Today The Husband and I started a new small group with our church. This time, we're not leading it (gotta get in your breaks when you can!) but it's still a marriage class. This one is called Our Secret Paradise, and so far it's pretty neat. This week's session was about the unrealistic expectations people go into a marriage with and how they get their hearts broken because of it. Very relevant and very, very true in many marriages today.
We watched the video and then did a roundtable discussion afterwards. At one point, the subject came around to why Christ died. Of course, good Christians all, we were able to chorus that it was to take away sin. But the leader of the group didn't leave it at that. No, he had to push it to the "fact" that Christ died to take away the sins of Christians. Only.
Now me, being as how I believe that Christ died for everyone and that He will complete his stated mission of saving the whole world, had to "correct" the man. "You mean to say that Christ came to take away the sin of the world," I responded.
"Oh, but only those of us who believe and who have accepted the substitutionary attonement of Christ's sacrifice . . ." and this is where I just tuned him out.
Hrm. Let's see here. Where is the verse in the Bible that talks about substitutionary attonement? Can anyone find "substitutionary attonement" ANYWHERE in the Bible? I can't.
This terminology, along with a whole bunch of other things like oh, say the Trinity, have been used over the years to try and explain away the plain, simple truth that is laid out for us and instead to insert a different viewpoint to what can be read, or to even cover it over with something else entirely.
Why can we not trust the words that are given to us? Why do we have to substitute the "learning" of man when everything that is in the Word says something else? Why do we not take the Word of the God we worship seriously? I mean, we claim that we do, but in practice, we have to make up all sorts of things to impress others with our stunning knowledge of what God really meant. Especially when He doesn't say anything of the sort at all.
It's getting really hard to bite my tongue about things like this. I know that anything I say will be considered at least a silly frippery or at worst, rocking the boat - which is most definately Not To Be Done. Christians are too schooled in their beliefs - man-made beliefs - to actually try and search these things out for themselves. Oh, but of course we read and study our Bibles daily with great furvor.
It's as if we never came out of the Dark Ages. Yes, we all have our copies of the Bible now, but we're still being controlled by whichever sect we decide has the most "truth" instead of just the RCC. At least the RCC is honest in saying that the average layperson doesn't understand the Truths of God. The Reformation is such a crock of bullshit - we just traded one yoke for another.
I guess this is all about my journey, rather than about my frustrations over this. I suppose it's preparing me for something - goodness only knows what. Guess that'll be what's fun to find out in the end, right?
Showing posts with label Faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Faith. Show all posts
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Here's where I get all serious and stuff with y'all. And come out of my closet, so to speak.
Seeing as how I am about to have major surgery, one of the main things that is on the brain is, frankly, death.
I know that statistically speaking and based on my surgeon's death rate, my chances of dying are very, very, very slim. But, it is something that cannot be ruled out because the death rate for humans? Yeah, it's hovering right there at 100%. You're gonnna go some time, it's just a matter of when.
So, as I'm looking back at my life and the things I've done, there's a lot that I can be proud of, some that I can wince at, and only (thankfully) a little bit to be ashamed of and a little bit to be regretful of. And it's one of the things that I'm regretful about that I want to talk a little bit about today.
I am regretful that I haven't been able to spread more of the Good News around. Because it's a secret that needs to be told, and to be lived and breathed and rejoiced in.
Now, before my athiest readers (and I know you're out there! Hi!) click away to some other page, I would like to ask for a little bit of patience here. I know that y'all are tired of being bludgeoned with the religion stick. Frankly, I am too.
So, today I am officially coming out of my religion closet. I do NOT believe in the "traditional" Christianity that is being preached from the pulpits of hundreds of churches every Sunday. I no longer adhere to the tenets of my childhood in the Catholic Church. And thank the Lord above that I am able to rejoice in that.
You see, everything I believe can be boiled down to one single statement. God is going to do what He told us He would do. And what is that thing He told us, you might ask? That He was going to save the world through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Now, some of you may be saying, "Well, duh! That's what Christianity is about!" Well, not exactly.
Modern Christianity believes that you have to accept Jesus as your personal Savior, otherwise when you die, you go to hell. And don't forget that little prayer you have to say to "ask Him into your heart" because if you don't, well, then, He's not your Savior, now is he? So, how much of that is actually Biblically true? Not much, actually.
See, if some people don't accept Christ, then how can the world be saved? The world either gets saved or it doesn't. Because if only some people get saved, then how is that the "world?" Either God is a notorious liar, or we down here on Earth lost something in the translation.
So, basically I believe that everyone in the whole entire world will be saved. That THIS is the Good News we are instructed to shout from the rooftops. That every single one of us will be delivered from this life full of pain, misery and discontent. That Jesus really and truly is the Great Physician who is here to heal our ills and came to reconcile mankind back to the Father. And that it doesn't matter if you understand or even believe this in this lifetime or not.
Guess what? This makes me a heretic! Whoo-hoo! Ooh, and I'm even part of a "cult" according to the mainstream. Believing in Universal Reconciliation is tantamount to cavorting with the devil in some circles - even worse than athiesm and Satanism! Dang, I never knew it would be so fun to be a subversive. :::grin::: Nevermind that this viewpoint was the one that was dominant back in the first century - the closest to when Jesus actually walked the Earth. Three out of five great centers of Christian teaching specifically advocated the salvation of all. The fourth taught annihilation similar to what the Jehovah's Witnesses believe, and the fifth taught Eternal Torment - which is what our modern-day version of Christianity is based from.
Anyway, I could ramble on and on and on about this for a very long time. And you're probably going to think of me as some kind of a kook no matter what. I don't pretend to have all the answers. I'm still in a huge discovery mode with all of this. All I know is that about four years ago, everything that I knew and understood to be true was turned upside down. And the shocking thing was was that it was all right there in front of my eyes if I cared to look and truly search for it. It's not for nothing that my favorite verse is "It is the Glory of God to hid a thing, and the honor of kings to seek out such a thing."
For those who believe in the Bible, here are a few verses that will begin to show you what I am talking about. This was originally posted by Craig on the Tentmaker forums (link below).
First, Paul says ".....work OUT your salvation with fear and trembling:" (Phil 2:12)
Now this does not say we are working FOR our salvation (i.e. that we have to make a choice to accept Christ in this life or that we have to do good works to qualify - Sarah), but rather we are working it OUT.
"It is God who is at work IN you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." (Phil 2:13)
Now from what I can see here is, Salvation is already IN us and we are bring it out of us.
"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work IN you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil 1:6)
This alone proves to me solidily that Paul taught Universal Reconciliation of all mankind.
Anyway, I won't bludgeon you with my religion bat anymore. But I just had to get it out somewhere. I have yet to fully "come out" in my real life. I imagine it's almost as tough as having to come out that you are gay to your family when they believe that being gay is an abomination. The risk of rejection and pain is just as high - as well as their attempts to "convert" you back to the "right" side. I know I'm going to have to do it one of these days. I tried once to convey my thoughts on this to The Husband, and the rage he went into was something I won't ever forget. People get very angry when their status quo is threatened. :::sigh::: It's the one area of my marriage that I would change if I could - for him to be understanding and supportive of the path I truly believe God has sent me on, even if he never believes it to be true.
*****
If you want to learn more about Universal Reconciliation and the idea that all will be saved, there's a few web sites out there that you can peruse.
www.bibletruths.com - This was the site that I first stumbled across that made me re-think everything I knew about being a Christian. If you can handle Ray's writing style, which is very acerbic and sarcastic and a little bit rambling, then you can glean a whole lot of information from it. He has an excellent diatribe against the doctrine some televangelists spew. And don't EVEN mention tithing to the man. He begins to froth at the mouth at how un-Biblical this is.
www.tentmaker.org - This is a more mellow site, and is probably a better one to go to first. Gary Siegler and company have some compelling articles and Biblical proofs.
www.sonplace.com - This site has a book linked to it called SonPlacing, and goes on to explore the Sonship principals which explores more of what it means to be part of this universal reconciliation process.
I know that statistically speaking and based on my surgeon's death rate, my chances of dying are very, very, very slim. But, it is something that cannot be ruled out because the death rate for humans? Yeah, it's hovering right there at 100%. You're gonnna go some time, it's just a matter of when.
So, as I'm looking back at my life and the things I've done, there's a lot that I can be proud of, some that I can wince at, and only (thankfully) a little bit to be ashamed of and a little bit to be regretful of. And it's one of the things that I'm regretful about that I want to talk a little bit about today.
I am regretful that I haven't been able to spread more of the Good News around. Because it's a secret that needs to be told, and to be lived and breathed and rejoiced in.
Now, before my athiest readers (and I know you're out there! Hi!) click away to some other page, I would like to ask for a little bit of patience here. I know that y'all are tired of being bludgeoned with the religion stick. Frankly, I am too.
So, today I am officially coming out of my religion closet. I do NOT believe in the "traditional" Christianity that is being preached from the pulpits of hundreds of churches every Sunday. I no longer adhere to the tenets of my childhood in the Catholic Church. And thank the Lord above that I am able to rejoice in that.
You see, everything I believe can be boiled down to one single statement. God is going to do what He told us He would do. And what is that thing He told us, you might ask? That He was going to save the world through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Now, some of you may be saying, "Well, duh! That's what Christianity is about!" Well, not exactly.
Modern Christianity believes that you have to accept Jesus as your personal Savior, otherwise when you die, you go to hell. And don't forget that little prayer you have to say to "ask Him into your heart" because if you don't, well, then, He's not your Savior, now is he? So, how much of that is actually Biblically true? Not much, actually.
See, if some people don't accept Christ, then how can the world be saved? The world either gets saved or it doesn't. Because if only some people get saved, then how is that the "world?" Either God is a notorious liar, or we down here on Earth lost something in the translation.
So, basically I believe that everyone in the whole entire world will be saved. That THIS is the Good News we are instructed to shout from the rooftops. That every single one of us will be delivered from this life full of pain, misery and discontent. That Jesus really and truly is the Great Physician who is here to heal our ills and came to reconcile mankind back to the Father. And that it doesn't matter if you understand or even believe this in this lifetime or not.
Guess what? This makes me a heretic! Whoo-hoo! Ooh, and I'm even part of a "cult" according to the mainstream. Believing in Universal Reconciliation is tantamount to cavorting with the devil in some circles - even worse than athiesm and Satanism! Dang, I never knew it would be so fun to be a subversive. :::grin::: Nevermind that this viewpoint was the one that was dominant back in the first century - the closest to when Jesus actually walked the Earth. Three out of five great centers of Christian teaching specifically advocated the salvation of all. The fourth taught annihilation similar to what the Jehovah's Witnesses believe, and the fifth taught Eternal Torment - which is what our modern-day version of Christianity is based from.
Anyway, I could ramble on and on and on about this for a very long time. And you're probably going to think of me as some kind of a kook no matter what. I don't pretend to have all the answers. I'm still in a huge discovery mode with all of this. All I know is that about four years ago, everything that I knew and understood to be true was turned upside down. And the shocking thing was was that it was all right there in front of my eyes if I cared to look and truly search for it. It's not for nothing that my favorite verse is "It is the Glory of God to hid a thing, and the honor of kings to seek out such a thing."
For those who believe in the Bible, here are a few verses that will begin to show you what I am talking about. This was originally posted by Craig on the Tentmaker forums (link below).
First, Paul says ".....work OUT your salvation with fear and trembling:" (Phil 2:12)
Now this does not say we are working FOR our salvation (i.e. that we have to make a choice to accept Christ in this life or that we have to do good works to qualify - Sarah), but rather we are working it OUT.
"It is God who is at work IN you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." (Phil 2:13)
Now from what I can see here is, Salvation is already IN us and we are bring it out of us.
"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work IN you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil 1:6)
This alone proves to me solidily that Paul taught Universal Reconciliation of all mankind.
Anyway, I won't bludgeon you with my religion bat anymore. But I just had to get it out somewhere. I have yet to fully "come out" in my real life. I imagine it's almost as tough as having to come out that you are gay to your family when they believe that being gay is an abomination. The risk of rejection and pain is just as high - as well as their attempts to "convert" you back to the "right" side. I know I'm going to have to do it one of these days. I tried once to convey my thoughts on this to The Husband, and the rage he went into was something I won't ever forget. People get very angry when their status quo is threatened. :::sigh::: It's the one area of my marriage that I would change if I could - for him to be understanding and supportive of the path I truly believe God has sent me on, even if he never believes it to be true.
*****
If you want to learn more about Universal Reconciliation and the idea that all will be saved, there's a few web sites out there that you can peruse.
www.bibletruths.com - This was the site that I first stumbled across that made me re-think everything I knew about being a Christian. If you can handle Ray's writing style, which is very acerbic and sarcastic and a little bit rambling, then you can glean a whole lot of information from it. He has an excellent diatribe against the doctrine some televangelists spew. And don't EVEN mention tithing to the man. He begins to froth at the mouth at how un-Biblical this is.
www.tentmaker.org - This is a more mellow site, and is probably a better one to go to first. Gary Siegler and company have some compelling articles and Biblical proofs.
www.sonplace.com - This site has a book linked to it called SonPlacing, and goes on to explore the Sonship principals which explores more of what it means to be part of this universal reconciliation process.
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