Category: XX – Everything Else

Misc things that sprout in my mind

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Why Didn't God Write a Book?…..

RJ Walters

Why didn’t God write a book or maybe I should say scroll?  Of course many of you Christians will mention the Bible. Many Muslims will point to the Koran. Many Jews will say the Koran.  But I guess I have a different understanding of those documents. Yes, they have God’s fingerprints on them but they were not written by God himself. There is one religious establishment, Mormons, who claim their books was dropped from heaven but I have some very serious reservations about that claim. One possible answer why didn’t God write a book came from a Quaker friend. He … Continue reading Why Didn't God Write a Book?…..

XX - Everything Else2 Comments

The Cost of Healthcare….

RJ Walters

Now that I am finally a Medicare beneficiary I want to take a look back at the trip to get here. I will also be looking at how we do our healthcare relative to the rest of the industrial world. Let’s begin this journey. I have learned from experience that healthcare needs definitely increase as you get older.  I joke that I think my warranty expired when I turned sixty.  I am sure that I have been to the doctor more in the last five years than I had for the previous sixty combined. When I started out my adult … Continue reading The Cost of Healthcare….

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Today’s Church Building, What Would Jesus Do……

RJ Walters

I got to thinking recently about what did Jesus teach us about where we were supposed to come together to worship God. As I have mentioned before there is actually almost nothing in the Bible about this topic. But I can take the many other words of Jesus and postulate what he would likely say if he had addressed this area.  Here is what I think Jesus would say. The ideal church building would be in someone’s home. If the group is too large for that then it would be in a rented facility that is used for other purposes … Continue reading Today’s Church Building, What Would Jesus Do……

XX - Everything Else

I Don’t Care To Know Anything More About God….

RJ Walters

The title to this post certainly sounds like an ultra pompous statement doesn’t it?  But this is indeed what some Christians are saying when they cling to the “Sola Scriptura” doctrine. To say that God has nothing else to teach us besides what is contained the documents that were collected more than sixteen hundred years ago is depriving them of much needed help in living in the world today.  In that regard I feel deeply sorry for those that stubbornly cling to the concept of “Sola Scriptura”. They are depriving themselves of lessons God has been teaching the rest of … Continue reading I Don’t Care To Know Anything More About God….

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The Sounds of Silence…

RJ Walters

It has been a while since I relayed any stories about my deafness so I thought I would present one here. One of my favorite singer/composers was Simon and Garfunkel from the 1960’s. I still have all their albums including perhaps my favorite song from them which was “The Sounds of Silence”. Little did I know back then that the title of this song would take on a completely different meaning for me. I have been deaf for about twenty five years now and as a result of that the sounds of silence is indeed the sound of silence. In … Continue reading The Sounds of Silence…

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If God Is Love (Part 5)

RJ Walters

This is a continuation of my discussions of the book entitled “When God Is Love” by Philip Gulley and James Mulholland. Here is the quote for today: Working to make the world a more gracious place wasn’t a priority in the churches of my childhood. Some of this negligence was a result of apolcalyptic interpretations in which the world was doomed and damned anyway. One man insisted we shouldn’t work for peace in the Middle East because we were simply postponing Armageddon and the return of Christ. However, the primary reason the church didn’t have time to change the world … Continue reading If God Is Love (Part 5)

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The Nature of God….

RJ Walters

Trying to determine the nature of God is something many who are much smarter than I am have been doing since our very existence. I don’t pretend to have any answers that they have not considered.  But, I have been looking at a different understanding of God at least from a personal perspective. This new approach came from a comment on a previous post here on RLL.  In that post I was lamenting how I have  trouble reconciling the God of the Old Testament to Jesus Christ in the New.  To me these two faces of God have always seemed to be in … Continue reading The Nature of God….

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The Nature of Man…

RJ Walters

Since this is my 300th post to this blog and as I am coming off a rather long hiatus, I thought I would handle an impossible topic and that is the nature of man.  I apologize in advance for this post’s length but describing the nature of man will take a few more than the five hundred words I try to limit my posts to. :) The nature of man is to seek God –– Most of us are on this earth for seventy-some years and at least sometimes, and often many times, we have a deep spiritual urge to know where … Continue reading The Nature of Man…

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If God is Love – Part 4

RJ Walters

This is the fourth post in the series on a book by Philip Gulley entitle If God Is Love. Here is the quote for this one. This wrestling with our theology, though absolutely necessary to spiritual growth, often puts our lives out of joint. On several occasions, I thought, “Remind me again why I wanted to question and challenge the beliefs I was taught.” The answer, as with all change, is because what had once satisfied no longer filled me with joy and peace. This spiritual dissatisfaction is a divine gift. God loves us too much to let us remain … Continue reading If God is Love – Part 4

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If God is Love… Part 3

RJ Walters

This is a continuation of my expose of the book by Philip Gulley entitled If God Is Love. In this post he talks about Dualistic Theologies. Dualistic theologies reduce the questions of life to one: Are you saved? Nothing else matters. The purpose of life it to answer that single question. Of course, simply saying “yes” is not enough. You confirm your salvation by accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, getting baptized, and receiving the Holy Spirit. Until you have done these things, your life has no meaning. When salvation is defined so narrowly, it too easily becomes a status … Continue reading If God is Love… Part 3

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If God is Love (Part 2)

RJ Walters

This is a continuation of my collection of snippets from the book by Philip Gulley entitled If God is Love. The Psalmists boats, “Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with perfect hate. I count them my enemies” (Psalm 139:21-22). Hatred, when directed at those we have judged wicked, becomes a sign of religious devotion rather than a grievous sin. The enemy is not loved, but destroyed, not prayed for, but preyed upon. We can protest religious hatred and violence are sins of the past, … Continue reading If God is Love (Part 2)

XX - Everything Else4 Comments

Lessons Learned….

RJ Walters

I have been getting hit by some because I don’t quote the Bible often enough for them.  As I have stated many times before I am just not a “chapter and verse” Christian. I do read the Bible frequently but instead of memorizing the words I try to learn the lessons behind the words and then attempt to make those lessons a part of my daily life. As far as I am concerned there are just too many “bible thumpers” around today.  I will not be one of those.  When I was in my godless years the bible thumpers constantly … Continue reading Lessons Learned….

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If God Is Love… (Part1)

RJ Walters

I am going to start a series of posts around quotes from some of the many books I have read. One of the favorites is the book “If God is Love” by Philip Gulley. Here is the quote for today: When Jesus redefined kinship, he was challenging their exclusive circle by declaring that anyone in any place who did the will of God regardless of social standing or religious affiliation, was his brother or sister.  Kinship is not a matter of racial, religious, or cultural conformity. It was the by-product of a commitment of the will of God — to … Continue reading If God Is Love… (Part1)

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A Vast Institution Based on a Few Bones…..

RJ Walters

This is going to be a short post about the religious establishments of today. I hope this closes out my recent thoughts in this area. I really want to move on to other things about Jesus. This post is based on some words in the book entitled If the Church Were Christian by Philip Gulley. Here are those words: We have built a vast institution based on these “hints” Jesus gave us.  But we should never delude ourselves into thinking that today’s church sprang directly from the mind and witness of Jesus.  All we have is extrapolation, a few bones upon which have … Continue reading A Vast Institution Based on a Few Bones…..

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Reading Too Much Into the Words…..

RJ Walters

I must admit that I have become pretty turned off by most theological things. At one time I was deeply embedded in theology and studied it on almost a daily basis. But after several years at it I discovered that, like the original Bob Newhart TV show character did about psychology, that theology is pretty much a crock! :)  Of course the business of theology is pretty much interpreting scriptures. Many of us get carried away with “interpreting” scriptures. We take a message that says one thing and try to turn it into something else or in some cases we … Continue reading Reading Too Much Into the Words…..

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The Duality of Jesus??

RJ Walters

I’m sure according to the theologians I have the wrong word in the title  but in this post I want to spend some time pondering the duality of Jesus. That is Jesus the man and Jesus the God. Here are some words of a Quaker friend of mine: It is not that Jesus is God more than he is human, or human more than he is God, but that the nonduality of human and divine is encapsulated in his life….                     http://www.quakerquaker.org/profiles/blogs/jesus-christ-a-integral While I don’t by any means agree with all of … Continue reading The Duality of Jesus??

XX - Everything Else2 Comments

Two Issue Christians…..

RJ Walters

This is the second post in the series about how I believe today’s Christian establishments disappoint God. If one believes that God is only really concerned with a couple of issues, it becomes easier to ignore others.  But human life and particularly the words of Jesus are just too complicated for this kind of reductionist approach to our faith and beliefs. How can we even think otherwise?  We must approach Scripture realizing that it is the story of God’s interaction with humanity, and this story constitutes the disclosure of God’s nature particularly through the words of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately I … Continue reading Two Issue Christians…..

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If God Were To Write a Book….

RJ Walters

In a previous post I asked the question “why didn’t God write a book?”.  One possible answer to that question came from a Quaker friend. He said that if God had written a book then man would have a relationship with a book and not with God. God want us to come to him not to a book about him.  But that did not end my questions in this area. I still wonder what if God were to write a book what would it look like?  Here are some of my conclusions about that. Of course I am painfully aware … Continue reading If God Were To Write a Book….

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Memorial Day….

RJ Walters

Being Memorial Day it is a time to mourn all the people who have lost their lives in the world’s many wars. If only we would learn the lessons of Jesus they could all have been prevented. God grieves with every death, especially when we futilely take up weapons against each other. Jesus said two thing encompass all God’s laws: To love God with all our hearts To love each other If only we could learn to obey them…… Continue reading Memorial Day….

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Can’t See the Forest for the Trees…

RJ Walters

When it comes to the Bible some Christians seem to fall to the concept of  “can’t see the forest for the trees”.  That is they concentrate so much on the words they totally miss the underlying messages. Some, at the drop of a pin, can quote chapter and verse for many of the sayings in the bible. I am definitely not one of those people. Yes, I have read the New Testament many times and when prompted I can cite some of my favorite verses but I spend the majority of my time looking for and trying to follow the messages … Continue reading Can’t See the Forest for the Trees…

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About the Bible – Part 6 Closing Thoughts…

RJ Walters

This series was about looking at the Bible as a human document. That is, it was written and assembled by humans with different life experiences, viewpoints, and passions.  Much of their thoughts and words obviously came from inspiration from God. When I study the Bible I try to understand the reasons why some of the writers might have penned what they did.  Of course, I am also a human who has had unique life experiences and passions, part of which surely shaped by what I have studied. What I have said in this series is of my own understanding. But, what I have studied … Continue reading About the Bible – Part 6 Closing Thoughts…