It has been my tradition to ADD something rather than GIVE SOMETHING UP for Lent. Usually, I make it a point to go to church every week during Lent or to do a Bible study. I haven't done very well this year. A friend just sent me an e-mail forward that I really like.
Things to Give Up for Lent
Taking those you love for granted
Promising more than you can deliver
Losing your temper
Trying to get everything perfect
Doing the right thing for the wrong reasons
Thinking about money
Blaming other for your woes
Blocking out what you don’t want to hear
Listening only to yourself
Wanting to be in control
Having to be right
Patronizing people
Complaining
Carrying a grudge
Denying your obsessions
Feeling sorry for yourself
Thinking of greener grass
Telling God what to do
Pretending
Denying your gifts
Doubting your goodness
Looking for easy answers
Lying to God
Looking the other way
Expecting others to solve your problems
Doing what everyone else does
Carrying a chip on your shoulder
Being bored
Cursing the darkness
and
Denying that you are loved
I am definitely guilty of a bunch of these so I'm going to work on giving up some of these for Lent.
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Monday, March 02, 2009
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Voltaire Inspiration
Warning: This post contains Christian propaganda! (wink)
There is a quote that is commonly attributed to Voltaire that I have always found meaningful:
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
I like this. A lot. But it is pretty difficult for me to practice that when faced with certain conservatives or other people that I REALLY disagree with. But if I want to be able to practice free speech, I have to encourage and allow others to do so as well.
I went home last night and thought more about Margalit's post. As Ricky Ricardo might put it, I feel that Christians may have a "lot of splaining to do." In the Lutheran Confession, we pray: "We have sinned against You in thought, word and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart, we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves." This may be a good starting point when talking to people of other beliefs. Note that this confession does not say "Christian neighbors."
Margalit is right. Christians are charged with going out and spreading the Good News. I thought about that last night and I would like to take you on an imaginary journey with me to the time right after the death of Christ. Let's imagine for a moment that we are travelling with Thomas. (of "doubting" fame) Thomas is travelling around telling people about Jesus. Let's say he stops at a local well for some water. He introduces himself to the other travelers at the well and reveals that he is a disciple of Jesus. The other travelers haven't heard about Jesus and they listen politely. Then, one of the travelers says, "It's been nice chatting with you, Thomas, but I'm just not buying what you are selling."
Now, Thomas could have responded, "Well, that's fine but I want you to know that you are going to hell. You will be thrown into the fiery pit where you will suffer for all time and get poked by devils with pitchforks. If you aren't with me, then you are against me!" That's the way a lot of Christians respond to non-believers. Right?
But, somehow, I think Thomas would have said something like, "Okay. But I really believe this and I'm going to keep talking about it. If you want to learn more, you know where to find me."
The thing about faith is that you can't FORCE someone to believe. And I don't think you should want someone to embrace a belief out of fear. If we as Christians truly believe that God is love and we want to spread a message of inclusiveness, I think we can share our faith without judgment or anger or any of the other negative things that Christians sometimes do. Some people in this life may be receptive to what we have to say. They may ask questions and try to learn more. And others may not be interested. And that's okay. We are charged with loving our neighbors as ourselves. No matter what.
There is a quote that is commonly attributed to Voltaire that I have always found meaningful:
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
I like this. A lot. But it is pretty difficult for me to practice that when faced with certain conservatives or other people that I REALLY disagree with. But if I want to be able to practice free speech, I have to encourage and allow others to do so as well.
I went home last night and thought more about Margalit's post. As Ricky Ricardo might put it, I feel that Christians may have a "lot of splaining to do." In the Lutheran Confession, we pray: "We have sinned against You in thought, word and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart, we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves." This may be a good starting point when talking to people of other beliefs. Note that this confession does not say "Christian neighbors."
Margalit is right. Christians are charged with going out and spreading the Good News. I thought about that last night and I would like to take you on an imaginary journey with me to the time right after the death of Christ. Let's imagine for a moment that we are travelling with Thomas. (of "doubting" fame) Thomas is travelling around telling people about Jesus. Let's say he stops at a local well for some water. He introduces himself to the other travelers at the well and reveals that he is a disciple of Jesus. The other travelers haven't heard about Jesus and they listen politely. Then, one of the travelers says, "It's been nice chatting with you, Thomas, but I'm just not buying what you are selling."
Now, Thomas could have responded, "Well, that's fine but I want you to know that you are going to hell. You will be thrown into the fiery pit where you will suffer for all time and get poked by devils with pitchforks. If you aren't with me, then you are against me!" That's the way a lot of Christians respond to non-believers. Right?
But, somehow, I think Thomas would have said something like, "Okay. But I really believe this and I'm going to keep talking about it. If you want to learn more, you know where to find me."
The thing about faith is that you can't FORCE someone to believe. And I don't think you should want someone to embrace a belief out of fear. If we as Christians truly believe that God is love and we want to spread a message of inclusiveness, I think we can share our faith without judgment or anger or any of the other negative things that Christians sometimes do. Some people in this life may be receptive to what we have to say. They may ask questions and try to learn more. And others may not be interested. And that's okay. We are charged with loving our neighbors as ourselves. No matter what.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Blogging for the People
So Margalit got me thinking...(dangerous, I know)
I started reading her blog after seeing her insightful comments on "Lost" on Ellen's blog. I may not always agree with Margalit but I like it that she offers intelligent and thoughtful views on a variety of subjects. When she sees something that bothers her, she expresses herself about it. And I both appreciate and respect that. Plus, her posts often get me thinking about things.
Her recent post about Christian bloggers (see link above) was one of those posts. Christians really piss people off. And I get it. Because a lot of Christians have pissed me off with their "holier-than-thou" exclusionary attitudes. And regular readers of my blog already know that I have recently started "coming out" about my own faith. I don't want to feel as if I have to hide the fact that I am Christian anymore for fear of offending someone or being subjected to ridicule. I have to be who I am. And I started this blog in order to share my life with people. Because you never know when something you have to say might mean something to someone else. At the same time, I don't want to offend or exclude anyone. Part of me is a cultural relativist. I think that goes hand in hand with being an anthropologist. I don't expect everyone to think the same way I do. And I don't criticize them for not agreeing with me. But I don't want to be censored. Or made to feel as if I have to censor myself.
I know that not everyone wants to read posts about my Christian journey all the time so I created a separate blog for that with my pal Gary. I'm not here to proselytize. Just to share. And I hope that people understand that.
I started reading her blog after seeing her insightful comments on "Lost" on Ellen's blog. I may not always agree with Margalit but I like it that she offers intelligent and thoughtful views on a variety of subjects. When she sees something that bothers her, she expresses herself about it. And I both appreciate and respect that. Plus, her posts often get me thinking about things.
Her recent post about Christian bloggers (see link above) was one of those posts. Christians really piss people off. And I get it. Because a lot of Christians have pissed me off with their "holier-than-thou" exclusionary attitudes. And regular readers of my blog already know that I have recently started "coming out" about my own faith. I don't want to feel as if I have to hide the fact that I am Christian anymore for fear of offending someone or being subjected to ridicule. I have to be who I am. And I started this blog in order to share my life with people. Because you never know when something you have to say might mean something to someone else. At the same time, I don't want to offend or exclude anyone. Part of me is a cultural relativist. I think that goes hand in hand with being an anthropologist. I don't expect everyone to think the same way I do. And I don't criticize them for not agreeing with me. But I don't want to be censored. Or made to feel as if I have to censor myself.
I know that not everyone wants to read posts about my Christian journey all the time so I created a separate blog for that with my pal Gary. I'm not here to proselytize. Just to share. And I hope that people understand that.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Nostalgia and Something New
So, yesterday's post brought up the memory of the "Great Space Coaster" which I had totally forgotten. In fact, before yesterday, I would have sworn up and down that I had never even HEARD of the "Great Space Coaster" much less seen it. But then, I went to YouTube and watched a video of the opening credits and found myself unconsciously singing along. I KNEW THE WORDS!!! So, I guess I AM familiar with it. I had just forgotten about it. How I miss those wonderful "Sesame Street," "Electric Company," "3-2-1 Contact," Sid and Marty Kroft days!!! I think the creator of "Family Guy" must be my age because we have all of the same cultural references. In fact, he even had a reference to the "Great Space Coaster." So, there you go.
In other news...
I am excited to announce that my friend Gary and I are launching a new blog together. We have been having great discussions lately about faith and spirituality and decided to make our "conversations" public. The format of the blog involves me writing Gary a "letter" and him responding. We'll be reading books together and discussing a variety of topics. Our first book will be MERE CHRISTIANITY by C.S. Lewis. I hope you will all stop by if you are so inclined.
The blog is called THROUGH THE WARDROBE. (but the link uses the spelling of "thru")
In other news...
I am excited to announce that my friend Gary and I are launching a new blog together. We have been having great discussions lately about faith and spirituality and decided to make our "conversations" public. The format of the blog involves me writing Gary a "letter" and him responding. We'll be reading books together and discussing a variety of topics. Our first book will be MERE CHRISTIANITY by C.S. Lewis. I hope you will all stop by if you are so inclined.
The blog is called THROUGH THE WARDROBE. (but the link uses the spelling of "thru")
Monday, March 26, 2007
Liberal Christians Anonymous
I'm not quite ready to leave this topic yet. Just wanted to say a few more things.
First of all, thank you to those of you who commented and were so nice and supportive. I felt a little vulnerable about that post. I just wanted to share something about myself. Because I am something of a cultural relativist, I tend to support people on any faith journey they choose to take. I have chosen one particular path and I work on growing and learning every day. I think that, ultimately, if you are a Christian you have a responsibility to love, support, include and help your fellow human beings. I don't like things that divide us from one another.
I used to think that I would just worship quietly in my own way and not attend church. But then I realized that I needed that faith community. It is so nice to go to church and feel free to express myself and my beliefs without ridicule. Sometimes, I think that liberal Christians don't fit in anywhere. We aren't accepted by conservative Christians because we are "too liberal." And we aren't accepted by liberal non-Christians because we are "too Christian." And I am ashamed to say that there have been times in my life where I stifled my faith around my liberal friends because I didn't want them to think of me as "one of THOSE people." For example, I have felt compelled before to include a meaningful bible verse on a birthday card to a non-Christian friend but I didn't because I was afraid of an eye-rolling response. Lately though, I have decided to just be who I am and let others worry about their reactions. If my conservative Christian friends want to chastise me for my love of my gay friends, then that is their problem. And if my non-Christian friends feel like I'm selling out when I hang my crosses on my wall and teach Sunday school each week, then that is their problem. I have to be me. And, in the end, I am a liberal secular humanist who happens to be a very devoted Christian trying to find her place in the world.
Peace be with you....
First of all, thank you to those of you who commented and were so nice and supportive. I felt a little vulnerable about that post. I just wanted to share something about myself. Because I am something of a cultural relativist, I tend to support people on any faith journey they choose to take. I have chosen one particular path and I work on growing and learning every day. I think that, ultimately, if you are a Christian you have a responsibility to love, support, include and help your fellow human beings. I don't like things that divide us from one another.
I used to think that I would just worship quietly in my own way and not attend church. But then I realized that I needed that faith community. It is so nice to go to church and feel free to express myself and my beliefs without ridicule. Sometimes, I think that liberal Christians don't fit in anywhere. We aren't accepted by conservative Christians because we are "too liberal." And we aren't accepted by liberal non-Christians because we are "too Christian." And I am ashamed to say that there have been times in my life where I stifled my faith around my liberal friends because I didn't want them to think of me as "one of THOSE people." For example, I have felt compelled before to include a meaningful bible verse on a birthday card to a non-Christian friend but I didn't because I was afraid of an eye-rolling response. Lately though, I have decided to just be who I am and let others worry about their reactions. If my conservative Christian friends want to chastise me for my love of my gay friends, then that is their problem. And if my non-Christian friends feel like I'm selling out when I hang my crosses on my wall and teach Sunday school each week, then that is their problem. I have to be me. And, in the end, I am a liberal secular humanist who happens to be a very devoted Christian trying to find her place in the world.
Peace be with you....
Friday, March 23, 2007
Recommended Reading for Liberal Christians
I grew up in Texas and I dearly love my home state. But it wasn't easy being a liberal there. And it was even harder to be a liberal Christian. A lot of people tried to tell me that I couldn't be a liberal AND a Christian. I became pretty embittered as a teenager and quit going to church until I went to college. My faith journey has had many twists and turns.
I was adopted through Lutheran social services at three months old. My mother was Baptist and my father was Episcopalian. We attended a non-denominational bible church while I was growing up. (and I spent some time in a Lutheran preschool) As I got older, my peers started to develop an "all or nothing" attitude. Either you spent all of your time with your church friends listening to Christian music and reading Christian literature or else you weren't included in the group. I increasingly felt like an outsider and a pariah. Was it so terrible to listen to the Police? Was it bad that I just didn't really enjoy Oke's books? Why did that make me a bad person? I quit going to church.
When I went to college, I thought I would try again. I found a home in my campus church where the pastor was the most gentle and caring man. So non-judgmental. I felt rejuvenated. I tried joining a campus bible study but I started to encounter the same problems I had in my youth. At one point, we decided to create a tape of music that was descriptive of our spiritual journeys. Each person brought in a song. Most people brought in songs by people like Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith. There is nothing wrong with Christian music. I think anything that uplifts the soul is wonderful. But, I brought in "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" by Sting. I got some looks. I think I've written about this before but it bears repeating. I felt hurt and I dropped out of the bible study.
When I moved to Colorado for graduate school, I joined a Lutheran church and really found a home there. The first service I attended included a special prayer for Matthew Shepherd's family. I knew right then that that was the church for me. I was ready to be part of an inclusive group of people . I think one of the main problems with Christians is that we tend to be a little full of pride and judgment. We are charged with reaching out to one another and loving one another not excluding people because they are different.
There are a few books that have been really important to me in my faith journey that I would like to recommend.
1. A New Kind of Christian by Brian McLaren
This is part of series that really opened my mind and allowed me to rethink the kind of Christian that I am.
2. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
Miller's story was very much like my own. And because he is also a member of Generation X, everything he was saying was very familiar and really spoke to me.
3. Plan B by Anne Lamott
Lamott is a liberal Christian who has been on quite a faith journey herself. I enjoy her honesty and determinism. There are other books in this series that are equally good.
4. Sabbath by Wayne Muller
This book had me rethinking what it means to observe the Sabbath.
5. Practicing Our Faith
I'm reading this right now as part of my church's book club. It is an interfaith approach to practicing one's faith in the modern world.
If anyone has suggestions on other good books to read, let me know. Faith is a journey and I'm constantly trying to learn and evolve. Slowly but surely...
I was adopted through Lutheran social services at three months old. My mother was Baptist and my father was Episcopalian. We attended a non-denominational bible church while I was growing up. (and I spent some time in a Lutheran preschool) As I got older, my peers started to develop an "all or nothing" attitude. Either you spent all of your time with your church friends listening to Christian music and reading Christian literature or else you weren't included in the group. I increasingly felt like an outsider and a pariah. Was it so terrible to listen to the Police? Was it bad that I just didn't really enjoy Oke's books? Why did that make me a bad person? I quit going to church.
When I went to college, I thought I would try again. I found a home in my campus church where the pastor was the most gentle and caring man. So non-judgmental. I felt rejuvenated. I tried joining a campus bible study but I started to encounter the same problems I had in my youth. At one point, we decided to create a tape of music that was descriptive of our spiritual journeys. Each person brought in a song. Most people brought in songs by people like Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith. There is nothing wrong with Christian music. I think anything that uplifts the soul is wonderful. But, I brought in "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" by Sting. I got some looks. I think I've written about this before but it bears repeating. I felt hurt and I dropped out of the bible study.
When I moved to Colorado for graduate school, I joined a Lutheran church and really found a home there. The first service I attended included a special prayer for Matthew Shepherd's family. I knew right then that that was the church for me. I was ready to be part of an inclusive group of people . I think one of the main problems with Christians is that we tend to be a little full of pride and judgment. We are charged with reaching out to one another and loving one another not excluding people because they are different.
There are a few books that have been really important to me in my faith journey that I would like to recommend.
1. A New Kind of Christian by Brian McLaren
This is part of series that really opened my mind and allowed me to rethink the kind of Christian that I am.
2. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
Miller's story was very much like my own. And because he is also a member of Generation X, everything he was saying was very familiar and really spoke to me.
3. Plan B by Anne Lamott
Lamott is a liberal Christian who has been on quite a faith journey herself. I enjoy her honesty and determinism. There are other books in this series that are equally good.
4. Sabbath by Wayne Muller
This book had me rethinking what it means to observe the Sabbath.
5. Practicing Our Faith
I'm reading this right now as part of my church's book club. It is an interfaith approach to practicing one's faith in the modern world.
If anyone has suggestions on other good books to read, let me know. Faith is a journey and I'm constantly trying to learn and evolve. Slowly but surely...
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