I have often said that I am a follower of Jesus Christ. He is indeed my Lord and Savior. But, is there a difference between being a follower of Christ and being a Christian? Up until recently I had not tried to discern any difference in those two state. But now I am coming to understand that they can be two quite different things. Being … Continue reading A Follower of Jesus Christ….
That is a question that has been on my mind the last few days. I have lived for more than six decades on this earth so I have been exposed to probably millions of different situations but what is the saddest? The list initially was quite large but the more I have thought about it the more it shrinks. I think I am finally down … Continue reading What is the saddest thing in this world???
As some of you may know I recently was more or less forced to leave my church home of eight years because I publicly via this blog said I believe that the earth is more than 6,000 years old. The leadership of the denomination insists that this idea is heresy. In that light it was interesting to note the article today about the Catholic church very publicly professed … Continue reading Creationism Gone in Catholic Church
WARNING I am going to get on my soapbox here. I try not to do it very often but sometimes things just grate on me too much! I want to get this off my mind so I can start fresh in 2011 I am sorry to say that I have evidenced a strong link between what is probably the majority of Christians who call … Continue reading The Link between Evangelicals and Radical Right Politics..
Sometimes a burst of questions comes into my mind. They usually come and go before I have time to even put them on a Post-It for further study. This time I was at my keyboard. Here is what I have been thinking of this afternoon. In the past I have been a member of different Christian denominations who say we must go out and save … Continue reading The Rambling Questions of a Past Jesus Freak
Why must some versions of Christianity pit scientific discovery against religious doctrine? It seems from my personal experiences that to some if you believe in God then you cannot believe in scientific discovery. Of course much of this goes back to the literal interpretation of Bible. Since those holding that view must believe that the earth is only 6,000 years old how do they reconcile … Continue reading Science & Religion…
I don’t believe that the collection of documents put together in the fourth century by Emperor Constantine’s council which is known today as the Bible was one hundred percent dictated by God. Because I believe there is a human element to it some say that I surely must therefore deem it all worthless. No! No! No! I really tire of saying this but I must … Continue reading What about the Bible???
This post will close out my current thoughts on institutional purity. I have made it a point that institutional purity has done some grievous harm to the Body of Christ. I am therefore saying that we cannot insist that there are certain things you must believe in order to call yourself a Christian? In my mind yes there are some things that are fundamental but … Continue reading The Musts of Institutional Purity
The idea of institutional purity is noble in purpose but very faulty in delivery. The idea goes something like this: “Since we are the only ones to really understand the true nature of God we must protect our ideas from getting polluted by the rest of the world and in particular other Christians who think differently but are wrong. In other words we must fight … Continue reading Institutional Purity (Part 2)
I know some of you might be confused by the title of this post. Let me assure you up front that it is not about how you make your body pure by eating worms 🙂 . This topic is much too heavy to settle well in your stomach even if it were steak. The theme of the next three posts is really about is that … Continue reading Institutional Purity & the Diet of Worms
Here I am a senior citizen so I thought I had completed all of life’s rights-of-passage. But I was recently proven wrong. Because of my stand, here and elsewhere, that I believe that the earth is more than 6,000 years old I have been asked to refrain from some worship activities at my current church! It seems I am not allowed to believe the age … Continue reading A Right of Passage….
With the previous post about works being on my mind I am thinking of my Christian friend who, at least in my mind, is a “No Assembly Required” Christian. Whenever I mention works he immediately says that I must be doing works in order to gain heaven. No matter how many times I have to told him that is not the case he continues to … Continue reading Works and Heaven….
Since we are into the beginning of the Christmas season the above title came to mind. Although I was not fortunate enough to be a parent I certainly sympathize with those who are when it comes to having to assemble things like bicycles and such for their kids for Christmas. I imagine to many parents the words “No Assembly Required” is a much sought after … Continue reading Assembly Required….
I believe that to constantly harp about our sinful state is more harmful than anything it might accomplish. I believe that we should teach our children that they were made by God and God does not make junk. I believe that God means for each of us to accomplish certain distinct things while we are here on his earth. I believe that God is very … Continue reading I Believe…
In many Bibles, some words are set apart with a red font. Why is this? It is to remind us that when God became Man and personally gave us words that those words are probably something we cannot afford to miss. So why don’t many churches today take the “red letters” to heart? Why aren’t we doing more to be Christ’s hands and feet to … Continue reading Why Red Letters??
I believe that affirming our potential is more important than condemning our brokenness. Many churches I have attended put a very strong I would even say an overwhelming emphasis on our brokenness. Their creeds which are chanted every Sunday point out that we are nothing but poor miserable sinners and are capable of absolutely nothing good. Besides causing inferiority complexes in those to buy into … Continue reading Affirming our Potential
RedLetterLiving 