Spurred by the monstrosity that is the Supreme Court's ruling in the Hobby Lobby case, I write this post. In all my life, growing up in church, and being surrounded by Christianity 24/7 and in finding a church for myself when I moved to college to having Christian colleagues at work in my adult life, I can safely say that the majority of Christians I met all have one tremendous flaw in common: they are the epitome and the halfhearted embodiment of the phrase do as I say; not as I do. |
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When an American mom took her 17 year old daughter to the doctor's for an appointment, she learned that a nurse may meet with her daughter to have a private discussion. This response is an open letter to that mom's unrealistic, scary and sheltering opinion on the situation.
Go your way. Eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a merry heart. For God has accepted your works. Ecc 9:7
Wisdom can come from the strangest places, in the oddest of circumstances. I recently received a little nugget of wisdom from the bag of haircare products I received after a haircut.
It doesn't really matter where the wisdom comes from, though, as long as it's sound, right? That's what I think, anyway. If it's good; apply it. Here's what the back of the bag said: I'm a hummingbird. I can't keep still. Even when it looks like I'm being still, I'm still flapping about. I can't do one thing for doing seven things simultaneously.
It's a blessing. But it's a curse also. It means God and I are constantly having this debate where He's shouting at me to keep still and I'm being a stroppy toddler, stamping my feet because all I want to do is keep moving. Are you like that? Are those words "Be still & know that I am a God" a challenge for you? They are for me. Over the last 72 hours or so, bad things have been happening.
There's been rapes and unexpected deaths. Miscarriages and illness. Of course when bad things happen to believers, non-believers seem to always come out with the same tired quip: "If God loves you so much; why is this happening?" They stand there, judging, badgering, probing for a response. Well, I've got one. Proverbs 13: 24
He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. (KJV) He that spareth his rod hateth his son, but he that loveth him chasteneth him in good season. (KJ21) He who fails to use a stick hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him. (CEB) If you love your children, you will correct them; if you don’t love them, you won’t correct them. (CEV) Whoever refuses to spank his son hates him, but whoever loves his son disciplines him from early on. (GW) All translations from Bible Gateway. I was spanked as a child. I have made the decision not to spank my child. I love days like that. When the sun streams through the dappled canopy of trees and falls in literal rays onto the ground like a gentle caress.
When I was a child, I used to think that the streaming light was God personified in matter. Back then I was too young for metaphors, to infantile to see the truth in my blunder. Now, I think it's a beautiful thought. And while it's not necessarily God personified in matter, it's got that whole Buddhist thing going on. You know: God is in everything and everything is God. "Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!" Psalm 141:3
"I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." Ghandi Hear, hear, Mahatma; hear, hear. I have this big thing with associating with many present-day Evangelical Christians. I feel, 90% of the time, that identifying myself as a Christian does more harm than it does good. Thank you, Jonesboro Baptist fanatics. If Bon Jovi were a Christian rock group, they could have written a song inspired by you entitled You Give Christianity a Bad Name. Truth be told, that song title could apply to most Christians nowadays. There's one major issue I have with the majority of today's Christians that makes me irate and makes me want to disassociate: their bloody mouths. Creation vs Evolution. A debate that's been happening since, well, Darwin. A few nights ago, though, that debate looked a bit strange. An Aussie lad and an American boy were debating--the American was pro Evo, with the Aussie taking up the stance of Creationsim. Darwin was probably turning in his grave.
I jest. But really, as someone raised to believe Creationism who watched Bill Nye the Science Guy on Saturday mornings, I found this debate rather amusing and rather pointless. |