Female Friends

I am a straight married man but I have always related well to females. Even as a kid I was often friends with girls. Not exclusively. I had male friends (and still do) also. I have over the years developed a few close (almost family like) friendships with some females that I have known for years. I think this is OK. Perhaps non-traditional but OK. My wife is cool with it too and relates well to guys. I did a bit of searching online and discovered that secular web sites seem to promote this is OK but Churchie's seem to treat it as sinful and awful. I have never cheated on my wife. Never will. I view my female friends the same way as male friends and those I am very close to as I would a sister. I am an only child. One friend in particular I have known since I was 14 and is very much like a sister to me. I did have a crush on her for a while but that was years ago. So anyway. A friend of my wifes (who is female) said that it is sinful and should not be allowed. I have had people say that (pastors wifes mostly). Whats the problem. Why does it matter what parts my friends have (to put it crudely).

I think women tend to be more outgoing and since I am so introverted, I make friends with them easier. Could be it.

I have a friend who I have known for a little over a year. I actually consider her and her husband both friends and my wife knows them too. I have however known the woman longer and talked to her more. During some bad weather my friend allowed me to stay at her house a couple of days. At the time I lived 67 miles from work and over a mountain range. This was a very nice thing for them to do. Nothing in any way happend, or even got thought of happening. I thought nothing of it (except gratitude to my friend for saving me from crashing on the way home). This psycho religious nutball friend of my wifes found out and said I am probably commiting adultery or will and that I should never talk to this friend again. Especially since she is not "walking with the Lord" whatever that means.

Is my perspective so messed up and "worldly" or do I think that my wifes friend is a nut and most Churchies need to chill here.

I dont want to change the way I am just to please others who think I am sending the wrong message. I sure dont want to give up any friendships over it. I dont have a lot of friends. I sure dont need to lose any.

Oh I havent told my friend (the nice one who let me stay at her house) about this incident but I am sure she will get a good laugh out of it. Who knows, maybe she will read it here.

Anyway, I guess I am curious what do the rest of my new group (very diverse crows) of friends think about the whole men having female friends thing?

The Perfect Church

OK. I am convinced there is no such thing but if I had a perfect Church, here is how it would go:

1) It would be Christian. Not in the pop-culture way. But in that it would follow the true teachings of Christ. Thats a pretty radical idea in itself

2) It would have morals (dont kill, cheat on, steal, etc) but not get stuck on hot button issues. There is more to life than those gay people having abortions (since gay people usually dont have kids, I gotta wonder about that one). Point being there is more to life than that.

3) It would respect all life. Now is that pro-life. Well in the true sense yes. All life. Unborn, alive, old, young, muslim, Christian, green, purple, poor, rich. All Gods people (and animals too to some extent) deserve to live. No I am not a vegan or vegetarin but I couldnt kill anything except bugs. Oh yeah and environmentally concious. God made trees too. Not so you can cut them down.

4) It would be Egalitarian. Men and women would have the same rights and all holding the complementarian viewpoint would be challenged. None of this submission stuff.

5) It would be a peace church. If Jesus is the prince of peace, the Church would have to have loyalty to him above any government. I would say pacifism is a must

6) It would be A-Political. No endorsements of politicians

7) It would be non-tithing. I dont believe tithing is a new testament concept. I dont care if you want to believe that but I cant deal with all the "sowing seeds" talk. If you want to tithe than tithe. But dont shove it down my throat. Giving would be voluntary and not out of guilt

8) It would be emerging . Now this is a can of worms. By emerging I dont mean a member of Emergent village. But I do mean relevant and not stale and boring.

9) It would not be capitalist and run like a business. Too many Churches are run like businesses and care about money. Preaching would be free speech not what wont piss off the big givers. Its not business

There is probably more and I am sure its imperfect. Please comment and give me your ideas on perfect church

Peace

I borrowed this from a Mennonite web site so I hope I am not plagerizing. I just havent see all the verses put to together like this. The bottom line is Jesus is a Republican and supports the war in Iraq. Only a fool could get reach any other conclusion from these verses

Bible verses that call for peace
Old Testament verses
Exodus 14:14 The Lord will fight for you; you have only to be still.
Numbers 6:24 May the Lord bless you...and give you peace
Numbers 12:3 Moses was more humble than anyone else....
Deuteronomy 9:5 Not because of your righteousness, but their wickedness...
Deuteronomy 17:16 The king must not acquire great numbers of horses...
Joshua 24:12 You did not (drive them out) by your own sword and bow
1 Samuel 2:9 It is not by strength that one prevails;
1 Samuel 8:11 The king will take your sons...and the Lord will not answer
1 Samuel 10:19 You have rejected God...and asked for a king
1 Samuel 17:47 It is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves;
1 Samuel 25:33 May you be blessed...for keeping me from bloodshed/vengeance
1 Chronicles 22:8 You have fought many wars...and are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. But you will have a son who will be a man of peace
1 Chronicles 28:3 You are not to build God's house because you are a warrior
Psalms 11:5 The soul of the Lord hates...those who love violence
Psalms 17:4 I have kept myself from the ways of the violent
Psalms 20:7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Psalms 33:16 A king is not saved by his great army....
Psalms 34:14 Turn from evil; do good; seek peace and pursue it
Psalms 35:20 (The ungodly) make false accusations against those living quietly
Psalms 44:3 It was not by their sword that they won their land....
Psalms 44:6 My sword does not bring me victory...
Psalms 46:8 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth
Psalms 68:30 Scatter the nations who delight in war.
Psalms 120:6 Too long have I lived among those who hate peace. I am a man of peace; but when I speak, they are for war.
Psalms 140:1-2 Protect me from the violent who...stir up wars continually
Psalms 146:3 Do not put your trust in princes, who cannot save
Proverbs 13:2 The unfaithful have a craving for violence.
Ecclesiastes 9:18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war
Isaiah 9:6 A child has been born...and he is named...Prince of Peace
Isaiah 31:1 Woe to those who...rely on horses/chariots/horsemen
Isaiah 59:8 The way of peace they do not know
Jeremiah 4:19 I writhe in pain...I cannot keep silent...for I hear...the alarm of war.
Ezra 8:22 I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers to protect us
Hosea 1:7 I will save...not by bow, sword, battle, horses, horsemen
Hosea 2:18 Bow/sword/battle I will abolish from the land
Hosea 10:13 Because you depend on warriors...you will be destroyed.
Hosea 11:9 I am God not man; I will not come in wrath
Hosea 14:3 Assyria cannot save us; we will not ride war-horses
Micah 4:3 Nations will not train for war anymore.
Micah 5:2-5 One who is to rule in Israel...shall be the one of peace.
Micah 5:10 In that day...I will cut off your horses...and destroy your chariots.
Nahum 1:15 Look!! The feet of one...who proclaims peace!!
Zechariah 4:6 Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit
New Testament verses

*=teachings of Jesus
*Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God
*Matthew 5:38-42 Do not resist one who is evil
*Matthew 5:43 Love your enemies; pray for persecutors
*Matthew 26:52 All who take the sword will perish by the sword
*Mark 9:50 Be at peace with each other.
Luke 1:79 (Jesus will) guide our feet into the path of peace.
*Luke 6:27 Love your enemies; bless those who persecute you
*Luke 19:42 If only you (Jerusalem) had known what would bring you peace
*Luke 22:51 Jesus said, "No more of this!! (striking with the sword)"
*John 14:27 Peace I leave with you...not as the world gives do I give...
*John 14:30 The ruler of this world...has no hold on me
*John 16:2 Anyone who kills you thinks he is offering service to God ...because they have not known the Father
*John 18:11 Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its sheath..."
*John 18:36 If my kingdom were of this world...my servants would fight
*Acts 5:29 We must obey God, rather than man.
*Romans 3:17 No one seeks God; the way of peace they do not know
*Romans 12:17 Return no one evil for evil...live at peace with everyone
*Romans 12:21 Overcome evil with good
*Romans 14:19 Make every effort to do what leads to peace
*1 Corinthians 2:6-8 The rulers of this age...come to nothing...do not understand
*1 Corinthians 7:15 God has called us to live in peace.
*1 Corinthians 14:33 God is not a god of disorder but of peace.
*2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
*2 Corinthians 10:4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.
*Ephesians 2:17 He preached peace to you who were far...and near
*Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart...
*1 Thessalonians 5:15 Do not return evil for evil.
*2 Timothy 2:24 The servant of the Lord must be gentle to all
*Hebrews 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and be holy
*James 3:18 Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest/righteousness.
*1 Peter 2:23 ...He (Jesus) did not retaliate...He made no threats
*1 Peter 3:8 Do not return evil for evil.
*1 Peter 3:11 Turn from evil; do good; seek peace; pursue it

Nobody believes what they say anymore

Or so it would seem. A good example is my previous post. The A/G is very pro Bush and many are pro war. They swear allegiance to the US govt in ALL situations well whatever. Anyway, if their web site claims they dont like war then why are they all a bunch of Bushies in practice.

Here is another one that gets me. Many churches claim to be Egalitarian. Even the A/G is considered Egalitarian. I challenge you to find me 10 people in any evangelical denomination that are really egalitarian. The complementarian BS keeps getting shoved down our throats in Churches that claim to be egalitarian. I hear all the lies. That I as the man am the priest of the home. Thats not biblical. All the submission crap (which is a good excuse for women to be passive agressive and blame their husbands for everything). Doctrine and position papers are totally meaningless if the people hang onto their twisted traditions. I am very disgruntled with all of evangelicalism right now.

I am still a Christian. If you want to battle me on this, dont quote the same old tired verses from 2 Timothy. Show me where Jesus promotes war or complimentarianism.

Without radical change inside the Church, I fear that the younger generation who doesnt buy into this crap will be so turned off they will give up on God altogether. Perception is reality. Thanks to W and others the perception of christiainity is pretty shitty

Church Shopping Again

OK. I am Church shopping again. Not because the one I had been going to is bad. Its not bad. Its just kind of cold at times. I wanted to take it all in at first so that I liked, but nobody talks to us. That is NOT why we are Church shopping. Here is why:

I can no longer deal with the over the top neo-conservative agenda being spewed forth in Churches. I can no longer be part of a Church that subtly promotes republicanism and the love of war.

Here is the statement on the Assemblies of God website:

Does the Assemblies of God have a position on war and conscientious objectors?

The Assemblies of God position on war and conscientious objectors states: "As a Movement we affirm our loyalty to the government of the United States in war or peace. We shall continue to insist, as we have historically, on the right of each member to choose for himself whether to declare his position as a combatant [one who willingly serves in positions of violence], a noncombatant [one who serves only in nonviolent ways], or a conscientious objector [one who refuses to participate in any form of military service because of personal convictions regarding war]." (Article XXII of the Bylaws)

Now why is this bad? Well the absolute loyalty to the government in any case bothers me a lot. Especially in the current administration. I feel that the purpose of a Church is loyalty to God not to the government. Is that not what our forefathers wanted to get away from?

I am going to try out the Mennonites and the Quakers (no not the Amish, the normal mennonites,though I highly respect the Amish).

I need to be in a Church that is not full of little bushians chanting WAR

More info

OK. That was a joke but I really did score 100 on the Bible knowledge test. I am not anything great but I know my Bible better than most Pastors.Honestly I think only Athiests may know it better. Another talk. No I am not an atheist. Later

Im too sexy for this blog

You know the Bible 100%!

 

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The yellow brick road to HELL!!!!!

Nice title huh. Nothing theological here today though. A post over on Crallspace got me thinking about songs I HATE. I have endured Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John for most of my life. The hideous song haunts me with childhood memories of pediatricians offices and makes me want to throw up. I havent been tortured with it lately in stores though over time I have. Though just thinking about it when I commented on Crallspace made the evil melody get stuck in my head which in turn makes me want to grab a barf bag fast. I suspect its some kind of emotional trigger to a not so happy place in my past. I guess musically its no worse than others though not the best. My idea of hell would be listening to it for eternity. Maybe with a Chicago song or two thrown in.


Interesting enough. Goodbye yellow brick road was released in 1973. I was born in 1972. So it could be a doorway to my past. Though I would hope my past isnt as creepy as that song is to me.

Anyone else have a song that makes them just want to curl up and die?

New addition to family

No we didnt have a baby but we have a new family member. Last week we adopted the most loving affectionate big clumsy dog I have ever seen. When I get home from work, he jumps up on me. When I sit on the couch he will lay there with me for about an hour just happy to see me. He does the same thing to my wife. We have had him less than a week and already he is a part of the family that we could never imagine giving up. Its amazing to me how fast a dog will bond with you if you let them and it takes people years. I promise to put some pictures of him up here as I get them. Take care all. I hadnt posted in a while. No complaints today. Just a proud papa of a 90 pound black lab mix.