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Anyway, as you said she's coming in for the hug, so it's not like you're leaping over the pew to man-handle anyone. Just hug them like they're your Grandma.
But she's not my grandma, my manhood is not in question, and I show genuinely that I don't mind touching them by offering them a handshake. She's usually a woman near my age and often the wife of another church member or the pastor. I'm not "leaping over the pew", but they sure are sometimes. I've attended three different churches where the music minister cheated on his wife while being a leader in the church. One of them reportedly slept with 14 different women in the church according to one of the church elders. He found another church to minister in very quickly after this one dismissed him.Weighing the cons of sending a weird signal, giving a sense that you don't want to touch them, etc, versus the pros of loving fellowship my vote would be to man up and give that hug
May God Bless You. 2 Corinthians 13:12 "Greet one another with a holy kiss."
Thank you for your reply. It sent me into quite a study on the "holy kiss", how it was performed, and if the sex of the individuals performing the "holy kiss" mattered. It appears the "holy kiss" was a closed-mouth kiss on the lips between two Christians. not the cheeks as I had assumed. There were groups where "holy kisses" would take place between men and women, but this practice was corrected or changed "very early on" due to abuses. Then it was made clear or changed that "holy kisses" were only to be between someone of the same sex. So men were to kiss men only and women were to kiss women only. This is still practiced in some churches today accompanied by a very light "hug".
Fair enough - then it seems that you've arrived at your answer
I intended my position on the subject to be clear in the original post. Sorry if it wasn't. This thread was to find out what others thought on the subject in order to test my position and practice. Marumorose gave Scripture that made me question my position which is always welcome, but after looking into the practice in the early church, it ended up leading me to be more confident in my position. You and I might should start kissing when we meet though.Fair enough - then it seems that you've arrived at your answer
I'm reminded of the trick for deciding between two seemingly equal options: flip a coin to decide, and if you are tempted to then make it "best out of three" then probably you have your answer as to which one you truly preferred.
I do like your test for preference if someone isn't sure which they prefer.
We might be brothers, and I'd happily give my life for yours, but still there are limitsYou and I might should start kissing when we meet though.
This morning in church, a lady came in for a hug. I hugged her back and felt welcomed in the church and loved.
Right, it is nearly commonplace in our Church. Just because the world is keyed into and centered on self-love, is it right to refuse God's will on the matter? Only in developing countries where barbarianism is pretty much commonplace, the Church suffers with them and shows them literal parameters.
It most certainly is. For if,
I am familiar with that AOG protocol of same-sex counseling unless accompanied by another. While it is true, the standard of a "holy kiss" He put in place is contingent on things such as (Titus 2:3), but especially to exhort all, "in all purity" (1 Timothy 5:2), with this issue the press down and shaken together from the Church is more prone to trendiness than doctrine.
