ALL HUMANITY:Jesus is savior

Which came first for you, fundamentalism or mysticism?

I got pretty good at being a fundamentalist, if I do say so myself. I once got into a "discussion" with two former high school buddies, one of whom was an atheist, and at the end the atheist remarked ironically to the other guy, "He has an answer for everything!" Which of course is one of the main goals of fundamentalism. But deep inside I never lost my mystical leanings, and eventually I couldn't avoid facing the fact that I was a round peg in a square hole.

Still, being a fundamentalist was a valuable experience. For one thing, it forced me to learn a lot about the Bible. Throughout my childhood and teen years I was almost totally ignorant - and oblivious - of the Bible.

 

I started very young, around 8, so I would say I began wide eyed was taught right wing but was regarded among, you could say, the gentlest of an intolerant lot. I had a conversion at the point I discovered there were other cultures in the world, subsequently accused of heterodoxy by my own group.
For some reason they reconsidered and apologized to me during a Sunday service. Then I went my own way as I was treading on ground that they were unfamiliar with.

 

My best friend in high school was raised in a family where his uncle called his mother a "painted woman" because she wore makeup, even though his parents were religious conservatives themselves. I kinda wondered how my friend had broken free from all that - he was always making jokes about it and obviously didn't take any of it seriously. Of course he did seem to have somehow inherited a different set of intellectual genes than the rest of his family... He once took me to see a pentecostal revival service - we just stood out in the narthex watching the service in the sanctuary for a while, then left, laughing about some things we'd seen. And then smoked some mj together, I believe... yet interestingly I probably never would have become a fundamentalist if not for an experience I had one time using peyote. Life is weird.

 

Like what? I genuinely want to know.

Sorry to hear that man but I doubt they are true Christians, even if they call themselves. The Bible warns of them actually

I really hate to hear that but I can assure you anyone that does that is not a follower of Jesus, no matter what they say or call themselves. "By their deeds you shall know them." There are certain people out there - maybe even we are all affected by this to a degree - who will adapt to or adopt any belief system or code of conduct which is beneficial to them and agrees with their own (possibly selfish) motives and desires. Even if they have not accepted any truth in their hearts.

You're absolutely right. Satan is one tricky motherfucker. Slimey m'fer. Oh but to put it in your terms: Seems like very little actual Christianity gets through to the area you grew up. It even sounds to me like that whole thing is a set up to get people away from Jesus -- just going by what you said.

But if you remember "by their deeds you shall know them" you can see through this mess. You are judging these people by their words; spouting bible talk and christian sounding nonsense and not their actions which are completely unchristian like. The jump you are making to rejecting the real Jesus is not logical. Your heart knows this but your mind cannot see. It's hidden by the emotional pain inflicted on you. I really am sorry on their behalf and for the things they do in Jesus' name makes me sad because it's a perversion of the purest thing I know.

Oh good, I thought you did! LOL, my bad. Still though, it's good that people who really do live the message helped you as I thought I was trying to do!

Yes, they are, the Bible warns of them.

Yes.

That's actually pretty cool, where you guys at anyway?

In my experience they do.

Well your response was really interesting man, but I still don't see the need for attacking Weed-Head.. jus' sayin'

If you have any issues or topics of interest to discuss that he brought up I'd love to know them and do what this forum is for: talk about those things instead of morphing the topics into the posters.

 

Makeup really is a strange thing when you think about it. Really shows where our minds and hearts are at. A glimpse into the consequences of such an outlook does not make for pretty viewing - yet they are all around us.

This is the true travesty around here. The only reason you find this normal is because it is common, not because there is anything truly empowering about being swept up in it.

All what exactly? The horrors of a world without makeup? Or a man not liking the idea of makeup?

Why is that weird? Okay okay I'm, being an asshole here but now that I think about it I'd really like to know

 

Basically I'm wondering why you're dismissing fundamentalist Christianity like it's backwards and instantly reject-able without even discussing it at all.

By the way, when I imagine fundamental Christianity I think mostly of the disciples. They would be fundamentalist Christians... or am I wrong?

 

This is a very un-Christian site.

Weedhead's calling people to it is where the accusation of 'sick shit' (as it's been referred to) took form.

 

The site that comes up for me is just a bunch of reference links to Christian related topics, or am I typing it wrong?

www.jesusissavior.com

 

I just want to say Amen. ForestEcho did a beautiful job of putting all that, and I agree completely.

 

You did such a good job on the previous post, but I totally disagree with you on this. Moderate use of makeup, in my opinion, is harmless, and to make a big deal about it is to focus on the petty stuff, which gets in the way of the central message of God's love.

 

Well, I understand what you're getting at but to me it's not petty. It is indeed a small piece of the big problem which is what we give over the attention of our consciousness to and in that way you are right in saying it might be considered "petty."

However, it offers a glimpse into the big issue and by realizing how things are connected in our minds we can begin to understand the sickness that is so prevalent in the world. At least I can.

I have my moments of vanity too so don't get me wrong, I'm not judging people so much as seeing a sickness that is affecting us in general. Some people may seem crazy to you for not being swept up in the commonly accepted insanity but your conclusions might be formed a little prematurely.

 

This is what comes up when I follow Weedhead's invitation:
http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/

which is where everyone else but you ended up I guess.

 

Oh, I thought he meant to remove the hyphens as well...I haven't even looked at this yet After a quick skim I don't see anything terrible though, but I can see potential for upsetting people.

Wouldn't it be better to discuss the issues you might have that are mentioned here instead though?

 

What issues? You're the one who was complaining.

 

"Complaining" tends to have negative connotations. I was pointing out that the thread contained no discussion about anything the OP posted but that he was instead attacked and he became the topic without anyone explaining what exactly it was they took issue with. I think it's okay that I did that.

It seems logical to me that if you have a problem with what the op posted, you can say what it is so that we can have a discussion about it. These are the issues I was referring to.

 

He asked for comments. He got 'em. Turns out, he was just looking for praise and agreement I guess.

Maybe you should re-familiarize yourself with the posts in this thread rather than jumping to the conclusion that the OP was unfairly treated/ganged up on.