Saint Agitator

Who's Your Daddy?

A word about authority is in order.

One Church father noted that "he who has not the church for his mother has not God for his Father." I believe that statement to be true.

Who are you going to believe? It is a perennial question. Who is going to be your moral guide?

You have every right to hold strict moral convictions when it comes to such lifestyle issues as drinking alcohol. I want to be careful to affirm that right. What I am attempting to do here is make some observations about certain strictures that are often imposed upon the consciences of Christians that are not appropriate to be so imposed.

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What is an "agitator?"

Now, you know the thing inside your upright washing machine? That pole-like thing sits in the middle to rotate back and forth and get your clothes clean. That is an agitator. But, that really doesn't answer the question.

Let's turn to the dictionary:

agitate -
1 a obsolete : to give motion to
b : to move with an irregular, rapid, or violent action
the storm agitated the sea
2 : to excite and often trouble the mind or feelings of : DISTURB
3 a : to discuss excitedly and earnestly
b : to stir up public discussion of
intransitive senses : to attempt to arouse public feeling

agitator -
one that agitates : as
a : one who stirs up public feeling on controversial issues
political agitators
b : a device or an apparatus for stirring or shaking

source: m-w.com

I would apply all of the above to this humble blog.

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Things I Eschew

I am not an antinomian. Obedience to God's commands is part of being a Christian.

I do not believe in indiscriminate tolerance. I believe that judging others is essential if one is to function in human society. Judging ourselves is equally, if not more, important.

I do not subscribe to the maxim "if it feels good, do it." I believe in both self-control (an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit) and self-denial (an aspect of being a disciple of Christ).

I am not an epicurean, an infidel or a hedonist. I do not exalt the pursuit of pleasure above all else. (I realize that the original Epicureans were not guilty of this).

I am also not an asthete in the negative/misunderstood sense of the word. I do not deny the legitimate place of sensual pleasure. Food, sex, comfort, rest all have their place and should be valued.

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Safeguards and Commitments

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I believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures.
I believe in the necessity of holiness and am engaged in its pursuit (Hebrews 12:14).
I believe in the Incarnate Christ who is both the one who makes possible our salvation and the example for us to follow.

I believe a lot of other stuff but thought that these three things were especially pertinent to this blog.

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Why Am I Here?

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I may be called "Saint Agitator" because I go about stirring up minds in a holy manner. Or I may be called "Saint Agitator" because I make other Christians mad.

I would like to think that some of what goes on here will be profitable.

Sometimes I will simply be ranting.

This could get interesting.

I would like to toss around some thoughts regarding common Evangelical taboos and practices. I have spent time in some extremely culturally conservative sects of Christianity.

For example, I spent a few weekends with folks who would not unbutton the top button of their shirts because they thought it was immodest. I bet you cannot say "Been there, done that." I'll give you a rum-flavored lolipop if you can.

Some of the topics I will be considering:

Drinking alcohol in moderation and Smoking
Profanity
Masturbation
Physical Intimacy between Unmarried Persons
"Secular" Entertainment - music, movies, TV, etc.
Modest Dress

Why should you stick around? You probably shouldn't. Why should you care? You probably shouldn't. Why should I spend my time doing this? I probably shouldn't.

Now that that's out of the way, let's begin.

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