OK. I really don’t deserve such a nice room, and even one looking out over the courtyard of the Seattle Doubletree Suites, but if I’m forced to, I guess I’ll just make the best of it. Although I did have to join the Doubletree/Hilton Honors Program to get free in-room Internet. I just hope they send me a secret decoder ring.
Anyway, within an hour of checking in, I met up with my wonderful Caroline and her husband, Brian, and spent an enjoyable hour talking with them; a Sydney, Australia, family therapist; an Anglican priest — the woman who presided over the communion service three years ago that I mentioned in my previous post — and a young woman from Romania who is beginning a ministry to women victimized by trafficking. We went to Olive Garden; the wine flowed and so did the conversation, and all of it was to the glory of our Lord Jesus. Fighting patriarchy is a commendable activity, but fighting patriarchy because of our commitment to Christ and His Gospel of mutuality and reconciliation is the stuff wherein the Spirit flows. I saw a taste of that last night.
On another note, we were all discussing Unitarian Universalism, a church movement that includes one of my dearest friends and which has great influence for the good in Moscow. The UU foundational principle is “We believe in the dignity and worth of every human being.”
The biggest church in Moscow, however, follows the example of King David in cursing and praying harm on their enemies, and goes beyond John Calvin to embrace a “double predestination” that assures us that, for His good pleasure, God has created some people for ultimate and eternal damnation, and because of His decree concerning their fate, they have no chance whatsoever to seek Him, find Him, or escape His wrath. This, and not the credo of the Unitarian Universalists, is the guiding force behind their engagement with the community. It’s not hard to see that something’s gone terribly, perhaps irrevocably, wrong when those who reject Jesus Christ as the source of humankind’s salvation reflect more of Him than those who claim to have Him tucked firmly in their hearts, Bibles, and khakis.
May the Lord have mercy, and may you stayed tuned in for more Prevailing Winds blowing from Seattle and Christians For Biblical Equality.
So glad to be here with you and so honoured to be your “wonderful Caroline.” 🙂 Get a good sleep tonight.
Comment by Caroline Schleier Cutler — July 30, 2011 @ 5:46 am