Monday, January 14, 2013

So if the incident of Achan in Joshua 7 is to be exegeted as meaning that God will thwart the efforts of a church because of a single unconfessed sin, does that mean a network should be set up where the members and attenders of a particular congregation can rat out alleged transgressions to the ecclesiastical authorities? The fact that Achan and his family were ultimately put to death in the passage doesn't exactly contribute to an atmosphere where those hearing this narrative will be wanting to own up to their shortcomings willingly if we are to heed its warning so literally. Furthermore, it is a bit of an interpretative stretch to insinuate that a congregation, where the age of the average attender is probably over the north side of 50, is guilty of Achanism because the swarms of children flocking to the annual summer vacation Bible school don't usually end up sticking around to be Sunday school regulars. Shouldn't those that have been around organized Christianity for any amount of time know that is just the way the ball rolls?

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