In an ongoing effort to be in dialog with those who think and believe differently than I do, the following conversation has been initiated between a friend and I over the nature and beliefs of Christianity and atheism. It started out as an email dialog, but he has graciously given me permission to post our conversations on the blog. The original documents that we typed in became fairly unwieldy due to interleaving of comments whose threads were often difficult to track, so I have tried to tidy up the conversation by compartmentalizing it topically. The first sections of correspondence will be listed chronologically, but as the thread gets more cumbersome, I will likely have to break it down with new, thematic postings (listed above this one) and their related entries. Other than these categorizations, none of my interlocutor's words will be edited or altered in any way unless it is for clarification and flow. Any of those amendments will be clearly demarcated by brackets [such as this]. This will not change the meaning of anything and indeed is the literary standard for clarification purposes. Even so, these will be kept to an absolute minimum.
Thanks for reading. May the journey continue.
-CL
Political Frustrations and the "Bail-Out."
I know that this is a blog that claims to be devoted to faith issues, so I apologize for this thoroughly political and economic posting. This is the only place (other than Facebook) where I can rant and rave and at least imagine that somebody else might take a gander. Thanks for reading.
Is this Jesus/ Holy Spirit and Father character for real?
How do we know that our "experience" as Christians is not our own personal delusion or mental projection of how we think it is supposed to look? Could it be that we are deceived? How do we know it's for real?
What the candidates think and have acted on.
Looking for some info on the presidential candidates? Here's a place to start. Most of the data here is from CNN.com
-CL
-CL
How do we pick a president? / How Pro-Life Are We Really?
Most well intentioned and zealous, conservative Christians get their claws out when I say I am for Obama. They just assume that I am pro-death and that I cackle in glee each time I cruise around in my hybrid-VW upholstered in baby flesh.
Barf.
So let me offer a proufound and deeply sincere "thank you" to you and all my fellow bloggers and friends who have not tread this path. Contrary to the conclusions of some, I am not just "pro-life." I am extremely pro-life. But I tend to interpret "life" in ways that not only incorporate the yet-to-be-born, but also as the already-born and the non-human life that we happen to share this planet with. I just don't understand how anyone can be "pro-life" without being pro-human, pro-peace and pro-environment too. Abortion is terrible, and I hate it, but I also hate unjust war, disregard for human rights and this environmental suicide-machine that we continue to feed in ignorant bliss.
Unfortunately, in our system, picking a president seems to be more about choosing the lesser of 2 evils than electing a man or woman who we can truly support with 100%. For me, for this election, the lesser of the evils happens to be the Democratic candidates.
Tell me how you pick your president and what "pro-life" means to you.
in peace,
-CL
(most of these posts were originally imported from my Facebook note: "How Pro-Life are we really?" No user posts have been edited except for this initial description.)
Barf.
So let me offer a proufound and deeply sincere "thank you" to you and all my fellow bloggers and friends who have not tread this path. Contrary to the conclusions of some, I am not just "pro-life." I am extremely pro-life. But I tend to interpret "life" in ways that not only incorporate the yet-to-be-born, but also as the already-born and the non-human life that we happen to share this planet with. I just don't understand how anyone can be "pro-life" without being pro-human, pro-peace and pro-environment too. Abortion is terrible, and I hate it, but I also hate unjust war, disregard for human rights and this environmental suicide-machine that we continue to feed in ignorant bliss.
Unfortunately, in our system, picking a president seems to be more about choosing the lesser of 2 evils than electing a man or woman who we can truly support with 100%. For me, for this election, the lesser of the evils happens to be the Democratic candidates.
Tell me how you pick your president and what "pro-life" means to you.
in peace,
-CL
(most of these posts were originally imported from my Facebook note: "How Pro-Life are we really?" No user posts have been edited except for this initial description.)
Discussion on the Emergent Church Movement(s)
Join me in this discussion as we explore what this so-called "movement" is about. All are welcome to post and comment.
Women in Ministry
I have recently been involved in a fairly intense study of 1 Timothy 2:8-15, and it has brought me to a place of intellectual and spiritual affirmation that gender is not sufficient to prevent God's call from being issued to anyone. This goes against some conservative, traditional Christian teaching on the issue of women in leadership. I make no apologies for this. It is not my intent to rebel for the sake of rebellion, but rather to honor God above all, including merely human teachings and (in this case), human misunderstandings. This idea desperately needs to be revisited for the sake of our sisters and for the sake of the church herself. Please dialogue with me on this issue.
1Tim. 2:11-15 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15 But womend will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. (Today's New International Version)
1Tim. 2:11-15 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15 But womend will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. (Today's New International Version)
Interesting Quotes
Add your interesting, favorite, fun or challenging quotes here. Comments are welcome too!
-CL
-CL
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