Gifts of the Spirit

There are different gifts but the same Spirit; there are different ministries but the same Lord; there are different works but the same God who accomplishes all of them in everyone. To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one the Spirit gives wisdom in discourse, to another the power to express knowledge. Through the Spirit one receives faith; by the same Spirit another is given the gift of healing, and still another miraculous powers. Prophecy is given to one; to another power to distinguish one spirit from another. One receives the gift of tongues, another that of interpreting the tongues. But it is one and the same Spirit
who produces all these gifts distributing them to each as he wills.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
May we all live the gifts that we have been given in humble service to God and others.











Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Why I chose to write under a pseudonym

I chose the pseudonym, Persis, (see Romans 16:12, more on that in a future post), not to protect myself, but to protect those whom I work for and my friends and family from being harassed by well-meaning, yet totally misguided individuals. All of the thoughts posted on this blog are mine and mine alone. I do not want it to be misconstrued as me speaking for any organization or institution. I believe that the only way to get beyond our differences is to discuss them, and that is what I am hoping to do with this blog. I will be respectful to all in my blog entries and in my comments to other posts, all I ask is for the same courtesy.
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 22, 2009 at 9:31 PM

    I was struck by the difference between what you said you wanted to do - whether sharing your insights or discussing differences - and what you actually did, which was rant about how mean others are and how you have to "protect" your colleagues, friends and family from those "mean" people who you apparently think would go out of their way to harass your colleagues, friends, family. Where did that come from?

    You might not be aware of the tone of your first two posts, but I have never seen a blog start - right out of the gate - on such a hostile note.

    To check out my impression, I separated neutral/positive and negative/hostile sentences in your first two posts: 51% neutral/positive and 49% negative/hostile.

    What you call mean-spirited and vicious are attempts to vent in a very frustrating situation. One could be generous and say your first two posts were vents, but then if it's okay for you to vent, why are others "mean-spirited and vicious" when they vent?

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  2. A Secular FranciscanJuly 23, 2009 at 9:27 AM

    Welcome to the Rochester blogging universe.

    I did not find your first two posts to be rants or vents, by the way. And yes, there are some angry/hurt people out there who make "mean" comments. On one of my blog posts, I cited a number of such comments back on June 27 - http://backpew.blogspot.com/2009/06/litany-of-anonymous.html.

    Keep writing.

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