God So Loved The World; Not Just The Nice Christians

The message of Grace, set me free from the ugly yoke of legalism. Unless you (have been awakened to the fact that you) have been mauled by legalism, you wouldn't know the severity of how legalism cripples one's mind. 

But, that does not mean I am a blinded member of the "grace" camp. I run from camps (mindsets), for they have the notoriety of being tunnel-visioned and rigid. The underlying mantra of a rigid mindset, whether it's verbalized or not, is, "We have arrived! We know it all!" Discerning minds can smell that claustrophobic structure from a mile away. 

I was stunned to hear a statement made by a very prominent and an internationally known grace preacher (whose name I will not mention), recently. He said, "sometimes, wars are needed" - referring to the fight against ISIS. 

I can understand if those words were from the U.S. Secretary of State. But from a messenger of grace?! 

My first thought was, "so this so-called "grace" is only for those who are in the club? No, that's not authentic love!" 

His rhetoric is cute, if you want to appease the warmongers; but it does not rhyme with "turn the other cheek", or "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do".

Christianity and Torture

You Cannot Be Christian and Support Torture, by Brian Zahnd

ISIS

"One changed heart within the inner circle of leadership would forever change the direction of those hell bent on the destruction of humanity. “that’s a pipe dream” some of you might say. It is only a pipe dream inasmuch as Saul becoming Paul was a pipe dream."

- Caleb Miller

Read the rest, here.

Please Spare Me Your Grace Message And Your God Is Love Message, If...

"Please spare me your grace message and your god is love message, if you still believe billions will burn for eternity, for not believing like you."

- Don Griffin

PS: Oh, and by the way, I am not at all, against the message of grace and unconditional love. The point of sharing this quote is that, it is hilarious when we put limits to grace and love.   

Clanging Cymbals...

“See the light in others, and treat them as if that is all you see.” - Wayne Dyer 

This thought that I came across today, was a good reminder for me. 

Focusing on darkness, soils one's mind. Unchecked, it morphs into another manifestation of a "right-er/better-er than thou" mentality. 

Thanks, but no thanks. 

It's no news that religion has always put people in bondage, under the banner of God. But fighting negativity with negativity has never yielded freedom for anyone. 

Rocked by the revelation of grace, the German priest Martin Luther broke out of the Catholic system (this, by the way, triggered the Protestant movement, which is now splintered into thousands of denominations). But since he was primarily driven by dogma and his rightness, rather than love, he was known for his deep anti-Semitism. 

So, the ultimate goal is not about having a "correct" theology (Christianity has plenty of versions of what "correct" is and isn't). It is, and has always been, love. Without love (who God is), we are merely clanging cymbals, whether we are proficient Bible thumpers, or “deep” contemplatives.

One Of The Criticisms That Grace Faces...

One of the criticisms leveled against the message of Grace is, that it is lax on "sin". The assumption is, "it's all Grace now, so you can do whatever you want, without any consequences." 

Not one Grace preacher I know of, says that. 

Regardless of whether anyone says that or not, I think, this criticism stems from the belief that people can be controlled by the Law; sadly, without realizing the fact that the Law actually empowers one to sin (see 1 Cor 15:56). 

A lifestyle of destruction destroys us, but it does not affect God's love for us. There isn't a big enough boulder that can separate us from His love for us (see Rom 8:38-39). 

Despite what we feel about the man, God unconditionally loves Ariel Castro, the man who, for a decade, imprisoned and used three young women as sex slaves, in his basement. While God's love is offensive to most people, it does not negate the law of sowing and reaping - which is why Castro is in a jail right now. 

God's love towards the human race has nothing to do with one's good or bad actions. He loved us from before the foundations of the world. Unlike most of us do with each other, we don't earn God's acceptance with our actions. We are already accepted and reconciled in God (see 2 Cor 5:18-19), whether we have the experiential reality of it, or not. It's a gift - it is called Grace (see Eph 2:8-9). 

Regardless, I love all the heat that the message of Grace is getting now. It simply means that nerves are being struck left and right, for the better. You can't make a good chicken curry without stirring the pot. : )

The Heart Wins

I'm looking forward to the day when more and more people will see, and boldly proclaim about the gaping holes in the empty and the fear-based doctrine of the eternal torment in the mythical and a very mistranslated word called "hell".

The heart knows that answer, that a "loving Father" would never do that; but it's the pre-conditioned mind that hinders the light from flooding in. 

The good news is, given time, the heart wins.

Undeserved. Really?

"You deserve God's love. God is not being nice to you by giving you something you don't deserve, he is being a Father to you and giving you exactly what he believes you do deserve. You deserve his love, all his love, and if it's possible, even more. He wants you to have his whole being and the fullness of his love.

You're his child, and to your heavenly Father, you deserve everything he desires to give you. Not because you've earned it, but because of the DNA of who you are. His beloved child. His treasured possession. His everything. You're worthy of it all, every last drop of love, you're worthy of it. It's yours. Bless your heavenly Father's heart and receive it freely and abundantly."

I love this quote by Mick Mooney.

Saying "we didn't earn it" and "we don't deserve it" are two totally different things. 

Religion harps on the latter - saying, singing and implying in so many ways, that we are the unworthy, undeserving scum of the earth. 

We are not. We are God's masterpieces, his beloved children.

Our two children did not "earn" the clothes they are wearing, but we would deeply be hurt, if they kept telling us that they are "unworthy and don't deserve anything they have." Any loving parent knows that it does not make any sense. They do deserve everything we have for the simple reason that they are ours.

The Offended Sheep

"I am deeply offended that you did not let me exercise my free will choice to be saved."

- The lost sheep to the shepherd, right after the the shepherd found it.

"......two thousand years of religious tradition have inculcated in us the mistaken notion that God’s love is something we earn. If we do what pleases him, he loves us; if not, he doesn’t. Giving that up isn’t easy. Moving from a performance-based religious ethic to a relationship deeply rooted in the Father’s affection is no small transition."

- Wayne Jacobsen, He Loves Me! Learning to Live in the Father's Affection

"The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them."

- Thomas Merton

Is God an Abusive Husband or a Deadbeat Dad?

"The main problem I have with the mainstream Christian view of hell is that it's starting place is that God's wrath must be satisfied against sinful man. 

I think before we can come to any conclusion about hell, our starting place needs to be "God is love." God's wrath needs to be defined in the context of love and our view of hell needs to be set within the context of love. God's very nature is love and he cannot violate that. 

If our view of hell turns God into an abusive husband (marry me or else) or a deadbeat dad (some are predestined for eternal torture), it can't be the right view because love is never abusive nor does it force itself on anyone, nor would love ever bring children into the world that it did not want and that it wouldn't die for." 

- Annette Hunsberger Presley

Related posts:

The Cosmic Turtle
Love is...
My Thoughts on Raising Hell

Who was the group that hated Jesus the most?

If the Church ever desires to be relevant to those outside the Christian bubble, she needs to love, unconditionally. Not the self righteous and judgmental "love the sinner, not the sin" kind of love. 

The group that hated Jesus the most were not the "sinners", but the "men of the Word" of the day. To those rejected by the religious club, he was a magnet.

Related post: 

Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin?

Love Trumps all the -isms

Knowingly or unknowingly, everyone is associated in some way, shape or form with an -ism. Arminianism, Calvinism, Universalism, Atheism, etc.

Without love, however, our isms have zero value, regardless of how well researched we think our findings are. 

Love trumps all the -isms. 

He may not speak in Christianese, but with love, an atheist experiences and becomes a conduit of God, without him being consciously aware of it. 

Love is God. 

God is Love.

You are no more a Christian than you are a rocket scientist

"Really tired of "Christians" judging who is and isn't saved, who's right and who's wrong, who's good and who's bad. You are no more a Christian than you are a rocket scientist. If you're really a Christian, you're supposed to be known for your love for one another - not being right. Now shut the hell up and love someone." :-)

- Jackson Baer 

TURN or BURN?

"TURN or BURN", the passionate, well-meaning evangelist screams at the top of his/her voice. 

In other words, fear is the tool that is used to connect a person to God. 

But the scripture says, "perfect love casts out fear" (1 Jn 4:18). 

Perfect love is God (1 Jn 4:8). 

So, to me, it is common sense to conclude that God will not scare a person into accepting him. Love will not coerce and will not be coerced. 

Since God is love and he created us in his own image, and if a loving human being would never want to see someone being roasted forever and ever, why would we assume that God would allow that to his creation?

Are we saying that Adam's offense is greater than Jesus' redemptive work on the cross? (see Romans 5:18)

Please do not receive my words blindly. This is merely a gentle nudge to seek. You have nothing to lose.

Truth can withstand any amount of scrutiny.

Related posts:

The Cosmic Turtle
Love is...
My Thoughts on Raising Hell
Paul has a chit-chat with Calvin and Arminius

How Grace is a "slippery slope"

Some say Grace is a "slippery slope".

It sure is.

We slide straight down to the ocean of unconditional love.

How a swimming pool lifeguard lost his job

"A swimming pool life guard lost his job today after he purposely let a 7 year old drown to death.

In his defense, the life guard said: "the young swimmer didn't know about me, therefore he didn't believe that I could save him. He didn't cry out to me, he didn't confess to me that I was his saviour. Therefore, I was completely powerless to rescue him. I had no choice but to let him drown as I didn't want to violate his free will, turning him into a robot. I did the most loving thing I could think of. It was his choice to drown."

Does this sound pathetic? This is the "god" many people believe in, and that above is the exact reasoning they use (no kidding).

Thankfully, a real Saviour, (like any decent superhero, lifeguard or fire-fighter) is capable of rescuing people regardless of what they believe or know about Him. God is the Saviour of ALL men, especially (not exclusively) of believers. 1 Timothy 4:10.

If you believe now, then the chances are you're going to have a lot more hope and purpose in this life than people who have nothing to believe in... But the people who don't believe now will be saved too. Everyone shall be resurrected from the dead and God shall be ALL in ALL - 1 Corinthians 15:28. Hell is a mistranslation. This is the gospel, also known as the Good News"

- Caleb Shaw

Related posts:

The Cosmic Turtle

Love is...

Message from the gods

Paul has a chit-chat with Calvin and Arminius

How to Judge Someone:

Here is a rough guide on how to judge a person. Feel free to improvise:

1. Make sure that we don't know the person from Adam and/or have had only very minimal interactions with him/her. 

2. Observe the person closely through the filter of preconceived notions. 

3. Without trying to understand where his/her views might be coming from, choose to be offended by his/her comments or actions.

4. Conclude that he/she does not fit "my" mold of how he/she "should be".

How to be free from the plague of judging:

Love unconditionally - because we don't have the slightest clue of what someone may have been through in life. This may not necessarily be easy as it sounds, but it's so worth it.

My child:

My child:

Who gave you that yearning to seek beyond the obvious? Who do you think gave you that mind to ask questions? Contrary to the folklore, I'm not insecure. Or angry. Or bi-polar. I have better things to do than send thunderbolts your way because you ask a question that does not rhyme with what you have learned all your life. 

I do not live in a church building or in the Bible. Both may say plenty about me through scores of interpretations, but I live and breath in you, 24/7. Do you want to be the guardian of someone else's interpretations about me, or do you want to discover me yourself? 

Dare to be yourself. Dare to RESPECT yourself. I value you. Why do you second-guess that? Yes, the religion may have mutilated you by calling you "unworthy" all your life, but know that you are my masterpiece. Your spirit is fused in mine. We are one. Nothing, no religion, no denominations, no opinions, no interpretations, no scorns, no brickbats, no abuse, no distance, nothing, nothing can ever separate us. 

Try to look and listen with your heart. I am found between the lines. You will hear me between the notes. Formulas are cute, to sell books, but I don't know of any. Always, always, always look beyond the obvious. Leap, trusting that the net will appear. A child-like trust. Would a loving parent drop her child?

I am not a system, I am not a tradition, I am not a book. I am… well, find it yourself. And when you get a glimpse, don't rush to craft a definition and build a monument upon that. We have miles to go together, forever. Our life together is beyond definitions, jargons or dogmas. 

Just know that I am with you always and I love you with an everlasting love.

Much love,

(Call me whatever you want)