Post by TRIPWIRE on Mar 22, 2004 22:47:47 GMT -5
March 15, 2004
Just Plain Tired
Written by Joe Hanger
Originally posted at tripwire.hickersonfamily.net/2004_0315.html
This rant is just something to say on my personal part. I am tired of some standing up in their own boastful pride and saying that because they are weak, that everyone else needs to follow their way. Nothing wrong with having parrallel paths in the same beliefs. Another thing to add this is just my analazis of the church, and religion from believing it since I was twelve. Now, I have heard some say that I was just a child and I really did not know the things of God, which is complete nonsense. Child-like faith saves us, do not tell me that a 10 year old new convert cannot grasp things of God and as time goes, they learn more, called growing up as we all do. Sometimes the smartest people in the wordl are the children who have not been brainwashed with judgementalism and self-righteousness and have not been brainwashed with false pretenses of love. Anyways, on to what I want to say.
I guess this is a rant about my frustrations with the church. Go back to the Protestant Reformation, and things just seemed to change. Martin Luther and many others just up and left the church for maybe good/righteous reasons, or maybe not. The Great 95 thesis of Luther, just seems like a report of complaints against a church; like that is new. I will never forget the last time, I felt true spirituality within a church. The First Friends in Bellefontaine, Ohio and the pastor at that time was Ron Morgan. An awesome man. A man of peace, love and truth. It was not something escatic as the charismatics/radicals. You did not see the need to show to the world your faith through babble, it was not so right-winged that you felt condemned for wearing jeans to church or maybe not being able to pay the "exact" amount for tithe one week. Ron was a man of love, based on the truth, but neverthe- less, never judged you. He would pray with you and come down to your level instead of living in the majestic title of "THE PASTOR". I will never forget the night at youth group, he asked us, the youth, to pray for him. He gave me a straightup view of what love is, a quote I will never forget, "Love is a state of being." Sadly enough it took me through failure after failure to finally understand, and I am single, but nevertheless I understand it now. Now, the church kicked him out for no good reason. The man did nothing wrong. I will never forget the quotes I read in a printed email, that the church was becoming a missonary church. What kind of lunatic reason is that to remove a pastor for? He is doing his job. The church did not have a huge number in the podems, but the youth were touch for I still am, and I know those that were touched by his life, and now he is hours away, still doing ministry to reach and help those in need, and I pray God's most utmost blessing on him, his wife, and his children. This brought up so many questions to me though.
Here we have a church, in one belief, and attacked a person in leadership of that same belief, same church, but yet somehow it is ok to them. That does not make sense. It brings up so many questions that I have always had. Why all the denominations? People's opinions is the only thing I see to be the reason for this madness. Differences in matters that have no meaning to the salvation of the soul. One side, speaking in mumbo jumbo and laying hands and watching people show, kind of like a great Shakespeare play, and then the other side is like the CEO's of Christianity. Then some in the middle road, complaing about both, but yet doing the same thing that both sides do. They go to "non-demoninational" churches. Now is this is hiliarious to me, how a non-denominational group, has their own non-denominational denomination. So it is ironic now how my search is now in the Catholic Church. The one "denomination" that is now becoming hated for all the sexual abuses of perverted and sexual frustrated priests which have nothing to do with the doctrine of the church, or the people that got hurt because they judged that person or their extremist rules hurt their emotions. Are hurt emotions a good enough reason to not go to a certain church? Some would say I have hurt emotions from the Charismatic Pentecostal Denomination, and it is true, some of me is hurt by them, but when a church says, that drinking sprite is wrong because the word sprite means spirit, that gives you a sign. Seeing some man on TV, in his grand suit, speaking some other tounge, and laying hands on people and making them "convulse" is not something that is spreading the gospel on a healthy note. To me, it is almost like the move, The Exorcist on the opposie end, and not as graphic either. I have never been able to understand right-winged radicals. Rock and roll is bad, tattoos are bad, long hair is bad, mixing of church and state is the answer they say and more, I just do not understand these things. Personal weaknesses that turned into fear and now are doctrines. Nonsense. So now this church is my next search. The church to where you see old women and men, praying feverently to God. Sit in the pews and go to confessional repeatedly because they are seeking, not destroying. About confessionals, it is ironic how Protestants complain about that, but the same thing is done in their churches. They go and confess their sins, and seek counsel from the pastor. Difference is, it is not in a box. Some say that the priests believe that they forgive people's sins. My response to that is, anyone that knows God in any small, minute fashion, knows they cannot do that, and two, I am on my way to knowing more about Catholics and their ideas. They seem realistic, which is something lost in basically the world in all areas today. Today, love is set on emotional highs, ideas of perfection, the beautiness of women on MTV, the income you get, the job you have, the car you drive, whether you put your privates out for someone or not. Looks become so important and they are but they are not everything because the infirmities can be fixed. Then we have the media inducing the best life in us. 3.5 Americain lifestyle is the answer and the key to happiness. Nothing wrong with a nice house, nice car, family and all that. I long for a family. I long to have a house and good car to drive, but am I going to pervert my ways, and sacrifice myself to get it quicker, no way. I am who I am, and finally for myself, I am happy with who I am, that I would not lose this to some idea, or some woman, for now someone has to accept me as me and nothing more or less. We live in a country that says, you can do anything you want to, but then reality hits, and your gambling at a 50 to 50 shot that you will do your dreams. Then the church. Judging simple things that mean no difference to our souls, and calling it evil because they do not like it, or they were weak in that area once, so they figure that constant truth is based on their own weaknesses and strengths, and have the gull to preach it to everyone else in the world. Nothing wrong with preaching that Christ is the way, that is the only constant truth in this world, but to preach about musics, tattoos, food, style of clothing is ridiculous. Expectations that are too high to reach. Expectations that the only way you can do it is by putting on a mask, which is a lie, and then your back into the dreaming mode again or an intoxicating moment, and hangovers always kill the butterflies in your stomach of the night before.
So what is next? I like the way the band Chevelle band puts it, "I wonder what is next? Nothing." Funny how all my life up to this point, I have been this hypocrite that I am talking about through this. Complaining about the Catholic Church because of interpretation differences. Now, I defend myself for my tattoos, my realisticness, and there is a difference of interpretations when you disagree with someone, and now an epiphany that is healng me is I have been doing the same thing to the Catholic Church that I complain about people doing to me, and others around me that I love, or just people that believe the same as I do. Realizations of contradictions really sets your soul free. An open mind to searching this historic belief as far as Peter, Petros the Rock the church was built on. Then it spreaded out to the world. I find it funny in a way to, that some denominations say they go back to John the Baptist. So I wonder if a disciple left Christ and followed John the Baptist? Hmm... I do not think so. Then the others that their history is only back a few hundred years, whicn is like yesterday in the eye of history. Historically, I mean the more and more I am finding out, the Catholic Church goes back to Peter, which is historically and spiritually significant. Why? Peter was the one that Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God and God Himself said, "You are the rock that I will build my church upon." Peter means Petros, the rock. That is so important. So I pray this search goes well for my soul.
Now this rant about the church, world, love whatever you want to call it about, is not out to change people, or convince them otherwhise of their ways. All this is about is my search for God through this filthy place we call earth.
Feel free to share your thoughts!
Just Plain Tired
Written by Joe Hanger
Originally posted at tripwire.hickersonfamily.net/2004_0315.html
This rant is just something to say on my personal part. I am tired of some standing up in their own boastful pride and saying that because they are weak, that everyone else needs to follow their way. Nothing wrong with having parrallel paths in the same beliefs. Another thing to add this is just my analazis of the church, and religion from believing it since I was twelve. Now, I have heard some say that I was just a child and I really did not know the things of God, which is complete nonsense. Child-like faith saves us, do not tell me that a 10 year old new convert cannot grasp things of God and as time goes, they learn more, called growing up as we all do. Sometimes the smartest people in the wordl are the children who have not been brainwashed with judgementalism and self-righteousness and have not been brainwashed with false pretenses of love. Anyways, on to what I want to say.
I guess this is a rant about my frustrations with the church. Go back to the Protestant Reformation, and things just seemed to change. Martin Luther and many others just up and left the church for maybe good/righteous reasons, or maybe not. The Great 95 thesis of Luther, just seems like a report of complaints against a church; like that is new. I will never forget the last time, I felt true spirituality within a church. The First Friends in Bellefontaine, Ohio and the pastor at that time was Ron Morgan. An awesome man. A man of peace, love and truth. It was not something escatic as the charismatics/radicals. You did not see the need to show to the world your faith through babble, it was not so right-winged that you felt condemned for wearing jeans to church or maybe not being able to pay the "exact" amount for tithe one week. Ron was a man of love, based on the truth, but neverthe- less, never judged you. He would pray with you and come down to your level instead of living in the majestic title of "THE PASTOR". I will never forget the night at youth group, he asked us, the youth, to pray for him. He gave me a straightup view of what love is, a quote I will never forget, "Love is a state of being." Sadly enough it took me through failure after failure to finally understand, and I am single, but nevertheless I understand it now. Now, the church kicked him out for no good reason. The man did nothing wrong. I will never forget the quotes I read in a printed email, that the church was becoming a missonary church. What kind of lunatic reason is that to remove a pastor for? He is doing his job. The church did not have a huge number in the podems, but the youth were touch for I still am, and I know those that were touched by his life, and now he is hours away, still doing ministry to reach and help those in need, and I pray God's most utmost blessing on him, his wife, and his children. This brought up so many questions to me though.
Here we have a church, in one belief, and attacked a person in leadership of that same belief, same church, but yet somehow it is ok to them. That does not make sense. It brings up so many questions that I have always had. Why all the denominations? People's opinions is the only thing I see to be the reason for this madness. Differences in matters that have no meaning to the salvation of the soul. One side, speaking in mumbo jumbo and laying hands and watching people show, kind of like a great Shakespeare play, and then the other side is like the CEO's of Christianity. Then some in the middle road, complaing about both, but yet doing the same thing that both sides do. They go to "non-demoninational" churches. Now is this is hiliarious to me, how a non-denominational group, has their own non-denominational denomination. So it is ironic now how my search is now in the Catholic Church. The one "denomination" that is now becoming hated for all the sexual abuses of perverted and sexual frustrated priests which have nothing to do with the doctrine of the church, or the people that got hurt because they judged that person or their extremist rules hurt their emotions. Are hurt emotions a good enough reason to not go to a certain church? Some would say I have hurt emotions from the Charismatic Pentecostal Denomination, and it is true, some of me is hurt by them, but when a church says, that drinking sprite is wrong because the word sprite means spirit, that gives you a sign. Seeing some man on TV, in his grand suit, speaking some other tounge, and laying hands on people and making them "convulse" is not something that is spreading the gospel on a healthy note. To me, it is almost like the move, The Exorcist on the opposie end, and not as graphic either. I have never been able to understand right-winged radicals. Rock and roll is bad, tattoos are bad, long hair is bad, mixing of church and state is the answer they say and more, I just do not understand these things. Personal weaknesses that turned into fear and now are doctrines. Nonsense. So now this church is my next search. The church to where you see old women and men, praying feverently to God. Sit in the pews and go to confessional repeatedly because they are seeking, not destroying. About confessionals, it is ironic how Protestants complain about that, but the same thing is done in their churches. They go and confess their sins, and seek counsel from the pastor. Difference is, it is not in a box. Some say that the priests believe that they forgive people's sins. My response to that is, anyone that knows God in any small, minute fashion, knows they cannot do that, and two, I am on my way to knowing more about Catholics and their ideas. They seem realistic, which is something lost in basically the world in all areas today. Today, love is set on emotional highs, ideas of perfection, the beautiness of women on MTV, the income you get, the job you have, the car you drive, whether you put your privates out for someone or not. Looks become so important and they are but they are not everything because the infirmities can be fixed. Then we have the media inducing the best life in us. 3.5 Americain lifestyle is the answer and the key to happiness. Nothing wrong with a nice house, nice car, family and all that. I long for a family. I long to have a house and good car to drive, but am I going to pervert my ways, and sacrifice myself to get it quicker, no way. I am who I am, and finally for myself, I am happy with who I am, that I would not lose this to some idea, or some woman, for now someone has to accept me as me and nothing more or less. We live in a country that says, you can do anything you want to, but then reality hits, and your gambling at a 50 to 50 shot that you will do your dreams. Then the church. Judging simple things that mean no difference to our souls, and calling it evil because they do not like it, or they were weak in that area once, so they figure that constant truth is based on their own weaknesses and strengths, and have the gull to preach it to everyone else in the world. Nothing wrong with preaching that Christ is the way, that is the only constant truth in this world, but to preach about musics, tattoos, food, style of clothing is ridiculous. Expectations that are too high to reach. Expectations that the only way you can do it is by putting on a mask, which is a lie, and then your back into the dreaming mode again or an intoxicating moment, and hangovers always kill the butterflies in your stomach of the night before.
So what is next? I like the way the band Chevelle band puts it, "I wonder what is next? Nothing." Funny how all my life up to this point, I have been this hypocrite that I am talking about through this. Complaining about the Catholic Church because of interpretation differences. Now, I defend myself for my tattoos, my realisticness, and there is a difference of interpretations when you disagree with someone, and now an epiphany that is healng me is I have been doing the same thing to the Catholic Church that I complain about people doing to me, and others around me that I love, or just people that believe the same as I do. Realizations of contradictions really sets your soul free. An open mind to searching this historic belief as far as Peter, Petros the Rock the church was built on. Then it spreaded out to the world. I find it funny in a way to, that some denominations say they go back to John the Baptist. So I wonder if a disciple left Christ and followed John the Baptist? Hmm... I do not think so. Then the others that their history is only back a few hundred years, whicn is like yesterday in the eye of history. Historically, I mean the more and more I am finding out, the Catholic Church goes back to Peter, which is historically and spiritually significant. Why? Peter was the one that Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God and God Himself said, "You are the rock that I will build my church upon." Peter means Petros, the rock. That is so important. So I pray this search goes well for my soul.
Now this rant about the church, world, love whatever you want to call it about, is not out to change people, or convince them otherwhise of their ways. All this is about is my search for God through this filthy place we call earth.
Feel free to share your thoughts!