Interesting…

Seems I’ve started a little conversation with my last post.  Thank you to all of you “non-family members” who have shared your thoughts.  They have all been insightful.

Can one “sound biblical” without actually “being biblical”?  I believe so.  I seem to remember reading about a certain angel that actually USED SCRIPTURE to try and tempt our Lord and Savior.  Simply because one knows scripture and is able to “sound” like a Christian, does not necessarily mean they are a Christian. 

Jesus himself told us that all men will know that we are his followers by our love.  He does not say that we will be recognized by our vast amount of biblical knowledge.  What exactly does “love” mean?  The word “love” has become so diluted over the past 30 years in the US culture that we REALLY don’t know what true love is…However, knowledge must be sought after in order for us to mature and become more like Christ…maybe more on that later…

James also admonishes us to not just “listen to the word” and therefore “understand it,” but to also DO IT!  So, yes, I do believe that there is a fine line between “playing Christian” and actually living the life. 

Political views and religious ideology seem to have become one and the same as of late.  Hence the popular idea that you have to affiliate yourself with one political party or another in order to be a Christian has gained ground in past elections.  So too has the idea that you have to check your brain at the door in order to be a Christian.  Faith does not require evidence.  Knowledge requires evidence.  I have faith in the pilot of my airplane that he knows how to fly from my little hometown to the Great White North.  I have NO evidence other than his past flight behaviors, but this in and of itself is not predictive.  Science (and I consider myself a scientist) is only a small part of my overall life experience.  If I were to require predictive evidence in order to make any and all decisions of my life, I would have to lock myself in my house and order take out.  Even then, I’m not sure I could be CERTAIN that my Chinese food would be the food I actually ordered…Big metaphor, I know, but I’m trying condense a complex argument into something usable. 

Faith does not know boundaries.  Faith in God requires an acceptance of our own relinquishment (is that a word?) of control.  True peace and contentment comes from “letting go” when every ounce of your being screams for more concrete solutions to problems.  Give up?  No way.  See this post by Larry James for more.

Well….enough dogging it on the job.  Hope everyone has a good day today!