I had a tough time this morning deciding where to post my blog and what it should be about. I have two blogs here at blogger. One is political in nature, while one is more based on my faith, or at least, I'd like to think it is.
It's almost Christmas. For some people, Christmas is about a jolly old fat white dude who squeezes down your Chimney on December 24th and leaves presents under a decorated conifer. For some people it's about family and friends. For some it's a meaningless holiday. Maybe it's the Winter Solstice holiday for you (which was Saturday, if you didn't know.)
For me, it's the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus, God in human form, who loved us so much that he walked on this miserable, war-torn, disease-ridden, tract of land, and later died, so that we might have salvation.
If that's not what you believe, okay. There isn't a country in this world that would force you to believe it. God Himself has no interest in forcing you to believe it. So, why is it that some people have such a problem with people believing it?
It's become a war to combat the "War on Christmas". This year an Atheist group ran billboards in New York City to combat the idea that Christmas is a Christian Holiday. Okay. They have every right to proselytize their own beliefs. If I can tell the story of Jesus birth, they can talk about how it's all a myth. However, they don't stop there. Nativity scenes are not to be displayed on any public property. We shouldn't use the term Christmas (because, by God, "Christ" is in the word). And in some cases, they have fought the singing of traditional Christmas Carols, like Joy to the World and O Come All Ye Faithful. They don't just not believe it, they have a problem with ANYONE believing it, and you better not mention that you do, because it's violating someone else's rights.
I don't care that you don't believe it, so why do you care so much that I do?
Why do you find it necessary to stick a fork in my beliefs any chance you get?
As a Christian I am called to be a light in the world, to spread the gospel of Jesus. I can do that without infringing on anyone else's rights. But why does a certain subset of people feel that they have to completely eradicate my belief from a holiday?
No, Jesus wasn't born on December 25th. It just happens to be the date we celebrate it. I can go into the reasons as to why that is, but does it really matter? For as long as anyone reading this has been alive it's always been Christmas. Hanukkah doesn't fall on December 25th every year. The Winter Solstice never falls on December 25th. But Christmas is on December 25th every single year. It's Christmas.
(If you have small children you might want to send them away right now.)
The Atheists are intent on convincing us that God is a myth. And as such, our holiday, or the reason for it, is a myth. Yet, many of them will put up a tree, sing some type of Christmas carol (even if it's Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree), give gifts, have a family dinner. If that's the case why are they celebrating Christmas? Is it Santa Claus (who, while not a myth, per se, doesn't live in the north pole, doesn't have a factory full of elves building iphones, and there are no such things as FLYING REINDEER!)? Are they simply caught up in the over abundant consumerism and greed of the day? Why do they celebrate Christmas, and is it possible that their reason for celebrating might not just be a myth? Would it offend them for me to say so? It offends them tremendously for me to contradict their lack of belief in God.
Faith, is the substance of things hoped for the, the evidence of things not seen.
You can hope there isn't a God, but just like I can't prove He exists (although I think there is a mountain of evidence to point to His existence), you can't prove He doesn't exist.
We have a battle of two faiths. Atheism is a faith, and it's your right to believe it. I would say, despite the irony, that it's your God-given right to not believe in God. It's your right to plaster billboards declaring your non-belief. But it is NOT your right to have such a pervading, illogical, hatred of the fact that I do believe. A hatred so deep that just the idea that someone puts up a nativity offends you. No one is forcing you to believe in the Man represented by the plastic doll in the manger. Seeing it does not damage your psyche. Just like seeing your billboard claiming my religion is a myth, doesn't damage mine. I look at it, shrug my shoulders, and move on.
Maybe believing in something more than myself gives me less cause to be offended by someone's differing beliefs.
So, here's my Christmas/Winter Solstice/Santa Claus gift to you. Ponder on this December 25th, why it bothers you so much that I believe. Get philosophical on this day when we say "Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men". I think it might be the best gift you receive.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Thursday, October 24, 2013
There is...Hope
"Yesterday at that baby shower, I was jealous of Callie, because she got pregnant without trying. And we try. I get shots, I take my temperature, I put my legs in the air, and nothing. The universe says 'Screw you, Meredith', and gives Callie a kid. And then puts Callie through a windshield. I mean, what the hell is going on? What's the point? I mean, is there a reason for this? Because if you can think of a reason, any reason at all, why the universe is so screwed up, and random and mean, now would be an amazingly good time to tell me, because I really need some answers."
~Meredith Grey, Grey's Anatomy, Song Beneath the Song
This past weekend, my daughter lost a good friend to suicide. He was a former member of our church youth group and among my daughter's group of friends at school. I think quite a few of these kids were asking why the universe is so random and mean.
Actually, I think our entire population of young people asks why the universe is so screwed up on a regular basis. Look around. The economy is in a shambles. Families fall apart regularly. There are school shootings, and kids throwing themselves off water towers because they were bullied. Our elected officials fight and call each other names like they belong in middle school and not in the hallways of our government. Nothing gets better, it only gets worse, and the media plays up the "worst" every single day for hours and hours.
We have raised an entire generation of kids who believe they are nothing more than animals. There is no absolute right or wrong. Nothing is really your fault. Everyone deserves a trophy or a certificate. Competition is bad.
There is no hope.
Let me say it again. There is no hope.
What other possible explanation is there, beyond those four little words? What else can possibly explain why an 18 year old boy, with his whole life ahead of him, would take a gun and shoot himself? There is no hope.
There is nothing bigger than you or your problems. There is nothing better coming anywhere down the line. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. There is no hope.
For all of these young people the universe IS screwed up and random and mean.
And we sit around and blame the government, or the public school system, or the liberals, or the tea party people, or the idiots from Westboro Baptist Church, or the devil.
We blame everyone but ourselves.
And yet, we, the adults, the ones who were once young and once so full of hope, WE built this society. And then we threw our own kids, once full of hope, into this den of lions and we failed to give them a reason to keep... hoping.
Dreaming.
Living.
Last night, our church youth group held a Grief Share. I think a lot of our church was praying, because how do you help this generation understand something that you can't explain? After so many years of no hope, how do you offer hope?
There is nothing I can say that makes this any better. There is nothing I can do. For 5 days, I struggled with that truth. I was powerless, as a parent, to help my child see beyond this moment in time. I was powerless.
But God, He is all powerful. For a moment, even I forgot that. For three straight days, seven times, I kept seeing this one verse. It was in my personal Bible study. It was posted on my facebook timeline. It came in my email. And it was the verse I was randomly given to read in my Beth Moore Bible Study yesterday morning.
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)
Read it. Again. Again. Again. Drink it in. There is hope.
(P.S. I could have written more, so much more, but God says things so much better than I do.)
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Easy Listening
Color me old-fashioned, but I still remember when
The sermons were affirming, 'cause the Lord liked us better then
It's 2044
And I don't want to be my brother's keeper no more
Color me chicken yellow if I liked it in the ozone
Call me lemon jello if I lacked a little backbone
We're King's Kids, dang it
And we used to know what a housekeeper was for
Tickle my ear and I'll pay for your show
Sing about stuff that I already know
Whisper sweet nothings
Pour a nightcap
Gimme that old-time easy listening
~Steve Taylor, from Easy Listening
Not too long ago, my Pastor preached a message series titled 'Radical'. I didn't walk out of church one Sunday during the whole series feeling entirely comfortable with myself. I remember thinking, 'This is what church is supposed to be like." So many people would disagree, but really, what is a sermon for, if it's not for challenging us to rethink something in our lives? What good is a sermon that just makes us feel like we have nothing we can improve upon? Why bother running a race if you've already attained the end goal?
It got me thinking about the alarming trend in so many churches today. You know the trend I'm talking about. The one where the Pastor is ever so popular, especially with the media, because he bucks standard Christian "traditions" in favor of being more inclusive. I didn't think any faith could be more inclusive than one based on the premise of "For God so loved the world...", but I guess I was wrong.
More and more, large so-called evangelical churches are espousing a more watered down version of the Bible, doctrine, and truth.
"I am for fidelity. I am for love, whether it's a man and a woman, a woman and a woman, a man and a man. I think the ship has sailed and I think that the church needs to just … this is the world that we are living in and we need to affirm people wherever they are,"`
~Rob Bell, in an interview with Odyssey Networks.
Give me one Biblical reference that says followers of Jesus need to get with the times, change to mesh with the world we are living in. I can give you two that say something entirely different.
Jesus the same, yesterday, today and forever.
~Hebrews 13:8
And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed, by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God
~Romans 12:2
"A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better...This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus’ message of love, peace, forgiveness, and joy that our world desperately needs to hear."
Rob Bell, in his book, Love Wins.
Excuse Me? So, Mr. Bell has thrown out entire sections of the Bible, because they are not about love, peace, forgiveness and joy? Really? Those are the only personality traits Mr. Bell wants us to bestow on God. We can throw out all His other qualities because they might be contrary to Mr. Bell's all inclusive new religion.
I have long advocated that today's world needs less fire and brimstone and more hope. But the message of Christ's willing death, the idea that He sacrificed to offer us something we don't deserve and can't pay for on our own, IS hope. The idea that there is something more than this life IS hope. Jesus is that hope, and guess what? There isn't a single verse in the Bible that says anyone is getting to the hope without Him. Not one. There are plenty of verses, even ones Jesus spoke himself, that state that without him, there is NO hope. That without Him there is NO other way into heaven. That's what the Bible says. You can refuse to believe the Bible, refuse to believe Christ's very own teachings, but then you can't claim His name. You don't get to pick and choose which parts of the Bible apply and which don't. You can't toss the book of Romans out the door and pretend it never existed.
Christianity is not an exclusionary faith. God accepts anyone who chooses to believe in His plan of salvation. But you have to start there, and you can't run around spouting feel good garbage to make it seem "better" to people who have no desire to follow God. You can't tickle people's ears with what they want to hear, because heck, the world is changing and we need to get with the times.
It's contrary to the Bible. It's contrary to what Jesus taught. It's Easy Listening for a world that needs Heavy Metal.
The sermons were affirming, 'cause the Lord liked us better then
It's 2044
And I don't want to be my brother's keeper no more
Color me chicken yellow if I liked it in the ozone
Call me lemon jello if I lacked a little backbone
We're King's Kids, dang it
And we used to know what a housekeeper was for
Tickle my ear and I'll pay for your show
Sing about stuff that I already know
Whisper sweet nothings
Pour a nightcap
Gimme that old-time easy listening
~Steve Taylor, from Easy Listening
Not too long ago, my Pastor preached a message series titled 'Radical'. I didn't walk out of church one Sunday during the whole series feeling entirely comfortable with myself. I remember thinking, 'This is what church is supposed to be like." So many people would disagree, but really, what is a sermon for, if it's not for challenging us to rethink something in our lives? What good is a sermon that just makes us feel like we have nothing we can improve upon? Why bother running a race if you've already attained the end goal?
It got me thinking about the alarming trend in so many churches today. You know the trend I'm talking about. The one where the Pastor is ever so popular, especially with the media, because he bucks standard Christian "traditions" in favor of being more inclusive. I didn't think any faith could be more inclusive than one based on the premise of "For God so loved the world...", but I guess I was wrong.
More and more, large so-called evangelical churches are espousing a more watered down version of the Bible, doctrine, and truth.
"I am for fidelity. I am for love, whether it's a man and a woman, a woman and a woman, a man and a man. I think the ship has sailed and I think that the church needs to just … this is the world that we are living in and we need to affirm people wherever they are,"`
~Rob Bell, in an interview with Odyssey Networks.
Give me one Biblical reference that says followers of Jesus need to get with the times, change to mesh with the world we are living in. I can give you two that say something entirely different.
Jesus the same, yesterday, today and forever.
~Hebrews 13:8
And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed, by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God
~Romans 12:2
"A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better...This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus’ message of love, peace, forgiveness, and joy that our world desperately needs to hear."
Rob Bell, in his book, Love Wins.
Excuse Me? So, Mr. Bell has thrown out entire sections of the Bible, because they are not about love, peace, forgiveness and joy? Really? Those are the only personality traits Mr. Bell wants us to bestow on God. We can throw out all His other qualities because they might be contrary to Mr. Bell's all inclusive new religion.
I have long advocated that today's world needs less fire and brimstone and more hope. But the message of Christ's willing death, the idea that He sacrificed to offer us something we don't deserve and can't pay for on our own, IS hope. The idea that there is something more than this life IS hope. Jesus is that hope, and guess what? There isn't a single verse in the Bible that says anyone is getting to the hope without Him. Not one. There are plenty of verses, even ones Jesus spoke himself, that state that without him, there is NO hope. That without Him there is NO other way into heaven. That's what the Bible says. You can refuse to believe the Bible, refuse to believe Christ's very own teachings, but then you can't claim His name. You don't get to pick and choose which parts of the Bible apply and which don't. You can't toss the book of Romans out the door and pretend it never existed.
Christianity is not an exclusionary faith. God accepts anyone who chooses to believe in His plan of salvation. But you have to start there, and you can't run around spouting feel good garbage to make it seem "better" to people who have no desire to follow God. You can't tickle people's ears with what they want to hear, because heck, the world is changing and we need to get with the times.
It's contrary to the Bible. It's contrary to what Jesus taught. It's Easy Listening for a world that needs Heavy Metal.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Good Morning George, How Are You?
I know I haven't written here in awhile. It's hard keeping up with life. I had so much more time when I worked than I do now that I stay home. As many of you know (who bother to read my stuff), this is my personal blog. Or, should I say, the one where I avoid politics. I realize most people truly do not want to read every detail of my life, so I'm just not one of those people who blogs every day.
I also didn't want to spend months blogging about how hard it is when your oldest leaves home. It's hard, but it's just one of the many things we have to deal with as parents. Besides, I'm super proud of what she's doing. She's serving her country.
My reason for writing this morning is simple. I have something I want to say.
Look around you for a moment. Life is not what it used to be. I know, as a kid, my life was so much simpler, and not just because I was a kid. I remember being a kid, and during the summer, my best friend and I would spend all day in the pool. I played outside when it was nice. If it was cold I played inside. I used to pretend to be a teacher. I taught my pound puppies and care bears. I didn't watch a lot of TV, but I did watch Scooby Doo every day. TV shows still had good messages, life lessons we could learn. Does anyone remember Growing Pains and the Cosby Show? We didn't have cell phones and ipods and xboxes. We didn't have internet, and so we didn't have facebook and tumblr and twitter. When school was over, you got to leave those problems at the door. Home was a sanctuary away from all that. The most you got was a phone call to your friends, and even then, it wasn't like it is now. No one was randomly texting you horrid stuff to make you feel bad. No one would call your house and say the things so easily passed off via text or the internet these days. Life is not so simple anymore.
I've been on facebook since Katt was 14. Four very long years. I've watched social networking take on the image of an elementary school playground, or a middle school hallway. We say things we would never say to someone's face, or even on a phone call. Why? Because it's easier. It's so much easier to hurt when you sit behind a computer screen and attack. I have even done that myself a few times, and I'm not proud of it.
My favorite defense is, "But I didn't use any names". Okay? Unless you think everyone is an unintelligent mutant, people who know you, know exactly who you are talking about. Just because you are "kind" enough to leave out a name, doesn't mean it was okay to say the things you did. Especially not when your statements are so pointed they elicit responses that are no better than your original post.
Growing up we used to say to the mean kids "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names can never hurt me". Whoever came up with that phrase is a full blown idiot. Broken bones heal, but words said in anger, words that are mean, they stay for a long time. You can't put a bandaid on them, or reset them, and you can't ever really take them back. We are all only human after all. As much as we try to do the right thing, especially in God's eyes, we don't forget so easily. Only God is good at that east/west thing. Hurtful words stick around. In today's world, those hurtful things are often typed on a keyboard, appear on a screen, and we walk away feeling our anger and vitriol were well justified. We rarely think of the damage we may have done.
And then the child like war starts. The person who made the first comment gets a response and now their feelings are hurt too. Now they also feel wronged, and in truth they are. Because two wrongs don't ever make a right. Rarely do we stop and realize that if we had stopped our fingers from pushing enter, or even typing the words to begin with, none of this would have happened.
Maybe you are terribly hurt by some action that had been taken by another person. That happens, and everyone knows how it feels. But why blow up a friendship, a family relationship, or even your marriage, by posting some hurtful comment on your favorite social networking site? If you care enough to be hurt by someone's actions, then you should care enough to want to find a way to repair the relationship, not make it worse.
Lately, God has been tugging at my heart that I need to be reminded of what he says about situations like these. As we approach the "Love" day, I am reminded of what God says about love, and how true love treats itself and others.
I also didn't want to spend months blogging about how hard it is when your oldest leaves home. It's hard, but it's just one of the many things we have to deal with as parents. Besides, I'm super proud of what she's doing. She's serving her country.
My reason for writing this morning is simple. I have something I want to say.
Look around you for a moment. Life is not what it used to be. I know, as a kid, my life was so much simpler, and not just because I was a kid. I remember being a kid, and during the summer, my best friend and I would spend all day in the pool. I played outside when it was nice. If it was cold I played inside. I used to pretend to be a teacher. I taught my pound puppies and care bears. I didn't watch a lot of TV, but I did watch Scooby Doo every day. TV shows still had good messages, life lessons we could learn. Does anyone remember Growing Pains and the Cosby Show? We didn't have cell phones and ipods and xboxes. We didn't have internet, and so we didn't have facebook and tumblr and twitter. When school was over, you got to leave those problems at the door. Home was a sanctuary away from all that. The most you got was a phone call to your friends, and even then, it wasn't like it is now. No one was randomly texting you horrid stuff to make you feel bad. No one would call your house and say the things so easily passed off via text or the internet these days. Life is not so simple anymore.
I've been on facebook since Katt was 14. Four very long years. I've watched social networking take on the image of an elementary school playground, or a middle school hallway. We say things we would never say to someone's face, or even on a phone call. Why? Because it's easier. It's so much easier to hurt when you sit behind a computer screen and attack. I have even done that myself a few times, and I'm not proud of it.
My favorite defense is, "But I didn't use any names". Okay? Unless you think everyone is an unintelligent mutant, people who know you, know exactly who you are talking about. Just because you are "kind" enough to leave out a name, doesn't mean it was okay to say the things you did. Especially not when your statements are so pointed they elicit responses that are no better than your original post.
Growing up we used to say to the mean kids "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names can never hurt me". Whoever came up with that phrase is a full blown idiot. Broken bones heal, but words said in anger, words that are mean, they stay for a long time. You can't put a bandaid on them, or reset them, and you can't ever really take them back. We are all only human after all. As much as we try to do the right thing, especially in God's eyes, we don't forget so easily. Only God is good at that east/west thing. Hurtful words stick around. In today's world, those hurtful things are often typed on a keyboard, appear on a screen, and we walk away feeling our anger and vitriol were well justified. We rarely think of the damage we may have done.
And then the child like war starts. The person who made the first comment gets a response and now their feelings are hurt too. Now they also feel wronged, and in truth they are. Because two wrongs don't ever make a right. Rarely do we stop and realize that if we had stopped our fingers from pushing enter, or even typing the words to begin with, none of this would have happened.
Maybe you are terribly hurt by some action that had been taken by another person. That happens, and everyone knows how it feels. But why blow up a friendship, a family relationship, or even your marriage, by posting some hurtful comment on your favorite social networking site? If you care enough to be hurt by someone's actions, then you should care enough to want to find a way to repair the relationship, not make it worse.
Lately, God has been tugging at my heart that I need to be reminded of what he says about situations like these. As we approach the "Love" day, I am reminded of what God says about love, and how true love treats itself and others.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails
I Corinthians 13:4-8
If we love enough to get angered by the actions of those we love, then we love enough to realize that there's a better way to resolve our differences than hurtful words. Lord, may I be the first person to take my own advice.
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