First up, let me tell you about a new podcats I recently became a part of. It's called The Voice of the Heretics, and you can find it at TheHeresy.net(or here). Hopefully soon it will also be available on iTunes. My firend Kameron has done a great job of putting together the site, as well as organizing, hosting, and producing the podcast, all on a shoe-string budget, so head on over to the site and give him some love. There's a forum, chat room, articles, blogs, list of recommended reading, and lots more, not to mention the podcast, which is th reason for the website in the first place. We are not professional in any way, but I think the first podcast, in which a few of us tell part of our stories, turned out pretty good. It was a lot of fun.
Next, I have decided that I'll probably stay away from posting controversial thoughts via my FB status. But that means that my blog will probably be more active with such posts. I've also decided that I'm not going to really respond to comments, whether I feel the need to or not. Sometimes it just gets out of hand, I think mostly because of my selfish need to be understood. When people post comments that I feel completely miss the point, or that demonstrate to me a lack of understanding me personally or where I'm coming from, I'll no longer respond to clarify anything. I don't want to be seen as argumentative, because that is not my intention or desire. I merely want to share thoughts in the hopes that others who may be thinking the same things would read them and know that they are not alone, that they are not crazy for thinking these things, and that it is ok to ask questions. God can handle it.
So if you comment on one of my blogs, I reserve the right to respond or not. If I don't respond to you, please don't assume that I either agree or don't agree with what you said. I also reserve the right to delete any comments that I see as being argumentative or demeaning to any others. It's my blog, and I can say what I want- so if you don't like what I have to say, please just move on and refrain from attacking me or any others who post here. I'm just trying to work out my salvation. Sometimes I'll get it right, and sometimes I won't, but ultimately every person is accountable only to God for their beliefs. I dont' wish to force my own beliefs onto others, so please don't try to force yours on me.
So let me just say this: I AM NOT AGAINST PEOPLE GOING TO CHURCH. To me, it doesn't really matter. If that works for you, great! If it doesn't work for you, find something that does! What I AM against is the system of religious obligation, that tells us that we have to do extra things to earn God's approval, favor, or love. I labored too long under that system and it is only now that I am outside it that I can see it for what it really was. I can also see that even though I am outside of that system, some of that system is still inside me. So I am constantly evaluating myself, to find what it is about me that has the fragrance of Father and what just stinks.
My desire is to free people from that system and the lies that religion tells about God. If that means that I upset some religious people along the way, then so be it. I get told constantly that Christ is our example, and we need to strive to be more like Jesus. If that's really true, we should be upsetting religious people, because Jesus did it all the time, and called them on the carpet for their religiosity. How many religious people have you offended lately? I do it at least on a weekly basis.
Well I'll sign off for now, thought I have much more to say. I'm working on a blog called " I Was a Christian Douchebag", which some of you hopefully will relate to, bu which will also probably offend some of you too, even though it is not meant to. I'll have a blog soon posting the rest of my "I've always been uncomfortable" list, along with some additions that other people sent me, mostly from Twitter(they didn't crucify me there). But probably before both of those I plan to post a blog talking about, as Wayne Jacobsen says, Christians "shoulding" on themselves and others. I've noticed, even among some "free-believers", that there are so many lists of "shoulds" and "should nots"- and this is just the kind of thing we're trying to free people from, and really hat Jesus came to free us from.
So until next time, love God, and love people, because everything else hangs on those two things.
