Angry

Sometimes, God seems to speak to me through Star Trek. He could use other things of course, but there is a great deal wisdom in the various Trek series.

"When one has been angry for a very long time and becomes used to it, it becomes comfortable like old leather, and finally it becomes so familiar that you cannot imagine being any other way."

Jean Luc Picard  Star Trek TNG  --- "The Wounded"

I am thinking of this quote because I am very angry. I have been angry since Trump was elected president. I am angry because many "christians" have claimed they have put Trump into office. I am angry because they are defending the bigotry, prejudice, and bully tactics they are infamous for. I don't want to be angry, and don't want my anger to destroy what little remains of my faith.

Its hard to have faith in a God who allows the rich and powerful to oppress  the masses, and why oh why does He allow people to do evil in His name? Can I really believe in a "loving" God who will not protect the innocent. How many people must be lost because those who claim to be His servants are evil.

I don't know. This is sounding familiar somehow. Yes, been here before. As a child I felt that God had cursed me because He hated me. I cannot express just how difficult it was for me to reach a point where I could believe God loves me.

Just one word to Trump and members of the Religious Right. If you think you are going to make me  ashamed of who I am,  well it ain't gonna happen. Rom 8:1

South Park was right

The show South Park has it right. We are down to the point where we will make the choice between a Douche and an excrement sandwich. If you believe that Hillary or Trump will benefit this country I have a proverbial bridge to sell you. Where are the presidents like JFK? Sure he wasn't perfect but he was capable of inspiring the country to greatness. Closest thing we have today is the fictional president Bill Pullman played in Independence Day.

You know what really bothers me though? The number of "christians" who think they need political power to change the world. All they think about is abortion, gay marriage and the like. Isn't it ironic. Christians claim to worship a savior that allegedly gave His life to redeem sinners. Yet these very same people come out in force against the very people Jesus died for. Where does it say that the sins of the LGBT community are any different from the sins the rest of us commit daily. Where do we get the right to judge others when were it not for God's mercy we would be under judgement too?

It all comes back to politics and our unbelief in the Gospel's power to change lives. You can pass laws against things you don't like, but changing the heart requires real power. As Jesus said, how can say you love God, whom you haven't seen, when you don't love those you have seen.

Gospel

 According to the late comedian George Carlin, Christianity is about God (aka The Old Man Upstairs) who made these 12 rules. Anyone breaking the rules God will send to  a fiery Hell for all eternity. But remember: He loves you. (Apparently there is a Diety who forgot to take His bipolar medication. ). According to Lewis Black, God had this really big anger problem, but took an anger management course sometime between the Old and New testaments.

 I grew up in the Church of Christ. I quit going to church when I was around 14. I had several emotional problems and it seemed to me that God was part of the problem. It seemed to me that God somewhere made up this thing called “sin” and found everyone guilty of it (without due process of law, legal consul, or even a chance to tell our side of the  story), condemned everyone to Hell (whatever that was) , but offered to send people to a good place if they became His slave. Maybe a good lawyer would have helped. But again remember that God loves you, or else

 I really do not wish to condemn the Church of Christ. We have a fine tradition, which at least on paper was a denomination which attempted to remain true to scripture. Yet many of us became fanatical rule-keepers. If we had patron saint no doubt Nadab and Abihu would be the patron saints of legalistic Christianity as they are always invoked by those who insist on precise obedience to minute details.

 There are congregations I have attended that would welcome a Christianized version of the Pharisees. They constantly warned of us of the peril of instrumental music, potlucks in the church building, and women participating in the “formal worship“ , among other esoteric issues. At one time, there was a C of C congregation I knew of that was infamous for destroying families and creating emotional problems.

 Of course there is a logical consequence of the “angry God” model that isn’t usually considered. Do you really want to spend eternity with a  God that can only described as severely passive aggressive. Precisely keep all of God’s will and regulations the promises is you won’t go to hell. But do you really expect He will treat you any different in Eternity than he does now? Not my idea of Paradise.
 Yes, Jesus talked about Hell and Punishment. But you really don’t get the idea that Jesus was telling us that we were to live under constant fear that we will make some minute mistake or experience a moment of weakness and be lost forever. Quite the opposite. Its gratitude not fear that motivates the believer.

 I always liked the verse about how the sinners gathered around Jesus. Why did they do that? You would think they would run and hide when they saw Him coming. Sometime Jesus would seek people out just because they needed acceptance.

 Paul was right. The Law kills. How is it that we Christians think we can judge anyone when we ourselves still require God’s grace? Maybe we just enjoy condemning others too much or at least don’t appreciate the full extent of the consequences of Grace.

What If Jesus Ran a Business

What if Jesus Ran a business, say a bakery, photographer, or maybe a hobby store.

Would He refuse to serve a gay couple?

If one of his employees was discovered to be a Lesbian, would he fire her?

What is more important to Jesus, what a person is on the outside or what a person is in ones' heart?

Would Jesus get angry if someone wanted to give LGBT persons the same legal rights as everyone else?

Would Jesus ever cry and complain that His rights to worship His Father were being violated?


ANSWERS (Just in case you don't know)

"The tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear Jesus, but the Pharisees and teachers of the law were whispering among themselves." - Luke 15 1-2

"Whatever you did for the least of them, you did for me" Matt 25:40

"I desire mercy, not sacrifice"

?

I don't know. I have come to feel that something is not quite right  with the Sunday morning assembly, at least as we do it in the Church of Christ. I mean what are you supposed to do if you're having spiritual issues? Its one thing when someone in our family is sick or we have lost our job. Just what are we suppose to do though when we find ourselves in a spiritually dry period or having some issues with our relationship with God. Not something that usually gets mentioned in prayer requests is it?

What do you do? You can stay home where prayer seems as about as effective as talking to the walls. Or you can go through the motions and wonder if feeling for God will ever return. Church is supposed to be for people who feel the need for Christ, but it can really cause you to feel like you don't belong sometimes. I am not offering any suggestions. Just trying to give a voice to something that usually doesn't have one.

Sometimes though, I get the impression that I may not be as alone as I feel. I wonder how many heroes of faith might not respond "Been there, done that". God's children don't get kicked out for having doubts or finding their spiritual batteries are exhausted. It may be that Christians who feel lost in the boondocks are in better shape than those who think they know where they are headed.