When I was in college, I was "recruited" into a church that seemed to offer a great deal. "The Brothers" (the single men of that church) invited me to share meals, studied scripture with me, and even bought me a good study bible of my choice (I still have it). It was part of the Charismatic movement (which is sort of like Pentecostals -- I am still somewhat uncertain what the differences are).

One day, when they felt that I had been making lots of spiritual progress, they "gave" me a "shepherd". A shepherd? I thought "The Lord is my shepherd"? Apparently not. They believed no-one could grow spiritually unless they had a mentor who could teach and advise them in the right way to worship God, dress, vote, and even wash your socks.

Under their tutelage (prior to being assigned a "shepherd") I had been reading the Bible critically. I wanted to be able to know the Word of God well enough to spot counterfeits. What they were telling me was that the Holy Spirit would not grant me the wisdom I needed except through their "shepherd".

Too bad for them. Due to their encouragement in reading the Bible, I was able to recognize the fragrance of manure when it was put before me, even if they called it "spiritual nourishment". I got out, and haven't looked back.

I haven't been inside a church building without an invitation since. I think it did do one good thing for me. It allowed me to consider that not everything done in the name of God is the genuine article.

You will know a true Christian not by the Bible (Schofield reference Bible: weight 35 lbs.) they carry tucked under their arm. Neither will you know them by the way they slick their hair back and say "well, Praise God!" the way most people say "Well, I'll be damned!". You won't know a Christian by what they eat or what they drives or how they dress or how well-educated they are.

You will know a true Christian by only one thing: does s/he have a genuine concern for you even if they are uncomfortable with what you do. If their concern for you is genuine and does not come with strings attached. If the first words out of their mouth are "How are you doing?" and not "Have you been saved?"

If you're ready to hear a sermon, you'll ask for it. If you're not, it isn't my job to give you one anyway.

--Baloo

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"My ambition is to be a good ancestor."
-- Herbert Zipper
www.geocities.com/Area51/Shire/8641/

Technically, I am a member of "The Church", in that as a Christian, I am a member of the body of Christ, but I just don't attend Sunday services (without an invitation). I do have Christian friends so it's not like I'm completely isolated.

It's just that I've seen too many preachers, priests, ministers, parsons, and vicars (did I leave any out?) exploit their leadership position without regard to their obligations to God and their congregation. They (not all of them, I'm sure) seek to co-opt some or all of what belongs to God or their parishoners, including the authority to dictate to others. Positions of power tend to attract those desiring power, and "spiritual leader" is a powerful position, with temptations to match.

When I was 10, we were Episcopalian and I attended chatechism to learn whatever it was they wanted kids to learn about God before they could become "adult members". I always felt uneasy about the vicar. When the service was over, we would be exiting the church and say goodbye to him, and he would walk over and put his hand on my shoulder. That bothered me. In my opinion, nobody had a right to do that except daddy.

In chatechism class, they would state "whatsoever ye would have done unto you, do also unto others" and ask me what it meant. I would explain that this was the Golden Rule, and basically meant that you should treat others as you would like to be treated yourself. They replied "WRONG!" They did this several times and finally called upon someone else to give the "correct" answer. It turns out that the correct answer was to repeat, word-for-word, the passage they asked about. Apparently they didn't want an analysis, but just wanted someone to parrot back what they had been told. I have no idea why they graduated me from that class. By their standards, I was a troublemaker and a borderline heretic.

Sorry. God wants me to know the scripture, but also wants me to know what it means. It's a tool to shape my life, not a blunt instrument with which to beat others about with to force them to do my, er, God's will. BTW, years after we left that church, the vicar who gave me the creeps was arrested, charged, and convicted of several counts of child molestation. I suppose I was lucky I only had to be annoyed with a hand on my shoulder. My sister says the holy spirit looked out for me. I'll admit this is probably true, since I was a trusting kid and wasn't suspicious of anyone except him.

Years ago, I told God that if he wanted me in a formal church, he'd have to get someone from that church to invite me. I've been invited a few times, but never felt comfortable as a stranger there. God has his own schedule. If I need to be in a church, one will turn up. I won't hold my breath in the meantime.

--Baloo

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Jesus saves.
Moses invests.
--Bumper Sticker
www.geocities.com/Area51/Shire/8641/

One other thing I'd like to say... My belief on evil is that evil is when you use your power for selfish reasons, rather than for the good of those who gave you that power. This extends to all examples, whether you've been voted in to an office, or whether your parents gave you $10 to get some milk at the store. When you abuse your power for selfish reasons, you are doing evil.

What do you think?

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"Goverment exists to serve, not to lead. We do not exist by its volition, it exists by ours. Bear that in mind when you insult your neighbors for refusing to bow before it." - Jeffrey Richman, UB student

At least, that's my take on it.

One of my best friends is a very religious guy. I remember that one night we were discussing the concept of Purgatory. Neither of us really had anything for or against the idea. A few days later a "Bible Expert" came to his church. When I asked, just out of curiousity, what she had said about Purgatory, he replied "Oh, no, Matt. We don't believe in that."

Hello? "We don't believe in that"? All it took was one person to say that and he bought it? Did she provide any proof, for or against it? Upon closer examination of the Bible, I came to the personal conclusion that Purgatory didn't exist. I CAME TO THAT CONCLUSION. He just accepted it.

And who is "we"? Him and the expert? Him and I? The three of us? All Pentecostals or Protestants? I didn't appreciate getting grouped into that without looking into it myself. As it turned out, I agreed with them. But I don't like anyone telling me what to believe. That was years ago. I've been to Church once since then. And that was for a hockey game.

Real evil is not being sorry about it, and not taking steps to correct it."

Distilled evil is deriving pleasure from it and planning on doing it again.

I've met people from all three groups. Some of them claimed they were Christians. Some of them didn't.

--Baloo

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Jesus saves.
Moses invests.
--Bumper Sticker
www.geocities.com/Area51/Shire/8641/

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"...when all that is driving my heart forward
is you, thoughts of you, hopes for you,
and a fading dream with a Mona Lisa smile
that whispers "are you thinking of me too?"

Of course, everybody gets to level one sometime. We, being human, can't really help it. All we can do is to keep out of levels two and three.

Everything else is invented nonsense that some people made up in order to keep other people in line, give them a sense of identity in a world of enemies, and generally make them feel good about themselves.

Hell is where you go and watch the video of your life, on a giant screen TV in full color and stereo, and all the people you ever knew are there, and they point out each and every mistake and hurtful thing you ever did and just where you messed up.