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Linford's potty pen
Since I hate being the lone dissenter, this will be my
last word on this thread.
First of all, I've read quite a bit that has intrigued
me. 'Preceate it. I especially appreciate J. Marie's
lessons in linguistics and Mr. Mishlers comments
concerning language from scripture. I think this
opens up a whole new area that is definitely worth
investigating.
My bottom line concerns with Linford's choice of words
has very little to do with freedom and rights and a
lot to do with responsibility. I do believe that I
have freedom in Christ. I don't have to get all hung
up over my screaming a dirty word in the car, or even
a friend hearing it. My friends know my heart and
what I say probably won't change their opinion of me.
(Although what comes out of our mouths when our brains
shut down springs from the overflow of our hearts.)
There is freedom in Christ to do a lot of things that
many Christians would condemn across the board.
However, we have to remember that, in the same
sentence in which Paul talked about our freedom, he
talked about our responsibility. There are times when
our responsibility to others should take precedent
over our freedom. Paul said that all things are
permissable, but not all things are profitable. Maybe
Linford never claimed to be a preacher or missionary
or whatever, but he is a self proclaimed Christian in
the public eye. When he does interviews for
Cornerstone or a recent Youth Workers Journal in which
he professes his faith, he is all of a sudden in a
place in which he carries more responsibility for what
he says; not only because of the Christians but
because of the countless non-Christians who are
scrutinizing the words and behavior of those who are
Christians. I keep wondering what kind of damage
control I would have to do if one of the kids I know -
young in their faith - read Linford's interviews and
his strong professions of faith, and then saw that
poem. I guess that's where I'm coming from.
As for the person who mentioned C.S. Lewis' usage of
"damn" and "ass", I think you need to give most
Christians a break. Typically, Christians who read
Lewis don't get hung up on that at all. THey probably
just think, "Oh, those funny little Brits!"
All that being said...this is a tough one. There are
some Christians who would condemn me for listening to
Sinead O'Conner or going to Jim Porter's to hear Bruce
Cockburn. I really don't give them much credence.
But there's this fuzzy line somewhere between here and
there and I won't even pretend to know where it lies.
I'm just happy to be here...
Kelvin
=====
"I never much liked flying,
The job requires trying;
The hard part's avoiding buildings and concrete."
-- Ellis Paul
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