I'm taking a bit of break today. After doing a lot of agitating lately, on various issues, I feel the need to pause and appreciate a beautiful spring day.
It should be easy enough to do, as spring has arrived in spectacular fashion, as it always does. For instance, in addition to the usual mallards, wood ducks and geese, we've had such a wonderful variety of water fowl on our ponds this year. Right now I'm watching American coots dive and paddle, and yesterday, scaups, I don't remember seeing them before, were gliding around on the water. Other visitors have stopped by, too. Such diversity in nature and such harmony.
So, I'm embracing harmony today. I'll be back to agitating soon, but for now, I just need to take a deep breath and appreciate many blessings. Take care, friends -- I hope you find something to smile about today!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Sunday, March 18, 2012
How Might It Really Be?
The idea of a nation with laws built strictly around the Bible, a country in which there is no separation of church and state, is gaining traction in certain circles. However well-intentioned that notion might be (and I'm giving some promoters of the idea the benefit of doubt in huge way when I say their intentions might be good) if it were to happen, it would not have the desired effect of making our nation a better place.
Let's put aside political leanings and personal beliefs for a moment and think about this issue logically, in the context of the Constitution and of scripture. Christians, our religious beliefs should guide our individual lives, but as I have been trying to make the point over the past couple of weeks, we are never instructed by Jesus to try to FORCE our beliefs on others. It was not his Way, nor should it be ours. Let's consider some things.
If we used what Jesus taught as the law of the land -- not political or religious IDEAS about the Bible, but what Jesus SAID -- many things would no longer be permitted: calling someone a fool, lawsuits, greed, gossip, lying, not taking care of the poor and war, for instance. Jesus spoke against those things.
Interestingly, since Jesus did not specifically mention contraceptives, abortion or gay marriage, it would be difficult to build a case making them against the law. Yes, it might be possible to take bits of scripture, here and there, and come up with reasons to outlaw them, but then you would have to ignore some very direct commands about other things which are mostly overlooked in this debate. For example, adultery and divorce (simply based on incompatibility) would definitely be illegal. If the New Testament were to be our nation's policy manual and law code, we would have to accept it all, not part, and that's simply not practical, quite honestly, because almost everyone would be in jail.
Are we prepared for divorce, outside of adultery or abuse (and perhaps with no exceptions), to be illegal, especially since the divorce rate is as high among Christians as non-Christians? What about adultery? If it were against the law, many high-profile preachers and politicians, along with millions of others, would be among those who do jail time or pay hefty fines. Most who are promoting separation of church and state probably don't intend for those things to happen or think that they would, but that doesn't mean they would not, eventually, if we ever started sliding down that slope.
Jesus intended for his followers to heed his teachings and do right, but there is no evidence he meant for any nation's legal system to be governed by his words. Believers should strive to live according to what Jesus proclaimed, even though we all fall short. Thankfully, our Christian faith provides for making mistakes, seeking forgiveness and going on, hopefully learning lessons along the way. We may pay for disobedience with our personal peace or well-being, but we are not put in prison for our sins nor should we be.
I, personally, would love for the conscience and decision-making process of every leader, at every level, to be influenced by the intent of Jesus, but that is not the same as the joining of church and state. Let us please never ask for that union. And let us please stop asking others to live their personal lives according to our standards.
Let's put aside political leanings and personal beliefs for a moment and think about this issue logically, in the context of the Constitution and of scripture. Christians, our religious beliefs should guide our individual lives, but as I have been trying to make the point over the past couple of weeks, we are never instructed by Jesus to try to FORCE our beliefs on others. It was not his Way, nor should it be ours. Let's consider some things.
If we used what Jesus taught as the law of the land -- not political or religious IDEAS about the Bible, but what Jesus SAID -- many things would no longer be permitted: calling someone a fool, lawsuits, greed, gossip, lying, not taking care of the poor and war, for instance. Jesus spoke against those things.
Interestingly, since Jesus did not specifically mention contraceptives, abortion or gay marriage, it would be difficult to build a case making them against the law. Yes, it might be possible to take bits of scripture, here and there, and come up with reasons to outlaw them, but then you would have to ignore some very direct commands about other things which are mostly overlooked in this debate. For example, adultery and divorce (simply based on incompatibility) would definitely be illegal. If the New Testament were to be our nation's policy manual and law code, we would have to accept it all, not part, and that's simply not practical, quite honestly, because almost everyone would be in jail.
Are we prepared for divorce, outside of adultery or abuse (and perhaps with no exceptions), to be illegal, especially since the divorce rate is as high among Christians as non-Christians? What about adultery? If it were against the law, many high-profile preachers and politicians, along with millions of others, would be among those who do jail time or pay hefty fines. Most who are promoting separation of church and state probably don't intend for those things to happen or think that they would, but that doesn't mean they would not, eventually, if we ever started sliding down that slope.
Jesus intended for his followers to heed his teachings and do right, but there is no evidence he meant for any nation's legal system to be governed by his words. Believers should strive to live according to what Jesus proclaimed, even though we all fall short. Thankfully, our Christian faith provides for making mistakes, seeking forgiveness and going on, hopefully learning lessons along the way. We may pay for disobedience with our personal peace or well-being, but we are not put in prison for our sins nor should we be.
I, personally, would love for the conscience and decision-making process of every leader, at every level, to be influenced by the intent of Jesus, but that is not the same as the joining of church and state. Let us please never ask for that union. And let us please stop asking others to live their personal lives according to our standards.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
The Irony of Christ's Church - Part 2
Having been emboldened by positive responses to last week's post, I'm going to venture a little further down the same road: I've never met a Christian who believes every word of the New Testament is relevant to our lives today. Many of us think we do, but when it comes right down to it, we don't.
Mostly because of the churches or denominations in which we were raised, or at some point became a part of, we have certain prejudices about what we accept and what we don't. For example, some denominations believe miracles still happen, and others think those times are past. Some embrace speaking in tongues and others do not. Some adopt certain clothing preferences. There are those who won't drink alcohol and some who think men shouldn't have long hair (and yet, interestingly, they often have "portraits" on display in their homes of Jesus with flowing locks). All sides of those issues can be justified using the New Testament, by the way.
I won't undertake to comment on what practices in those areas might be right or wrong, because it is not my job to do so. I will say almost all of those positions, and many more, have been reached not based on what Jesus taught, but on cultural and religious traditions and on letters written by followers of Jesus to address specific problems going on within other groups of followers.
If we actually believed and practiced what Jesus taught, first of all, we would not worry or fret, and we would also realize many of the things which have become important to organized religion, don't matter all that much to Jesus. His teachings focus on love, peace, relationships and trying to get us to break free from the bondage of tradition. I encourage you to read it for yourself in Matthew 5-7.
What is important to each of us? What are we passionate about? Good questions to ask ourselves, but for those who follow Jesus, a better question is, in the context of the Sermon on the Mount, especially, what is Jesus passionate about? If what is important to us doesn't match up with what is important to him, we know where the adjustments in thinking need to be made.
Mostly because of the churches or denominations in which we were raised, or at some point became a part of, we have certain prejudices about what we accept and what we don't. For example, some denominations believe miracles still happen, and others think those times are past. Some embrace speaking in tongues and others do not. Some adopt certain clothing preferences. There are those who won't drink alcohol and some who think men shouldn't have long hair (and yet, interestingly, they often have "portraits" on display in their homes of Jesus with flowing locks). All sides of those issues can be justified using the New Testament, by the way.
I won't undertake to comment on what practices in those areas might be right or wrong, because it is not my job to do so. I will say almost all of those positions, and many more, have been reached not based on what Jesus taught, but on cultural and religious traditions and on letters written by followers of Jesus to address specific problems going on within other groups of followers.
If we actually believed and practiced what Jesus taught, first of all, we would not worry or fret, and we would also realize many of the things which have become important to organized religion, don't matter all that much to Jesus. His teachings focus on love, peace, relationships and trying to get us to break free from the bondage of tradition. I encourage you to read it for yourself in Matthew 5-7.
What is important to each of us? What are we passionate about? Good questions to ask ourselves, but for those who follow Jesus, a better question is, in the context of the Sermon on the Mount, especially, what is Jesus passionate about? If what is important to us doesn't match up with what is important to him, we know where the adjustments in thinking need to be made.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
The Irony of Christ's Church
Philip Gulley, who is a Quaker minister, has written a book titled If the Church Were Christian. In it, he says, "This is the great irony of Christ's Church -- a significant number of its members care more about believing certain things about Jesus, than following his example of love and service. If the church were Christian, mirroring the compassion of Jesus would be more important than echoing the orthodoxy that has built up around him."
I have often contemplated this issue over the years, but never more so than in recent days. The judgmental attitudes flying around in the name of Jesus -- what some of his followers claim he would and would not approve of or demand of others in the context of society-at-large -- are truly astounding. The simple teachings which Jesus proclaimed about the Way have been distorted and complicated with the passage of time. Now that Jesus has been fully-politicized, the situation has become downright disgraceful.
Jesus did not teach we should change the world by insisting that others get in line "because we say so and because we know better than you." He made it plain he did not intend to force his message on anyone and neither should believers attempt to do so. His teachings were meant to inspire his followers to live lives free of hypocrisy, filled with joy and contentment which would lead others to want to become his disciples, too.
Jesus lived during a time of extreme government corruption and when the world around him was, in many ways, a cesspool of immorality. Yet he did not expect to change those circumstances by condemning indecency or those who did not believe in him. He expected his followers to concentrate on fixing their own shortcomings to become lights shining in the darkness, and it is the same now.
The instructions from Jesus are for his Body of believers, for his Church, to follow. This includes anyone running for any office who claims to be a Christian. If you're attempting to use Jesus to get elected, you better be on board with what he taught and not be promoting your own interpretation of what you think he meant because it lines up with what you believe.
Much of the church world has it backwards today. A certain segment of those calling themselves Christians pat themselves on the backs because they are so "good" and "right," and then they hurl insults and abuse at those they identify as "sinners." This is not the Way of Jesus. His harshest words were aimed at the religious people of his day who were filled with hypocrisy, telling others how to live while continuing in unrepentent sin themselves. His kind words and actions were toward those believers who walked in humility and who sought forgiveness, as well as for the outsiders who had not yet come to know to him. We should stop believing most of what we think we know about Jesus and start knowing him for who he was.
I have often contemplated this issue over the years, but never more so than in recent days. The judgmental attitudes flying around in the name of Jesus -- what some of his followers claim he would and would not approve of or demand of others in the context of society-at-large -- are truly astounding. The simple teachings which Jesus proclaimed about the Way have been distorted and complicated with the passage of time. Now that Jesus has been fully-politicized, the situation has become downright disgraceful.
Jesus did not teach we should change the world by insisting that others get in line "because we say so and because we know better than you." He made it plain he did not intend to force his message on anyone and neither should believers attempt to do so. His teachings were meant to inspire his followers to live lives free of hypocrisy, filled with joy and contentment which would lead others to want to become his disciples, too.
Jesus lived during a time of extreme government corruption and when the world around him was, in many ways, a cesspool of immorality. Yet he did not expect to change those circumstances by condemning indecency or those who did not believe in him. He expected his followers to concentrate on fixing their own shortcomings to become lights shining in the darkness, and it is the same now.
The instructions from Jesus are for his Body of believers, for his Church, to follow. This includes anyone running for any office who claims to be a Christian. If you're attempting to use Jesus to get elected, you better be on board with what he taught and not be promoting your own interpretation of what you think he meant because it lines up with what you believe.
Much of the church world has it backwards today. A certain segment of those calling themselves Christians pat themselves on the backs because they are so "good" and "right," and then they hurl insults and abuse at those they identify as "sinners." This is not the Way of Jesus. His harshest words were aimed at the religious people of his day who were filled with hypocrisy, telling others how to live while continuing in unrepentent sin themselves. His kind words and actions were toward those believers who walked in humility and who sought forgiveness, as well as for the outsiders who had not yet come to know to him. We should stop believing most of what we think we know about Jesus and start knowing him for who he was.
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