Pastor’s denial of baby dedication reflects poor theology

[raging moderate]

27. That Bronze Age book Mr. Winans thinks he follows says ALL people are sinners, one way or another.

It is actually a set of books, with lots of stories and sages quoted, and a lot of assumed context which is very confusing to us who were not there. Again and again, however, these writers stress that ALL of us make mistakes, say and do bad things to others, and that NONE of us has the right to look down on other people or to consider ourselves more righteous than they are, that all our pretensions of of righteousness look like filthy rags to our Creator, who sees not only our outward appearance but also our inward hearts. I am no Biblical scholar, but I have noticed that the Jewish prophets would be thundering about God's wrath on abominations, and then it would usually turn out they were talking about snobbery, injustice, oppression, pollution of public water, bribery, and failure to help people in trouble. Ezekiel said, "This is the sin of Sodom....pride, excess of food and prosperous ease but did not aid the poor and the needy." (Ezekiel 16:49). Jesus said, whoever loves much gets forgiven for much. Whenever he dealt with anyone who had broken sexual mores (which was not just once), he was gentle and somewhat ironical, almost as if restraining a chuckle. Oh, and much of what he said was honestly quoted from the Jewish scriptures, often while discussing these scriptures with other Jews who had read them.