Tag Archives: religion

Catholics, Protestants, and 400 denominations

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When you meet a person on the street and say that you are a Christian, what you mean by that and what a stranger thinks may be galaxies apart from each other.  Bill Maher has commented on how ridiculous it is to believe that a cracker turns into the body of a guy that’s been dead for 2,000 years, and your salvation depends on eating it.  That’s one way in which the outside world views Christianity.  And when other people hear that, that’s what they think of all Christians.  The reference is to the Roman Catholic teaching of transubstantiation, and most Protestants find it ridiculous also; yet they break the bread and take the cup.  That’s just one example of thousands where Christians disagree.

I wrote an article in April called Roman Catholic Christians  in which I listed several things that Baptists and Catholics agree on, all having to do with the work and divinity of Jesus Christ.  Recently there have been some new comments, and I’ve responded to those, but that’s so far back I decided to bring it up again.  Continue reading →

Aladdin’s Lamp Christianity

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There are children starving in Africa.  3-year-olds are raped and then murdered.  Millions of people in the world have cancer, HIV, and other diseases for which we have no cure.  Gasoline is over $4 a gallon.  I can’t believe in a God that would allow all these things to happen in the world. 

Have you ever heard an argument like this, or some variation thereof?  We live in a screwed up world, there is no argument about that.  I believe in working to find a cure for AIDS, feeding the hungry of the world, and any other humanitarian cause you can think of.  But none of these problems can be put together in a equation that equals God does not exist.  Continue reading →

Give us a sign.

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The Pharisees ask Jesus for a sign on two separate occasions, in Matthew 12 and again in Matthew 16.  Both times Jesus replied that a wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign.  In the second case, Jesus had just miraculously feed a crowd of 4,000; but if he showed them one more sign, then they would believe.  Continue reading →

“Evolution is a Proven Fact” -Dilbert

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Defending Contending has tons of stuff like this. I couldn’t help it.

Update – separation of church and state

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If the image of the cross appeared on every license plate that South Carolina produced, that would be unconstitutional.  Unwilling drivers would have religious symbols thrust at them by the state.  But if you don’t want an “I Believe” plate on your car, all you have to do is not ask for one.  Why should it be illegal for the state to sell me one?  In our society of free-market capitalism, consumer sovereignty says the buyer decidies what get produced and sold, not the government. 

This post is an update to my original article Separation of Church and State.  There is a lively discussion going on over at Americans United for the Separaton of Church and State about the South Carolina lisence plate issue.  Here’s a link. 

Let’s also keep this in perspective: Christians in China would probably find the heated debate over this issue laughable.  Any underground church, hiding from their government in order to meet, has bigger issues to actually worry about.  We are so spoiled rotten by being blessed beyond measure in this country, we don’t know what persecution is.

UPDATE, AUG 12 – Denise Gibel-Molini has written one of the best articles on separation of church and state I’ve read in a long time (yes, including mine).  It’s about the War in Iraq, and is a little long, but is very well researched and I believe historically accurate.

Don’t like what the Bible says? Sue the publisher.

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Get a load of this:

“In Grand Rapids, Michigan, Christian publisher Zondervan is facing a $60 million federal lawsuit for allegedly homophobia and prejudicial translations of the Bible. by a man who claims he and other homosexuals have suffered based on what the suit claims is a misinterpretation of the Bible. Bradley Fowler has sued the publisher despite the fact that it is not the translator.

 

Fowler focuses on the translation of 1 Corinthians 6:9 — and notes that homosexuals are listed “wicked” or “unrighteous” and barred from the kingdom of heaven.”

Thank you Jonathan Turly for blogging on this.  This guy wants $60 million – and an apology – for the grief he has suffered over the last 20 years because of this translation of the Bible.  Unfortunately pretty much every translation of the Bible I’m aware of, no matter how lieberal, condemns homosexuality.  Even if we take First Corinthians out of the Bible, you can’t get around Romans Chapter One.  Fowler really needs to sue God, that’s who says homosexuals aren’t going to heaven, not the Bible authors and not Zondervan.  I guess Crossway, Thomas Nelson, and International Bible Society had better get ready; the last time I checked, their Bibles didn’t come out too favorably toward homosexuality either.  This case is like sueing the police officer who wrote you a speeding ticket on the grounds that paying the fine and losing your lisence caused you economic loss and emotional suffering.  OMG!

I’ve updated this story: click here.

Separation of Church and State

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I recently posted this article about the state license plates in Florida and South Carolina that have set off recent separation of church and state arguments.  I basically assert that to protect the division between church and state, we sometimes compromise our first amendment rights, namely freedom of speech and also of religious expression.  Again, you can click here for that article; for this post I have some new information.

I was discussing the establishment clause over dinner with my department head (it’s a small town).  I mentioned that “separation of church and state” is nowhere to be found in the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, etc.  He asked me if I knew where the statement did in fact come from.  I honestly did not.  I have been informed – by a history teacher with more education and experience than myself – that the term separation of church and state was first used in a private letter written by Thomas Jefferson.  Jefferson authored the Declaration of Independence, the document that first declared there was a  United States of America.  A Baptist church was concerned that the Federal government was going to institute the Congregational Church as the state appointed church, and Jefferson wrote a letter to their minister saying there was enough “separation of church and state” that it wouldn’t happen.  That letter was lost to the ages until sometime in the 1950’s when someone dug it up.  Since that time, because of that letter, the establishment clause of the Constitution has been interpreted to mean separation, and the Supreme Court favors that document – a private letter between two citizens – over the Constitution wording and other legal documents.

Here’s a good link for further research: http://everynation.wordpress.com/2007/04/09/is-separation-of-church-and-state-in-the-bible/

God honoring, Christ centered

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I don’t know how well that shows up on your screen in the banner. Is that just a slogan? Well, sort of. When creating a wordpress page, you’re asked to write a title, and then a brief description of what your blog is about. “God honoring, Christ centered” is there as much as anything to remind me what I’m doing here. What does it mean? Now that my friend is the right question. Continue reading →

A Look Back: Read my blog – or not

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I first began blogging in February of this year.  Let’s be honest; I didn’t know what the heck I was doing.  A lot of those first few posts were bad, but not all of them.  It was okay, because there wasn’t really anyone reading my blog either.  I’ve been going through the archives, and found a couple of gems.  In response to another blog I read, I drew an analogy between blogging and gardening, and described how they’re both types of therapy for me.  Unless you’re one of about 4 people, this isn’t a repost for you; enjoy it for the first time.

I just read a post on Internetmonk entitled “10 Reasons I Don’t Read Your Blog.”  I just couldn’t say everthing I wanted to in the comment box.  Then I remembered: I have blog.  Perfect. Continue reading →

How is abortion not killing babies?

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Kurt says:

Enough with this nonsense already!
The abortion “issue” is the biggest scam the GOP has ever come up with.
Think about it. If republican politicians and religious leaders truly thought we were killing babies, abortion would be stopped in an instant.

I’m a religious leader, and I think we’re killing babies. We have been doing so legally in the U.S. since the early 1970’s. Continue reading →