deciphering
**mood: sickly
**noise: i believe in love ~ the indigo girls
When is enough, enough? Can it be too much? I've been having an increasingly difficult time lately deciphering and separating my Christian beliefs from the world. I'm not a main stream Christian. I don’t agree with the majority of the right winged Christian front. I come from a background of disbelief or really just disgust with the majority of Christian views on sexuality and laws, so now that I want to live by the word, I find it hard to mix the word with the world I live in. I find it hard to love on people as the bible tells me to, even though these people viewpoints frustrate and at times disgusts me, and most of these people are Christians.
These are some of confusions. I'd love your views, if you're willing to go there with me, but I understand if you don't..they are very touchy subjects…
Premarital sex vs sex ed in schools.
I can't see the 'christian' problem with sex ed in schools. I can't see the correlation between teaching kids about sexuality and the dangers/consequences of unprotected sex and sex crazed high schoolers. Which is the concern of many Christian's. They're afraid if their child sits through a sex ed course, all kinds of craziness will happen. Why are we, as Christians, so concerned about our children learning about the dangers/consequences of unprotected sex. Do we honestly think that even if we bring our children up with the values we believe and instill in them the tools they need to steer away from sin, like premarital sex, that a 1/2 semester class will change and warp all of the beliefs we gave them, turning them into ravenous sex hounds? What my concern is, is not my children…or soon to be children…who will have been brought up understanding why premarital sex is wrong in Christ's eyes, but those who don't have supportive parents, or just have never had parents who talked to them about sex. There are far more parents, unfortunately, who don't even take that matter into their own hands. They never have the talk with their children. If we take sex-ed out of school, who will it be hurting more? Our children who have been talked to about pre-marital sex and who have been brought up with Christ centered values, or a child who has never been talked to about pre-marital sex, children without loving parents, children with bonding problems, children who have come from abused homes and would do anything to feel loved…
The new HPV / Cervical cancer vaccine
First off, I DON'T agree with making this a mandatory vaccine. But why is the Christian community so up in arms about this. I've even heard that it is an '"attack'' on the family. How is vaccinating your child from a disease they may acquire through sex, an attack on the family? What if your child follows the beliefs you instill in them and doesn't have sex until marriage, but the spouse they chose didn't become a believer until later in life and had sexual partners before they met? Or what id your child was raped by someone who carried the virus. Are you telling me that by not getting the vaccine but watching your child go through cervical cancer will save your family from this so called 'attack'?
Approximately 20 million people are currently infected with HPV and about 6.2 million Americans get a new genital HPV infection each year. This vaccine protects against four HPV virus types, which together cause 70% of cervical cancers and 90% of genital warts, precancers of the cervix, vulva and vagina, and genital warts.
I've head that by getting this vaccine, it will 'promote' our children to start having sex. Where does this logic come from? Maybe instead of shielding and blocking the information from ever reaching our children, we should have open lines of communication with them. Teach them our values and bring them up in a Christ centered home. Maybe if we spent half as much time talking to our children as we do shielding them for all things 'evil' we wouldn't need to worry about their decisions, because they'd know how to make their own decisions. And in the end, this vaccine will protect them from cancers.
My last frustration is gay marriage.
I can kind of see the point in making gay marriage illegal. Kind of. But most of my being cries out to the Christian community in outrage. In my opinion, who are we to make a law, a Christian law, that will affect all who live in a particular state or nation? Do I believe that gay marriage pleases God? No. I believe Gay marriage is scripturally wrong. Yes. But who am I to judge others? Who am I to say that you can't love this person or that person? Who am I to say that you can only marry this type of person? My faith may dictate who I marry, but how can it dictate who someone else chooses to marry? I've heard that gay marriage destroys the 'sanctity of marriage'. I don't get this. Gay marriage doesn't hurt my marriage. How could it?
Again, I understand where Christians are coming up with these laws. I see their point, a little bit. But where do we get off making Christian laws that everyone has to follow? Whether we believe in something or not, I don't believe we have the right to take rights and free will away from anyone. Where's the line that we shouldn't be crossing over? How do we find it?
In my opinion, there are way too many stances that Christians are throwing theirs arms up at and unfortunately, I believe it only tarnishes the love the Christ. With the constant attack on children's as well as adult novels, exercise, love, sex, alcohol…you name it, Christians are attacking it, we are losing site of the cause. Bringing people to Christ. How can we show folks God's love through our cutting remarks and judgements on their lives? How does a bumper sticker with male and female stick figures = marriage, show someone love? How does arguing about the latest book or movie, trying to remove classes or fighting against the latest vaccine that could save a life show folks love.
Why don't we start having relationships with people instead of judging every aspect of peoples lives? Why don't we start talking to our children instead of shielding them from all sorts of 'evil'? Why do we continue to waste our time fighting meaningless battles, rather that meeting people where they're at, loving them and showing them a different kind of love?
Before I became a believer, I loathed Christians, because the majority of them where looking down their noses at me, telling me what I should be doing and not doing. What I should be learning and not learning. There was always a judgement. There was always someone telling me that I was going to hell. All this did was push me further away from Christ. Now that I'm a believer, I somewhat understand where some of those 'christians' where coming from, but because they did it in a judgmental way, dictating their life and values upon my life, it never showed me the love of Christ. It only showed me their anger and bitterness and judgement. And why would I ever want to be a part of that? How could their judgements ever make me think, 'yeah, I wanna be like them!'? They never ask me who I was. They never wanted to get to know me? They never held their hand out to say hello. And that's what we, as Christians, do every day with our judgements and battles to get the next 'evil' thing out of our country. We show people our wrath and anger and judgement when what we should be showing is love and acceptance. We should be getting down in the gutter to meet people, to start relationships with people. That's when we'll start seeing a change in this world.
**noise: i believe in love ~ the indigo girls
When is enough, enough? Can it be too much? I've been having an increasingly difficult time lately deciphering and separating my Christian beliefs from the world. I'm not a main stream Christian. I don’t agree with the majority of the right winged Christian front. I come from a background of disbelief or really just disgust with the majority of Christian views on sexuality and laws, so now that I want to live by the word, I find it hard to mix the word with the world I live in. I find it hard to love on people as the bible tells me to, even though these people viewpoints frustrate and at times disgusts me, and most of these people are Christians.
These are some of confusions. I'd love your views, if you're willing to go there with me, but I understand if you don't..they are very touchy subjects…
Premarital sex vs sex ed in schools.
I can't see the 'christian' problem with sex ed in schools. I can't see the correlation between teaching kids about sexuality and the dangers/consequences of unprotected sex and sex crazed high schoolers. Which is the concern of many Christian's. They're afraid if their child sits through a sex ed course, all kinds of craziness will happen. Why are we, as Christians, so concerned about our children learning about the dangers/consequences of unprotected sex. Do we honestly think that even if we bring our children up with the values we believe and instill in them the tools they need to steer away from sin, like premarital sex, that a 1/2 semester class will change and warp all of the beliefs we gave them, turning them into ravenous sex hounds? What my concern is, is not my children…or soon to be children…who will have been brought up understanding why premarital sex is wrong in Christ's eyes, but those who don't have supportive parents, or just have never had parents who talked to them about sex. There are far more parents, unfortunately, who don't even take that matter into their own hands. They never have the talk with their children. If we take sex-ed out of school, who will it be hurting more? Our children who have been talked to about pre-marital sex and who have been brought up with Christ centered values, or a child who has never been talked to about pre-marital sex, children without loving parents, children with bonding problems, children who have come from abused homes and would do anything to feel loved…
The new HPV / Cervical cancer vaccine
First off, I DON'T agree with making this a mandatory vaccine. But why is the Christian community so up in arms about this. I've even heard that it is an '"attack'' on the family. How is vaccinating your child from a disease they may acquire through sex, an attack on the family? What if your child follows the beliefs you instill in them and doesn't have sex until marriage, but the spouse they chose didn't become a believer until later in life and had sexual partners before they met? Or what id your child was raped by someone who carried the virus. Are you telling me that by not getting the vaccine but watching your child go through cervical cancer will save your family from this so called 'attack'?
Approximately 20 million people are currently infected with HPV and about 6.2 million Americans get a new genital HPV infection each year. This vaccine protects against four HPV virus types, which together cause 70% of cervical cancers and 90% of genital warts, precancers of the cervix, vulva and vagina, and genital warts.
I've head that by getting this vaccine, it will 'promote' our children to start having sex. Where does this logic come from? Maybe instead of shielding and blocking the information from ever reaching our children, we should have open lines of communication with them. Teach them our values and bring them up in a Christ centered home. Maybe if we spent half as much time talking to our children as we do shielding them for all things 'evil' we wouldn't need to worry about their decisions, because they'd know how to make their own decisions. And in the end, this vaccine will protect them from cancers.
My last frustration is gay marriage.
I can kind of see the point in making gay marriage illegal. Kind of. But most of my being cries out to the Christian community in outrage. In my opinion, who are we to make a law, a Christian law, that will affect all who live in a particular state or nation? Do I believe that gay marriage pleases God? No. I believe Gay marriage is scripturally wrong. Yes. But who am I to judge others? Who am I to say that you can't love this person or that person? Who am I to say that you can only marry this type of person? My faith may dictate who I marry, but how can it dictate who someone else chooses to marry? I've heard that gay marriage destroys the 'sanctity of marriage'. I don't get this. Gay marriage doesn't hurt my marriage. How could it?
Again, I understand where Christians are coming up with these laws. I see their point, a little bit. But where do we get off making Christian laws that everyone has to follow? Whether we believe in something or not, I don't believe we have the right to take rights and free will away from anyone. Where's the line that we shouldn't be crossing over? How do we find it?
In my opinion, there are way too many stances that Christians are throwing theirs arms up at and unfortunately, I believe it only tarnishes the love the Christ. With the constant attack on children's as well as adult novels, exercise, love, sex, alcohol…you name it, Christians are attacking it, we are losing site of the cause. Bringing people to Christ. How can we show folks God's love through our cutting remarks and judgements on their lives? How does a bumper sticker with male and female stick figures = marriage, show someone love? How does arguing about the latest book or movie, trying to remove classes or fighting against the latest vaccine that could save a life show folks love.
Why don't we start having relationships with people instead of judging every aspect of peoples lives? Why don't we start talking to our children instead of shielding them from all sorts of 'evil'? Why do we continue to waste our time fighting meaningless battles, rather that meeting people where they're at, loving them and showing them a different kind of love?
Before I became a believer, I loathed Christians, because the majority of them where looking down their noses at me, telling me what I should be doing and not doing. What I should be learning and not learning. There was always a judgement. There was always someone telling me that I was going to hell. All this did was push me further away from Christ. Now that I'm a believer, I somewhat understand where some of those 'christians' where coming from, but because they did it in a judgmental way, dictating their life and values upon my life, it never showed me the love of Christ. It only showed me their anger and bitterness and judgement. And why would I ever want to be a part of that? How could their judgements ever make me think, 'yeah, I wanna be like them!'? They never ask me who I was. They never wanted to get to know me? They never held their hand out to say hello. And that's what we, as Christians, do every day with our judgements and battles to get the next 'evil' thing out of our country. We show people our wrath and anger and judgement when what we should be showing is love and acceptance. We should be getting down in the gutter to meet people, to start relationships with people. That's when we'll start seeing a change in this world.
Comments
chrs,
tk
The biggest thing that struck me while reading was my perception that you feel the same way toward your brethren that the church shouldn't be toward the world. I think you are aware of that as you mention your struggle with the feelings that come with that. The important thing is that you are offering those feelings up for scrutiny by others. I think that's healthy.
I would challenge you to table some of the frustrations until after you give birth. That event is the the most life changing event (outside of salvation) and will more than likely bring different perspective to those issues for you. I know for myself, having kids illuminated the worlds attack on families at every direction.