Blogroll Update

I've added Basil's Blog, Geek Soap Box, Think Sink, Mean Ol' Meany and My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, all blogs that have had me linked for some time and I've been too much of a pig to return the favor. Go check them out.

Also, I like discovering new blogs (usually by using Blogger's "Next Blog" button), but if you've got something you want me to look at, let me know.

Think Sink, a self-described Conservative Christian, has a post and a follow-up about Judge Greer of Terry Schiavo infamy. He is outraged that Judge Greer, who apparently attends a Southern Baptist church, has thus far not been censured by his church, and is pleased that the pastor has asked Greer to leave the congregation:

"Indeed, I wonder why it took so long for the pastor to write that letter to Greer, "suggesting" that it might be better if he left the church. The church had been in strong support of saving Terri (no surprise there, thankfully). I believe church polity practically screams out for a vote by the congregation to remove him, after the appropriate steps have been taken for redemptive, corrective action (as outlined in Jesus' words in Matthew 18:15-17)."

In the follow-up post he addresses a Biblical challenge based on the "let he who is without sin cast the first stone" passage in John. I agree with Jeff's response that church governance sometimes requires excommunication (always with an eye to redeeming the sinner, if at all possible). Many liberals with only a passing knowledge of the Bible quote that passage against social conservatives who condemn, for example, adultery, homosexuality, abortion, or getting drunk, driving your car off a bridge and letting your girlfriend drown in a few feet of water while worrying about the impact on your political career. The simplest response is "love the sinner, hate the sin" (even though that particular phrase isn't found in the Bible, the principle is pretty well-accepted), and a condemnation of homosexuality is not the same thing as a condemnation of homosexuals. A more involved answer would include passage, for example Matt. 5:30, which refer to individuals being cut off for the sake of the church as a whole.

None of that is to suggest that I believe Greer should be kicked out of his church - I'd much rather leave that up to the people who know him, and know his heart, and hopefully they make their decision in a spirit of prayer, rather than a spirit of politics.

Also, in case anyone is interested, John 8:1-11 (the passage with the "cast the first stone" passage) is almost universally believed by scholars to be a later interpolation. For what that's worth.

More: Princess Sparkle Pony fields a tough question from the crowd. I won't bother with the "can you imagine if a conservative did something like this" angle, because I think it's funny. Can't fight the funny. And I like the blog name - sounds like it's written by a third grader with a unicorn fixation.

To answer this guy's question: