This, my first blog, is a small act of defiance.
I've often thought of blogging but being a rather laid back (read lazy) individual I always thought, "Maybe later". Well, later never seemed to be right so I didn't do anything. But then, I found out about a religious leader who informed his flock that Christians had no reason (other than for business) to blog. In fact it was a shady proposition at best, and a downright dangerous activity at worst. (Ironically, I heard about it on one of my favorit blogs here: http://xcg.kingary.net/2006/10/04/shutting-up-the-sheep#comment
Knowing something about this group and it's history (I had some connection for years with the parent organization that it split off from) I recognized this a "wagon circling" maneuver meant to prevent people (mostly the young) from encounter ideas which would challenge and perhaps topple their beliefs.
Any who may read this, please understand, these are not your typical going to meetin' on Sunday, having baked ham at Grandma's after, type of group. They do not represent the majority, nor even a majority of the minority, of what Christians believe and think. (Granted in their opinion they are pretty much the only Christians out there. If there are any besides themselves, well the Grace of God is wonderful, isn't it?)
So this is my response. I may not talk much, I may not say much that is wise. But I will have a voice and will not I remain silent.
5 comments:
Hey, congrats on the decision to get a voice! Um, I mean, bad, bad, bad! You're going to the Lake of ...
Oh, enough silliness. Welcome to the blogosphere.
Now you have to promote it a bit. I suggest cruising blogs (look at bloglines.com or blogexplosion.com), leaving comments, and getting people to come here to see who you are.
You tell 'em, Pooky :o)
Trying to keep members away from opposing views is a bad sign in any organization. If their beliefs are true, they'll stand up to scrutiny (and comparison).
I'm glad you're giving your ideas and opinions an outlet. I look forward to reading more.
Mikey!
What a marvelous act of defiance!
I want to share an anecdote with you on the perils of being "laid back."
Back in the early 1960s, the Worldwide Church of God, known then as the Radio Church of God, had a booklet, "Does God Exist?" I'd heard HWA advertising this booklet on The World Tomorrow broadcast, and being a bookworm, and also "laid back," I wasn't in the habit of consulting a dictionary when I encountered new words; I could generally figure out what they meant, or at least I thought I could, from the context. Now, it's true that my mom and grandparents both had copies of this booklet, but it looked as dry as toast, so I'd never ventured to read it. I thought I'd ask my mom what the word exist means, but I didn't want to admit my seven or eight year old ignorance. I could tell it was a verb, but I thought it must be something he did or didn't do. So I casually asked her, "Mom, does God exist?
I was unprepared for her nearly hysterical and telling reply:
"What do you mean? Why do you think I'd do all these things I've been doing if God doesn't exist?"
That didn't quite tell me what I wanted to know, and now feeling vaguely ashamed, I asked, "Mommy, what does exist mean?"
She quickly calmed down and told me what it meant, but I was probably in my thirties before I realized the significance of her earlier outburst. She really hadn't wanted to join the Radio Church of God. She thought the congregation was cold and uncaring, and she thought the doctrines were just plain strange. The trouble was, as my dad would tell me years later, she was literally afraid the church was right. And rather than be put through the "soon coming" Great Tribulation, and then if she survived that, be put into the Lake of Fire, she despairingly trudged her way into Armstrongism.
These days I always get out my dictionary when I want to know what a word means, but the fact is, there is sometimes more to be learned using roundabout ways.
Hey Gary!
I've been away for a week visiting family over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Thanks for the encouragement and pointers.
About the LOF, frankly with winter coming on I wouldn't mind toasting my toes around a nice warm spot of brimstone:)
Kathleen:)
Thanks for the advice and your story. It reminds me of the anxiety and fear my own mother allowed to dominate her during the armstrongist years. Those same axieties and fears which I adopted in emulating her in her faith. Stuff that takes years to erase.
Good for you and your desire to know. Things would probably be a little less messy if we all just took the trouble to find out:)
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