Post #1605143

2026-04-23 17:16 UTC

I remember reading the Shepherd of Hermas. It's a good book, but I'm glad it's not canon. It's super hardcore when it comes to zero-tolerance for sin. I'm not against that because it's wrong (it's not wrong), just that I can't possibly bear the weight of it. Like the hero of Pilgrim's Progress who is carrying his burden at the beginning of the book. Still, I sometimes wonder at the current zeitgeist in the church. When will we (me) take personal holiness more seriously? What would be the result?

Replies (3)

@ellane@pkm.social 2026-04-23 18:08

@badbede@deacon.social It can be Interesting to think about the difference between sin and transgression, too. Sin = inherently wrong (abuse) Transgression = wrong in these circumstances (running a red light)

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@spaceraser@polymaths.social 2026-04-23 19:17

@badbede@deacon.social last summer I did an independent study on the theology of John Wesley. Read and reflected on five sermons a week. Pretty quick pace. I was skeptical about Wesley’s holiness being too focused on orthopraxy, on doing the right thing. Reading Wesley brought me on board with his perspective, that complete holiness is the goal and we should not be dissuaded from seeking it out by “practical” concerns. Wesley was a pastor first. It’s very clear to me that his heart came from 1) seeing people suffer under sin and 2) wanting people to be free of that suffering. That’s the central pillar of his holiness focus, simple charity and not wanting people to suffer. I think we make truce with sin in our life because we misapprehend how badly sin wants to destroy us, to kill us. Have you seen or read the anime/manga Frieren? Don’t know if you’re a Japan fan.

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@ossobuffo@deacon.social 2026-04-24 01:21

@badbede@deacon.social Here I shall insert a plug for churches that require confession. I cannot in good conscience take communion without periodic confession of my sins, out loud, to a person in authority. It sounds very scary, but it is extremely therapeutic, particularly when such confession results in spiritual counsel rather than penance. This is much more likely to encourage one to root out habitual sin, because one knows one will have to confess it again. Also, purity of heart comes from keeping watch over the threshold of the heart, and not allowing temptation to enter. On that subject, I do not know of any text as beneficial as this one by an early monastic father: https://orthodoxchurchfathers.com/fathers/philokalia/st-hesychios-the-priest-on-watchfulness-and-holiness.html

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