I am rattled by those who are so religious in their hatred of all thing "religious".
I read and examine web sites, blogs, etc. of folks who are "liberal" in their thinking and philosophy; I enjoy the discovery and am curious to the thought processes of "liberal minded" people and programs.
Far too often I come across folks who seem to be, by their own definition, "haters". They espouse a certain hatred and bigotry toward "religion", God, conservatism and, anyone who disagrees with their personal philosophy of life on this planet; an intolerance toward those who they deem intolerant.
There are also those "religious" folks who are just as intolerant and spout the same hatred and bigotry toward others. The stories of church congregations and their leaders spouting putrid filth and hatred toward fellow creations of God are legendary. I am quick to point out that these folks do not speak of our God, the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, the God of the Holy Bible. These folks have twisted "God" to suit their personal bias, may have "Christian" on their door and wall, but certainly do not fit my definition of a "follower of Jesus".
Madness falls in all categories and walks of life on this planet we call our temporary home. Anyone who believes that our God "hates" any one person on this planet just simply doesn't understand the message of the Bible. God hates the sin, not the man. Every person on this planet is a personal creation of God, and God loves His creations.
I'm willing to bet that, just like me, on any given day, each one of us falls into one or more of these categories of the sin that God detests.
"Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them." ~ Romans 1:22-32
I wish I could find a way, in loving patience, to better express myself and to better express God's love and mercy toward all mankind. Along that way, I'll just have to work harder at walking the walk, before I talk the talk. In the meantime, don't hate me for believing the Bible is true, attending a "Christian" congregation, for believing that life is sacred, or for believing you can enjoy God's Gift of Grace. I don't hate those who believe the opposite.
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." ~ John 3:16-17
The only problem I have with your plea is that you choose to ignore Jesus in favor of someone who never met him, and, I daresay, never knew him.
ReplyDeleteJesus made it so simple that even us liberals can understand:
35‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ Matt 25:35-40
If we would spend our time doing as Jesus asked us to do, we would not have time for hate or anything else.
If we would examine our political parties against Jesus' teachings, we would have no difficulty in selecting the right one.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only.
I don't understand your comment, "The only problem I have with your plea is that you choose to ignore Jesus in favor of someone who never met him, and, I daresay, never knew him."
ReplyDeleteWho do you say I am ignoring Jesus in favor of?
You used Romans as you text. I consider Paul to be the Antichrist - the opposite of everything Jesus said and did. (Matthew 24:4-5 states you will be deceived by people that come using Jesus’ name.) He is the perfect Republican, while Jesus is the definition of Liberalism. It's just a quirk of mine, and a few others.
ReplyDeleteWow! First I heard that one! So can I assume that you discount pretty much everything in the New Testament other then the Matthew, Mark, Luke and John?
ReplyDelete