Is It Proper To Quote Ghandhi When Talking About Biblical Topis?

[Justin Mangonel]

Dear All,

Recently, I wrote a blog about humility. Admittedly it is difficult to
even talk about humility without sounding prideful but nevertheless I attempted
to do so.

As I wrote I found myself quoting Gandhi. I really admire what he was able
to accomplish and felt that his words were really apropos to what I discussed.

I feel that we, as Christians, sometimes distain anything or anyone who does
not have a certain Christian look and feel to it or them. We often times
keep within strict guidelines for scriptural studies and limit our inquires to church
fathers fearing to venture very far from our religion. Why is this so? Has no one ever had anything profitable to say other than Athanasius? Has God never used or revealed truth to those who are not of His sheep?

Those who advocate for safety may say that nothing of value can be had
outside of the scriptures but I am not so sure. To be sure, some err and
get lost in the study of philosophy and lose their way. However, can God
use people like Gandhi to teach even His very elect?

I debated with myself as to the wisdom of quoting Gandhi but in the end I let his sage words stand because they are true.

Sincerely,

Justin Mangonel

PS. Is there anyway to fix a header once you have written it?

 

[KCKID]

Dear All,

Recently, I wrote a blog about humility. Admittedly it is difficult to
even talk about humility without sounding prideful but nevertheless I attempted
to do so.

As I wrote I found myself quoting Gandhi. I really admire what he was able
to accomplish and felt that his words were really apropos to what I discussed.

I feel that we, as Christians, sometimes distain anything or anyone who does
not have a certain Christian look and feel to it or them. We often times
keep within strict guidelines for scriptural studies and limit our inquires to church
fathers fearing to venture very far from our religion. Why is this so? Has no one ever had anything profitable to say other than Athanasius? Has God never used or revealed truth to those who are not of His sheep?

Those who advocate for safety may say that nothing of value can be had
outside of the scriptures but I am not so sure. To be sure, some err and
get lost in the study of philosophy and lose their way. However, can God
use people like Gandhi to teach even His very elect?

I debated with myself as to the wisdom of quoting Gandhi but in the end I let his sage words stand because they are true.

Sincerely,

Justin Mangonel

PS. Is there anyway to fix a header once you have written it?

Do you have any qualms quoting Gandhi's, "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ" ...?

 

[JB_Reformed Baptist]

Why quote Gandhi when Christ is the supreme moral teacher. In any case he plagiarized from the bible and adapted it to suit himself. But if you think he's so great, consider what others know about him. Such things cannot be said of the LORD Jesus Christ who's perfect in every way.

Read and weep!

http://rupeenews.com/2007/12/six-stories-of-mohandas-gandhi-his-failures-sexual-perversion/

 

[Justin Mangonel]

Dear K,

No, I don't have any qualms about that quote...I think it is right on the money.

Dear R,

I could not open the link.

Blessings,

Justin

 

[THE Gypsy]

Dear All,

Recently, I wrote a blog about humility. Admittedly it is difficult to
even talk about humility without sounding prideful but nevertheless I attempted
to do so.

As I wrote I found myself quoting Gandhi. I really admire what he was able
to accomplish and felt that his words were really apropos to what I discussed.

I feel that we, as Christians, sometimes distain anything or anyone who does
not have a certain Christian look and feel to it or them. We often times
keep within strict guidelines for scriptural studies and limit our inquires to church
fathers fearing to venture very far from our religion. Why is this so? Has no one ever had anything profitable to say other than Athanasius? Has God never used or revealed truth to those who are not of His sheep?

Those who advocate for safety may say that nothing of value can be had
outside of the scriptures but I am not so sure. To be sure, some err and
get lost in the study of philosophy and lose their way. However, can God
use people like Gandhi to teach even His very elect?

I debated with myself as to the wisdom of quoting Gandhi but in the end I let his sage words stand because they are true.

Sincerely,

Justin Mangonel

PS. Is there anyway to fix a header once you have written it?

I don't have a problem with it. I read a lot of Christian authors that quote from other sources...even the classics like Chambers, Chesterton, Tozer, etc. Generally speaking...I have found that most people that have problems with sources other than scripture are pretty shallow.

 

[Pelaides]

Do you have any qualms quoting Gandhi's, "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ" ...?

We have a long way to go ,when it comes to following in jesuses footsteps,and thats not good.

 

[Justin Mangonel]

Dear P,

Yes, but the distance can be shortened. When God says by My Spirit it means that our perfection is to be through yielding to Him. This makes sense because Christ was able to overcome because of the Holy Spirit in Him too.

God bless,

Justin

 

[Groundzero]

Dear All,

Recently, I wrote a blog about humility. Admittedly it is difficult to
even talk about humility without sounding prideful but nevertheless I attempted
to do so.

As I wrote I found myself quoting Gandhi. I really admire what he was able
to accomplish and felt that his words were really apropos to what I discussed.

I feel that we, as Christians, sometimes distain anything or anyone who does
not have a certain Christian look and feel to it or them. We often times
keep within strict guidelines for scriptural studies and limit our inquires to church
fathers fearing to venture very far from our religion. Why is this so? Has no one ever had anything profitable to say other than Athanasius? Has God never used or revealed truth to those who are not of His sheep?

Those who advocate for safety may say that nothing of value can be had
outside of the scriptures but I am not so sure. To be sure, some err and
get lost in the study of philosophy and lose their way. However, can God
use people like Gandhi to teach even His very elect?

I debated with myself as to the wisdom of quoting Gandhi but in the end I let his sage words stand because they are true.

Sincerely,

Justin Mangonel

PS. Is there anyway to fix a header once you have written it?

I think almost every great man in history, has made quotes that are fine for us to use. If it wasn't correct, then I believe God would have made sure we knew so.

 

[Episkopos]

It is good to quote Gandhi when discussing Indian independence!

 

[Mr.Bride]

Paul quoted the poets of his day in Acts as he was speaking to the philosophers. Acts 17:28

 

[Pelaides]

Dear P,

Yes, but the distance can be shortened. When God says by My Spirit it means that our perfection is to be through yielding to Him. This makes sense because Christ was able to overcome because of the Holy Spirit in Him too.

God bless,

Justin

Yes that may be true,but how many christians are yielding to Christ?How many Christians you know,who truly have the Holy Spirit,I read in a study,that a large amount of Christians dont even believe the bible,yet they show up at church every sunday.

 

[KCKID]

Yes that may be true,but how many christians are yielding to Christ?How many Christians you know,who truly have the Holy Spirit,I read in a study,that a large amount of Christians dont even believe the bible,yet they show up at church every sunday.

That's a sure indication that they don't believe the Bible. They show up on the wrong day . . .

 

[Arnie Manitoba]

Gandhi himself has put the Christians in an awkward position .... he employs many of the same things Christ taught ..... but does them without Christ ..... and he wanted to bring religious unity to the Christians , the occultists, the Krishna's , Muslims , Hindus , etc .... that should tell us he did not have a clue about Jesus.

He did what he did for his own personal political reasons .... not for Christ , and not for Christianity.

What he did was honorable (Independence without violence) .... no question about that .... but so many people in the world want to equate him to Jesus ..... which requires bringing Jesus down to merely a human level .... and that is wrong .... and that is where I become awkward quoting Gandhi

To this day there are not very many Christians in Continental India (2.5%).... and the few that are there are doing the greatest missionary work .... Mother Theresa was a good example.

The Indians themselves all want to immigrate to Christian countries like Brittan , Canada , & the USA .... why is that Mr Gandhi ?

I think Mahatma Gandhi made a fatal error by doing what he did without Jesus Christ . The Indian Continent is very unstable to this day .... and it is mostly for religious reasons ..... and they have atomic weapons at their disposal ... scary stuff.

We never see those same tensions between christian nations .

.Gandhi missed the boat big time.

That is my official Christian quote about the man

 

[Justin Mangonel]

Dear B,

Good point...thanks.

Dear M,

Less Christians truly yield to the Holy Spirit than should. A great
deal of Christians are simply lead by their natural minds according to their
doctrines.

Dear A,

I have read that when Gandhi was growing up he was very interested in
Christianity and tried to attend a Christian meeting once but was refused
because he was Indian. It is sad that He probably never gave His heart to
Jesus and thus will not see Heaven. However, he did more without Christ
for his people than most Christians do with Christ for theirs. I think it
is good to give credit where credit is due and not to down those who are not
with us for doing good works without us.

Many in Christendom seem to have such a narrow field of view that they
cannot accept that which is true outside of it. I like reading history
and I have found a few people who really inspire me by their lives even though
I know they were not Christians. Gandhi, Sir Richard Burton, T. E. Lawrence,
Winston Churchill, and General Douglas MacArthur (who was a believer) are
some I admire.

It is my opinion that Christians seem obnoxious to unbelievers mostly because
they have left all semblance of the real world and cannot connect with those
who live in it any longer. Most of the time this is not because they are
spiritual but rather because they are operating under a false belief system
that makes they strangers too it. The common people heard Jesus gladly then and I believe the common people,
if they met Jesus in us, would hear Jesus gladly now. It is just that there
is precious little of Jesus in us these days.

Truly the emperor has no clothes but the churched will not admit the
obvious. However, the un-churched see the obvious and laugh at our
pretention. Those of the church worship a system rather than a person and
it is that system that makes us appear silly and not the one whom we claim to
be like.

People love to be part of something and many churches have become merely
clubs who play at the notion of serving God. Pastors feel that they have
given so much, suffered so much, and forgiven so much that they should never be
challenged with the truth of their failure to truly feed their sheep. I
think what I like about Gandhi is that he was honest to a fault and strived for
consistency in everything he did. This gave him moral authority even
outside of Christianity. I believe this is what is missing in the
leadership of the church and is what has infected their flocks. We have largely
become hypocrites and those of the world who, having no reason to pretend, see
the truth of our folly even if we do not. Unfortunately, because we obscure the truth of
Christ to them, many will not make heaven their eternal home.

Blessings,

Justin

 

[Arnie Manitoba]

I will put the works of Christians up against the works of Gandhi any day

The Christians will win hands down

No other group in the world does more for for the poor than the Christians

Exactly what did Gandhi accomplish anyway , and how is India and Pakistan doing today ?

Can they still blame Britain for everything ? ... NO ... and why do so many Indians move to Britain ?

Gandhi was given a rude reception in a christian gathering ..... so what ... he was seen as a Hindu and told to go do his religion with his own group.

If a Hindu or a Muslim came to my church on a religious mission of some sort .... I would tell him the same thing .... and so would we all.

Some people think Gandhi was a saint ..... I do not.

 

[Justin Mangonel]

Dear A,

I am not comparing Christ's words to Gandhi words. I am just saying
some of what He said was true and showed great wisdom.

Do you have some studies showing that Christians do more for people than
other groups? Please share them with us if you do. And even if this
is true please explain your point a bit more so that I can understand how this
is relevant.

Are you seriously saying that throwing off the British empires yoke was not
a significant achievement for his people? Would you rather that they
remained under British rule? The more I read history the more I realize that
the British empire was brutal beyond belief.
Are you saying that because so many Indians move to Britain that it
would be better than they still be a British colony? Incidentally, recent news reports I have seen
suggest that because of the economic boom in India many Indians abroad are
moving back home. Does that mean,
according to your reasoning, that it is now a good place?

Really, you would give a rude reception to a Hindu or Muslim who came to
your church? And why? Perhaps if Gandhi would have been welcomed
and accepted as a human being rather than seen as a Hindu then He might have
had opportunity to convert and put his talents to use in the kingdom of
God.

I personally do not think he was a saint but rather a man who accomplished a
lot through non-violence. A good deed, even if it is accomplished by a
Samaritan, is still worthy of mention...don't you think? I find it possible to
appreciate the good in others even if they do not belong to my religion.
Cannot we all do the same?

Someone once said,

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

I agree with this very much and have experienced this a lot. People claim to be Christian or "Christ like"
but they are not like the one they claim to serve. This makes little difference to them for they
are somehow God's chosen and it does not matter how they act. I think differently, though, because I
believe that we should be Christ like in our deeds as well as in name. While I would not allow a Muslim to preach in
my church I would certainly welcome them to attend a service and hear what we
had to say.

Blessings,

Justin

 

[Arnie Manitoba]

It is the Christians who come to the aid of all the third world countries when needed. When is the last time a Hindu or Muslim country came to the aid of anyone in a disaster or flood ?

The British Empire has a lot to be ashamed of .... but it still was the best choice of empires in the new world ... Canada is still a part of the commonwealth and Britain causes no problems .... and we never needed Gandhi to do it

Besides .... if it was not for the British empire we would all be speaking french ..... and our rulers would be German speaking dictators.

Gandhi once said ..... "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." ..... So big deal ...... most Christians dont like each other either .... and as far as Jesus .... what do you think he would tell Gandhi about all the Hindu gods they worship ???? I expect it would not be pleasant.

I am not anti-Gandhi per say ...... I just get sick and tired of everybody saying how great he was ..... all he ever really did was what amounted to peaceful protests (good) .... but he was a self-mutilating-starving skin and bones vegetarian who mostly tried to keep all the attention focused on himself ..... while half naked with an old sheet draped over his shoulder ..... great theatrics for someone with a law degree.

Compare that to the Catholic Mother Theresa who dedicated her whole life to caring for rotting lepers in India ... and she always avoided the media for personal gain.

During the heated abortion debates years ago .... all the big USA media and TV cameras went to Calcutta to try get Mother Theresa in on the debate ..... she refused to be involved with them because most USA Media people are Liberals who are in favor of abortion and all they wanted to do was use Mother Theresa to boost their ratings.

Finally they caught up to her on the streets and tried to corner her with a loaded abortion question ...... she set down the rotting Leper ...... turned and faced the cameras .... arms outstretched and said ..... BRING ME YOUR BABIES ...... I WILL TAKE THEM ALL ..... then she turned back to resume her work with the Lepers in Gandhi country.

To this day the media and academia still like to quote Gandhi

But none of them will ever quote Mother Theresa

And certainly none of them will ever quote Jesus Christ

See what I mean ?

 

[Justin Mangonel]

Dear A,

Have your ever heard of the "Red Cresent?"

The British Empire was not a choice in the new world but rather a tyranny of the new world. Hence the US revolution. Rome brought order too but it was not because people invited them to do so. The sun never set on the British Empire because they took all that their eyes desires without mercy or concern for those they plundered. The first and second world wars were, at least in part, judgement upon their sins just as the civil war was judgement upon Americas sins.

I don't believe I have ever said that Gandhi should be listened to in matters of his Hindu worship of many gods. However, does this preclude him from having done anything worth admiring? I think not.

He was great as men of the world go but not great as biblical characters go. It is apples and oranges...and you are mixing the two in your reply to my post. I think Einstein was a great theoretical physicist...and I can do that without losing my Christianity over it. Buffalo Bill was a true American hero and great showman but a lousy father. Madam Curie was an amazing and tenacious scientist but I really don't like her positivist philosophy. I can admire what can be admired great men and women of the world even though many of those I admire also had great flaws too.

Perhaps what you object to with Gandhi is that He is used as a liberal poster boy for most everything they hold sacred. That is annoying. However, after reading biographies about him I truly think he was a man with a very clear vision of what he wanted to accomplish and an even clearer vision and commitment on how to go about it. When I am thinking about how to bring about change in a biblical way I can take inspiration from his example. It does not mean that I agree with even most of what He said.

Blessings,

Justin

 

[Arnie Manitoba]

Probably what sets me on edge is Gandhi is often referred to as a .... "modern day Jesus" .... because of his .... "peaceful approach"

And I differ with that

Jesus turned the religious world on it's ear.

He stirred things up more than anyone before or since.

He did not come to bring peace , but division.

You were either with him or you were against him



.

 

[Justin Mangonel]

Dear J,

Of course I agree with your aversion to Gandhi being compared with Jesus. So I agree with you in this respect.

Blessings,

Justin