Amen!

I would add that Paul and Jesus were speaking in the manner that the Proverbs and the prophets taught us to speak — they were part of a long tradition.

This line you wrote is terribly graphic, [b]“…a rotting tatterdemalion puppet jerking and twitching through the decades, the devil yanking the strings all the way — is that salvation?”[/b] And I think Paul and Jesus tried to be alarming with stiff-necked people too.

Matt 7:24-29 says, [i]“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”[/i]

Whoever builds on Christ is wise. But [b]everyone[/b] believer and unbeliever alike, who does not build on Him will fall to pieces. Jesus categorized “the gospel truth” in terms of those who live righteously and those who do not, so can’t we speak likewise?

I don’t know that this qualifies as a major paradigm shift, but it’s certainly a recasting of priorities, and it has a lot of impact on how I treat other people both within and outside the church. It’s been fun making the shift.