This is a guest post by Christy Caine, who blogs at Leap of Fate. [I was raised] in an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist church, home, and school. There was intense focus on the filthy rags verse. We were indoctrinated to believe that we were completely worthless in the eyes of God; and this is how we came to view everyone else as well — which leads to the hubris and judgmentalism so common to fundamentalism. We were taught we were dirt:... Read more
From RealHope.com: John Shore wrote on his blog an article called “Seven Reasons Women Stay in Abusive Relationships.” It is an excellent piece of writing and speaks very practically about the reasons someone stays in a bad relationship. The article is worth looking at, even if you are not someone, nor do you know someone who is abusive. The answers John gives helps us understand how it is that we may do things that do not seem like it’s in... Read more
So raise a glass to turnings of the season And watch it as it arcs towards the sun And you must bear your neighbor’s burden within reason And your labors will be born when all is done …. And there a wreath of trillium and ivy Laid upon the body of a boy Lazy will the loam come from its hiding And return this quiet searcher to the soil — from “Don’t Carry It All,” the lead track... Read more
(This just in. I think it’s safe to say Christianity did not play a positive role in this poor woman’s life. There’s much in this letter for us to explore and consider, but first I thought I’d just share it with you [which, as always, I do with the author’s permission.] ) Dear John, I’m one of your ‘likers’ on Facebook and I read your blog often. This whole business of forgiveness has really got me down to the point... Read more
In the comments section of The Difference Between “Praying For” and “Forgiving,” reader “Susan in NY” wrote this, which perfectly captures so much of what we’ve recently been discussing about prayer and forgiveness: (more…) Read more
So in light of the extremely good responses (still coming in) to yesterday’s Must We Pray for Our Enemies, I thought I’d take a quick moment to distinguish between praying for and forgiving someone. (more…) Read more
(This is part and parcel of my last post, “How Can We Increase Our Compassion for Others?”) “I’m pretty good about praying for people generally,” a reader wrote me. “But I’m not that good at asking God to bring blessings to a person who, through their malice or ill will toward me, has hurt my life. If I really boiled down my question to you, I guess it would be, how important is it that I pray for my enemies?... Read more
The other day a friend was sharing with me the trouble he sometimes has feeling for others the kind of compassion that he knows Jesus would want him to. “I want to love everyone,” he said. “But sometimes I’m talking with a person, or just watching someone, or whatever, and I realize that the feelings I’m having toward that person aren’t very compassionate. I try, but sometimes it’s hard for me not to just be angry.” So that got me... Read more
So this morning I find email chastising me for yesterday’s Remembering the Fundamentalists’ True Love of Christ. “I can’t tell you how disappointed I am that you are now trying to make us love and respect the same people who DENY US OUR CIVIL RIGHTS!” said one. “Please don’t try to play fair with people who only want to repress and hate everything and everyone they think is against their ideas of who God is,” said another. Sigh. First, I... Read more
Here’s a lovely letter I got in Friday. You may think I’m sharing it here because of all the kind things its author says about me. And I am. But I’m mostly sharing it because I love what she reminds us to bear in mind about conservative/fundamentalist Christians. (more…) Read more
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