The Happy Shopper
Here is a picture of Yvonne at the ChristKindlMarket in Chicago last week. They had 200 booths from Germany and Eastern Europe there. She was indeed a happy shopper. Continue reading The Happy Shopper
Author: RJ Walters
I am an Independent thinking, highly functional person who is deaf and has some unique views and challenges in life.
Like all of us, I am a person who is composed of all my life experiences and that is what I write about here.
ChristKindlMarket
Here is another picture of our recent time in Chicago. This is the ChristkindlMarket at Daley Plaza. There were booths from all over Germany and Eastern Europe so there were many unique things to be seen and bought. And Yvonne certainly bought her share Continue reading ChristKindlMarket
Speaking up in church..
Speaking up in church is something that varies widely in the Christian world. When my wife and I joined a small startup church eight years ago everyone there felt welcomed to speak up after the service. Since the church was a liturgical one speaking up during the service was a limited to chanting the required verses as they came up in the service text. But after the service anyone who had something to say could stand up and speak their mind. During those years we were renting space in a strip mall so our church was somewhat unconventional at least … Continue reading Speaking up in church..
Chicago Christmas
We spent the four days before Christmas this year in Chicago. The picture above was taken from our hotel room window. As you can see we stayed in the heart of the city. More pictures from this trip coming soon. Continue reading Chicago Christmas
It looks like I will make it….
It looks like I will make it through another year. That is if the Lord lets me survive for seven more days :) I admit I have been pretty lazy with posting here lately. I guess I just got out of the mood. But I do have some excuses in that we spent much of this week in Chicago visiting some of the Christmas sites. The picture above is of the Christkindlmarket in Daley Square. Continue reading It looks like I will make it….
Genesis One – A book review
With this post I am reviewing a book named Genesis One – A Scientific Perspective by Hugh Ross. Hugh Ross is a noted astronomer and the founder of Reasons to Believe which is a foundation dedicated to reconciling the Bible with scientific findings. This short 34 page book goes line by line through Genesis 1 – 17 and shows how each passage is backed up by scientific findings. The knowledge that Mr. Ross has regarding the meanings of the original Aramaic and Greek words adds great insight to this findings. I will not be covering each text that was discussed in the … Continue reading Genesis One – A book review
Merry Christmas…
After the flurry of posts around my leaving my church of eight years this two week respite has been refreshing. I will probably start up again soon. Via this post I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. May we all spend a few extra minutes in the next days contemplating some of the red letters. After all that is what this day is really all about. Continue reading Merry Christmas…
Science & Religion…
Why must some versions of Christianity pit scientific discovery against religious doctrine? It seems from my personal experiences that to some if you believe in God then you cannot believe in scientific discovery. Of course much of this goes back to the literal interpretation of Bible. Since those holding that view must believe that the earth is only 6,000 years old how do they reconcile that with all the scientific facts known today. The most prominent of these recent discoveries is carbon dating. I don’t pretend to know all the details of this branch of science but I do know … Continue reading Science & Religion…
Winter setting in…
Now that winter is setting in let’s look at a picture of our July garden that my wife took. She is quite the flower photographer. Continue reading Winter setting in…
What about the Bible???
I don’t believe that the collection of documents put together in the fourth century by Emperor Constantine’s council which is known today as the Bible was one hundred percent dictated by God. Because I believe there is a human element to it some say that I surely must therefore deem it all worthless. No! No! No! I really tire of saying this but I must repeatedly explain to them that that is absolutely not the case! I am unlike most of the inquisitors on this topic in that I am not an all-or-nothing person. I am instead like the most … Continue reading What about the Bible???
Let’s Show the World….
Some say I am too negative on this site and there is probably some truth to that. So with this post I am starting a new category called “Let’s show the world”. These posts will be about positive things we can do to make Jesus Christ more visible in the world today. They will also include stories about churches and other Christian organizations who are presently showing the world the true light of Jesus Christ through their works and actions. So, let’s get on with it. In light of my recent post about billionaires giving away their fortunes, wouldn’t it … Continue reading Let’s Show the World….
How about it Christian Billionaires??
RJ’s Comment Wouldn’t it be great if Christian billionaires got together to make a similar pledge except in Jesus’ name and for even more? How about 90%? For that matter why not Christian millionaires too? Wouldn’t that send a message to the secular world? Continue reading How about it Christian Billionaires??
Life in the Universe?
This is a quick post with a question that popped into my head. I see from an article I read a while ago that scientists think they are getting closer to being able to confirm that there is life elsewhere in the universe. I wonder what the Christian beliefs are about this possibility? I suspect that as with almost everything else in Christianity it is across the board. Continue reading Life in the Universe?
The Musts of Institutional Purity
This post will close out my current thoughts on institutional purity. I have made it a point that institutional purity has done some grievous harm to the Body of Christ. I am therefore saying that we cannot insist that there are certain things you must believe in order to call yourself a Christian? In my mind yes there are some things that are fundamental but they are very few in number. Everything outside of this short list is small stuff. Here is a list of those essential things that I personally am very much attuned to. It is from a … Continue reading The Musts of Institutional Purity
Institutional Purity (Part 2)
The idea of institutional purity is noble in purpose but very faulty in delivery. The idea goes something like this: “Since we are the only ones to really understand the true nature of God we must protect our ideas from getting polluted by the rest of the world and in particular other Christians who think differently but are wrong. In other words we must fight the barbarians at the gate to insure God’s truths are kept pure. “ The main fallacy of this idea is that we, and we alone, know the true nature of God! When we are convinced … Continue reading Institutional Purity (Part 2)
For Clarification….
I want to bring some comments from a previous post entitled The Right of Passage to the forefront so that the issue is clear. It has to do with my leaving my church home of the last eight years. As pointed out below I did short circuit the formal process at it’s beginning stages by volunteering to leave. I chose to take immediate action rather than to pursue it through it’s formal stages. Here are the comments from that blog thread: From Dan Martin RJ, I’m sad to learn of this. I have another close friend that has just been stripped of … Continue reading For Clarification….
Institutional Purity & the Diet of Worms
I know some of you might be confused by the title of this post. Let me assure you up front that it is not about how you make your body pure by eating worms :) . This topic is much too heavy to settle well in your stomach even if it were steak. The theme of the next three posts is really about is that we have done a great disservice to the Body of Christ by believing that we are the only ones who totally understand what being a Christian is really about. The belief is that since we … Continue reading Institutional Purity & the Diet of Worms
Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell
Some people probably think that the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy applies only in the military. In reality it applies in several places in our lives. One of those is our local church. That is if you are a member of one of the churches that demand a high level of compliance to their beliefs. I was up until recently a member of one of those churches. They dictated what I was allowed to believe. Any variation of those allowed beliefs sometimes had consequences. That gets us to the title of this post. Most everyone is familiar with the term … Continue reading Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell
Sick Day Bounty Hunters
There is now a thriving industry nicknamed Sick Day Bounty Hunters. They are hired detectives who check on employees who may be abusing their sick day privileges. See the full article at http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_50/b4207093635068.htm .The article claims a significant growth in the number of people who fraudulently claim sick days when they are actually doing something else. When I started in the corporate workplace in 1970 there was generally a strong loyalty to the companies we worked for. In fact many people would come into work when they were sick because they wanted to get the work done. What happened to … Continue reading Sick Day Bounty Hunters
Trying out the new plow…
Here it is the first real snow of the season. We got about three inches last night. Our neighbor on top the hill behind us has been plowing our driveway since we moved here ten years ago. But, last year his antique tractor broke down and he has not been able to find any replacement parts. So this year I bought a plow blade, wheel weights and chains for my new garden tractor. This will be my first time using it. As with most men I really enjoy my new toys. Even though it will be cold (I really don’t … Continue reading Trying out the new plow…
A Right of Passage….
Here I am a senior citizen so I thought I had completed all of life’s rights-of-passage. But I was recently proven wrong. Because of my stand, here and elsewhere, that I believe that the earth is more than 6,000 years old I have been asked to refrain from some worship activities at my current church! It seems I am not allowed to believe the age of the earth according to God’s laws of nature; instead I must believe that the Bible is literal and absolutely true in every respect. I am not allowed to believe that the story of Jonah … Continue reading A Right of Passage….
RJ's Corner - Having My Say 