Category: Having My Say

Having My SayLeave a comment

A Maturing Jesus??

RJ Walters

Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” “Why were you searching for me?” he asked.“Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom … Continue reading A Maturing Jesus??

Having My SayLeave a comment

Just Another Obsession???

RJ Walters

ob⋅ses⋅sion /əbseʃən/  —  noun an unhealthy and compulsive preoccupation with something or someone syn: fixation Storyline: The gun was small and light, the training wheels of firearms. The .22-caliber, single-shot Crickett rifle turned deadly on Tuesday, officials in Kentucky said, when a 5-year-old Cumberland County boy shot and killed his 2-year-old sister in what the coroner described to a local paper as “just one of those crazy accidents.” Source: Guns made for kids: How young is too young to shoot? – U.S. News. The above definition of obsession is a pretty simple yet accurate one. Are guns an unhealthy and compulsive … Continue reading Just Another Obsession???

Having My SayLeave a comment

Religiously Powerful…

RJ Walters

As mentioned a few posts ago Jesus had some very stinging words about the religiously powerful of his day. The Gospel of Mark 7 is one of those places.  Lets study some of those words. He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:” ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside … Continue reading Religiously Powerful…

Having My Say1 Comment

Growing consensus” in Senate for U.S. action in Syria

RJ Walters

With evidence indicating that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime has used chemical weapons in Syria, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Sunday on “Face the Nation” that “there’s a growing consensus in the U.S. Senate that the United States should get involved.” Source: Graham: “Growing consensus” in Senate for U.S. action in Syria – CBS News. It is interesting that Senator Graham is able to find a “growing consensus” in the Senate but what about a consensus of the people who elected them? Do any of these guys actually listen to their constituents anymore?  Everyone knows that Senator Graham is a war … Continue reading Growing consensus” in Senate for U.S. action in Syria

Having My Say2 Comments

More Diagnoses of Hyperactivity…

RJ Walters

  Those are astronomical numbers. I’m floored,” said Dr. William Graf, a pediatric neurologist in New Haven and a professor at the Yale School of Medicine. He added, “Mild symptoms are being diagnosed so readily, which goes well beyond the disorder and beyond the zone of ambiguity to pure enhancement of children who are otherwise healthy.” And even more teenagers are likely to be prescribed medication in the near future because the American Psychological Association plans to change the definition of A.D.H.D. to allow more people to receive the diagnosis and treatment. A.D.H.D. is described by most experts as resulting … Continue reading More Diagnoses of Hyperactivity…

Having My Say4 Comments

Brainwashed???

RJ Walters

I just read a news article about a woman who says she is going to convert to Islam. Her family shouts that she has been brainwashed and needs an intervention to prevent that from happening. Just what does it really mean to be brainwashed? Brainwashing like many other words and conditions has a myriad of definitions depending on the speaker. Here is what Wikipedia says about brainwashing: Mind control (also known as brainwashing) refers to a process in which a group or individual “systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator(s), often to the detriment of … Continue reading Brainwashed???

Having My SayLeave a comment

Hiding The Light….

RJ Walters

Let’s get back to a study of the Red Letter to learn how we are to live.  He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?  For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”  “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued.”With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.  Whoever has will be given more; … Continue reading Hiding The Light….

Having My SayLeave a comment

Christians and Humor….

RJ Walters

This is the true purpose of satire: to mock power. It is, truly, the language of the powerless. From the biblical prophets, to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, to Swift, to Twain, to Orwell to our beloved Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, satire works best when the targets are the powerful and elite—be they institutions or people. Jesus’ sharpest comments were always directed toward the politically or religiously powerful. Always. Indeed, you could argue that Jesus’ entire life—from being born in a barn in the midst of a genocide, to hanging out with prostitutes and drunks, to healing on the Sabbath and … Continue reading Christians and Humor….

Having My SayLeave a comment

Embezzling God….

RJ Walters

One of the underlying assumptions is that money from the offering or tithe belongs to the church. But the Scriptures consistently teach that the offering is God’s instrument of redistribution and that it belongs to the poor. Giving to the poor should not make its way into the budget; it is the budget. One could argue that small portions of the Israelite offering (no more than 10 percent) was given to the Levitical priesthood (Neh. 12:47), and that in the early church an even smaller contribution could be given to the church’s itinerant evangelists, who, incidentally, were themselves poor (1 … Continue reading Embezzling God….

Having My Say2 Comments

A Test of Leadership….

RJ Walters

  Attorney General Eric Holder says he will not need to furlough any Justice Department employees in the current fiscal year. The attorney general says he will be able to avoid furloughs because of additional money in the recently enacted legislation, combined with aggressive steps to freeze hiring and cut contracting and other costs Source: Holder: No furloughs at Justice Department – CBS News. I’m sure the purpose of this article was to show how well the Justice Department was run. They brag that they don’t need to lay off workers because they found the necessary 10% budget cuts elsewhere. … Continue reading A Test of Leadership….

Having My Say2 Comments

Living The Message….

RJ Walters

Emergent congregations are especially well equipped to live creatively in the newly post-Western Christianity. They are careful not to confuse the life and message of Jesus with the “Western” elements in which it has been packaged. They try to assign equal weight to both the message and the context so that a new version of the old story can take shape. They strongly underline “living the message” rather than simply proclaiming it. They experiment with settings, like cafes, in which two-way exchange rather than one-way preaching is possible The Future of Faith (Cox, Harvey) The words above are one of … Continue reading Living The Message….