So it's taking me forever to get through Raggamuffin Gospel because I feel I never have time to read anymore. But I wanted to share this passage from Dietrich Bonhoeffer that Manning borrows:
He who is alone with his sins is utterly alone. It may be that Christians, notwithstanding corporate worship, common prayer, and all their fellowship in service, may still be left to their loneliness. The final breakthrough to fellowship does not occur because, though they have fellowship with one another as believers and as devout people, they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as sinners. The pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner. So everyone must conceal his sin from himself and from their fellowship. We dare not be sinners. Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous. So we remain alone with our sin, living in less and hypocrisy. The fact is that we are sinners!
Actually I want to share with you Manning's rights on it. Last bit, I promise:
At Sunday worship, as in every dimension of our existence, many of us pretend to believe we are sinners. Consequently, all we can do is pretend to believe we have been forgiven. As a result, our whole spiritual life is pseudo-repentance and pseudo-bliss.
So much food for thought. Read it. Like five or six times. I know I did.
