Weblog

Friday, 25 September 2009

  • Someone made my favorite Augustine quote into a song.

    In honor of awesome music, have an Augustine quote.

    "How late I came to love you, O Beauty so ancient and so fresh, how late I came to love you! You were within me, yet I had gone outside to seek you. Unlovely myself, I rushed toward all those lovely things you had made. And always you were with me, I was not with you. All these beauties kept me far from you – although they would not have existed at all unless they had their being in you. You called, you cried, you shattered my deafness. You sparkled, you blazed, you drove away my blindness. You shed your fragrance, and I drew in my breath and I pant for you. I tasted and now I hunger and thirst. You touched me, and now I burn with longing for your peace”

Monday, 07 September 2009

Monday, 31 August 2009

  • Currently
    Brother, Sister
    By mewithoutYou
    see related

    In the wake of a surprisingly civil discussion...

    So I've been talking with a few friends about unity and the church, and naturally we all have different views.
    One person posted a bit from a book, I believe by Max Lucado:

    "May they all be one," Jesus prayed. One. Not one in groups of two thousand. But one in One. One church. One faith. One Lord. Not Baptist, not Methodist, not Adventist. Just Christians. No denominations. No hierarchies. Not traditions. Just Christ.
    Too idealistic? Impossible to achieve? I don't think so. Harder things have been done, you know. For example, once upon a tree, a Creator gave his life for his creation. Maybe all we need are a few hearts that are willing to follow suit.
    What about you? Can you build a bridge? Toss a rope? Span a chasm? Pray for oneness?

    She said that she's grown up in the Anglican church, and has thought about visiting other denominations but doesn't know where to draw the line--Are Quakers Christian? Are Christian Scientologists? What's the difference between a sect and a cult?

    There were any number of responses, ranging from the practical [one person gave her several good links on sects and cults] to the short and literal ["I think Quakers are Christians and Scientologists aren't"] to the philosophical, theological, and emotional. Dialogue is a beautiful, wonderous thing.

    One person brought up the following point:

    "I think it is very tru - the church should be one, not split between society -especailly when it comes to the point where there are rifts in communities. If you are truly christian, don't you think you should let EVERYONE into your heart, not JUST those who are catholic or anglican or protestant?
    So many people have come to me before and asked 'what is your religion?' and when i reply 'i'm christian', they look at me puzzled and say 'what type... catholic? anglican? protestant?' and i reply 'i am not catholic nor anglican nor protestant, i am christian and i don't follow any particular rules from the catholic, anglican or protestant churches.' I believe christianity should be one united comunity. Also, i believe if you have faith, and you connect with god, that can be all someone needs. They don't need to follow rules from a church. They worship god in their own way and right. After all, you don't need a church to pray, do you?
    Anyway, i have grown up mixed - my mum is catholic, i used to sing in cathederal choirs, yet my dad is protestant, and we attend both protestant and anglican churches."

    Another person said that they had recently begun going to Hillsong church in London, and were learning a lot about how different churches operate. The core beliefs at their new church were the same as those at her old church, but the actual churches were very different.

    More responses:

    i'm going to go out on a limb here and say i agree we need to be one, but we need to really be united not just paint over our differences. and we need hierarchy and Tradition because we're human. not saying that God is limited to working in one particular way or anything. but there are fundamental differences between the catholic, protestant and orthodox churches that can't be ignored for the sake of oneness. we can only be one when we truly share the same beliefs. it's a great sadness that we're not all one on earth but i am comforted to think that all in heaven are part of the Church. meanwhile, yes, we must pray very much for unity.

    Which spawned responses:

    This may be a bit too theologically heavy, but...Christianity and the church are separate things. Going to one church or another doesn't make you a Christian, or make you right or wrong. Also, when I say Christian here I mean someone who follows Christ, not someone who adheres to any specific set of beliefs.And with that definition...you can find Christians in any denomination, just as you'll find people who use the name but are the complete opposite. I would talk to individual members of those groups instead of trying to make judgments about the group as a whole. You might be surprised what you find.
    I don't think there's any reason to ignore our differences for the sake of unity. God created us all as very diverse people, and I've got a feeling that when we get to heaven we'll learn that all of our dogma is far less important than we thought. I think we can learn to focus on what we have in common and agree to disagree on the small things [and compared to God, what isn't a small thing?] Look at what we have here, on this thread. We all come from different backgrounds and denominations, but we're able to come together and help each other. And we do get into a lot of debates, but it's generally about how to apply our faith to everyday life--and I'd be worried if people stopped discussing that! [Also, I love the Ezekiel bit in your signature--what chapter/verse is it from?]

    And replies:

    it's not ignoring personal differences, like whether singing is better than silent prayer, or whether we lead active or contemplative lives for Christ, that i object to. for those things the Church has space. but it's those things to do with dogma and doctrine which are important because they tell us very different things about God. Arianists for example, in the 4th century, counted Jesus as subordinate to God the Father. differences like this are important, just as today different views on the Real Presence, role of Mary and authority of the Pope are important. these aren't small things, these are about God and how his grace works.
    *breathes*
    the Ezekiel quote is from chapter 16:8-10 :)

    And back again...

    Not to be argumentative or anything, but do you view this thread as an exception to the rule? I doubt any of us would agree on those topics, but I know for many of us [myself included] it's nothing short of a Godsend.
    I don't disagree with you, exactly, but I think those things have less impact on our everyday lives than we think they do. I also think we're all a little wrong and a little right. No one can claim absolute knowledge of a God that is so far beyond our comprehension. Separating ourselves takes away the opportunity for dialogue and discussion [like we're doing right now]. I've been surprised to find kindred spirits across all denominational lines. I think we've been split for so long now, many of us have forgotten just what it is we disagree about.
    For me, it all comes down to loving God and others as best as we know how. I've worked on a few projects in my community and attempted to get multiple churches involved. The funny thing is, none of the church leaders ever returned my phone calls...but people from their churches would show up anyway. I don't think we'll ever get to a point where we all agree on theology, but I've seen to much evidence to the contrary to believe that we can't all come together to do God's work on earth.

    And again:

    i'm not meaning to say that we can't work together because of our different denominations. but we can't claim that we're all members of one Church, or even that all denominations are 'equal'. we all think our denomination is a little more 'right' than the others or surely we wouldn't have chosen to be a member of it rather than another denomination. but that's beside the point really. i think the first point was the one i was hoping to make originally.

    And a reply from someone else:

    We are all part of one Church in the sense that Christ established his Church on earth in the hearts of all who call on his name as Christians. As Christians we are the Church. Denominations group like-minded people so in that function they are helpful.
    Occasionally things are said in this thread that I disagree with, but I keep the important things important: Sharing and talking about Jesus love and providing support for the broken hearts he came to save. That should always be the #1 priority here. Unless something is blatantly contrary to the Bible, err on the side of grace, mercy, and understanding, not an argument.
    Everyone's been very good about that so far so don't at all take that as me calling anybody out, I just
    thought it might need re-emphasis. :)

    And:
    Amen.
    That's one of the things I really love about this thread. In all the time I've been here [coming up on a year and a half], everyone's been pretty good about that. I honestly can't think of a single time when a conversation here has turned into a messy fight. The potential has been there, but I don't remember it ever happening, and that's more than I can say for most churches I've been a part of.
    "Jesus Christ is the gravitational pull that brings everything together and gives them significance, reality, and meaning. Without him, all things lose their value. Without him, all things are but detached pieces floating around in space.
    It is possible to emphasize a spiritual truth, value, virtue, or gift, yet miss Christ . . . who is the embodiment and incarnation of all spiritual truth, values, virtues, and gifts.
    Seek a truth, a value, a virtue, or a spiritual gift, and you have obtained something dead.
    Seek Christ, embrace Christ, know Christ, and you have touched him who is Life. And in him resides all Truth, Values, Virtues and Gifts in living color. Beauty has its meaning in the beauty of Christ, in whom is found all that makes us lovely and loveable." Here. Interesting reading, but I thought I'd share just that part.




    Now the question is: Why can't all Christians discuss things so civilly? This is a group of pre-teens and teenagers. The oldest person there was 22. Now, why is it that these people are more capable of having a civil conversation about our differing views than most people I've met in churches?


Sunday, 30 August 2009

  • A friend said something today that really resonated with me. She was talking with someone about how God anwers our prayers:

    "He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry." - Psalm 147:9
    ^ If the Lord gives to the ravens (who cry out in cracked voices, without even articulating what they need), then how much more will He graciously give us, His precious children, redeemed with the blood of His Son.

    And isn't that me, more often than not? I cry out with a broken spirit, unable to identify or put words to anything I'm feeling, only knowing that something is wrong.

    God answers anyway.

Thursday, 06 August 2009

  • And the college search is on.

    It is ridiculously difficult to find a Christian school with a good science program. This is possibly because:
    • My definition of "Christian school" is quite a bit more restrictive than most folks'. I'm picky, what can I say?
    • Religion...Science. Religion...Science. No wonder it's so difficult! More people should listen to Tony Campolo, who said "Evangelicals shouldn't be afraid of science. There are many ways Einstein's theory of relativity can be applied to the Cross."
    • My search is limited to nearby, per my mother's request.
    I'm pretty sure I've got my final four three list. Now I just have to go visiting places [how fun].
    • Eastern University, St Davids, PA
    • Liberty University, Lynchberg, VA
    • Messiah College, Grantham, PA. Also has a Philadelphia campus.
    • Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
    I need to visit to make sure, but I'll probably be applying to all of them. Rutgers is last choice, but if I make it into their Honors Neuroscience program it's a definite consideration because of the in-state tuition. Messiah and Liberty probably fall ahead of Eastern on the list, which is a definite dream school but doesn't have as great of a science program. Messiah and Liberty have both got pre-med [though one has a bigger program], and I don't remember which is which, but one has a criminal justice program and the other has forensics. Also, Messiah has Heather. :) It's my top school at the moment, but as I said, I need to visit.

    ...I forgot how much I hated doing this. Blehhhh. :P


sparrowesque

  • Visit sparrowesque's Xanga Site
    • Name: Jacquelyn
    • Birthday: 12/20/1989
    • Gender: Female
    • Member Since: 8/3/2007

Connect

Weblog Archives

Don't worry - your calendar is here… to see it in action just click "Save" above and refresh the page.

Top Tags - Weblog