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| fundies, church camp, and my daughter |
| 06.26.05 (8:20 pm) [edit] |
[b][u]WARNING[/u][b]
This blog will offend some, the contents of this blog are true and happened to me 6.26.05. If you are offended by the relaying of facts about christian fundamentalism or the judging of christian fundamentalism as ignorant and obtuse then you may not want to read this blog. also this is a long post.
my oldest daughter has a friend, she is her closest friend at the present time, and she has invited my daughter to her church several times. a few months ago my daughter was invited to go with this church to their annual youth camp. she told us she really wanted to go and we told her it would be OK. the only conditions were that she continue getting good grades in class and she not get into any major trouble. also we informed her that we would want to meet the youth leaders at this church and find out more about this camp.
well, i met the youth leaders and they seemed like decent people. having ministered in a church youth group for 5 years and planning many events and camps i wanted to find out some basic info. i wanted to know the ratio of adults to kids, if activities like swimming were co-ed, what the purpose of the trip was.
1:7or8, all water activities are separate, and salvation were the answers i received. i informed them that my daughter was already a believer and what teachings would pertain to her. i was told that living for Christ would also be a theme. i was hesitant because it is a Baptist church, so i asked if there was going to be a bunch of "get right with Jesus" guilt trips. i informed the leaders that we believe that as christians we are as right with Jesus as we will ever be. i was assured that the teaching would be solid biblical and no guilt trips would be laid out for the kids.
so today we attended this small church because after the service the group was heading off to their week long camp. it was one of the most horrible things i have ever seen. the pastor of this church is now my official poster boy for everything that is wrong with "Fundamental Christianity". he hit on all most every hot topic i have with the fundies, except God hates homosexuals and perhaps a few others. from Harry Potter leading our children to the service of the devil, to the King James version of the bible is the only version. rock music is the tool of the devil, you are robbing God if you do not tithe and he will get you for it, and let's not forget that the evils of drinking and smoking.
i could hardly contain myself. every minute if felt my blood pressure rise. i have never wanted to stand up and shout LIAR! more in my entire life. only by the grace of God and my wife holding onto me tightly was i able to stay in my seat. honestly this man did not say one thing that i agree with or would characterize as part of the christian faith.
so as i sat there i was thinking how am i going to break it to my daughter that she is not going to this camp with her friend. after the "invitation" to get right with Jesus was over and we were dismissed from the service my daughter came to me and said, "Don't worry dad i don't believe any of that. I know that Jesus will never love me anymore or less than he does right now."
i asked her if she knew that this camp was going to be a whole lot of what she just heard, and she replied yeah, but i want to go with my friend and have some fun with her.
her friends dad is a long haul truck driver and her mom works full time so most days during the summer she is stuck at home with nothing to do, unless she comes over to our house. so right there i remembered all this and saw in my daughter Christ and his self sacrificing love for others.
i am still not comfortable with the whole thing, but i trust that God will be with my daughter, and he will use her to be a true friend.
as for the pastor of this church and the people who were nodding in agreement with him through the whole service, i can only pray that God opens their eyes to who Jesus really is.
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| i got a cool father's day gift |
| 06.20.05 (5:58 pm) [edit] |
a library card to use at Dallas Theological Seminary. they have a neat little deal for non students in the DFW area. you pay them some cash and they give you a library card. you can check out 5 books at a time for us to 3 weeks.
now i know that this sounds like a pretty geeky lame gift, but for me it is perfect. i love to read and theology is my favorite subject. DTS has everything and i do mean everythng concerning religion, theology, and the like. the library there is so cool i could go and just look at books all day, and today i spent about 4 hours there doing just that.
now i know that i don't want to waste a bunch of time just looking so they have an online record of all the books they have. so i can go online and get a list together drive 20 minutes to the library and pick them up.
the gift that keeps on giving what a joy.
todays selections:
Prayer and Preaching-Karl Barth
The Theology of Reformed Confessions-Karl Bart
The Sickness Unto Death-Soren Kierkegaard
Attack on Christendom-Soren Kierkegaard
well i have to go read now.
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| great news |
| 06.15.05 (8:34 pm) [edit] |
last night my second daughter became a follower of Christ. she has been asking a lot of questions lately, like why can't i take communion at church, and does God hear my prayers. she even asked what it means to be forgiven. so my wife and i, who have been sharing the gospel with her in a more and more mature way, were absolutely over-joyed when she came home from Vacation Bible School last night and told us she wanted to be a Christian.
we asked her if she understood what it means to be a Christian and she replied to follow Jesus and trust Him.
although i doubt it would happen i feel compelled to write the following for those of you who are not into this. i would ask you please be respectful, and inform you that any comments along the lines of forcing or of course she did to please you or if you were a nazi would she be one will be met with silence. i need not explain myself or my God to anyone, and on this matter i will not.
i love my daughter and i am grateful to God that she is a believer, and i look forward to her growing in her faith.
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| been reading a lot of neo-orthodox stuff |
| 06.12.05 (7:54 pm) [edit] |
and man i am digging it. Barth, Brunner, Kierkegaard, i really like the ways the guys thought. particularly Barth and his view of the Word of God.
anyway, i have had some challenges as of late. without going into detail, work has been a big chore. it seems like my goals are becoming harder and harder to achieve, and i have been disheartened about that. there is a rift in my life with a friend and i am at a loss at how to repair it. i am prayerfully considering what to do.
the good news is, this morning i woke up. i have a roof over my head. my chidren are healthy. my wife loves me. i have plenty to eat. in short i have everything i need and a lot of what i want.
when i look at life through these eyes i feel Christ growing in me and i can't help but to smile and thank Him for teh gift of it all.
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