Dear Friends in the Wisconsin Dells area,
Have you ever read Nathaniel Hawthorn’s The Scarlet Letter? I did, and that’s almost 50 years ago. All I remember now is that the central character, Hester Prynne, was punished by her Puritan culture for conceiving a child out of wedlock. Her punishment was being forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her clothing for the rest of her life.
Hawthorn apparently saw Puritan theology as that which describes a wrathful God who demands that we appease that wrath by some human effort, act of worship, or penance.
Most people would be repulsed by such “Scarlet Letter Theology” (my term). Yet, as I hear religious discussions and read letters to the editor that address what some might see as sins in “matters of the heart”, I see a theology pretty close to ”Scarlet Letter Theology”. We name the broken rule (e.g. abortion, premarital sex, cohabitation, homosexual behavior, etc.). We cite the Bible verses that call it a sin, and we proclaim, “Don’t do it because it’s a sin.” Yes, we do believe that Jesus’ blood forgives sins. (We call this atonement.) Yet we put conditions on atonement, like repentance or “accepting” Jesus or meeting Jesus halfway, etc.
The problem with this for those who claim to follow Jesus is that there is nothing uniquely Christian about it. Any world religion, philosophy, or institution can adopt Scarlet Letter methods of dealing with rule-breaking - including specifying atonement conditions.
The followers of Jesus believe that Jesus is God, that he walked among humanity, and that he died to forgive the sins of every human being who has ever lived and ever will life – including your sins past, present, and future. We believe that he ascended to heaven and promised to be with us through the Holy Spirit. We believe that he did, and does, these things out of unconditional love for all humanity. This is in contrast to Scarlet Letter Theology, which is conditional love.
God’s love is truly “out of this world”. It is the only hope for mending broken hearts – not just in Heaven, but here and now, too.
I invite you to join Grace Fellowship, for A Celebration of God's Love. It will improve your love life. And really, isn't life all about love?
With hopes for more people to know the love of God.
Pastor John Torgerson
9:00 am to 10:15
· Brief song worship
· A DVD, "Straight-laced", where the high school generation discusses their struggles in dealing with sex and gender issues. (For high school age and above.)
· Brief discussion and break.
10:30 to 11:30 (and later for those who want to stay and talk)
· Message "For God So Loved the World" by Pastor John Torgerson
· Brief closing song worship
· Questions and discussion
· about the theology behind this event, see “My Last Letter”
· about whether we teach from the Bible, check out “Is the Bible a Rulebook for Living”
· people who want to know how Jesus can enter into their love life. (Life is all about love!)
· any active church member who wants to know Jesus better and be a better disciple for Jesus in his or her local church.
· pastors, teachers, parents, and other mentors who have realized that they can’t make people love one another – either romantically or as brothers and sisters of Jesus.
· people who want faith to be relevant to life.
· YOU