tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34075051.post292833193112912796..comments2023-06-18T10:11:36.565-06:00Comments on Ralph Harris: Hero BoycottRalphhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13191358912351995744noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34075051.post-85146848513185906222009-06-16T18:33:02.360-06:002009-06-16T18:33:02.360-06:00I agree about imitation!!! I know this from my own...I agree about imitation!!! I know this from my own experiences and failures.<br />AneliaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34075051.post-78081133187077806112009-06-16T13:02:44.573-06:002009-06-16T13:02:44.573-06:00I'm thinking there are 2 kinds of pride. Or ma...I'm thinking there are 2 kinds of pride. Or maybe there is just one and it's multi-headed like a hydra. There is arrogant, boastful follow me-ness and then there is false humility or self-deprecating don't follow me-ness. I HOPE there are some people around who don't fall into either of those categories. I HOPE there are some people that lead by new-creation nature somehow and have a good influence on those around them. I HOPE there are some people that when they walk by or speak we sense Jesus. Surely there are a some. And how do we discern/recognise the leaders? I guess it'd take a miracle.<br />-AmandaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34075051.post-38648231849629628562009-06-16T13:02:22.519-06:002009-06-16T13:02:22.519-06:00You are right on! It sure takes the pressure off o...You are right on! It sure takes the pressure off of the leaders!<br />-WhitneyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34075051.post-85008438686037414392009-06-16T13:01:59.971-06:002009-06-16T13:01:59.971-06:00Again, two notions (imitate/copy & transformat...Again, two notions (imitate/copy & transformation) are being conflated. In Ralph's article the good & essential notion of imitation (see, attend to, mimic the good example set for you) is reduced to imitation as vanity & inauthenticity. The good is thrown out with the bad. Biblically, imitation is a vital part of the transformational process. This was an educational cornerstone in the Mediterranean world of antiquity, and is still the heart of good education today.<br />Evangelicalism always has its current buzzwords, the new always getting traction with the "we'll do it right this time" attitude toward the old; and transformation has certainly been been faddish this last 10 years or so. It is, of course, a very old notion: Must we continue to run with scissors in our hands? Why let a good word, and even better idea, suffer from our bad and inattentive examples? The problem isn't the word; the problem is our choice of leaders. Transformation is impossible without imitation.<br />-MikeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34075051.post-19290988188804895422009-06-16T13:01:34.103-06:002009-06-16T13:01:34.103-06:00I understand where Mike is coming from (see his co...I understand where Mike is coming from (see his comment) but I think Ralph's observation is valid. The sad truth is that we are all born originals and most of us die copies; cheap imitations. We are supposed to make disciples not clones.<br /><br />I am no Greek scholar but I think that I am right in saying that the word that Paul uses in 1 Cor 4:16 and the other passages quoted is Mimetes which means to follow and that seems to me to convey the spirit of what Ap Paul was pointing us to. Whilst I don't doubt that one could translate the word mimetes/to follow as imitate but if we did we would have to accept that to us moderns 'imitate' means to pretend to be; do an impression of and of course we all know that was the farthest thing from the Apostle's mind. <br /><br />Authentic mentoring, (which incidentally is very definitely about modeling beliefs, attitudes, values to a protege) the kind that the Ap. Paul speaks of is not about imitating his actions (external) but participating (internal) in the same.<br />-PaulAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34075051.post-21710105338152451192009-06-16T13:01:02.088-06:002009-06-16T13:01:02.088-06:00Right on target. (I want to follow you in what you...Right on target. (I want to follow you in what you said, ha).<br />CraigAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34075051.post-20543059674803810122009-06-16T13:00:44.029-06:002009-06-16T13:00:44.029-06:00Ralph, Good words and very true. I wonder if our l...Ralph, Good words and very true. I wonder if our leaders lead us even if we don't know we're being led - sort of like osmosis or something?<br />-TerryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34075051.post-6633168247340220252009-06-16T13:00:25.516-06:002009-06-16T13:00:25.516-06:00This is pretty shaky, I'm afraid. Μιμηταί - 1 ...This is pretty shaky, I'm afraid. Μιμηταί - 1 Cor. 4:16 & 11:1 - "to use as a model, imitate, emulate. "Imitate" (Eng.) is from the Latin imitatio - imitation; pretence. Of the 11 times I've noted its use in the NT, 9 times the directive is to copy or imitate another person's example and only one time is the directive to imitate God (Eph. 5:1). The principle of transformation is central to the gospel (e.g. Rom. 12:2) with the use of μεταμορφοῦσθε (fm. the root of which we get the word metamorphosis); but you're conflating two entirely different concepts, imitation & transformation. The first speaks towards praxis (one vital tool in the discipler/disciple relationship), and the other speaks toward result; i.e. (partial) cause & effect. I would suggest that the problem you note has less to do with either the principle of model and imitation, than with flawed spiritual formation & character issues in the so-called "leaders" with whom you've interacted. Would love to talk more!<br />-MikeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34075051.post-46004356391503319922009-06-16T12:59:58.009-06:002009-06-16T12:59:58.009-06:00You ROCK. Can I copy you?You ROCK. Can I copy you?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34075051.post-59810718145257941452009-06-15T14:54:39.839-06:002009-06-15T14:54:39.839-06:00I've often thought this. Thanks for putting &q...I've often thought this. Thanks for putting "on paper (screen)" what I've thought for years.<br />-RudyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com