Yeah women, know your place!

Found this graphic yesterday morning and I can't stop laughing at it!

"You read that Bible right woman!!  Now get yo butt to that kitchen and bake me that cake!!"

It's from a site called Biblical Proof, a blog about "Speaking where the bible speaks, and silent where the bible is silent".  And there are plenty more hilarious images like the one above on it!

If you think that pic is bad, check this one out.  I've a very good friend who is a devout Christian and also a home brewer.  He's a shoe-in for Hell for sure, huh?

That site is obviously a product of the ultra-conservative fringe of the Churches of Christ.  They're the ones who believe that unless you are baptized you are going to Hell, that unless you are baptized correctly you are going to Hell, that unless you are a member of the Church of Christ you are going to Hell, that anyone who is Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal etc. is going to Hell, that if you are divorced and remarried you are DEFINITELY going to Hell.  And if you have musical instruments in your worship services you are sooooo going to Hell for that.  Fortunately not all of the Churches of Christ are that loony.  Most of the ones I've known have been very humble, loving, sincere and kind but as with every denomination of Christianity, one must accept that along with the fruits there will be some nuts...

This image is pretty laughable too, but it's also very tragic.  In no uncertain terms the author of its accompanying post insists that there is no salvation without water baptism, but there can be no water baptism without repentance.  But that in the case of a divorced and remarried person, repentance is impossible without leaving that marriage too!

I'm divorced.  It's not something that I wanted to happen.  It's not something I ever intended to happen.  I know that it's wrong.  I know that I had my own part to play.  I know that God intended for marriage to be a covenant between one man and one woman that only ends at the death of one of them.  But I will never believe that divorce or anything else is beyond forgiveness from God.  Divorce may be a sin, but it's not a sin that can keep a person from having salvation.  If it is, then Christ went to the cross for nothing.

I don't mind finding stuff like this and pointing this blog's readers to it.  As a follower of Christ, I have to laugh at anything that presumes we can "score points" to get favor with God.  That, and because it's just not every day that working for salvation entails dressing up like a World of Warcraft character.

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And I'm thankful for it, too...

My own understanding of Christ will NEVER be YOUR standard for salvation!

(Just something that God put on my heart to write, at this very early morning hour.)

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A theological thought or two this evening

God is not a bureaucrat.

Salvation does not derive from procedure.

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And this is why we need the grace of God...

My salvation does not depend on whether or not I agree with you, and your salvation thankfully will never depend upon my own regretfully limited wisdom.

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Salvation: Plain and simple

I haven't reported much lately about the nefarious goings-on of local cult leader Johnny Robertson and his "Church of Christ" (which again, has nothing to do with the real Churches of Christ). Number of reasons for that, not the least of which is that I've been quite busy this summer with ummm... "other projects". And because as one good friend noted: Robertson and his cronies (and the bisexual criminal that they give so much business to) aren't really worth getting into a huff over. That I've got bigger and better things in my life. Heck, Yours Truly was the most-watched person on television across the continent of Australia last night! And this blog gets many more more - and altogether a better quality - readers than the cult gets viewers. That's been enough to make me content...

...But I couldn't resist posting and sharing this next item, because it is a positivalutely brilliant and exceptionally clever point.

A reader named Jessica e-mailed me the following thought this afternoon:

"Johnny Robertson makes salvation complicated for simple people. Jesus Christ makes salvation simple for complicated people."

Very, very true.

And that's something that doesn't just pertain to, as one person put it, "Hypocrites On Parade". It applies to a lot of people.

It's something to think about for anyone who believes that we have to somehow "earn" or "merit" our salvation by being perfect in every way imaginable. When in truth, such a thing is simply not possible!

God isn't waiting for us to be "correct" in our spirituality, in our doctrine, or whatever. God is waiting for us to do nothing more than to desire Him and to cry out for His grace... because without that grace alone, we are lost.

We are taught from scripture that "Ask, seek, and ye shall find." That is a promise. To those who seek, however it is that they might be seeking, they will certainly find. Maybe not to our own satisfaction, but certainly to God's.

Who are any of us then to complicate the matter with our own expectations?

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On salvation and pride

It makes as much sense to declare that all the members of another religion are damned to Hell as it does to assert that all the members of your own religion are destined for Heaven.

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