Legalism is the spiritual equivelent of situational ethics. Legalists consistently look for loopholes when an application of principle rules out participating in an activity near and dear to them. Legalists look down on others for not holding the similar opinions. A legalist denies conflicting principles and makes up new principles to justify an position. Legalists live off another generation's principles as long as it falls within the realm of their agenda.
People who take offense to the term legalism automatically assume it is an attack on standards. That is not the case. Legalism is a definition coined by others to describe rules based salvation combined with selectively applying principles when one wants a certain rule to change.
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Originally Posted by Praxeas
It sounds as though you are saying "if a legalist does it, it must be unique to a legalist and defines someone else as a legalist"...
Are Homosexuals legalists then? It really does sound like you are being subjective and equivocating. Do homosexuals adhere to the letter of the law?
strict adherence, or the principle of strict adherence, to law or prescription, esp. to the letter rather than the spirit.
2.Theology. a.the doctrine that salvation is gained through good works. b.the judging of conduct in terms of adherence to precise laws.
Forgive my bluntness, but it really sounds like you are just adding to the term Legalism and then drawing a biased comparison. Even a non-legalist can by hypocritical or hold to a double standard or just be inconsistant...in this case it's inconsistant to say No to TV and Yes to Internet. Anyone can do that and NOT be a legalist according to the dictionary definition of legalism.
What you have done was not really even define. You gave an example and then in essence said "Legalists do this, well so do homosexuals", but you have not proven that this thing of TV and Internet is something ONLY a legalist would do or that it's a trademark of a legalist. Can heterosexuals do that too?
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A religious spirit allows people to tolerate hatred and anger under the guise of passion and holiness. Bill Johnson
Legalism has no pity on people. Legalism makes my opinion your burden, makes opinion your boundary, makes my opinion your obligation-Lucado
Some get spiritual because they see the light. Others because they feel the heat.Ray Wylie Hubbard
Definition of legalism- Damned if you do. Damned if you don't. TV
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