When will we finally start acting like God is real? Talking like God is real?
This may tie in with my idea of the Secular Church:
Church is beginning to be viewed in ways that it never has before (by society): as an organization which is mostly secular in both nature and function. It has just recently been given a slot in the realm of sociology, and religion is now being considered and studied by psychologists, physicians, social institutions, and even economists. The only non-parochial social sector that has always had its nose in the Church since the founding of this country and has merely continued its interest (in the interest of enlightened self-interest) is Politics. And while, in the beginning, many of our founding fathers (the early politicians) were actually practicing Christians, for perhaps VERY close to 200 years now religion has only been a tool for collecting votes.
I have coined the phrase “the secular church” because I feel that it is simply yet truthfully descriptive. I came across it one day as I was venting about the lack of zeal — or rather, blatant disregard — for holiness that is such the prevalent mindset in the Church these days, even unto pastors making provision for the fulfillment of the lust of the eye in décor, and the lust of the flesh in materialism and the desire to kill and destroy by means of PlayStation and Nintendo.
We call His Name Jesus. Why? That is not the holy, decreed, and commanded name that Mary and Joseph gave Him. (Have you ever known a Jennifer who hated being called “Jenny”? “Jesus” is derived from “Zeus”!) We do not observe Sabat, but go to church on Sunday. Why? Yahoshua plainly said that He did NOT come to abolish The Law (meaning the old Levitical Laws), but to fulfill it, to give meaning to it! We celebrate the World’s traditional “holi”days with them, as well as our own holidays in their Pagan ways (Halloween, Easter); token prayers for help are given to our poor, though we may throw money at the World’s impoverished; we have turned our backs on our children, letting them, letting them, letting them, “trusting” them, and “being there for them”, feeling clean before our God, Children’s Services Division; we grip this earthlife with a white-knuckled intensity, and feel comforted when those in the World identify and sympathize with our worldly troubles, instead of letting Yahoshua fill that role and infuse our earthlife with His Superlife.
I mean, really, what are we?
February 3, 2008 at 4:02 am
[i]When will we finally start acting like God is real? Talking like God is real?[/i]
When the idea of a god existing starts making rational and logical sense, maybe?
February 3, 2008 at 4:24 am
Rational and logical like deciding that when a human reaches a certain size, a certain stage of development, and a particular level of autonomy he or she is mature enough to be considered human? Trying to decide whose rationale is the right one, or whose among the masses is right enough, is, to me, irrational. It’s kind of like trying to play tetherball on a pole made out of rubber.
February 3, 2008 at 5:58 am
The benchmarks that you mention are already in place. It’s just that some people don’t like them for one reason or another.
But then, pro-lifers aren’t necessarily known for listening to reason and logic so your example is a poor one.
February 3, 2008 at 10:24 am
Please keep in mind that my blog was aimed at the Church, the Body of Christ across all denominations. I’m showing my brothers and sisters the oddity of their (our) secular behavior after witnessing, receiving, and even performing miracles (i.e. knowing and working with God intimately).
For example, I myself do something supernatural almost every day through the power of the Holy Spirit, and I don’t just mean prayer. I have heard myself utter things in a man’s voice while being delivered from an evil spirit, I have performed exorcisms on other believers, I have seen people be healed from physical afflictions right in front of me, and I have been personally healed from a disease that my doctors told me there was no cure for. I have the gift of prophecy, and it is proven over and over, as it is when friends of mine who also have this particular gift prophesy to me. But yet I still feel so apathetic sometimes about really living in (and, therefore, living out) the Power that I have come to know and love. We’re all born away from God, and so secularity will always feel more familiar to us, but we who are actually in this two-way Love relationship with God ought to have grown up enough by now to be able to, in a sense, leave mama’s apron strings.
As for your last comment, I notice the lack of a comma after the word “logic”, so I would assume then that you mean that, since I am a “pro-lifer” (however, if you knew me you would know that, though I am very much a pro-AFTERlifer, I am not really all that protective over this little earthlife), my examples will be poor ones. I think that a person is able to express him- or herself through the use of exemplary metaphor as his or her I.Q. allows, and mine is 136 — nothing to sneeze at. Also, as far as listening to reason and logic, I got A’s and B’s in my math classes (Algebra and Trig), a B out of my Psych class, and I’ve gotten A’s and a B in Sociology (at a secular college), so I’d have to say that the evidence shows that, “pro-lifer” or not, Christian or not, a person in love with her God or not, I seem to be able to listen to, hear, and understand reason and logic just fine.
February 5, 2008 at 8:32 pm
We are Christ followers on a wonderful journey. It’s exciting times to live for Christ and be the salt and the light in our day.
Know that you are loved,
gaj