Tags
arrggg, churchians, faith, humor, insanitybytes22, life, rants, slogans
First of all, is that a crass slogan no decent Christian should ever chant? Perhaps, it’s possible, you need to go ask the Lord about that. He has double standards, triple standards, and individual standards tailor made just for you. Some people can drink, some are alcoholics and should abstain. Some people can use four letter words out in the garage…. and some people are going to have to give them up because it too accurately reflects the condition of their heart.
I’m good with God’s double standards in these kinds of areas. It’s a matter of spiritual maturity, position, and placement. Your sister can go out and dates and you can’t and that’s totally fair….. because you’re six years old. Suck it up, buttercup.
What I’m not good with is that kind of snooty, self righteous, religious spirit, the one that is quick to wag it’s finger at things it doesn’t understand. Was it crass to lock us down for two years? Was it crass for so many churches and pastors to abandon their flocks? Was it crass to sit back and watch suicide and drug overdoses increase? People lose their jobs and businesses? Was it crass to watch families separate and divide?
There has been so much “crass and vulgar” with nary a whimper from the church, but now that the peasants have started chanting their resentments, it’s time for a sternly worded letter?
This is a huge problem within Western Christianity, one I am completely incompatible with. We always want to polish up the outside of the cup while completely ignoring the innards.
I also do not just “love everybody.” Should I? Perhaps, but I remain convinced that to do so would be immoral. I simply do not love pedophiles as much as I love the innocent children they exploited and abused. I think I’m called to choose sides in these situations! Another huge issue for me, hate the sin, love the sinner. Or if you prefer, “good people just do bad things sometimes, but that’s not who they are.”
My mother actually used to say that, still does. She would say, “there is no such thing as bad people just good people who do bad things.” Of course, I somehow always manage to find myself outside the bounds of all this unconditional grace. Those words encounter me and they just start doing cartwheels. Suddenly it is, So? Just because you do good things, that doesn’t make you a good person.
Brilliant. I somehow always manage to bend the philosophical space-time continuum and not in my favor. The thing is, unconditional grace for the bad guys makes us feel all morally superior and virtuous. Extending grace towards someone like me just makes us all feel vaguely uncomfortable and a bit nervous.
So, “let’s go Brandon” is actually the most encouraging thing I’ve heard recently. I’m rather fond of it. It has a humorous history, it is not not vulgar, and it expresses the sentiments and will of the people, the populists of this country.
More importantly however, those who have decided to wag fingers have taken it upon themselves to claim authority for my soul and ain’t nobody got authority over my soul but Jesus. My Holy Spirit sure ain’t broken. I certainly don’t need someone to tell me what God approves of and disapproves of, because I got my own 24 hour wi/fi signal going on. It’s a matter of respect. Is Christ within me? Then act as if He is. I surely don’t need a human interpreter telling me what God Himself thinks of, “Let’s go Brandon.”
I’m telling ya, I’m perfectly content out in the wilderness eating locust and honey. Alone. If it was good enough for John the Baptist, it is good enough for me.
Let’s Go Brandon.
See, there's this thing called biology... 
gusto, the covid gave mother nature and ourselves, the chance to see the earth, when we humans weren’t doing much, it also gave us time to find our true selves, lessons, we keep on learning amen
LikeLiked by 2 people
Amen! There are many positive things about this whole ordeal. We are learning and growing. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
patience is a time issue, stay healthy, amen
LikeLiked by 1 person
According to the Bible, especially Proverbs, one most certainly IS defined by what (s)he does. I used to roll my eyes at what I considered the “Duh” proverbs, like “A gossip gossips ” But that’s the point. You can’t do whatever you want and then say, “That’s not me.” It most certainly IS you, at least at the moment you’re doing it. Sinners sin, and really, that describes all of us, so the only difference is whether we’re just living out that sin nature, or letting Christ on us raise us to a higher level.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Right?! I like that “gossips, gossip.” Or more positively, “writers, write.” It may sound like “duh” wisdom, but it’s really profound and necessary in our culture right now that is literally trying to built a metaverse of artificial reality. We cannot just self identify in any way we want, our actions and choices influence who we really are. Or maybe who we really are influences our actions and choices?
Regardless, there is so much grace available there too, no perfection required at all. Just the same, we are not separate from our choices and behaviors.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I think we’re in 1 John territory here, not to mention James. Wisdom is more than platitudes.
Pax,
Dora
LikeLiked by 3 people
I think you’re right, wisdom is not platitudes. That’s the problem with “the law, ” it is two dimensional and flat. It attempts to prescribes a one size, fits all solution for everyone, when circumstances, conditions, and personalities may vary. That’s why we need the Holy Spirit and His wisdom, and to fill ourselves with His word. “My sheep know my voice,” which to me means we cannot just write out a list of cut and dry directions, because our lives are full of uncharted territory.
LOL, that does mean the rules no longer apply! It just means our faith is not an IRS manual or the Dept of Agriculture’s rules for growing cabbage.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Well said. There’s a tendency to be judgmental in unhealthy ways, mainly in not wanting to see with planks out, but planks in: that is, to see with our pre-concieved biases. Those biases are not always as godly and pious as we’d like to think, but worldly and self-serving. They get us off the hook from actually doing something, because as long as WE are comfortable, well why rock the boat? And yes, the Holy Spirit cuts right through that nonsense, praise God!
LikeLiked by 3 people
The more the Enemy’s winged monkeys complain about “Let’s Go, Brandon,” the more we should chant it, and louder.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Amen. You tell ’em. 🙂
LikeLike
Reblogged this on For Such A Time As This and commented:
I absolutely love this! So many good points like, “Some people can use four letter words out in the garage…. and some people are going to have to give them up because it too accurately reflects the condition of their heart.” Absolutely, true!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Nina, much appreciated. 🙂
LikeLike
I don’t have any trouble with” Gitmo” filling up either.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, there’s some grave harm going on, some huge crimes have happened, and I think a lot of people want to see some justice.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You said….
Another huge issue for me, hate the sin, love the sinner. Or if you prefer, “good people just do bad things sometimes, but that’s not who they are.”
It’s very human to hate and to deny that is simply not being realistic toward human behavior. I can agree with much you stated here, IB. We can all hate the Crumbley kid for killing and wounding his fellow students and if my kids were any of those victims I could very likely strangle him myself, sue the school district, and take the money to run for Congress just to advance stricter gun control. While the issue still can anger with considerable emotion when a thousand miles away and unrelated, that distance can allow for a bit more objectivity to identify and focus on any possible greater issues that MAYBE can prevent or lessen a repeat.
Example.. that shooter is a minor.. being tried as an adult, and very likely could get the rest of his natural life in prison. I work in a county CPS office so I see incompetent parenting all the time.. and I see what it has done to the kids pulled from them… sometimes just in time, sometime too late to fix. This kid has “abused kid” written all over him. But as a society we need to.. punish by confinement, isolate from society.. set example for others contemplating such deeds? Society really has no idea. But we can’t let a 15 year old “child” roam around the countryside after having killed 4 people and wounding others, can we? It’s a social conundrum. Death penalty? Likely if he were an adult he would get it… but not likely would the state kill a 15 year old boy, even if he’s tried as an adult. Is there a “Christian side” to consider here? Perhaps. But right now those victim’s parent’s are not likely thinking all that “Christian” at the moment.
The kid’s defense will likely be mental illness, which given the nature of the crime is a bit obvious. His folks are directly complicit, the board of ed is morally complicit. So it’s not only about WHO to punish but also about HOW to punish.. and do we assume punishment is the end result or rehabilitation? Well, in our society murderers don’t “rehabilitate”, especially mass murderers.
In this case everyone hates the sin, and the sinner for committing the sin… and in the end society will completely destroy this boy’s life until his dying days. We certainly can’t rely on God to settle this because while His jurisdiction takes over after death. In fact, can then ask ourselves… spiritually speaking… how will God judge this boy? Do we even care? Then again… one might even question.. in or out of an emotional fit of heresy… God’s involvement in all this. Because at the funerals of those four murdered kids some pastor is going to suggest a “God’s will” in all this.. “God needed them in heaven.” or, “This is all a test of the will and faith in God.” There’s the old saying…
“Bullets are not guided missiles. Once the bullet leaves the gun where it goes is up to God.”
I’ve heard all this crap before.. often, having been in the funeral business.
So there you have it… our human dilemma. I have no answers… and given we are all human I dare say no one else has any answers either. My sermon for the day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well to begin with, I was an abused kid. So were hundreds of thousands of others and yet none of us have gone out and committed a mass atrocity. So abuse causes a lot of damage, a lot of harm, a lot of dysfunction, but abused kids are not evil. Abuse does not make you a bad person.
Mental illness is another issue, there are millions of mentally ill people, many of them far gentler and more socially aware than the rest of us. So mentally ill people are not evil. Mental illness does not make you a bad person.
At the end of the day, the only common denominator left seems to be that evil exists.
“Where is God in all this” is such a normal question for us to ask. We want Him to step in and protect us from the nature of ourselves, but we want Him to do it without us ever having to admit that there might be something wrong with us. We want a Savior without ever having to admit we need a Savior.
I don’t have any brilliant answers to why God allows bad things to happen beyond, “His ways are not our ways” and right now “we see through the glass darkly.” We have no objectivity and we cannot see the whole picture so we are more like hurt kids who don’t understand what is a happening. To trust that God is good requires a great deal of faith.
LikeLiked by 3 people
While mental illness can stand by itself in it’s physiology it also falls into the “nature vs. nurture” context as well. Abuse can cause mental illness, hence PTSD is one example. Yeah.. I realize you have suffered accordingly because of it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Whenever I hear that phrase, I remember that the most of the same people were saying ‘Orange Man Bad’ just a year ago. If we have elections in 2024, I’m sure they all be behind a Jeb Bush/Bruce Jenner ticket.
The problem I have with this phrase isn’t that it’s insulting to the Junta—the problem I have with it is that it’s misapplied. If these movements were aimed at the Oligarchs who own these politicians, I could really get behind them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha! Yes, well, I think we really have to lower our expectations. Most people are dealing with the stress of life and just trying to provide for themselves and their families. They genuinely don’t have time to do research, to fully understand what is going on within their government. They are pretty much voting for brands and quick sound bites. They are good people. It’s not their fault they don’t understand who the oligarchs are or even what an “oligarch” is.
The other harsh truth is that we people are just average. That means half of us are below average. The short answer is we’re all dumb. Worse, we make our dumb even dumber by thinking we are smart. Or as the Bible says, “believing themselves wise, they became fools.”
All is not lost however! If we can get people to think with their hearts, it doesn’t matter how dumb we all are. Our spirits never lie. “Let’s Go Brandon” is an instinctual, heartfelt response. That’s why the Christian criticism of it has annoyed me so much. We need a lot more instinctual, heartfelt response going on, not less.
80% of us instinctively realize there is a problem. We don’t really know what “it” is, but we do know something is all awry. Shaming people for expressing it, however poorly, doesn’t get us there any faster.
LikeLike
“Most people are dealing with the stress of life and just trying to provide for themselves and their families. They genuinely don’t have time to do research, to fully understand what is going on within their government. They are pretty much voting for brands and quick sound bites. They are good people. It’s not their fault they don’t understand who the oligarchs are or even what an “oligarch” is.”
I used to feel the same way until about a year ago. Since I was in school, I was fighting the system, exposing the corruption, getting out the word—and paid a price for a lot of that. I always believed that people really wanted to do the right thing: until the time came to do it and they folded like wet sheets. These days, I’m starting to believe the old Roman proverb that “the Common People want to be deceived.” I heard all my life people say that they knew or felt something was wrong—and their actions are exactly the opposite.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I hear you, Night Wind. I call those wet sheets, “soggy pasta.” An overcooked, starchy mess! I think I’ve spent a great deal of time trying to forgive those who have betrayed me, dropped the ball, collapsed into a soggy heap when they should have had my back. The only good thing about all that, is that it has brought me closer to the Lord. He was the ultimate victim of our cowardice and betrayal, and He still gave up His life willingly for us.
As for your Roman proverb, “the Common People want to be deceived.” Yes, good one! I think that’s very true. We prefer our own comfort, our denial, our cognitive dissonance, and never having to take any responsibility for ourselves or our actions. We often do want to be deceived. The opposite of being deceived, is being accountable. Much of what has been happening during covid is just classic voluntary victimization. Some people are genuine victims, just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but the vast majority are actually volunteers.
LikeLike
First there is a billboard in an eastern state that has a picture of Jill Biden and the words, “Please, just stop… he thinks his name is Brandon now.”
Second, many people do not realize this, but “Hate the sin but love the sinner” is not in the Bible, not in any form. God hates sin, and he also hates sinners. He hates anyone who chooses to be his enemy, who harms the people he loves, and who damages his creation. At the same time, Christ paid a sufficient price to rescue all sinners from God’s hate and to restore them to the proper relationship in which their sins are removed and they are loved by God again. This is far more complex than “hate the sin but love the sinner,” but it is also more Biblical–think, for example, of the imprecatory Psalms.
Lutheran theology distinguishes between the repentant sinner and the unrepentant sinner. The liar, drunk, abuser, murderer, or whomever who says, “I was wrong, I don’t want to do it again, I cannot fix what I have broken, I need help” is to be told of the richness of God’s grace, his redeeming love, the full price for all sins paid on the cross. The liar, drunk, abuser, murderer, or whomever who says, “That’s just the way I am; you and God must accept me as I am,” is to be told that he or she is an enemy of God, defiantly resisting God’s goodness, and faces nothing from God but unending wrath and punishment unless he or she repents. Telling an unrepentant sinner about God’s love and mercy is casting pearls before swine; they can do nothing with the message because they are blind to their sins.
And this has nothing to do with predestination and free will; it has nothing to do with the question of whether we all have goodness somewhere within us. It is entirely about the cost of sin and about that cost paid on the cross. Nor does this mean that repentance is something we have to do in order to be forgiven. We are saved by grace through faith, not by works; we cannot earn grace. Repentance is caused by the commandments of God, showing us where we have fallen short of his standards. When we resist the lesson of those commandments, we also close the door to grace. J.
LikeLiked by 1 person
” God hates sin, and he also hates sinners. He hates anyone who chooses to be his enemy, who harms the people he loves, and who damages his creation.”
Maybe I’m only a wimpy Neo-Calvinist, but I wouldn’t quite put it that way. But, it is written quite plainly and explicitly that God will laugh at the calamity of the wicked, and, even better than that, the righteous will also laugh with Him.
Ps 2:4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall LAUGH: the Lord shall have them in derision.
Ps 37:13 The Lord shall LAUGH at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.
Ps 52:6 The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall LAUGH at him:
Ps 59:8 But thou, O LORD, shalt LAUGH at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision.
Pr 1:26 I also will LAUGH at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
Psalm 52
1 To the chief Musician, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech. Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.
2 Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
3 Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.
4 Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.
5 God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.
6 The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:
7 Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
9 I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.
LikeLiked by 2 people
jsol,
We do not disagree: God hates sin because it damages those whom he loves, but God also laughs at rebellious sinners because they are so weak and puny, even in their rebellion. J.
LikeLike
I, of course, totally defer spiritual interpretation to those in here more worthy, but what you say here, J.. if God is omnipotent would He not already know our minds to determine degree of faith and perhaps provide an inspiration to self-improve? If someone is suffering from mental illness and not in a capacity to formulate a conscious faith effort, yet very likely would if they were of sound mind, would not God have empathy.. even if they killed someone or many?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Doug,
You present a difficult test case, which is a good way to challenge a thought, but also can lead to over-complicated discussions. God knows everything, including our thoughts, our intentions, our sicknesses, and our capacities. As Creator and Judge, he is competent to state the rules and set the standards, and his rules and standards focus on loving him and loving our neighbors. When our thoughts, words, or actions fall short of loving, when they are destructive instead of helpful, God knows why. Only he can judge the sinfulness of a given thought, word, or action, based upon his perfect knowledge. To the relative or friend of a person who did a terrible thing while not in his or her right mind, I would give a comforting message–not that God will give them a break due to sickness, but that Christ on the cross paid for their sins as well as for all sins. But when a person knowingly does a harmful and unloving thing and then does not repent, when that sinner loves the sin more than he or she loves God the Savior, then I feel safe in saying that God continues to hate both the sin and the sinner. J.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha! Pretty sure WP will not stack any of these comments properly, but I shall give it my best shot. Thanks for that comment Salvageable, that is a great explanation. It is very close to how I see things myself, what I pick up on in scripture. Very funny about the Jill Biden billboard, too. Laughter is good medicine.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jsol-
I don’t see any real disagreement going on there. God does laugh at His enemies! Something to keep in mind about that, laughter is what we do when people have no power, when they pose no threat to us. So when a small three year old attacks you, the biggest challenge is simply trying not to laugh.
Sometimes we laugh at lies too, like propaganda on the TV, because it takes its power away, because it places it in its proper perspective. I think God sees all His enemies that way, as powerless and kind of dumb. We here on the ground fear things and people sometimes, but God is more like, “that’s just a flea! What is all the fuss about?”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Doug-
This is a really good question, “If someone is suffering from mental illness and not in a capacity to formulate a conscious faith effort, yet very likely would if they were of sound mind, would not God have empathy.”
For me I simply had to come to terms with the fact that God is good. He is wiser than I am, fairer than I am, and He loves people way more than I do. The Bible also says it is His desire that none shall perish.
Mental illness is really no hinderance to faith. Neither is cognitive impairment. There are some amazing people with down’s syndrome who have a wonderful understanding of faith. We are not saved by our “degree of faith” or our intelligence, or our mental functioning. We’re saved by the blood of Jesus, we’re saved by grace.
LikeLiked by 1 person
IB–amen to that–we are saved by grace, not by anything in us. J.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Couldn’t agree more IB, let’s go Brandon!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I know about that one-size arrangement. I used to proclaim that Jesus turned the water into wine, and as long as one didn’t get drunk, no harm. Now I am one of those who best leave it alone. I am not about to tell anyone else what they should do in that regard, but a cautionary tale might be in order, and I am qualified to tell it.
The sludge that is flowing out of the swamp now is much more fetid and evil than usual. “Let’s go Brandon” isn’t in the same league.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I attended a college football game a few weeks back as a plane flew overhead pulling a large Let’s Go Brandon banner— I had to explain to the wife of the couple we’d gone to the game with what the sign meant. Then there is a newly built house in our neighborhood that now flies a Let’s Go Brandon flag from their front porch. I’ve always loved these little incognito acts of personal rebellion. Hence why I’m still flying my Betsy Ross flag — the one Colin Kapernick caused such a public outcry over stating such a flag was a symbol of racism- never mind Betsy was a Quaker an opposed to slavery—
So yep— incognito personal acts of rebellion— Let’s Go Brandon
LikeLiked by 3 people
“Christians” worrying about the speck instead of the log. It’s just a distraction from our countries very serious problems. And the church is a big part of those problems. Only repentance by the church will turn the tide, if God is willing. He is not going to save us from the left if we won’t speak truth in His name!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amen! Well said. 🙂
LikeLike
We bought a large LGB banner and hung it on our southern porch but no one driving by can see it because our porch is hidden (one reason I love my house). I felt convicted by the Lord to remove it since I’m an Intercessor, so I did. I find great pleasure in this phrase, although I realize when saying it that I’m cursing him so that’s not pleasing Abba. It does feel good, though since he is such an ass.
LikeLiked by 1 person
LOL! I really do love the fact that Christians will at least pause and ask, “Lord, is this pleasing to you?” That’s a good thing, something that sets us apart. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person