An Ageless Hope

January 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

There has been a continual debate about Pluralism, Inclusiveness, and Exclusivity among a variety of religions. These concepts seem to be found in several cultures and religions therefore are not argued exclusively among Christian camps. I will be using some terms in this article to explore a larger hope and I ask that you work hard to see the concept I am sharing in terms of how I am re-defining common words used in many religions.

I will be using the word ‘religion’ with the definition of  ’tangible ways in which we carry out traditions in our acts of worship’. It is commonly taught that these tangible traditions are a path to a person’s salvation. However in this perspective I present today, ‘religion’ is not the “road to Salvation”. I think this definition I share of “religion” is the outward manifestation of what is already taking place in the heart…Salvation is what is happening within.

I believe that whoever we consider the Creator/Deity/Divine etc can and does work that salvation within us in a spiritual way that best fits who we are and how we come upon the revelation of such salvation. Expounding upon that thought, I wish to emphasize that our Creator meets us “where we are” and “as we are”. If our Creator decides to use metaphors from childhood fables, Hollywood sci-fi, Science, or religious texts is up to that Creator. It doesn’t mean only one of these avenues is “the only road to salvation” for all people.

I believe that being a “Christian” is a mix of cultural and theological components gleaning from the bible as their text. Other religions follow a similar concept..cultural and theological components gleaning from their spiritual texts. I will use the terms ‘Theos’ and ‘Creator’ interchangeably as a non gender spiritual being outside of and yet within our realm of existence. For the sake of keeping Theos as a relatable being to us, I use ‘him’  as a non gender term as opposed to ‘it’ which seems to break the relational aspect off from us.

What we call Theos , just may be using all kinds of avenues to get his message across… reconciliation to our Creator. It is debatable on whether or not human-kind was ever broke off from Theos or if we were simply deceived into thinking we were. I will not get into that argument here. The angle I introduce today is that of a concept of universal reconciliation. This angle is what I believe to be the foundation of all that is going on between human-kind and Theos. So in this perspective, there is no such thing as “all religions lead to god” but rather.. Theos uses any means necessary to speak the evangel( good news of reconciliation) to his creation. The people Theos speaks to in all different cultures and paths will understandably follow a unique path based on their cultural and theological communities and with whatever spiritual texts have been handed down through their generations.

If we look at this relationship between Theos and human-kind, we can see how each culture of people have found a variety of ways to come to know this Theos, how to express their path of understanding, and what that looks like for each individual(and as groups) is manifested in diverse ways.

It may very well be that Theos wants each culture of peoples to follow in a traditional pattern. Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Pagans, etc have cultures that embody such traditional patterns that are unique to their people. It is entirely possible that Theos does not want Christians to weave their beliefs and traditions in with Muslims, nor Pagans with Jews. It is evident that each religions seem to hold to a varying degree of belief about that. Maybe instead of arguing over this, we might come to respect that this might be the way in which Theos has planned out humanity to be among one another. It could be that Theos wants us to learn about each path and find ways in which to live in harmony among one another while respecting our differences and celebrating our similarities. Whatever the case may be, each individual needs to decide for themselves what traditional teaching they believe Theos wants them to participate in.

This is not pluralism, inclusiveness, nor exclusiveness, but I do believe it is the basic foundation where all three perspectives grow from. I believe that many from human-kind has done their best to navigate their lives and carry on the heritage of their tribes the best they knew how. Sadly, this has manifested many religious and political wars over the ages in their quest for freedom to continue their spiritual paths.

There is another perspective on the word ‘salvation’ that is not the same as the cosmic reconciliation of human-kind to Theos, but can be viewed as an extension of it. This ‘salvation’ I am referring to is obtained through understanding truth that leads to clarity and healthy decision making. These healthy decisions grow the metaphorical fruit that is pleasant to the growth of our spiritual lives as well as nourishing to our human relationships. This kind of fruit grows from the tree of life which is deeply rooted within us all and is drinking from the living water that is an ongoing wellspring coming from within that cosmic spiritual revelation of our reconciliation and the larger hope for the reconciliation of all to Theos.

Some may never have this reconciliation journey for themselves in this life, but this larger hope is that Theos has a way of bringing all things and people into his balance, in whatever way is best for all.

This perspective is not a religion, just a neutral perspective on what just may be the greatest hope for all mankind. It is inclusive to all, yet exclusively experienced by those who have been awakened. In this belief, Theos sends his messengers to us in a variety of ways and people need to be free to listen and follow Theos as he guides them. He may or may not guide them to follow one path for a time then divert them to another path. That is between them and Theos.

The tradition I have been following is by respecting one another’s paths while extending the invitation to learn the evangel from our/your perspective, but remain humble and not insistent on our/your way being a better or a ‘more right’ way. In all of this the philosophy of the ‘golden rule’ holds true in all paths and has proven to be a healthy way in which to find peace among each other.

I don’t know if a term already exists for this perspective, and I hesitate on coining a term for it out of the concern for it becoming misrepresented or hijacked by another insistent religion that wants to own it or change it. I dislike the ideas of labels that box people up. All I can say is that I call it an Ageless Hope that is inclusive to all, yet exclusive to those experiencing it. It may very well be witnessed at the roots of various beliefs since the beginning of time. All are invited to this evangel and may observe it and participate in it.

In upcoming articles I will share how I have come to live my life within this perspective. In my opinion, there is no reason to leave the traditions you already observe in order to participate in the celebration of life among your fellow humans who do embrace this perspective. They might be within your existing churches, PTA meetings, clubs, frats or various other circles of friends and loved ones. Many fear confessing to this Ageless Hope out of fear of disassociation from their groups. Those of us who do embrace this perspective do not require that you convert or give up anything in your life to celebrate with us. Everyone is free to celebrate and even create their own ‘tangible ways in which you carry out traditions in your acts of worship’. Bless you.

crashing tide by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

Sisterlisa

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Orthodoxy or Tradtionalist

January 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

After I placed my faith in Christ, I began learning of the perspectives of those Christians I was in fellowship with. It wasn’t until many years later that I even learned the word, Orthodoxy. I was told by the leaders in that group that Orthodoxy is what our authority was. It was described to me as the basis for having faith in Christ. It was the essentials to being a Christian. Over the years I have come to see a different perspective and thus was labeled a heretic, in other words, I was accused of being a false teacher. Some have taken what was supposed to be the non essentials and made them into essentials. There’s always going to be a varied response to that and yet I find myself wondering…where is the grace in all this?

cross by lady_jess, on Pix-O-Sphere

When Christ presented himself to me, he did not hand me a list of “essentials”, he simply embraced me in love…. everything else I learned came later. Something he has been discipled me in over the last few years is humility. It would be an incredible oxymoron to get a degree in humility as it is something that we humans can not achieve mastery in. However, my fellow minister, Monica Barden, pointed out that we can have degrees OF humility. Which means, we grow in humility and may find ourselves in different degrees of it. I’m not sure we can arrogantly claim to have a deeper degree in humility over another, for in the day we attempt to do so we may find ourselves so full of pride and totally blind by the beam in our eyes. I do think we can recognize when someone else’s humility surpasses our own though. We certainly can recognize that Christ is truly the most humble of us all.

Now lets get back to this idea of Orthodoxy. Orthodoxy is a word that many have come to accept as “right belief”. Within this realm are many beliefs in which they claim you must believe in, in order to be a “real Christian”. I have come to wrestle with this term Orthodoxy because it leads me to see pride involved. In the Orthodox view, the followers claim to be right and thus everyone else is wrong. This calls to my attention an argument of superiority and a serious problem with seeking to be a humble Christ follower.

Anyone who puts their faith in Christ becomes a Christ follower. Hence, they become a Christian. To attempt to disqualify someone as a Christian based on a set of beliefs creates a whole different realm of man led authority. When a person chooses to put their faith in Christ, that is all it takes to become a Christian. Everything else after that is theological study. Our academic education of all the diverse perspectives on the bible has nothing to do with our initial decisions to follow Christ.

I challenge the word and basis for Orthodoxy as an authority over who is Christian and who is not. I believe a better word for this group of people would be ‘Traditional’. The group that has followed their same old perspective of the Bible are Traditionalists. If they want to describe themselves as Orthodoxy then that is their freedom, however just because they claim to be Orthodoxy doesn’t mean they are. It also doesn’t mean they have authority to dictate to anyone else who is a Christian and who isn’t all based on their traditional views.

I am not against Christians who follow in their traditions, I’m just leery of them assuming authority over who is and is not a Christian. We are free in Christ and can follow him as HE guides us. When you place your faith in Christ, you then become a Christian. Everything else in your journey after that is called discipleship. So don’t worry yourself about what an “orthodoxy” group says to you about your journey in Christ. They are simply following an old traditional view and that is their freedom, they just do not have the authority to reject you from calling yourself a Christian.

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You’re Invited

December 27, 2011 By 2 Comments

The year 2011 was quite a journey for me as a whole, but specifically as a Christ follower. I walked away from the hell-trend in modern Christianity and sought to follow my Lord in a more organic path without the threat of eternal torture. This has brought on a lot of criticism and at the same time a lot of genuine inquiry of my spiritual journey. In order for me to continue to follow Christ, I had to cease from viewing God as an emotional and insecure manipulator. According to evangelical fundamentalism, I already believe in Jesus and in his atonement for my sin, therefore a literal fire torture hell is no longer a threat to my soul and as such I found that living a life of victory was in order. So, believing in a literal hell made no difference to my Kingdom life as a Christian. I didn’t choose to follow Christ because of such a hell in the first place. So why would it matter to me now?

Many would say because I have an obligation now to tell other people about that place of never ending torture. Pardon me while I speak (write) so boldly as I declare that there are real life dangers, scams, and hells on earth to assist people with as it is, NOW! Those people have a difficult time imagining an afterlife of torture when they’re already living a torturous life as it is. I also found that using hell as a threat to ‘choose Jesus or else’ shaped a very dysfunctional relationship with God and Jesus that was not yielding the peaceable fruit of the Spirit within. For those who believe in this fiery torment, you may be relieved that you won’t be tortured, but it doesn’t alleviate the tension you feel over your loved ones eternal destiny in unending flames.

I don’t believe that God ever intended to put the weight of your family’s sin on your shoulders when Jesus already bore that burden on our behalf. So what’s the point in evangelism then? Why preach the kingdom if there is no eternal fire chamber that people dangle over by a thread? Is that all Jesus is good for? The get out of hell card? Or is there more to Jesus and this Kingdom Life that goes largely unnoticed by much of Christendom today?

With over 35,000 denominations of Christianity today, you can bet that none of them have all the answers to everything nor does any one in particular hold “the right” interpretation on every point in the bible. We listen to the pastors and famous theologians of yesteryear to determine what to place our beliefs in. Everything we believe as Christians is done so by faith…without evidence.  Yet, we know to test everything by the Spirit and in doing so I look for the fruit.

Nevertheless, I continue to walk by faith in Christ by the experience I have come to attain in this evidence-less journey. No matter what interpretation a person chooses to follow, they do so by faith. When it all boils down and we come up against brick walls within Christianity, I rest in grace. Grace is such a paradoxical way to live and often times is widely criticized by many. What grace looks like to God is many times not agreed with by mankind. Why should sinners get a break when religious people live by such high standards? How is it that those sinners can get away with riotous living while the religious work so tirelessly to perform feats of perfection for God?

Shall we be like Baal’s priests in the Old Testament who cut themselves to get the attention of their god? Or can we boldly go before the throne of God because Jesus already showed us the way? Do we have to abstain from certain things to be good representations of our God or can we do whatever we want?

Can we love the beaten man on the road like the Samaritan did or are we to ignore the poor and refuse to get dirty in the sin of the world? What about the gays, pagans, or Christians who have been divorced? Are we to ‘put them away’ in a ‘writing of divorcement’ from fellowship due to the hardness of our hearts or can we take the high road and extend grace and love to them?

These are all very important questions and I invite you to join me in 2012 as I share with you how I came to find a balance in this Kingdom Life. I will share with you how important I believe it is to become a part of the solution to finding peace in our communities instead of dividing and creating wars among ourselves. I hope that my input in 2012 can be a positive contribution to the ongoing discussion on living a life in Christ based on faith, but in no way do I intend to produce a new format for living the Christian life. I don’t believe that my path is going to be the final formula of success that everyone needs a carbon copy of. I don’t want to be the next guru who is trying to convince you that I have all the answers, nor do I want anyone to put me on a pedestal. I’m just a person on a journey and I invite you to be a fellow traveler with me.

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Some Thoughts on Christian Universalism

November 16, 2011 By 2 Comments

Many times people who first come to study about Christian Universalism come from various church backgrounds and are mixing different interpretations and denominational theology together. So if you ask someone about Christian Universalism, you may get totally different perspectives from people.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about Christian Universalism and many times people automatically assume that all Universalists are in the same theological camp, but they are not. There is quite a bit of difference actually.

This is just my overview perspective of Christian Universalism, as I see it, within my own spiritual path. A Christian Universalist believes in the original Apostle’s creed. The belief of the abode of the dead has various interpretations, but the CU perspective is that this place in the Hebrew (sheol), and in the Greek (hades) is simply ‘the grave’. This is where Jesus descended to when he died, which is the same place everyone else goes when they die.

A Christian Universalist view is not a denomination per se, so you will rarely find a specific creed that they all unite under. The concept of the Royal Priesthood is taken seriously as our freedom to hear from the Holy Spirit directly and be our own judge of what to believe with grace as the foundation in our faith in Christ. This means we have the grace of Christ to search, question, and explore the scriptures and yield to the Spirit in areas that bring forth the fruit of the Spirit. As far as I can tell, most Christians believe in the Royal Priesthood, yet forget that they don’t need their pastor to be their mediator. But nonetheless, we believe in our spiritual equality among one another.

The term ‘universalist’ for a Christian Universalist does not mean everyone gets into the Kingdom no matter what their religion. But let me first explain that not all Christian Universalists adhere to a belief in the after life, yet we do all understand that the Kingdom is here and now..within us. This Kingdom we have now, is a place in which a believer in Christ has come into through grace. You see, a Christian can claim to follow Christ, but if they continue to live as if they need to obey the Law in order to enter the Kingdom then they have not yet understood this Kingdom. They might be ‘looking over the gate’ at the Kingdom, but walking freely within it is 100% by grace alone. It’s a spiritual concept and so long as a person is looking at the Kingdom as if it’s a literal plane of existence that will magically come down out of the clouds then they don’t understand that this Kingdom is already here.

Do not be confused with this Kingdom, Jesus said is already within us, with the after life. I’m not talking about the after life when I talk of the Kingdom. When it comes to the after life, I personally tend to hold all ‘doctrines’ about the after life loosely, because the only real descriptions we try to glean from the Bible about it, are hidden within parables that require ‘ears to hear’ and most people end up arguing over who really hears and who is still deaf. However, from what many Christian Universalists have come to agree upon is that God has his way of bringing all things into Christ so that balance (justice) can be obtained in the after life. How that plays out is somewhat of a mystery, but we do believe strongly in having faith in Christ.

The most often misunderstood belief among CU’s is that of hell, because we don’t believe in a literal fire and brimstone hell that tortures people forever. Over the many years of theological studies, countless theologians, and numerous debates, the interpretation of just what hell is or means is vague. But don’t let that cause you to fear for us, because we most certainly still believe that we reap what we sow. We don’t require a belief in hell to manipulate us into living a healthy and well balanced life of faith. We don’t believe in frightening people into choosing Jesus, in fact we are firm in our belief that he never intended such a thing either.

I have my own personal concept of what happens after we die and it is supported in scripture, but remember that I said the after life is vague in the bible so what I believe is really only for my own personal growth in Christ. How I view the after life has no bearing on what other people believe and my beliefs are not going to “send people to hell”.

Many Christian Universalists believe that God will purify all things through Christ. That means all things, life, animals, and people. Everything!

The book of Revelation is filled with metaphorical imagery that can seem frightening, but when we step back a bit to look at the big picture we see that this book is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It is not the revelation of the “end times”. When we see it as a Revelation of Jesus we can see the bigger picture clearer and come to understand the metaphors for destruction, judgment, mercy, and reconciliation.

Many times people gasp in horror that we would say all people are reconciled to God, but don’t be confused. We do not think that this is some free ride for molesters, thieving pastors, or murderers to get into the ‘party’ with blood on their hands. Many of us believe that there is a process that takes place in the after life that brings us to the place of humility so we can receive his grace. Everything Christians believe about the after life is purely speculation since none of us has gone through it nor come back with any tangible evidence of it.

We believe that how we view God in this life, will manifest in how we treat others. Viewing God through the redemptive and finished work of the cross puts us all on equal footing and brings about humility. At any time a Christian thinks they’re somehow better than another person (or even other Christians) they have elevated themselves to a place of pride. There is no place for pride in Christ and therefore must be brought down to the foot of the cross. Jesus came to find every last and lost sheep. He leaves the ninety-nine to find the one, because his fold needs to be complete.

So before you spout off that Christian Universalists are from the devil and dragging people off to hell, maybe take some time to first understand what we believe and watch how we live out our lives in Christ.

It’s not a belief in hell that makes one a follower of Christ.

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Practical Consequences

November 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

This world has plenty of consequences to deal with as it is, than to push people into a fetal position with fear of afterlife-punishments. People have a difficult time with concepts about an afterlife that has never been scientifically proven to exist in the first place.

But do we really need to be in fear of fire torture, when we can clearly see that stealing is punishable by getting arrested? Not only that, but they disgrace their family, might appear in the newspaper, and isn’t all that enough to teach people? Why do we need to heap additional unproven ‘consequences’ on them?

I am a firm believer in ‘reap what you sow’, or as some call it, ‘What goes around, comes around’. I think this is a decent enough of a spiritual concept that has more validity and documented evidence than afterlife type consequences.

I don’t think it’s necessary to use superstitious stories of an invisible boogie man or any other such nonsense to be Christians. I believe in practical faith and that every day living by faith can be done with simple beliefs in the reap and sow concept. If we live by ‘love one another’, ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’, ‘with whatever measure you sow, that you will also reap’, then I believe we can do well.

If you need more than that to keep you on the straight and narrow, then you might want to consider getting a good therapist.

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Christianity Outside of Christianity

October 25, 2011 By 3 Comments

Why does being a Christian have to be accompanied by such long lists of qualifications? Who says you can’t be a Christian unless you believe the whole bible is inerrant? Why do so many churches hide their deeper doctrines until you have proved yourself enough to be let in on their little secrets? Maybe you’ve believed in Jesus, but you just can’t stomach the hypocrisy of many of today’s churches, you’re not alone.

I’m about to tell you something that most clergy will despise and I’ll most likely be accused of heresy for telling you this…but you don’t “need” a church, a pastor, or even the bible to believe in Jesus.

Pausing…looking up…no lightning. I haven’t been struck down with leprosy like Miriam, I haven’t been “killed by the Holy Ghost” like Ananias and his wife, Saphira.

Why is it that people say to walk by faith, but we’re afraid that God will strike us down if we do?

There’s a Christ that frees us so we can walk by faith and a false christ that imprisons you in the bondage of fear.

There is a simpler way to live this life in Christ…a way to walk in faith, to be bold in grace, to approach the throne with gladness.

This fellowship of believers that walks in freedom is the Royal Priesthood of believers where the only middle man is Jesus. No pope, pastor, bishop or deacon to rule over you.

There’s no agenda, no hidden doctrines, all the cards are laid out on the table. You’re a Living Epistle.

It’s where we’re all equal and all are loved and accepted.

Are there boundaries? Of course there is. No abundant life is worth really living unless each person has their own personal boundaries. You have a right to have your own boundaries. It’s wise to have boundaries, your own personal space. If anyone violates your space, you have a right to speak up about it.

This kind of fellowship is an open door, just respect it for what it is. Respect each person’s soul liberty.

You can study your bible, any version you want.

This journey to understanding this life in Christ is never ending. You’ll never “arrive” but you’ll never be less than. It’s an adventure and any one of us could ‘be onto something’ or ‘be missing a few marbles’, but we’re to treat each other with dignity.

Here’s where we get to the nitty gritty…no bullying!

Any ‘teaching’ that breeds fear, arrogance, elitism, control, shaming, shunning, violating of another person, is strictly forbidden. Any ‘teaching’ that puts a person under threat, frightens them for their future, eternity, or a loved one’s future or eternity, is off limits!

Women are equal and will not be silenced, abused, or oppressed.

Children are treasured and are not to be violated, forced into slavery, or abused in any way.

Is there such a place?

Well, yes and no. There are others on this journey, but no official building, entity, 501c3 or otherwise.

This is because we are free. We gather in homes, at the park, online, at the beach or wherever we choose to.

How do you find people like this to gather with? Simply speak up.

I realize this many not be a popular article or concept among Christianity. In fact, many of us have already been accused of heresy, rebellion, or told we’re on a ‘slippery slope’. I’m pretty sure if Jesus were born in the 70′s he’d be accused of the same things today. But now we live in America where we won’t be crucified, put to death, or whipped with a cat of nine tails for speaking up about our freedom.

We have soul liberty, we ARE the church, the people are the Temple, and the Living Word is written on our hearts.

There’s a spiritual life to enjoy and it’s about time we start enjoying it.

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The Bible Doesn’t Have to be 100% Accurate

October 11, 2011 By 4 Comments

For as far back as Christianity goes in history, there has been battle after battle. There’s been a lot of bloodshed. Even today, there is an ongoing battle of power that leaves many folks with ‘bleeding’ hearts. Such a thirst for authority over others. What did Jesus say? “Do not lord over others as the heathen do, it shall not be so among you.”

But with over 30,000 denominations of Christianity today, the many voices rage on in their siege for control over the Christian religion. Some of the topics that divide fellowship include:

Keeping women as second class citizens of the kingdom.

Refusing to allow their adult daughters to make up their own minds about their faith.

Rejecting the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit in the churches.

Silencing church members from questioning outside the denominational boundaries.

Insisting on who gets into heaven and who goes to hell.

Name calling of people who believe different translations.

False accusations of witches and heretics.

Mandatory church attendance and 10% of your gross income.

Insistence on titles and positions of authority.

Refusal to submit to a council of deacons.

Sure seems like a lot of control issues to me. I thought Jesus brought us freedom.

So why in the world do I continue on in my faith in Jesus with all this fluff and mud slinging going on?

I’ve experienced Jesus and his grace. I know that God wants me to make up my own mind about him without mankind trying to force their views of God on me. I have that freedom and so does everyone else. If I had to rely upon a pastor of a church to be THE mouth piece of God for our generation, which one would be the right one? I think I shall rest in Christ and trust the Holy Spirit who is written on my heart to teach me all things that God wants me to know.

His grace is sufficient. It’s not the bible that is sufficient, it’s his grace. Every time someone insists on the bible being our authority I laugh. I can’t help but to laugh. With over 30,000 denominations how can one be 100% sure they are following the right interpretation of the bible? With translation errors in EVERY English bible, how am I supposed to put my faith in such fallible documents? Last I checked Jesus never said, “Trust in the bible”. Jesus had already ascended by the time the bible was compiled and printed. In fact, Jesus had ascended long before Paul even wrote his letters.

creek by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

The more people come to realize these truths, the sillier people look when they insist on those things listed above. God isn’t going to condemn us because we couldn’t figure out which one of 30,000+ denominations had the right answer. As far as I can tell, grace is the answer.

His grace is sufficient for me.

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Kaleidoscope People

October 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I have had several friends ask me when I’m going to write a book about all of my various experiences, my journey, and how my faith has been transformed and where I’m headed next. I honestly don’t know. I don’t know how to organize my thoughts into an entire book. It may end up being several topics in several books and I don’t even know which topic to address first.

Just when I think I have an angle to begin with, someone pipes up with, “Have you read this book yet?” and the books they suggest are about the very thing I’m already experiencing. So what’s the point in writing about it when someone has already sold a million copies?

And so I just keep blogging.

Many people have questioned my faith in Christ and it’s usually with fear that I’ve rejected my Savior, when I haven’t. I haven’t forsaken my faith in Christ at all. I’ve simply grown into my faith a bit more. We are born in an immature state of being. As we learn, we grow. Maturity is is a life long process and I grow increasingly frustrated with 20-something year old men and women thinking they know it all. Their brains have not matured yet, although they are certainly in the process of maturing.

Our spiritual journey seems to take a similar path. When a person grows into their faith, others may view their path as ‘dangerous’, but have no practical evidence that there is any danger at all. Then there are people who really are following a dangerous path and there is plenty of evidence to prove their direction is dangerous…but they are in denial.

We can’t force people to grow up, but we can stop enabling them.

When a person is on a spiritual journey, the best way to keep growing is to keep questioning. If we cease to ask questions then we have settled and what kind of spiritual growth happens upon settling? When we settle, we become stagnant. Stagnant water breeds fungus and the water becomes toxic. The flow of Living Water is a continual flow of fresh water bringing us health, growth, and cleansing.

When we think we have summed up all the answers, we stop questioning and we stop growing. Sarah Napthali says this about children, “Little children are fully plugged into the present moment because of the natural enjoyment that flows from their curiosity.” (Buddhism for Mothers of Schoolchildren)

She goes on to say this, “If we lose our capacity for perplexity, for questioning and wondering, we start to freeze our perceptions of others, of ourselves and our children. We start perceiving those around us as permanent, unchanging, and separate.”

Sarah  uses a term in her book to describe her children, ‘kaleidoscope characters’. We are each our own kaleidoscope characters in our own stories of life. Our natural born desire to be curious creatures is what inspires us to wake up and face each day as an adventure.

In the bible, the apostle Paul said, “And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” (2 Corinthians 3:3 ESV)

We are a complexity of humanity that grows in various directions at any given moment depending on the present experience of each day. With each step we take, there are infinite possibilities to question and be curious about. The question that many parents get frustrated with answering for little children is, “Why?” Why do we have this curiosity so deeply infused into our core?

Each of us has a story, in fact… we each have several stories to tell. As we each share our stories, we offer the world more inspiration, more curiosity, and more growth. With this kind of growth, we find maturity. But a maturity that thinks it has an end to the story isn’t full maturity. Maturity is a process and is best when it can be both empty and full at the same time. Hungry, yet satisfied. We don’t have to know all the answers to every mystery and any mystery that can be fully solved is no mystery at all. When we cease to ask questions along this mysterious journey called life, we become enablers of stagnant minds and souls.

In my journey, I seek to be on a continual walkabout with love and grace. I want to be on an ongoing journey of maturity filled with lots of mystery and finding questions at every turn in the road. I want to remain a kaleidoscope character in my own story and you are welcome to follow along. Such beautiful things we shall discover!

kaleidocope by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

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The Royal Priesthood is Growing Up

September 20, 2011 By 2 Comments

Writing about practical and logical faith was as a step of faith for me. It seems that every post I publish, is a test of whether or not I will get beamed with rotten tomatoes and banana peels. Christians should be encouraged and supported while sorting through all sorts of doctrines and teachings. They shouldn’t be made to feel like they can only question as far as what the current ‘pastor popular’ questions. They should be able to move forward with their own soul liberty, embrace their royal priesthood, and go beyond where those popular pastors are willing to go. Many times those pastors have a heap whole lot more to lose than the average congregant. We do not need to rely upon a pastor or pope to put their stamp of approval on our journey. While it’s nice to have community in our journey, chances are we just won’t get it if we go beyond that ‘slippery slope’, but we certainly have the freedom to do so. And for any Christ-like community to drop them like a hot potato for adventuring, then that’s not a real community of support and we’re better off walking on water with Jesus than staying in a ship with people who are still afraid.

So how does one embrace their royal priesthood? How do we exercise our own faith when the community around us will shun us for doing so? This is a tricky part about being a Christian. You’re usually told that you are welcome, they smile and flip their hair to attract us to their community, but as soon as we disagree with their pastor and their theology, we’re reprimanded..oh so sweetly of course. Their goal is to get you in line, not lose you (or your wallet). But eventually your royal priesthood is rejected and you wont get the community’s stamp of approval on your freedom.

I can understand if a congregant has been robbing the other church members, slipping their hands into their purses and swiping their credit cards, but for having different theological perspectives?

First it was the Catholic Church, but persecution came with the Protestants realized they had soul liberty. Then the Protestants split up into Baptists (and a few others) and then eventually we had the Pentecostals. Who remembers the days when they were ‘excommunicated’ from the Protestant circles? Then we have the Emergent Church, Post-Modern Church, and the more recently controversial, Organic Church. Each time there is an emerging school of thought, persecution arises and over time the heated debates settle down. Now we have the ever growing Christian Universal Reconciliation camp that has been at the front lines of onslaught from many Evangelical Fundamentalists.

People are quick to try and label people a Universalist, while the Universalists are clearly saying that this camp is NOT part of the Universalist school of thought. Another increasing group of Believers have suffered some backlash, the Free Believers. But the Free Believers is not a church, they’re simply an online group of people who have a lot of questions and although their beliefs vary greatly, they have created themselves a community without even really trying.

For some churches, the whole point of gathering and evangelizing has to do with getting people to believe just like them. Their whole authority really has nothing to do with the Bible being their authority, it has to do with their pastor’s interpretation being the authority on their understanding of the bible. The office of the pope, that the Protestants refuted, has been resurrected into the position of the traditional Protestant Pastor. Now we’re having another Reformation, but it’s not about getting everyone to believe in the Reformed Movement. The current Reformed Movement is just as new as the Emerging Church is. This new Reformed Movement is a hybrid of Calvinism and Baptist and some of the more popular writers of the Organic Church are leaning into that side of theology.

Many house churches began as a desire to be more organic, but many of them have taken the traditional church model and fit it in between the front doors of a house. I’m not going to say they’re wrong for doing this, it is certainly within their realm of freedom as royal priests in the family of God. The reason I’m bringing all this up is to lead into this idea of Organic Faith. Frank Viola is leading a movement called ‘Beyond Evangelical‘ and I’m here to say you can go beyond that and venture into Organic Faith that is not confined to a ‘pastor popular’ putting his stamp of approval on your community and studies.

This idea of the Royal Priesthood of Believers really hasn’t come into it’s prime yet. As Christians, we’re very much still in our adolescence of ‘rebellious teen’, but too afraid to really go too far from the parents. In Christ we are free. We have soul liberty and are a Royal Priesthood. That means you answer directly to God, not Pastor Popular. Now if you hurt Pastor Popular, then certainly you need to answer for your actions, but I’m talking about the spiritual growth of each individual believer.

The apostle Paul said to let each man (and woman) be convinced in their OWN mind. If you find in your studies that women CAN be spiritual teachers, then believe that and find a way to do so wisely, lovingly, and compassionately. If you believe that head coverings and skirts-only on women are a part of the past and women can wear pants and wear their hair short, then do so!

What happens if you happen to disagree with some of the advice Paul gave to some of the churches? An apostle was someone who lead people to freedom. An apostle is a messenger that tells you that you’re free. They help connect you with other people who are free. They diligently looked after the people to help them protect their freedom so they wouldn’t be pulled back into traditions of men and laws they didn’t need to live up to in order to ‘please God’. The idea of apostles needing to have performed miracles before becoming an apostle is not accurate. Paul was an apostle before he ever performed any miracles. He even told one church that even though some did not consider him an apostle, that he was an apostle to them because the people had confirmed he was… to them! But more about this later.

It’s high time the Royal Priesthood of Believers started growing up. There’s nothing wrong with gathering together for food, fellowship, worship, or even to watch a football game. Go ahead! Get together, do so as often as you want. Be free! It’s good to gather together. People like to be a part of a community that has common interests. This is a normal healthy part of being humans.

It won’t be easy to find other people who are willing to go against the grain, to gather organically without a ‘fearless leader’. This is why it’s called, faith. An organic faith that grows naturally. The seed was planted and is emerging from the earth, growing in the wild, and is provided for by the ‘sun’ and the waters of life. Bloom where you’re planted.

sunflower by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

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Practical and Logical Living

September 18, 2011 By 3 Comments

When I wrote about the 1st Church of the Dolphins, I mentioned that I would begin to write about living a life of organic faith…not realizing how much would take place in my heart between then and today as I sit at my desk. It was a silly title to a blog post, but it was that humorous title that Terre Woodhead shared with me in a discussion on Facebook. Terre is a former institutional church pastor and one of the coolest guys on Facebook. Over the past couple of years that I have begun adding diverse friends to my private Facebook account, I have come to learn a lot about people, their faiths, and how their beliefs manifest in their lives.

full moon by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

I’ve been able to have lengthy discussions with Jews, Christians of all sorts, Mystics, New Agers, Muslims, Pagans, Atheists, and more. Even though they all have differences, they actually have more in common than they realize. They all have problems with pride, they all wrestle with their beliefs, question their leaders, yet have an in depth desire to live peaceably among human kind. One thing that seems to divide them most, is when they only rely upon their own sacred books to understand themselves, each other, and the world we all live in. They become one sided, kind of lop-sided in fact. It’s not conducive to society as a whole to all think the exact same way. Without annoying people, we wouldn’t increase our growth in patience. Without tragedy, we would lack compassion.

The old thought of “this is how it worked for my ancestors”, just doesn’t always work for everyone all the time.

The idea of sending missionaries to get everyone to believe the exact same way would put our society in a very lop-sided world, not to mention they would then be under a one world religion, which many seem to be opposed to.

If we all filled our cars with a lot of weight all on one side, the tires and the roads would wear out on just that side. When we rely only upon one book to base our beliefs in, we run the risk of being lop-sided…but more on that another time.

Many world religions believe in a dualisitic nature. Good and bad. Yin and Yang. Sin and Righteousness.  Even nature itself teaches us that there is always a hot and cold as well as a light and darkness. The seasons reveal that we have times of growth and times of death, followed by new birth and renewal. Without this, we would have a lop-sided earth. Without death, the population would be incredible. With death, comes new life.  It’s a part of the process of this world we live in.

We can better understand the cold, when we understand the heat. We can come to understand why we have an Autumn and Winter, when we see the Spring emerge. We understand why Autumn comes, after a long hot summer with very little rain. Each season explains the next.

We certainly can favor one season over another. I enjoy Spring and Autumn, and tolerate Summer heat and Winter cold. I respect the role that each season plays in the natural order of this earth that is in need of all four of them.

Autumn Town by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

We may not always agree with how other folks worship, or even how they worship (or if they don’t believe in a deity at all), but learning to live on this earth among them is an important part of maintaining a balance.

Some believe that they can adequately avoid folks who believe differently, but the motion of life around us is not that controllable. People who don’t believe in furthering the income of a certain type of lifestyle, has no control at all over an employer that is paid to work in the mail room of a business they frequent. Thus, one bigoted person’s money is supporting the income of their ‘enemy’ without them even realizing it. You can try to keep Summer around all you want, but you have no control over the Autumn season coming. You certainly could migrate like the wild life does, if you can afford it.

You can either live life in fear and hostility all the time, or you can choose to understand one another and find respectful diplomatic ways to live in community with each other.

One will never understand a Muslim, if they only read the Bible. One will never understand a Christian, if they only read a public school History book. If you want to understand Science, you read a Science book. By the time you’re done with reading it, you may decide you’ll never want to be a Scientist, but at least you’ve read about it and come to have a working knowledge of it.  I don’t have to understand how a light bulb works, but I sure am glad to have electricity in my home.

But here’s the thing, people of faith are not quite like Science.

Even when you come to understand about someone’s faith, they can change at any time. People convert to other religions all the time, but there’s one thing that remains constant in people no matter what faith they follow.

Feelings. Those emotions that organically spring up and manifest outwardly. We all have feelings. Some are more introvert while others are extrovert. Some anger easily, some don’t. We’re all so unique in our own ways. So how do we live in this world and maintain a balance? How can we help mankind to survive and succeed in life?

Maybe we can at least start by growing up. The days of playground bullies, sand box cliques, and elitist clubs begin to fizzle out and we realize that although it’s fun to belong, it’s never fun to be excluded.

Oh people will continue to form their activities around people with like interests. This is normal and healthy! If you want to become a Seasonal Pass holder at Disneyland, then you pay the price. If you become dissatisfied with the park, stop going and find another place to play. But why make fun of people who enjoy the Disney theme parks? Ok, so it is probably a little odd to see people begin to dress like Peter Pan at work, try to fly, and sprinkle pixie dust on everyone at work. So lets all do what we can to respect other people’s spaces while enjoying our own. And if Tinkerbell gets cantankerous, certainly ask her to leave until she can calm down.

Sure that was all metaphorical, but I think you get the picture.

If you  are a person of faith, you probably don’t want to go to an Atheist get-together. But when you have to work alongside an Atheist, it would do you well to understand what they believe and why. There’s no need to agree with them, but at least come to understand them so you can work together as a team in business.

We really can learn to get along even when we don’t agree. We all represent a different ‘season’, yet all seasons are equally needed in this world. Which ever season you are, we need you. We really can learn to live practical and logical lives regardless of which faith we follow.

{photos from Pix-O-Sphere}

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