Warning: Random Rant Following.
I’m currently reading the book “Starving Jesus”, written by the guys at XXXChurch.com. These guys aren’t afraid of doing the right thing, even if it offends someone, or makes them go “omgosh! they talked about porn/sex/booze”. The book has been incredible so far, and the honesty that they write with is simply amazing.
For example, they didn’t go to church for years though they were in full-time ministry. I can completely understand, given that so many aspects of the church are random, irrational and unbiblical. Church has become a cult of tradition rather than a group of believers. Shame on it. At one point in the first chapter, the guys literally say, “Church sucks!” Dead on.
I’m probably going to write more about this at Rational Christianity, but I just wanted to rant a bit. The church is afraid of talking about sex, about porn, about movie content, about philosophy, about whether greed is okay, about materialism, about anything. The most radical churches I’ve ever seen (out of the dozens I’ve attended, ranging from baptist to reformed to dancing and screaming charismatics to uber-conservative-homeschool-shelter-groups ;-p) never tackled the important issues.
We seem to be lost in the doctrine and have lost focus in the people. Or we get caught up with the people and lose focus in the truth. I’m not condemning doctrinal studies — I’m eat up with doctrine. But I know that doctrine without action is not just pointless, it’s freaking /wrong/. But focusing on the people without understanding the doctrine is utterly stupid.
Most churches have a “mission” that they support. They might financially support the mission a bit, and some of the more biblical churches might go out of the country once a year. Once a year. What’s wrong with us? We hear the word “mission” and we think “third-world country”. Ladies and gentlemen, America has a need like we can’t believe for reform. The philosophy of America is collapsing. There’s more to being a missionary than building houses — note that I say /more/. I’m not saying we should stop the missions we’re on, I’m saying we should /add on to what we’re doing/.
There’s no such thing as a “part time mission” or “full time ministry”. That’s a damned philosophy of Satan. We’re all full-time here, whether we suck at doing spreading the message or not. Being a Christian isn’t a once-a-week or a something that happens with starving kids in Africa. It’s a question of loving God with our minds, which means we have to stop the intellectual slobbery that says “not everyone can think well”, and move past the idea that being a stupid Christian is more holy than a intellectual Christian.
Polls show that 50% of America has dumped protestant Christianity. Go to CNN, it was one of the top stories for days. Religion is dying in America, and there’s a reason. Christians are acting like idiots, are embracing blind-faith, are treating church like a little social subculture rather than an outreach.
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Wow. I rarely read a news story that makes me sit up, take notice and feel good about myself, but this one about income mobility did just that.
A kid took 25 bucks, a gym bag, went to the homeless section of a town in South Carolina, camped out, and set a goal. With no outside help or contact, he was going to start over and prove to the world that in America anyone can be well off. In 10 months, he went from having just a bag and barely enough money to buy supper to living in an apartment, driving a pickup truck and having nearly five grand in the bank.
To all the nay-sayers who think it’s impossible for the poor to leave their poverty:
PWNT!
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Earlier this week I was contacted by Andrew Axsom who has recently changed candidates. Rather than support Ron Paul, he introduced me to another mainstream candidate who:
1. Will be tough on crime
2. Will be tough on terror
3. Wants to end welfare
This candidate dedicated his life to good and justice after a tragedy in his life. He’s an American hero and and I support him 100% in his quest for the White House.
Find out more here.
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I woke up, startled, felt feverish. It was only three in the morning. The darkness was more potent than usual and I couldn’t see a thing. He was talking to me again. But I didn’t believe in the voices in my soul, because I knew they weren’t real.
Good God!, I screamed at those who didn’t exist. Why do you haunt me? Why can I not live on the basis of the rational truth? I felt the universe chuckle, as though this was a cosmic-wide joke. I knew what reality was saying to me, that I had no point, and that empty feeling didn’t exist, and that I was the happiest man in the world. It was a joke, and reality was laughing.
I didn’t lay back because there was no use in trying to sleep. I can never fall asleep again after waking up in the middle of the night. Sitting up, I pretended that my mind was not screaming in agony. I’ll shrug off self-denial as long as I can, and no one will ever know. Maybe I can even fool me.
What’s wrong?, He asked, knowing the answer. I decided to pray one last time, no one had to know that I prayed all the time. I’m sure they always prayed at night. Everyone prays when alone, just to give the idea a second shot, I justified.
God if you’re there, Oh my God, save me from me, save my life from being spent. I knew that He wasn’t there as he held my hand. I love you, said one shadow, figments of my imagination. What are you doing, I screamed, how dare you wrestle with my mind? Why have I gone mad, I cried, the tears had come again — I hate crying, because I know I’m not a weak person.
But my mind loved the frolic. It’s all just a game, I guess. The universe looked as though it were about to speak a profound truth, before uttering that which I knew was true as I lied to me. Then all spoke. You ask me who I am. Some men build houses. Some men paint pictures. I am the one who sets the captive free.
Then set me free oh my GOD! Don’t allow my burn in the hell of life, I am the one who asks to be set free, don’t pass me God, make me believe you, make me trust you, fulfill in me all that I cannot fulfill myself. Wretched chains, dirty rags, unbelieving soul — save me.
And our journey began.
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I believe that there is a universal reality that we are all apart of. Reality does not exist because we perceive, we perceive because reality exists. In order to understand reality we must use at least two basic means of reason — logic and sense. The two should never contradict and should be used to compliment each other.
Our purpose in life is that which we choose. I’m a Christian existentialist. At first this sounds contradictory, but given some thought it reasons out perfectly. I believe that man should find his purpose in life, and act accordingly. How to determine one’s purpose? Happiness.
Happiness is the emotional response to the achievement of one’s values. People who win the lottery experience at least temporary happiness because they valued the lottery.* People who love others achieve happiness through treating others as though they love them. It is not wrong to achieve one
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It could be said that I’m a Jesus guy. I’m completely sold out to Him, not just as my savior, but as a philosopher. If I didn’t believe Christ was God, I’d still have Him as my favorite philosopher. The following quotes are great examples of why I love Him so much. Given the context of the quotations, He was preaching revolution. So they killed him for His love.
Note that I quote the Gospel of Thomas occasionally. This is not considered Scripture by any major denomination. I’m of the camp that the gospel of Thomas is the Q document that Mark and Luke based their writings on. I am not completely sure of this to say that it should be in the Bible, of course. Either way, the sayings are still so philosophically incredible, that they need to be learned.
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