If you know someone who is going to church this Sunday, here’s some thoughts for them. Why they shouldn’t give any money if they don’t like the sermon, and why they have an uneasy feeling that something isn’t quite right.
Why the liberal vs fundamentalism debate must be settled]
Being religious has very little to do with the things you mention. I think it’s mostly psychological, i.e. the need for a big daddy in the sky who loves you and cares for you no matter what. And maybe more importantly, just plain tradition. A friend who is religious really let the cat out of the bag when she responded to my question as to why she’s a Christian and goes to church. Her response was, if it isn’t all true then my parents lied to me when I was a kid.
So fear and social factors weigh in far far more than any kind of idea-based/theological reasons.
Here’s an experiment I wish we could perform: give everyone a million dollars a year, so that all their material worries disappear (and yes there are complications, but forget them for now.) I’ll bet if you could do this, which would mean everyone gets a house, a car, plenty of food, healthcare, education, etc. religion would die out in a few years.
Being religious has very little to do with the things you mention. I think it's mostly psychological, i.e. the need for a big daddy in the sky who loves you and cares for you no matter what. And maybe more importantly, just plain tradition. A friend who is religious really let the cat out of the bag when she responded to my question as to why she's a Christian and goes to church. Her response was, if it isn't all true then my parents lied to me when I was a kid. So fear and social factors weigh in far far more than any kind of idea-based/theological reasons. Here's an experiment I wish we could perform: give everyone a million dollars a year, so that all their material worries disappear (and yes there are complications, but forget them for now.) I'll bet if you could do this, which would mean everyone gets a house, a car, plenty of food, healthcare, education, etc. religion would die out in a few years.Except for those who believe the million dollars a year comes from god because he favors them for being believers. Lois
If you know someone who is going to church this Sunday, here's some thoughts for them. Why they shouldn't give any money if they don't like the sermon, and why they have an uneasy feeling that something isn't quite right. Why the liberal vs fundamentalism debate must be settled]The problem I see is that the sermon is not all there is in the service, so just disagreeing with that is not a complete reason to withhold the offering. FYI, unless the antibiotics kick in, I might not be attending this year, even though I attend every other Sunday.
the question of who God is was never settled
I don’t see much point to the whole “debate” in the article. It’s like arguing which is more true: Star Wars or Star Trek.
I won’t be in church this Sunday. I’ll be making BBQ Spare Ribs on my Weber grill. The way God meant for us to celebrate Easter.
Which is one way to settle it. I made no comment on the reason for having the argument, only the consequences of it not being settled.the question of who God is was never settledI don't see much point to the whole "debate" in the article. It's like arguing which is more true: Star Wars or Star Trek. I won't be in church this Sunday. I'll be making BBQ Spare Ribs on my Weber grill. The way God meant for us to celebrate Easter.
If you know someone who is going to church this Sunday, here's some thoughts for them. Why they shouldn't give any money if they don't like the sermon, and why they have an uneasy feeling that something isn't quite right. Why the liberal vs fundamentalism debate must be settled]The problem I see is that the sermon is not all there is in the service, so just disagreeing with that is not a complete reason to withhold the offering. FYI, unless the antibiotics kick in, I might not be attending this year, even though I attend every other Sunday. That's a good point, but I try to keep my blogs from getting too long, lest they go unread. Sermons usually try to connect in some way to the work of the church. The parable has a message about how to act in the world, and a good preacher will connect that to something a person can do today, or something the church is already doing. So what I'm saying is, if the connection seems weak, or the justification is a stretch, or for that matter, if it's flat out wrong, trust your feelings. You wouldn't give to any other organization if you didn't like their mission statement or if what they were doing didn't match up with why they were doing it.
Being religious has very little to do with the things you mention. I think it's mostly psychological, i.e. the need for a big daddy in the … I'll bet if you could do this, which would mean everyone gets a house, a car, plenty of food, healthcare, education, etc. religion would die out in a few years.Hmm, obviously have some work to do here. Because that's exactly what I was trying to say. It is all psychological. But as long as the question remains open, as if there is a reason to continue to seek God, then many things can be hidden in that psychology. You point out a good one, that it means facing up to our parents being wrong. Another big barrier is people are uncomfortable thinking about choosing their own ethical standards. Your experiment is a good one, but in reality, isn’t that what civil society is trying to do? Aren’t we trying to figure out how to take care of each other? How to create a peaceful world where people won’t feel the need to steal or fight? Religion has managed to maintain the high ground by discussing morality and humanism, but oppressive rules that favor a sub-group get smuggled into that discussion. With Christianity it’s obvious because we can name the theologians and leaders who have done that smuggling. Trouble is, people don’t want to hear it, they say it is not “real" Christianity but in the same breath say it is part the tradition or otherwise excuse it. I can see the historical reasons for why humanist writings came out of monasteries, but for a Christian, those writings become the justification for all of Christianity, the “true" Christianity. In secular philosophy, we clean out the bad parts, we ditched the weird stuff from Freud almost immediately, we have improved on Locke’s utilitarianism, but religion tries to keep it all. So we end up with a Bible full of contradictions.
Actually it's not like that. Star Trek is more true. Star Wars is just (childish) fantasy set in space. Star Trek is actual science fiction (for the most part - sometimes the TV episodes stray real close the Star Wars type fantasy).the question of who God is was never settledI don't see much point to the whole "debate" in the article. It's like arguing which is more true: Star Wars or Star Trek. I won't be in church this Sunday. I'll be making BBQ Spare Ribs on my Weber grill. The way God meant for us to celebrate Easter.
Being religious has very little to do with the things you mention. I think it's mostly psychological, i.e. the need for a big daddy in the sky who loves you and cares for you no matter what. And maybe more importantly, just plain tradition. A friend who is religious really let the cat out of the bag when she responded to my question as to why she's a Christian and goes to church. Her response was, if it isn't all true then my parents lied to me when I was a kid. So fear and social factors weigh in far far more than any kind of idea-based/theological reasons. Here's an experiment I wish we could perform: give everyone a million dollars a year, so that all their material worries disappear (and yes there are complications, but forget them for now.) I'll bet if you could do this, which would mean everyone gets a house, a car, plenty of food, healthcare, education, etc. religion would die out in a few years.Except for those who believe the million dollars a year comes from god because he favors them for being believers. LoisThat'd actually be a good thing...since everyone gets the million, they'd be forced to believe god favors everyone, and therefore be forced to live as if we in fact ARE all god's children. ;)
Being religious has very little to do with the things you mention. I think it's mostly psychological, i.e. the need for a big daddy in the sky who loves you and cares for you no matter what. And maybe more importantly, just plain tradition. A friend who is religious really let the cat out of the bag when she responded to my question as to why she's a Christian and goes to church. Her response was, if it isn't all true then my parents lied to me when I was a kid. So fear and social factors weigh in far far more than any kind of idea-based/theological reasons. Here's an experiment I wish we could perform: give everyone a million dollars a year, so that all their material worries disappear (and yes there are complications, but forget them for now.) I'll bet if you could do this, which would mean everyone gets a house, a car, plenty of food, healthcare, education, etc. religion would die out in a few years.Except for those who believe the million dollars a year comes from god because he favors them for being believers. LoisThat'd actually be a good thing...since everyone gets the million, they'd be forced to believe god favors everyone, and therefore be forced to live as if we in fact ARE all god's children. ;) Maybe, but somehow I think they'd manage to manipulate it to support religion. They have a track record for doing that.
The problem I see is that the sermon is not all there is in the service, so just disagreeing with that is not a complete reason to withhold the offering.That's a good point, but I try to keep my blogs from getting too long, lest they go unread. Sermons usually try to connect in some way to the work of the church. The parable has a message about how to act in the world, and a good preacher will connect that to something a person can do today, or something the church is already doing. So what I'm saying is, if the connection seems weak, or the justification is a stretch, or for that matter, if it's flat out wrong, trust your feelings. You wouldn't give to any other organization if you didn't like their mission statement or if what they were doing didn't match up with why they were doing it. A Christian congregation is made up of Human Beings, which are usually imperfect. So even though they have good intentions and hear good sermons, many Congregations get it wrong and don't really hear the sermon, or wouldn't know if it were good or bad. That being said, yes, the sermon usually has some connection to the rest of the service and the works of the church in general but the sermon could be bad and the works good, so do you withhold contributions from an organization that is trying to do some good in the community? I do agree that a bad organization (one that doesn't accomplish stated objectives) should not be supported.
so do you withhold contributions from an organization that is trying to do some good in the community? I do agree that a bad organization (one that doesn't accomplish stated objectives) should not be supported.There's no easy answer to these questions. There could be a church with some good organizers, but a bad preacher, or I've given to kids just to support them in the idea of trying to raise funds and do something, or maybe they just made some good cookies.
Video of Randall’s talk is now available at the original link in the OP. If you want to see a Christian admit to crimes against humanity perpetuated by Christians, watch it.