Advocate for the True Jesus

Gay Marriage..So Disappointed..

"Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God." 1 John 4:7

Today the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional.

So now same-sex couples are free to be married in California..again.

As a proponent of gay rights I am thrilled!..

But get this..as a Christian I'm disappointed. Disappointed that this is still an issue. Disappointed that we are unable to look back over our past and see that we do this over and over and over again..

I'm disappointed that we as a "Christian nation" ever supported slavery. I'm disappointed that that Martin Luther King Jr. ever had to address the great injustices perpetrated upon African Americans, leading civil rights movement. I'm disappointed that until 1967 interracial marriage was illegal in many parts of the "south".

Do you see where I'm going?..

According to Trinity College's "American Religious Identification Survey" conducted in 2008, 76% of Americans are self-proclaimed "Christian"

So why are we..this mighty "Christian nation" still oppressing those who God's commands 76% of "us" to love unconditionally?

I never say "God supports X and hates Y". Or "X is is going to "heaven" and those Y's are headed strait to "hell"..

I can't say "God" is pro-gay marriage. But I believe I can confidently say that the Jesus we see in the Gospel..God incarnate..my Lord and Savior would never support discrimination of any kind..

So what's up?

Why are we denying gay couples their right to be married?

Is it because of Leviticus 18:22? Leviticus 20:13? Romans 1:26-27? 1 Corinthians 6:9? Or is it 1 Timothy 1:9-10?

Because if you are condemning a large group of God's creation based on the verses above I'm praying with all my heart that you would look at the heart of Christ. What was Jesus all about? Condemnation or forgiveness? Hate or love? Acceptance or animosity?

We study history to learn from our mistakes.

And when you look at history you see a pattern of discrimination and hatred.

Those who advocated for slavery used Leviticus 25:44-46, Exodus 21:7-11, Ephesians 6:5 and Timothy 6:1 to justify their positions.

Yet we have seen the heart of God and know slavery is wrong. We know slavery is an abominable practice. But you can use Scripture to support that stance if you handpick a couple of verses to justify a cause..

Sound familiar?

Is this anti- gay marriage just another "dark period" in Christianity that we will look back on in 20 years and be ashamed?..

Yea..

So we have two choices..ignore the past and continue to discriminate a community we are called to love with all of our hearts.

Or will we as God's creation recognize our mistakes, embracing our past in order to live out the message of the Gospel of love, mercy and forgiveness..

Once you see this cycle, you will see that it must be stopped. Stopped in order to prevent further discrimination, as well as stop the vicious cycle of hate that has been characteristic of our church's history..

Peace & Love

Talking to the Lord

I ran across this video today and thought I'd share it with you.

A man struggling with what he's done in his life..what that means for him now and for the rest eternity..

*Mature Language* (beginning is a bit rough, but stick with it..it gets goods towards the end)

I struggle with the same questions..

Peace & Love

Deep Breath..Count to 10

Before anything else..go check out to comment section of my blog post Away With Religion..

What did you see?

"Andrew" is a friend of mine that I meet at a bible study this summer. So when I got the email from Blogger that "Andrew" had commented on one of my posts I was extremely excited to ear what he thought..

I get to my car and immediately pull out my iPhone read what he said..

I'm glad I didn't have the time to respond then..

He had valid points, but he critiqued MY writing..my beliefs. And even if I am wrong..he wrong too! Not because he said anything wrong..but because he questioned me..

What a sad way to view the world. Even if I'm wrong..you're wrong for even questioning my beliefs!

But I couldn't respond..I drove home..cooled down..

After a few hours I wrote a response. I sincerely wanted "Andrew" to know I appreciated his post..his friendship and his ministry.

But 2 hours before I would have probably said something like "whatever man"..some dismissive/aggressive jab that would have given me a couple of seconds of gratification, and then regret.

I understand that in our everyday lives we have to interact with others of differing beliefs. And sometimes we act like I almost did..dismissive/aggressive. And most of the time when I act this way I hate it. I say something mean, something to hurt the other person, only to regret it immediately.

And all this does is widen the "gap"..in our interactions with others we should heal, not hurt.

So if you're like me and you react negatively when someone questions your faith/beliefs..know that when we act that way it's widening that it's hurting instead of healing.

I know I've got some work to do. And if any of this resonates with you..maybe you do too..

Peace & Love

Jesus Loves Religion?..

Oh snap!

Finally a good response to the YouTube sensation Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus

I present to you..

Peace & Love

Away With Religion

In the past few days, I would guess that you have seen the Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus video. If not..check out my last blog post or click on the link above..

I was blown away by the popularity of the video. I first watched it early Tuesday morning when it only had 309 views..now it has over 10 million..

Honestly I thought it would be a video that The Christian Left would pass around..but not be popular in the "mainstream Christian Culture"

I was wrong..

I have seen this video on a large majority of my friends Facebook, who would describe themselves as "Christian"

This is very encouraging!

Although we might differ on our theology..we all see what the "Church" has become..and we are sick of it!

Religious hypocrisy has ruled the church for too long!..and I am hoping and praying that my generation will put an end to this discussing misrepresentation of Christianity that are prevalent today.

It seems that the "conservatives" "milldle-of-the-road" and "liberals" are all on the same page when it comes to the outrage felt by those who feel like our faith has been hijacked by politicians..business men and women..those just wanting to get an "edge-up" by professing a faith..by nature of their actions they do not follow.

My generation is sick of those who degrade others via their "Christian faith"..making others feel "less than"

And we are sick of the most loving, gracious, merciful and just man to ever live to be misrepresented and used to support social, economic and personal beliefs that are contradictory to the man we call Christ.

We have a long way to go to reconcile Christ's Church..but recognizing that the religious BS that has represented "American Christianity" for the past couple decades must be ended.

My generation..the 20-somethings will be the generation that reverses the religious hypocrisy that seems to dominate our culture.

We will stop using our religion to justify our wars, our tax breaks on the rich..we will stop supporting legislation that takes away from the poor and assists only those with power and money.

My generation will go to the Gospels and live out a life of unconditional love..concern for the poor and sick around the world, We will reclaim Christianity from the selfish individuals who have hijacked our faith for personal gain.

We will show our world what it is like to truly follow Christ..

Peace & Love