"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government
shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace."
~Isaiah 9:6~
So I am just pretentious enough to use that quote.. My wife April is pregnant, which came as a shock to us but now into week two of knowing we're kind of excited, okay rather excited is probably a bit more fair. Further, though it was an accident.. surprise.. it is not something I would call a mistake, rather it's something I would call a gift of the divine.
No our child is not going to be the second coming of the Messiah, but I do intend on instilling in our child the value of government and politics, the love for philosophy which makes good counselors, and adoration for humanity which makes for a love of peace, and an acceptance for all people which will make for a better person then I am. I also look forward to sharing good music, books, and yes some television with our child. And also as I am a gamer I can't wait to make D&D adventures or other type of gaming adventures for the sprog.
Par Scottish tradition the wife and I plan on giving the sprog a war axe as a birthing present, I am very excited that she agreed to that. We have been going through names, I'm hoping to pick something from our ancestors nationalities as well as something that just sounds nice and has a good meaning to it. Though Emmanuel does have a good ring to it ;)
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
"Christian" Bigots
I haven't posted in a while, but I feel like I need to.. Various things in life have been going on but one thing I'd like to address right now is the issue of "Christian" Bigots.
Gandhi once said something along the lines of "I love your Christ but I do not like your Christians, they are so unlike your Christ."
This amongst many other things like "good Christian" people toting about signs that say "God hates fags", or posting "Bomb making next drive" in their lawns when they live next to Mosques not only annoys and frustrates me but truly makes me believe that they not only slander others but slanders the name of Christ when they do evil in that name. Jesus said let those who are without sin be the first to cast a stone.. repeatedly within the Bible there is urging for temperance and love... there is a Talmudic (Jewish Rabbinical) story that goes.. When the Jews had made it to the other side of the dead sea and Pharaoh and his charioteers had been washed overboard the angels rejoiced, God looked at them and said "How dare you rejoice over the deaths of my children." If "evil" Pharaoh was not to be maligned, and his death was not to be rejoiced over.. how much more should we rush not to do harm against our neighbors.. Further.. when Jesus said "love your neighbors as yourself" Jesus specifically did not say, "Love your friend as yourself." or "Love your brother as yourself" but rather "Love your neighbor" and in this world of technology, everyone is our neighbor.. we are connected to everyone and thusly we must treat everyone with the love that we treat ourselves with.
Perhaps not the most eloquent of blog posts, but something that I've been wanting to talk about for a while.
Gandhi once said something along the lines of "I love your Christ but I do not like your Christians, they are so unlike your Christ."
This amongst many other things like "good Christian" people toting about signs that say "God hates fags", or posting "Bomb making next drive" in their lawns when they live next to Mosques not only annoys and frustrates me but truly makes me believe that they not only slander others but slanders the name of Christ when they do evil in that name. Jesus said let those who are without sin be the first to cast a stone.. repeatedly within the Bible there is urging for temperance and love... there is a Talmudic (Jewish Rabbinical) story that goes.. When the Jews had made it to the other side of the dead sea and Pharaoh and his charioteers had been washed overboard the angels rejoiced, God looked at them and said "How dare you rejoice over the deaths of my children." If "evil" Pharaoh was not to be maligned, and his death was not to be rejoiced over.. how much more should we rush not to do harm against our neighbors.. Further.. when Jesus said "love your neighbors as yourself" Jesus specifically did not say, "Love your friend as yourself." or "Love your brother as yourself" but rather "Love your neighbor" and in this world of technology, everyone is our neighbor.. we are connected to everyone and thusly we must treat everyone with the love that we treat ourselves with.
Perhaps not the most eloquent of blog posts, but something that I've been wanting to talk about for a while.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Concerning the Brethren Revival Fellowship
The Church of the Brethren spans from very progressive to very conservative, truly that they can all come together once a year and say "we are Brethren" is a strength. Yet there is a problem. Those who deem themselves to be Conservative Brethren (primarily members and supporters of the Brethren Revival Fellowship) are by and large Fundamentalist in doctrine. In theory this should mean that they are invested in the Fundamentals of the Bible, or the Fundamentals of the Church of the Brethren. However that is impossible if one believes that the Bible is to be taken completely literal and that it is without flaw. I can argue against the idea of Fundamentalism all day long however the problem that I have with Fundamentalists within the Church of the Brethren is less with Fundamentalism (towards the Bible) its self, and more with the idea that we have always been Fundamentalist. Which is the position that the Brethren Revival Fellowship (or at least some of its members) would position.
In the early 1900’s a (then progressive) group of individuals split from what was then known as the German Baptist Brethren (now known as the Church of the Brethren) to form the Brethren Church. The Brethren Church wanted to do several things that the German Baptist Brethren were not ready to do. The Brethren Church wanted Sunday schools, upper education, paid ministry, and a new form of theology that was sweeping the land known as Fundamentalist Theology. Two years later the German Baptist Brethren changed their name to the Church of the Brethren, adopted Sunday schools, paid ministry and upper education. Several members within the Church of the Brethren adopted Fundamentalist Theology, several did not. The claim then when the Brethren Revival Fellowship (their supporters and members) says that “we’ve always been fundamentalist” is blatantly false. We have always taken the Bible seriously, we continue to take the Bible seriously, taking the Bible seriously does not necessarily mean being Fundamentalist, and some would argue that one can be serious about the Bible or one can take it literally but not both.
I would argue that taking the Bible seriously means taking it in the understanding that it was written, that it is the Truth, not in the scientific manner that many think of things being true but rather that within the stories that these early people told was the meaning for their lives and the lives of their people. Those truths can still be found in the stories for example allow me to retell a story that I find a great deal of Truth in. There once was a man who was born in the projects of Detroit, he traveled around, talking about a different way of living, rather then cheating ones neighbors and swindeling and stepping on people to get by people could instead live in harmony. Unfortunately the government didn't like what he had to say and so they came down on him hard, police rolled up beat him in the streets and then like governments do to any out spoken person they found a reason to kill him. Yet his followers, the people whos lives he had touched continued to talk about him and those very people still talk about him trying to follow his example and sometimes getting in a lot of trouble for it. In this story I find the Truth for how to live my life, with compassion and understanding for others, whether it really happened just like that doesn't matter quite as much and is more a biproduct of our modern society that is so bent on having exact scientific truths. Not bad mouthing science here.. just saying its not necessary to view the Bible as science... though... there's Genesis and the leading Evolutionary theory and the fact that they match up well.. but that's a rabbit hole.
In the early 1900’s a (then progressive) group of individuals split from what was then known as the German Baptist Brethren (now known as the Church of the Brethren) to form the Brethren Church. The Brethren Church wanted to do several things that the German Baptist Brethren were not ready to do. The Brethren Church wanted Sunday schools, upper education, paid ministry, and a new form of theology that was sweeping the land known as Fundamentalist Theology. Two years later the German Baptist Brethren changed their name to the Church of the Brethren, adopted Sunday schools, paid ministry and upper education. Several members within the Church of the Brethren adopted Fundamentalist Theology, several did not. The claim then when the Brethren Revival Fellowship (their supporters and members) says that “we’ve always been fundamentalist” is blatantly false. We have always taken the Bible seriously, we continue to take the Bible seriously, taking the Bible seriously does not necessarily mean being Fundamentalist, and some would argue that one can be serious about the Bible or one can take it literally but not both.
I would argue that taking the Bible seriously means taking it in the understanding that it was written, that it is the Truth, not in the scientific manner that many think of things being true but rather that within the stories that these early people told was the meaning for their lives and the lives of their people. Those truths can still be found in the stories for example allow me to retell a story that I find a great deal of Truth in. There once was a man who was born in the projects of Detroit, he traveled around, talking about a different way of living, rather then cheating ones neighbors and swindeling and stepping on people to get by people could instead live in harmony. Unfortunately the government didn't like what he had to say and so they came down on him hard, police rolled up beat him in the streets and then like governments do to any out spoken person they found a reason to kill him. Yet his followers, the people whos lives he had touched continued to talk about him and those very people still talk about him trying to follow his example and sometimes getting in a lot of trouble for it. In this story I find the Truth for how to live my life, with compassion and understanding for others, whether it really happened just like that doesn't matter quite as much and is more a biproduct of our modern society that is so bent on having exact scientific truths. Not bad mouthing science here.. just saying its not necessary to view the Bible as science... though... there's Genesis and the leading Evolutionary theory and the fact that they match up well.. but that's a rabbit hole.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Purpose of this Blog
It seems apt to begin blogging with a post on the purpose of this blog:
This blog is not to be another Christian voice for Hate, Indifference, and Fear.
This blog is to be a Christian voice for Love, Change, and Acceptance.
I first decided to make this blog out of anger, righteous anger can be a good thing, the Prophets were filled with it, Jesus had it when he kicked over the tax collector tables in the Temple; likely not because it was wrong to sell things but because it was wrong to extort the poor.. lots of Jesus's mission was to help the poor but let's get to that later. I was filled with anger, I feel righteous anger, due to reading a blog post (http://www.dunkerjournal.com/?p=6743) from another Brethren Blog called the Dunker Journal. And I immediately whipped out a response, which I haven't posted, though I may do so here. However righteous anger, and ranting, is not enough, what is needed is to be a force in the world, to be in the world and working for the change one hopes to see in it, which is why I am in Missoula Montana starting a church called Open Spirit Church of the Brethren.
Open Spirit Church of the Brethren, will be a place for all those who are hurting, seeking spirituality, or simply wish for a place to gather with others to do good in the world. The Church of the Brethren which is a Historic and Living Peace Church (a church dedicated to peace) has done a lot to challenge discrimination of all kinds though it still wrestles with how to respond to the GLBTQ community, there are some churches which are open and affirming, and others that are decidedly not. It is my hope that Open Spirit Church of the Brethren will welcome all people no matter who they are or where they are in their life's journey. It is my hope that Open Spirit will be able to take a cue from the life and teachings of Jesus and be a place of love and acceptance and not one of hatred and fear.
The life and teachings of Yeshua ben David, who we call Jesus, is filled with lessons concerning the welcoming of those who are on the fringes, inviting those who were seen as sinners and outcasts of society to come and eat his table. Jesus himself was homeless (at least for his adult life that we know of) and would wanter around Galilee (which is like Everett Washington, or any other place that is rundown and pretty horrible.. and people say.. "nothing good comes from there") and try to encourage people to be righteous to one another and that there was another way of doing things, a way that wasn't filled with violence and fear of the oppressive government which was the Roman Empire. My hope is that we can follow Jesus's teachings, I am honestly far less concerned with what you believe and far more concerned with what you do, I hope that you might be able to learn some things from me and come to understand why I believe what I do, but I hope that you know that living peacefully and acting justly is far more important then what you believe.
So Colin what do you believe? I believe that God is a God of love, yes the God represented in the Hebrew Bible is scary, but he's also a loving God, God takes care of and shepherds a little nomadic people through drought and famine, tons of oppression, and horrible national catastrophe (such as being enslaved and being overrun by other nations). Yes God smites people in the Hebrew Bible, it happens a lot, but take a look at the culture, look through an anthropological lens, ask yourself what made a strong god for that time period, someone who was willing to smite, and did so. God in the Christian Testament is a little less present, God's there at the beginning of the Gospels somewhat, and people talk about God in the rest of the Testament, but similar to now, God just isn't speaking as much, or at least God isn't speaking in as direct ways, kind of like now. Certainly God is still speaking, just in different ways, now and in the Christian Testament God is speaking through teachers, people, scripture, culture, art, music. The big thing we are faced with in the Christian Testament though is of course Jesus, the Messiah. The Messiah who is supposed to be mortal (and is), is supposed to free the oppressed (Jesus offered a life under a different kind of Empire, a different way of living). Jesus taught people to live in communion with one another, to help the poor and not just help the poor but be with the poor, Jesus taught people to seek justice to try to change the ills of the world through non-violent means, and then Jesus dies in a horribly catastrophic manner by that very Empire he was working against (people who benefit from the status quo hate people that try to change it). The rest of the Christian Testament is a story of the community that Jesus had formed, not all of it's perfect, there are some instances of the community fighting against its self, lashing out against those who have kicked them out of the Synagogues (again changing status quo is dangerous, and will get you ostracized), and things that have meant one thing (such as be careful not to contract std's) that have been twisted by some people to mean some horrible things, there is however a lot of good things in the book as well, but I'm getting off track and chasing rabbit holes. I also believe that the Spirit of God is moving throughout the world through the actions of good people, that the Spirit of God is the tangible aspects of an intangible God. I believe that sin are the actions of people who do things that harm others. I believe that the Church Universal can be a force for good against those sins but that the Church has done quite a lot to harm people as well, which it must atone for. I believe that all people no matter what they have done or who they are, are people of God and should be loved and accepted as such. Those are some of my beliefs.
This blog is not to be another Christian voice for Hate, Indifference, and Fear.
This blog is to be a Christian voice for Love, Change, and Acceptance.
I first decided to make this blog out of anger, righteous anger can be a good thing, the Prophets were filled with it, Jesus had it when he kicked over the tax collector tables in the Temple; likely not because it was wrong to sell things but because it was wrong to extort the poor.. lots of Jesus's mission was to help the poor but let's get to that later. I was filled with anger, I feel righteous anger, due to reading a blog post (http://www.dunkerjournal.com/?p=6743) from another Brethren Blog called the Dunker Journal. And I immediately whipped out a response, which I haven't posted, though I may do so here. However righteous anger, and ranting, is not enough, what is needed is to be a force in the world, to be in the world and working for the change one hopes to see in it, which is why I am in Missoula Montana starting a church called Open Spirit Church of the Brethren.
Open Spirit Church of the Brethren, will be a place for all those who are hurting, seeking spirituality, or simply wish for a place to gather with others to do good in the world. The Church of the Brethren which is a Historic and Living Peace Church (a church dedicated to peace) has done a lot to challenge discrimination of all kinds though it still wrestles with how to respond to the GLBTQ community, there are some churches which are open and affirming, and others that are decidedly not. It is my hope that Open Spirit Church of the Brethren will welcome all people no matter who they are or where they are in their life's journey. It is my hope that Open Spirit will be able to take a cue from the life and teachings of Jesus and be a place of love and acceptance and not one of hatred and fear.
The life and teachings of Yeshua ben David, who we call Jesus, is filled with lessons concerning the welcoming of those who are on the fringes, inviting those who were seen as sinners and outcasts of society to come and eat his table. Jesus himself was homeless (at least for his adult life that we know of) and would wanter around Galilee (which is like Everett Washington, or any other place that is rundown and pretty horrible.. and people say.. "nothing good comes from there") and try to encourage people to be righteous to one another and that there was another way of doing things, a way that wasn't filled with violence and fear of the oppressive government which was the Roman Empire. My hope is that we can follow Jesus's teachings, I am honestly far less concerned with what you believe and far more concerned with what you do, I hope that you might be able to learn some things from me and come to understand why I believe what I do, but I hope that you know that living peacefully and acting justly is far more important then what you believe.
So Colin what do you believe? I believe that God is a God of love, yes the God represented in the Hebrew Bible is scary, but he's also a loving God, God takes care of and shepherds a little nomadic people through drought and famine, tons of oppression, and horrible national catastrophe (such as being enslaved and being overrun by other nations). Yes God smites people in the Hebrew Bible, it happens a lot, but take a look at the culture, look through an anthropological lens, ask yourself what made a strong god for that time period, someone who was willing to smite, and did so. God in the Christian Testament is a little less present, God's there at the beginning of the Gospels somewhat, and people talk about God in the rest of the Testament, but similar to now, God just isn't speaking as much, or at least God isn't speaking in as direct ways, kind of like now. Certainly God is still speaking, just in different ways, now and in the Christian Testament God is speaking through teachers, people, scripture, culture, art, music. The big thing we are faced with in the Christian Testament though is of course Jesus, the Messiah. The Messiah who is supposed to be mortal (and is), is supposed to free the oppressed (Jesus offered a life under a different kind of Empire, a different way of living). Jesus taught people to live in communion with one another, to help the poor and not just help the poor but be with the poor, Jesus taught people to seek justice to try to change the ills of the world through non-violent means, and then Jesus dies in a horribly catastrophic manner by that very Empire he was working against (people who benefit from the status quo hate people that try to change it). The rest of the Christian Testament is a story of the community that Jesus had formed, not all of it's perfect, there are some instances of the community fighting against its self, lashing out against those who have kicked them out of the Synagogues (again changing status quo is dangerous, and will get you ostracized), and things that have meant one thing (such as be careful not to contract std's) that have been twisted by some people to mean some horrible things, there is however a lot of good things in the book as well, but I'm getting off track and chasing rabbit holes. I also believe that the Spirit of God is moving throughout the world through the actions of good people, that the Spirit of God is the tangible aspects of an intangible God. I believe that sin are the actions of people who do things that harm others. I believe that the Church Universal can be a force for good against those sins but that the Church has done quite a lot to harm people as well, which it must atone for. I believe that all people no matter what they have done or who they are, are people of God and should be loved and accepted as such. Those are some of my beliefs.
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