his may seem over-simplistic (and caustic, but the contact initiated and cheap methods used by the proselytizers is galling), but I do not think it needs to be complicated. As a Christian, by God's mercy and grace I have been taken hold of, redeemed, and transformed by the saving atonement of Christ, and through the faith in God given to me by Him and through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit I am - remarkable to say - a child of God and am being sanctified and have been given a mandate here on earth to be a faithful steward and help apply Christ's kingdom in my little area of responsibility. My eyes have been opened to my sin, my need of Christ as Savior, and the efficacy of Christ's justification in His obedient life, death, and resurrection in which the Lord regards me. I look forward to the blessedness of eternal life in the presence of my Savior and God.

Roman Catholicism and Mormonism have nothing to offer me of Christ that I do not already have. Certainly at least, those who attempt to proselytize - whether cage stage Catholics or Mormon missionaries at my door - do not talk about Jesus because they have nothing to offer me in that regard. Instead they talk obsessively about the papacy, or Joseph Smith, or their church. Never about Jesus. Never. He is not presented as being primary. Why, conceivably why, would a proselytizer think they can or want to entice with me something lesser? This is cult activity, and not in the "cultus" context of that word. I am not suggesting that a Catholic or Mormon by default does not love Jesus (or their misconceived perception of Jesus for Mormons) or even perceive Him as primary in their thoughts or devotion, but that is not what is presented when they talk to me.

To illustrate the ridiculousness, it would be like me only ever extolling or attempting to entice by talking about Peter Leithart or Doug Wilson, rather than the good things they have to say about God.

Yes, God works through the Church on earth - His stewards and agents on earth, His bride and body - but always that body must acknowledge and give primacy to the head - Christ, not some earthly head no matter how exalted - and that Church must always be faithful, obedient, and subject to the will of Christ alone.

My next gripe for a future blog will be about Christians' "spiritual journeys", by which I mean their tradition hopping and subsequent telling of the story and attempting to persuade others to come along to that tradition. It is great to to study, learn, grow, and change your mind when fully persuaded, but when the focus is all about you and your journey, it is not as interesting or praiseworthy as you might think. Your attempts to proselytize on each stop after the second stage in your journey are hard to take seriously. Do not despise the mundane, small things or a long slow faithfulness in one direction. Always keep the focus on God, rather than yourself.

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