It never fails to happen. When we become enlightened, or have an epiphany about something, we want to share it with the world.
Not surprising. And mostly a good thing to share.
A trend that I've seen, though, is to start shoving it down everyone's throat. For example, the entire meaning of life for atheists is to prove that God doesn't exist; that people who believe in God are non-thinking trodlodytes. There is no real celebration or purpose in being an athiest unless it's making a case against non-atheists!
I can be guilty of this as well...I'm rabid about women in leadership positions should they be called. However, I am just protecting my rights, and standing up for the rights of others. If I'm in a place that is bigoted and teaching the wrong biblical stuff, though, I just leave. I might say something if asked, but otherwise, shake the dust off.
What I'm getting at is this: There is such a wide variety of "believing" in the world today among Christians. Variety about the nature of God, the difference in denominations. People write books to knock down the way others think about who God is. Why? Doesn't denying someone's belief about God just make Him really small? I told my friend that sometimes God is that Dad figure that I can snuggle up to and rest against. Sometimes, He is the Warrior walking beside me, giving me the right words to say and standing with me. Is this all in my head? Hardly. God doesn't fit in ANYONE'S box! He can do anything, be anything to anyone...He knows OUR need!
Just write about who YOU think God is, and it may speak to many people. But, trying to destroy the belief system of others makes us no different than the people who we think are closed-minded.
Why can't we just agree on the basics? We believe in God. How's that for a start? Does it matter if I think God is everywhere and you think God is a deity off there somewhere in the ether? Does it matter if you think Jesus looks like all those long-haired pictures that are everywhere, and I think He had shorter, curly hair, and hazel eyes?
It really doesn't, does it?
Let's build up. Let's stop being so pompous in thinking that we've "transcended" all other beliefs. Let's stop trying to stomp on others' beliefs and concentrate on what WE believe. You never know. Relating your personal story can have a lot more impact than throwing out a Perry Mason line of attack on someone else's thoughts.
If we have common ground to maintain relationship and can accept each others' differences, isn't that what God really wants? And isn't that what being a true Christian is all about?
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
heresy ramblings
Pat is a friend of mine...and elder and minister as well....who has just freed herself from a particular bond. I'm very proud to call her friend and sister; and proud of her standing up for what is right and loving.
She just posted an interesting thought on her blog. Check it out. I'm loving the fact that while we knew each other...now we are really getting to know each other through blogworld. I hope that's a good thing!
Mike has a great blog that I recently discovered. I love his succinct posts...and the laughing and personal head smacking revelations that come to me when I read his questions. He posed the "what's heretical about this blog?" question to me.
Heresy is not a bad thing; we all know that now....there are enough of us asking these questions...and thank God we are able to ask them even among our more traditional friends. That's what I've loved about discussions at my other blog and with friends' blogs. So far we have been able to discuss without getting personal or cruel. That's what it's about...being able to be open, accepting, and respectful.
I only know 2 things for sure: Jesus IS, and God is Love. Everything else is up for grabs and discussion. I've had a Jesus revelatory experience and I wish all others would have it, too. If I hadn't had that experience I don't know where I'd be today. Life changing...and yet, like the disciples, I continued to dabble in doubt for years. God just kept pursuing me, though. I actually have had people ask me, "Why would GOD talk to YOU?!?" A better question to them might be, "Why not?" or
"Why isn't He talking to YOU?!?" I actually posed that last question to one woman and watched the blood drain from her face. Oops.
Martin Zender points out many scriptures that attest to the fact that God makes unbelievers. Why, I don't know. I wish that everyone would know the love of Christ on this side of the realm. But, I believe they'll know it on the other side. Every knee will bow and all of that....No one getting to the Father except through Him. But where does it say that will happen on this side of life?
Actually, according to many polls by George Barna, those of us in the universalistic realm are more mainstream than one might think. In fact, I think in a recent poll, the majority of Christians don't believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father (I disagree with that based on previous sentence..just not in the way tradition has taught).
Enuff rambling.....What is heresy to you?
She just posted an interesting thought on her blog. Check it out. I'm loving the fact that while we knew each other...now we are really getting to know each other through blogworld. I hope that's a good thing!
Mike has a great blog that I recently discovered. I love his succinct posts...and the laughing and personal head smacking revelations that come to me when I read his questions. He posed the "what's heretical about this blog?" question to me.
Heresy is not a bad thing; we all know that now....there are enough of us asking these questions...and thank God we are able to ask them even among our more traditional friends. That's what I've loved about discussions at my other blog and with friends' blogs. So far we have been able to discuss without getting personal or cruel. That's what it's about...being able to be open, accepting, and respectful.
I only know 2 things for sure: Jesus IS, and God is Love. Everything else is up for grabs and discussion. I've had a Jesus revelatory experience and I wish all others would have it, too. If I hadn't had that experience I don't know where I'd be today. Life changing...and yet, like the disciples, I continued to dabble in doubt for years. God just kept pursuing me, though. I actually have had people ask me, "Why would GOD talk to YOU?!?" A better question to them might be, "Why not?" or
"Why isn't He talking to YOU?!?" I actually posed that last question to one woman and watched the blood drain from her face. Oops.
Martin Zender points out many scriptures that attest to the fact that God makes unbelievers. Why, I don't know. I wish that everyone would know the love of Christ on this side of the realm. But, I believe they'll know it on the other side. Every knee will bow and all of that....No one getting to the Father except through Him. But where does it say that will happen on this side of life?
Actually, according to many polls by George Barna, those of us in the universalistic realm are more mainstream than one might think. In fact, I think in a recent poll, the majority of Christians don't believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father (I disagree with that based on previous sentence..just not in the way tradition has taught).
Enuff rambling.....What is heresy to you?
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