beware traditions

beware your church community's traditions. they can so fill a community, there is no room for the Holy Spirit, like a hoarder's house has no room for those who would live there ...

tradition does not equal truth

if you ask a faith-involved question, and the person you asked answers with "tradition," run away. if the answer is tradition, most likely it is man-made, and nowhere near biblical ...

Yeshua questioned the status quo.
Why don't you?

it's stake, not cross

we make a grave error in ascribing the meaning "cross" to the koine greek word "stauros." stauros means an upright stake, as used in impaling a victim, or in nailing/tying a victim to a stake with nail(s) through the hands on upstretched arms (or hands tied with rope), and nail(s) through the feet (or feet tied with a rope). in the Gospel of Matthew, Yeshua told his disciples (and others listening) to deny themselves, and pick up their stakes daily if they are to follow Him. stake is commonly translated as cross, from the latin crux, not stake, or stauros, as it should be. the "cross" as used by constantine (who may or may not have been an actual believer) is the chaldean cross, representing the pagan sun god. we fundamentalist protestant believers are not reformed if we accept the roman version of the "cross," as we accept so many other roman inventions of syncretism, such as "christmas" and the gag-inducing "easter."

Judging is for Jesus, not for us ...

if then ...

if Father God does not not need us, but wants us (this, i hold to be true), then satan, the father of lies, does not want us, but he needs us.
think on this ...

Sin and Responsibility

sin and responsibility have been marginalized in western (that includes the USA, by the way) society. there is no sin, no matter how heinous, that cannot be rationalized, absolving the one(s) who committed the sin of any responsibility.
take the hacking murder of the british soldier this week in london: those who committed this heinous sin will be absolved of responsibility, even as they are convicted of murder in british courts. "it's not really their fault," some will say, "because of thus and such ..."
disgusting, and heart-breaking ...