HE’S WATCHING ME
"Christ died for men precisely because men are not worth dying for; to make them worth it." C. S. Lewis
I’ve had an interesting week. Evidently there are limits to conservative “Christian” love, acceptance, and kindness. From what I am to gather this week, it only applies to heterosexual males and females and to gays and lesbians who are penitent, repentant, and basically willing to have a psychological lobotomy. Character doesn’t matter. The sinner can be a good person and the advertising “Christian” can be abjectly evil. As long as they flaunt their religion and are heterosexual, well, God loves ‘em.
"God is not proud...He will have us even though we have shown that we prefer everything else to Him." C. S. Lewis
From one comment, I gather as a Christian, I’m not even to allow my friend Leroy to do my hair because he’s not repentant. Considering the fact that he and Tom have been in a committed, monogamous relationship for nearly 33 years, and are devout Methodists has nothing to do with it. Neither does the fact that they are kind, loving people who are raising two young nieces and a nephew and love animals. It doesn’t matter. They are to be proscribed (another Roman tradition for you who are ignorant wretches when it comes to history).
We of the Anglican persuasion have two choices when we need to pull a quote. We can either turn to the Bible, or to C. S. Lewis. In chapter 15 of Mere Christianity, in the final paragraph, Lewis wrote:
“Finally, though I have had to speak at some length about sex, I want to make it as clear as I possibly can that the centre of Christian morality is not here. If anyone thinks that Christians regard unchastity as the supreme vice, he is quite wrong. The sins of the flesh are bad, but they are the least bad of all sins. All the worst pleasures are purely spiritual: the pleasure of putting other people in the wrong, of bossing and patronising and spoiling sport, and back-biting; the pleasures of power, of hatred. For there are two things inside me, competing with the human self which I must try to become. They are the Animal self, and the Diabolical self. The Diabolical self is the worse of the two. That is why a cold, self-righteous prig who goes regularly to church may be far nearer to hell than a prostitute. But, of course, it is better to be neither.”
I’m a good Episcopalian. I’d probably be a half-way decent Catholic. I sucked as a Baptist and walked away from the Presbyterian church and it’s increasing emphasis on Calvinism. I guess my faith is far more simplistic than Calvinism. Even though I was raised Presbyterian, it was High Presbyterian with a minister who eventually ended up going to an Episcopal church after he retired. I guess I’m just not predestined to a really good Christian. My faith is simple and is probably quite shallow. I don’t go in for a barnyard pile of theology. I’m not that bright. I like the Ten Commandments. They are simple, even for a shallow person like me. My favorite, though, are the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount. We must start with John 3:16
‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life
Matthew 5
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
3 ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Salt and Light3 ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
13 ‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.14 ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
The Law and the Prophets17 ‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. 18For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Concerning Anger21 ‘You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.” 22But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, “You fool”, you will be liable to the hell of fire. 23So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. 25Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
Concerning Adultery27 ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” 28But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.
Love for Enemies43 ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” 44But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? 47And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 7
Judging Others7‘Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. 2For with the judgement you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. 3Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4Or how can you say to your neighbour, “Let me take the speck out of your eye”, while the log is in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye.
Profaning the Holy
6 ‘Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.
Ask, Search, KnockProfaning the Holy
6 ‘Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.
7 ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? 10Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? 11If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
The Golden Rule12 ‘In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.
It seems to me, if this is the way Christ wanted us to live as Christians, then turning away anyone who is not a Christian simply because we do not approve of their life-style, isn’t a good idea. I can see not dealing with someone who isn’t a good person – who is just plain evil. I cannot justify turning a person away simply because my legalistic religious does not allow that specific person into heaven. H-E-double toothpick – we are all sinners. We must all ask to be forgiven. This whole repentant thing is just too deep for me.
Repentant (3 Occurrences)
Luke 15:7
I tell you that in the same way there will be rejoicing in Heaven over one repentant sinner--more rejoicing than over ninety-nine blameless persons who have no need of repentance.
Luke 15:10
"I tell you that in the same way there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one repentant sinner."
Isaiah 1:27
Upright acts will be the price of Zion's forgiveness, and by righteousness will men be living there.
““Now what was the sort of ‘hole’ man had got himself into? He had tried to set up on his own, to behave as if he belonged to himself. In other words, fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms. Laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry, realizing that you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over again from the ground floor—that is the only way out of our ‘hole’. This process of surrender—this movement full speed astern—is what Christians call repentance. Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means killing part of yourself, undergoing a kind of death. In fact, it needs a good man to repent. And here comes the catch. Only a bad person needs to repent: only a good person can repent perfectly. The worse you are the more you need it and the less you can do it. The only person who could do it perfectly would be a perfect person—and he would not need it….But the same badness which makes us need it, makes us unable to do it. Can we do it if God helps us? Yes, but what do we mean when we talk of God helping us? We mean God putting into us a bit of Himself, so to speak….Now if we had not fallen, that would be all plain sailing. But unfortunately we now need God’s help in order to do something which God, in His own nature, never does at all—to surrender, to suffer, to submit, to die….You and I can go through this process only if God does it in us….” C. S. Lewis
One comment said it was all about Unrepentant Sin. Funny, but that term is used only ONCE in the Bible!
Romans 2:5
"But according to your hardness and unrepentant heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath, revelation, and of the righteous judgment of God;"
"Of all bad men religious bad men are the worst." C. S. Lewis
I was having problems with the self-righteous world view until I ran across another self-righteous world view that basically said that C. S. Lewis went to hell. Now I have something I can deal with. Then I discovered that the person “Ms. Green” who did some of the criticizing doesn’t think Episcopals are Christians. I did not understand the problem until I realized we are dealing with some sort of cultish behavior.
“…Christianity Today magazine admits that C.S. Lewis is popular to Evangelicals today because, like then, he despised Biblical separation. Like it or not, the Word of God teaches that Christians are to separate from the unsaved (2nd Corinthians 6:14-17; and from other professed "Christians" who live in unrepentant sin (1st Corinthians 5:11)….”
"In the moral sphere, every act of justice or charity involves putting ourselves in the other person's place and thus transcending our own competitive particularity." C. S. Lewis
This is what Ms Green wrote about the Episcopal church:
“…In their General Convention this month the Episcopal Church further separated itself from the faith "once delivered"(Jude 1:3). For one thing, they passed a resolution condemning not only many liturgical texts, but the Bible Itself as "anti-Jewish",referring specifically to the Gospel account of the crucifixion, saying that it has stirred "anti-Jewish prejudice". In addition, this apostate church has also again decided to directly disobey God, this time by prioritizing their missions according to their "own eyes"(Proverbs 3:7, Deuteronomy 12:8).
Instead of putting Evangelism (Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19) at the top of their agenda, they have chosen "Justice and Peace" as their primary focus. Not only that, but they are basing their focus on the Millennium Development Goals of the godless United Nations, which include eradicating "extreme poverty and hunger", "universal primary education", promoting "gender equality" and "empowerment of women" and "reducing child mortality".
The Episcopal church, which recently saw its first ordination of an openly homesexual bishop, has female priestesses, and endorses abortion (kinda negates the "reducing child mortality" goal, doesn't it...) has not resembled a New Testament church for a very long time. At what point will they admit that they are no longer "Christian"? True Christians will sometimes stay in a church that has strayed in order to affect change. It's time for true Christians to come out of this church (II John 1:10-11)….”
Instead of putting Evangelism (Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19) at the top of their agenda, they have chosen "Justice and Peace" as their primary focus. Not only that, but they are basing their focus on the Millennium Development Goals of the godless United Nations, which include eradicating "extreme poverty and hunger", "universal primary education", promoting "gender equality" and "empowerment of women" and "reducing child mortality".
The Episcopal church, which recently saw its first ordination of an openly homesexual bishop, has female priestesses, and endorses abortion (kinda negates the "reducing child mortality" goal, doesn't it...) has not resembled a New Testament church for a very long time. At what point will they admit that they are no longer "Christian"? True Christians will sometimes stay in a church that has strayed in order to affect change. It's time for true Christians to come out of this church (II John 1:10-11)….”
(sigh)
I am so glad Lent is over and I can use profanity.
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Blankety-blank STUPID NARROW MINDED
$#@& $#%& *&@# TWIT
I am not being nice. The truly tragic thing here is Ms. Green doesn’t think I am a Christian because I am an Episcopalian. She doesn’t think Episcopalians are Christians. My gosh that’s sad. Some of the finest Christians I’ve ever known in my life are Episcopalians. To judge a denomination by one’s homophobia is rather curious at best. To damn us all because we do get out there and believe in helping those less fortunate (including illegal migrants I am proud to say) is showing a bit of ignorance about the things Christ wanted us to do. To say that our denomination is not Christian is just plain narrow-minded and bigoted.
“We need at times, some of us at most times, that Charity from others which, being Love Himself in them, loves the unlovable. But this, though a sort of love we need, is not the sort we want. We want to be loved for our cleverness, beauty, generosity, fairness, usefulness. The first hint that anyone is offering us the highest love of all is a terrible shock. This is so well recognized that spiteful people will pretend to be loving us with Charity precisely because they know that it will wound us. To say to one who expects a renewal of Affection, Friendship, or Eros, "I forgive you as a Christian" is merely a way of continuing the quarrel. Those who say it are of course lying. But the thing would not be falsely said in order to wound unless, if it were true, it would be wounding.” C. S. Lewis
Today Fr. Peter had a wonderful sermon. In five minutes he put into perspective something I’ve been trying to say to people who literally hate those who are of a different orientation. The Lord knows the number of stars in the sky, and each one individually. He knows the grains of sand on the shore. He knows, intimately each and everyone of us. He loves each and every one of us. If God loves this sinner (who is beyond evil, we are told) then we must also love them. It’s that simple.
No I don’t approve of gay marriage. But, I am not going to stand in the way of someone one day finding Christ by being a self righteous prig of a Christian B – I – T – C – H. I am fully aware that there are things which bug us all. I am far more tolerant of a gay or lesbian than I am the local town slut. Neither one are any different. I am ashamed to say I would be nicer to the gay couple than I would the town slut. I can’t tolerate women who are sluts.
The way I look at it, I must remain above reproach in my personal behavior. I am working on a book for teenage girls about life, morality, and Christian living. I cannot afford not to live a certain way. Unfortunately, in the past, I have made the mistake of expecting others to live up to my rigid standards.
About 9 years ago there was this waitress. I couldn’t stand her. She was a cat in heat, even when she was pregnant. I was polite to her, but she made me crazy. Fr. Anna caught my behavior to her one day, I am ashamed to say. I was polite, but cold. She reminded me I had to be kind and pray for her soul.
You know how normal women are. If we don’t like someone, well, we’ll just need to befriend them and treat them nicely. I did this. I also started praying for she, her live-in, and her family. I never saw her after that.
I prayed for she, her live-in and her family every single day for another 7 years. One day, I saw her, or rather she saw me. She had changed completely! Her live-in was how her husband. She had become the uber-mommy, neighborhood mom, going to church mom, family person. He had a sane, well paying job.
Thanks to Fr. Anna, years earlier, I treated this person kindly, even though I disapproved of her life-style and everything about her. My prayers for she and her family had been answered. I had been humbled. But – because I had always been kind and coldly polite, when the time came, I was able to visit with her and not be embarrassed over my behavior. In fact, she credited my behavior with her improvements.
Boy did I learn a lesson.
I learned that kindness and Christian love and tolerance are important if we intend to pray for someone’s soul. I feel sorry for the parties involved in the sorted ABQ tale. I feel sorry for the “Christian” photographer who allowed her self-righteous determination to prove how “Christian” she was. I feel sorry for two women who were robbed of an opportunity to see a “Christian” in action. I truly pity the “Christians” who have made comments. They don’t appear to understand a simple little fact.
God loves those two lesbians just as much as He loves me, the photographer, or all the self-righteous “Christians” in the world. They are just as important to Him. If they are that important to Him, then they’d better be that important to me.
“The vice I am talking about is Pride or Self-Conceit: and the virtue opposite to it, in Christian morals, is called Humility. You may remember, when I was talking about sexual morality, I warned you that the centre of Christian morals did not lie there. Well, now we have come to the centre. According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea-bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” C. S. Lewis
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