Author: a fool

All alone with Jesus

why I no longer go to church!

Others, though, experienced genuine pain that led them to lose hope in the institution of the church or the Christian faith altogether. The list of these points of trauma and frustration is long, but it includes spiritual and physical abuse in the church, hypocrisy among church members and leaders, sexual ethics, political syncretism, political disagreement, suffering, racism, bigotry, and a perceived lack of relevance or real answers to the world’s problems. Some in this group are victims of pastoral malpractice, and some are victims of the draw of the world and the flesh. We call this group the dechurched casualties.

The Great DeChurching, 57

The Great DeChurching is filled with interesting statistics and insights. And, yes, the above does describe me to some degree. But I think the above misses a group of people who are dechurched: those who separate themselves from the institution as a theological conviction.

Jesus alone means Jesus alone. Not Jesus PLUS institutional attendance and commitment. There are institutions full of people who are completely committed to a good cause but that does not mean the institution, or the leadership, is good. And, for me, the jump from people gathering in Jesus’ name and claiming to be the “Body of Christ” is too much.

For me, the confusion of sanctification with justification is part of the very foundation of the institution – the institution needs something to justify itself. So “Christendom is confused with Jesus”.

I might write more on this later. Who knows!?

me alone

What are the most important things needed to live a good life?

I am going to sidestep the question of what a “good” life is and how do I know it is “good”.

Control what I can control! And do not worry about what is outside on my control. And what is that? Me! I can only answer for me and I can only make choices for me. I stand alone and only when I stand alone may I have a good life.

de-churched

The unchurched refers to individuals who have not attended a religious service within the past six months or more, while the de-churched refers to individuals who were previously active in religious services but have discontinued attending regularly. Some may argue that the unchurched population is merely uninformed and that they need to come to know about God. In contrast, they claim that those who have disconnected from the church are simply going through wounds caused by past church experiences, better known as “church hurt.” Although some of this may hold true, the important issue is how we can connect the difference between perception and reality in order to grasp the needs and questions of those who are unchurched and “de-churched.”

Reaching the Unchurched and the De-churched

basically alone

He’s keeping busy, yeah, he’s bleeding stones
With his machinations and his palindromes
It was anything but hear the voice
Anything but hear the voice
It was anything but hear the voice that says that we’re all basically alone

Poor Professor Pynchon had only good intentions when he
Put his Bunsen burners all away
And turning to a playground in a Petri dish
Where single cells would swing their fists at anything that looks like easy prey

In this nature show that rages every day
It was then he heard his intuition say
We were all basically alone

And despite what all his studies had shown
That what’s mistaken for closeness is just a case of mitosis
And why do some show no mercy while others are painfully shy?
Tell me doctor, can you quantify?
He just wants to know the reason why
The reason why

Why do they congregate in groups of four,
Scatter like a billion spores and let the wind just carry them away?
How can kids be so mean?
Our famous doctor tried to glean as he went home at the end of the day

In this nature show that rages every day
It was then he heard his intuition say
We were all basically alone

Despite what all his studies had shown
That what’s mistaken for closeness is just a case of mitosis
Sure fatal doses of malcontent through osmosis
And why do some show no mercy while others are painfully shy?
Tell me doctor, can you quantify
The reason why?

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Andrew Wegman Bird
Imitosis lyrics © Wegawam Music, Wegawam Music Co

what one may promise

What One May Promise.—One may promise actions, but no sentiments, for these are involuntary. Whoever promises to love or hate a person, or be faithful to him for ever, promises something which is not within his power; he can certainly promise such actions as are usually the results of love, hate, or fidelity, but which may also spring from other motives; for many ways and motives lead to one and the same action. The promise to love some one for ever is, therefore, really: So long as I love you I will act towards you in a loving way; if I cease to love you, you will still receive the same treatment from me, although inspired by other motives, so that our fellow-men will still be deluded into the belief that our love is unchanged and ever the same. One promises, therefore, the continuation of the semblance of love, when, without self-deception, one speaks vows of eternal love.

Friedrich Nietzsche, Human All Too Human, #58

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for me

How do you build loyal subscribers?

While I really appreciate all people who read, like, and follow this blog, I write for me. If it connects with you that is a bonus. I collect quotes and random ideas for me. Maybe one day I will look back on some of the posts and be inspired to write for an audience. But for today I write for me.