Christian

Separation of Church and Hate

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Get ready…we have our first official announcement of an intent to run for President in 2016. We’re still in the first quarter of 2015, but so what? Let the games begin.

There is so much wrong with the election process in America, starting with the fact that you have to be rich and have rich friends to even run for office. If you don’t meet those two criteria right there, you might as well not even bother running. You can’t become the proverbial dog catcher in your town without the funds to make all those yard signs, if nothing else.

But once we move into the upper echelon of elites who have the power and wealth to run for higher offices, the real problems begin, mostly in the fact that eager campaigners who haven’t darkened the doorsteps of any church in this country since their own wedding days are now going to claim to speak for Jesus in an effort to win voters. What am I rambling about?

All the “good Christians” who are going to make promises to hopeful voters about returning this country to God.

In God we trust, one nation under God, prayer in schools, Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve… you’re going to hear it all over the next year and a half of your life. Abortion is murder, homosexuality is an abomination, women don’t need equal pay because the Bible says they should be submissive unto their husbands… it’s all about to come pouring out, and God is going to get blamed for all of it.

The sad thing is, the “good Christians” who are both running and voting are going to blame God for what changes they think he wants in this country, and the atheists are going to blame God for every dumb-assed remark these campaigners say. As I sit here writing this, Phil Robertson’s most recent rant about raping and murdering atheists is making headlines all around the internet, as is video of the interview in which Senator Ted Cruz’s father supposedly said we should round up the atheists and put them in camps.

When did being a “good Christian” mean you had to act like a pompous moron and slander the name of God? Do you ever wonder if God is sitting there face-palming himself and thinking, “Senator, you just caused 4,000 people to turn their backs on ever knowing me?” When did knowing God stop being about love and start being about one-upmanship and campaign victories?

Folks, it’s so easy. It’s so incredibly easy to know and love God. Not only that, it’s so easy to PROVE you’re a good Christian. Just love people! That’s all it takes to prove it. Let every decision you make demonstrate and be based on this one fact: every single person you bump into is a child of God, made by God, loved and adored by God. If you act at all times as though you genuinely believe that, you won’t have to prove anything. The world will see it plain as day.

What Exactly Is A “Safe” Sin?

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I wish I could give credit where credit is due, but I swear I’ve completely forgotten which dynamic speaker presented this concept in a speech. God knows who he is, and I’m grateful to him for coming up with this idea.

This speaker was outlining a serious problem within the Christian church, one that spans across all denominations, and that’s an idea he called “safe sins.” It helps explain why Christians get absolutely up in arms about certain social issues while absolutely ignoring our own sins. Here’s what he meant:

1. Abortion – it’s 99% safe to safe that I’m never, ever going to have an abortion. At this point in my life, if I ended up pregnant it would actually be kind of funny. My husband and I have teenaged kids, and while I would have loved to have had a bigger family, we decided not to have more after our youngest was diagnosed with severe autism. But if I were to find out tomorrow that I was pregnant, it would be strange but it would also make for a good story about a “late in life” baby to keep us young.

And that’s why it’s completely safe for me to condemn abortion. I’m never going to do it, so it doesn’t feel wrong to speak out against this kind of evil. I will never be guilty of speaking out, then sneaking off and committing this sin myself.

2. Homosexuality – this is the one that everybody rails against, and even though it’s funny to say, “Methinks he doth protest too much,” I’m sorry, but–come on, people–Michele Bachmann’s husband is absolutely 100% gay, despite their pray-the-gay-away therapy business. But if you’re certain you’re a heterosexual, again, you’re never going to find yourself accidentally giving in to temptation and accidentally having gay sex. It’s “safe” to speak out against homosexuality and gay marriage since you’re never going to be a hypocrite here.

3. Internet Pornography – Again, this is somehow a big topic for Christians who want to point to the depravity of our society. Most adults I know don’t even know how to find online porn, but they know it’s out there. Again, if you don’t own an internet-connected computer and you don’t know which websites supply pornography, it’s pretty safe to scream from the rooftops about it.

But you know which sins people don’t like to talk about? Running red lights. Cheating on your taxes. Lying. Raising your voice at your kids when you lose your temper. Watching ungodly television shows. NOT tithing. NOT spending as much time in prayer and study as you should. NOT fasting. Gluttony.

Where are the Christians speaking out against gluttony? Interestingly, many of the individuals who point fingers about other sins are guilty of gluttony themselves, and even more interesting is the fact that gluttony is one of those few sins that you wear on the outside, everywhere you go. Your weight is right there for us all to see, but where are the preachers and politicians fighting the sin of gluttony? Even funnier is the fact that if a politician was to introduce a bill that limits your calorie intake, he’d be called a control freak libtard who’s trying to take away Americans’ rights.

You have the right to eat yourself into a heart attack, but a woman you don’t know who lives in a state you’ve never been to isn’t allowed to have an abortion? Why is that?

We have to stop allowing this concept of “safe” sins and instead pray for guidance in overcoming all sins. There is no such thing as a sin that none of us will ever commit, because all sins are the same in the eyes of God. Whether it’s abortion, adultery, pornography, homosexuality, or just driving over the speed limit, it’s sinful to God. We’re all the same, and no single person is “safe” without the love and acceptance of Christ.

Gonna Bake Me a Cake

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There is so much talk on the news and social media right now about Christian’s rights. I’m sorry, the term is 100% laughable, a walking joke. It’s the punchline to 200+ years of US history.

We don’t have the “right” to be Christians, we have the right to choose whatever religion we want and to believe whatever we want. We don’t have the “right” to inflict our beliefs on anyone else, and in fact, when our beliefs actively block someone else’s right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” we’ve created a Constitutional issue. We’ve also said, “My religion is more important than your status as a human being and a citizen.”

That’s wrong.

The real issue at hand? These stupid wedding cakes!

I’m married. I even had a cake. I had two cakes, in fact, one wedding cake and one groom’s cake. Guess what? My husband never saw either cake until I shoved a piece in his mouth for a picture at our reception.

So why are bakers suddenly so concerned about the genders of the people who will eventually be honored with a cake? WHO CARES if the cake is going to be eaten by straight people, gay people, Christian people, atheist people, illegal immigrants, Walmart employees…WHO CARES?

By the way, wedding cakes can run the gamut from a couple hundred dollars to THOUSANDS of dollars…are you really going to forfeit thousands of dollars just to prove that you’re legally entitled to? You’re not only hateful, you’re a dumbass! Suze Orman needs to have you on her show and tell the entire country what a moron you are for refusing to take money that would pay your bills, all because YOU don’t agree with how the cake will get eaten?

But there’s a bigger problem here: the same people who wouldn’t bake a wedding cake for a gay couple will happily turn around and charge a lot of money for a Bar Mitzvah cake, a celebration that conflicts with Christian teaching. They’ll make a cake for a fraternity celebration, which is an organization that excludes people based on gender, and in many cases based on religion and race. Do these same people make the increasingly popular “losing my virginity” cake? A bachelorette party cake that celebrates a weekend of drunkenness and promiscuity?

But not the gay cake? That’s strange, and it’s wrong. And it’s not representing Christ in a positive way. Instead of demonstrating God’s love to the world, you shined a light on the fact that Satan’s hatred is at work within the Christian faith. And we’re all going to suffer for it.

John 3:16 – Yeah, Yeah, We’ve Heard It All Before

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Imagine my surprise at opening my devotion book this morning and finding the featured verse was John 3:16. Okay, you’re probably wondering why that was such a shocker.

It surprised me because that verse is everywhere. It’s on posterboard held up at NFL events. It’s painted on the walls of Sunday school classrooms. It’s hand-stitched on decorative embroidered wall hangings for baby nurseries. It’s even on coffee mugs, billboards, T-shirts, and one unfortunate beer coozie I saw at a barbeque.

It’s losing its impact. Even worse, people see it so often that instead of being a message about how much we’re loved and cherished by a creator, it’s become an instant-sign of your Christianity. You don’t have to live your faith for others to see, you just have to have a Jesus fish car sticker and a John 3:16 license plate on the front.

What really gets me about that verse is that I don’t think the writer of the Gospel got it right. Good thing there are no hordes of soldiers working under the king’s command right now, or I’d be tied to a stake and roasted like a hot dog before I finished typing this.

When you look at that verse in great detail, it’s all about God. How much GOD loved us. How HE sent his son. How HE did this so we can have everlasting life.

That’s not how I read it. John Milton, in Paradise Lost, describes the scene that took place in Heaven when the moment that sparked the verse actually took place. In that scene, God is devastated and heartbroken by man’s disobedience; he’s been trying and trying and giving chance after chance after chance, but man is a jerk who keeps doing whatever he wants to do, instead of obeying the Lord. The angels are actually rending their garments in agony over how utterly sad God is.

Jesus stepped forward. According to Milton, Jesus was the one who said, “Dad, I’ll go. I’ll die as the sacrifice so your people will come back to you. Please don’t be sad anymore.”

That’s a beautiful image of love, one that is far bigger than a sign someone scribbled for the benefit of national television. More importantly, it reverses the willingness in the sacrifice. God may have physically sent Jesus to die for us, but Jesus stepped up first. He had a moment of weakness in the garden where his very human heart cried to be delivered from this, but ultimately said, “I’ll do it if you need me to.”

It’s not important whose idea it was. None of that really matters. What matters is Jesus agreed, and God allowed it. I will tell you that I hadn’t even left the hospital with my firstborn child before I realized exactly how big a sacrifice that was for God. I wouldn’t let my child die for anyone, let alone hurtful, sinful strangers.

It’s good to know God loves me more than I deserve.

Sticking My Head in the Sand

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I came across this quote, and it had the power to stop me in my tracks:

“Prayer is not flight, prayer is power. Prayer does not deliver a man from some terrible situation; prayer enables a man to face and to master the situation.” –William Barclay

For all the times that people have shown disdain for the power of prayer (I know, because I’ve done it myself whenever some sweet little Christian tells me, “Well, we’ll just have to pray about it,” instead of offering me real-world, tangible, IMMEDIATE solutions to the problem at hand), I offer up this quote. Prayer isn’t hiding, or refusing to address the situation, or blindly passing the responsibility (and therefore, the blame) off on God. It is the ultimate form of devotion and faith, while also taking extreme control over any situation.

Once I have prayed about any particular concern or problem, it’s done. It is finished. The most that I can do has been done. There may be little things I can do in that problem, things that people can see and respond to, but the most powerful thing I can do is over.

Unfortunately, it’s really, really hard to remember that. I’m one of those “last minute” Christians, the kind of who thinks, “Oh yeah, I should probably pray about this.” It’s just not my natural response, probably from not having strong instruction in prayer to begin with. I have to literally write reminders to myself to pray, but hopefully with this shift in perception–with this realization that prayer is the most effective thing I can do, EVER–it will move into the forefront of my mind instead of being the action of last resort.

God, Be BIG!

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This is one of my favorite phrases, and I’ve completely stolen it from Beth Moore. She said one time in a presentation that when she gets so overwhelmed by a situation, she simply prays, “God, be big!” which basically translates into, “You’re God, you’re enormous and all-powerful, now do your thing!”

It takes a lot of trust to pray those words. You’re essentially saying, “I’m turning this over to you, and I’m willing to take whatever you want to do.” Those words don’t mean, “Give me blessings,” or “Make me happy,” they mean exactly what they say. “God, this problem is so far above me and my ability to comprehend, so do with it as you see fit.”

What are the “Be Big” problems in your life?

I’ve had to fall back on Be Big when I learned my friend had had her fourth miscarriage in a row just that morning. I had to ask God to Be Big when my daughter told me her friend and the friend’s mother are living with an abusive man. I’ve asked God to Be Big over the lawsuit we waged against our handicapped child’s school, over job changes, over the decision to quit my job and start my own business.

Of course, God will be big even when we don’t need him to. I’ve prayed for God’s bigness over my daughter’s auditions, over the decision to build a house or buy one, over whether or not we should change churches.

Basically, God can’t help being big. It’s what he does. So when I’m struggling with the words to say to him and I don’t know what to even ask, I take an incredible amount of comfort in asking him to do what he does best, and that’s BE God.

But If God Is Real, Why Do Bad Things Happen?

/ Mercy / Leave a comment

More than any other question, this one seems to be the one that gets more people riled up than any other, whether they’re believers or not. I can safely say it’s the single most often asked question when I’m trying to justify my faith to people. There are lots of answers, some of them deep and requiring you to cite Thomas Aquinas and Socrates, but there is also a really simple answer:

“Because people are screw ups.”

God created us and gave us ONE rule. Just one. And we broke it before sundown. Don’t eat this. It wasn’t a tough rule, it was actually for our own good. But just like with your four-year-old sneaking mouthfuls of Play Doh when your back is turned, we ate it. We sinned. And it caused us to all be sinners.

“But I wasn’t there, I didn’t eat it.”

Well, you would have. We’re all sinners. We all do bad things.

One of the hardest things for me to let go of from my childhood in church was the concept of different “kinds” of sin. Much love to the Catholic church and all, but there’s nothing in the Bible that says God thinks some sins are bigger than others. Funny, there are A LOT of Protestants (the denominations who don’t believe in “levels” of sin) who will blatantly gossip about someone, then condemn a gay man. As though somehow those two sins aren’t equally horrible in the eyes of the Lord?

But back to us being wretched, bad people who caused all the bad things of the world to happen…

We brought sin into the world, and we’re suffering for it. In the Garden, God used to come down and walk with Adam and Eve after dinner, hanging out, chatting, playing Jenga (I made that up), but they caused the separation when they brought sin into God’s perfect world.

The other side of the coin in this question is that some of the things are NOT God’s will. I’ve stood right next to someone as the man told a grieving mother that “God killed her son in order to teach us all something. We don’t know what of course, but it was part of God’s plan.”

Bullshit. A man with a gun doing Satan’s work killed her son. Could God have stopped it? Maybe. I don’t really know how all that works. But I do know that God didn’t kill this woman’s child just to teach her a lesson. He taught her plenty of lessons with the Bible, and didn’t need to reinforce the concepts with murder. He’s bigger than that.

Bad happens. That’s a fact. It won’t stop happening until the end of days. I don’t know all the ins and outs of why it happens, but I do know that I have a Father and a Savior watching over me at all times. I am prepared to fight evil around me, and to try to lead others to the comfort that only my Father’s arms can provide.

Hi! I’m a Christian!

/ Mercy / Leave a comment

Unfortunately, instead of proudly proclaiming my love for Christ and carrying his message out into the world, I find myself ducking my head and mumbling, “Uh, yeah…so, um…I go to church.” WHY am I such a bad follower when it comes to sharing the Good News? Because of the way Christians behave today, especially the way they behave for mainstream media outlets to enjoy. I can’t stand for even one person to think that I carry the same message of hate as so many so-called followers of God.

I’m a Christian. I love God. I love Jesus, his son, who died on the cross for MY sins and rose from the dead so I can be saved. There, I said it.

I also have no problem with gay people; I’m not gay, my marriage and my faith are unaffected by their presence, and the Bible told me to love everyone.

I pray for women who are faced with the heart-wrenching choice of terminating a pregnancy and I understand that it’s not about not wanting this tiny blessing, it’s about looking at their four other blessings and realizing they’re all going to starve if she brings another child into their lives.

I don’t get a pinched look on my face when the person in front of me pays with food stamps, I smile and make conversation while quietly thinking to myself, “That could be me, except God has (for some unknown reason) provided in abundance for me and my family,” and I remember that the person in front of me with an EBT card was put there to test MY faith and willingness to serve the Lord, NOT to test that person’s value as a human being in the eyes of God.

I have a degree in biology and fully believe that evolution is real, and that it was set in motion by the greatest scientist the world has never known.

I am flawed by design, smudged by sin, and I am no better than anyone else alive. God risked his reputation when he let me join his club, and I fully intend to live my life so that others can see my flaws, learn from the errors of my ways, and decide that maybe they’d like to see what this club is all about.

What’s It Take to be a Christian?

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Yup, this is my first blog post on a new site designed to help me (and hopefully other people) make sense of it all. No, I’m not selling my worldly goods and climbing up to a mountaintop cave to “find” myself, but I have discovered that writing these things down helps me understand.

What’s this big question that has me reeling (and creating blogs)?

ANSWER: How do I reconcile being a Christian in 2015 with everything that’s going on around me.

I’ve had the truth of the Bible by my side for most of my life. I get it. I believe it. I’ll go all John 3:16 on you and everything. But like most people, I look at passages about Lot letting the townspeople rape his daughters instead of the stranger he’s hiding in his house or passages about how owning and having sex with slaves is okay but rolling around in the all-you-can-eat shrimp is not, and I have a WTF? moment.

So that’s it. This blog is for me, and really just me, but I invite you to ask WTF? right alongside me. I know the most fundamental truths: God loves us, he created us for a relationship with him, he sent his son to die for us, and I am redeemed because of it. The rest is just details, but those details are what keep so many people away from the truths. I plan to spend a lot of time picking those truths apart and figuring out how they override all that is wrong in the world.