II Cor 13:112

Great Question ...

A neighbor of mine, who is gay, attends a gay church, and they use that verse as their welcome to church moment. He mentioned it to me a while back, when we discussed his church. I thought this was funny for you to mention, as their praise and worship leader will turn to the congregation of about 500 people and say, "We are told to greet one another with a holy kiss, so lay one on the person to your left, right and in from and to your rear!"

As you can imagine, they are a friendly, welcoming church! As for our church, we just encourage folks to shake hands and greet one another after the offering is taken, giving the pastor time to make his way to the stage!

You caught me with a chuckle on this one! :smilewinkgrin:

 

What qualifies a kiss as being holy?

 

Not being carnal, which obviously these people are.

For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh;
but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. Rom 8:5

 

No strapless dresses involved.

 

No tongues.




...............unless there's interpretation, that is.

 

These are obviously correct answers, even though InTheLight and Aaron interjected a little humor. But really, what do you think Paul meant? Could it have been part of the liturgy? Or maybe he was using a colloquialism that would be well understood by his audience? For instance, it would be hard to describe what is meant by a "warm handshake" as opposed to a "cold handshake" but most of us would recognize the difference.

 

I'm guessing that the "holy kiss" reflected a cultural norm back in Paul's time. If memory serves, the French folks used to do the kiss greeting.'

I'm not sure we ought to be doing that in today's culture.

 

It's in the bible, plain as can be.....Pucker up everyone!

 

It is a cultural thing and should never be done if the person is uncomfortable. I have greeted some brothers in Christ with a hug before but knew they would be comfortable with this.

 

A firm sincere handshake with eye contact and a warm smile ought to suffice. The men in our church who know each other well give each other a tight bear hug and I feel uncomfortable (culture thing). Some merely touch opposite shoulders barely with a tap on the back which to me seems aloof. I don't care if they all call it a holy kiss I ain't kissin' no guy except my dad brother or son. Paul can scold me in heaven all he wants.

 

I'm with you:laugh: