Just Believe?

On Steve’s blog , he recently wrote a post entitled “Just Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Master and . . . Wait.” In response, “grouchyfarmer” commented … and I responded.

grouchyfarmer: The whole “saved by faith alone” thing was always so diametrically opposed to what Jesus actually taught that I always had difficulty understanding how anybody bought into that idea. As the verse from Matthew specifically states you are judged by what you do, not by what you believe, or at least not just by what you believe.

Me: I think you hit the proverbial nail, GF. In today’s Christian world it is ALL about “belief.” You must “believe” to be saved and you must maintain that “belief” throughout the rest of your life or be condemned to a fiery hell. The ACTIONS Jesus said should go along with that “belief” are, for the most part, conveniently ignored in the believer’s rush to teach others to .. you guessed it … believe.

As many of us are more than abundantly aware, the common response from Christians to the misfortunes of others is to send “thoughts and prayers.” (This is not to discount the religious organizations that truly provide help and assistance to those in need, but in this instance, I’m referring to individuals.) Yet all throughout the bible are teachings that tell God’s people to take care of others through ACTIONS …

Feed the hungry … Give drink to the thirsty … Clothe the naked … Care for the sick

More frequently, however, we instead find believers using the power of WORDS to reach others for their Christ: witnessing, preaching, blogging, writing books, etc.

One wonders … have they forgotten that very clear scripture in gMatthew where the writer talks about what it will take to “inherit the kingdom”:

Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,  I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 

And to take it a step further, what about the admonition from John in the Book of Revelation:

Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.

Instead, it seems many believers rely more on the words of Paul in the book of Ephesians:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

There’s no argument that in today’s world it is difficult to find the time to help others, yet based on the book that believers follow, this is exactly what Jesus taught.

Of course, for those of us who have no interest in the teachings of Jesus (or any other religious guru), our efforts towards helping others are not prompted by religious beliefs. We do it because it’s the human thing to do.

Alternate Viewpoints

Recently a conversation took place on Scottie’s blog that I felt was worth sharing. I decided not to do a “reblog” because I primarily wanted to focus on a conversation between Scottie and one of his readers related to his post.

The topic was a common one on Scottie’s blog … sexual identification … and he had included a copy of an article from lgbtqnation.com.

In response, an individual who used the tag, ROBINDD4L. offered this comment:

I agree homosexuality has always been around and it’s why it’s referred to as an abomination in the Bible. God says it’s a sin and we’re given the reason as to why He calls it this. What is new, however, is the transgender and homosexuality push to teach this ideology in the schools. And, YES, they are trying to teach it. Where the problem comes in is when the LGBQT community tries to force THEIR views onto the conservative family. Christian families want nothing to do with this ideology. We don’t want it in our schools, in our businesses, in our churches or in our families. Now that doesn’t mean we would be ugly or rude to someone just because they’re gay, no, because that wouldn’t be right. It just means we believe what the Bible teaches and the Bible is quiet clear, those whose practice this sin, will die in it. Whether you believe in God or not doesn’t change this simple fact.

This was Scottie’s response … which I thought was excellent. It was very thorough and very well well-thought-out. He hit all the important points, yet never censored the individual or made any rude comments:

I read your comment and pondered if you are just a misinformed true believer or a troll. Not that it matters. I could explain to you that what that verse the abomination really referred to was temple boys being used by men for sex in some faiths, I could explain that it doesn’t matter what is or is not a sin as this is not a theocracy, never was intended to be, and so far it is not now. None of that really matters to what you seem most misinformed on. Let’s talk about that.

What you take as teachers pushing an ideology is that you somehow have lost track of the last 50 years, and the idea that you as a Christians won’t tolerate it in your communities, your schools, your families … is you are not everyone! The rest of us get a say in the PUBLIC and in PUBLIC schools. Your family is your business, but the rest of us have families and views also that don’t agree with yours. Look up the polls Robin. Times have changed. Get out of your bubble. The majority of people are accepting of gay people, same sex marriage, and yes also the trans community.

Here is what you don’t get. You think that not allowing you to oppress the LGBTQI+ means you’re being persecuted. Wrong. It doesn’t matter if you accept it or not, but the medical science and data is in. People are born gay; people are born with a different gender identification than they are assigned at birth. Look at the graphs on the side bar of this blog to understand the scientific data! Your religious views don’t matter, your knowledge is based on what people knew 2,500 years ago. This is 2022, we know and understand a lot more now.

It is not your school; it is the public school. And the public disagrees with you. You don’t want tolerance and acceptance taught in your schools to your kids, don’t send them to public schools. Simple. See what you are demanding is the rest of us live by your church rules, your religious views. No sorry we don’t have to. You want to fine. Don’t agree with gay sex, don’t have any. Don’t believe in transgender, don’t transition. Don’t want same sex marriage then don’t get married to someone of the same sex. But you have no right to stop anyone else from living the life they were born to live. The rest of us have rights also. We have the right to live equally in the US democracy. Not Theocracy, Democracy.

We know and understand that people are born LGBTQI+. Including the two that seem most mentioned the trans and the gays. Born that way. They have the right to have a full and open life just as people born cis or straight. Religion is a choice but being LGBTQI+ is not, you are born LGBTQI+. Society understands that now. We have learned and advanced tolerance and acceptance. What you call pushing ideology in schools is actually simply requiring tolerance and acceptance of diversity or difference. Just as no kid should be bullied or picked on for wearing a cross no kid should be picked on for wearing a pride / trans flag. Just as no kid should be bullied for reading the bible, no kid should be bullied for reading a book with gay or trans characters or subjects. That is what you are so afraid of, tolerance and acceptance. You want to indoctrinate what you believe is the only way, only good. It doesn’t work that way. Society has moved on.

On last thing, you talk about sin and those who practice this sin will die. Yes they will, eventually. Guess what, so will you. No joke, you are going to die also. Also this line was funny Whether you believe in God or not doesn’t change this simple fact. You still don’t get it. Your god doesn’t matter. Not to me. Not to the majority of the people in the US. Your god doesn’t set the laws nor the standards in a democracy. The US is a democracy. Here is the key, your god matters to you and in our country you have the right to worship that god yourself for yourself. You do not have the right to force me or anyone else to follow your god. We are tolerance of you. We insist you also be tolerant of us. That is what makes a civil society.

So now let’s consider the topic itself. What do you think? Did ROBINDD4L have a point? Or do you agree with Scottie? 

 

Growing Old(er)

Robert Reich published a column today on age. He titled it, “Joe, please don’t run again,” but he didn’t just focus on Biden.

Reich himself is 76 and all throughout the piece, he shared several of his experiences as examples of the things we encounter as we age.

Myself being a bit past the age of Robert, I can personally attest to many of the verbal blips and physical stumbles he pointed out and … maybe some of you readers can as well?

Although Biden seems physically fit and, for the most part, mentally sharp, there have been (and are) indications of future concerns. On more than one occasion, reporters have pointed out his “speech blips.” Although not a major worry, such incidents will most likely become more frequent as time passes.

The press has also reported on Biden’s several trips and meetings with world leaders, and this too could become a concern. Although he presents as physically fit for his age, this doesn’t take away from the fact such long journeys do take their toll on the mind as well as the body.

Obviously, none of us have direct control on Biden’s decision. All we can do is hope that he recognizes his own age-related predilections and will be cognizant of this as he makes his final decision.

(Unfortunately, as has been demonstrated by other “senior citizens” in Congress: the pull of politics is difficult to resist.)

This Made My Day!

Just finished reading an article in Business Insider and this first line jumped out at me:

• A Christian organization has started a petition protesting Trump’s 2024 campaign.

OH YES!!

At press time, 14,904 people had signed the petition — just shy of the organization’s goal of 15,000 signatures!

In the petition, Christians are asked to “speak out” and “make it clear that Donald Trump does not share our values and will never have our votes” … and “another Trump presidency would be a disaster for our country.”

The executive director of Faithful America, who is behind the petition, said this: “Neither the country nor the church can afford another four years of this charlatan’s fascism, racism, misinformation, or ego.”

FINALLY! A group of believers that have seen through the Great Façade! 👏👏

Highly Misplaced Honor

Just read the following in Heather’s latest newsletter:

The far-right, pro-gun “Second Amendment Caucus” today hosted Kyle Rittenhouse, the 19-year-old who shot three men, killing two of them, in summer 2020 during a protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and who was later acquitted of homicide. 

Representative Lauren Boebert (R-CO) made the following comment about Rittenhouse’s appearance:  

“It was an honor to have Kyle join the Second Amendment Caucus. He is a powerful example of why we must never give an inch on our Second Amendment rights, and his perseverance and love for our country was an inspiration to the caucus.”

Is it just me or do others find it not only disgusting, but sickening as well, that a person who needlessly SHOT AND KILLED two individuals and walked away scot-free is given accolades such as this?

How can ANY individual who respects human life and all it stands for declare that Kyle Rittenhouse’s actions were a “powerful example” of the “rights” declared in the Second Amendment?

Perhaps it was the way I was raised, but it is so completely beyond my understanding that ANYONE would heap praise and verbal trophies of approval on an individual who KILLED two people (and injured a third) using a gun that he should never have had in the first place!

I’m sorry, but I simply cannot agree that allowing an individual to buy, own, and use a gun to shoot and kill others and then walk away scot-free was the goal behind those who wrote the Second Amendment.

The personal ego already has a strong element of dysfunction, but the collective ego is, frequently, even more dysfunctional, to the point of absolute insanity.
–Eckhart Tolle