Fear

"So much of religion seems to be about fear:  

fear of going to hell; 
fear of having bad theology; 
fear of not satisfying your end of the bargain so God will favor you and bless you; 
fear of others finding out how much you're not really like the person you project and pretend to be; 
fear of trusting your own inner guidance and fear of thinking for yourself; 
fear of not upholding the expectations of your religious sub-culture; 
fear of sexuality; 
fear of people who are different; fear of the world; 
fear of messing up; 
fear of not being good enough... spiritual enough... godly enough.  

I don't know which is worse - the way religion makes us afraid to die, or the way it makes us afraid to live."  

- Jim Palmer, Notes from (Over) The Edge

The secret of a good sermon...

“The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, and to have the two as close together as possible.”   

- George Burns

Spirituality and Religion

“Spirituality is man’s relationship with the Divine. Religion is crowd control.”   

- Unknown

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority...

"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect."  

- Mark Twain

10 Reasons

I just wanted to share a beautiful article that resonated with me - 10 Reasons I’m Glad I Came Out As A Progressive Christian, by Benjamin L. Corey.

While I emphatically refuse to be associated with any labels (while taking in the best from most), I am at home with people who are open to look outside the bubble, those that have the humility to admit, that they don’t know it all.

Tithing Vs Heart-led Giving

If you know someone who believes and teaches that you will be cursed, for not tithing, or that the Old Testament tithing is relevant for the New Testament believer, gently, point them to this e-book - Should The Church Teach Tithing - A Theologian's Conclusions About a Taboo Doctrine, by Dr. Russell Earl Kelly.

If you are not into e-books, here is the link to the paperback.  

If you are not into reading, the video series starts here.    

Lest it be misread, I am not against cheerful, heart-led giving (which is not necessarily limited to a set %) and/or financial abundance.   

What I am not for, is misinformation and/or manipulation. There shouldn't be a place for either, in this information age.   

I also, do not believe that everyone who teaches Tithing are manipulators. Some people simply do not look beyond what they have been taught. But, that does not excuse the rest of us from studying the subject.