I've been thinking about the Jeremiah post coming up, and I think I need to backtrack a little to properly explain that one. There are two massive concepts I have to give you some incite in, to help explain my views. The first is faith, the second is God's will. So I have to backtrack, not one, but two post to get there.
So let us start on faith with a firm testing ground.
Money.
The theoretical Christian ideal for thought about money is as follows. All the world is God's. Money is included. I am God's servant, thus He makes His resources available to me. I love everyone just as well as I love myself. It makes no difference how much money I "have", because all money is available to me, and if it benefits anyone it is good.
Sum total, a buck in the hand is the same as a buck in the bush. God will provide.
Before you dismiss this as too bizarre, take look into Hudson Taylor's story. This bloke moved to China in the 1800's to preach the gospel, and just crossed his figures when it came to money. And it worked like a charm.
BUT it gets more complicated then that. Christian are commanded things like:
'"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you," Thessalonians 4:11'.
In our society that means, almost inexorably, a nine-to-five job. Add a family, that we must provide for and we're looking far more like everyone else. With our societies huge wealth it gets even more blurry. How do you provide the right amount of education and positive upbringing? Need to keep a roof over their heads. Need to get a good computer and a fast internet connection. The holiday is an important life experience. Good schooling, transport.
Hudson had it easy. It was a straight forward equation. Work for God. Wait for his pay. There was no one else.
So what's with that? Let me give you a little illustration to clear things up.
Imagine a person walking through a jungle when he comes to a cliff. On the other side of the drop the jungle carries on like before.
God tells him to get over the ditch. There's two options open to him. The first is to go into the jungle, cut down some trees and begin to construct a bridge. If he does this, he has faith. And he works in his faith to get to the objective God's given him.
The other option is to just try to walk across on thin air and pray God will hold him up. This action is just as faithful and twice as brave. Also twice as likely to fail.
You see it's here that we begin to understand why God wants Christians to work hard, etc. It's so we live a normal life. A natural life. Because the best way to convey Christ is to show him in real life. I'm far more impressed by an individual who gets up in the morning and suffers through whatever task they are doing to try to reach an end they believe in then by someone who has life fall into their lap because they believe something.
The only time God tends to use just walking across is when He needs to take a shortcut.
What you need to understand is that both those techniques in the end require the same amount of faith. Someone with a true grip on the concept of God knows that the same God who defies gravity is the one that compels the laws of physics to maintain the structural integrity of the bridge.
In fact if something goes wrong and you fall it's God's creation of gravity that sends you plummeting toward the ground, and His invention of momentum that smashes your fragile body over the hard rock. In a convoluted way it's God that kills you.
Faith isn't in the action. How big, or crazy or supernatural it is. It's in the doing at all. What's on the other side anyway? Why should I risk for that?
If we really understood what was going on, we would know that it's the same level of faith that leads one man to pray and wait for the money to show up in the mail as it does for another to work a hard day.
Unfortunately it's easy for a man to have faith in the economy or society or structural engineering rather then God. That's the reality you will see in the churches, mostly.
Keep your eyes open for those who follow God to whatever end He is leading them, through whatever trials that will take them. They are the people who will show you what Christianity is.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Christians and "Christians"
The other day, at college I had a really insightful conversation with some of my classmates. I've found the themes repeated lately so I think it's time for me to write about it.
It was during this conversation that one of the girls said something I thought was just inspired.(if you've been reading the comments on my post yes this is Brooke's famous quote) She was talking about a person she knew who claimed to be a Christian but showed no evidence of it in their life. A hypocrite. What I would refer to as a "Christian". She then summed up her feeling about this person in a rather eloquent way. "I was like, I'm more of a Christian then you, except for the not believing in God bit!"
It's a sad fact that every one of us will come into contact with a massive number of this type of person in our lifetimes. It's unavoidable. But I want to make this clear, with no apologies. These people show with their actions that by definition they not only fail to be in relationship with God, but become the worst of His enemies.
It's precisely because of the label they give themselves. Christian. To be honest I don't like calling myself a Christian. You see it has a fundamental flaw. It's a word without a definition. It literally started as a nickname. It doesn't mean anymore then the words, jock or nerd, do to us now. It has connotations, but if you ask people for a definition they'll fail to give one, and if they do it'll almost certainly be a different to the definition anyone else will give you. This is because it's not a word with a definition, it's meaning comes from it's vibe. It's the vibe of the thing.
So, you see, the word Christian means a lot of things to a lot of people. I don't want to be to tightly associated with the word, because it in turn is tightly associated with a lot of things I'm definitely not, and a lot of beliefs I definitely don't have.
So you see, when I person identifies themselves as Christian, it doesn't mean anything in particular. Just that they associate with people, organizations, rituals and/or beliefs that in turn are associated with the word Christian.
The major faction of "Christians" in the West. The hypocritical kind, stem from one major fault line. It's in understanding one half of the salvation story. I need to reiterate concepts like sin and "hell" in a latter post, but the key is understanding that God offers release from sin and thus, an immunity to "hell".
The "Christians" understand this, they see freedom. Complete freedom. They look at it this way. I am freed from the consequences of my actions, thus I can do whatever I want. I don't even need to understand them.
This is utter ... ... just fill in the blank with every single negative phrase and expletive you can think of and it's probably a good descriptive. God does offer freedom from what we are captive to now. But He also guarantees captivity to a new master. Himself.
And so the "Christians" stop at freedom. They never move forward. They never challenge their beliefs or their behavior any further. They question nothing. Why should they? They have a self-replenishing get-out-of-jail free card, and almost always they go to a church were they are comforted and encouraged not to go any further.
But in the end these people just remain stuck half way through a process. I process of death and rebirth. They have died to a captivity they knew, but they havn't come back to life. They havn't exected the new burden of them. They havn't subjected themselves to the physics of their new world.
Jesus never said life with him would be easy. There are parts of the Gospels were he tries to talk people OUT of following him. He tells them how hard it's going to be. He says they must give up everything. He calls himself a hard man, who gathers were he did not sow, and reaps were he did lay seed. He did not ganentee what we call freedom.
People need to read the contract carefully. Becoming a Christian means selling your soul. It means becoming someone else's possession. You work for Him now. You have nothing.
There is a truth few in the West seem to understand about Christianity. The one fate that is worse then not being a Christian. Is the one in store for those that call themselves a Christian but do not bend their backs and serve their God.
It was during this conversation that one of the girls said something I thought was just inspired.(if you've been reading the comments on my post yes this is Brooke's famous quote) She was talking about a person she knew who claimed to be a Christian but showed no evidence of it in their life. A hypocrite. What I would refer to as a "Christian". She then summed up her feeling about this person in a rather eloquent way. "I was like, I'm more of a Christian then you, except for the not believing in God bit!"
It's a sad fact that every one of us will come into contact with a massive number of this type of person in our lifetimes. It's unavoidable. But I want to make this clear, with no apologies. These people show with their actions that by definition they not only fail to be in relationship with God, but become the worst of His enemies.
It's precisely because of the label they give themselves. Christian. To be honest I don't like calling myself a Christian. You see it has a fundamental flaw. It's a word without a definition. It literally started as a nickname. It doesn't mean anymore then the words, jock or nerd, do to us now. It has connotations, but if you ask people for a definition they'll fail to give one, and if they do it'll almost certainly be a different to the definition anyone else will give you. This is because it's not a word with a definition, it's meaning comes from it's vibe. It's the vibe of the thing.
So, you see, the word Christian means a lot of things to a lot of people. I don't want to be to tightly associated with the word, because it in turn is tightly associated with a lot of things I'm definitely not, and a lot of beliefs I definitely don't have.
So you see, when I person identifies themselves as Christian, it doesn't mean anything in particular. Just that they associate with people, organizations, rituals and/or beliefs that in turn are associated with the word Christian.
The major faction of "Christians" in the West. The hypocritical kind, stem from one major fault line. It's in understanding one half of the salvation story. I need to reiterate concepts like sin and "hell" in a latter post, but the key is understanding that God offers release from sin and thus, an immunity to "hell".
The "Christians" understand this, they see freedom. Complete freedom. They look at it this way. I am freed from the consequences of my actions, thus I can do whatever I want. I don't even need to understand them.
This is utter ... ... just fill in the blank with every single negative phrase and expletive you can think of and it's probably a good descriptive. God does offer freedom from what we are captive to now. But He also guarantees captivity to a new master. Himself.
And so the "Christians" stop at freedom. They never move forward. They never challenge their beliefs or their behavior any further. They question nothing. Why should they? They have a self-replenishing get-out-of-jail free card, and almost always they go to a church were they are comforted and encouraged not to go any further.
But in the end these people just remain stuck half way through a process. I process of death and rebirth. They have died to a captivity they knew, but they havn't come back to life. They havn't exected the new burden of them. They havn't subjected themselves to the physics of their new world.
Jesus never said life with him would be easy. There are parts of the Gospels were he tries to talk people OUT of following him. He tells them how hard it's going to be. He says they must give up everything. He calls himself a hard man, who gathers were he did not sow, and reaps were he did lay seed. He did not ganentee what we call freedom.
People need to read the contract carefully. Becoming a Christian means selling your soul. It means becoming someone else's possession. You work for Him now. You have nothing.
There is a truth few in the West seem to understand about Christianity. The one fate that is worse then not being a Christian. Is the one in store for those that call themselves a Christian but do not bend their backs and serve their God.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Wedding Fallout
On the weekend I had the joy of being best man at a mates wedding in Melbourne. I thought I would post about this particular wedding because of the nature of this particular couple. You see these too people not only felt it was right to marry, but that God was calling them to get married.
This is the bit were everyone gets uncomfortable. These two raise a lot of issues we put in the "better not talk about it" basket. We have divine will, visions, the voice of God, chastity and modesty, pre-marital sex, covenants and God's involvement in marriage. And that's before we start really looking.
Needless to say, I'm not going to try to talk about this all now. All I want to do right now is tell you a bit of their story, just for thinking material.
Jason had always held the idea of God having picked out a girl for him very close. From a young age he began praying for the girl, whoever she happened to be. He trusted, that when the time was right, God would bring that girl into his life, and really until that time came, he didn't want any relationships.
At a certain age the girls in Sarah's family make a covenant, or promise with their father. In this promise the daughter commits to remaining pure. The promise is made over a gold key, which her father proceeds to wear around his neck, until the day comes when he is to hand the key to another man. (this touches heavily on the topic of pre-marital sex from the Christian perspective which is to much of an issue to explain here so I fully expect this to be a hard practice to understand)
One day, at an interschool camp, Jason and Sarah met. By the time Jason came home, he felt that this could be the girl. So, after talking to his parents, he began to pray. He prayed long and hard. Eventually he decided to ask Sarah's dad for permission to court her. That's right, court not date. Fine difference, but the essential point is that Jason's intention was to marry her.
Now Sarah's father told Jason he would also have to pray before agreeing to anything. After several weeks of prayer without answer he had a vision. The details of the vision he still hasn't revealed in full, but it was clear to him that the relationship was the will of God. So he allowed Jason to ask Sarah to begin courting. Sarah speedily agreed as she liked Jason as much as he liked her.
After two years of dates and quality time (always chaperoned), devotions and prayer over the phone every day, Jason asked Sarah to marry him. That led, inexorably, to the wedding last week end, were Sarah's father handed that key to Jason.
Jason and Sarah are a rare example of the extreme other way of doing romance. To be honest I've been a bit blown away by it.
But what baring does it have on us? Well, I think it's one thing to talk about ideals and principles, it's another all together to see them in action.
This is the bit were everyone gets uncomfortable. These two raise a lot of issues we put in the "better not talk about it" basket. We have divine will, visions, the voice of God, chastity and modesty, pre-marital sex, covenants and God's involvement in marriage. And that's before we start really looking.
Needless to say, I'm not going to try to talk about this all now. All I want to do right now is tell you a bit of their story, just for thinking material.
Jason had always held the idea of God having picked out a girl for him very close. From a young age he began praying for the girl, whoever she happened to be. He trusted, that when the time was right, God would bring that girl into his life, and really until that time came, he didn't want any relationships.
At a certain age the girls in Sarah's family make a covenant, or promise with their father. In this promise the daughter commits to remaining pure. The promise is made over a gold key, which her father proceeds to wear around his neck, until the day comes when he is to hand the key to another man. (this touches heavily on the topic of pre-marital sex from the Christian perspective which is to much of an issue to explain here so I fully expect this to be a hard practice to understand)
One day, at an interschool camp, Jason and Sarah met. By the time Jason came home, he felt that this could be the girl. So, after talking to his parents, he began to pray. He prayed long and hard. Eventually he decided to ask Sarah's dad for permission to court her. That's right, court not date. Fine difference, but the essential point is that Jason's intention was to marry her.
Now Sarah's father told Jason he would also have to pray before agreeing to anything. After several weeks of prayer without answer he had a vision. The details of the vision he still hasn't revealed in full, but it was clear to him that the relationship was the will of God. So he allowed Jason to ask Sarah to begin courting. Sarah speedily agreed as she liked Jason as much as he liked her.
After two years of dates and quality time (always chaperoned), devotions and prayer over the phone every day, Jason asked Sarah to marry him. That led, inexorably, to the wedding last week end, were Sarah's father handed that key to Jason.
Jason and Sarah are a rare example of the extreme other way of doing romance. To be honest I've been a bit blown away by it.
But what baring does it have on us? Well, I think it's one thing to talk about ideals and principles, it's another all together to see them in action.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Tim
I have an old friend who is in Afghanistan at the moment. It's part of a massive trip he's planned that's going to take him around Asia, Europe and Africa. Every now and then he drops an update. He's only up to update two, but it's absolutely amazing. Seriously the second post took my breath away. So I think you guys should check it out.
He posts on http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=62363633274&topic=8164
If you join the group then you will have the updates land in your inbox on facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=62363633274
Seeing this is a short post I should probably rant about something.
Um... What's up with... Buses and junk... With the... Not coming on... Oh, I give up!
He posts on http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=62363633274&topic=8164
If you join the group then you will have the updates land in your inbox on facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=62363633274
Seeing this is a short post I should probably rant about something.
Um... What's up with... Buses and junk... With the... Not coming on... Oh, I give up!
Monday, May 25, 2009
The Superlong Post
Forgive me the superlong post, but I want to spend some time explaining the name Jacob Jeremiah. As Brooke pointed out in her comment my real name is Jonathan. (Spot on spelling Brooke) I chose Jacob Jeremiah as a pseudonym because of the great significance those two characters have on my outlook.
Jacob, as you may know, is a character from the Old Testament. Think "Joseph the Dreamer's" dad. It was during his time that the Hebrews, then consisting only of his family, moved into Egypt. Which incidentally turned out to be a bad idea, and culminated in a nasty episode involving 10 plagues and a 40 year trip in the desert.
Anyway, Jacob started off life as the second of twins, which means that he missed out on being daddy Issac's heir by about 5 minutes. Before he's even born there's a prophecy made about the boys, that the younger would overcome the older. On top of that Jacob's mum and dad decided to play favorites. While his big bro Esau was dad's manly hunter son, Jacob was the responsible mummy's boy.
It's not that surprising that Jacob got fed up with the situation, and with a little coaxing from his mum was convinced to fool his ailing father into accidentally leaving the best bits to him. And it turns out it was a lot more then just material wealth. Issac passed on a promise to him, a promise that was made to his father, (Jacob's granddaddy) Abraham. A promise by who? By God himself. A promise of prosperity, a great future and a legacy that would stretch into eternity.
Needless to say, Esau was totally pissed off! A little bit of intrigue occurs between Esau and dad at this point which becomes incredibly important another couple of hundred years down the track. However the relevant part is that Esau decided that after Issac does croke he's going to make Jacob croke too.
It's at this point Jacob goes into exile. He runs away. Far, far away.
It's at this point you need to get into Jacob's head. He begins to have encounters with God. He's separated from everything he's ever known. He didn't take wealth with him, he was using rocks as pillows. He's considered a child of prophecy, and now he has the promise to back it up. But at the same time, he has nothing.
Finally he makes it to his uncles joint, back in the land his mum came from. It's at this point a little romance gets thrown in. Jacob meets his cousin (yes cousin, this was back in the day that that was considered far less creepy) and falls madly in love with her. So, after some hard dealing he makes a contract with uncle. He gets the girl for 7 years labour.
He does it too. It says it didn't seem very long to him, he's so in love with that girl. So at the end of the 7 years he gets the girl. But his backstabbing uncle decides it would be shameful to marry off Rachel without marrying off he big sister first. So he pulls a swiftly and Jacob ends out married to the wrong chick! On top of that his uncle demands another 7 years for Rachel.
So Jacob does it. That's how much he wants the girl. But it's something that he struggles with directly for the next 20 something years of his life, and the real consequences, the backstabbing and conflict between the sisters, leaves scares on him and his sons for many generations.
Jacob now decides to really build up his wealth. He agrees to another contract with his uncle. This time in return for livestock. God blesses Jacob, and with a bit off tricky gaming Jacob becomes increasingly stinking rich.
It's at this point we see the rubber hit the road. God asks Jacob to do the stupidest thing ever. God tells him to go home.
Over the trip, moving ever closer to his psychotically angry brother, we see Jacob really begin to crack. You see, in life, Jacob feels like he's kind of been screwed over. He follows God. But God never seems to just give him good things. Everything comes through suffering. And things have happened to him he didn't deserve, all for following this path. All the while he hears of his brother, marching towards him, with 400 men, to meet him. Jacob feels like a dead man.
It culminates one night, as he spends time alone, trying to get his head together, and a man comes out of the dark. They become locked in a physical struggle. They struggle through the night. As the sun rises the man "wrenches" Jacob's hip by touching it. (giving away that he's not just a man) Jacob refuses to let go until the mysterious man blesses him.
The mysterious man then renames Jacob as Israel, "Because you have struggled with men and with God and overcome."
Jacob was blessed because he struggled with God. Because he struggled with God. Struggled with God... and overcame.
You have to understand this isn't a struggle for superiority. God wrenched his hip with a touch. You can't become superior to God. This was a struggle for understanding and purpose. For answers of why the world was how it was. It was an internal struggle to find the purpose of the pain God had dragged him through.
The struggle with the mysterious man was the physical incarnation of a spiritual struggle. That's how intense it had got for him.
It's then that we see Jacob, now limping because of his hip, cross the river towards his brother.
I hope you understand that it doesn't matter what happened when they met. At this point Jacob is more complete then he has ever been.
It isn't a shameful thing to struggle with God. He wants us too. I don't half doubt some of the bad things that happen in life are purely there to provoke us. To wake us up. We can never be made whole, if we never wake to our emptiness.
Jacob, as you may know, is a character from the Old Testament. Think "Joseph the Dreamer's" dad. It was during his time that the Hebrews, then consisting only of his family, moved into Egypt. Which incidentally turned out to be a bad idea, and culminated in a nasty episode involving 10 plagues and a 40 year trip in the desert.
Anyway, Jacob started off life as the second of twins, which means that he missed out on being daddy Issac's heir by about 5 minutes. Before he's even born there's a prophecy made about the boys, that the younger would overcome the older. On top of that Jacob's mum and dad decided to play favorites. While his big bro Esau was dad's manly hunter son, Jacob was the responsible mummy's boy.
It's not that surprising that Jacob got fed up with the situation, and with a little coaxing from his mum was convinced to fool his ailing father into accidentally leaving the best bits to him. And it turns out it was a lot more then just material wealth. Issac passed on a promise to him, a promise that was made to his father, (Jacob's granddaddy) Abraham. A promise by who? By God himself. A promise of prosperity, a great future and a legacy that would stretch into eternity.
Needless to say, Esau was totally pissed off! A little bit of intrigue occurs between Esau and dad at this point which becomes incredibly important another couple of hundred years down the track. However the relevant part is that Esau decided that after Issac does croke he's going to make Jacob croke too.
It's at this point Jacob goes into exile. He runs away. Far, far away.
It's at this point you need to get into Jacob's head. He begins to have encounters with God. He's separated from everything he's ever known. He didn't take wealth with him, he was using rocks as pillows. He's considered a child of prophecy, and now he has the promise to back it up. But at the same time, he has nothing.
Finally he makes it to his uncles joint, back in the land his mum came from. It's at this point a little romance gets thrown in. Jacob meets his cousin (yes cousin, this was back in the day that that was considered far less creepy) and falls madly in love with her. So, after some hard dealing he makes a contract with uncle. He gets the girl for 7 years labour.
He does it too. It says it didn't seem very long to him, he's so in love with that girl. So at the end of the 7 years he gets the girl. But his backstabbing uncle decides it would be shameful to marry off Rachel without marrying off he big sister first. So he pulls a swiftly and Jacob ends out married to the wrong chick! On top of that his uncle demands another 7 years for Rachel.
So Jacob does it. That's how much he wants the girl. But it's something that he struggles with directly for the next 20 something years of his life, and the real consequences, the backstabbing and conflict between the sisters, leaves scares on him and his sons for many generations.
Jacob now decides to really build up his wealth. He agrees to another contract with his uncle. This time in return for livestock. God blesses Jacob, and with a bit off tricky gaming Jacob becomes increasingly stinking rich.
It's at this point we see the rubber hit the road. God asks Jacob to do the stupidest thing ever. God tells him to go home.
Over the trip, moving ever closer to his psychotically angry brother, we see Jacob really begin to crack. You see, in life, Jacob feels like he's kind of been screwed over. He follows God. But God never seems to just give him good things. Everything comes through suffering. And things have happened to him he didn't deserve, all for following this path. All the while he hears of his brother, marching towards him, with 400 men, to meet him. Jacob feels like a dead man.
It culminates one night, as he spends time alone, trying to get his head together, and a man comes out of the dark. They become locked in a physical struggle. They struggle through the night. As the sun rises the man "wrenches" Jacob's hip by touching it. (giving away that he's not just a man) Jacob refuses to let go until the mysterious man blesses him.
The mysterious man then renames Jacob as Israel, "Because you have struggled with men and with God and overcome."
Jacob was blessed because he struggled with God. Because he struggled with God. Struggled with God... and overcame.
You have to understand this isn't a struggle for superiority. God wrenched his hip with a touch. You can't become superior to God. This was a struggle for understanding and purpose. For answers of why the world was how it was. It was an internal struggle to find the purpose of the pain God had dragged him through.
The struggle with the mysterious man was the physical incarnation of a spiritual struggle. That's how intense it had got for him.
It's then that we see Jacob, now limping because of his hip, cross the river towards his brother.
I hope you understand that it doesn't matter what happened when they met. At this point Jacob is more complete then he has ever been.
It isn't a shameful thing to struggle with God. He wants us too. I don't half doubt some of the bad things that happen in life are purely there to provoke us. To wake us up. We can never be made whole, if we never wake to our emptiness.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Better Late Then Never
I'm super pumped at the moment for the new Project 86 album, due to come out on July 14. It will be their 7th studio album. If you haven't heard these guys, they are big. Especially in my scene. They are big, bad and have a lot to say.
I'm a bit after the mark, but I recommend this interview with the lead vocals:
http://jesusfreakhideout.com/interviews/Project86_Phone2009.asp
He's a really articulate and well spoken man.
For a listen to some of their stuff:
http://www.myspace.com/project86
http://www.purevolume.com/project86
And while we're on the topic of music, I've been listening to a CD of b sides, demos and rares of Flyleaf. Man, I love that band. Lacy is definitely my favorite female vocalist. The rest of the band was real good too, before the producer neutered them. Such a shame, their demos are FAR better then the album versions.
I'm a bit after the mark, but I recommend this interview with the lead vocals:
http://jesusfreakhideout.com/interviews/Project86_Phone2009.asp
He's a really articulate and well spoken man.
For a listen to some of their stuff:
http://www.myspace.com/project86
http://www.purevolume.com/project86
And while we're on the topic of music, I've been listening to a CD of b sides, demos and rares of Flyleaf. Man, I love that band. Lacy is definitely my favorite female vocalist. The rest of the band was real good too, before the producer neutered them. Such a shame, their demos are FAR better then the album versions.
Monday, May 11, 2009
The Accidental Strawman
While writing my last post I had to use a good measure of restraint to avoid launching into a long rant on one of my pet hates and obsessions. I ended out using the example of abortion in legal morality because I have respect for both sides of the mainstream argument. In the particular topic I'm thinking of I don't have respect for one of the factions. The Christian one.
The argument is of gay marriage. I find the stubborn opposition Christians tend to show in this area unimaginably frustrating. I find it frustrating because there is no straight answer. Only straw-men. Usually something about the negative affects on children. But in their heart the majority (though not the loud ones) know that this is not the real reason that they show opposition. The problem is that they know it has more to do with their own beliefs then any real concern of the mental state of children. Not to say those concerns don't exist, but just that they are not the real motivator.
But society has taught us to think relatively and so, because we are tolerant, we must keep beliefs out of it. And so the straw-men are invented and dressed up. And we've been pretending their real so long we've forgotten they aren't.
So without further ado, here, in my words, is the real problem Christianity has with gay and lesbian marriage.
First, what is marriage? In the modern world it is a legal contract. It defines the legal relationship between two people. OK, that's cold. But as numerous soaps and comedies have reminded us, it only implies a spiritual and emotional bound. Otherwise it's marley a contract.
But this isn't the view Christians have. From the Christian view marriage is a spiritual connection. A spiritual union even. It was a union created and sealed by God. The ceremony and the legal contract came after. They came as reminders of the bond shared.
So here you have opposing views. To humanists marriage is a legal bond that implies a spiritual one, and to Christians marriage is a spiritual bond that implies a legal one.
However you feel about tolerance toward the homosexual portion of the population. However close minded you think Christians may be. This issue runs over the line of right and wrong sexual conduct and into the very definition of a sacred bond and relic of the Christian heritage this country holds.
For the humanist the extension of marriage to be available for gays and lesbians is like extending the definition of eligible voter to include women. For the Christians it like extending the definition of aardvark to be inclusive of hummingbirds.
You are trying to change something sacred to cover something it is not.
The simple fact is that, even if you practice it in law, to a Christian, a man can never marry a man, or a woman a woman. It's not possible. Despite what you call it.
That is why the thought is offencive to the Christian faith.
The argument is of gay marriage. I find the stubborn opposition Christians tend to show in this area unimaginably frustrating. I find it frustrating because there is no straight answer. Only straw-men. Usually something about the negative affects on children. But in their heart the majority (though not the loud ones) know that this is not the real reason that they show opposition. The problem is that they know it has more to do with their own beliefs then any real concern of the mental state of children. Not to say those concerns don't exist, but just that they are not the real motivator.
But society has taught us to think relatively and so, because we are tolerant, we must keep beliefs out of it. And so the straw-men are invented and dressed up. And we've been pretending their real so long we've forgotten they aren't.
So without further ado, here, in my words, is the real problem Christianity has with gay and lesbian marriage.
First, what is marriage? In the modern world it is a legal contract. It defines the legal relationship between two people. OK, that's cold. But as numerous soaps and comedies have reminded us, it only implies a spiritual and emotional bound. Otherwise it's marley a contract.
But this isn't the view Christians have. From the Christian view marriage is a spiritual connection. A spiritual union even. It was a union created and sealed by God. The ceremony and the legal contract came after. They came as reminders of the bond shared.
So here you have opposing views. To humanists marriage is a legal bond that implies a spiritual one, and to Christians marriage is a spiritual bond that implies a legal one.
However you feel about tolerance toward the homosexual portion of the population. However close minded you think Christians may be. This issue runs over the line of right and wrong sexual conduct and into the very definition of a sacred bond and relic of the Christian heritage this country holds.
For the humanist the extension of marriage to be available for gays and lesbians is like extending the definition of eligible voter to include women. For the Christians it like extending the definition of aardvark to be inclusive of hummingbirds.
You are trying to change something sacred to cover something it is not.
The simple fact is that, even if you practice it in law, to a Christian, a man can never marry a man, or a woman a woman. It's not possible. Despite what you call it.
That is why the thought is offencive to the Christian faith.
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