Pat Roberson on the Haiti Earthquake

Watch the madness here.

Thanks for making the rest of us look insane, buddy.

Fun Fundies

Hello, Internets.

Our friends who brought us "God Hates Fags" are at it again, this time attacking Lady Gaga. I guess they haven't had enough air time lately. Here is the poster. I don't recommend looking at it while eating.

Mr. L, a wonderful person on a forum that I currently frequent (when I have time between graduate school responsibilities) wrote the response below. It is long, but I think it sums up my feelings about this.

The careless ignorant misuse of the Bible by these possessed of a spirit of arrogant legalism lends itself to the worst of the worst in self-righteousness and unauthorized, self-appointed condemnation of human beings. These kind have a dangerous assurance that their knowledge of some scripture licenses them to aggressively lock, load and aim it at whomever they deem to be unworthy then firing it as an assault weapon, grants them immunity from their own foul-smelling stench ascending into the nostrils of God.

The Bible has become a hotly despised object of ridicule and scorn largely through this kind of unskilled, unqualified knuckleknobbery advancing itself in the world. One of my favorite non-scriptural quotes is, "the trouble with ignorance is that it picks up confidence as it goes along". How true that is in this situation. Groups of individuals convinced they are performing a vital service to God by selecting their favorite "sinners" and condemning them to death in His Name. The most grievous part of this to me is that the same Bible they use as a death-sentencing tool against their targeted segments of society, is the very same Bible that I utterly rely upon for my spiritual life, enlightenment and sustinence.

When I was about 12, I knew way down deep inside of myself there was something quite wrong and missing in my life. Being a preacher’s kid, I went to the "Good Book" that I was raised upon to receive any kind of guidance. Other than finding so-and-so begat so-and-so kinds of scriptures, I ran into the Old Testament’s harsh pronouncements of God’s judgments over nations who defied and fought against Him (not unlike the kind of scriptures shown in the hate flyer distributed by Westboro). It terrified me! I was not finding guidance or comfort but rather condemnation and hopelessness because I thought those scriptures were talking to me personally. I came away believing that God was irretrievably angry with me, a 12-year-old kid who really hadn’t lived long enough to piss Him off that badly! My emptiness and despair multiplied greatly after those attempts at reaching out for answers and they followed me through my crucial and formative teen-age growing up years.

Having this fixed image of a God of wrath abiding within my heart for the next 7+ years, I felt that I was on spiritual death row just waiting to be executed at God’s predesignated date and time. The Westboro bunch would’ve been proud of how submissive I was to accept my punishment from God since I didn’t have a single legitimate argument as to why He shouldn’t wipe me off the map. This dreaded existence that had sucked all initiative from my life suddenly dissolved in an instant upon my hearing the Good News (FROM THE SAME BIBLE!!!) of my acquittal from any and all offenses toward God through no right actions or behavioral modifications of my own. The knowledge of the gift of God’s abundant Grace was brought to my conscience and I was forever changed through the acceptance of His Son’s single sacrifice and that began to affect and influence my actions and behavior but again, only AFTER my heart’s comprehension of this Grace.

Wisdom has taught me that without the revelation of the Good News of Grace, the Bible can kill a person through harsh, razor-sharp legalism. This is how I believe hateful judgmentalism is born or at least incubated amongst so-called "Christian" groups. They cite "God’s Word" for their justification of condemning individuals to hell. My challenge is this from their same Bible:

"While we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly". If God is so all-fired hyped up about killing sinners, it seems He wasted a perfectly good Son to die on their behalf, as their substitute.

"For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment".

"Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?"

As an aside, I’m pretty sure it’s not referring to Pearl Forrester as being the Lawgiver in this particular instance.

The God I’ve come to know and love has an entirely different Spirit than the cruel representation of Him made on that flyer. I can think of no greater contrast between the two attitudes of the heart than from the scripture itself where it speaks of legalists possessed of the same kind of spirit as the Westboro group, and how they responded to a man named Stephen who was full of faith and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

These legalists fancied themselves as God’s appointed leaders over the people. Stephen, described as a man "full of faith" and filled with the Spirit of God, as a skillful surgeon cut deeply into the legalists false doctrine so much so that they could no longer bear up under the verbal stripping away of their facade before the masses and being cut to the heart, they gnashed upon him with their teeth. After exclaiming that he was seeing the heavens opened and the Son of Man (Christ) standing at God’s right hand, they stopped their ears with their fingers and rushed Stephen to stone him to death. As the stones began to penetrate, beating out his life, Stephen fell to his knees begging God not to charge his murder to their account. He wasn’t begging help for himself, nor was he demading justice or judgment to fall upon them. He was pleading mercy for the hateful, merciless legalists. That sounds a lot like Christ when He was up on the cross appealing to God to forgive those responsible for crucifying Him, reminding God that "they know not what they do", even though in their mind, they were confidently convinced they DID know what they were doing.

So, who are WE to judge?

In most of the online arguments I read from non-believers, one of their biggest gripes goes something like, "I thought Jesus taught people not to judge other people". They have a good case here. Through a little study of the original word, "judge", I discovered it means to "condemn or pronounce sentencing over". I marvel at the self-appointed judges (may I say here that I find that folks owning this kind of spirit aren’t necessarily exclusively Christians, believers or church-goers) who have the audacity to wholly involve their focus upon another’s manner of life as if they themselves have no fault or error to deal with in their own life. So, from what I ascertain, we are not to ever allow our heart to exalt itself into a position of condemning or pronouncing sentencing over other individuals–EVER!

Does this mean that believers are to be devoid of any capacity to judge matters and to be absolutely enslaved or subject to whatever their neighbor, local government or nation declares to be right and wrong? Scripturally, believers are to be shining examples of those who are submitted to the laws of the land, those dispossessed of any penchant toward a rebellious spirit of hatred and defiance toward legitimate authority. But, there are increasing instances where the laws of the land are willfully separating from God’s influence and going crosswise of His declarations of right and wrong, thus placing believers in a position of having to judge matters for their own individual lives. This is not the kind of judgment of condemnation or pronouncing sentencing over others but rather the judgment of determining and discerning for their own lives what course of action to take. In cases like this, I believe judgment is imperative, in fact irresponsible if not regarded.

There is an instance of intentional civil disobedience demonstrated by Peter, an esteemed leader of the early church. It did not involve an attitude of defiance or angry rebellion but it resulted in disobedience to local authority nonetheless. Back then, the early church was very much alive, flourishing in grace and faith with miracles being commonplace in the days before legalism and unbelief overtook it reducing its stature to a current state of intellectualism and dead works driven by rules and regulations and spiritual weakness that pervades today.

Peter was involved in the manifestation of a notable a miracle upon a long-time, local resident in the community, crippled from birth. The man’s total physical restoration caused no small stir amongst the people. The religiously driven local government got nervous and commanded Peter and his band of renegades to stop preaching Christ and to cease performing miracles. Without malice, yet forthright, Peter replied, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard".

I find it refreshingly different that back then, the Church was in trouble with the authorities for demonstrating an unmistakably superior power to anything this world or earth had ever known. It wasn’t the spiritually empty and hateful Westboro-ian legalism attacking homosexuals, entertainers etc. It was the Church operating under the power and authority of God, reaching out to mankind with God’s goodness, love and grace. The reason the existing authority was in an uproar is that thousands were daily connecting with this electrifying power, joyfully leaving behind the existing organized deadness of religion, this phenomena threatening the jobs of those who ruled with a rigid, iron fist.

So, it is this blogger’s opinion that no one has condemnation or pronouncement of judgment rights over another aka sweep your own back porch! However, I still believe that believers have a right and responsibility to pursue the Grace of God and obey His Love wherever possible with or without the approval of the religious, non-religious or governmental entities.

Truthfully, every day there are many words, beliefs and attitudes that flow freely from the hearts, minds and mouths of people I dearly love that my own conscience and heart diametrically opposes but at the end of the day, my measure of rule ends at the borders of my own heart, mind and conscience. I listen to others and if my heart bears witness, I happily toss it into the mix. If I get an inner red flag, I don’t take that as an automatic carte blanche to judgmentally attack someone with whom I disagree. The red flag is for me to judge what I am supposed to do or not do for me not them. The exceptions to this are if someone innocent is being harmed. I tend to run to an underdog’s defense in a heartbeat. Janis is worse than me. She got fatigue jammies for Christmas which serves as a reminder that you don’t want any of her if you plan on picking on someone unable to defend themselves whom she determines is being treated unfairly. *Shudders*.

Amen, Brother L.

Christmas Greetings

I wish everyone a healthy, happy, blessed Christmas and a happy new year!

Even if you don't have money, you can give your time. Simply being there for someone to show support makes a difference.

Merry Christmas!

Don't Panic!

It's still Shadowkor (Shadow, Redkor, weaver2003), here. I am using Redkora from now on because this is the name I am using in most places now.

The Day After

I have been hearing that many people are worried now that Obama is going to be our president come January of 2009. I didn't vote for Obama, but I wish him the best and I hope he makes the economy better, protects us, and uses his executive power fairly. I am proud of my country for making history, even though I disagree with him more than I agree.

Worriers, Obama is not a king. He's a president, and if you don't like the policies he puts forth, you can raise hell with your representative or senator. Also, the Supreme Court can always say that something is unconstitutional when they judge as such.

You also have power in your own state, regardless of who is president. If you're a liberal, conservative, somewhere in between, or consider yourself totally off the map, you can vote in local elections and state elections if you want to make your voice heard. States have their own power, too.

I would like to add that as President, Obama is privy to information that we may never hear. He has already been briefed on at least some of the confidential information presidents have to hear. Obama is no longer going to run a campaign--he is going to have to lead, and things may be much worse out there than we realize. He may have to make some adjustments to his original plans in order to do what he thinks is best, whether that be going further to the left or going towards the middle.

I believe that if you pray in any way, just pray that Obama does the right thing with his power, whatever that may be. Pray for him and his family, and all the senators, representatives, and judges at every level of government. You don't have to agree with those in political offices, but understand a great deal of responsibility rests on their shoulders.

Besides, if you really don't like a politician, you can always cast a vote to vote them out. I seriously doubt that we'll ever lose that right.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Obama and his supporters. Hopefully he'll serve the country well.

I mean that in all sincerity, too. :)

Bob Larson to Go on Sci-Fi

If you do not know who Bob Larson is, he is an alleged "deliverance minister." If you translate this from Televangelist to English, Bob Larson claims to be an exorcist. A show documenting his brand of exorcism is going to be aired on the Sci-Fi channel on Thursday, October 30, at 7:00 PM Eastern time. He often claims that everyone, even Christians, are in need of the "deliverance" he provides.

Here is a clip of one of Bob Larson's exorcisms, courtesy of National Geographic.

Many whistle-blowers and other Christians, however, see fraud in Larson's acts. I encourage my readers to read the links below and their Bibles and to come to their own conclusions. Myself, I am suspicious of Larson's intentions because he wants so much money for performing these exorcisms. Jesus said to do these things without payment. As far as I can tell, Larson's acts are just more examples of televangelist dog and pony shows.

Cornerstone Magazine's Expose on Bob Larson
Apostasy Watch's Bob Larson Article
Shy David's Bob Larson Page
On Doctrine's Bob Larson Page
An Article Arguing that Christians Can Not Be Possessed
Apologetics Index Article About Bob Larson
Morning Star Glory's Bob Larson Article

Here is a link to a pastor's Youtube channel with humorous and heartbreaking Bob Larson exposure videos (mind out of the gutter, kids). This pastor calls himself the Paranormal Preacher, and I have not done enough research on this person to endorse or argue against this person. Make your own decision.

Ike's Passing

Hurricane Ike was a Category 2 Storm, but it had a storm surge approaching that of a Category 4. Even though a little more than two weeks have passed since it made landfall, the effects are still there. Many traffic lights are still blinking red lights, some traffic lights are still not attached at all. Everyone I know suffered at least some damage to their house, and one of them lost his house completely. While the cities are cleaning up the piles of debris, there are still piles of branches, roofing, and fencing piled here and there by the side of many roads.

In Galveston, Bolivar Peninsula, and other places directly on the Gulf of Mexico, those whose houses have survived have mold, and thousands of people have to throw away almost everything they have. Raw sewage can be found in swimming pools and ditches, and animals are running loose. Disease is a huge concern.

Many people stayed behind because it was too late for them to get out because the city did not order an evacuation soon enough (thus making it legal for businesses to keep people at work). Others remember the evacuations ahead of Hurricane Rita and refused to leave. Many of those who stayed behind on Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula are either dead or missing, but there are many survivors.

Houston and the surrounding areas showed a great deal of cooperation and generosity, and citizens donated and volunteered by the thousands at hospitals, shelters, and points of distribution (PODs). If one thing can be taken from this crisis, it is that the citizens of Houston, its surrounding areas, and places across the US showed a tremendous level of generosity.

There are still people who are in need, though. You can help by donating money or time to the following organizations.

Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund
Mayor Bill White has announced that a relief fund has been set up by the city of Houston. Donations in the form of checks can be mailed to:
Houston Ike Relief Fund
4550 Post Oak Place Ste 100
Houston, TX 77027

Red Cross:
Galveston County Red Cross Unit
Houston Area Red Cross
American Red Cross

Bush Clinton Coastal Recovery Fund

Houston Area Salvation Army

Houston Food Bank

God bless, and take care.

Hurricane Ike

My home and family are okay. I hope God blesses those who are less fortunate.

I'm back in southeast Texas and I am fine.

Take care, all, and God bless.

AntiSpore.com

Here we go again...

Radical Christians have targeted games for being evil in the past. First, it was Dungeons and Dragons, and then it was Pokemon. Now, it's Spore. (Readers: Correct me if I forgot a game or toy that was attacked by a radical Christian group, for no other comes to mind now.)

When God created us, he could have very well done it over centuries of fine-tuning. Personally, I appreciate God's creation more if I think that God took all the time to create the animals that currently reside on our planet. By the way, if you ever consider using the Bible to back itself up, you should know that it is not the way to go in trying to convince people of one's beliefs.

This blog is new, but it is already showing how ridiculous it is. The blog takes screen shots of player-made creatures out of context and tries to make it seem as if full-frontal nudity exists in the game itself--as if that's going to prove that the theory of evolution is a lie out of Hell.

Also, as a professor of mine said to me, intelligent design is a first cause theory, whereas evolution only deals with how species develop.

Here is something I posted on the HookedOnSpore user blog not too long ago:

As a Christian, I often run into other Christians who are totally against the theory of evolution. You know the type.

Also, it could be that the creator finally put a soul into a the body once it was capable of higher intelligence.

Honestly, I do not see the problem with a Christian, Jew, Muslim, or any person of any other religion being open to the idea of evolution. I will give my own reasons for being open to evolution from the standpoint of a Christian, Jew, or Muslim, since the three religions include the Old Testament in their holy writings, and I am simply more familiar with the Old Testament.

For instance, the Book of Genesis states that the “world” was created in seven “days.” Remember that the people for whom these stories were told were most likely passed down orally. By the time the story reached parchment or papyrus, the story was probably changed. Also remember that the stories were probably written soon after the tribes of Israel settled down from being nomadic.

Not that they were stupid. People at this time did not have the language to accurately describe epochs of development that the universe took to form. Also, remember that if you believe in a higher being that created the space-time continuum, he probably exists outside of time and space to be able to form the universe, so the time span of “days” could mean months, years, centuries, millenniums…even epochs.

Whether or not you abscribe to a religion or are open to evolution is up to you, but I just want to show my justifications and thoughts on being spiritual and being open to scientific theories.

Speaking for myself, I really don't know the mechanics behind the creation itself, but thinking of the complexity of it all and the time God put into creating the universe makes me appreciate it more.

Click here for the fun.

On Willy Wright's Spore

There is a new game called Spore that will be shipped on September 7th. The game allows the player to guide the evolution of a species from primordial ooze to interstellar travel. Of course, there are going to be people who don't like it for the evolution part.

Personally, I think it's silly to get up in arms over the theory of evolution. It's a theory, and something could always come along and start the course of the theory's revision or rejection. I personally don't think evolution goes against having some intelligent designer behind it.

The game's popularity may start the whole "OMG should evolution be taught in school?!?!!1!1!!" debate, and this is where I stand: evolution is a scientific theory, and can be taught in science class. It is also not a first cause theory, as it only covers the evolution of organisms. Intelligent design by the way people take it implies a being much more powerful than ourselves. Since people assume that this being is a deity, the idea fits nicely in a world beliefs class--unless you think that super-duper powerful aliens genetically modified humans to be what they are. In that case, this page may be more suitable for your needs.

Oh, yes, I am going to play Spore when I get it. It's going to be hard waiting to get to play it on non-coursework days.

How Much Better is "Better?"

In a few of my blog posts, I said that I am "better." Well, I'm better in that I don't get anxiety attacks and that I don't do many outward compulsions anymore, but I am still struggling. It is still bad enough that the impulsive thoughts come up when it can be linked to possibly blashpeming a part of the Trinity in some way. I'm getting the thoughts as I type this post.

I just felt led to be more honest. Truthfully, I'm afraid of reading the Bible. I get triggered. I know that this is a poor excuse to avoid it, and that the more I avoid it, the worse the scrupulosity will be, but I'm still terrified that I might find that I am permenantly doomed to the Lake of Fire. I tried to accept Universal Salvation, but I am terribly doubtful of it. When people say, "Well, those verses were mistranslated!" or "Jesus actually mean this," I can't help but think that any Joe Schmoe can say whatever the heck they want to say about the scriptures. I'm even doubtful of the eventual annihlation of the damned. It's almost back to square one with Eternal Torment again. There's a reason OCD is sometimes called "the doubting disease."

What is really bad is that I've backslidden. So, I'm backslidden, I worry, I try to be better, I still worry...no, OCD isn't a logical mode of thought. No, it isn't easy to just "snap out of it," either.

The worst part about all of this is that I don't have many human supporters who know what it's like. I know God is supposed to be enough, but I need other people, and I feel terrible about it. I'm thinking about picking up a book called Can Christianity Cure Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?: A Psychiatrist Explores the Role of Faith in Treatment by Ian Osborn that a reader suggested. It's supposed to be helpful.

Take care, all, and God bless.

ABC News Article on Scrupulosity, a Form of OCD

I'm just going to post it here and let it you, the reader, make your own decision.

Please be aware that Scrupulosity manifests in difference ways in different people. If you want to find posts about my own problems with scrupulosity, look in my earliest posts.

I have too much of a headache to say anything else right now.

Also note that I have nothing against prayer or belief in God. I have faith myself, but I think there is a point at which the rituals and beliefs can become pathological and turn into compulsions and obsessions.

This Blog

I have been struggling with being honest with myself and with my faith, and I have finally been honest with myself on the making of this blog. I feel that this blog is a waste of Internet space. It concerns my own thoughts and revelations that may only apply to me, and may be irrelevant to anyone else. I also think that this blog is rather ego-centered rather than Christ-centered. I think I started out trying to be a teacher or to have some huge impact on people before I really knew what I was doing. I'm not giving up my faith, but I am considering closing this blog down for good. I have so much going on at school and other things I want to do, and the "fight" against Fundamentalism seems fruitless. Those who don't like Fundamentalism can see what's wrong with it, and those who are entangled in it are not going to suddenly come out of it upon coming across a website. The way I got out of Fundamentalism because people on a casual, personal basis were directly challenging my thoughts. I also think that this blog gives me an excuse to shy away from talking directly people when I should.

I think the only thing left to do is to pray and talk to people who want answers. If people don't want to hear of it or only want to condemn, then there is nothing left to do but pray and leave it to God.

I am going to keep this blog up for the time being until I am moved to do something else with it, whether it be closing it down or turning it into something useful.

God's Gifts in the Age of Science

Happy New Year!

I was reading Holly's story about the "Heathen Hippy Child" on her blog and was edified in thinking about spiritual things. I was thinking about how God prepares gifts for us to be recieved at just the right times when we need them, and I looked at my desktop wallpaper. On my desktop, I have a Hubble image of thousands of tiny galaxies. I was gazing at this picture and thinking about Creation, and I thought about all the neat nebulae, star clusters, galaxies, and other beautiful features out there. Then, I thought about how these objects were out there (probably now in different forms--they say the light from these far-off space objects take billions of years to hit Earth) waiting to be discovered by sentient beings. I think that God created these gifts for us (and possibly other sentient beings) for us to discover and remember that for all of our technology, God is still there.

For Holly's Story:
Part I
Part II

Happy Holidays

I just realized that I did not post a "Happy Holidays" articles.

I hope everyone had and still has a happy Holiday season, whatever you like to celebrate. New Year's is still on the way!

Spiritual Abuse Resources

If anything I write here is inaccurate, let me know.

Spiritual abuse is psychological trauma (which may include physical abuse) caused by the involvement in a religious group, cult, or with a so-called spiritual "teacher." This is a rather loose definition that was deduced from reading several websites on the matter. Many leaders of religious and spiritual groups manipulate and/or terrorize their flocks into following them for their own purposes, but the leaders in question may be duped by the system itself, believing that they are doing "the Lord's work" or "bringing spiritual evolution." It is used to describe abuse coming from fundamentalist Christian groups, such as those who adhere to Hellfire Fundamentalism (radical sect of Christians whose focus is on the doctrine of eternal torment, which may be coupled with focus on the End Times). The United Pentacostal Church has also been accused of harboring spiritual abuse. However, spiritual abuse can come from any radical form of any faith. Spiritual abuse may cause someone to question their relationship with God or even the existence of God. Many people are so badly abused that symbols associated with the abusive group may "trigger" bad memories or feelings. Here is a Wikipedia article on spiritual abuse. Even if you don't trust Wikipedia as a source, there are links to resources for spiritual abuse at the bottom of that page.

Resources (the views on these pages do not necessarily refelct my own views):
Church Abuse.com
Spiritual Abuse Recovery Resources
Spiritual Abuse: With a Secondary Focus on the United Pentacostal Church
SOSA: Survivors of Spiritual Abuse
Ex Church of Christ Support Group
Article on Spiritual Abuse by The Watchmen Expositor
The Awareness Center: Jewish Survivors of Spiritual Abuse (Sexual Abuse and Sexual Assualt)
Spiritual Abuse - An Unsafe Safe Place (Spring 2005)
Safe in Church

Update

I started this blog two years ago. Since then, my OCD was partially alleviated. I’m not completely cured as I still have to take medications and use mental tools to control the obsessions and compulsions, but I am much better. I don’t have overt compulsions as they usually involve some sort of prayer. My obsessions were and still are to an extent related to the fear of losing my salvation, but I am not wrought with the fear I had two years ago. It only spikes during stressful times and/or when I have little social support.

I still call myself a Christian as I still have the core beliefs (Jesus is the son of God and shed His blood for the sins of the world). I sometimes have trouble saying that I am a Christian because people tend to pidgeonhole me into the same category as Christians one sees in mainstream society. I don’t believe that unbelievers go to eternal hellfire, though. I have been studying the idea that everyone will eventually be saved after being purified/corrected (so no one really gets away with anything, and the process of correction isn’t a picnic to say the least). However, I still see the cessation of existence for the unsaved to be the most logical outcome for now; still, universal reconciliation is still inviting.

You may have seen some references to esoteric, “New Agey” and Eastern spirituality stuff on this blog, and I understand if this confuses some people. When I was referring to these things, I was taking a class called “Consciousness and Spirituality” at University. As I studied the material, the perspectives I learned helped me to personally understand passages in the Bible better. Since I was learning about spiritual matters outside the context of fear and threat of punishment, they were easier to mentally digest. Since taking that class, I think I have a better personal understanding of some of the passages from the Bible and from what [I hope] God tells me. As for the stuff about self-remembrance, I think self-examination is fine for seeing what needs to be changed. If you have ever tried it, it’s not a blissful experience. Sometimes it’s boring, and at other times, it can be frightening—at least that is how I experienced it.

In other news, I watched a special on CNN last night called “God’s Warriors.” They featured a pastor named Greg Boyd. From the interview, he seemed like an interested pastor. He does not believe in forcing the beliefs of Christianity on the rest of the nation. Here is his website. I have not read everything on that site, so be careful to make your own decision about what he says. I know from experience that it is easier to simply listen to someone else as opposed to actually thinking about it. I’ve gotten into trouble for doing the former.

I hope everyone has a blessed holiday season and a happy new year.

"Orthodoxy and Gregory of Nyssa's Universalism " by James Edward Goetz

Mr. Goetz has written an interesting article on Universal Salvtion, putting his arguments into scriptural and historical contexts. After you read it, post it somewhere, refute it with your own work (but post your refutation there so he can see and answer them if he chooses), or whatever else you want to do with it. Just give the guy credit for it, alright? Alright. :)

thesearch4truth.net Blog (EDITED)

Chris (PragmaticChris) has decided that he is not going to renew the domain of the forums or his blog, so I'm removing the link.

In other news, I haven't been doing well either. I have schoolwork and other responsibilities, so talking about my own problems would take up too much time for me to type it all. I may go more in-depth later, but for now, all I want to say that it has something to do with my condition (OCD) and my sister possibly having temporal lobe epilepsy.

That is all.

Rituals

I was in Theories of Soceity class on Tuesday. We talked about Durkheimian theory and it helped me to articulate something that I am starting to realize.

Back when I started this blog, I had a negative view of rituals. Now, I don't think they are such a bad idea. If a ritual helps one to get into the mindset, that's fine. As long as the ritual does not become more important than the teachings of one's spiritual path, it's fine to me. I think the problem comes when the ritual becomes a burden and makes a person forget what's really important--love for God and love for others. Those two things pretty much cover it.

According to Durkheim, ritual is important in holding society together. This may be religious in nature of be of the civil kind. It helps to strengthen social bonds with others. How did I jump from the ritual in the context of a group to ritual in the context of the individual? Durkheim did a suicide study about one hundred years ago. He was not necessarily internested in the reasons individuals committed suicide, but in the rates of suicide in certian groups. He ascertained that Protestants had the highest rate of suicide while Catholics and Jews had the lowest. My professor claims that these rates are the same today. Durkheim reasoned that since Protestants are highly individualistic ("the priesthood of all", personal relationship with God, etc) and did not have many group rituals, there is less intergration into the group. There are fewer people to lean upon in times of hardship. This is Durkheim's view, mind you.

Since reading this, I have begun to think that group rituals (group prayers, etc...not necessarily the pageantry one sees in the Catholic church) are not a bad thing as long as the "leader" is not controlling of the individual's relationship with God. God himself is the deciding factor, and if a person feels that they need to take part some sort of communal activity, it's a good thing.

I hope this post was not too convoluted. Have a good weekend, all.

R.I.P. Madeleine L’Engle

:(

Madeleine L’Engle, who in writing more than 60 books, including childhood fables, religious meditations and science fiction, weaved emotional tapestries transcending genre and generation, died Thursday in Connecticut. She was 88.

This saddens me a little. I loved her books when I was a child with their religious allusions and morals of good overcoming evil with love.

If you're a parent looking for a good book for your child, pick up one of her books. If you're an adult with no children, pick up one of her books. They're sci-fi spiritual fables.

The Search for the Truth Message Board Needs Your Help!

This forum is open to everyone who wants to talk about anything. Spirituality, the paranormal, current events, politics, religion, science, or anything else a person desires. All that is required is an open mind and a thirst for the truth!

Sign up today! Registration is free.

Tentmaker Forum Back Up!

Check it out!

On Doing Your Own Spiritual Work

Remember what I wrote about doing your own spiritual work (i.e., reading stuff for yourself and listening to God yourself)? Well, I did not do that. I realized this about a week ago.

See, I grew too attached to someone who I considered a teacher and a savior. I read his messages and took them to heart. I even developed a stupid internet crush on the guy.

What I have finally realized is what worked for him was not working for me, and being so attached to him that I listened to him as opposed to listening to God retarded me in my spiritual development. I finally "came out" and admitted my crush to him on a public forum where I was justly given a verbal slap in the face by this person. I needed this to see my foolishness.

This has made me realize in spades that I need to listen to God directly and not follow after what someone else is doing, even if they one of the main people who helped me out of Hellfire Fundamentalism. I focused on the human when I should have focused on the God, Son, and Spirit coming through that person. I love you, my readers. (Though not in a romantic sense!) Take care.

God bless.

Beware the Scribes down AGAIN

I've received word from the webmaster that this website may be resurrected, so I'll keep the readers posted.

Also, the Tentmaker forums are being revamped. I'll post the link when it comes back up again.

Criticism of Christian Publicaitons

Time Changer is like many other Christian movies: retarded theology, cliches, and horrible writing. Wait, I was being redundant. Oh well.

Basically, a guy from the late-1800s goes into the future and sees the evils of modern-day society. Something Awful does a hilarious job of reviewing this piece of tripe.

Many people may find it odd that I mercilessly ridicule Christian movies in general. In many Christian circles, it's almost considered heresy to criticize anything to do with Christianity. It does not matter how idiotic, demeaning, and downright hateful a writer's interpretation is. If a person makes a parody of it or criticizes it, then that person is seen as "mocking God." I think Christianity would be taken more seriously if other Christians were not afraid of pointing out absurdity within their ranks.

Yes, there are things in the world that are wrong, but simply saying that "Jesus said it was wrong, and that's that" is a silly argument. It may work amongst a few Christians, but non-Christians will see right through this assertion right to a person's lack of logic, laziness, or both. People are converted through examples of Christ in other people (people having the faith in God to fill them with the Spirit--when they are filled with God, and the vessel acting accordingly (even though it is still all God)) and the beckoning of the Holy Spirit, not inane arguments and Bible-thumping. Wait, was I being redundant against just now? Forget it...

Beware the Scribes Offline Again

It appears that Beware the Scribes is off line again. Hopefully this is a temporary shutdown do to a move to a new server.

Of Harry Potter and Fundamentalism

Any psychologist (or critical thinker for that matter) will tell you that many interconnected and separate forces actually influence an individual to make a decision. Apparently, some people do not seem to understand this. Granted, I am not a fan of Harry Potter. I started to read the first book and became bored. I just saw The Order of the Phoenix on Thursday and thought it was a good children's movie. To me, the movie portrayed the power of love against hate in a fun, fantasy context.

Since the books came out, Fundamentalist Christians attacked the books and demanded that they be banned in schools. These Christians contend that the Harry Potter books drag children into the "dark world" of witchcraft. Yes, I am well aware of the warning against witchcraft in the Old Testament, but is this something about which Christians should be seriously worried? It is possible to allow a child to read a book hinting at wizardry and remind them that it is all imaginary. Before Harry Potter, Dungeons and Dragons was the scapegoat. Humans have a tendency to blame a growth in a social group on whatever made them take notice of that group, and religious leaders will attack anything that could possibly lead their personal flock astray.

I think that many (if not most) of the attacks on the Harry Potter books come from laziness. It's easy to attack a children's book as opposed to working on one's own spiritual life. I've been down that road, and I know that self-examination is harder than bashing every work of fiction I don't like.

Not a Catholic? Then You are Just a Partial Christian

Apparently. Why does Ratzinger do this when the world is going up in flames? So much for Romans 12:3-5:

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think [of himself] more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, [being] many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

I believe that each denomination has its own virtues, and all denominations can learn a thing or two from other denominations. Do we really need the fighting in Ireland again?