Since Halloween just came around for the year, I figured I’d do a quick post.

I got home from school at 7:30pm and it was already dark. The trick-or-treaters were walking around the neighborhood. They were really hard to see as they were walking in the streets, but it’s cool because I didn’t hit any of them with my car… that doesn’t mean I didn’t come close though.

I walked through the door and saw my wife sitting in her favorite chair in the living room. She hadn’t been handing out candy, so she asked me to for the last half-hour of trick-or-treating. I did. And I loved it. I loved giving candy to these kids. I like hearing them say “Thank you”, and I love it that I get joyous as I give. It’s like they say, “It is better to give than to receive”. It never occurred to me, when I was a kid taking candy from strangers, that though I was the one getting candy, I wasn’t the one being blessed. I get it now.

I’ve been in a really giving mood lately. I realized not too long ago that I suck at giving to the church. I went through my bank statement and saw that I spend more money on going out to eat than anything else. That’s a problem. I’ve become a zombie who feeds on instant gratification. I could spend $400.00 in a month, going out to eat. But I wouldn’t give the church 10 bucks. That’s a problem.

Right now, the Church is losing money (for the most part). The UMC is in big trouble with the lack of giving in the congregations. A lot of it stems from the poor economy, however, a lot of it comes from the fact that the UMC supports Obamacare too. Yeah. People are treating church like a freakin’ club. This attitude of “I’m going to withhold my money until I get what I want” is classic America. And that’s what is going on here to the core.

Giving is an important part of being a part of the Church. It’s how we function. It’s how our clergy is paid and it’s how we are able to do good works in the world. Without the generosity of Christians, the Church fails and we fail those who rely on the money and the support coming from the Church.

Recently, this has been convicting me. I love giving. I really do. But sometimes, I’m afraid I won’t have money to spend on the things I want to spend money on. In other words, I’ve let money own me. This Sunday, I changed that though. I’m going to give because it’s what I like doing. I’m a generous person, and if I avoid it, who knows what I could be affecting. Who could I be hurting that I could be helping?

When I gave my life to Christ- when I decided to live for him, I died to myself. I died to my selfish desires and I began living for others. This is what Jesus tells us to do. It’s like he said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s.” Most people will pay their taxes- even if they don’t agree with the way the government is going, because not only is it right, but if they don’t, there are penalties. But Jesus also said, “Give to God what is God’s.” This came from Jesus’ very mouth, but we’ve come to a place where people think it’s ok to withhold their giving because they don’t like the direction a church is going. I think this is a sinful idea and those who believe this are in need of repentance. It is better to just switch denominations than to just quit giving altogether. But I guess this shows where the heart of the Church in America is right now.

Giving is the very least we can do. If you are like me- and for some reason, you’ve stopped giving to your church, please start again with me. It doesn’t have to be 10% of your income. It just has to be from your heart. Give what you can, give what is right. Give to your church and help the Church make this world a better place.

In the coming weeks, I am going to be putting out a survey. It has to do with the Church, what it is, what it could be, and just personal points of view on worship. I am relying on the help of the Xanga community. Anyone can take it. I don’t care how old you are. I don’t care if you don’t go to church. I don’t if you are a Christian or an atheist. All opinions are welcome.

If you are interested, leave a comment, send me a message, and/or rec this. I need to get the word out, and I need participants.

I will send those of you who are interested, the survey through a private message and I will record the results on an upcoming blog.

Thank you so much!

*Edit*
All responses will be kept confidential unless you give me permission to use your name. If that comes about, I will simply ask.

Well, yesterday, I changed my major from philosophy to religion. It just seems like it makes sense. I mean- my goal in life is to teach theology, not philosophy… Of course, I can always mix the two…

 

 

 

Actually, the two are somewhat interrelated. When I am learning about other religions, I am learning new philosophies. After all, the great people of the different religions were all philosophers.

The one thing that irritates me about the Bible is the way it’s set up. The chapters and verse system only works if you want to view a segment of the text out of its context. Of course, it certainly makes passages easy to find, but I believe that it helps in making Christians unaware of what our scriptures actually say. I’m convinced that if we’d read the bible without the chapters and verses, we’d get a better understanding of the context of many of these misapplied verses.

A few days ago, an atheist subscriber to my blog (I will not give the identity) found a recent post of mine and made a simple comment about how Christians never really follow all of the bible. I agreed, however mentioning that we are not obligated to follow the law in the old testament as it is written.

This is where the error of the chapter/verse set up of the Bible comes into play.

This person quoted Jesus, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” He continued to say that Jesus himself said that we must follow the law until heaven and earth pass away, therefore, Christians are obligated to follow the law of Moses.

The thing about this is, many Christians teach that too, but that is not exactly what Jesus is saying. It may appear that way, until we look a little bit further, into the next few sections of verses which are often left out of the previous section because they are given separate titles. The fact is, that we have to read all of these verses together to see exactly what Jesus is saying about the Law of the Old Testament.

Jesus continues,

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.“

Wait a minute! I don’t remember that part in the law!

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.“

Why is Jesus teaching these things that are not part of the as if they are the law? Wait… There’s more! Jesus still continues,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.“

Now, it appears as if Jesus is making the law harder on us…

“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.“

Well, the law permitted people to divorce as long as they had a certificate of divorce, but now, is Jesus saying that that law is no longer valid? What is really going on here? Well, Jesus still keeps going,

“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.“

Well, this doesn’t make much sense. Jesus seemed to be making things more complicated, but here, he simplified this rule. And yet, he still continues,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.“

Here, Jesus is telling us that the “Eye for eye and tooth for tooth” law is not enough- that we must not strike back, period. He also says that we should give more than is requested of us. It seems as though, Jesus is making the law harder on us yet again… But wait! There’s still another thing!

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.“

I get it now! Jesus isn’t assigning more rules to us, but he is trying to show us something more profound… It isn’t the law itself that is good. It is the heart of the law. We can follow the law blamelessly, as Paul did, but it doesn’t mean that we are justified before God… because the entire time in this section of the sermon on the mount, Jesus was exposing the heart of the law. The heart of the law is what holds the law in place.

But Jesus still continues on this same subject in the next “chapter”. Still continuing the sermon on the mount, He is exposing the hypocrites who claim to follow the law. He shows that on the outside, they are fine, but inside, the heart, what God cares about most, is evil.

He finishes his thought by saying, “So in everything, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This sums up the Law and the Prophets.“

So that’s it! Jesus stated that when we treat others the way we’d like to be treated, we’ve got the heart of the law- and it is the heart of the law that counts.

And it is love that does this to us. It is the perfect love that can only come from God that creates this change in us to “Do unto others as we would have them do unto ourselves.”

Jesus says in another Gospel account that the law hangs on two commandments from the old testament- To love the Lord Your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. He also says that also, we need to love our neighbors as ourselves- because what we do to others, we do to God. As we treat others the way we’d like to be treated, we are treating God the way we’d like God to treat us. This, is the heart of it all.

So we are obligated to follow the law- just not in the way that it is written. Jesus says that Love for God, love for our neighbors, and love for our enemies covers it all.

 

Part I

@GodlessLiberal, @TheThinkingPerson, @InternetDominator, @Celestial_Teapot

I got these from a lady at church. She is a legitimate drummer, and the set is probably worth somewhere between a grand and a grand and a half. She wanted them in good hands, and she knew I was wanting a drum set (thanks to my lovely wife) so she sold them to us for $500.00.

I can’t wait to set them up and rock the house!

What are some of your hobbies?

Shalom.

Many atheists tend to get along with me fairly well. This isn’t a boast, just something I’ve noticed. I believe this because they tend to see me as fairly reasonable for a Christian.

For instance, you know, it really bothers me to see all of these books out there that are meant to refute atheism (from a Christian perspective). It annoys me when people claim they can prove the existence of God. These attempts often lack luster. You see, the real shine is under the surface.

There are people who read my blog that believe I am too easy on atheists. These people believe that I give them too much credit and don’t stand up for Christ enough. That certainly isn’t the case. When I read the gospel I read about a Jesus who was harsh on the religious authorities, and gentle with the sinners. The difference between the two is that the religious authorities claimed to know God better. They claimed to serve God better. They claimed to love God better, when all the while, they were just interested in their own self righteousness. The sinners, on the other hand, were honest with who they believed they were and what they believed. Ultimately, the religious authorities were not the ones making converts to the faith, it was Christ. It took a literal touch from God for people to see God’s existence.

I mean really, there is nothing to refute in atheism. We would only be refuting a physical reality (aside for some general misconceptions regarding scripture and what we believe).  The spiritual reality, on the other hand, can not be proven, but can only be felt and lived out. Only some actually “know” God in this sense. Regardless, arguing a spiritual existence is a moot topic, especially to those who don’t believe in spirituality.

From what I know of God, God can’t be proven in a mathematical sense as I’ve seen so many try to insinuate. God can only be known. Furthermore, it isn’t my knowledge of God that will gain believers. It is God touching the life of that person that will do that. This makes “proof of God” irrelevant. God doesn’t need proof to exist, nor does God need people to prove God’s existence. The only real proof of God, in this day and age, is what God’s done inside of us (and I would argue, the first and second-hand accounts of Christ we find in scripture).

I am much more interested in countering misconceptions about scripture than proving that Jesus is Lord. The reason is, He proves Himself- and we have no power in that. We are just tools that God uses to make His Kingdom come- but we often try to use ourselves, and when we do, we make a mess of things.

So why don’t I stand up for Jesus like I “should”? Well, I would argue that in a sense, I do, but it isn’t me making the stand for Christ. It is Christ himself. Only He can make the blind to see. If I would try, I’m afraid I would make that person twice the son of hell as myself. I just don’t want that on my shoulders. I’ll give that burden to Christ, thank you.

I talk a lot about love for God, love for our neighbors, love for our enemies, etc…

You’d think I’m just a loving guy, right? Well, I do think I am….

BUT……. there is one person I can’t stand.

 

 

 

 

The person who works at Subway and goes light on the condiments.

 

It’s simple- A foot long “Spicy Italian” on “Italian Herbs and Cheese”, provolone cheese, not toasted, three or four a handful of banana peppers, about six a handful of black olives, about 6 a handful of pickles, about 4 6 or 7 cucumbers, a few a handful of green peppers, spinach, topped off with a decent amount of vinegar and oil (at least enough so I can taste it).

I guess what I’m saying is, my sub should look similar to this

but all I get is this

 

I shouldn’t complain because I really do eat too much as it is…. I guess I just feel kind of cheated in a way.

“Only the moral character of the people will eventually solve this problem, not the law!”

A politician that actually gets it! As much as I hate our system and as much as I don’t believe in voting, Ron Paul is becoming more and more tempting to me!

I think it’s time to do another “ask me anything” blogs…

so… if you’d like to know something about me, or what I believe, just ask. I’ll be posting the answers by vlog.

Feel free to rec this, as well!