I love this! I have a real problem with Christians who point out some people as sinners, ie: Gay, Trans, drug addiction, etc . Yet they somehow have no problem with people having extramarital affairs, stealing money from the poor, taking advantage of the weak, and not to mention observing the Sabbath. They are praising a man, Trump, who has broken every one of the 10 commandments.
Hi Brian, I've been following you for a while now. I'm a 67 year old 3rd generation ex-evangelical from an ultra conservative Hispanic background. Here's my question: If there is no hell, no punishment for the wicked, what was the purpose of Christ's life, death and resurrection? I'm very seriously asking because I'm having a very hard time trying to disentangle myself from the toxicity of my religious past. Thank you!
The way Christianity is taught now is almost inverted it seems. They mold Jesus to justify all the things they need justified, they make scripture comfort their biases so they don't have to feel bad about following their natural gut reactions to things. I feel like Jesus calls people to look past their gut reactions and find the harder path that's more rewarding. That narrow path. I feel like following Jesus isn't easy and I'm not sure it should be. I feel like to some people it could be easy but ultimately what Jesus would do is the opposite of what I would or close to opposite. So it makes it harder. Because it makes us rise up beyond our instincts. Maybe hard is the wrong word, maybe following Jesus should be more challenging than churches claim. It should feel like what dying to ourselves should feel like. It should be "I really want to tell that person to go fuck themselves...but Jesus is telling me to get past that and look for the love for humanity that goes deeper than our front facing emotions. It'll suck but I know it's the right thing to do for the betterment of everyone." Today it's more taught that if you hate someone just find the scripture that says it's okay, boom done, and now by hating them, giving into your gut instincts, you're a better Christian for it because you're following the Bible. I don't know, I'm rambling. I just loved this essay and it makes me think all the things it should. I feel comforted knowing other people see Jesus the same way. That we're not alone. Thank you!
my friend keri likes to remind me that according to her indigenous spirituality, behaviors are more important than beliefs, because you know what someone really believes by how they behave.
I love this! I have a real problem with Christians who point out some people as sinners, ie: Gay, Trans, drug addiction, etc . Yet they somehow have no problem with people having extramarital affairs, stealing money from the poor, taking advantage of the weak, and not to mention observing the Sabbath. They are praising a man, Trump, who has broken every one of the 10 commandments.
Thank you for sharing. This was good for my soul to hear.
Hi Brian, I've been following you for a while now. I'm a 67 year old 3rd generation ex-evangelical from an ultra conservative Hispanic background. Here's my question: If there is no hell, no punishment for the wicked, what was the purpose of Christ's life, death and resurrection? I'm very seriously asking because I'm having a very hard time trying to disentangle myself from the toxicity of my religious past. Thank you!
I have truly learnt to skip with joy into the liberation that Jesus has given me every day - great read Brian
The way Christianity is taught now is almost inverted it seems. They mold Jesus to justify all the things they need justified, they make scripture comfort their biases so they don't have to feel bad about following their natural gut reactions to things. I feel like Jesus calls people to look past their gut reactions and find the harder path that's more rewarding. That narrow path. I feel like following Jesus isn't easy and I'm not sure it should be. I feel like to some people it could be easy but ultimately what Jesus would do is the opposite of what I would or close to opposite. So it makes it harder. Because it makes us rise up beyond our instincts. Maybe hard is the wrong word, maybe following Jesus should be more challenging than churches claim. It should feel like what dying to ourselves should feel like. It should be "I really want to tell that person to go fuck themselves...but Jesus is telling me to get past that and look for the love for humanity that goes deeper than our front facing emotions. It'll suck but I know it's the right thing to do for the betterment of everyone." Today it's more taught that if you hate someone just find the scripture that says it's okay, boom done, and now by hating them, giving into your gut instincts, you're a better Christian for it because you're following the Bible. I don't know, I'm rambling. I just loved this essay and it makes me think all the things it should. I feel comforted knowing other people see Jesus the same way. That we're not alone. Thank you!
my friend keri likes to remind me that according to her indigenous spirituality, behaviors are more important than beliefs, because you know what someone really believes by how they behave.