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Reflections on my faith, part 2....
May. 31st, 2011 10:11 amThere was a lot more I could have put into my previous post. But I wanted to stay on the topic and question at hand.
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Reflections on my faith....
May. 31st, 2011 12:38 am[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. )
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. )
A visceral reaction to "What If...."
Sep. 30th, 2010 04:49 amOne of my FB-friends recently posted about wanting to see the upcoming movie "What If.....", starring John Ratzenberger and Kevin Sorbo. His closing quote: "What if you followed God's plan for your life instead of your own?"
This one hit a nerve with me, and I said so in my response to him. I also said, "I am not a sheep. I am not a puppet. I don't do meek and submissive.".
This is an idea I've never been comfortable with, even when I was a Catholic years ago. "Surrender yourself to God's will." was the message I got in some homilies. Why? Why should I? (I'm sure this response didn't sit well with my CCD teachers. But I don't remember standing in the corner or having my knuckles rapped because of this "attitude".)
Do I trust God enough to let Him/Her take the wheel and drive the bus I'm on? No.
It's my will, dammit, and I'll do whatever I want, as long as I don't hurt anyone in the process. Even though I don't consider myself a Wiccan, I still follow the Wiccan Rede ("An ye harm none, do what thou will") as one of my guiding principles.
I really don't think it was ever God's intention for us to be sheep, blindly following what He/She dictates, without question.
What I do believe is that there is a divine spark within each and every one of us, blazing brightly. And that there is some type of guiding force in this world that our science cannot explain. The odds of everything occuring on this planet in sequence by pure chance alone are astronomically against it happening.
This one hit a nerve with me, and I said so in my response to him. I also said, "I am not a sheep. I am not a puppet. I don't do meek and submissive.".
This is an idea I've never been comfortable with, even when I was a Catholic years ago. "Surrender yourself to God's will." was the message I got in some homilies. Why? Why should I? (I'm sure this response didn't sit well with my CCD teachers. But I don't remember standing in the corner or having my knuckles rapped because of this "attitude".)
Do I trust God enough to let Him/Her take the wheel and drive the bus I'm on? No.
It's my will, dammit, and I'll do whatever I want, as long as I don't hurt anyone in the process. Even though I don't consider myself a Wiccan, I still follow the Wiccan Rede ("An ye harm none, do what thou will") as one of my guiding principles.
I really don't think it was ever God's intention for us to be sheep, blindly following what He/She dictates, without question.
What I do believe is that there is a divine spark within each and every one of us, blazing brightly. And that there is some type of guiding force in this world that our science cannot explain. The odds of everything occuring on this planet in sequence by pure chance alone are astronomically against it happening.
A challenge to live your faith.....
Apr. 15th, 2010 02:24 pmVia ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fleetfootmike: fireflylive posted a great LJ entry on what it really means to be a Christian.
It's not the cross that you may wear. It's not the Bible quotes that you can quote. It's taking what you know in your head and putting it in your heart, and living like Jesus. We need more Christians like her.
fleetfootmike: fireflylive posted a great LJ entry on what it really means to be a Christian. It's not the cross that you may wear. It's not the Bible quotes that you can quote. It's taking what you know in your head and putting it in your heart, and living like Jesus. We need more Christians like her.
Was flipping channels on the TV yesterday -- nothing remotely interesting on except the Weather Channel -- and came across the Come-to-Jeezus channel (aka Trinity Broadcasting Network), which was hawking a book linking Presdient Obama with the End Times. I think it was called New World Order Rising, or something like that. It was offered by Jack Van Impe Ministries.
I can do without high-powered televangelists. Instead of gently inviting people to their faith, they make it sound like it's a hard-sell. And that's what turns me off.
I'm not sure which is scarier -- the people who actually come up with this nonsense or those who gleefully eat it up with a spoon without question.
The civil libertarian in me says people have a right to express their religion. But a more logical part of me says, "It's not *what* one expresses, it's *how* one expresses it."
Unfortuantely, it's an old TV and I can't erase this channel from the memory bank. Grr argh.
I can do without high-powered televangelists. Instead of gently inviting people to their faith, they make it sound like it's a hard-sell. And that's what turns me off.
I'm not sure which is scarier -- the people who actually come up with this nonsense or those who gleefully eat it up with a spoon without question.
The civil libertarian in me says people have a right to express their religion. But a more logical part of me says, "It's not *what* one expresses, it's *how* one expresses it."
Unfortuantely, it's an old TV and I can't erase this channel from the memory bank. Grr argh.
In-your-face Christianity.....
Oct. 22nd, 2008 11:17 pmAs I mentioned in an earlier post, a group of protestors came to our local Pagan Pride Day. Yesterday, zorya_thinks posted an entry entitled "Such hate" which included links to two clips on YouTube featuring these protestors. (They also protested in front of a Catholic church the same day, claiming Catholicism is a false religion.) Apparently they had their own video cameras and posted their efforts on YouTube for all to see.
I simply cannot understand the mindset of these people. These are the ones I call "Xians".
( What causes people to go out and spread their version of the Gospel in this manner? Certainly not love. )
zorya_thinks posted an entry entitled "Such hate" which included links to two clips on YouTube featuring these protestors. (They also protested in front of a Catholic church the same day, claiming Catholicism is a false religion.) Apparently they had their own video cameras and posted their efforts on YouTube for all to see.I simply cannot understand the mindset of these people. These are the ones I call "Xians".
( What causes people to go out and spread their version of the Gospel in this manner? Certainly not love. )
