Tag: bible

Innocense Ignored

Watching my son sleep

In my arms, as I place him

Into a casket

“You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”

Matthew 21:22

You can Google why prayers go unanswered and get huge lists as to why God may not have answered your prayer. But doesn’t he have to go against his Word if he doesn’t answer our prayers? Should one go through these long lists before praying to see if they’re qualified at all to pray? It’s such a confusing religion.

Note: My son died at the age of three. He was sick and suffered most of his short life. My family, friends, pastor, and our congregation continually prayed for him… to no avail.

His Infinite Awareness

Omniscient being

The one who knows all our needs…

And talks to reindeer

“Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see.”

The Conductor from The Polar Express

Am I the first to call Santa Claus an omniscient being? Think about it, though. He knows if we’ve been bad or good. He sees us when we’re sleeping, and he knows when we’re awake. And he knows where we live!

What Would Jesus Think?

Our Christian nation

We learn to love our neighbors…

Unless they are gay

“For many in America and around the world, the American flag has smothered the glory of the cross, and the ugliness of our American version of Caesar has squelched the radiant love of Christ.“

Gregory A. Boyd, The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church

Was the recent LGBTQ bar shooting in Colorado Springs religiously motivated? Was it politically motivated? Maybe both? And what about the shooting in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 2016? All I know is that I hear a lot of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric from Christians and politicians… in our so-called Christian Nation. Love is love!

Toasting Jesus

Faith is to believe

What you do not see or hear…

Jesus on my toast

“Without the bread of life, we are toast!”

Anonymous

I know that Jesus likes watching us masturbate, but is he spying on us through our food, too? What I really wonder though is what people are thinking who actually believe they’ve found Jesus on their breakfast burrito, grilled cheese sandwich, or potato chip (see this article on BuzzFeed). Amazon doesn’t sell Jesus Toasters but they do have The Grilled Cheesus Sandwich Press if you’re interested! No kidding. Take a look.

Screening The Bible

Kill all non-believers!

As the Bible teaches us…

Not all books are banned

“What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.”

Salman Rushdie

Of course, I don’t want to ban the Bible. And that’s how I feel about any book! It makes me wonder if the moral police have read the Bible! I can think of two places in the Bible that say we should kill all non-believers (Deuteronomy 17:2-5 and Deuteronomy 13:6-10). And let’s not forget our cherished Ten Commandments, especially the one that says, “Anyone who curses their father or mother shall be put to death (Leviticus 20:9)”. But, if you want a religion to be enticing, you’ll leave out the bad parts!

The Narrow Dogmatic Path

Forty thousand plus

Christian denominations

Drowning in dogma

“The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism.”

William Osler

Dogma is something held as an established opinion. In the case for Christianity, dogma is a church’s official interpretation of divine revelation. The church establishes their beliefs from their interpretations. Each denomination has their own unique dogma. Will your church’s dogma lead you to the narrow gate? Jesus says that only a few will find it (Matthew 7:13-14). I’m sure that your dogma is the right path.

Doctors With Collars

If priests had powers

Like God gave the apostles

Doctors would be priests

“A miracle, my friend, is an event which creates faith.”

George Bernard Shaw

Jesus sent his 12 to proclaim the good news to the lost sheep of Israel. He gave them powers to cure every disease and sickness. And even Peter was able to cure the sick from his shadow. Imagine if those powers were passed on to the clergy of today’s world. We would no longer rely on prayers, drugs, therapy, surgery, and lengthy stays in the hospital hoping to be healed.

Decoding Doctrine

Uninformed Christians

Debating every doctrine

Cults in sheep’s clothing

“One man’s cult is another man’s religion.”

Annie Parisse

With over 45,000 different Christian denominations worldwide, churches are constantly debating their doctrines. Baptism is one of many doctrines up for debate. For instance, what is the proper way to baptize: sprinkling, pouring water on the head, or immersing in water? Does baptism provide forgiveness of sins? Is baptism necessary for salvation? Should you baptize babies?

Someone should tell these churches what a Baptist preacher once told me, “You cannot understand the Bible unless you are saved!” Which made me wonder if I was ever saved.

If You Believe In Magic

Magical powers

Were not in God’s playbook to

Eliminate sin

“A miracle, my friend, is an event which creates faith.”

George Bernard Shaw

The Christian religion would have a multitude of followers if God was powerful enough to eliminate the sins of man. He thought that he could do it with the Great Flood. That didn’t work! And killing his own son hasn’t been proven to work either. Of course, we’re told that we must wait and see until after Jesus comes back to judge us – the ones who are totally sinless because he died for our sins. I’m not at all confused.

Inheritance From God

Eve’s innocent bite

Made bad apples of us all

For generations

“Original thought is like original sin: both happened before you were born to people you could not have possibly met.”

Fran Lebowitz

Eve and Adam disobeyed God and took that luscious bite out of an apple that created the first sin in this world. But how did they know that disobeying God was good or evil without taking that first bite? And didn’t God have a little evil within himself to test his first ignorant humans like that? Dirty little devil. Maybe we got it wrong, and God created Original Sin.