Opinions 2 Spare

Being the more or less private thoughts, musings and rants of one semi-insightful observationist and professional consulting opinionist. By the way, do not bother telling me you are offended. There are now a couple of dozen more than 2.48 quinzillion web sites out there. Just move on.

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Location: Rural Indiana

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Religion

There is a cool verse in the Scriptures, at Isaiah 29:13. The Lord says, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men."

There are 3 reasons I think this verse is incredible.

1. Jesus quoted it. See Mark 7.
2. Jesus quoted it in the context of religious leaders who burdened adherents with rules wrongly derived and cruelly manipulated from the original Scriptural principles. Seriously, see Mark 7.
3. Religious leaders today read the same verse in Isaiah, read the same application in Mark, and still go right on ruling over followers of Christ with arbitrary rules and opinions elevated to the level of doctrine. They have become as twisted and sick as the very people Jesus slapped down in Mark 7 . . . but they do not see it. They are more interested in rightness and rules and observances and their own authority than in loving.

They are in peril.

And so are you if you sit idly and do not challenge this establishment of man's religion falsely claiming the will of God.

Random

Consuming Me

The desire to put the pen to the paper is consuming. More and more difficult I find it to concentrate on work, on the world, on other people. The story moves and I watch closely to grasp the nuances of its swaying, seductive dance. It will take me where it will; I have no choice but heed its voice. But I will try to capture every word. For all I can hope to do is tell it.

I am burdened with it. It weighs heavily on my mind like wet denim.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Kingdom of God

Thinking hard yesterday about this ... something in B. McLaren's new book:

Jesus on the earth, speaking and teaching about the Kingdom of God. But what is the Kingdom of God?

Is it heaven ... the place for us after we leave the earth?

Or is it a system - a lifestyle, governance, value system - that is to be enacted and lived out on earth. Right now.

Could it be both? Is every mention of the Kingdom of God either one or the other? Always one or the other?

First Time Here

Introductory Post ... placed here for the sole purpose of persuading this *$#@& blog to let me format the page with simple preview.

Lousy Bill-Gates-inspired-technologically-smug-know-better-than-you-intuitive-to-a-fault web site.