Category: XX – Everything Else

Misc things that sprout in my mind

XX - Everything Else

Defining Evangelicals…

RJ Walters

I have had a Sojourners membership for a number of years now and enjoy the monthly magazine. One reason is that it shows me that I am not alone out there in believing what I do about Christianity.  Jim Wallis, who is the editor-in-chief of the magazine always has an editorial at the beginning of each issue.  This month is was about how the word “evangelical” means to the world in general.  In the editorial Jim opens with the following words: Here we go again. Presidential elections are coming, and the role of ‘evangelicals’ is predictably becoming a hot political … Continue reading Defining Evangelicals…

XX - Everything Else

Fire Insurance???

RJ Walters

Here is an extended quote from the second chapter of James for our discussion today: You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless ? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is … Continue reading Fire Insurance???

About Quakers

Salvation According to a Progressive Quaker

RJ Walters

Here is an interesting article from the blog quakerquaker.org that I thought worth putting here. He has quite a few valid arguments but I’m sure most will ignore them due to him coming to the “wrong” conclusion. The Progressive Gospel (according to me) Posted by Dave Salyers on 12th mo. 8, 2011 at 11:00am Send Message   View Blog The essence of the Good News of the Gospel as taught by Jesus is very simple and can be understood by even a child. The purpose of life is to have good and fulfilling relationships with other people and the larger community of life.  Jesus … Continue reading Salvation According to a Progressive Quaker

About Quakers4 Comments

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….

XX - Everything Else1 Comment

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….

Redux2 Comments

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…

About Quakers, XX - Everything ElseLeave a comment

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)

XX - Everything Else2 Comments

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….

XX - Everything ElseLeave a comment

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…

About Quakers, XX - Everything Else1 Comment

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

About Quakers, XX - Everything Else2 Comments

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

About Quakers1 Comment

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….