Misc things that sprout in my mind (default cat)
Grand Canyon AZ What is more America than the Grand Canyon. The only other possibility might be the Statue of Liberty but since it was made in France I think this one wins out. I was there in 2005 for … Continue reading What's More America Than…
Elnora IN – Annual Tractor Fest A common event in rural areas is the annual tractor exhibit. It seems everyone has an old tractor in their shed/barn/garage that they are working on and love to show their machine to everyone … Continue reading Old Time Tractors…
Lexington KY – Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill I took this picture on my first visit to Pleasant Hill almost twenty years ago. It is a place at the very top of the center dwelling used to store out of … Continue reading The Perfect Picture….
Lexington KY – Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill The Shaker were all about symmetry. Everything was done in pairs. One side for women and the other for men. The other major characteristic was simplicity. They shunned away from adornment for … Continue reading Simplicity and Symmetry….
Lexington KY… Shake Village of Pleasant Hill One of my favorite places to visit. Shaker lives and their furniture style has influenced much in my life. If you want to get away for a very peaceful time stay at one … Continue reading A Peaceful Place For a Hectic Life…
This a continuing pictorial post on our visit to New York City recently. One of the things that got my attention was the number of vendors on the streets selling almost everything. Here are some pictures. Click on any picture to bring up a larger gallery view. Continue reading NYC…. The Vendors…
This is part 3 of my series based on a post by Stephen Mattson on the seven misconceptions of Christianity. It’s Always Fun and Happy Christianity can be full of joy, but it can also be really hard.Following Christ demands sacrifice. It involves giving, helping, volunteering and participating in difficult work. The main tenant of loving others is hardly ever easy, and the Christian life is often filled with trials, pain, suffering, heartbreak and struggles—often requiring large amounts of grace, forgiveness, patience and energy. It’s not easy, comfortable or effortless—it’s incredibly demanding. But in the end, it’s worth it. I … Continue reading Christianity is Always Fun and Happy…
This is part 2 of my series based on a post by Stephen Mattson on the seven misconceptions of Christianity. Everyone Believes the Same Thing Beyond a basic belief of Jesus being divine, Christians hardly agree on anything. Common practices such as baptisms, communions, confession and even worship styles are hotly debated, and Christians are divided into hundreds of denominations, thousands of churches and endless communities—each passionate about their own opinions. Christianity is made up of different cultures, ethnicities, doctrines, traditions, practices, theologians and practices—one of the most diverse religions in the entire world. Conformity and uniformity are uncommon, and … Continue reading All Christians Believe the Same Thing..
A theology based on this fear seldom inspires great acts of compassion and service. When we live in constant fear of divine rejection, we focus all our attention on securing our survival. Sadly, this self-absorption only leads us further from love. Fear and love are incompatible. Fear indicates our distrust of the one who claims to love us. A child trembles when a parent threatens, “If you don’t behave, I’ll send you away.” A wife is terrorized when a husband warns, “If you leave me, I’ll kill you.” Human beings cower when God commands, “Serve me, or I’ll damn you … Continue reading Fear vs. Love….
A theology of love begins with the assumption that all people are God’s cherished children and deserving of love. “We love because he first loved us. Those who say ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers and sisters, are liars, for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen” (1 John 4:19–20). Jesus demonstrated his love for the outcasts, those many considered unlovable. Regrettably, many Christians have been unwilling to adopt the ethic of Jesus—a theology of inclusion, acceptance, and love. We’ve been unwilling to love and … Continue reading The Theology Of Love….
I will admit here that I got a first time comment today that I immediately sent to the trash because I don’t have the energy to deal with it on a serious level right now. It goes like this. “I will ignore the needs of the 99 in order to prevent the 100th one from getting something he doesn’t deserve”. This comment also declared that social justice as he sees it is nothing but communism. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard comments like this. But the truly sad thing is that it frequently comes from someone … Continue reading Whose Fault???
What About The Bible… ? (Chapter 6) This is the final post on my series about the Bible. It has been an enlightening time for me. This final post is about the history of Christianity and how it seems to stop with the establishment of the biblical text. But before I get into that I must mention that I have found that to really understand the Gospel text you must also understand the basic history of that region of the world during that period of time. To do that means seeking out historical records of the Roman Empire particularly in … Continue reading The History Of Christianity???
I’m not sure who brought up the concept but it is about how churches are actually more like clubhouses than anything else. They are buildings that are built almost exclusively for their members comfort. Yes that comfort does bring in some to hear the message but that seems to be very secondary at best. I had a recent round of comments on this topic over at one of my other blogs at RJsCorner and it stirred up some heated comments. It seems that calling a church a country club strikes the nerve of many Christians. I think the ounce of … Continue reading Everyone Needs A Clubhouse….
What About The Bible… ? (Chapter 5) I used to mourn the fact that there are almost 40,000 different versions of Christianity around today. But, in reality maybe I should celebrate that statistic. At least it shows that we are all trying to find the heart of God. But the problem with this is that we end up picking the type of God we want. I don’t think that is really how God wants it to be but it seems that is the way it is for most of us. Some choose to try to discover God on our own. … Continue reading Religious Diversity…
Time and again, those who opposed Jesus would quote Scripture. They would remind him of the Sabbath law, the requirement to fast, the provision for divorce, and the penalty for adultery. Jesus seemed unimpressed with a person’s ability to quote Scripture. His interest was in a person’s ability to hear God’s voice. He said, “He who belongs to God hears what God says” (John 8:47). To limit the word of God to the written word is to muzzle God. Gulley, Philip; Mulholland, James (2009-03-17). If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person Continue reading Muzzling God….
Everyone from the day after Jesus ascended into the clouds has been seeking the essence of Christ. One of the first ones was probably Paul of Tarsus. Except for that brief encounter with the spirit of Jesus on road to Damascus a few years after he physically left us, he had no personal contact. Today there are 40,000+ different organized version of this essence and probably thousands of personal versions inside each of those. It seems that each one of these 40k groups are convinced that their version is the only real one. We all want to know what the … Continue reading The Essence Of God…
What About The Bible… ? Chapter 4 When we treat the Bible as a history book we come to more thoroughly understand the varied opinions put forth. But I very much understand that a significant portion of those who call themselves Christians believe that every word, every punctuation mark came directly from God and therefore is literally true and without the possibility of any error. It seems to me that this group of Christians actually put the Bible itself above Jesus’ messages and therefore have made it into an idol to be worshiped in and for its own sake. The … Continue reading The Bible — History Book Or Idol???
MIDDLESBORO, Ky. (AP) — A snake-handling pastor who appeared on the National Geographic television reality show “Snake Salvation” has died after being bitten by a snake during a weekend church service in Kentucky. SOURCE: Snake-handling Ky. pastor dies from snake bite – Yahoo News. While this is maybe of the extreme part of the spectrum it is still a typical example of how we pick and choose what we want to be the image of God. It takes one verse out of the tens of thousands found in the Bible and uses it for the main focus of spirituality. Examples … Continue reading Our Own Version….
I’ve been using the word ‘empower’ for years. It’s a great word – one that implies giving dignity to others; the whole ‘give a man a fish and he eats for a day, but teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime’ type story comes up when I hear the word empower…. It had never crossed my mind before that what this word implies is that I have the power and you do not. Therefore, let me give you the power. This also goes against my theology of humanity: that no matter our circumstances we are all … Continue reading Empower vs. Inspire….
According to a 2013 study by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institute, 23 percent of 18- to 33-year-olds are religious progressives, 17 percent are religious conservatives, and 22 percent are non-religious. By contrast, only 12 percent of 66- to 88-year-olds are religious progressives, while about half are religious conservatives. Second, the conversation about income inequality in the U.S. and abroad — the driving force behind the 2011 Occupy Wall Street movement — is gaining momentum. Taking up the cause of the poor is a central tenet of religious liberalism. Both Jews and Christians point to the Bible, … Continue reading Religious Conservatism On The Wane….
Diversity For decades people have been prophesying about American Christianity’s demise. Church attendance is dropping, our culture is becoming increasingly immoral and the president is probably the Antichrist. Various pundits, experts and research groups have seemingly made a living predicting American Christianity’s downfall, and yet, while Christianity has become extinct in numerous parts of the world, it continues to live on—and sometimes thrive—within the United States…. There are faith communities for those who are conservative or liberal, egalitarian or complementarian, Calvinist or Armenian, traditional or modern, young or old, Norwegian or Cuban—you get the point. We often view are differences … Continue reading The Best Thing About ‘American’ Christianity
RJ's Corner - Having My Say 