I believe in God, but not the church…

During a recent lunch time around-the-table discussion in which the topic of conversation became belief in God one of my coworkers voiced his belief in God but quickly and adamantly expressed negative feelings toward the church, or organized religion as he referred to it.   His negative feelings toward the church didn’t surprise me; in fact, over the past several years I have heard the same basic negative feelings of disappointment and frustration expressed by a number of different people who have declared themselves as being spiritual people who want nothing to do with the church.

 

The more I think about the frustration and disappointment expressed by many toward the modern version of the church with all of its man-made baggage and theological pollution, the more I understand their cry and identify with their feelings.  Shouldn’t one of our goals as Christians be to help people set aside their negative ideas about the church long enough so that they can clearly see and experience the pure, living water offered by and through Jesus?

 

In all honesty, the church is guilty of polluting the pure water of Jesus.   We’ve been so focused on being correct in our doctrine and pointing out the interpretational errors of others that we’ve failed to inspire hope and offer a vision of the beauty that exists in living the Christian life.   Statements such as the one expressed by my coworker should encourage those of us who are Christians to look within and question whether or not our lives are truly reflective of the Lord we claim to love and serve.  These statements should lead to a renewed determination within us to be no less or more than simply Christians – cleansed of man-made baggage and theological pollution.

 

At the same time, statements such as the one mentioned earlier should also motivate us because such statements indicate a desire within modern man to know and experience relationship with God.  These types of statements reveal that there are people who are thirsty for truth and discovering meaning to life; and indicate the importance of our returning to and refreshing our own souls in the source of the pure, living water so that we may be more able to lead them to Jesus, the pure, unpolluted source of life for all who trust in him.

 

These are my thoughts, what are yours?

Free in Christ — Chapter Seven

What is it about the security of bondage that causes a freed person to long to return to his cell rather than continue in his newly discovered freedom?  

 

I realize the thought behind my initial question may seem somewhat strange, but the reality of which I speak is unavoidably frightening to me.  

 

Is the answer to my question discovered in the following quote from The Shawshank Redemption – All I want is to be back where things make sense?   Is that the basic message learned from the Israelites who desired to return to Egyptian bondage, that over time even the walls that confine us can begin to feel safe and secure because those walls make sense to us?

 

Such seems to be the case with me as I continue to read, review and be confronted by the lessons discovered in this book.  To be honest, it would be much easier to simply accept the boundaries that I am accustomed to and have grown comfortable with rather than continually challenge those boundaries and experience the fullness of freedom offered in Christ.   Yet, having said that, I realize that settling for less than, or not experiencing the fullness of, the freedom offered in Christ will only leave my soul unsatisfied and longing for more.  So, onward I press as I seek to know truth and through truth be made free.  

 

In the sixth chapter, Hook informs us that our purity or defilement is not determined by what we see, hear, taste or touch, but by our motive for seeing, hearing, tasting and touching.  He continues by stating that defilement is not in certain actions and things, but in improper use of and attitude toward those actions and things.  He, then, reminds us that sin is not in things, but in people – in the heart. 

 

To illustrate the truthfulness of these statements he addresses seven different situations, the following is but two of those seven:

 

o       The taking of life is judged by the purity or defilement of heart.  The person who kills accidentally or defensively, having no impure heart in it, remains pure in the act.  It is not so with the man who kills with hatred or anger although he performs the identical act of the first man.

o       Two men may look upon a woman with strong desire toward her, one being pure, the other guilty of sin.  One desires to have her as his wife; the other desires to satisfy his lusts.

 

His point in these illustrations is that an act in itself is not amoral, but that its merit or demerit is determined by the heart.   Which, in my opinion, certainly addresses the truthfulness of the phrase to the pure all things are pure, but to them that are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure.

 

With these thoughts in mind, he addresses the following thoughts: [1] Our liberty is limited by self-control, [2] Liberty is limited by charitable regard for others, and [3] Liberty of others must be respected.  

 

If time permits, I will try to address these thoughts during the week.  But, for now, I want to know if I am the only one who is struggling or has struggled with leaving the comforts of bondage behind him as he seeks to experience freedom in Christ?

 

Interested in sharing your story?

Quotable quotes with a Spiritual Message…

I guess you could label me as a sucker for a good catch-phrase.  I love quotable quotes, especially when those quotes help drive home thoughts that are pivotal to the Christian faith.

 

One of my favorites is God accepts you just the way you are, but He loves you too much to leave you that way.   Another of my favorites is The church was meant to be a hospital for sinners, not a monument to the righteous.  

 

Then, just yesterday, I heard another that has the potential to quickly become one of my favorites.  It states, If you are not green and still growing, then you are ripe and beginning to rot.

 

What do you think about that one?   Does it bring to mind any thoughts?

 

What about you, do you have any favorite quotable quotes to share?

On this day…

Yesterday I announced that today I would be celebrating my 43rd birthday and I shared some of the events that have taken place in the past 43 years.   Today, as part of celebrating my birthday, we are going to look back at some of the things that have happened on this day, October 16th, in history.  I hope you enjoy.

Today in History:

• 1793     French queen Marie Antoinette was guillotined for treason.
• 1859     Abolitionist John Brown’s men captured the U.S. arsenal at Harper’s Ferry.
• 1916     Margaret Sanger opened the first birth-control clinic in New York City (and I thought they were famous for their salsa — CAC).
• 1962     The Cuban Missile Crisis began.
• 1964     China detonated its first atomic bomb.
• 1965     Christopher A. Clouse was born in Blytheville, Arkansas.
• 1978     John Paul II was elected pope.
• 1995     Hundreds of thousands gathered in Washington for the Million Man March led by Louis Farrakhan, Nation of Islam leader.
• 2001     Twelve Senate offices were closed when a letter addressed to Senator Tom Daschle was found to contain anthrax.
• 2002     The White House announced that North Korea had disclosed the existence of a secret nuclear weapons program.

Others born on this day:

• 1854     Oscar Wilde (Author)
• 1886     David Ben-Gurion (Statesman)
• 1888     Eugene O’Neill (Playwright)
• 1890     Michael Collins (Revolutionary leader)
• 1890     Paul Strand (Photographer)
• 1898     William O. Douglas (Jurist)
• 1925     Angela Lansbury (Actress)
• 1946     Suzanne Somers (Actress)
• 1958     Tim Robbins (Actor – Shawshank Redemption fame)
• 1965     ME (child of the King)
• 1977     John Mayer (Singer, songwriter)

Definitely not the greatest of information, but something to share on this day!

History Revisited…

Tomorrow, October 16^th, I celebrate my 43^rd birthday.   In the spirit of remembrance, I thought I would share some of the more whacked-out events, headlines and personal experiences of the past 43 years.   Perhaps you can add some of your own once you’ve finished reading these.

 

In 1965:

o       Cost of a first-class stamp was $.05

o       The Sound of Music premiered

o       Malcolm X was murdered at a Harlem rally

o       Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson’s discovery of cosmic background radiation confirmed the “Big Bang” theory

o       Christopher A. Clouse was born, six weeks later his mother, Bonnie Sue, died during exploratory surgery

 

In 1971:

o       26^th Amendment to US Constitution lowered voting age to 18

o       Jim Morrison dies in Paris at the age of 27

o       Intel introduces the microprocessor

o       Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel was voted song, record and album of the year.

o       Federal debt was 408.2 billion dollars

o       Candace D. Yeager was born, 32 years later she became my wife

 

In 1984:

o       Ronald Reagan was re-elected in a landslide victory, receiving 59% of votes

o       Cost of a first-class stamp was $.20

o       John McEnroe defeated Jimmy Connors for the Wimbledon title

o       The Cosby Show debuts on NBC

o       Mary Lou Retton, USA, won gold in the women’s All-Around competition

o       Christopher A. Clouse graduated from High School

 

In 1988:

o       CD’s outsell vinyl records for the first time

o       Ted Turner starts Turner Network Television (TNT)

o       France and China permit use of morning after birth-control drug RU486

o       US Navy ship shoots down Iranian airliner in Persian Gulf, mistaking it for a jet fighter; killing 290 passengers

o       Ashley Rene Clouse, my daughter, was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas

 

In 1991:

o       Boris Yeltsin becomes first freely elected president of Russian Republic

o       Anita Hill accuses Judge Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment

o       Unemployment was 6.8%

o       Fox Broadcasting is the first network to permit condom advertising on TV

o       Dances With Wolves received Best Picture Award

o       Gerald Tomas Ratley, Candace’s first-born, was born in Poplar Bluff, Missouri

 

1993:

o       Clinton agrees to compromise on military’s ban on homosexuals

o       Federal agens besiege Branch Davidian religious cult, resulting fire kills 72

o       Two police officers convicted in Los Angeles on civil rights charges in Rodney King beating

o       River Phoenix dies of a drug overdose on Halloween at the age of 23

o       Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton wins both song and record of the year

o       Billy Garrett Clouse, my son, was born into this world in Memphis, Tennessee

 

1998:

o       President Clinton accused in White House sex scandal, denies allegations of affair with Monica Lewinski

o       Life sentence meted out to Terry Nichols, convicted in Oklahoma City bombing which killed 168

o       Titanic becomes highest-grossing film of all time, raking in more than $580 million domestically

o       An estimated 76 million viewers watched the last episode of Seinfeld

o       FDA approves the male impotence drug Viagra

o       Vaden Keith Robins, Candace’s youngest, was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas

 

2003:

o       Saddam Hussein is captured by American Troops

o       Space shuttle Columbia explodes killing all 7 astronauts

o       Arnold Schwarzenegger elected California governor

o       The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King dominated the box office

o       Finding Nemo grossed more than $340 million

o       Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Bob Hope, Gregory Peck, John Ritter and Fred Rogers all pass away

o       Chris and Candace become husband and wife

 

Come back tomorrow and read of events, headlines and such that have occurred on October 16^th, the biggest of which has to be MY BIRTH.