How responsible are Individuals for their group?

[Stan]

How responsible are Muslims for other Muslims?

How responsible are Whites for other Whites?

How responsible are Blacks for other Blacks?

How responsible are Americans for other Americans?

How responsible are Adventists for other Adventist?

How responsible are Davidians for other Davidians?

???

[Gerr]

First of all, I am most responsible for ME, then my family. As the circle gets bigger, it becomes a SHARED responsibility and my personal responsibility becomes smaller. I think it is natural to feel some shame or some degree of responsibility when someone from the group one belongs to does something shameful or stupid.

Gerry

[Woody]

Quote:

How responsible are Adventists for other Adventist?

Very much so. Just check out the reasons for church discipline in the SDA Church Manual. SDAs feel a great responsibility for the behavior of their fellow members.

[olger]

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

[Bravus]

This is a question we often ask in the motorcycling community: fair or not, the person who rides like an idiot does reflect on all of us. So, fair or not, each of us is responsible for representing our group.

Same for any other group, but I guess you can think about it either way: do I do the right thing to represent myself or my group? Either way, if I do the right thing I will represent both in a positive light (and vice versa).

[ChildofChrist]

I am with Gerry in saying that individually I am only responsible for meself--CofC. As an older sibling, as a parent, as a grandparent, and great grandparent, I feel that I have an invested interest in the rest of my family, but I can not be held responsible for their mistakes. I can pray for them but there is a limit of what I can personally do.

I am not responsible for the actions of my church family, but I can say something to give a person second thoughts IF it is obvious that there could be a problem with what they are about to do.

If I were to see a person that I know to be a Muslim, I would probably to the same thing. I know what many of their beliefs are so if I see them about to do something I would question them about it in a non-judgmental tone.

The headlines of the Orlando Sentinel this morning referred to the 'State of FL apologies about the blacks enslavement.' I scratched my head in wondering WHY?

Most of my ancestors were Irish (potato famine) and German (Menonnites in 1846). The earliest they arrived in North America was long after slavery was introduced and used. I can feel sorry and embarassed for a distant cousin, one of the early presidents, who used slaves, but there is nothing I hold as my responsibility.

Let's face it, Abraham and many others in the Scriptures had slaves/servants/bondsmen.

[ChildofChrist]

This came in last night from Dial Daily Bread....

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread":

The Sacramento BEE reports that the Florida Legislature has taken an action expressing regret for Florida’s involvement in the slave trade and oppressing slaves, back in the early 19th century.

Yet there is not one current member of the Legislature who has ever had anything to do with either the slave trade or oppressing a slave!

This apology officially expressed is therefore a “corporate apology,” or “corporate repentance.” Numerous organizations have expressed similar corporate repentance, including the Pope for papal persecutions inflicted by the Papacy on Christians of the Dark Ages.

We know that God’s official “books of record” contain the sins which we each would have committed if we had had the opportunity or been faced with temptation severe enough. That’s not bad news; it is simply an expression of the ultimate truth that each of us had a part in the rejection and crucifixion of the Son of God. That’s our core human sin. “There is no difference; for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:22, 23). The New English Bible correctly renders the passage, “All alike have sinned, and are deprived of the divine glory.” No one of us is better or worse than our fellow man; we partake of a common fallen humanity.

Therefore we haven’t begun to repent until we understand that our core sin is involvement in the crucifixion of the Son of God. We are involved, because we are descendants of the fallen Adam. That’s what his sin in Eden involved, and we were all “in him.” And our text goes on to say that we have repeated Adam’s sin, so we are indeed personally involved corporately.

But there is fabulously wonderful Good News here: “And all are justified by God’s free grace alone, through His act of liberation in the person of Christ Jesus” (vss. 24, 25).

His grace is “free.” Therefore everybody is equally the recipient of this “free grace alone.” Since it is “free” no one can be excluded. Christ on His cross endured the guilt of every human sin, which means according to Hebrews 2:9, He died the “second death” for every human being. That’s why Paul says that “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom. 5:20). But people are free to reject what Christ has given them; this is the only reason anyone can at last be lost. (Maybe more tomorrow, the Lord willing.).

Thought that it was interesting. :)