So today marks 8 years that I’ve been doing this blog. That’s a pretty big milestone! I had two posts on November 14, 2006, and I thought it would be fun to repost them here (along with a little commentary).
Here’s the first:
Wish me luck… 🙂
So that was innocuous enough. Now here’s post number 2:
I think 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 best explains the way in which Christ’s gospel was/is a mystery. As vs 18 says:
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
We can see from this passage that God’s plan of salvation makes no sense to those who refuse to believe it, but to those of us who accept it, it’s brilliant! Verse 21 goes on to say:
21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
See, because the world is so “wise,” it views the concept of God as foolishness. They have been blinded by their own pretensions. For the Jews and Greeks of the day, it wasn’t that they didn’t believe in the supernatural; it wasn’t that they didn’t believe in deities. Their problem was that they thought they already knew what God would do. The Jews already had a fixed idea of what the Messiah would be, so when Christ appeared and didn’t lead them to victory against the Romans, they refused to accept him. The Greeks didn’t accept Christ because they couldn’t conceive of a god allowing himself to be put to death by his own creation. And because they already had things “figured out,” they missed their chance.
Today, people do the same thing. They would rather put faith in scientific theories that have not been proven. They would rather believe that all of the order we see in our universe (the fragile food chain, vast differences throughout the animal and plant kingdoms, the very specific orbits of planets, etc) was created through a giant explosion (something that, in all practical applications, has only been shown to destroy, not create). Have they been blinded by their own “wisdom?”
Too often, even those who profess to be religious only listen to their own ideas about what God wants. Many times they view the Bible as a collection of stories or suggestions, and not the “wisdom of God that leads to salvation” that 1 Corinthians purports it to be. How is that different from what the Jews and Greeks were condemned for?
Throughout the Bible, passages talk about truth and understanding. I firmly believe that God gave us understanding and intellect for a reason. We are supposed to be able to understand God’s message for us. It’s not supposed to be “mysterious” any longer. It’s not supposed to be some “better felt than told” experience. No, God’s word is supposed to be powerful and undeniable. It’s supposed to move us and touch us in a way that nothing else can. But for it to do that, we have to read it, study it, know it.
It’s a little painful to read through that. I cringe when I read how badly I understood things about evolution and the Big Bang back then, or when I alluded to non-Christians as just being those who “refuse to believe it”. It’s kind of funny, but I was guilty of the same thing I was accusing others of. I thought I had the answers, but I had never taken time to really examine any other point of view.
The one decent thing from the post that serves as a bit of foreshadowing about where I would eventually wind up is the last paragraph. You can see that while I was firmly ensnared in Christianity, I believed that it was not supposed to be utterly mysterious. It was supposed to be consistent and “undeniable.” It took a while, but I finally realized that Christianity just didn’t deliver in that regard.
Anyway, I hope you’ve enjoyed this little jaunt down memory lane. Someone suggested to me recently that I should think about doing this kind of review with more of my old posts. I’ve been considering it… Thoughts?
Finding Truth 
Paul, I have uttered those words…
On a side note: I posted a comment elsewhere today that made 666 comments. It’s still sitting at that number. Does that make me the devil?
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“Does that make me the devil?” – I’ll bet if we asked your husband, he’s say you’ve got a lot if it in you –! 😉
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Thank you Gary — and you are right, very, very sad. People may ask “What’s the Harm?”
368,379 people killed, 306,096 injured and over $2,815,931,000 in economic damages
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. 🙂
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I’m sure he wouldn’t put up a disagreement. I’ve got horns propping up this halo. *grin*
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arch – leave that last comment of Ruth’s ALONE. . . . 🙂
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Ruth, people accuse me of being the devil all of the time. ???
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I do wish that lying coward Kathy, duck billed platypus that she is,
would return and answer the questions.
She never does, though.
She always runs when she realizes she has been defeated,
and I’ve watched her run away one hundred times.
for her, it’s just on to the next person to accuse of being a liar,
then run away without any evidence to back up any of her claims.
cheese and crackers, Christ and cranberries!
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SPG — not only a liar, but a LIBERAL! 😉
I know William enjoys their little “discussions,” but personally, I think it’s rather nice to be free (at least for awhile) of the constant bombardment of “Kathy Facts.”
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Nan, what is so hilarious about that tweet, the report she is referring to,(the liberal lies), is a republican report.
well, all of you guys, I had to endure a lot of Christian relatives over the holidays,
(praise science for Xanax),
and you guys were on my mind.
I have a hard time wrapping my head around the “struggle” (I’m not sure if that is the right word to use), you have had deconverting.
I never for a second believed, so I really can’t relate. I would imagine it would be like you all really understanding what it is like to be gay. you really can’t fully understand unless you are.
anyway, I listened to a lot of Christian nonsense, just smiled and kept my lips zipped to be polite and not cause drama, but it really is getting to the point where I’m just going to start screaming at the top of my lungs, “BULLSHIT”.
I’m honestly sick of these people thinking they are truly better than everyone else,
that they alone possess “the truth”.
And that “America is a Christian nation” crap has really got to go.
oh well, I’m glad you guys came to your senses. let’s hope more people do.
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“…just smiled and kept my lips zipped to be polite and not cause drama”
That REALLY doesn’t sound like you! Bet you have scars on your tongue!
“that ‘America is a Christian nation’ crap has really got to go.”
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Yes, ma’am!
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It might be a good idea to address it before you boil over. That’s liable to put people more on the defensive, and make them less likely to hear and consider your arguments.
Or so they say.
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Some guy said to me the other day, “They’ve taken the Christ out of Christmas, huh?” I said, “I don’t know about that, but I’ve got tropical fish in my car. I’ve been driving around with them for two days now.” *
* I was one of about 200,000 customers who lost power for days here in New Hampshire. I really was driving around with tropical fish in my car. I had to keep them warm – I even took them to work with me. It serves the guy right. He’s probably still wondering what that has to do with Christ or Christmas.
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Great comeback! Even better that it was true. :->
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So they’ve taken “Christ” out of Christmas, and soon, you will take the fish out of your car.
Makes perfect sense…
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Well, they’ve certainly taken the “Hallowed” out of “Hallowed Evening,” aka, Halloween – what’s next?
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Taking the fish out of the car.
Duh.
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Next they’ll be taking the Fool out of “April Fool” – speaking of which, where IS Kathy –?
(BAD Arch! Bad, bad, bad!)
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arch, I’ve quoted ““The United States is in no sense founded on the Christian religion.”
— John Adams —From the Treaty of Tripoli, 1797” to many christians arguing that our country is founded on biblical principles.
every one of them dismissed it using this argument by the great a’hole, david barton.
http://www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=125
or as Kathy would put it, ,”you are taking it out of context. stupid liberal”
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oh, and to answer your question “where’s Kathy”,
she is off somewhere defending the cop that shot and murdered michael brown, the
unarmed black teenager, because she’s a racist.
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I read the article. Many of his points were painfully clearly disingenuous, not the least of which is the complete lack of definition of whatever being a “Christian nation” would mean, anyway. To me, as a weak/non student of history, some of his points could stand to be addressed, though.
I think I read “Original Intent” in high school. 😦
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The article to which you provided a link makes it clear that the term, “Christian nation,” is open to interpretation, and admits that the Founders intended that there not be an actual, Christian creed behind the laws operating this country, i.e., a theocracy.
As for Adam’s personal beliefs, I can only infer from what he had to say:
You can see in this statement – “As I understand the Christian religion, it was, and is, a revelation.” – a likely belief in a supreme being, AS HE UNDERSTANDS IT, but no specific beliefs that I can see. But he IS making it clear that whatever the reality may be, the government should stay out of it entirely.
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oh, I agree, had the founding fathers wanted this to be a Christian nation, jeeezzzuuuussss would appear in the constitution, instead of a grilled cheese sandwich.
the “Christian nation” lie is very popular in the area where I reside.
in the letters to the editor of the local newspaper, not a week goes by without two or three letters that address the Christian nation issue, claiming that America needs to return to it’s Christian roots as our founding fathers intended.
it’s ridiculous,
gawd are they stupid.
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lol, our favorite food stamp queen is again boasting that conservitards give more than liberals. what a freakin’ fraud she is. I wish she would return and answer the questions.
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