Dr. Bock,

Being largely ignorant of the E/E movement--although I remain unconvinced that it isn't more than a passing cultural fad--I appreciate your summarizing your discussion of it.

There were a couple of things you mentioned in your discussion that I wanted to comment on:

One thing had to do with your mention in passing that the E/E movement might be avoiding discussions, e. g., of sin and hell, in reaction to an over-emphasis on these things by some churches. Perhaps this is true; however, I am reminded of a message I once heard by the late Keith Green, in which he said something to the effect that, "Some people say they are tired of hellfire and damnation sermons." Then he said, "Let me ask you a question: When was the last time you heard any?"

Secondly, you seemed to imply that conservative evangelicals erred when they focused on certain gross sins, such as homosexuality, as if they were worse than other sins, since all sins leave us stained before God.

However, the Bible itself seems to makes such distinctions of specially heinous sins. For instance, under the Law of Moses, certain sins were atoned for by sacrifices. However, in other cases (such as homosexuality), the penalty was death.

Even in the New Testament, such distinctions remain: For instance, although all Christians sin, there are certain sins which require a believer not to associate with a so-called believer who practices those sins: E. g., the sins recorded in 1 Cor. 5:11 (cf. 1 Cor. 6:9-11). Does this not indicate that all sins are not equal before God?

Additionally, Jesus spoke of "the greater sin" of the one who delivered him into the hands of Pilate, which would seem to imply degrees of sin. Also, the Scripture speaks of the unpardonable sin, which certainly seems to indicate a sin that is greater than any other; as well as the "sin unto death," which would seem to indicate a most serious sin. Sin, then, would seem to be like sickness:

Although all sickness is sickness, in that both are abnormal states, there is a great difference between, say, a cold and terminal cancer. So, all sin is wrong, and even terminal; however, there are degrees of sin, just as there are degrees of sickness. From the Scriptures' treatment of sin, it would seem that not all sin is equally repugnant to God.

Homosexuality, though certainly not the unpardonable sin, would seem to be a particularly heinous sin, not only because it involves sexual immorality, but also because, beyond that, it is unnatural--it is against nature, as Romans 1 indicates.

Again, however, I really appreciated your summary of the 9 facets of the E/E movement that you dealt with.