The woman's voice began to quiver. She'd just introduced herself to me in the hallway of our church, and for a couple of minutes she'd held it together. But as she started to share the difficulty of the past few months, the strain showed on her face and her cheerful facade quickly began to crumble and fall away before my eyes—until finally she blurted out the words punctuated by heavy sobs:
Anger is often the root of change. Once we realize that despair and grief and disengagement only tear us down and make us passive and powerless, only when we realize that what we really feel is anger because what we value has been degraded and manipulated and bent beyond all recognition, that's when the revolution starts. That's when we start standing up shouting, "No! No more lies! No more cheats! No more deceit! No more hate! No more cruelty! No more of this twisted, cruel, hateful, divisive blather! Enough! We are done with all of it. We claim the Jesus who died to raise us up. All of us. All. Of. Us."
Thank you , John. For putting into words the very the very heart and soul of our discouragement in today's political climate of churchianity. What happened to the moral high ground of following Jesus to worshipping a yellow, bigoted, venal , misogynistic, shell of a human? One of my hopes is that out of this mess we will meet like minded people who share a love of God and people without judgments.
I think the split screen of Maga politics is not just disconcerting , it is precisely an illness.
The fact that a political party allegedly embraces Christianity, but lives by vitriol and hateful attacks , intolerance of every stripe and supports a man who has never accepted or apologized for his violent and criminal conduct.
Yet not only he claims to be a Christian ( not very convincingly) but is followed by all of these other haters who profess to be followers of Christ.
It is mind boggling if only on the surface.
The Supreme Court far Right Judges are doing their part promoting these policies.
I believe in a Supreme Being, I do not know his/ her name.
This is a Being that loves unconditionally.
This is a being who is secure enough to forgive us for our transgressions against loving ourselves and others.
This Being gives us free will but asks all of us to help each other.
Also ourselves.
No exclusions are condoned.
The judgments and intolerance are not directed by Divinity.
Those are People driven transgressions against love .
Helping others with their struggles is God given .
Accepting reality is God given . Attempting to remake people in our image is a major transgression. And Narcissistic.
Expectations that we do everything one way is intolerant.
Insisting on it is violence.
This world and its chaos can change . But only if we can .
We need help to accomplish this. Each others and the help of our Supreme Being , God.
“Perhaps this epidemic isn’t a sickness, it’s a rebirth.” This is what I believe. I’ve seen it in myself and so many others. It’s a necessary part of a leap forward. What we know as Christianity is not working, it’s so far from what the early church was as to be unrecognizable.
I’ve been going through the deconstruction of my faith for probably 15 years and I’m navigating the reconstruction phase now. We must have a bigger, wider more all encompassing faith and realize that all life breathes together. It’s the beginning of a new way. At the same time it can be a rediscovery of what actually was/is the actual message of Jesus/The Christ. It’s past time to excavate our souls and birth a new way of being. The old way is not working in this world.
When Jesus is at the very center of my being, and my heart is truly transformed into His likeness, Donald Trump becomes a needy creature instead of the antichrist…in my better moments, when filled with the Spirit of the living God, this is how I see this man.
The church has been at a crossroad the past many years. When the voices of the LGBTQ Community became stronger and in one accord, demanding equal rights to daily living needs, the church had an opportunity to rise up with them. I believe what we are witnessing today in the Christian community is the separation of the sheep from the goats. Sheep will be led by their master, whereas, the “very elect” will be led astray. Eyes on Jesus. At the Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus for a short spell. Then God the Father spoke. “This is my beloved Son…listen to Him!” Not Moses, not Elijah…we are to listen to God’s Son…and His name is Jesus. We will never go wrong when we reflect that kind of love.
I have been a spiritual seeker for decades. In hindsight, I´d say I´ve been way too naive. I used to forgive liars and conmen. But not any more. I have no sympathy for Donald Trump or his henchmen.
I am just now seeing your note or I would have responded to you sooner. My journey through life has taught me that forgiveness is most important for myself. Unresolved pain and resentment have a way of creating serious side effects, like sickness and disease, to say nothing of anxiety and even hatred in me. I don’t need or want that on me so I do everything in my power to go to bed with a light heart, knowing I’ve done all I can to be at peace with the Universe. Jesus tried teaching the religious leaders of the time the value of forgiveness, but they would not have it. They liked their authority and meted out punishments as was their God-granted duty. Jesus came to show a better way.
I don’t like that my only Daughter was gang raped at the age of thirteen and nobody was punished; I don’t like people like Donald Trump who use and abuse people all the time. But instead of harboring any ill will towards them, I give them over to God and let him be their judge.
However, the energy I do have because it isn’t wasted on worry and fear and anger I turn to good use. Writing, encouraging, serving my community are vital ways to counteract the grossness in our spheres of influence.
Since you were kind enough to write me a note, your hope for our country to survive this turmoil we are in is most important to me. Thank you, Katinka. Blessings of goodness to you from Alaska.
Dear John. Thank you for another encouraging article. And thanks for reading your articles to us. I very much appreciate listening to you. Best wishes from Norway.
Anger is often the root of change. Once we realize that despair and grief and disengagement only tear us down and make us passive and powerless, only when we realize that what we really feel is anger because what we value has been degraded and manipulated and bent beyond all recognition, that's when the revolution starts. That's when we start standing up shouting, "No! No more lies! No more cheats! No more deceit! No more hate! No more cruelty! No more of this twisted, cruel, hateful, divisive blather! Enough! We are done with all of it. We claim the Jesus who died to raise us up. All of us. All. Of. Us."
Thank you , John. For putting into words the very the very heart and soul of our discouragement in today's political climate of churchianity. What happened to the moral high ground of following Jesus to worshipping a yellow, bigoted, venal , misogynistic, shell of a human? One of my hopes is that out of this mess we will meet like minded people who share a love of God and people without judgments.
Do unto others as you do unto your self. Start their first. The love we want to share is within all of us. Exercise that reality; set yourself free
I think the split screen of Maga politics is not just disconcerting , it is precisely an illness.
The fact that a political party allegedly embraces Christianity, but lives by vitriol and hateful attacks , intolerance of every stripe and supports a man who has never accepted or apologized for his violent and criminal conduct.
Yet not only he claims to be a Christian ( not very convincingly) but is followed by all of these other haters who profess to be followers of Christ.
It is mind boggling if only on the surface.
The Supreme Court far Right Judges are doing their part promoting these policies.
I believe in a Supreme Being, I do not know his/ her name.
This is a Being that loves unconditionally.
This is a being who is secure enough to forgive us for our transgressions against loving ourselves and others.
This Being gives us free will but asks all of us to help each other.
Also ourselves.
No exclusions are condoned.
The judgments and intolerance are not directed by Divinity.
Those are People driven transgressions against love .
Helping others with their struggles is God given .
Accepting reality is God given . Attempting to remake people in our image is a major transgression. And Narcissistic.
Expectations that we do everything one way is intolerant.
Insisting on it is violence.
This world and its chaos can change . But only if we can .
We need help to accomplish this. Each others and the help of our Supreme Being , God.
“Perhaps this epidemic isn’t a sickness, it’s a rebirth.” This is what I believe. I’ve seen it in myself and so many others. It’s a necessary part of a leap forward. What we know as Christianity is not working, it’s so far from what the early church was as to be unrecognizable.
I’ve been going through the deconstruction of my faith for probably 15 years and I’m navigating the reconstruction phase now. We must have a bigger, wider more all encompassing faith and realize that all life breathes together. It’s the beginning of a new way. At the same time it can be a rediscovery of what actually was/is the actual message of Jesus/The Christ. It’s past time to excavate our souls and birth a new way of being. The old way is not working in this world.
When Jesus is at the very center of my being, and my heart is truly transformed into His likeness, Donald Trump becomes a needy creature instead of the antichrist…in my better moments, when filled with the Spirit of the living God, this is how I see this man.
The church has been at a crossroad the past many years. When the voices of the LGBTQ Community became stronger and in one accord, demanding equal rights to daily living needs, the church had an opportunity to rise up with them. I believe what we are witnessing today in the Christian community is the separation of the sheep from the goats. Sheep will be led by their master, whereas, the “very elect” will be led astray. Eyes on Jesus. At the Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus for a short spell. Then God the Father spoke. “This is my beloved Son…listen to Him!” Not Moses, not Elijah…we are to listen to God’s Son…and His name is Jesus. We will never go wrong when we reflect that kind of love.
Dear Sandra.
I am unsure about how to decrypt your message.
I have been a spiritual seeker for decades. In hindsight, I´d say I´ve been way too naive. I used to forgive liars and conmen. But not any more. I have no sympathy for Donald Trump or his henchmen.
Love from Norway
Hi Katinka.
I am just now seeing your note or I would have responded to you sooner. My journey through life has taught me that forgiveness is most important for myself. Unresolved pain and resentment have a way of creating serious side effects, like sickness and disease, to say nothing of anxiety and even hatred in me. I don’t need or want that on me so I do everything in my power to go to bed with a light heart, knowing I’ve done all I can to be at peace with the Universe. Jesus tried teaching the religious leaders of the time the value of forgiveness, but they would not have it. They liked their authority and meted out punishments as was their God-granted duty. Jesus came to show a better way.
I don’t like that my only Daughter was gang raped at the age of thirteen and nobody was punished; I don’t like people like Donald Trump who use and abuse people all the time. But instead of harboring any ill will towards them, I give them over to God and let him be their judge.
However, the energy I do have because it isn’t wasted on worry and fear and anger I turn to good use. Writing, encouraging, serving my community are vital ways to counteract the grossness in our spheres of influence.
Since you were kind enough to write me a note, your hope for our country to survive this turmoil we are in is most important to me. Thank you, Katinka. Blessings of goodness to you from Alaska.
Dear Sandra.
Thank you so much for your kind response and good wishes.
I am very sorry to hear what happened to your daughter.
Sending my blessings to you and her, and the best wishes both for you and your country.
Katinka
Dear John. Thank you for another encouraging article. And thanks for reading your articles to us. I very much appreciate listening to you. Best wishes from Norway.
I think this is a good song of REAL faith and its loving twin, service:
https://youtu.be/KdUpGzLxGAw?si=aiWpkk-PRTk87-Dx