Christians and gay marriage

A local pastor wrote this article called “Would Jesus bake a cake for a gay wedding?” It’s kind of long, but worth skimming through.

 http://hughhalter.com/blog/2012/08/08/hugh-bakes-a-cake-would-jesus-bake-a-cake-for-a-gay-wedding#.UDDsFPLsGwI.facebook

I wasn’t able to post my comment on his blog, so I figured I’d share it here, instead:

Very interesting piece. I’ve been trying to figure out my thoughts and feelings surrounding the Chick-fil-a thing, and this really helped. Another good resource is the documentary: “Lord, save us from your followers” available on Netflix. Your article sounds a lot like the experiment and conclusion in that program. Another thing that’s been ringing in my mind is a quote from a Beth Moore study: “Are we fighting for the cause (abortion, gay marriage, etc) or for the cross?” Sometimes, Christians lose sight of what really matters – loving people – as we are so busy fighting for “what’s right”. I was taught, concerning the “sliding scale” of sin, that the only sin a non-believer is guilty of, is that of rejecting God. In that light, we should not be judging non-believers at all, rather “be Jesus” to them and show them how truth can set them free from the bondage of sin. It’s sad when non-believers see Christians as “haters” because we judge them and treat them as second-rank. We are supposed to be a “sweet fragrance” not a bitter taste.

Blind no more!

I don’t want to live life as a blind follower. I was taught to question, test and try everything claiming to be right and true. However, I have, as millions of fellow believers, been following the path of my parents, and their parents, and their parents…

We are supposed to pass down traditions and teach the next generation the right way to go. In Old Testament times, the fathers were responsible for educating their children of the ways of the Lord. God commanded them to observe 4 special holy days, to remember the things God had done for his people, and in this way continuously remind the children of the miraculous stories, on which their faith was based. As Christians we acknowledge the importance of celebrating and remembering and teaching our kids in this way. BUT what on earth are we teaching them?

Watch this video and then decide for yourself

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNuIz63zBjM

It raises some life-changing questions of what we really are celebrating and passing on to our precious little ones. I do not agree with everything in this teaching, but enough to take a real good look at what I believe and what is really important.

George Clooney for Secretary of State – yeah!

I have never been very politically interested or involved, mainly because I’m too far away from the country where I actually CAN vote, and can just shake my head when I watch/hear about US politics. However, I am usually moved by foreign affairs, or more specifically; injustice against the weak and innocent.

MSNBC had this report on the crisis in South Sudan. I had no idea! It made my stomach turn.

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/rock-center/46581824#46581824

A week later there was another report by … George Clooney?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p89OuPODBMM

Turns out this was his 6th trip to Sudan – trying to raise awareness about the genocides there. A few days later, he’s at the White House talking with President Obama about the situation, and the next morning, he’s arrested outside the Sudanese Embassy. Way to go – Clooney!

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fabcnews.go.com%2FPolitics%2FOTUS%2Fgeorge-clooney-arrested-sudan-embassy-washington-dc%2Fstory%3Fid%3D15936415&h=2AQHKJ1TA

I love it when celebrities use their fame and fortune for good!!

A Christian view of Halloween?

It’s amazing to me that as believers in the Bible, we continue to partake in traditions and celebrations without even looking at why we do it. I remember growing up with Santa, the Easter Bunny, Midsummer Night, and “All Saints Day” without being bothered by where these traditions came from. But when I got kids of my own, and wanted to sift out which traditions were worthy of passing on and which are a waste of time, money and attention. To me “Halloween” was a no-brainer, because we didn’t celebrate it where I grew up. I had no problem seeing it for what it is and throwing it out of our family customs. Luckily, my husband felt the same way.

We do not talk about Santa or put any emphasis on that part of the commercial Christmas, though we enjoy “the Polar Express”, Rudolph, Frosty and the Christmas tree. The Easter Bunny and eggs, I have never understood, though I don’t see any harm in celebrating spring and new life. But why is the manger, the cross and the resurrection not enough for us?

The Old Testament tells stories of how God’s chosen people started their practises of “Holy Days” and annual celebrations, solely for the purpose of teaching and reminding future generations of God’s mighty works. Then the New Testament added several major events worthy of remembering and celebrating as Christ-followers. I don’t mind acknowledging influential, godly, historic people such as St. Valentine, St. Patrick and St. Nicholas, but let’s give credit where credit is due! We enjoy Thanksgiving, too, as we celebrate courage, community and sharing God’s bountiful provision.

But to me, Halloween is a purely pagan tradition, with it’s focus on everything evil and gross. The below history and references are taken from the K-Love website: www.klove.com

“The atmosphere of Halloween celebrations is marked with fun, mischief and the evil forces of nature, but the origins of this celebration are quite solemn. Celebrated on October 31st, Halloween is one of the oldest holidays—having originated thousands of years ago!

The belief system behind Halloween came from the druids, who believed that witches, demons, and spirits of the dead roamed the earth on the eve of November 1. Halloween originally was a Druid holy day called “The Vigil of Saman.” In early Britain it was called the festival of Samhain. This festival would last for 3 days and many people would parade in costumes made from the skins and heads of animals.

When Roman Catholicism became a world political and religious power the pagan customs were still widely celebrated. On the eve of All Hallows, Oct. 31, people continued to celebrate the festivals of Samhain and Pomona Day. In 800 A.D. the Roman Catholic Church moved “All Saints’ Day” from May to November 1st. All of the “saints” who did not have a special day to their honor on the Catholic calendar were to be honored on All Saints’ Day—a time to pay respect to the dead by visiting their graves. The “new day” that was to replace the pagan vigil of the dead was called “All Hallows Day”. It soon became the custom to call the evening before, “All Hallows Eve”, which was soon shortened to Halloween. The Halloween we celebrate today includes all of these influences, Pomona Day’s apples, nuts, and harvest, the Festival of Samhain’s black cats, magic, evil spirits and death, and the ghosts, skeletons and skulls from All Saints Day and All Soul’s Day.

As Christians, what do we do?

Halloween still carries some of its pagan significance and there is no Christian influence to be found in Halloween. Jesus Christ is conspicuously absent! Some parents are replacing Halloween with family night activities. Others are having “Hallelujah nights” or “Glory Gatherings” where all references to Halloween are removed.

We need to beware of its origins, its history and its dangers. From Romans 12:21 (NLT) we can be encouraged, Don’t let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Relevant Scriptures 

For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling or sorcery, or allow them to interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, [11] or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead.
– Deut. 18:10-11 (NLT)

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused. [22] Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead. [23] And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people, or birds and animals and snakes.
– Romans 1:21-23 (NLT)

You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too.
– 1 Cor. 10:21 (NLT)

Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, rebuke and expose them.
– Ephes. 5:11 (NLT)

For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.
– Ephes. 6:12 (NLT)

Keep away from every kind of evil.
– 1 Thessalonians 5:22 (NLT)

Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour.
– 1 Peter 5:8 (NLT)”

Dust!

Dusting the house must be the most pointless chore a housewife could ever do – right ahead of  polishing the brass and silver-plated nick nacks twice a year. But at least I can choose to not HAVE any metal objects in my house that need polishing! All other chores seem to have some kind of purpose and a benefit for the residing family members. It seems half-insane that we would take all the pillows, blankets, rugs and dust rags outside, shake the dust off, then later that night, open all the windows to let it back in again! 

By The Way: “dust” in Norwegian means “jerk”, which is pretty much how I feel about my house today as I look at the dreaded layer of gray covering every surface! Or the next time you husband complains about how dusty the house is and how you should do something about it – just shove him out the door and voila’, your home is instantly “dust” free!

Neewollah

Yes, that is halloween spelled backwards. In an attempt to make halloween less …. well, halloween-ish.

Oh, how I dislike the month of October. I can’t take my kids anywhere without being bombarded by images of monsters, bloody gore, demons, sawn off limbs, zombies and chain saw massacre. Why on earth do intelligent, modern and even Christian individuals indulge in this celebration? Why are we allowing this so-called holiday to keep on going strong?

Sure, I can understand the kids-dressing-up part and celebrating pumpkins and the beautiful fall colors, but that only amounts to … like half of the festivities? The other half I wish we could send back to hell where it came from. I’m all for celebrating the harvest season, but isn’t that what Thanksgiving is for?

All the candy drives me nuts, too. Try having an 8-year-old with ADHD, for whom every gram of corn syrup equals 1 hour of out-of-control, bouncing-off-the-wall, screaming and squealing, bad-attitude and disrespect …. with the inevitable parent exhaustion!

My kids are getting older and less effected by the ugliness of October 31st, but I don’t. I didn’t grow up with this holiday so I can’t see the good in keeping it alive. I suggest scrapping the whole halloween-thing and starting afresh, with Fall Family Festivals and Dress-up Kids Day with parades 🙂 Perhaps that will eliminate the teenagers coming to your door threatening to egg your house.

Sorry, if I have offended you American believers, but this is just my opinion. If you really researched it’s origin, I think you would agree with me.

According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica,

In ancient Britain and Ireland, the Celtic Festival of Samhain was observed on October 31, at the end of summer…. The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day and the autumnal festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, goblins, black cats, fairies and demons of all kinds said to be roaming about. It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the processes of nature. In addition, Halloween was thought to be the most favorable time for divinations concerning marriage, luck, health, and death. It was the only day on which the help of the devil was invoked for such purposes.

In early American history, Halloween was not celebrated due to America’s strong Christian heritage. It was not widely observed until the twentieth century. Initially, it was practiced only in small Irish Catholic settlements, until thousands of Irish migrated to America during the great potato famine and brought their customs with them. To some degree, our modern Halloween is an Irish holiday with early origins in the Celtic winter festival. Interestingly, in American culture, the rise in popularity of Halloween also coincides roughly with the national rise in spiritism that began in 1848.

Where did the jack-o’-lantern originate?
The carved pumpkin may have originated with the witches’ use of a collection of skulls with a candle in each to light the way to coven meetings. But among the Irish, who, as noted, prompted the popularization of Halloween in America, the legend of “Irish Jack” explains the jack-o’-lantern. According to the legend, a stingy drunk named Jack tricked the devil into climbing an apple tree for an apple, but then cut the sign of a cross into the trunk of the tree to prevent the devil from coming down. Jack then forced the devil to swear he would never come after Jack’s soul. The devil reluctantly agreed.
Jack eventually died, but he was turned away at the gates of heaven because of his drunkenness and life of selfishness. He was sent to the devil, who also rejected him, keeping his promise. Since Jack had no place to go, he was condemned to wander the earth. As he was leaving hell (he happened to be eating a turnip), the devil threw a live coal at him. He put the coal inside the turnip and has since forever been roaming the earth with his “jack-o’-lantern” in search of a place to rest. Eventually, pumpkins replaced turnips since it was much easier to symbolize the devil’s coal inside a pumpkin.
How did the tradition of trick-or-treating begin?
There are several ancient practices that point to this tradition. One possibility is from the notion that ancient witches had to steal the materials needed for their festivals. The Druids may have believed that witches held this day to be special, something clearly true for modern witches.
The idea of trick-or-treating is further related to the ghosts of the dead in pagan, and even Catholic, history. For example, among the ancient Druids, “The ghosts that were thought to throng about the houses of the living were greeted with a banquet-laden table. At the end of the feast, masked and costumed villagers representing the souls of the dead paraded to the outskirts of town leading the ghosts away.”
As already noted, Halloween was thought to be a night when mischievous and evil spirits roamed freely. As in modern poltergeist lore, mischievous spirits could play tricks on the living—so it was advantageous to “hide” from them by wearing costumes. Masks and costumes were worn to either scare away the ghosts or to keep from being recognized by them,

“Parenthood” series on NBC

After watching the first season of “Parenthood”, I’m delighted, yet scared.

I believe the story of Max and his family so far is good. My 8-year-old son was diagnosed 2 years ago and I could relate much to his parents’ reaction. Some of it was a little over-the-top (the friends and the index cards) but still got the message through about how overwhelming that first year is. Although Max himself does not resemble my son much, the story really hit home.

My fear is whether or not NBC will keep up the sensitivity and respect to such a sensitive issue. The MEDIA has such a big influence on common opinion and WE as parents have a tough enough job helping our kids the best way we can. Fighting public opinion and misconceptions makes our job so much harder.

When the media portrays autistic individuals as inferior, unintelligent, misfits, aggressive, a safety risk and socially inept, our kids’ struggle to “fit in” and have equal opportunities in society becomes even greater. I say this because I’ve heard that in some European countries, the public opinion is already pretty negative toward “Aspies”, due to the media’s portrayal. Young Aspergians there might actually get excluded from colleges and job opportunities because of such a diagnosis (e.g. they may not be able to be a doctor or police officer).

I have worked hard on educating myself, our family and my son so we will all understand what an ASSETT Asperger’s Syndrome can be, and I truly believe my boy will do great things with his life because of his ASD. I hope the MEDIA will assist us parents in this journey and not make our efforts harder by negative portrayal of Aspies for entertainment’s sake. If we don’t encourage these kids and bring out the genius hiding inside them, we might just miss out on the next generation of scientists, engineers, inventors and the cure for cancer!

Good job, so far, NBC! Please keep it up!

Mr President

Your promises are empty words.

What you have said you will do

is humanly impossible to do –

and that’s exactly what you are –

A HUMAN

Not a savior for the people

Not a redeemer for the hurting

Not a refuge for the weak

But an ordinary, stumbling, broken human

You have not shown us

there is wisdom in your  decisions.

You have not surrounded yourself

with wise council.

You lead with big, smooth words

but there is little wisdom in your actions

The unborn still dies

The ungodly keeps on mocking

The weak are disappointed

The blind keep stumbling in the dark

Our hope is not in you

Mr. President

Our faith still stands on the

ONLY rock that does not crumble

10 years from now

you will be just a memory.

And this nation will be NO better off

because of you.