{"id":12120,"date":"2010-12-23T05:07:05","date_gmt":"2010-12-23T11:07:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/jesuscreed\/?p=12120"},"modified":"2010-12-23T10:50:33","modified_gmt":"2010-12-23T16:50:33","slug":"the-cost-of-reputation-rjs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/12\/23\/the-cost-of-reputation-rjs\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cost of Reputation (RJS)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

This week leading up to Christmas provides opportunity for another reflection \u2013 one related to the story and\u00a0 discussion in Tuesday\u2019s post (Discrimination?<\/a>).\u00a0 The sermon this last Sunday at our church was centered on the texts in Isaiah 7 and Matthew 1 \u2026 in particular the reaction of Joseph to the discovery that Mary was pregnant.<\/p>\n

And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying,\u201d Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. \u2026\u00a0 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>Scot elaborates on this passage in CH 8 of The Jesus Creed<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, noting that Joseph here puts his reputation on the line, actually gives it up, to obey the commandment of God.<\/p>\n

Our reputation (what others think of us) is not as important as our identity (who we really are). Spiritual formation begins when we untangle reputation and identity, and when what God thinks of us is more important than what we think of ourselves or what others think of us. (p. 76)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This isn\u2019t lip service, it is whole-hearted surrender.<\/p>\n

Sometimes the implication of listening to the voice of God is that we ruin our reputation in the public square. Loving God, as the Jesus Creed teaches, involves surrendering ourselves to God in heart, soul, mind, strength \u2013 and reputation. The minute we turn exclusively to the Lord to find our true identity is the day reputation dies. We learn, as Thomas \u00e0 Kempis puts it, that when you surrender your reputation, \u201cyou won\u2019t care a fig for the wagglings of ten thousand tongues.\u201d\u00a0 (p. 79)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This also isn\u2019t a matter of religious reputation within the church versus secular reputation in the public square \u2013 this is a matter of being true to the calling of God, which quite frankly can get one in trouble on all sides. Joseph was not sacrificing his secular reputation \u2013 but rather his reputation within those who strove to be righteous.<\/p>\n

Joseph learns that who he is before God (his identity) is more important than who he is in the circle of his pious friends (his reputation). (p. 81)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This leads me back to the post on Tuesday and to the question for discussion.<\/p>\n

What role should the fear for reputation and position play in the way we as Christians present ourselves and engage within the public square? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

One of the points in the NY Times article<\/a> is that an internet search brought Dr. Gaskell\u2019s 10 year old lecture to light and contributed to this conflict. Apparently it isn\u2019t so much his church affiliation as that he is on record somewhere as weighing in on the science\/faith discussion from a faith perspective. Thinking through the issues he may have used expressions that set warning bells. Given such a document it would make little difference if his thoughts on the issues had matured or changed through the years, he would have been forever suspect.<\/p>\n

New technologies and the way the internet can make the most obscure document or lecture immediately and permanently public. This transparency changes the rules of engagement \u2013 one must always consider the fact that a\u00a0 conversation with audience A, say a church group, may be accessed by audience B, say a member of a review panel evaluating research proposals, or a member of a search committee. Anything that can be said, can be misinterpreted or taken out of context. This leads to a need for a level of caution. Regarding this concern a commenter on the last post noted: I\u2019d suspect that many church members would not understand this and might see it as \u201cbeing ashamed of the gospel\u201d vs. \u201cbeing a light\u201d or some such false dichotomy<\/em>. Of course he\u2019s right, there are many who would suggest that this is simply caving in to peer pressure.<\/p>\n

This is not all one way of course<\/strong><\/em> \u2013 with scholars and academics fearing discrimination of the sort alleged by Dr. Gaskell. Christians, both pastors and scholars, often also fear for reputation and livelihood. There is a pressure to be careful with public statements. This is true, for example, of\u00a0 many who feel that evolutionary creation and Christian faith are compatible, and for some who are simply open to the possibility that they may be compatible and we must explore the evidence.<\/p>\n

What do you think? Is it simply a cop-out to be concerned about reputation in the public square? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

When is it a measure of wisdom to exercise caution and when is it a measure of cowardice, a failure surrender to God in heart, soul, mind, strength \u2013 and reputation? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

How would you counsel someone faced with a decision between protecting reputation and taking a public stand?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

If you wish to contact me directly you may do so at rjs4mail[at]att.net<\/p>\n

If interested you can subscribe to a full text feed of my posts at Musings on Science and Theology<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week leading up to Christmas provides opportunity for another reflection \u2013 one related to the story and\u00a0 discussion in Tuesday\u2019s post (Discrimination?).\u00a0 The sermon this last Sunday at our church was centered on the texts in Isaiah 7 and Matthew 1 \u2026 in particular the reaction of Joseph to the discovery that Mary was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":198,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[456,1730,480],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-jesus-creed","category-science-and-faith"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Cost of Reputation (RJS)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This week leading up to Christmas provides opportunity for another reflection - one related to the story and\u00a0 discussion in Tuesday's post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2010\/12\/23\/the-cost-of-reputation-rjs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Cost of Reputation (RJS)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This week leading up to Christmas provides opportunity for another reflection - 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