The ultimate religious sacrifice is to give up God

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come on, it is good!

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Worth the listen

Open the mp3 clip. It is a rather long clip but profoundly challenging...take the time to lisen
- what needs to change?
- how?
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The main thing, is the main thing

The main bit is at 2:10 to 2:46 in the clip.....listen carefully
- what is the main emphasis in our faith expression?
- what is the priority?
- how can we move others towards such an ideal?
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think forward

What we believe emanates from who we are. And who we are is not about dogma, or even about moral behavior, but about dying to ourselves. This is part of the conversation between ThinkFwd host, Spencer Burke, and Pete Rollins, author of How Not to Speak of God and The Orthodox Heretic. They explore the ideas of truth and God, of resurrection and insurrection.Truth, says Rollins, is not one extreme or the other; its not the middle of the extremes. Truth is at both extremes. While traditional Christians say, God is present. God exists, and Christianity is true; atheists say God isnt there and Christianity isnt true. These two extremes push Rollins to explore a 3rd position and he likens it to the story of Jesus on the cross, when He felt forsaken by God-- God not present--and yet God was completely present. And so the 3rd position dwells in the very place in between. Rollins says Christians are called to dwell not on one side of the other, but in the very split that Christ opens up: between old and new; between Judaism and Christianity.
- do you live in the tension that is the split?
- how can we live more in balance?
- how can we bring movement towards balance in our faith expressions?

Jay Bakker

I am moved by the emotion in this clip click here

Brian Mclaren answers the million dollar question

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/brian_d_mclaren/2010/07/let_there_be_peace_in_our_individual_identities.html

History

Reading the minutes of the primitive methodists from 1860-1882, it is facinating to note that Good Friday was a good day for fund raising (rather than celebration), Easter and Christmas were acceptable times for leave for ministers and that a Christmas day service was NOT the norm. We forget that as protestants, Christmas (Christ Mass - a Catholic celebration) and Easter were 'events' related to the Catholic faith they were protesting against and therefore did not observe. And yet today it is these very protestants who kick up a fuss when secular cities do not want to call things Easter or Christmas when 200 years ago those same protestants would agree. How history changes and how quick we forget.
Thanks to Michael Hickman for the information on the minutes

Barque: Thomas Moore's Work: Give up thought patterns for heaven on earth

Barque: Thomas Moore's Work: Give up thought patterns for heaven on earth

Tony Campolo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m584z5aE4Uc
The main bit is at 2:10 to 2:46 in the clip.....listen carefully

I can not deny how I got it wrong so many times when the priorty was not Matthew 25 but rather my own self righteous judgement (insecurities). The priority is love in action...and to that end I strive.

Compassion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s30ZKjNfRlU
I have met too many people hurt, rejected, struggling and broken who do not fit the stereo-type the conservative church would have you believe but people with tears in their eyes shattered by the words spoken in judgement. I heard a good friend say once, 'God aint gonna judge you for being too kind and compassionate...rather for not being enough'

Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity

'I am a Christian who no longer believes in Christianity'

This is an extremely provocative statement that Brian is making but I agree and understand what he is saying. For quite some time now I have been in conflict due to my own personal experience of God compared to my experience of institutional church. The two seems poles apart. What I have experienced is cold judgement, arrogance, elitism and many other negative gospel-denying characteristics. Too many, too many times to keep ignoring and excusing.

In fact, I would possible even take it another step further and not even label myself Christian anymore because when that label was given to believers in Antioch it was defining a completely different person compared to today what is understood by Christian.

Many may find security in the label, finding the label acting as a pillar which if removed will jeopardise the remaining structure. In my journey 'away from here' I have found that vulnerability extremely uncomfortable and exposing but as I begin to slowly identify new arrival points, the vulnerability has been worth it. See my next post as to some of those arrival points. Thank you for listening.