"His thoughts are not our thoughts"

One of the more recent conversations I’ve had with a person who is hostile to Christianity (actually hostile to all religion) got me thinking about a most common practice among both those hostile to the faith and those of the faith. That is looking to something or someone other than Christ/Christianity to form their view OF Christianity. This person frequently pointed to the occurrences of January 6th this year, the scandals that involved those professing to be Christian, the President voted for by many who identify as Evangelical Christians, as well as those passages in the Old Testament that would be seen to be contrary to the teachings of Christianity, as well as those who teach a different Gospel but identify as…

By nature, I am not a detail-oriented person. I tend to think in generalities. I would choose the broad brush before I would choose the one for the more intricate work. As I’ve gotten older, I have seen more and more the importance of details and how they affect the larger picture. One particular verse has been of great help in my re-education. Most people, including myself (up until recently), when asked if they could quote I Peter 3:15 would say something along the lines of; always be ready to give an account of the hope that’s in you. If that was their answer they would be both right and wrong. Right, in that the verse does have that thought and those…

  “Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus is the same. All may change but Jesus never, Glory to His name.” This song, written by A.B. Simpson was one that was sung often at my home church during my earliest years. I remember it well. It had a very distinct sound that made it easy to remember, though I never gave any real thought to the words and their implications…until many years later. When we are young, we know virtually nothing of “change”. We pretty much, subconsciously, think that, when we wake up in the morning, all will be as it was when we went to sleep the night before. It’s mom or dad who alert us to changes. When I was growing up, and…

It appears to be contrary to our nature to invite criticism. I know I don’t like it when someone points out an apparent or potential flaw in my thinking. None of us want to think that we may be wrong. In fact, we go to great lengths to protect our perceived ‘rightness”. Of course, this may be one of the great ironies of the day. Over the past several months I’ve had an ongoing conversation with a friend..  Our conversation (carried out on line, through email and Facebook) can get pretty contentious at times but usually ends (for the time being) with a smiley face or a light-hearted bit of humor. This is, of course, necessary to express the emotion that is…

As is often the case for me, I was inspired to write this after reading the following article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-siebold/pennsylvania-pastor-wrongly-suspended_b_4310212.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592 I would encourage you to read the article to give a fuller context to the rest of this article. Words have meanings. And though there was never a time in history when we all agreed on the meaning of all words or statements, there has never been a time in my lifetime that “meanings” have been so diverse. The statement below is a great example. The article above is about a United Methodist minister from Pennsylvania who had been suspended from the church for 30 days after performing a marriage ceremony for his son to another man. There are three statements that I…

The Sin That So Easily Besets One of the arguments I have heard regarding the normalcy of homosexuality from both the more general public to Christians to atheists and everyone in between is that “they” were born this way and didn’t have a choice. My initial response to that was negative, given that God calls homosexuality sin, why would someone be born that way. Certainly, God wouldn’t create a being with a desire that is contrary to his ordered way. Yet, many say they have been same-sex attracted for as long as they can remember. The argument from the “other side” is mostly that it is environmental. Exposure at a young age to homosexually erotic material, sexual abuse, peer pressure, are said…

The more I read and ponder the Scriptures, I am struck by this question. What are the implications of what I’m reading? Am I considering these passages in a way that is more than just cursory? Has my reading of the Scriptures fallen prey to the old saying; “Familiarity breeds contempt?” Probably the first verse that got me thinking in this vein was Isaiah 55:8, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, declares the Lord.” To clarify, while I don’t think I have ever, literally, held the words of Scripture with contempt (“the feeling with which a person regards anything considered mean, vile, or worthless; disdain; scorn.) I have definitely not given them the attention and…