Distractions from the truth: more thoughts on the “Catholics Come Home” ad campaign

Yesterday I wrote about the newest Catholic advertising campaign, “Catholics Come Home” (find it here). Since writing that post, I keep wondering why the church has selected Madison Avenue as their ad agency, instead of Jesus Christ.
In pursuit of an answer, I want to look at what the Catholic Church thinks is the root problem. [...]

Read Full Post »

What is love?

When I was young, inexperienced and foolish, I had a very cloudy concept of what love was. In my search for the meaning of love, I didn’t realize I had to first experience it in order to understand it.
My concept of love gradually clarified and grew as I worked my way through a succession of [...]

Read Full Post »

The “ME” Generation Gone Wild

“City council drops moment of silence” – so stated the headline of the lead article in today’s local newspaper. The article went on to say, “The City Council has dropped its ritual moment of silence at the start of meetings, and some members questioned whether the Pledge of Allegiance should go next.”
As I read on, [...]

Read Full Post »

One final word about same-sex marriage – Calif. Prop. 8

God defined marriage…
“Haven’t you read,” (Jesus) replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?” (Matthew 19:4-5)
Who are we to think we can change what God [...]

Read Full Post »

Same-sex marriage – tearing churches apart

Chatting with a couple of friends over coffee the other morning, they both mentioned how their churches are being torn apart by California Proposition 8 (ban on same-sex marriage). Both of their churches are formally taking a stand for Prop. 8 – against same-sex marriage. The outcome is a mini-exodus of members. Some who [...]

Read Full Post »

Ego earwax – some just don’t like to hear the truth

I’ve posted 10 separate comments on the Westboro Baptist Church web site. The instructions for submitting a comment state:
“Remember, personal responses are not guaranteed. If we find you to be asking foolish and unlearned questions, making comments not worth response, or being generally profane, we will not respond.”
Please check out this example of one [...]

Read Full Post »

Putting Words in God’s Mouth – talking same-sex marriage

Many opponents of California’s Proposition 8 (ban on same-sex marriage) try to use the bible to present their case, claiming that God and Jesus actually support same-sex marriage, or at least that they aren’t against it. Note my emphasis of the phrase “use the bible.”
I’m not going to try and convince you that God [...]

Read Full Post »

The Blindness of Extremism

Extremist see so little; only what they want to see. I thought about this as I watched the final presidential debate last night, and was reminded again when I got to work this morning.
I saw in the debate views on both sides that I liked and agreed with. On the other hand, friends at [...]

Read Full Post »

Bringing people to Jesus – by throwing a bible into their face

Julie is a friend who has a passion for “bringing people to Jesus.” Her passion comes from a sincere conviction that God is calling her to this task. Her energy and dedication also come from a heart-felt concern for anyone she knows who does not also know Jesus. Her motivation is honest and completely [...]

Read Full Post »

Misrepresenting Jesus

The outcome of the vote on California Proposition 8 will determine if same-sex marriages will still be considered legal. Today’s newspaper contained a brief article which concluded with the following quote:
“Everybody understands that Jesus, in his own culture, was notorious and persecuted for consorting with outcasts,” said the Rev. Peter Laarman, a United Church [...]

Read Full Post »

Another story of “Christian” ego

“State social workers were interviewing children who live at the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries just south of Texarkana.” The newspaper article mentioned nothing about actual evidence of any kind of abuse. What caught my attention in this article was the name of the compound being raided; the “Tony Alamo Christian Ministries.”
If I knew nothing [...]

Read Full Post »

Jesus, do you really mean it?

I’ve had some interesting comments to a short post that showed up on this blog back in May (Do not call anyone on earth “father”). One comment claimed that Jesus did not mean this instruction to be taken literally, and that I was therefore just Catholic-bashing. Well, I have to admit, it is sometimes [...]

Read Full Post »

John the Baptist – another lesson in humility

John went from being the main attraction, to being left in the dust. He went from having swarms of people flocking to him, listening intently to his message, and being baptized by him; to being almost forgotten in prison. How do you think he felt about this dramatic turn of events? Here’s how…
“I baptize you [...]

Read Full Post »

More Lessons About Ego

Jesus Christ sure understood the human condition. He knows us for what we really are; all the warts and blemishes have not gone unnoticed. Just read what He taught and you will see this for yourself. He seemed to focus His teaching on those areas we humans have the most trouble with. The more we [...]

Read Full Post »

How do you read the Bible?

It’s so hard to be objective. As much as I try to look at something without a preconceived notion, I still end up having some kind of bias. It works like this: we first get an idea or belief in our heads, and then look for evidence to prove our belief is correct.
This is not [...]

Read Full Post »

No more Pastors, No more Priests

Did Jesus really mean what He said? Check it out for yourself in chapter 23 of Matthews’s gospel…
“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples (v1):… But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ [...]

Read Full Post »

Ego – The Nasty Equalizer

Ego lowers people to the same level. Strange premise, you say? Please bear with me on this one.
What does a sizeable ego do to people? Well for one thing, it makes them think they are right and the other person is wrong, always. But mainly ego makes people blind to both sides of any issue. [...]

Read Full Post »

How Elusive the Truth

It can be staring me right in the face, and I’ll still miss it. It’s only after I find it, that I realize how obvious it was all along (duh).
I’ll give you an example from my engineering career. We were having lots of test failures, and I was in charge of finding the cause. With [...]

Read Full Post »

Religion – the Root of all Evil?

“The time has come for people of reason to say: enough is enough. Religious faith discourages independent thought, it’s divisive, and it’s dangerous.” Richard Dawkins made this statement in his 2-part documentary entitled, “The Root of All Evil?”
Apply the power of Google if you want to find out more about Dawkins and his documentary. My [...]

Read Full Post »

Your Choice – Sexuality or the Bible

“The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), bitterly divided over sexuality and the Bible, set up another confrontation Friday over its ban on ordaining non-celibate gays and lesbians.” So reads the opening statement of a recent AP article about the outcome of last weeks Presbyterian General Assembly meeting.
“… bitterly divided over sexuality and the Bible…” I believe that [...]

Read Full Post »