I have one other project on the fire, then I’ll start work on the Nonconformist Faith book. I’m going to add some material and rewrite the chapters; what was posted here was a just a draft.
A critical element in this whole story of nonconformist and social isolation: the covenant boundaries. It’s not that you can’t be friends with sinners, but folks who stand outside the covenant boundaries cannot be considered family. They aren’t part of your community.
I realize that’s a high barrier, but you can’t afford to ignore it. Our world is so very, very far away from the biblical truth that family is exceedingly rare. Granted, I’m an introvert, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like people. However, I like them best when they share my faith. I can form intense human bonds, but I am required by God to make sure to keep at a distance anyone who isn’t committed to serving Him.
And with all my grousing about churchianity, you surely recognize that I’m not that close to any church folks. Virtually every churchian I know is outside the covenant. This is not fun, folks, but it’s where we are right now.
So the reason for building an ethos around refusing to conform, and standing alone, is because we have no other choice. The only way to improve the situation is to keep putting out the covenant message, AKA the gospel.
“Granted, I’m an introvert, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like people. However, I like them best when they share my faith.”
You and I are the same, in this regard…