My Religion, Unplugged (Part 1)
Well, I first wrote these notes in early 2008. Certainly I have continued to ponder some of these questions, and indeed some new topics and thoughts have come to light as well. So, these passages will be a bit updated from their original form.
First, let me state I was brought up in the Baptist Church. It is the first place where I felt called to a higher purpose, and it will always be the "church" where I grew up. Now, as I have grown and have visited several other denominations over the years, and I have found things I liked and did not like in nearly every church I have attended. Ideally, I would love to see a church which took the best characteristics of each church and cast aside the worst. So, now when I am asked, I simply call myself a Christian.
It is much like being an American. There are so many different ideas of what that means. To some, if you don't believe in capital punishment, or protest US involvement in Iraq, you are un-American. To others, being an American means you can take those viewpoints BECAUSE you are an American and you have the freedom in our country to make those choices. Rather than dwell on those finer points, I ask everyone to think of September 11, 2001. On that day, I saw one very united nation. I have seen footage of Jews helping Muslims, Muslims helping Jews. We were all simply Americans without the minor differences to divide us. I long for that day when Christians can come together in the same fashion, and I hope it doesn't take a catastrophic event on the scale of 9/11 (or larger) to do so.
Now, onto the first section, The Holier Than Thou Complex.
In reading "I'm Fine With God…" the authors dealt primarily with the extreme Christian movement. One example given, is the group of extremists making headlines the past few years for protesting at funerals for soldiers, because they think America is being punished for its tolerance of homosexuality. I will not give that fanatical group of nutjobs the courtesy of speaking their name, only my sincere wish for them to be gone forever from the religious landscape. They utilize the word Baptist in their title, but the use of the label is as hollow as their hearts. They are about as Christian as Adolf Hitler. In fact, they might be less. I truly hope nobody who ever sees this group thinks they represent anything other than some of the worst of humanity.
Being a 'pro-life' person, I do wish abortions were not performed. I pray every day that people (men and women) will utilize their power of choice all the time, and choose not to engage in risky behavior. I pray they choose not to terminate any pregnancy. There are thousands and thousands of homes which would welcome an adoption, and many organizations to help women who choose to follow this path. That said, I do not see the benefit of standing outside a clinic screaming at the women who enter, telling them they are going to hell.
The Christian faith is one of love, and these 'protesters' should take a long look at themselves and they might realize they look a lot like the funeral protest gang above. I think it is important for Christians to speak up and let the public know these people do not represent our faith. There are other ways to try and get these women to consider alternatives. And who knows, maybe on top of saving an unborn life, we might save the mother's as well.
The other area of this topic I wanted to discuss is a bit tougher for me. I have some friends who might fit into some of these upcoming topics. I do respect their choices, even if I don't understand them.
Why is it a problem for some Christians if their children to celebrate certain holidays? Some feel it is "the devil" to allow your children to dress up in a costume on Halloween and go trick-or-treating. I cannot fathom what demonic mission the devil is accomplishing when children dress up as fireman, ballerinas, and princesses. I went out every Halloween. I met many of my neighbors. I got lots of candy. I even spent time with friends. We did not seek to raise the dead. We were not running around Eden picking forbidden fruit. We did not break the commandments. We were children, who liked candy. You don't want to participate in the evening, fine. But don't hide behind the Bible as your reason. There are no verses which pertain to the sin of dressing up and asking for candy.
To keep this brief, I will only cover one last issue in this chapter. In Jesus' time, the Jewish Pharisees separated themselves from the public, following their multitude of rigid rules and their belief that following these rules made them better than the average person. They might have followed the letter of the law, but they never followed the spirit of the law. These people were Jesus' real enemy on earth. Christ preached against a religion of laws to follow for the sake of following rules. For Him, what mattered was the relationship a person had with God and the spirit in their heart.
Yet, so many churches are all about rules. No dancing, after all, if you dance with someone, you will have sex. Only Christian music should ever be heard. If you listen to rock music, you will have sex. Don't talk about sex, you will have sex. Certainly, there need to be limits. Not all dancing is appropriate at a church. For sure, lots of music contains 'colorful language' and/or suggestive lyrics. Burying your head in the sand does not help.
Explaining to the youth about boundaries, providing examples of acceptable and unacceptable behavior, and teaching them how to make the right choices might be more beneficial. Rather than trying to create a safe bubble world where no part of society can enter, maybe preparing the youth for the real world might be more helpful. Sometime, they will face the real world. And when they do, hopefully they are prepared to smart choices and be an example to their peers.
I do apologize if this hits close to home for some and I hope nobody is offended. As most of my friends know, I am explicit and passionate in my beliefs. I am colorful in an attempt to draw others into the conversation. So, let the good times roll.
First, let me state I was brought up in the Baptist Church. It is the first place where I felt called to a higher purpose, and it will always be the "church" where I grew up. Now, as I have grown and have visited several other denominations over the years, and I have found things I liked and did not like in nearly every church I have attended. Ideally, I would love to see a church which took the best characteristics of each church and cast aside the worst. So, now when I am asked, I simply call myself a Christian.
It is much like being an American. There are so many different ideas of what that means. To some, if you don't believe in capital punishment, or protest US involvement in Iraq, you are un-American. To others, being an American means you can take those viewpoints BECAUSE you are an American and you have the freedom in our country to make those choices. Rather than dwell on those finer points, I ask everyone to think of September 11, 2001. On that day, I saw one very united nation. I have seen footage of Jews helping Muslims, Muslims helping Jews. We were all simply Americans without the minor differences to divide us. I long for that day when Christians can come together in the same fashion, and I hope it doesn't take a catastrophic event on the scale of 9/11 (or larger) to do so.
Now, onto the first section, The Holier Than Thou Complex.
In reading "I'm Fine With God…" the authors dealt primarily with the extreme Christian movement. One example given, is the group of extremists making headlines the past few years for protesting at funerals for soldiers, because they think America is being punished for its tolerance of homosexuality. I will not give that fanatical group of nutjobs the courtesy of speaking their name, only my sincere wish for them to be gone forever from the religious landscape. They utilize the word Baptist in their title, but the use of the label is as hollow as their hearts. They are about as Christian as Adolf Hitler. In fact, they might be less. I truly hope nobody who ever sees this group thinks they represent anything other than some of the worst of humanity.
Being a 'pro-life' person, I do wish abortions were not performed. I pray every day that people (men and women) will utilize their power of choice all the time, and choose not to engage in risky behavior. I pray they choose not to terminate any pregnancy. There are thousands and thousands of homes which would welcome an adoption, and many organizations to help women who choose to follow this path. That said, I do not see the benefit of standing outside a clinic screaming at the women who enter, telling them they are going to hell.
The Christian faith is one of love, and these 'protesters' should take a long look at themselves and they might realize they look a lot like the funeral protest gang above. I think it is important for Christians to speak up and let the public know these people do not represent our faith. There are other ways to try and get these women to consider alternatives. And who knows, maybe on top of saving an unborn life, we might save the mother's as well.
The other area of this topic I wanted to discuss is a bit tougher for me. I have some friends who might fit into some of these upcoming topics. I do respect their choices, even if I don't understand them.
Why is it a problem for some Christians if their children to celebrate certain holidays? Some feel it is "the devil" to allow your children to dress up in a costume on Halloween and go trick-or-treating. I cannot fathom what demonic mission the devil is accomplishing when children dress up as fireman, ballerinas, and princesses. I went out every Halloween. I met many of my neighbors. I got lots of candy. I even spent time with friends. We did not seek to raise the dead. We were not running around Eden picking forbidden fruit. We did not break the commandments. We were children, who liked candy. You don't want to participate in the evening, fine. But don't hide behind the Bible as your reason. There are no verses which pertain to the sin of dressing up and asking for candy.
To keep this brief, I will only cover one last issue in this chapter. In Jesus' time, the Jewish Pharisees separated themselves from the public, following their multitude of rigid rules and their belief that following these rules made them better than the average person. They might have followed the letter of the law, but they never followed the spirit of the law. These people were Jesus' real enemy on earth. Christ preached against a religion of laws to follow for the sake of following rules. For Him, what mattered was the relationship a person had with God and the spirit in their heart.
Yet, so many churches are all about rules. No dancing, after all, if you dance with someone, you will have sex. Only Christian music should ever be heard. If you listen to rock music, you will have sex. Don't talk about sex, you will have sex. Certainly, there need to be limits. Not all dancing is appropriate at a church. For sure, lots of music contains 'colorful language' and/or suggestive lyrics. Burying your head in the sand does not help.
Explaining to the youth about boundaries, providing examples of acceptable and unacceptable behavior, and teaching them how to make the right choices might be more beneficial. Rather than trying to create a safe bubble world where no part of society can enter, maybe preparing the youth for the real world might be more helpful. Sometime, they will face the real world. And when they do, hopefully they are prepared to smart choices and be an example to their peers.
I do apologize if this hits close to home for some and I hope nobody is offended. As most of my friends know, I am explicit and passionate in my beliefs. I am colorful in an attempt to draw others into the conversation. So, let the good times roll.
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