Reflections on my faith....
May. 31st, 2011 12:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poltr1[Updated 00:30 14-Jun] Backstory: I posted a link to an article on yuricareport.com which talked about the rise of Dominionism in America. And one person on Facebook took exception to it.
This response has become so long that I want to make this a LiveJournal entry for posterity.
Over on Facebook, Patt Huttsell wrote: "Jim, it seems you are the one dispensing hate and discontent against Christians of late I have other friends that are Wickens and they have NEVER attacked me for what the past has christians have done nor are you posting the persecution of Christians by the Romans. so what is your real beef with us?"
You got questions. I got answers.
First of all, I don't hate *all* Christians. I like the ones that have chosen to live their lives as Jesus had lived. To quote a verse from a song I wrote many years ago:
"Compassionate and kind, gentle teacher, trusted friend
He radiates an unconditional love
He never gets impatient, and he has no prejudice
I try to live more like him every day."
But where are *those* Christians in my life? There are some -- hello![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
iolanthe95 and smoooom! -- but most of the ones I either hear about or encounter are those of the fundamentalist/evangelical variety. I have my stereotypes and judgments about them, based on my observations. They mindlessly spout Bible verses by rote. They're often closed-minded, refusing to accept or even acknowledge the existence of any other belief system except their own. Having a rational discussion with them would be a waste of my time, and theirs. They may invite me to one of their services, but if I was to counter-invite them to one of my services, they'd say, "Oh, no! We can't do that! We're Christians."
Here's a shining example of the type of Christians I detest: the author(s) of http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/.
In the early 1990s, we had a high-powered evangelical preacher in Dayton named Donovan Larkins. He'd often say things like "God hates Muslims. God hates homosexuals." And "Catholics are not true Christians because Catholics worship saints. Saints are often depicted as statues. And statues are forms of idols. And the Lord said, 'Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.'" Every year, around Halloween, he'd have a large book-burning, and the members of his congregation would bring in books, record albums, games, and other similar items for the bonfire. He also burned copies of the Koran and the Talmud every year. I think the Anti-Defamation League or the B'nai B'rith tried to stop him one year. In 1993, my girlfriend at the time, her brother, a friend of her brother, and I attended his book burning, stayed in the background, and videotaped it. The local fire department stopped by, and Rev. Larkins showed him his permit. The fire department went away. We took that tape to the local air pollution control agency, who managed to put an end to his book-burning. I may still have a copy of that tape someplace in my collection.
I don't believe in a One True Way. I believe there are many paths to Spirit. I have been asked a few times, "Do you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?" If I did so, I would have to forsake Buddha, forsake Mohammed, forsake the many gods of Hinduism, forsake the 10 Gurus of the Sikh faith, and forsake any other spiritual path or belief system. I'm sorry, but that's a deal-breaker for me.
I was born and raised Catholic. I went through four of the Seven Sacraments: Baptism (in English), First Communion, Penance, Confirmation. (I skipped Marriage, Holy Orders, and Anointing of the Sick.) I drifted away from the faith in college. I came back to it after I moved to Dayton. But I soon drifted away from it again. I got tired of God as an exclusively masculine figure. I got tired of seeing James Likoudis' regular rants in the editorial page of The Buffalo News. I got tired of the hierarchy's inflexibility on the issues of abortion, birth control, married priests, and women priests. I got tired of people not talking to me after mass during social hours. I got tired of the church building being given a higher priority than the faith community it served. The final straw was their bungling of the pedophile priest problem.
Lastly, pardon the language, but I'm fucking tired of the Christians who have tried to force Jesus down my throat. They love their faith so much that they want to share it with everyone they meet. Or they feel it's their moral imperative to "save" everyone. From my point of view, their so-called "invitation" is more of a hard sell. I don't like hard sells.
When I was in college, I remember having a discussion of faith with one of my fraternity brothers. I was Catholic at the time. He was Jewish. He told me that he was confronted by a street corner preacher just outside of campus, who told him he was going to Hell unless he accepted Jesus Christ as his savior, right here, right then. He was really troubled by this. I could see the fear and anger in his eyes, and hear the fear and anger in his voice. I tried to calm him down as best as I could. Ultimately I became fearful and angry as well.
The bottom line: These people cannot -- and will not -- accept me as I am! That is the biggest issue I have with them.
This response has become so long that I want to make this a LiveJournal entry for posterity.
Over on Facebook, Patt Huttsell wrote: "Jim, it seems you are the one dispensing hate and discontent against Christians of late I have other friends that are Wickens and they have NEVER attacked me for what the past has christians have done nor are you posting the persecution of Christians by the Romans. so what is your real beef with us?"
You got questions. I got answers.
First of all, I don't hate *all* Christians. I like the ones that have chosen to live their lives as Jesus had lived. To quote a verse from a song I wrote many years ago:
"Compassionate and kind, gentle teacher, trusted friend
He radiates an unconditional love
He never gets impatient, and he has no prejudice
I try to live more like him every day."
But where are *those* Christians in my life? There are some -- hello
iolanthe95 and smoooom! -- but most of the ones I either hear about or encounter are those of the fundamentalist/evangelical variety. I have my stereotypes and judgments about them, based on my observations. They mindlessly spout Bible verses by rote. They're often closed-minded, refusing to accept or even acknowledge the existence of any other belief system except their own. Having a rational discussion with them would be a waste of my time, and theirs. They may invite me to one of their services, but if I was to counter-invite them to one of my services, they'd say, "Oh, no! We can't do that! We're Christians."Here's a shining example of the type of Christians I detest: the author(s) of http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/.
In the early 1990s, we had a high-powered evangelical preacher in Dayton named Donovan Larkins. He'd often say things like "God hates Muslims. God hates homosexuals." And "Catholics are not true Christians because Catholics worship saints. Saints are often depicted as statues. And statues are forms of idols. And the Lord said, 'Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.'" Every year, around Halloween, he'd have a large book-burning, and the members of his congregation would bring in books, record albums, games, and other similar items for the bonfire. He also burned copies of the Koran and the Talmud every year. I think the Anti-Defamation League or the B'nai B'rith tried to stop him one year. In 1993, my girlfriend at the time, her brother, a friend of her brother, and I attended his book burning, stayed in the background, and videotaped it. The local fire department stopped by, and Rev. Larkins showed him his permit. The fire department went away. We took that tape to the local air pollution control agency, who managed to put an end to his book-burning. I may still have a copy of that tape someplace in my collection.
I don't believe in a One True Way. I believe there are many paths to Spirit. I have been asked a few times, "Do you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?" If I did so, I would have to forsake Buddha, forsake Mohammed, forsake the many gods of Hinduism, forsake the 10 Gurus of the Sikh faith, and forsake any other spiritual path or belief system. I'm sorry, but that's a deal-breaker for me.
I was born and raised Catholic. I went through four of the Seven Sacraments: Baptism (in English), First Communion, Penance, Confirmation. (I skipped Marriage, Holy Orders, and Anointing of the Sick.) I drifted away from the faith in college. I came back to it after I moved to Dayton. But I soon drifted away from it again. I got tired of God as an exclusively masculine figure. I got tired of seeing James Likoudis' regular rants in the editorial page of The Buffalo News. I got tired of the hierarchy's inflexibility on the issues of abortion, birth control, married priests, and women priests. I got tired of people not talking to me after mass during social hours. I got tired of the church building being given a higher priority than the faith community it served. The final straw was their bungling of the pedophile priest problem.
Lastly, pardon the language, but I'm fucking tired of the Christians who have tried to force Jesus down my throat. They love their faith so much that they want to share it with everyone they meet. Or they feel it's their moral imperative to "save" everyone. From my point of view, their so-called "invitation" is more of a hard sell. I don't like hard sells.
When I was in college, I remember having a discussion of faith with one of my fraternity brothers. I was Catholic at the time. He was Jewish. He told me that he was confronted by a street corner preacher just outside of campus, who told him he was going to Hell unless he accepted Jesus Christ as his savior, right here, right then. He was really troubled by this. I could see the fear and anger in his eyes, and hear the fear and anger in his voice. I tried to calm him down as best as I could. Ultimately I became fearful and angry as well.
The bottom line: These people cannot -- and will not -- accept me as I am! That is the biggest issue I have with them.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-04 07:15 am (UTC)I'm sure you've seen the website http://www.godhatesshrimp.com/. If we were to follow all 600+ rules in Leviticus to the letter, this is what we'd have. And I like shrimp too much to give it up. (But it's high in cholesterol, so I'll eat it in moderation.)