If you are a Browncoat and a Christian....sound-off....NO AGENDA...just curious.
POSTED BY: Stillshiny
UPDATED: Saturday, August 19, 2006 06:16
VIEWED: 15492
PAGE 8 of 8
I would suggest reading some of the crap in Troll Country if it weren't profane, disgusting, mean hearted, and mostly pointless.
And I strapped on the Troll squashing boots too. Ya can't trust a troll. Its better to ignore them as not to need a stick for cleanin' out boot treads later. The smell never goes away.
Glad you made it back.
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Cybersnark wrote:
Quote:
Raised as a Christian.
Still practicing, but my own personal form of Christianity (not much of a follower, me).
Ironically enough, I find it was my dabbling in hard science, philosophy, witchcraft, eastern religions, mythology, and the occult (and pretty much everything that the Church establishment tries to suppress/discredit/destroy) that led to my current appreciation for the Church. Hell, I think Holy Blood, Holy Grail should be taught as part of the religious curriculum (and that The DaVinci Code should be taught as an example of IP theft, but that's a whole 'nuther debate).
There are just so many layers, both to the mass and to the faith itself --layers that I'd guess most laity (and probably even a few clergy) don't even realize: the Church is a ritual space, cousin to the sweat lodge or the shaman's circle. The singing of psalms and hymns descended from the shaman's drum that synchronizes the spirits of the ritual participants, awakening them to higher consciousness. The Host is a transformation of the wiccan athame, representing the male essence to the chalice/cauldron's female essence. The blessing of the Eucharist and the transubstantiation (bread & wine into body and blood) draws on the principles of sympathetic magic. Holy Water (which should have salt in it) is a spiritual disruptor, and using it to make the sign of the cross is a purification before the ritual (which is why I refuse to dip my finger and make the sign when leaving church --it defeats the purpose, messing up the spiritual "charging" the mass ritual just established). . .
And that duel between Moses and the Pharaoh's sorcerers, with the staffs turning into serpents --I could fuel a whole research paper on the symbolic meaning of that sequence!
In general, my only problem with the Church is with the Establishment. I'm too much of a non-conformist to accept Obedience as a cardinal virtue. Can't imagine that any God worth following would prefer Hir followers to be willfully ignorant (honest ignorance, I can stomache, but willfully avoiding learning? I think that's a sin).
Officially, there are things humans are not capable of comprehending, and so it's a "sin" for us to try. I don't hold to that. I think our minds (and specifically, our imaginations) are the most critical aspects of our existence. I don't think there is anything we can't comprehend. Up to and including the mind of God. I think it's our responsibility to confront and learn from the things that most offend us. (Can you tell I grew up watching Star Trek? )
I am a Christian. I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, that he was given to us to be the perfect sacrifice, and that He carried out His earthly mission by dying for our inherent sins. Nobody should be blamed for His death; it was preordained, and without it we would all still be 'punished' for our sins -- isolated from the presence of God -- in this life and after.
Along the way from manger to cross, Jesus showed us the proper relationship between Man and God: Love others -- even your enemies -- as well as you love yourself. Treat them as you would like others to treat you. And here's the really important, the really tricky part: Don't judge the status of other people's souls, unless you're certain that you could likewise stand up to God's Judgment of the status of your soul (hint: as long as you're wearing flesh, you can't withstand the weight of your weaknesses under Judgment). He also got into a lot of trouble by vexing the religious Establishment of His day, so...
For the most part, I agree with everything Cybersnark had to say, and with more than a few other posters, as well. But C'snark in particular captured the essence of some Christian Establishment bans on the advancement of physical knowledge. God gave us a mind -- like 'Hir' own -- to use. (NB: I dig that asexual reference, and hereby 'steal' it from you.) I feel Mankind screwed the pooch and prematurely partook of the Tree of Knowledge before SHe was finished preparing us for th
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Quote:Steal away; I borrowed it from Peter David (Star Trek New Frontiers has a hermaphroditic character).
Originally posted by zoid:
(NB: I dig that asexual reference, and hereby 'steal' it from you.)
Quote:"That's why I never kiss 'em on the mouth." --Peter (or Jayne, whichever)
Unless of course one of the early founders of the Church was a woman-hater (oh, I dunno, say Paul -- "He kissed her on the mouth! I'm so jealous of her relationship with Him!' -- for instance)
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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.
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Cybersnark wrote:
Quote:
"That's why I never kiss 'em on the mouth." --Peter (or Jayne, whichever)
St. Jayne of the Bent Scope, heh-heh. Patron Saint of Untrained Man-Apes (meaning, men in general)...
v/r,
-zed
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Quote:
Originally posted by zoid:
Respectfully,
zoid
P.S.
If this came across as having an 'agenda'... Oops! Can you forgive me?
pretty much have to forgive you, being Christians and all....
That was a very interesting post... thanks
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I love how Joss tells a story. There's stuff I don't like or agree with but I love how Joss tells a story.
I am a devout Catholic Christian and a faithful Browncoat. I have learned so much about other people and what they believe. The world is full of a great diversity of people, from around the world, different religions and beliefs.
Most of all I love how Joss tells a story.
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