"I couldn't find anything Christian; hope this is okay."
Prayer beads bought near present-day Turkey; historic Ephesus.
A church known for its strength.
A letter written, oozing...full of power.
Is it okay?
Almighty, we give you thanks that "good sense" prevails when necessary.
We are blessed (and content) no matter the situation or circumstance.
Your governing authority truly is that which matters (only).
May we not become bogged down in trivial "tales of the tape".
Whatever our faith prompts us to do, may we do it...
and may you be pleased.
May we not become bogged down in trivial "tales of the tape".
Whatever our faith prompts us to do, may we do it...
and may you be pleased.
Amen.
I didn't expect her to bring me a gift. I mean, I knew she was "going to get me something", because she said so. After she handed the package to me I sat it down to focus on the reason for which we were meeting; "Should I open it now?" There they were...prayer beads.
She explained how, "Men like to fidget" and that people use these for either prayer or because they are worried/anxious. I considered her to be at an anxious time in her life (perhaps she should've kept them). Recently, I'm not too anxious or worried. In fact, as I'll talk about in a future post, "I stopped caring..." A firm believer in pluralism she is, her disclaimer wasn't perplexing, but it did cause me to wonder, "Is it okay?"
When I found out that this came from the area of historic Ephesus a big grin grew across my face. Why? Well, Paul's letter to the Church at Ephesus speaks about power to a greater extent than many of the other New Testament "books". Power that means more than just being able to do something; having the authority and ability to carry it out. Story for another day or if you're interested you can check out this book (See: Believer's Authority).
Anyways, I quickly explained to her that it wasn't an issue that this came from a "Muslim" part of the world, given that much of the area near historic Ephesus is mostly Islamic (to my understanding). Of course, as I recently found out I'm a part of the "Gospel Left" politically speaking, so obviously there are those who would disagree with the use of prayer beads in general. Just remember, God looks at the heart and there are a number of practices that people engage in which were not used in the beginning of their faith (i.e. historically) and may not be "scriptural" (i.e. From the list of Do and Do Not do); intention is key.
Speaking of divisions in the church, I recently finished reading a book which goes into a nice dialogue (monologue?) of how the church has cast very unpleasant and unwelcoming attributes onto Jesus Christ (i.e. Man, myth, and legend...or however you choose to view the person to whom we refer with this name). I came across a lot of interesting things. Rubel Shelly mentions early on in a chapter entitled, "What does that mean?" how comic Emo Philips in his bit on religion depicts how radical separations can be, as a man prepares to jump from the Golden Gate Bridge:
This is how silly we have become (or so it's portrayed in the media). Indeed there was once a point where a conversation like this was all too likely to happen (and still does in many cases, especially when considering groups described as cults...or anything cult like).
I expect this to be the last post I write (for some time) regarding the Bible and homosexuality. Although, I could take time to go through the various texts and original Greek/Hebrew/Aramaic; perform my own exegesis, come up with a solid proof-of-logic as to why God is okay with people who aren't heterosexual and practice sexual activities deemed as other than heterosexual with other human beings, I won't. There's more than enough information available online.
Think of this entry as the other piece of bread to a sandwich. We started off with No Mo Limpin #theIntro, moved on with an interlude, and now here we are at our final stage. Besides that there were ALL of the other posts essentially defending the civil liberty of gay people and their right to marry with the Bible as a supporting "character witness" in my argument of legality.
When it comes to what we believe, whether religious or non-religious, vegetarian or meat consumer (like me), your convictions change over time. It's all too easy to stay in one frame of mind or not go outside of your comfort zone and/or what you're knowledgeable about to see what the guys across the way are doing. I mentioned in another post that people are afraid of diversity because people are afraid of what they don't know.
My mother and I recently went to the World Golf Village to look at a hotel for a potential stay as a family during the holiday season. In the back of my mind I'm thinking, "Here I am, a young black man with a Barack Obama shirt going into an area of town that too many of my kind aren't naturally seen as part of the environment." My momma proceeds to ask the (white) lady how she was doing, and she responded in kind. I could tell it was somewhat uncomfortable possibly because she didn't know (wasn't sure) how to carry the conversation. Of course this could all just be my perception, although I will say that momma agreed that they might of thought about, "Hmm...here are these black people".
Understand, I don't mean this in a negative way. Race is one of the (many) things we notice about a person within a micro-second of meeting them and immediately after (or during) we make an assessment. Other than service people (who may work at the hotel), I'm not sure they see a lot of "us" often coming to check out their rooms. And in all honesty I often wonder if I do get the same type of service in the south or if they're simply covering their a... Southern hospitality is known for being a great cover for racism as well as other things; however, I will admit more often than not hospitality in the South is genuine. And that hotel is really nice.
My mother and I recently went to the World Golf Village to look at a hotel for a potential stay as a family during the holiday season. In the back of my mind I'm thinking, "Here I am, a young black man with a Barack Obama shirt going into an area of town that too many of my kind aren't naturally seen as part of the environment." My momma proceeds to ask the (white) lady how she was doing, and she responded in kind. I could tell it was somewhat uncomfortable possibly because she didn't know (wasn't sure) how to carry the conversation. Of course this could all just be my perception, although I will say that momma agreed that they might of thought about, "Hmm...here are these black people".
Understand, I don't mean this in a negative way. Race is one of the (many) things we notice about a person within a micro-second of meeting them and immediately after (or during) we make an assessment. Other than service people (who may work at the hotel), I'm not sure they see a lot of "us" often coming to check out their rooms. And in all honesty I often wonder if I do get the same type of service in the south or if they're simply covering their a... Southern hospitality is known for being a great cover for racism as well as other things; however, I will admit more often than not hospitality in the South is genuine. And that hotel is really nice.
This is also an example of how your frame of mind is important. Notice my tendency to have a "black-and-white" mindset when in the South.
I digress...
I digress...
If you read the Bible through more than once and read it the same way;
there's something wrong with you or the text is void of (its) power.
The last thing I'm going to say:
Why when you're passionate about something people automatically assume that you're "one of them", before thinking that you're "just a friend" (i.e. Advocate, ally, supporter, etc.)? I mean, do you know how much hell I could catch for being a gay black man. I wouldn't be visiting the islands of the Caribbean anytime soon, that's for sure.
Check out this convo here.
I'm glad he asked because not many people would do that. Folks read my social network updates and don't say anything until we meet in person and they have all these questions for me and my response is: "Why didn't you just ask?"
His question and comments remind me of my interaction at the pride parade back in June of this year. A couple came to our table. Eventually seeing that I would not back down, I was asked two questions...
- What's your mission?
- Are you gay?
By the way, one of the other interesting stories in Shelly's book is the modernization of a parable involving the pharisee and tax collector who went to pray before God, except this time it's a deacon and a homosexual.
Personally I believe that God is cool with gay people. I believe that we think we know more about the Bible than what the Bible (actually) tells us. We've relied to heavily on what has been. If Jesus said we'd do greater things than he has done, why aren't the (insert number here) people who claim Christianity doing them. Isn't that a bigger issue than whether or not God approves of who you spend the rest of your life with as recognized by the State (and possibly by Him)?
Why?
The quick skinny:
- There's more to what we're reading (in all texts).
- Revelation (i.e. Things revealed) tend to surpass what the mind fathoms.
- We'll never agree on everything.
- Agreement on the necessity of love and reconciliation with God is non-negotiable.
What does this mean for me? #theReader
Don't just read, know what it means. Understand the background for the material and check out what the other people are saying in opposition of what you've read. Embrace the differences, over time you may come to understand especially if you get some experience under your belt. Sometimes experience is just listening to someone else talk and/or watching them live.
For further insight: Read- Ephesus, Prayer Beads, Pastor vs. Politician, One Homosexual Scripture that (really) Matters
For further insight: Read- Ephesus, Prayer Beads, Pastor vs. Politician, One Homosexual Scripture that (really) Matters
This is F.U.N. (For Ur Needs) Use your KEYS
- Know that consensus and 100% agreement are not the same
- Expect to grow in and out of convictions
- Your growth is impacted by embracing differences
- Stay committed to what you know until time to let it go
Challenge
- Stop that limpin!
