Bible Repentance: Path to Love - Robert J. Wieland
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are several possible ways of looking at our his<strong>to</strong>ry:<br />
1. We can view it with corporate pride and<br />
satisfaction as does a sports team that has never<br />
lost a game. It’s great <strong>to</strong> be on the winning side.<br />
This attitude interprets God’s blessings on the<br />
church as His vindication and approval. Current<br />
denominational his<strong>to</strong>ry is interpreted as “progress”<br />
or as “advance.” Objective evaluation of the<br />
“progress” becomes rare. The result of this attitude<br />
is lukewarmness. It is by far the most popular view<br />
of our his<strong>to</strong>ry, but it : generates an unchristlike<br />
spiritual arrogance, the opposite of New Testament<br />
faith.<br />
2. Others view our his<strong>to</strong>ry with despair,<br />
interpreting our real failures as evidence that the<br />
Lord has cast off this denomination and forsaken it.<br />
This view has produced various offshoots from<br />
time <strong>to</strong> time, and continually spawns new<br />
movements of fruitless, destructive criticism. Often<br />
these movements are initiated as a legitimate<br />
protest against, although they seldom offer a<br />
practical solution <strong>to</strong> the problem.<br />
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