I'm not scared

   Sometimes I take the title from what I write and other times the title comes to me first and I craft a post around it.  This is one of the latter.  In the last couple of days I've taken a stand against fundamentalism and I firmly expect to be rebuked for it.  I'm not scared.  Jesus was not a Christian.  Period.  He was Christ, but he was a Jew.  Here came this guy who spoke with absolute authority preaching things like "turn the other cheek" and "being a peacemaker" and he downright infuriated other Jews, even to the point that they hammered nails into him and hung him on a cross to die.  I am no messiah, I am not a pastor, I am a humble servant that is learning as I go along but certain truths have struck me from my reading. 
   Perhaps that is because I am an infantile Follower of the Way and I haven't had years of dogma to cloud the Bible.  Maybe it is just inspiration.  I don't know, maybe I'm just plain wrong.  None the less I have stood up and made my voice heard, and I am not alone.  I am discovering just how many of us there are out there.  People who don't let phobias and prejudices rule our lives.  People who can read the scripture and see that salvation doesn't come to us through hate.  It comes through love and joy in God.  There are others out there who feel this, I see them struggle with it but they are scared, and why not?  They are likely to be attacked mercilessly for their views but this isn't the first time a Disciple has been attacked by members of their own faith for a disillusioned opinion, is it?  History is full of them, martyrs, poets, scientists, you name it.  All people who weren't afraid. 
   I am planning a couple of diatribes this weekend, one is about verses in the Bible that we wish would go away and how we emphasize parts of scripture and hide from others.  The other is going to be my interpretation of Romans 14 which I think is an allegory telling us all to accept that each sect of the Body of Christ is different, can be different and we don't need to attack each other.  I also want to write about canonization, especially the closed canons that have lead us to the Bible we have today but I don't know that I'll have enough research in place to get it done yet.  I think the first and last are going to stir up a bit of debate, but thanks be to God for leading me to a church where that debate is encouraged and healthy.  God bless you and thank you for reading my stuff.  People are telling me that I am inspiring their faith and I can ask for no greater praise.  Don't take what I say as Gospel, instead let it guide you to the scripture and other wonderful inspired books and choose for yourself.  No matter what faith you belong to, no matter who you listen to, your faith is yours.  Please do your best to honor it, listen to it and learn it.

Put Out The Fire

   What can I say, I enjoy a little reporting now and then.  A couple of days ago Christian leaders condemned the burning of Qu'rans.  A move I back 100%.  We can't claim to have a faith of peace, love and forgiveness if we are destroying the things that make other people happy.

"Real Christians don't burn Qu'rans," said Leith Anderson, NAE President. "Our Christian faith calls us to respect and love."

   Brilliant is that phrase, simply brilliant.  Those two sentences sum up what I have been trying to stress better than I can convey.  The New Testament is a book of kindness, forgiveness and tolerance.  I think that all too often people let their own prejudices cloud their judgement and then people suffer.  My hat is off to the NAE.  Hopefully pastors take heed and spread the word in their churches and we can see if the world can become a better place.

The Old Testament

   I finally finished my reading of the Old Testament this week and I'm pretty close to finishing the New Testament as well.   I am not entirely certain how to feel about it, to be honest.  First and foremost I think it needs to be said that to read it you have to put a certain amount of context into it since it was written a long time ago.  Times were different, words were different, meanings were different.  Entire social conventions would never survive today but were the norm at that time.  I did find it insightful and it put a certain context on my new testament readings.  However, there were a few texts that really struck me.

   Oddly enough I really enjoyed the book of Job which is a story I really thought I wouldn't be into as well as Ecclesiastes.  I think that it needs to be said that the former is more of a play or poem than fact, but the meaning behind it is powerful and poignant.  At least at this point, I am a believer in the metaphorical power of the Bible more than trying to adapt a literal translation of it.  Stories like Adam and Eve to me are less about creation and more about the inherent wickedness of man.  I think that a lot of harm has been done to Faith simply because people are too stubborn to adapt.  God's word is flexible and vast and certainly doesn't have to be taken verbatim for it to be a positive power in your life.  If that makes your skin crawl just look at Levitical Law.  Women don't sacrifice doves after they menstruate any more and I don't think a few silver and a marriage is going to take care of your daughter getting raped on a country road.  Times have surely changed and who are we to pick and choose what Laws we will follow just because some make us more comfortable than others.  Let's let Christ be our guide and even though he spoke of the Law and professed it he also emphasized that we must be tolerant and caring.  He told us not to be judgemental and to support the less fortunate.  I'm kind of getting worked up to some more serious subjects that have always irritated me about Christians.  Even know, from the other side, they still do -- Perhaps even more than before.

  As always be Blessed and be tolerant and love thy neighbor.  As it is said in Romans that this command trumps all others, and even more than that, it is the root of all other commandments, let us let out judgements fall away from us and look upon our fellows regardless of creed, race, preference, tattoos, piercings or whatever else they may have that strikes you odd and embrace them as the neighbors they are.  Please share this on Facebook if you agree and give me a +1 on Google.  If you don't please post a response so we can discuss openly our thoughts and views!