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I am not a believer in religious doctrines of any kind. Born Catholic, adopted to a non-practicing Protestant couple, I received the requisite Sunday School training until I was two, and then never walked into a church until I turned 16 (when my best friend got her driver's license and we could visit churches on our own). I have read the Bible cover to cover on at least four times, and refer to its teachings whenever I need guidance, but I never found God in a church.
We traveled to all the churches within a half-hour driving distance over the course of that Summer ('71), starting with the closest and working our way out. They were mostly Protestant, with a large portion being Baptist, with a number of Lutheran and Episcopalian, and we did go to a couple of Catholic. (We gave up on the Catholic churches after two because of all the rising and kneeling.)
The first churches started off fairly welcoming, but soon after the sermon started the hell and damnation started in, referring to people like me as bastards and digressing from there. We looked at each other and without speaking stood up and walked out. That became more frequent as we continued. There were a couple of churches that we actually stayed throughout the service, and we even went back thinking we might have found our church -- but then sooner or later out came the hate speech.
Moderator cut: Political referencesEach day as I see the headlines, I wonder: "What would Jesus think?"
What happened to “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these"?
I've asked this of Christians in my circle of acquaintances and am told that I should judge not, but seriously, are Christians prepared for THEIR judgment from God?
As a business person, I was taught that silence was approval and if you are to change a course you must speak out. Where are the Christians voices against these acts against children?
Where are your voices? Or, has your salt lost its flavor?
Last edited by Mightyqueen801; 06-26-2019 at 01:40 PM..
Reason: No politics in R&S
I have attended a number of churches that don't preach hell and damnation. Instead, they are open and welcoming. My church is currently sponsoring a refugee family.
So...? I'm sorry you have had such rotten luck with your church experiences.
What do you make of Jesus statement:
“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.”
Jesus in describing His kingdom like a sheep herding operation seems to characterize those who want to enter without permission or going through improper channel. What is the purpose of this structure? The safety and security of the sheep. What do thieves and liars want to do? Steal the sheep. Why are they not only thieves but also liars? Is it because they use false pretense to excuse their illegitimate entry?
Jesus is a Shepherd of the flock. What does a shepherd do? He feeds, leads and protects against predators. If the Shepherd just went home and left the sheep alone and never watched the pen, how long would the sheep last?
Moderator cut: Political remarks removed
Last edited by Mightyqueen801; 06-26-2019 at 01:43 PM..
Reason: Red text changed to blue. Please read the rules.
Here is another passage for consideration:
Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, 3and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit.
4“If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. 5If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.
6“Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.
8“Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.
9“Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.
Exodus 23:2-9
There is fodder here for both sides. Justice is a balancing of the scales. God does not want the poor being oppressed. But neither does he want sympathy for their poverty to become a basis for ignoring the law. And neither are the sympathies de’jour a basis for changing policy based on mob demands.
I am not a believer in religious doctrines of any kind. Born Catholic, adopted to a non-practicing Protestant couple, I received the requisite Sunday School training until I was two, and then never walked into a church until I turned 16 (when my best friend got her driver's license and we could visit churches on our own). I have read the Bible cover to cover on at least four times, and refer to its teachings whenever I need guidance, but I never found God in a church.
We traveled to all the churches within a half-hour driving distance over the course of that Summer ('71),
I like you. I really like you. Oh, and Hi, gus2.
Last edited by Miss Hepburn; 06-26-2019 at 12:10 PM..
[quote=PastorMark;55520157]What do you make of Jesus statement:
“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.”
Jesus in describing His kingdom like a sheep herding operation seems to characterize those who want to enter without permission or going through improper channel. What is the purpose of this structure? The safety and security of the sheep. What do thieves and liars want to do? Steal the sheep. Why are they not only thieves but also liars? Is it because they use false pretense to excuse their illegitimate entry?
Jesus is a Shepherd of the flock. What does a shepherd do? He feeds, leads and protects against predators. If the Shepherd just went home and left the sheep alone and never watched the pen, how long would the sheep last?
Moderator cut: Political remarks removed
Last edited by Mightyqueen801; 06-26-2019 at 01:45 PM..
Reason: Politics
Here is another passage for consideration:
Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, 3and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit.
4“If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. 5If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.
6“Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.
8“Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.
9“Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.
Exodus 23:2-9
There is fodder here for both sides. Justice is a balancing of the scales. God does not want the poor being oppressed. But neither does he want sympathy for their poverty to become a basis for ignoring the law. And neither are the sympathies de’jour a basis for changing policy based on mob demands.
I have no idea how any of this pertains to my post. More mumbo jumbo.
I have attended a number of churches that don't preach hell and damnation. Instead, they are open and welcoming. My church is currently sponsoring a refugee family.
So...? I'm sorry you have had such rotten luck with your church experiences.
Thank you, Gus. I salute your church for taking the initiative.
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Oh, and Hi, gus2.
