Stupid Christians

"The difficulties of the anti-theists begin when they try to engage with anyone who does not agree with them, when their reaction is often a frustrated rage that the rest of us are so stupid." Peter Hitchens

Your Own People

Jesus said that a prophet was not respected by his own people. I've found that likewise people who have a vibrant Christian faith are not respected by their own people.

Signs

Concidence? It's just in your head? But, if you're willing to believe, they can actually build your faith. God speakes to me through scripture at times. When a passage speaks about something happening in my life for instance, is it just concidence? My faith has grown by being open to the signs of God as they come to me.

Father Against Son

"They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.'”
Luke 12:53 (NIV)

Focus

The reason I started posting today was that this post was in the back of my head. I've been thinking about this one for a while. It's a huge pet peeve of mine that Churches seem to be loosing their focus. For example (one example--there seem to be an ever growing number now), I'm hearing so much about--and am so sick of hearing about--green policy. Save the Earth. That's fine. But, it's really a social issue. If I wanted to be a green hero, I'd go to Greenpeace meetings on Sunday mornings. I know we should be good stewards of God's planet, but come on. Focus on God. I want the sermon to talk about God, preach the Gospel. Focus people! St. Paul said to focus on the prize. It'd be like if I was a priest and my sermon half the Sundays was on keeping fit. Well, you know, our life is a gift from God; we should show respect by protecting our bodies and staying fit. Fat people go to hell. Remember, St. Paul spoke about the benefits of physical exercise. Our body is a temple you know. Come on! Focus people.

I went to a United Church a few years ago on a day for water (water day?) when Chandra's guide group had to go to get a religion badge. I went to my own Church on the same day a year later. I heard two very different sermons. The pastor at the United Church preached about fresh water conservation, and pollution, and being green. The Anglican priest (Cannon Phibbs) preached about the ties between water and life, baptism, symbolic cleaning, etc.... To me, they were worlds apart. For me, it reinforced that I'd made the right choice by leaving the United Church. It has become too watered down. Just a little joke there folks. Although, it was (the joke)--as my grandfather used to say--half in fun and all in earnest. I do find the United brand a very watered down form of Christianity. Now, be aware, I'm not judging them; I'm not saying they're all going to hell. That's up to God. I just don't find the worship very meaningful.

So, please people, lets focus on God. Please. When we go to Church, let it be for religion, for God, for faith, for Christianity, not for Greenpeace etc.... This is not a social betterment group or moral club. If I wanted only that, I'd join the Freemasons.

A Special Note on My Friends

It may seem that I am always fighting with my non Anglican Christian friends in what I write in my posts. While we do have some good discussions and debates, we try to keep it respectful and friendly. Actually, it is what we have in common that was the biggest reason we became friends in the first place. Because this blog is a collection of my thoughts on God and religion, my Christian friends' ideas and thoughts (expressed to me--of course) appear here often as well.

Cart Before the Horse

Sometimes, some of us Christians change interpretations of scripture to fit our doctrine. Or, as I like to call it, we put the cart before the horse. The JWs do this when they say that Jesus was not raised to life in the body to fit their doctrine that He returned in 1914 and we just can't see Him. I bring this up for a reason: A friend of mine, a fellow Christian, is so against the idea of Bishops (and the terrible evil they bring) that he has suggested to me that when the disciples chose Matthias to replace Judas, it was against the wishes of God. This however is just supposition, and is another example to me of people putting the cart before the horse.

Dangerous Creatures

It occurred to me the other day that women are very dangerous and tricky creatures. I mean, the snake didn't deceive Adam--not directly. The woman talked him into it. A woman betrayed Samson to find the secret of the source of his strength to destroy him. In their favor though, just as the perfect man in Jesus released us from the sin of the imperfect man Adam, Mary undid the job Eve did: Through Eve, the snake brought sin into the world; and through Mary, God brought salvation into the world in Jesus. Although I still believe women are slippery deceitful dangerous creatures at times. And, no one can betray a man's trust like a woman can.

What Not to Do

"We emphasize the compulsions we must fight. But the goal is to become free."
Br. Richard Paul Vaggione

Our Suffragan Bishop's Visit

So, today was a special day for us at St. Paul's. Our Suffragan Bishop was with us for our service of Holy Eucharist, much to the chagrin of my evangelical friend; he hates the whole pomp and show of it all. So, why is it special? Well, our bishops don't get to come very often. We only have two bishops for about 130 Churches, and with only 52 Sundays in the year, well...you do the math. They are our chief pastors, and a link. They are a link to the rich history of the Church's past, and they are a link to our Christian brothers and sisters in other parts of the Anglican Communion. They are our link with the Anglican Communion. We are an episcopal Church, and that comes with bishops. Weather you believe that apostolic succession is real or not, they are a symbol of our connection to the ministry (and indeed are a symbol of the ministry) of the original apostles. It's not for everybody. Some feel it is too catholic. Some feel that it gives (wo)men too much glory. Is it necessary? Well, that depends on what you mean. Is it necessary for salvation? No. Is it necessary to be Anglican? Yes. It makes us part of something larger than ourselves. But God is bigger than all of us, and we are already part of the Christian family some may argue. Yes, that is true. We do have a one on one personal relationships with God. But, don't forget, St. Paul told us not to give up fellowshiping. Bishops join our fellowship with other fellowships, present and past, all around the world in a unique and special way that goes beyond administrative links that exist between like minded Churches. Are Bishops a bad thing? I don't believe so. But, if you do, then Anglicanism is probably not for you. Do you have to be Anglican to be saved? Of course not. Jesus saves us. He paid the price for our sins. However, for many, bishops are special. Those who are opposed to the idea may never understand how that is. All I ask is to not be judged; so I'm a foot. So what?

And it was a special day for us. Bishop Terry was funny, and friendly, and it was a nice service that we shared with our bishop, worshiping God together. Then, at the pot luck dinner after the service--wouldn't you know it--he sat right beside me. I usually shy away from the spot light or attention, so it was not something I expected or really wanted. But, here I was sitting with the bishop. I tried to make small talk, and it was a struggle at first. But as we talked it went better and I discovered that he was just a person; I wasn't surprised by this, but it did make him more human, more real. He said the biggest challenge of being a bishop is keeping his weight under 220 lbs. Everywhere ho goes, he is eating. He talked about his family, about his work, about the snow outside, about his ministry in Africa, etc.... He's always on the road, always at a new Church. It occurred to me that being a bishop must be a lonely position at times, a sacrifice he makes to watch Jesus' sheep.

One Year

Well, it's coming up on one year since I started this blog. I post my thoughts and ideas as they pop into my head, about God, about Church, about religion, about life. It's sometimes even therapeutic. And, I hope that it will some day help others (it people ever discover my blog). Stay tuned.

Married Again

"A foolish child is a father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like the constant dripping of a leaky roof." Proverbs 19:13 (NIV)

"Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife."
Proverbs 21:9 (NIV)

Jesus Died For Us

We can never ransome ourselves, or deliver to God the price of our life; For the ransom of our life is so great, that we should never have enough to pay it, In order to live for ever and ever, and never see the grave."
Psalms 49:6-8 (BAS)

Married?

"It is good for a man not to touch a woman." 1 Corinthians 7:1 (KJV)

"Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do." 1 Corinthians 7:8 (NIV)

Foot Hand Body Thing Again

"I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that."
1 Corinthians 7:7 (NIV)

:(

"My tears have been my food day and night, while all day long they say to me, 'Where now is your God?' Why are you so full of heaviness, O my soul? and why are you so disquieted within me?"
Psalms 42:3&6 (BAS)

Hermit

Sometimes I really think I should have been a hermit. I'd have my little cottage on the side of an old rolling mountainside. I'd spend my days in prayer, tending my garden, cutting wood, watching the animals, thinking, and at peace. It's not just because people suck, and people do suck. Okay it's mostly because people suck; but, I also find it very appealing. I'd be like that little old man who pops out of the hole in that Monty Python movie, just kidding.

Borrowing?

The wicked borrow and do not repay.
From the 37th Psalm

Bum Hole--Even More on Judgement

Are you a bum hole? We as Christians keep forgetting one of the most important rules Christ gave us, judge not (born out of love). The people of the Church of Corinth forgot it. All Christians are part of the Body of Christ. A hand should never tell a foot that because they are not a hand, they are not part of the body. We (Christians) are all part of the body. Some of us are bum holes, because we judge. Sometimes I think we fail to understand that, not simply because we may have different views, but because we don't listen to each other.

I had an interesting conversation with a Christian friend not very long ago. This kind of ties in with the above. So, anybody who knows me knows that I complain a lot about secular and government groups and their policies on proselytizing. And, I complained to this friend a lot. And he kept hearing the word over and over again, proselytizing. This is kind of funny: So, the other day, he tells me he has a video for me to watch, on You Tube. It's an atheist saying that it's okay, proselytizing doesn't make him hate us. If we really believe what we believe, then we're trying to save them, and doing it out of love. The atheist gets that. My friend wanted me to know that I didn't have to be afraid to get out there and spread the Gospel. But, my friend hadn't been listening to me. He didn't get it, didn't get me. It's not proselytizing I have a problem with, it's anti proselytizing. He missed my message all along. Only the word proselytizing stuck in his memory, and the fact that I was so upset when I talked about it. I hate organizations' proselytizing policy. I hate it. I feel like they're asking me to deny Christ if I want to be part of their group. "Don't talk about Christ, you might offend somebody!" Anyway, to make a long story stop, this is how we don't listen. And he didn't do it on purpose, he just totally got it wrong.

Sometimes I get a mental image of two Christians in a room yelling at each other, "Jesus is the Son of God!" "No, he's God's only begotten Son!" And sometimes, when we think they have it wrong, we tell them they are a foot and not part of the body; we become the bum hole.

?

Usque quo, Domine?

Troubles

Some say that the closer you come to God, the more the evil one attacks.

"Many are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord will deliver him out of them all."
Psalms 34:19 (BAS)

Father, protect us from the evil one and from all evil. Forgive us our sins, and keep us safe. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Down?

"How long shall I have perplexity in my mind,
and grief in my heart, day after day?
how long shall my enemy triumph over me?"
Psalms 13:2 (BAS)

The Lord's Servant

I've often said, "I don't understand how a Jew can read the book of Isaiah and still be a jew [not become a Christian]."

"He was pierced for our sins,
bruised for no fault but ours.
His punishment has won our peace,
and by his wounds we are healed.

We had all strayed like sheep,
all taking our own way;
but the Lord laid on him
the guilt of us all."
From the 53rd chapter of the Book of Isaiah

McJob

I've been having trouble sleeping the last few nights. So, while I'm up anyway, I'll catch up on my God Wall. I say catch up because I have a few posts archived in my head. The subject below kind of ties in with my first post.

Do you believe that dreams tell us things? Not in a pagan divination kind of way, but in a subconscious mind thinking kind of way, about past events and the future? One night last week, I had a dream that I went back to work at McDonald's. I thought after the dream that it may have something to do with my discontent with my job (see prior post about bla (blah) and Star Trek). Occupational slumming, or having a McJob, is the concept where one works at a job below their skill level or ability. Although, sometimes dreams come from God. St. Peter had a dream (three times) from God. I just hope God is not sending me back to McDonald's (unless it's to get a Big Mac).

If I was a millionaire I wouldn't have to worry about going to work tomorrow, or ever again. I'm going to be a hurting unit at work tomorrow.

Aggressively Secular

"In a society that is becoming more and more aggressively secular, it is crucial that there be places of the spirit present."
Br. Bede Thomas Mudge

Help in Hard Times

Father, when we feel a little like Job did and nothing makes sense, when those who share bread with us lift up their heel against us, do not let us give up. Strengthen and guides us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Hate Life

Anybody who hates their life in this world will have eternal life.
Paraphrased from John 12:25