Category: Philosophy & Religion

I have much to say on this topic and how the church has lost its way in the world today.

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Inequality as a Religious Test

RJ Walters

But if you believe that every human being is made in the image of God — imago dei; if you believe that every individual person represented in economic statistics is a child of God; if you believe that in nearly all religious traditions, loving your neighbor as you love yourself follows directly after loving God; and if you believe, regardless of your conception of God, that human beings are all brothers and sisters tied together, then income inequality is a spiritual issue, a moral issue, and a religious test of our belief. Source: Inequality as a Religious Test | Sojourners … Continue reading Inequality as a Religious Test

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About Religion…

RJ Walters

Religion today seems more about interfaith competition than “love your neighbor”. It seems to be “love your neighbor as long as he is a Lutheran/Baptist/etc.   Spiritual but not Religious The above words (I failed to capture the source) and the graphic are perhaps the primary reasons I now claim to be “spiritual but not religious”. I just see too much politics and interfaith competition to make me want to stay part of any particular religious organization of today.  Each religion and each religious denomination seems to be at battle with everyone else for the mantle of God’s people. I … Continue reading About Religion…

Life On The Margins, Philosophy & Religion4 Comments

Religion Makes Children More Selfish…

RJ Walters

History backs-up the scientific evidence that secular people are more moral, as reviewed by Israeli psychologist Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi. Most white supporters of the US Civil Rights Movement were non-religious, for example, while the apartheid regime in South Africa was led by devout Christians and opposed by atheists. But the view that non-religious individuals are morally dubious is deeply embedded in American society. Atheists and agnostics are considered less trustworthy, even immoral, which explains why people who don’t believe in God are unlikely to be elected to high political office, such as President of the United States…. ”It’s sometimes claimed that … Continue reading Religion Makes Children More Selfish…

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Life Flow …

RJ Walters

This Sunday I want to flesh out a little more of what God means to me personally.  Theologians throughout the centuries have molded God into a being mainly of their own making.  If they can do it so can I, at least for my own purposes. As I have said in the last two Sunday posts I see God as primarily the keeper of life.  There is something inside of us that makes us alive . Call it the spirit, soul, life blood or what ever you want but only God can make life. When you are born you are … Continue reading Life Flow …

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God, The River Of Life…

RJ Walters

This is a continuation of last Sunday’s Post on God and Life.  If you haven’t already read it you might want to do that now as this post won’t make much sense without that background. (God Is All About Life)  In that post I put forth the proposition that God is life. With this post  I will expand just what that means to me. I will repeat here that this concept is primarily for me to come to a personal understanding of God. I don’t expect, or even want, you to agree with me.  You need to do the work … Continue reading God, The River Of Life…

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God Is ….

RJ Walters

I really don’t know how it happened that God became this old guy with flowing white hair and beard laying on the clouds and watching everything we do and getting involved in every aspect of our lives. I don’t know if Michelangelo’s Sistene chapel was the first depiction of that persona or if he was just mirroring someone else. But it seemed to catch on and go from there.  For many God is now a father figure who looks out for our every need. I was pretty deeply involved in theology for more than a decade devouring perhaps a hundred … Continue reading God Is ….

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Listen Up….

RJ Walters

Many organized faith groups are wringing their hands over the growing category of “nones” and wondering how to attract young people, especially, back to the fold. What words of wisdom would you give them? Listen, listen, listen. Listen again. Don’t think that stuff like beer nights and church meeting in a coffee shop and pastors in flannel and skinny jeans is going to be enough: it’s not, and many people see right through it. Meet people where they arrive rather than drawing a line and expecting them to cross it. Be present to people’s doubts and questions in honest ways. … Continue reading Listen Up….

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The Greatest Sin…

RJ Walters

One of the most striking verses in the Christian bible for me was found in Mathew 12. I won’t quote the verse here but it basically says there is one sin that will NEVER be forgiven and that is “blasphemy against the Spirit”. Since I have come to understand that Christianity is all about forgiveness this verse was very loud to my ears. Let’s study the concept of blasphemy. What is blasphemy? Here is a common definition: blas⋅phe⋅my /blæsfəmi:/   — noun expressing disrespect for God or for something sacred That is a pretty plain one but I believe gets to the heart of the matter. The … Continue reading The Greatest Sin…

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Living On The Outskirts Of Hope…

RJ Walters

I want to pen some final words about Pope Francis here. The title of this post is a recent quote from him that truly inspires me. There are just too many people in the world to who the very idea of hope seems unknowable. They live in such despair that all they can manage is just surviving day-to-day.   It is said that Pope Francis views the world from the Bottom up. I have never thought of it in those terms but it is an accurate portrayal of him and I hope to a certain degree myself. Most of us, especially those … Continue reading Living On The Outskirts Of Hope…

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About Marriage and Divorce from a Christian Perspective…

RJ Walters

But lost in the uproar are the voices of Christians, some equally conservative, who disagree with Davis’ stance and worry that holding her out as a martyr will ultimately hurt the cause of religious liberty…. Brenda Wynn, the clerk of Davidson County in Nashville, looks to Romans 13:1 for guidance: “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.” “I’m obliged to follow the law of the land,” Wynn said. “I love the Lord, but I must follow the law.” Source: Kentucky clerk case divides religious liberty advocates – Yahoo … Continue reading About Marriage and Divorce from a Christian Perspective…

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Pope Francis and Consumerism…

RJ Walters

In Francis’ encyclical Laudato Sí, he took aim at the West’s “extreme and selective consumerism” and “throwaway culture,” arguing that the developed world’s voracious appetites are a bigger threat to the planet than population growth. Blaming overpopulation in poorer parts of the world, he writes, “is an attempt to legitimize the present model of distribution, where a minority believes that it has the right to consume in a way which can never be universalized, since the planet could not even contain the waste products of such consumption.”… If Pope Francis is working at least partly on faith, surely the same … Continue reading Pope Francis and Consumerism…

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Social Justice Is a Christian Tradition — Not a Liberal Agenda

RJ Walters

Many Christians are wary of participating in social justice because of a deep-rooted fear of being labeled “liberal,” “progressive,” or “secular.” They don’t want to be associated with “secular” movements, and are uncomfortable delving into issues that go beyond their cultural comfort zones. But the Bible tells us that Jesus cared deeply about the social causes around him….  Christians do a disservice to the gospel message by removing the cultural context from Jesus’s ministry and watering down his message to one of religious platitudes. We like to generalize the words of Jesus and transform his life into a one-size-fits-all model … Continue reading Social Justice Is a Christian Tradition — Not a Liberal Agenda

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Indoctrination and God…

RJ Walters

WENDY THOMAS RUSSELL:  I did a survey of 1,000 nonreligious parents to find out exactly that. And the top reason cited was, people weren’t sure how to talk about religion without indoctrinating their kids into what they believed themselves. That was a hard line. The other one was interacting with religious family members and keeping the peace in families. When you’re raising a child who is in a secular household, how do you bridge the gap between the older generations who may be more rigidly religious? JEFFREY BROWN: This word indoctrinating is an important one, because it comes up time … Continue reading Indoctrination and God…

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The Thing Is…..

RJ Walters

Originally posted on RedLetterLiving:
What About The Bible… ? (Chapter 1) I have been spending quite a bit of time lately thinking about the Bible and my experiences with it over the last decade or so. Around 2003 I decided to take up a serious study of theology and in particularly those around the words of Jesus. I naively thought I could get some clear directions for my spiritual life if I just understood why the Bible seems to mean so many different things to so many people. What I have discovered over this period of time awakened me. I… Continue reading The Thing Is…..

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Too Much Bad Evangelism…

RJ Walters

I find myself yet again using words from Stehpen Mattson over at Red Letter Christians as a source for one of my Sunday posts.  He just seems to say what needs to be said.  This time it is about how we Christians are becoming so tainted by bad evangelism. We let the crazies among us control the chicken house so to speak. The problem with many modern Christians is that we’ve seen and experienced too much bad evangelism: the crazy street preachers shouting at strangers, the late-night televangelists peddling for money, The Westboro Baptists picketing funerals, the corrupt pastors who … Continue reading Too Much Bad Evangelism…