tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11575448.post114283679628486621..comments2022-03-27T07:33:10.961-05:00Comments on A Rainbow Flag In Narnia: Tired of Christians, tired of ChristianityStevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13286849248756070621noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11575448.post-62876763203673579482007-05-09T03:53:00.000-05:002007-05-09T03:53:00.000-05:00Hello everyone,I must say that this (all that has ...Hello everyone,<BR/>I must say that this (all that has been said) grieves my heart so. I believe that God's word prevails over all. <BR/><BR/>Yes, tis true that whatever we do, we must seek God and His will. There is more than 1 theme in the bible, tho all is to lead to the birth of Jesus and the return of Him, our heavenly King.<BR/><BR/>But I find it common that many problems throughout the old and new testaments were because God's people were not unified.<BR/><BR/>We have all been hurt by one church or another. We've all been hurt by many people in our lives as well. It doesn't differ if we are followers of Christ or not.<BR/><BR/>Being a "Christian" means "little Christs". What I have seen here is neither good nor bad. <BR/><BR/>It’s great to have a place where we can debate and learn from one another. BUT, we must all agree that love IS Jesus' number 1 mission. <BR/><BR/>And to whom did Jesus love the most? His Father of course, GOD, our creator.<BR/><BR/>Jesus (as all of us tend to believe selfishly) died to only save us. It is not the only reason. Jesus was SO grieved by His task of dying on the cross. He endured so much pain even up to that point. He sweat blood!<BR/><BR/>He DIDN'T want to do it to the point of defying human norms.<BR/><BR/>But it was His love, devotion, and complete obedience to our GOD that He died on that cross. And it was our GOD that lifted Him to glory because of it.<BR/><BR/>Now, lets pretend for one moment that Adam and Eve never sinned. There in fact would not be need of the bible. No, the Word of God would not have even been needed. <BR/><BR/>But, as we read in John 1:1:<BR/>"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."<BR/><BR/>When God created the heavens and the earth, after every creation God said "and it was GOOD". Jesus was there every step of the way. His word (the translation that the Gospel John uses) was both important to Jews and gentiles alike. <BR/><BR/>This proves the importance of God's word and a need for Jesus.<BR/><BR/>Adam and Eve were not created to sin. No, they were perfect in God's sight. <BR/><BR/>It is indeed not human nature to sin. The biggest problem is we like it. Yes, I said it. We all enjoy sinning.<BR/><BR/>Jesus came to prove just how much we were not created to sin. In the fact that He made the way to be found once again perfect in God's sight.<BR/><BR/>Jesus, God's word, is the unifying factor of Christianity. As said by a little girl, "Jesus is called the Word because He is all God wanted to say to us".<BR/><BR/>He not only makes us unified with each other, but unifies us in God. He completes our 'family'. <BR/><BR/>So whether or not homosexuality is in fact a sin, my call to every claimed "Christ follower" out there, is this: "Love the Lord our God with all your heart. And lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge HIM, and he will make your paths straight".<BR/><BR/>Thank you. God bless you.<BR/><BR/>Jeremiah 29:11-14aAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11575448.post-1145869185155588672006-04-24T03:59:00.000-05:002006-04-24T03:59:00.000-05:00God here. I absolve you of everything. There's n...God here. I absolve you of everything. There's nothing wrong with homosexuality. Those overblown egos who produced the bible got Jesus' message all wrong. Clearly you're a thoughtful, kind individual who tries to consider the needs of others in choosing your own path, and that's about as much as I and the the archangels are looking for - Satan can't stand bleeding hearts so you're right there, mate. Your only mistake is listening to all those God-botherers. They sure drive me up the wall. Besides, do you think we don't understand the laws of supply and demand up here? We needed everyone to be heterosexual 2000 years ago because homo-saps was looking a bit dicey in the survival department. But now, wow - you'd think any sensible social institution - religious or otherwise - 'd be encouraging the entire planet to go gay, what with the blasted overpopulation crisis.<BR/><BR/>Oh well. Look, I realise you probably think this is all probably a bit flippant for God, but truly, I've got a sense of humour too. The main thing I want for you is too be happy, and to try to live without hurting other living things on the planet, and try not to destroy the environment. That's it.<BR/>Anyway,Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11575448.post-1144376865395514012006-04-06T21:27:00.000-05:002006-04-06T21:27:00.000-05:00PS..I know whereof I speak:I'm the person who bega...PS..I know whereof I speak:<BR/>I'm the person who began the<BR/>'Narnia move' more than 11<BR/>years ago. It truly was for<BR/>a special group of children.<BR/>I went thru things so terrible I will not describe<BR/>them here-Jesus knoweth--by<BR/>adults and ministers who were so jealous,selfish and<BR/>greedy that I despaired of<BR/>life and that includes public mockery, church mockery and wickedness I don't even want to think about. No one understood<BR/>except those children.<BR/> So, I do know. And I know<BR/>each Scripture is precious<BR/>and contains the inherent<BR/>power to cause itself to come to pass. The Name,<BR/>The Word and the Blood and<BR/>righteousness delivers from<BR/>death itself. NCS<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/> So, I do knowAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11575448.post-1144369242460266492006-04-06T19:20:00.000-05:002006-04-06T19:20:00.000-05:00Hmmm, I do have God's heart for those who are hur...Hmmm,<BR/> I do have God's heart for <BR/>those who are hurting...and<BR/>I myself have been majorly<BR/>hurt by many churches for various reasons...most <BR/>probably everyone who attends any church has their<BR/>'war' stories, churches being what they are. But <BR/>I know enough to stay away<BR/>too. I definitely love my<BR/>neighbor, but I was primarily talking about what<BR/>he has written on this website--re: the scriptural guidelines for<BR/>these matters. In my city,<BR/>there are several outreaches<BR/>specifically to the gay<BR/>community where the outreach is with compassion.<BR/>Chicago is not a city that will ever embrace those methods.<BR/>(I lived there over 20 years) I was referring to the Biblical<BR/>attitude of confessing and<BR/>forsaking known sin. When you forsake something, you<BR/>leave it and everything with<BR/>it behind. This includes<BR/>books, movies, articles,etc.<BR/>etc. See, WE have something<BR/>to do...Jesus will not do <BR/>that for us. (That would be<BR/>like praying daily to wake<BR/>up 30 lbs. thinner....it won't happen--I have to do something about that) the <BR/>friends I have that forsook that,do not drive Lexus cars<BR/>or wear Rolexes. They do outreach to the poor continually and go on mission trips and their children do also. But they have told me (including those that stayed celibate) that INWARD celibacy was the toughest and they did not put themselves in places<BR/>or read materials that made<BR/>them think otherwise. They did the 'cut it off' thing. I feel that we are to 'love<BR/>the sinner, hate the sin.'<BR/>This includes ANY sin a person commits, not just<BR/>homosexuality. Again, I<BR/>reiterate---WE choose to <BR/>follow New Testament Scripture. WE do that. Jesus<BR/>doesn't do that for us. That<BR/>truly is our choice.<BR/> And, after nearly 25 years<BR/>or so in the ministry in<BR/>every possible venue, I do<BR/>know and understand. I am<BR/>an independent and not affiliated with any denomination. I have been part of several. NONE are<BR/>perfect. Humans being what<BR/>they are, that will not change. And again, I mention<BR/>we ALL struggle in different<BR/>areas...but I do lump all <BR/>sins into one bundle called<BR/>"SIN."<BR/> Again,some of these experiences (foster homes etc.) are specific to Chicago. There are a whole<BR/>lot of great churches out<BR/>there too and a whole lot<BR/>of great Christians. Check<BR/>out 'Lang Fang Village'<BR/>James Robison, Paula White.<BR/>Everyone is not like those<BR/>who have met.....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11575448.post-1144169673018774782006-04-04T11:54:00.000-05:002006-04-04T11:54:00.000-05:00NCS ~Seriously, learn when to shut up.This guy is ...NCS ~<BR/><BR/>Seriously, learn when to shut up.<BR/><BR/>This guy is finally being honest about the hurts that primarily the church and christians have caused him, and you start preaching!<BR/><BR/>Ask God for wisdom and discernment or better yet, Psalm 141:3<BR/><BR/>Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.<BR/><BR/>If there is one thing we as Christians need to do - it's to shut up and start loving our neighbours. You want to change the world? Ask God to give You His heart for those who are hurting.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10850983527463869760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11575448.post-1144038334105760742006-04-02T23:25:00.000-05:002006-04-02T23:25:00.000-05:00Hi! I stumbled on your website and read thru sev...Hi! I stumbled on your website and read thru several of your blogs (the<BR/>'Narnia' caught my attention)and being a Christian too for 30 years,<BR/>noticed a lot of things I<BR/>wanted to respond to.<BR/> One thing that sticks out<BR/>like a sore thumb is that you basically do not believe<BR/>the Bible at all. You are putting what YOU think and <BR/>feel and what your body feels above the Word of God. Most of <BR/>the first part of the book<BR/>of Romans deals with these<BR/>same issues (homosexuality,<BR/>which is considered a work<BR/>of the flesh etc.)and in <BR/>Revelations too, Jesus addresses more strongly whole churches at that time<BR/>that were practicing works<BR/>of the flesh in various forms,fornication,adultery<BR/>etc. and He told us we have<BR/>to 'lay these works down.'<BR/>Anything you feed will GROW.<BR/>Evidently you fed (for many<BR/>years)(in the closet as you<BR/>call it) a whole other life<BR/>that is contrary to what the<BR/>exact directions are in the<BR/>Bible. Speaking as a person<BR/>that ate mega too much food<BR/>for years! I can relate. Also, I had several friends<BR/>that were Christians, went<BR/>into homosexuality then LEFT<BR/>it, got married but even they will tell you they sought the Lord for deliverance for this reason:<BR/>Because they knew it was<BR/>SPIRITUALLY wrong and they<BR/>WANTED TO PLEASE THE LORD.<BR/>(They are still married,are<BR/>in their late forties and<BR/>doing fine.)(Many of them will tell you too they were very stubborn when it came to these sins.) So I'm asking<BR/>you...what are you feeding<BR/>yourself? What kind of re-<BR/>lationship do you have with<BR/>the Lord? Do you want to just obey Him because you<BR/>love Him? <BR/> We all face temptations.<BR/>When you look at the 'cycle<BR/>of temptations' listed in<BR/>the first part of James and<BR/>when you realize we all have things that we should<BR/>overcome, did you ever go to the Lord and say:"Lord,<BR/>I'll just obey you, because<BR/>the Bible says so?" So much of what I read on your site says this: "I will place my own body,what I feel and my<BR/>personal experience above<BR/>the Word of God." I am not<BR/>trying to wound you! But God set down principles for<BR/>us to live by. Basically, He<BR/>says: 'do it My Way.' To be honest,many of the gay<BR/>people I have met just don't WANT to do that.(and I have 20+ yrs at this) Also,<BR/>you don't mention the devil<BR/>entices? And have you ever<BR/>sought the Lord in the area<BR/>of holiness? God is Holy--so<BR/>holy we can't even imagine.<BR/>I have met MANY carnal Christians. (I worked in a<BR/>Bible school and churches for over 10 years.) Carnal<BR/>means you let things other<BR/>than God's Word shape your<BR/>attitude, words and actions,<BR/>thoughts. You will become what you habitually meditate. (As a man thinketh<BR/>in his heart, so is he. proverbs) And do you judge<BR/>yourself? Where you don't<BR/>measure up to the Bible? We're supposed to. No one else should have to.<BR/><BR/>The Bible is clear that we<BR/>must grow out of these things and that lust (which<BR/>is inordinate or wrongly place desire (and it is DESIRE) is something WE 'leave off.' WE<BR/>have to CHOOSE to purify ourselves and be<BR/>asking the Holy Spirit for<BR/>help and power continually.<BR/>(Romans and James.) We do that by letting go of our personal<BR/>desires and choosing His ways and plans,even when they are contrary to ours.<BR/>Let's face it: GOD made the rules and He wants us to keep the rules--because we<BR/>please Him with obedience<BR/>(Jesus said: 'if you love<BR/>me, KEEP my commands')and<BR/>so he can show forth His<BR/>holiness and goodness in us.<BR/>Also, obeying the Bible keeps you living by faith.<BR/>No one said it is comfortable!<BR/><BR/>Also, you seem to be angry<BR/>at churches and are blaming them because they are<BR/>obeying the Bible in this<BR/>area. And the adoption thing:<BR/>Being a person who is working on her first adoption (I wanted Mongolia<BR/>but their government shut it<BR/>down basically) this bothers<BR/>me. That church has the <BR/>responsibility of children<BR/>and of course, they are going to follow the Bible. That's what they are supposed to do. And many<BR/>foster homes these days are<BR/>VERY nice...not all are like<BR/>the stuff you see in the<BR/>media. When American kids<BR/>get adopted, it's MOSTLY<BR/>with their foster family.<BR/><BR/>Also, the average length of<BR/>gay partnerships is 5 years<BR/>or LESS. And in 20 years I have yet to be in a 'happy' gay home. There is usually a lot of power struggles going on. I do know many<BR/>gays (men and women) and they read the<BR/>Bible blindly, picking and<BR/>choosing what parts they<BR/>want to accept and ignoring parts they do not like. Ask<BR/>yourself if you are doing the same thing. They won't<BR/>even ask the Lord for healing in this area, they<BR/>are so proud, stubborn and<BR/>convinced they know more than God does.<BR/> The friends I know that did choose to accept the Word of God at face value<BR/>said to themselves<BR/>"God doesn't like this and<BR/>so I will forsake it" and<BR/>stayed away from temptation.<BR/>God's power set them free as<BR/>proved to Him that that was<BR/>what they wanted because it<BR/>was right,what He said to do<BR/>and they are not bothered by<BR/>it now and have NO desire to<BR/>go back. I intend no con-<BR/>demnation here..but for years, you fed all those desires and they grew and now they are ruling you and coloring all your current experiences. Example: the Chinese worship<BR/>gods of trees..and they are<BR/>sincere, but that doesn't<BR/>mean it is right Biblically<BR/>or righteous.<BR/> You must consider the Word<BR/>of God and how much you will<BR/>choose to love Jesus in all<BR/>these areas. Being able to<BR/>discipline your thought life<BR/>and what you see, read and<BR/>attend to is the mark of a<BR/>spiritually mature person.<BR/>Proverbs says to 'attend to<BR/>HIS word and keep it in the<BR/>midst of thine heart.' There<BR/>is a 'way of life' and 'few<BR/>there be that find it.' You<BR/>need to ask yourself if you<BR/>are willing and are truly<BR/>seeking 'to be changed into<BR/>His likeness?' His Power comes along <BR/>with right choices. Righteousness actually<BR/>means "God's way of doing and being right." When you<BR/>chose Jesus and were washed<BR/>in the Blood, your inward<BR/>man changed, but you have to<BR/>LEARN God's ways of doing<BR/>right. That's what the Bible<BR/>is for-it's your Book of<BR/>Directions.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Sent to you by a friend who<BR/>understands.....but who loves the Bible more...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11575448.post-1143929494481238222006-04-01T16:11:00.000-06:002006-04-01T16:11:00.000-06:00I believe it was Chesteron who said something alon...I believe it was Chesteron who said something along the lines of, "Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found hard and so not been tried." <BR/><BR/>One problem is that we tend to identify the <I>status quo</I> with the Christian vision, especially if the <I>status quo</I> serves our own needs. If that means discriminating against gays and lesbians, then the hard part must be for gays and lesbians to straighten up (pardon the pun) and fly right. It doesn't occur to us that maybe the hard part is for straight society and the church to stop treaing gays and lesbians badly.<BR/><BR/>I am so tired of some Christians and some versions of Christianity. As a Catholic, it is hard not to feel constantly bashed loudly and publicly by people whose own behavior would not stand much scrutiny. <BR/><BR/>Just imagine how God must feel about us!<BR/><BR/>hfwybe -- the gnawing suspicion that you are the last rat on the ship and that it has already sunkMichael Doddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00942287172727040371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11575448.post-1143553646263546142006-03-28T07:47:00.000-06:002006-03-28T07:47:00.000-06:00I purely hope not, blund.In his profile, my friend...I purely hope not, blund.<BR/><BR/>In his profile, my friend Rick over at <A HREF="http://newlifeemerging.blogspot.com/" REL="nofollow">a new life emerging</A> says, "I am more interested in knowing what God is doing in your soul than I am about your theology. Personally, I don't have the guts to follow Jesus, so I often settle for being a Christian."<BR/><BR/>In the same way, I think there are folks who don't have the guts to be Christians, and so just are "churchians" (people who follow the Church, rather than Christ) or just end up following the crowd.<BR/><BR/>I'm with Rick, by the way. My score of hypocrisy isn't as low as it should be - after all, I was closeted for 30 years (15 of them sober, for cryin' out loud). I was more than willing to love and accept friends who were gay, but was unwilling to extend the love of God to myself. That scores pretty high on the H-scale...<BR/><BR/>There is much that's valuable in following Christ - though many in the gay community would disagree. I think, once again, it's from seeing people who think they're following the Christian church, yet are far from following Christ.<BR/><BR/>The quote won't be exact, but I am reminded of Brennan Manning's statement to the effect that, "The greatest cause of atheism in the world today are Christians, who claim Jesus with their lips and then deny Him with their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world finds simply unbelievable." <BR/><BR/>By the way, if you want to read what a <I>real</I> follower of Christ feels about toxic religion, check out <A HREF="http://newlifeemerging.blogspot.com/2006/03/do-not-be-afraid.html" REL="nofollow">this post</A>. Any post he writes is great writing.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13286849248756070621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11575448.post-1143480021225406092006-03-27T11:20:00.000-06:002006-03-27T11:20:00.000-06:00Steve,Thanks for this blog, and baring a good deal...Steve,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for this blog, and baring a good deal of your soul and struggle to the virtual community. Though I've only come to your blog recently, I've enjoyed reading your pilgrimage through your archives. I don't think it odd that I see - in your early posts - a committed Christian struggling with his homosexual feelings and tendencies, and that (especially in this post) a man identifying with the homosexual lifestyle who is struggling with his Christendom tendencies/past. Your "bio" starts out: "A gay Christian..." Do we see the termination of one of those two tags in the near future?<BR/><BR/>Sincerely,<BR/>blundblundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08100309191124779479noreply@blogger.com