Personal thoughts

Why follow in the footsteps of others, when you can make your own footsteps and have others follow you. Don't follow others-other people's experiences-you have to personally experience life yourself. Then and only then will you have a story to tell of your own.

What is a CULT?

What is cult? Everything that Christianity says it is. Anything that differs from Church dogma is abhorrent and irrelevant. The Dictionary of CULTS, SECTS, RELIGIONS AND THE OCCULT reads-A relatively small, often transitory religious group that commonly follows a radical leader. A cult, unlike a SECT, espouses radically new religious beliefs and practices that are frequently seen as threatening the basic values and cultural norms of society at large. Therefore, people who are involved in cults frequently exhibit antisocial and neurotic behavior. In recent times, orthodox Christians have used the term to describe those religious groups that deny the TRINITY(see trinity in statement of faith) and specifically the deity of Jesus Christ. Their teachings are contrary to historic Christian ORTHODOXY. The three dynamics of a cult are sociological, psychological (behavioral), and theological. By this definition could Christianity be a CULT?

Properly Framing the Gay Argument Pt.3

This is the last installment in the Properly Framing the Gay Argument series. Recently the North Carolina General Assembly approved a constitutional referendum to place a ban on same sex marriage in the NC Constitution. Voters will decide in May 2012. This is the Pandora’s Box I spoke of previously. If the voters come out overwhelmingly against, will the churches agree with the decision of the citizens? While it uphold the Constitution in this case and people's right to gather and practice peaceful civil disobedience.
The question I proposed, if we already have a ban on gay marriage, why waste tax payer dollars on something that is only going to fan more flames of dissent?  If the ban gets approved it will make it harder to overturn in the future. What was a non-issue will now become an issue.
This goes beyond a simple disagreement and becomes personal. It becomes, of all things, political. That in and of itself is dangerous as you begin crossing the church and state lines.

My Centre

The depth of blackness that crucify's me daily
Taking my inner most self and making it a display
Shelf life with no end, spontaneity and laughing lips plague me insufferably
Reaching deeper within me an endless pit of ill repute
A deification of uncertainty
Hanging in balance my soul, soulless unknown regions
A spiraling stair case of twist and turns and turns and twists of unrelenting suffrage bagging each mystery of whom it beist
 Looking deeper and more closely and image that seems to mock and make fun of my fear
A sardonic  sad eye smile that reassures me never
A raging sea of froth and ilk undeniable constant stabbing pain
A light that stopped shinning or is it to deeply embedded unattainable
Coming full circle to unreality, apocalyptic fantasy reaming sweet blissful hatred
visions, outer regions exploring
Cacophonies of sounds exploding bringing truth closer to the dull shining fate of being lost
My belly cries out for peaceful solutions, retributions but my thoughts are convoluted
Crying tears of joy, wonderment, sadness, and all else that lies within me

Properly Framing the Gay Argument Pt.2

In the article Properly Framing the Gay Argument, I showed the parallels between the argument for and against homosexuality. As the debate continues to rage on (as it will) I want to follow-up about the dangers of picking a side. What do I mean about picking a side? Rather than looking at this through the eyes of the scripture but instead looking at this moral issue through the eyes of immoral men and women who claim to be purveyors of truth.

This issue has turned into a debate by political whores on both sides of the aisle who simply want your vote. The “Right” tries to play up its religious pedigree, simply to receive your vote. This proposes many issues. Maybe you disagree with their policy and many of their views, yet you vote for them and their country crippling policy, as long as they are against gays. This is nothing new. I’ve been in the Ekklesia (church) where we were told “not to vote for the issues, but for your conscience.” That makes absolutely no sense to vote for a politician who undermines how you feel about issues that personally affect your life. The problem with the Left is they play for the emotional vote. While there is a point to be made, no one group has the God card. Secondly, we do have to treat people with dignity. Yet, is it really about dignity or is it about votes. When it comes to politicians, it’s about the constituency and votes; overall it’s about winning.

God isn’t silent when it comes to his involvement in governments.

Properly framing the Gay Argument pt.1

The subject of one’s sexuality continues to come up. As the sun is scorching the United States so is the topic of homosexuality. The problem I have is how the argument is being framed. Should gays have equal rights? Are they born this way or is it a choice? As I mentioned before the framing of the issue has been wrong. The argument generally falls between two camps: for or against. Those for believe the Constitution answers the question. Those against believe the Bible is the answer. So, what is the answer? Well both, kind of.

Let’s deal with the Bible and the religious side first. I would like to add something first, people hold and have the right to agree as well as disagree. This is what adds to the framework of the argument. We all need to learn to disagree agreeably or agreeably disagree. No one opinion is absolute.

Let’s get back to the religious aspect. The Bible is written for all those that will hear. People have the right to follow its teachings or not. I want to deal with three very specific scriptures that people point to in opposition to homosexuality. The first is Romans 1. It’s important to read the entire book of Romans but for time constraints we will begin with verses 21-32.

Vain Imaginings

As with anything conspiracies are a part of daily life. From 9/11 to the birth certificate of the President of the United States being fraudulent, the list is forever growing. Today we have a new conspiracy. I guess I wouldn't go as far as saying new but it's gaining  and garnering more attention. It first reared its ugly head in relation to what took place with Rodney King; a much widely publicized event.

There is a new ignorance brewing that is placing God at the forefront of killing individuals. Don't misunderstand, when we look at Old Testament scriptures, God has told his leaders kill everyone in the city, man, woman, child, because no good will ever come from them.

First, I would like to say I believe in the inerrancy of the word of God, but do I believe everything that is written within each book; NO! We have to understand how to study the Bible. This understanding can take some time but let me give you a few short examples.

Anything written in italics was put there by the translators. Look at the word Easter. A celebration people erroneously involve themselves in each year,  clearya secular non-Biblical holiday. The King James Version is the only book that translates it as Easter, the other Bibles translates it correctly as Passover. That's a huge sacred cow that has been knocked over. The second cow that needs to be tipped over is the book: Revelation or Apocalypse. God is going to reveal something from his word. The book of Revelation is the final book or chapter that reveals what will happen. The problem with it is it contains numerous symbols and allegory which means mystical. So in reading, should everything should it all be taken literally?