WW AUG 21 - LYING

The Wired Word discussed rather deeply and extensively the ramifications of not telling "The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth". However, I don't think civilizations, societies, groups, or individual interactions as we know these entities could function if we adhered to the "total truth" concept. We would have to be trained from birth to accept the other sins we commit, to be able to forgive and forget, be extremely forgiving of criticism and very aware of the nuances of our speech in order for people to function together. Take for example: In marriage, the simple question of "Do you like my dress?" Possible honest responses of "I have no opinion, I haven't time to think about it, I don't know anything about clothes, I don't pay much attention to clothes" generally will create antagonism, and risk  bearing the cost of a new dress, further delay in selecting another dress, or an in depth discussion of "why". These situations can all be avoided by the simple falsehood "Your look great!" Substitute "mother" for dress and one may not be able to answer at all.
Also, relative to the "dress" question, the person asking the question may not be asking a real question at all, but rather is seeking assurance of her/his appearance or choice because she/he already knows that her/his other-half has very little about style.
And there is the question from a gravely ill or terminally ill person regard health "Am I going to get well?
There is the politician who wants to get elected but has little in common with his area voters.  ls that person going to tell the voters that he will say almost anything they want to hear  to get elected?  
Now, I regard half-truths, misleading statements, and weasel-wording to be the same as a falsehood.  And misleading actions can also be lumped with falsehoods.  How about the church attendee who habitually dozes off during services and who's only contribution is to the body count?
And finally, the automatic greetings and farewells we offer to friends, acquaintances, and strangers every day.  These are habitual, because we utter them without thinking.   Here, an unaware utterance is known as a courtesy, a mannerism intended o make people feel good.  Yet we offer them often while thinking about something else.  Soooooo, where is the cutoff point?   I think we have to weigh the consequences, particularly who profits from the falsehood.  I do not think society as we know it could function without some level of falsehood acceptance.

Wired Word 7/31/11 Norway Bomber

Extremism comes in many different forms. It is my opinion that ALL forms of extremism, from the Right or Left, political or religious, are in error. The basis for my opinion is that people do not usually have, and do not seek out, all the available facts regarding a subject, and generally do not make unbiased judgments of the all the facts that are available to us. Our life history always influences our judgments even as we attempt to factor it out. The news media of whatever era tends to overemphasize extremist acts to attract a paying audience. It seems that politicians also take exaggerated positions to attract the news media and voting audiences. I think people generally are not interested in balanced pr0- and con- presentations because these may cause people to stop and think about their preconceived positions on unresolved but important questions.

The history of Christianity contains acts of extremism comparable to those being discussed today in the media and in personal conversations. Consider: The Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the Salem Witch Hunts, and the Klu Klux Klan. These events occurred over long periods of time and there is little reason to think that religious conflicts of today will be resolved or defused in the near future.

It is unfortunate that one has great difficulty in gaining support for a leadership position by presenting a balanced view, or "wait and see" view. Such a person is typically called "wishy washy" who will not lead strongly in a specific direction. This is very well illustrated by the fiasco occurring in the Federal Government this past month relative to the politics of governing. Yet our politicians have learned some decorum; they do not hold duels or cane each other any more.

What goes around, comes around!! So what's new?

What is new is that we, as a society, need to recognize that the Instant Countrywide Audience that is available through electronic news systems such as 24 hour TV and radio news, mobile telephones with texting, Facebook, Twitter, and other electronic social systems provide great opportunities for those with unusually strong opinions. Additionally, though unintentional, these systems operate on "sound bites" that inherently preclude a balanced or even supporting argument being presented with the basic message.

WW JUNE 5

The natural disasters enumerated in WW of June 5 generally cause great hardships because people, unknowingly, accepted the risks of these natural events occurring. Japan is located on a number of highly active earth surface fault lines and the people accept frequent earthquakes as a way of life. The people generally cannot economically afford to fully protect themselves against the largest possible earthquakes, so they accept the risks. It is true that many of those persons who do not want to accept the risks cannot do otherwise because of economic or social costs.

The Mississippi River floods almost every year. The Army Corp of Engineers tries to prepare for containing the river for most flood stages, but it cannot economically afford to contain the river for all flood stages. Consequently, the Corp built water escape routes in order to protect the most people and their assets. The people who lived on land in the escape route knew of the potential danger of elective flooding and chose to live on that land for reasons mentioned above. The flood gates were tangible evidence that one day the water may be diverted such as to cause the least harm.

The tornadoes are somewhat another story because these are occurring where some have never occurred before. Massachusetts is an example of that. Joplin Missouri is not.

The greatest tragedies are those that occur to people who, due to no conceivable action /lack of action or belief on their or anyone else's part, are struck down or loaded with burdens or handicaps that they must cope with. To me, this is almost a fatal weakness of Christian faith. We talk about prayer, faith, hope on our part, but in many cases none of these approaches provide aide or support. Christian advocates speak with great fervor, certainty and authority until some tragedy occurs that seems to have no human understanding, then we are left with the nebulous concept of hope.

Examples of this type of tragedy to mention a few: 1) inherited traits, IQs (intelligence quotients) range from about 50 to 150. Who decides who is to get the 50 or the 150. 2) People are born with a comparable range of physical traits, particularly in the area of autoimmunity of the body where the body attacks itself. Examples are rheumatoid arthritis, Lou Gehrig disease, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, etc.

I have heard that a satisfactory explanation of these situations is "That God has imposed these burdens in order to give the rest of us the opportunity to be help those afflicted.

I am sorry to be so negative, but I am telling it as I see it.

Henry

THE "SECOND" COMING

I think Mr. Camping initially was searching for a temporary "attention getter" and he struck a gold mine. He then recognized that he could make a significant profit in following this subject and he has been subsequently milking this cow for a number of years. He has not finished yet, but is keeping the idea alive by sliding the date. It is true that the news media reported a few people selling or giving away their assets in sincere anticipation of the "second" coming. However, compared to the hundreds of millions who did not react at all, these few hundreds or thousands can be considered to be on the fringe of credibility. I would guess that just about as many people believe that Elvis is still alive, that aliens have landed on this planet, and that Obama is not an American citizen.

It seems to me that we can be better Christians by performing mundane "good" acts daily and letting future events over which we have no control or knowledge unfold without our attention. Besides, each of us has his/her own individual date with rapture/hell within an uncomfortably short period of time.

WW MAY 1, WHAT IF THERE IS NO HELL?

I think the conversations and sermons we have and hear about regarding Heaven and Hell are speculative in fact and strongly based on belief. I think back in far gone "ole" days when man first became cognizant of his/her surroundings a sense of fear or fright developed regarding the vast unknown, which included just about everything. This extended to any concept of life after earthly death. I suggest the concept of Heaven developed many centuries later and subsequently became today's standard reward/punishment scenario.

It has been a concern of mine for some time, that on the one hand God is viewed as unspeakably kind and loving, and on the other hand allows us to be consigned to a Hell of unspeakable horror upon our death if we do not conform to some ill defined minimum level of acknowledgement and love. During our time on earth we are exposed to an overwhelming variety of guidelines for conforming to God's wishes. We allocate to God a harsh sense of justice, with punishment being infinitely greater than sins we commit in a finite lifetime. If an earthly father imposed such punishment upon his children, he would be charged and convicted of child abuse.

Religion is primarily a belief based concept and we can, and do, build our faith, to a significant extent, on moral concepts developed over many centuries. I think pastor Rob Bell has taken his turn at raising questions regarding some of these concepts. As for myself, I have nothing to add.

Henry Jones

The Sermons of John Wesley... I love that guy!

From: "The New Birth", By John Wesley, Sermon 45 (here's the link to the full text for any who may be interested: http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umhistory/wesley/sermons/45/)

Before a child is born into the world he has eyes, but sees not; he has ears, but does not hear. He has a very imperfect use of any other sense. He has no knowledge of any of the things of the world, or any natural understanding. To that manner of existence which he then has, we do not even give the name of life. It is then only when a man is born, that we say he begins to live. For as soon as he is born, be begins to see the light, and the various objects with which he is encompassed. His ears are then opened, and he hears the sounds which successively strike upon them. At the same time, all the other organs of sense begin to be exercised upon their proper objects. He likewise breathes, and lives in a manner wholly different from what he did before. How exactly doth the parallel hold in all these instances! While a man is in a mere natural state, before he is born of God, he has, in a spiritual sense, eyes and sees not; a thick impenetrable veil lies upon them; he has ears, but hears not; he is utterly deaf to what he is most of all concerned to hear. His other spiritual senses are all locked up: He is in the same condition as if he had them not. Hence he has no knowledge of God; no intercourse with him; he is not at all acquainted with him. He has no true knowledge of the things of God, either of spiritual or eternal things; therefore, though he is a living man, he is a dead Christian. But as soon as he is born of God, there is a total change in all these particulars. The "eyes of his understanding are opened;" (such is the language of the great Apostle;) and, He who of old "commanded light to shine out of darkness shining on his heart, he sees the light of the glory of God," his glorious love, "in the face of Jesus Christ." His ears being opened, he is now capable of hearing the inward voice of God, saying, "Be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven thee;" "go and sin no more." This is the purport of what God speaks to his heart; although perhaps not in these very words. He is now ready to hear whatsoever "He that teacheth man knowledge" is pleased, from time to time, to reveal to him. He "feels in his heart," to use the language of our Church, "the mighty working of the Spirit of God;" not in a gross, carnal sense as the men of the world stupidly and wilfully misunderstand the expression; though they have been told again and again, we mean thereby neither more nor less than this: He feels, is inwardly sensible of, the graces which the Spirit of god works in his heart. He feels, he is conscious of, a "peace which passeth all understanding." He many times feels such a joy in God as is "unspeakable, and full of glory." He feels "the love of God shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost which is given unto him;" and all his spiritual senses are then exercised to discern spiritual good and evil. By the use of these, he is daily increasing in the knowledge of God, of Jesus Christ whom he hath sent and to all the things pertaining to his inward kingdom. And now he may be properly said to live: God having quickened him by his Spirit, he is alive to God through Jesus Christ. He lives a life which the world knoweth not of, a "life which is hid with Christ in God." God is continually breathing, as it were, upon the soul; and his soul is breathing unto God. Grace is descending into his heart; and prayer and praise ascending to heaven: And by this intercourse between God and man, this fellowship with the Father and the Son, as by a kind of spiritual respiration, the life of God in the soul is sustained; and the child of God grows up, till he comes to the "full measure of the stature of Christ."

WW 4/3: DEAD RELIGION

The Big Questions

1. Whether or not you place confidence in statistical studies, is it wise to dismiss them out of hand? Why or why not? State in one sentence what you think the study demonstrates.

I think this particular study suggests a possibility that is interesting to consider and discuss.

2. What does your own experience of Christianity in the United States lead you to conclude about its future here? What does your own experience of Christianity's acceptance or rejection among members of your extended family lead you to conclude about its future here? How does that affect your feelings about your faith?

I have experienced Christianity as it is expressed in several of its many institutional forms. I have also experienced faith as it is found and expressed in several of its many individual forms. I think institutional Christianity will die in America, but personal faith will not. I love Jesus; I am thankful for grace; and I trust the Holy Spirit to preserve my relationship with God. Hopefully, nothing will change these feelings.

3. What are the main reasons that many of today's young adults decide religion is not for them? What are the reasons that some young adults remain within religion or embrace it for the first time?

In my opinion, many of today’s young adults reject religion because in many churches creeds, traditions and social culture have replaced a living relationship with God and authentic spiritual unity. Dead religiosity does not touch the heart and minds of vibrant young people. The Holy Spirit does.
I believe some young adults remain within religion or embrace it for the first time because they are born of the Spirit, and they thereby enjoy being in places that offer opportunity to worship and praise God, study the Bible, pray corporately, and cooperate with others to do good works in the name of Jesus.
I also think some remain within religion because it is the tradition in their family, and they are thereby culturally and socially bound to it.

4. How does the church address the concerns of people who won't even engage in conversations about faith?

How do people address the concerns of a church who won’t even engage in conversations about faith?

5. To be non-affiliated with religion does not necessarily mean that a person does not believe in God or in Christ. But can Christianity survive without communal religious practice? Why or why not?

If you define ‘Christianity’ as the expression of a faith that is fueled by the indwelling Presence of the Holy Spirit, nothing can kill it. It only grows. If you define ‘Christianity’ as a collection of established religious organizations and practices, I believe it will soon perish. In a sense, it is dead already. Nonetheless, because of the relational, Trinitarian nature of God; I believe Spirit-filled Christians will always and necessarily seek out and manifest communal expressions of faith... it's called love.

John 3:
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.