August 12 1996

ARTICLE TOOLS

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I had an uncomfortable feeling after reading Mark Galli's article "Saint Nasty" in the June 17 issue. While I cannot disagree that former saints were not always the type of people we would want for neighbors, I feel several red flags need to go up for any aspiring saint who wishes to follow their example.

Most of us have met self-appointed saints who, by their abrasive approach, have driven people away from Christianity--I actually heard one such Elijah brag that his message was so strong that few could accept it.

So I propose two caveats: First, be sure you are a saint before you begin using the methods mentioned. Second, take time to talk with and listen to the Lord, for if love does not back up our approach to soul-winning, we're not on the road to sainthood.

- Eugene Lincoln

Hagerstown, Md.

* I appreciate Galli's point that sometimes "saints" must lack patience because of a passion for God's righteousness. However, his examples betray a corresponding lack of humility in many of these same "saints." While I agree that we Christians cannot always be "nice," I believe we must always be humble. Before we get tough with others, we must be tough on ourselves. Paul spoke of "speaking the truth" but doing it "in love." Many Christians have a tendency to speak out against a variety of issues without the humble spirit that should characterize a true saint. We have taken Rush Limbaugh as our model rather than Jesus or the apostle Paul.

- Drick Boyd

Broomall, Pa.

Timothy George's editorial ("Promoting Renewal, Not Tribalism," June 17), which reports on the founding of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals (ACE), is in need of some correction.

First, he argues that the theological boundaries of the Cambridge ...