Morality is not determined by the church you attend nor the faith you embrace. It is determined by the quality of your character and the positive impact you have on those you meet along your journey
Saturday, September 27, 2014
This is how I have viewed church since I was seven years old.
For example: The lack of a creed or clear description of Quaker beliefs has led to the misconception that one can believe anything and be a Friend. The absence of a creed can be seen as an invitation to exercise an extra measure of personal responsibility for the understanding and articulation of Quaker faith. Rather than rely on priests or professional theologians, each believer is encouraged to take seriously the personal disciplines associated with spiritual growth.
Moravian Church: "Just as the Holy Scripture does not contain any doctrinal system, so the Unitas Fratrum also has not developed any of its own because it knows that the mystery of Jesus Christ, which is attested to in the Bible, cannot be comprehended completely by any human mind or expressed completely in any human statement...."
The problem, as I see it, is fundamentalist, right wing extremism. This exists in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, every group who believes in their own superiority. It was a fundamentalist Hindu who assassinated Gandhi. Ashin Wirathu, a right wing Buddhist, who s trying to force the Muslims out of Burma, wants his group to be like The English Defence League - and so on.
http://tinyurl.com/mmgn4ap
Reducing complex issues by the use of stereotyping doesn't need much brain power.
TO: Anonymous 7:49 AM There are just as many Liberal believers as there are conservative believers. I am a Liberal believe. Your comment gives the impression that you think only conservatives are believers.
Teacher: Can you see God? Class: No. Teacher: Can you touch God? Class: No. Teacher: Then there isn't a God!
Student: Sir, can you see your brain? Teacher: No. Student: Can you touch your brain? Teacher: No. Student: Oh, okay, so you have no brain?
First of all, this is a horrible analogy because the brain of every person and higher-level animal on the planet CAN be seen, touched, studied, and measured.
What completely floors me, however, is that the person who posted this is a married lesbian whose own religion reviles her, discriminates against her, shuns her, and calls her a sinner. And members of that same religion are trying to have her marriage rendered illegal by the government.
I was raised in the same religion (Catholicism) but, even as a child, was shocked at the hypocrisy and hatred I saw practiced by 'devout' members of the church. I left the church as soon as I was permitted to by my mother.
And yet, people like my friend continue to profess their faith in a religion that preaches hate towards them. I just don't understand it.
I was a little older than that; it was at Sunday school in the Central Valley of CA when the instructor told me I was a sinner because I went to the Saturday matinees to watch the Three Stooges.
Thank you, Jesse. best laugh I've had in a long time. I do have plenty of experiences with levels of reality that go beyond the 3D, but I've always said that religion is what gives "God" (I prefer Source of Being or Inner Source) a bad name. Dropped out of Sunday school at age 10--could not abide the nastiness and hypocrisy of all these so-called religious members and their offspring. And know that everything religion teaches, including "God" is mythology plus hogwash.
Unfortunately, this cartoon could apply to our so-called elected officials and government agencies as well. They sure don't want any of us to think, and are doing their utmost to disable whatever brain function we have left.
Rip out the heart also too
ReplyDelete... and the wallet.
DeleteGood one!
ReplyDeleteI see nothing before your headline.
ReplyDeleteIf you intended to have a blank space: well done!
Ahh -- I can now see a cartoon. True...and as evil as any kind of physical abuse.
ReplyDeleteAnd these people vote!
ReplyDeletePerfect.
ReplyDeleteDon't lump all churches in the same box, G.
ReplyDeleteRemember how annoying it is to hear right-wingers stereotype all liberals.
While I do not belong to any church, I agree.
DeleteFor example: The lack of a creed or clear description of Quaker beliefs has led to the misconception that one can believe anything and be a Friend. The absence of a creed can be seen as an invitation to exercise an extra measure of personal responsibility for the understanding and articulation of Quaker faith. Rather than rely on priests or professional theologians, each believer is encouraged to take seriously the personal disciplines associated with spiritual growth.
Moravian Church: "Just as the Holy Scripture does not contain any doctrinal system, so the Unitas Fratrum also has not developed any of its own because it knows that the mystery of Jesus Christ, which is attested to in the Bible, cannot be comprehended completely by any human mind or expressed completely in any human statement...."
http://christianity.about.com/od/Moravian/a/Moravian-Beliefs.htm
The problem, as I see it, is fundamentalist, right wing extremism. This exists in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, every group who believes in their own superiority. It was a fundamentalist Hindu who assassinated Gandhi. Ashin Wirathu, a right wing Buddhist, who s trying to force the Muslims out of Burma, wants his group to be like The English Defence League - and so on.
http://tinyurl.com/mmgn4ap
Reducing complex issues by the use of stereotyping doesn't need much brain power.
TO: Anonymous 7:49 AM
DeleteThere are just as many Liberal believers as there are conservative believers. I am a Liberal believe.
Your comment gives the impression that you think only conservatives are believers.
A friend just posted this today on Facebook:
ReplyDeleteTeacher: Can you see God?
Class: No.
Teacher: Can you touch God?
Class: No.
Teacher: Then there isn't a God!
Student: Sir, can you see your brain?
Teacher: No.
Student: Can you touch your brain?
Teacher: No.
Student: Oh, okay, so you have no brain?
First of all, this is a horrible analogy because the brain of every person and higher-level animal on the planet CAN be seen, touched, studied, and measured.
What completely floors me, however, is that the person who posted this is a married lesbian whose own religion reviles her, discriminates against her, shuns her, and calls her a sinner. And members of that same religion are trying to have her marriage rendered illegal by the government.
I was raised in the same religion (Catholicism) but, even as a child, was shocked at the hypocrisy and hatred I saw practiced by 'devout' members of the church. I left the church as soon as I was permitted to by my mother.
And yet, people like my friend continue to profess their faith in a religion that preaches hate towards them. I just don't understand it.
I was a little older than that; it was at Sunday school in the Central Valley of CA when the instructor told me I was a sinner because I went to the Saturday matinees to watch the Three Stooges.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jesse. best laugh I've had in a long time. I do have plenty of experiences with levels of reality that go beyond the 3D, but I've always said that religion is what gives "God" (I prefer Source of Being or Inner Source) a bad name. Dropped out of Sunday school at age 10--could not abide the nastiness and hypocrisy of all these so-called religious members and their offspring. And know that everything religion teaches, including "God" is mythology plus hogwash.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, this cartoon could apply to our so-called elected officials and government agencies as well. They sure don't want any of us to think, and are doing their utmost to disable whatever brain function we have left.