Do You Know Your Rights?

We have become a rights-centered society, haven’t we?  You can’t watch television long before you come across a news story or a show that is focused on this or that right.  The right to free speech.  The right to pursue happiness.  The right to liberty.  The right to life.

Have you ever stopped to wonder where these rights came from?  I mean other than the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, or Bill of Rights.  Of course these documents claim many rights for many people.  But, where did our founding fathers get the idea that these rights existed?

Photo-Worthy

(Originally written in February of ‘07)
Isn’t it great to be on the cutting edge of technological development? No, I’m really asking…is it great? I have never been there, so I don’t know. In fact…you may want to sit down for this…my wife and I just got our first digital camera. That’s right. It’s true. We were never on the cutting edge. I think we were using the blunt side. But, we are now on our way back.

For those of you who do not yet have a digital camera, there will be a therapy session at the community center next week. Call ahead to make reservations.

It All Takes Faith

The following was a comment I left on a blog in which many athiests, agnostics, and believers were discussing belief in God.  One believer made the usual statement that we all rely on faith, but the non-believers wanted to know how those of us who use that argument reach that conclusion.  This is the clarification that I gave, I thought it would be appropriate to post it here: 

confusedchristian-
You wrote, “But in the end, it’s hard for me to be religious because God’s existence cannot be proven.”

And, yet, it is not hard for you to be non-religious even though God’s non-existence cannot be proven either.

What Are the Odds? – 1

Let’s admit, just for the sake of argument, that evolution does take place. What if tomorrow scientists came forward with indisputable evidence that species change over time? We’re talking fish evolving into land-dwelling, four-legged salamanders, and humans descending from ape-like ancestors. What would that do to your faith? After all of the discussions, arguments, rhetoric, and philosophizing of the creation-evolution debate, what would remain firm in your belief-system if evolution was a cold, hard fact? Would you lose your faith? Compromise your faith? Re-evaluate your faith?

Who’s to Blame?

I have one brother, Taylor, and he is younger.  And by that I mean that he is always wrong… especially when faced with a situation of parental wrath.  Some of you may think that being the baby in the family is the best thing to be, and that the baby always gets spoiled.  Those of you who think this way have not been in a two-child home: a situation that, by some natural force not yet known to science, results in one wiser, more mature, older sibling, and one immature, pestering, trouble-causing, younger sibling, who is always to blame.

Now, to be fair, I must qualify the actual effects of this natural law of which I have spoken: the fact that the younger sibling is always at fault is not his fault.

Forgetfulness

What in God’s wonderful plan of salvation provides such a stumbling block?  Christians, who of all people should be the most joyful, humble, moral, and obedient, are the victims of a great epidemic of sorrow, boredom, immorality, and selfishness.  It cannot be disbelief, since it is belief that made the Christian in the first place.  The only alternative to a lack of belief is forgetfulness.  The last time I was gathered with the saints to worship God, and my mind drifted to thoughts about dinner, or football, or Monday’s plans, I certainly knew where I was and what I was doing.  I must have simply forgotten.

Cats and Dogs

We have a dog.  To all you cat-lovers out there, I am currently sticking my tongue out at you… but not all the way, because I like cats, too.  In fact, I like most anything that helps me appreciate how much God loves me more than them.  Actually, I am pretty sure that I don’t like possums.  I just cannot find any redeeming qualities in a large rodent that does little more than decorate the shoulder of the highway with a drab, rather tattered layer of fur.  At least raccoons offer a slightly less drab décor.  Certainly the subtle lines of the art-deco inspired skunk pelts give pleasant relief to the eyes (if not the nose) while driving.  But, possums are the brown shag carpet of roadside animals.

Expectations

I’ve been listening to the newest cd of one of my favorite bands, Caedmon’s Call.  There is a song on the album called Expectations that has really struck me.  The song describes a young man’s struggle after “church” turns out to be different than what he thought.  With lines like, “And he heard that Jesus would fill him up.  Maybe something got lost in the language.  If this is full then why bother,” the young man’s thoughts are brought out as he recalls what attracted him to “Christianity” in the first place, and where all that has left him now.

The chorus is especially meaningful: “This was not the way it looked on the billboard: Smiling family beaming down on the interstate.”  Apparently the young man wanted to be part of a family, to belong somewhere, to be filled up by Christ, but “the reaching of the steeple felt like one more expensive ad for something cheap.”  The song ends in suspense, telling us that the young man “dressed up nice for the congregation scared somebody’s gonna find him out through the din and the clatter of the Hallelujahs, and stained-glass Jesus scenes.”

I suppose the point of the song is that we need to be careful to live up to the image we portray.  Or maybe it is that we need to make sure no one slips through the cracks, going unnoticed and untaught while we go about our “churchy” business.  But, I think the problem, generally speaking, is much deeper, and much worse.

Does the church you attend have this problem?

Getting Practical

Every day everyone faces mountains.  The landlord is threatening eviction again because you have to choose between food and rent.  A co-worker has a grudge against you, and has made it his or her personal responsibility to make your job miserable.  Another day, another speeding ticket.  Your wife is slowly dying of cancer.  Some mountains are bigger than others; some only seem bigger.

How do we handle these difficult, tragic, or just plain annoying situations?  Some people try to climb over them, making every effort to face and conquer them alone only to fall or find, if they reach the top, that they left everyone they know and love behind.  Some try to dig under them, and end up sinking lower and lower under the weight of depression and despair.  Some try to go around them, thinking avoidance and detachment are the best policies.  But, Jesus said that with enough faith we could move mountains.

Wouldn’t it be great to move mountains rather than letting them move you?  The Bible gives us principles that we can make practical in our lives; principles that turn mountains into stepping stones, and stepping stones into a path to comfort, peace, joy, and eternal life.  This is what Christianity is all about: Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

We don’t have to live in fear of what will happen next if we know how God wants us to use trials.  My purpose for this blog is to explore God’s will for our everyday lives.  I plan to write about many issues facing Christians todya, from apologetics to personal holiness.  I hope that it will benefit you as much as, I am sure, it will benefit me.