community thing comes out of early American congregationalism. It's false. In some things it's just us and the saints (Church). Growth is an intensely personal thing. I grow (or don't). You grow (or don't). The company of poets has absolutely nothing to do with that. We need to beg for humility, wisdom, to proceed in our clumsy way and hope that He continues to sacramentally "pluckest us out."

Don't buy that nonsense, writers. I sometimes suspect it's largely due to people who are afraid of alienating anyone should they try to live the Truth. People won't like you if you move against what is PC. Any sex outside of marriage is against the Truth. Most of us have fallen, but that doesn't make the truth less true. We have all sinned (except Jesus by nature and Mary by grace). But let us man our little outposts--badly, yes, but with an intense sporadic earnestness.

As a Confessor used to say, "Hey, He can fix that!"