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Thoughts on the Giving and Taking of Offense, and the Waxing Old of Bones
By Mary Abrahamson To most things in life there are two sides. So too with the issue of offense. Is it given or taken? (As a little disclaimer, I’m not talking here about Biblical giving of offense, as in causing another to sin or to stumble in his or her faith.) I’m writing here about the word offense as we use it today, in regular English. Most often when we say, “I’m offended,” we mean, “Someone made me mad or uncomfortable.” Mostly when we say, “I don’t want to cause offense,” we mean, “I don’t want anyone to be mad at me or uncomfortable because of what we say.” If…
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The Besetting Sins Lament with St. Paul (and Anne and Mrs. Allan): Part Two in a series
By Mary Abrahamson “Ruby Gillis thinks of nothing but beaus,” said Anne disdainfully. “She’s actually delighted when anyone writes her name up in a take-notice for all she pretends to be so mad. But I’m afraid that is an uncharitable speech. Mrs. Allan says we should never make uncharitable speeches; but they do slip out so often before you think, don’t they? I simply can’t talk about Josie Pye without making an uncharitable speech, so I never mention her at all. You may have noticed that. I’m trying to be as much like Mrs. Allan as I possibly can, for I think she’s perfect. Mr. Allan thinks so too. Mrs.…
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Smalcald Articles– The Third Part
THE THIRD PART OF THE ARTICLES. Concerning the following articles we may [will be able to] treat with learned and reasonable men, or among ourselves. The Pope and his [the Papal] government do not care much about these. For with them conscience is nothing, but money, [glory] honors, power are [to them] everything. Part III, Article I. Of Sin 1] Here we must confess, as Paul says in Rom. 5:12, that sin originated [and entered the world] from one man Adam, by whose disobedience all men were made sinners, [and] subject to death and the devil. This is called original or capital sin. 2] The fruits of this sin are…
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A Two Pronged Approach to Modesty
By Amanda Markel I’m going to admit to something that may not be popular in Christian circles…I no longer use the word “modesty” when talking to my daughters. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the idea of modesty…it even appears several times in the New Testament. But modesty is another one of those words that our modern culture has twisted to mean something other than what the Bible expresses, and like many other things in American Evangelicalism, I want to stay as far away from it as possible. First of all, there is a tendency when we emphasize modesty, for Christian women to act in a less than Christlike manner toward…
