tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19670264.post115377852990903935..comments2023-08-10T02:07:41.140-06:00Comments on Losing My Religion: It's A Narrow Road AlrightSocietyVshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10892870801259282254noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19670264.post-1154401519533255662006-07-31T21:05:00.000-06:002006-07-31T21:05:00.000-06:00Hi,Just wanted to say that I enjoyed your blog. I...Hi,<BR/><BR/>Just wanted to say that I enjoyed your blog. I can relate to everything said here. I have my own church stories.. but it is part of the journey. <BR/><BR/>The universe seems to always have opposites ie. light versus dark, good and evil. <BR/><BR/>Could it be that we are still eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil? <BR/><BR/>I don't know about you but that tree has no LIFE. <BR/><BR/>I want LIFE and I am just beginning to understand it is about LOVE. <BR/><BR/>Could it be that we yearn to know right versus wrong more than LIFE???<BR/><BR/>I believe as we behold him with an unveiled, unhidden face we will see Him and know that His Love is what it is all about. I want to eat from the tree of Life.... <BR/><BR/>In Him LoriLorihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10798349529220750289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19670264.post-1153958356329266992006-07-26T17:59:00.000-06:002006-07-26T17:59:00.000-06:00I think I am only writing in response to some of t...I think I am only writing in response to some of things I (and others) have experienced from churches of all denominations and how they lay down a 'dividing line' for the saved and un-saved (like they even know). <BR/>I have had some great friends, and still consider them friends, who are really religious. I have found the religious system helped to 'push' a lot of people out the door, the undesirables I guess they can be called. Basically, they weren't matching up to all the rules and regulations, but they were coming to church nonetheless. I guess I felt sorry for that group and joined them because I seen something in them that cried out 'truth' in a system that couldn't accept them. <BR/>Now I do knock religious systems because we fail a lot but somehow we think the system will bear us up. We are flawed and the system is flawed but in order to know that you must challenge it. Once you challenge the 'authority' of the church they will just as easy 'excommunicate' you as 'baptize' you. So I wrote that religious systems can become 'Pharisee's'. If I based this on my own experience then I think the critique is not justified, but I based it on a lot of people and what they have to say about their personal struggle with religious authority...the same authority that still argues over 'religious punishment' while ignoring charity for the neighborhood unless the people they help are part of the church.SocietyVshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10892870801259282254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19670264.post-1153850080729736152006-07-25T11:54:00.000-06:002006-07-25T11:54:00.000-06:00Danny is also correct in his observation. Of cours...Danny is also correct in his observation. Of course, God uses churches to glorify Him, but they are always vulnerable to the pitfalls that society enumerated. My local church is a wonderful place to fellowship with other believers, but our parent church is the disastrous (my opinion) PCUSA. Now my bible study group that I work with is a great example of a truly Christ-centered organization. We still belong to these organizations as they help us to serve others, but the vulnerability is always there.Jim Jordanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12456957270007304493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19670264.post-1153849291515966352006-07-25T11:41:00.000-06:002006-07-25T11:41:00.000-06:00Excellent homiletic! I'm familiar with most of the...Excellent homiletic! I'm familiar with most of the verses you quoted but would love to see the chapters and verse numbers to make it complete. This post is a powerful reminder that one can't put all their hope in a church. They will only have their heart broken. The structure of the church is itself doomed to being a "world" institution corrupted by its own power. When the Bible speaks of the true church it means the body of true believers in Jesus Christ. The "rock" on which Jesus would build his church was Peter, a most ordinary person made extraordinary through Christ. Good work.Jim Jordanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12456957270007304493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19670264.post-1153838335814036192006-07-25T08:38:00.000-06:002006-07-25T08:38:00.000-06:00I am not so sure that this one is "out of the park...I am not so sure that this one is "out of the park", as Chris said. I have been a Christian for 19 years and have been in the same New Hampshire ministry for all 19 of them. Though we are far from perfect, I can't say that I have ever seen the church politics play a part in the way things have gone. There are pockets of what you describe all over the religious world. I am not so naive as to ignore or deny that. But isn't this whole thing based on each individual's experience and how spiritually strong the local congregation is? <BR/>I am blessed to be part of the ministry that I am in. We have had great leaders who knew how to keep us from going down the road of legalism (even while some other ministries throughout the world might have slipped into it for a time). <BR/><BR/><B>bruced said:</B><BR/><I>"For some reason, the deeper nature of God's love hasn't been revealed to them yet."</I><BR/><BR/>It must be our collective hard hearts. ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19670264.post-1153830538988429272006-07-25T06:28:00.000-06:002006-07-25T06:28:00.000-06:00I've come to the conclusion that they're only doin...I've come to the conclusion that they're only doing the best the can with what they know. For some reason, the deeper nature of God's love hasn't been revealed to them yet. So, they put their trust in their institution instead of God. But, that's OK. Somehow, some way... God will reveal Himself to them in terms that will bring incredible life. Not everyone is ready for the "next step", so they muddle along in their "systems", making themselves feel good about "doing something" for God. But, their day will come. One by one, they will awaken to the glory of God's amazing Grace, and begin to see what actually happened on that magnificent Cross of Jesus!<BR/><BR/>God can be trusted. His will is done!brucedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06839887792626090688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19670264.post-1153802648589738392006-07-24T22:44:00.000-06:002006-07-24T22:44:00.000-06:00Dude, you keep hitting them out of the park!! I ha...Dude, you keep hitting them out of the park!! I have seen just a small portion of the politcs that take place in my church, and it is sickening. Still, I try to attend when I can. Maybe I can spark something in the minds of the congregation when they allow me to play some of my songs. That is the only way that I know how to state my case is through my songwriting. We have to try, right??Chris Ledgerwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17905022342741427178noreply@blogger.com