...But we decide which is right. And which is an illusion."
And how, then, do we decide? And, how do we "justify" that decision when it flies in the face of everything we've believed for...oh, most of our lifetimes?
So I've been thinking a lot lately. Thoughts that have turned my world totally upside down. But upside down in a good way, I think, because I've stopped to examine parts of my belief system in a new light. Things are not always what they seem. Some of what I've always "seen" in one color now seems to be another...and I must decide what's right and what's illusion.
God is not a Republican. Dr. Dobson is NOT the spokesman for the American church. Jesus was not a Christian.
I listened recently as a friend told me that the Clintons (for whom I do NOT care, just so you'll know) are "single-handedly responsible" for the moral decline in the United States over the past few years. Sorry. Don't buy that. Take responsibility for your own morality...or lack thereof. The Clintons certainly have not been the poster children for all that's right in the US, but..."single-handedly responsible"? No way. We became a nation of excuse-makers and rule-breakers and liberty-takers LONG before Bill Clinton took office or Monica Lewinsky was even born.
I've decided I really loathe politicians in general...and some in specific. Not just because they're Democrats, because some of them aren't. Some of them are (gasp!) Republicans. Greed and stupidity (and maybe even just pure, unadulterated evil) run rampant on both sides of the aisle. God isn't looking to see if they're red or blue--he's looking for a heart that loves him. (And if he really had to choose a political party, it would probably be the Green Party--at least, they're about social justice and taking care of the natural resources we've been given).
And I'm sick of the self-righteous crap coming out of Colorado Springs. Dobson is not the poster-boy for all things Christian...and he doesn't speak for me. Well, on second thought, maybe he IS the spokesman for the American church--maybe that's at least part of what's wrong with the American church! The body of Christ needs to get back to being the body of Christ--if we would do what we're called to do (love others, serve others, etc.), we wouldn't need Dobson and others of his ilk politicizing the church and trying to legislate morality.
I've posted some of the "Christian vs. Christ Follower" videos because they line up pretty well with what I've been thinking lately...I can't help but believe that God must want to vomit (it's scriptural!) over much of the lukewarm crap that masquerades for "church" here in America today. But hey, we're wearing our "secular"-logo-knockoff Christianized t-shirts ('cause they'll know we are Christians by our clothes, right?), listening to our "family friendly" Christian-music-only radio, and parking our butts on a pew for an hour every Sunday morning to get our "God fix" for the week, so we must be okay.
What happened to living the life of a follower of Jesus every day? Do we even have a clue what that looks like? And how it might completely rock our world if we actually did it?
The bottom line is: I'm fed up with life as usual. I'm fed up with church as usual. And now I have to decide what to do with all of this being fed up. What is right? What is an illusion?
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5 comments:
"And now I have to decide what to do with all of this being fed up."
i'm so glad you got here. this has been on my mind in a wordless type concept boiling beneath the surface. not the church ranting. i've done my fair share, to be sure. but at the end of the day, pointing out where the western church has and does make mistakes is about as hard as taking a deep breath while receiving oxygen in your lungs.
rather the thought, "so what do we do now?" i'm not blind to the fact that so many people all across the globe are beginning to have the same revelations. as well as beginning to find each other and discuss the ideas that have made them a minority in their physical worlds.
but why? just to sit around and cyber-bitch? no digs at anyone here, like i said, i've done the same. i just think there's got to be more to this that we have hardly begun to see or fathom. yet, i know that in my own world, the more i discuss these things and find confidence in what i truly believe, it is spilling itself out into the way i think and feel and behave on a daily basis.
but for what reason?
"what is right, and what is illusion?"
hmmm. good thoughts. thanks for sharing.
The whole "morality" thing kind of cracks me up/gets under my skin. I've recently been reading a book called Religion Gone Bad: The Hidden Dangers of the Christian Right, and it focuses on the issue of legislating morality, and the obvious (to some of us) problems that come with that. Personally, I think our sinful natures and the fallenness of our world are what's responsible for the "moral decline," and it feels like a dangerous sidetrack to pursue a solution to that, since that's been a problem since the fall and won't be fixed until Christ comes back. Probably will just get worse, actually.
So that's my rant about that.
Good thoughts, though, Jon. I've been thinking the same thing. I have a hard time reading the Naked Pastor blog, to be honest, because the cynicism sometimes feel caustic, and I find myself thinking the same thing..."so what now?" And this isn't a dig at him or anyone, either--I don't know what he's experienced or what has brought him to this place, but at some point we've all got to find a hopeful place to land. I want to think forward, think vertically, and take action that pleases God and edifies people. Not sure how to get there, either, but you guys have both encouraged me today, so thanks.
Pay it forward. Yeh it was a movie that gave a great sentiment, but I had a conversation with my wife about it the other day. Living that loving life can get tiring. With out specifics we talked about some relationships that we have in our life, and how we were normally the ones to put the hard effort into it. When people take advantage of the caring, or do not return the sentiment. We still go on loving them and treating them as if they did not do that. It is hard. But, we feel, right. So my answer, is be the loving example. In small ways it changes those that come in contact with you.
What is real and what is illusion. Great question, going to wrote on that shortly. It will be considered very "New Age" I am sure by some. Just because of it's inclusiveness. But didn
t Jesus die for all, not just some
Amen sista!
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