I didn't leave the church, the church left me.

( My story)  

 Every two, years the Presbyterian Church USA's highest governing body, the General Assembly holds a meeting where delegates from Presbyteries throughout the country convene to review issues of importance to the church. Some issues involve disciplinary matters, some involve if or how the church should respond to problems and political issues found nationally and in the world, and some involve the Book of Order and how the church should respond to the God's gift of Grace through the sacrifice of God's Son Jesus Christ on the Cross for the sins of the world.

"Decently and in Order" 

I am and member and elder of the Presbyterian Church USA or PCUSA as the acronym goes. Over the last decade two, I think the words "Politically Correct" seem to fit better as a description of the organization rather than "Presbyterian Church" For years, the PCUSA has embraced Liberal and Socialist philosophies and have distanced itself from scriptural topics like sin and redemption from humankind's sinful nature.

Despite the church's bent toward liberalism and socialism, there always seemed like there was room at the proverbial table for differing viewpoints. Over the years, I have had many spirited and sometime heated debates over theological viewpoints with my Presbyterian brothers and sisters in Christ. These discussions have always ended civilly and hard feelings if there were any didn't last too long.

Although I was born and raised within the United Methodist Church, becoming a member of the Presbyterian Church was not a difficult transition for me. One aspect that set the Presbyterian Church apart from other denominations, I learned, was the PCUSA believed in the Sovereignty of God. If a Presbyterian was asked, "When were you saved?" the answer answer was when Jesus died on the Cross at Calvary.

"The Holy Wild vs. The Frozen Chosen"

While I generally liked the freedom of thought and freedom to question encouraged by within the PCUSA, in addition to the Sovereignty of God pillar, there were other aspects of the church that I had trouble accepting. One aspect was Contemporary Christian music.

Contemporary Christian Music or CCM made a profound difference in my life and it helped me accept God and Jesus in my life during the career challenges I faced a few years after I got married. A station called KLTY 94.9 FM located in Dallas, Texas played that format and I found the signal while scanning the FM radio dial for a station to listen to. This music connected to me at a deep level. Not only that, it brought the love of Jesus out from the Church and captured my heart.

During one depressing drive around Pine Springs Drive and Bryan Ave in a Central Texas City, I realized while sitting at a long traffic light that my plan for life, was not working. My career as an advertising executive at an local radio station was not working out as I had thought it would. I wasn't making much money. My wife was going to graduate school. I was making sales calls in a car that was brand new 4 or 5 years prior and it was having mechanical problems.

That day, I called out to God and promised I would follow Him and his blessed Son Jesus. I decided to trust Scripture and his word from them on. I rested in his Word. I felt like this was a significant turning point for me. Turns out it was a huge turning point in my life.

Things didn't improve right away but this new path gave me strength and peace to face each day.

A few years later after moving down the road another town, my wife and I joined the church denomination of her childhood and we became members of the Presbyterian Church there.

Over the years, I made many friends at our new church. It was a vibrant church with lots of activities for the members and also participated in a number of mission outreach efforts. Despite some substantial political differences I had with our pastor there, the church was accepting and I grew spiritually there. The only thing that I did not get to experience was go on a church mission trip abroad. That is still an experience I have yet to have.

Still there were some lingering differences with how I embraced a life of faith and the way many of my Presbyterians lived the faith. When the discussion of Contemporary Christian Music came up, I often received disparaging remarks about that type of music. Some claimed, on balance that type of Christian Music lacked theological depth. Other just hated it.

During one online response melee about CCM, I defended the music with " It is right to give our thanks and praise." which is part of the litany said before taking Communion. To this day, I have found no better defense of CCM than that.

Often times, I felt like I wanted to get excited about the faith and do something bold for Jesus. During my years in that area, I even participated in a  non-denominational jail ministry program where participants would go inside jail facilities and read the Bible, talk about the Christian faith and worship behind those heavy locked doors.

I also grew spiritually on a few occasions visiting sick members of our church at the hospital. One member, who was also a business acquaintance of mine in the community became terminally ill. I started visiting Joe (not his real name) frequently.

I don't recall a specific experience or encounter, but I felt like the Presbyterian response to my enthusiasm was, "Now, don't get too excited." or " You'll have to get something like that approved by Session." Getting things approved by session wasn't impossible, but new ideas would sometimes be met with some resistance.

Speaking of the Session, which is the local governing body of individual Presbyterian Churches, I served an an Ruling Elder on Session at two respective Churches I was a member of. Serving on session was work and often unexciting work.I am not critical of the time I spend on the two Sessions but to refer to it as a mountaintop experience would not be remotely accurate.

Small Town, Church Times 

After 8 years of living at our first home and being active members at First Presbyterian Church, my wife received a job offer in a small town in the Southwest Texas Hill Country. We found the First Presbyterian Church there to be a close knit group of members connected generally to four or five main families who had historic connections with the church there.

While the church was smaller than our previous church, we asked ourselves, "How can this church hope to grow if people like us don't join it?"

Living in a small Southwestern Texas Hill Country town, most people drove to church in pickup trucks. The church still sang out of the old Red Presbyterian Hymnal which I liked because the words to the old traditional hymns had not had the gender scrubbed from the hymns' words.

Fast Forward to the Rubicon 

Once while serving as a Ruling Elder on the Session at our small town Church, I offered to drive San Antonio to attend the quarterly Presbytery meeting. Since Presbytery is held over two days, Friday and Saturday, I was only able to attend the Saturday part of the event. 

I found out that the church I attended had only one voting elder attending and I was not it. I couldn't blame the church for registering another Elder with voting privileges as I could only attend one of the two days of the meeting. I had limited vacation days and I did not want to use one of my vacation days so I could attend a Presbytery meeting. I do remember seeing two microphones set up in Church sanctuary where the meeting was being held. Most but not all of the seats were filled. 

One man stood up and went to a microphone and addressed officers and the crowd. I remember him saying. "I support Single Payer Healthcare in the United States." or something close to that. I was not really happy hearing someone push a liberal political position like that in a church setting. 

Afterward, I started paying closer attention to what was going on at Presbytery and also at the National General Assembly level of the church. I was horrified how often, liberal  and socialist political positions would be pushed an accepted position of the Church.

After contacting a conservative pastor whom I trusted that once served as our churches Interim Pastor, I found out that the PCUSA has a long history of taking Leftist political positions and trying to affect political change in U.S. Politics.

Several years ago when President Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress made a push to pass Obamacare into law, I discovered to my horror that the PCUSA had aligned with a number of other liberal denominations to rally behind the passage of this law. I was livid.

I fired off an email letter to the PCUSA national offices located in Louisville, KY. Never got a reply back.

Earlier this year, I knew that the PCUSA would be holding General Assembly in June. In previous years, I often followed news reports from the General Assembly. I just waited and hoped that the national church body would not let their leftist Bull run through the denomination's positions and keep the Book of Order in relative tact.

This past week, the PCUSA leftist Bull was unleashed and tore through the denomination with a vengeance. With the advent of Twitter and the Internet, I was able to follow the proceedings closely. I knew as the days wore on that a dark force within the denomination was hell-bent on approving gay marriage within the church. Not only was gay marriage approved, but also divestment from certain

Black, White and Gray All Over

 Subtitle: The graying content of local news

  As a Gen-X digital journalist, I grew up reading the local newspaper, which at the time was the Southwest Times Record in Fort Smith, Arkansas, even as a high school senior, I wrote a few Letters to the Editor. 

  Having relocated to Uvalde, Texas area in 2006, I worked for 11 years at the Uvalde Leader-News selling retail display advertising to local businesses. I left the newspaper for many reasons, but mainly because there seemed to be no upward advancement opportunities, and the customer base was shrinking, and the industry was changing. 

  Upon putting in my notice to leave, I knew there was no future for me there. I was tired of them, and they were tired of me. Uvalde was the smallest market I ever had worked in and looking back I don't know how I was able to stay there for as long as I did. At the beginning of 2018, I hit a dead end in my current career path. 

  After taking a break and taking a stepping stone job as the Director's Assistant at the Herby Ham Activity Center I wasn't clear what I should do next.

  Four years later on February 14th, 2022, I started the online news magazine called the Uvalde Hesperian.

  The local newspaper is still around. I do pick it up every Sunday, to see what news they are reporting, 

  Something that I noticed not only with the local Uvalde newspaper but also the Temple Daily Telegram which I read when I visited my wife's parents who live in Temple. Texas is where most of the news is written for and about people over 60 years old. 

  I suspect this trend of geriatric journalism, like arthritis, is seeping into the reporter's keyboards and news budgets. 

  For example, the local paper loves to write "remember when": articles reminiscing the quaint bucolic perspectives of a seemingly similar time. 

  The publisher of the local paper reveals his age when bringing up the Watergate Scandal and a number of other lived through periods of history that only a person in his/her 70's would remember clearly. 

  As far as the news goes, on the Front Page of today's Sunday, November 24th Thanksgiving Issue about a 100-year-old local great grandmother standing in front of a fireplace hearth with many pictures of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren,

 Other news pictures are feature the newsmakers nearly all over 50 years old,

The ads that I do see are mainly institutional ads from local banks, the Uvalde Memorial Hospital and 

funeral homes to name a few. There are few "sale" ads and ads for small businesses. 

As someone who is 2 years shy of 6, I know myself that I have one foot in the news-age quicksand. 

I do think being aware of the problem is half of the solution. I combat that gray news trap by staying involved in the community and surrounding myself with younger adults and listening to their perspectives and problems and inviting others to submit articles

I also am embracing the new technology and digital news. The Uvalde Hesperian even has an App.

While I know I can't help getting older, I can try to keep my mind young and provide a platform for younger generations to publish their news.

 

 

The Government works just like the Claw Machines - Both are rigged

I just realized that the claw machines found in the front of grocery stores work very much like the the US Federal Government. Both are rigged to promise goodies that aren't delivered and solutions to problems that seldom to never get fixed. Sure both the claw inside the machine makes an attempt but all too often the claw is too weak to grab the stuffed animal.

Elected politicians do the same thing, reaching for a solution to the poor economy, lack of jobs, racism, terrorism, lack of care at the VA. Voters put their quarters in the machine or votes for their representative. The claw comes down for the fix and it may grasp the solution temporarily only to drop it.

However, both the claw machine and the government does provide something. The claw grabs the stuffed bear and then drops the prize down the shoot to the player who is thrilled. Forget that he/she spent several dollars to win the inexpensive toy or trinket. Likewise the Federal Government actually does something like pass a helpful law. Elected representatives provide some pork for his/her constituents, yet, like the claw machine are few and far between.

Put another dollar's worth of quarters into the system and the claw will get the stuffed animal. Vote for the Democrats and Republicans again and this time they will actually get things done, except they don't. It's the 2016 presidential election and the machine is promising the goodies again.

Both the are machines and both are rigged.

My letter to the Editor of Fort Smith Arkansas Southwest Times Record

Dear Editor, 

    As an 1985 graduate from Southside High School, I never imagined our class' 30th anniversary would coincide with the recent Fort Smith Public School board's decision to rid our high school of our mascot, Johnny Reb and our fight song, Dixie. Perhaps it was an effort to cave to those political forces in our nation today in an effort to be perceived as good people to those wanting power and control and not symbolic olive branches.

   Those who bear an unquenchable anger about our nation's history and founding are emboldened by decisions like the one made by this school board. Actions of appeasement are a signal to grievance bullies to continue pushing political correctness and censorship on free individuals. 

   I would like the school board to understand that censorship is not civility. Furthermore, censoring the symbols of history dishonors those brave men and women that fought and died to preserve our precious God given rights and freedoms. Such actions taken so close to Independence Day are disturbing to me. What will the history of our nation look like once the disturbing and offensive parts are blotted out? 

   As a student, I played trombone in the Southside band at many football and basketball games. I can say racism was not even remotely part of the spirit for me or the vast majority of anyone else I knew. The Southside teams' name, the Rebels, and the song Dixie were rallying aspects of teamwork, excellence, friendship and school spirit:good qualities! Like the verse in Dixie; old times there, (at Southside High School) are not forgotten! 

   It is wrong to tie Southside with the horrific church massacre in South Carolina. The accused perpetrator, now in custody, is not an alumni of our school nor does he represent us. People of all races are mourning the deaths of those at that South Carolina church. 

   While there are good people with different views on this, I believe changing the mascot, fight song and identity of the school will be deeply hurtful to me and the many students who attended Southside High School. 

   My times at Southside were not always fun or enjoyable, yet I have good memories and friends from those years.

   I ask those serving on the school board to reconsider this decision. 

Michael Robinson 

Knippa, Texas 

Comment Debate with an Athiest

Recently, a person identifying as an atheist took issue with a comment I left on YouTube video many months ago, I have found that some atheists consider Christians and persons of other religions to hold believes which cannot be intellectually defended and thus are easy marks for an atheist ridicule.

I have found over the years one of the best ways to grow in my own faith is to ask hard questions and engage others who threaten to shake the foundations of my beliefs. I look forward to opportunities to engage others with different viewpoints as mine in order to sharpen my wit and exercise my ability to engage in critically reasoning pertaining to my religious beliefs.

For those atheist bullies out there wishing to kick the skeptical beach sand in my theological beliefs, I have found the best way to deal with them is to face them.

That being said,  The conversation I had with this atheist was respectful and generally civil in nature, He brought up some good points,

I will say it is difficult to keep track of the discussion on a YouTube comment section. It is easy to miss things and the written replies are easily missed.  I would have preferred holding the following conversation on an email platform.

In looking back on our debate, I regret not following through further with the teen pregnancy issue and offering more discussion about the possible connection between the poverty percentage states and religion. Yet as you can see below, the conversation we had was somewhat extensive.


Atheist: Yeah, and it turns out when we observe people in the world around us the religious people are the ones causing most of the harm.
  Especially by your own moral standards, go look up where the most porn is viewed in the United States, ironically it's the bible belt.  Or how about the states with the most teen pregnancy all very highly statistically populated by Christians.  Or the prison population in the U.S. mostly religious people, the amount of atheist that are incarcerated is minimal percentage wise.  I can keep going too, how about the divorce rate when you compare religious people to the non religious.. 
Me: 

Perhaps the reason atheists make up a minimal percentage of persons who are incarcerated is because atheists make up approximately 2.4% of the population in the US: http://pewrsr.ch/1gRaCXh
Let me regress a bit: You assert that the religious people in the world are causing the most harm.
Doctrines and beliefs of world religions vary greatly . I would assert a small number of  particular religions: ie: Radical Islam that are causing the most harm. However if one considers the murderous regime of Stalin under atheistic fascism to represent atheism, then I'm not sure what group- Islam or Stalin would win the prize for the most harm done in the world throughout history.
Interesting how you bring up my moral standards. Tell me, what do you know about them?
On the example of Christians watching porn, are you implying that being religious makes one morally better in some way?. I wish it were the case. Christians often fall to temptation sin and temptation. The hope a Christian has is to admit these shortcomings and strive to repent with the help of Jesus Christ.There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
 It is faith which saves a follower of Jesus, not works.

Regarding the Christian divorce rate: http://bit.ly/1jQH6Dh

Athiest: Ohh so you don't like it when the shoe is on the other foot?  I noticed you didn't mention teen pregnancy?

Me: Teen pregnancy or or sex outside of marriage is just a temptation to which some Christians yield. Sadly, It is part of the overall sin sick human condition. Again, Christians fall prey to sin and evil. Yet as Christians we are called to repent. People of faith are imperfect and depend on a perfect Savior Jesus Christ for redemption and salvation. Some realize the human condition is flawed and compromised by sin. 

Atheist:

You do recognize that the states with the highest teen pregnancy rates are also some of the most religious correct?  And the states that are less religious have far fewer teen pregnancy's.

Me:

I don't necessarily accept the premise you are offering. It would help if you could list the states you say have the highest teen pregnancy rates. Also, What does religiously correct mean anyway? Please define. There could be other factors such as the poverty in those states, high school graduation rates,  and many other factors besides "religiosity" behind those higher teen pregnancy rates. See:  http://bit.ly/1cyPe72

Athiest: You're correct, but the most impoverished states are also some of the most religious as well, meaning the majority of the population identify as Christian.

Me: Please provide a list of states to which you are referring. Again correlation does not necessarily indicate causality. 

Atheist: How about Arkansas or Kentucky. Why don't you go look it up as I suggested at first?

Athiest:  Here.

Top 10 states with highest teen birth rates:
Mississippi , New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Nevada, Kentucky, Georgia.

Top 10 most conservatively religious states: Mississippi , Alabama , South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana  Utah , Arkansas, North Carolina, KentuckyOklahoma

Atheist: http://www.livescience.com/5728-teen-birth-rates-higher-highly-religious-states.html

Athiest:

It's so convenient that Christians can just repent, I actually find this act immoral because they use it as a loop hole so they can do whatever they want without accountability or consideration towards others. It doesn't matter what they do as long as god forgives them. All accountability to others goes out the window especially when it comes to the way they treat others outside of there own religion. It's like they think they have a free pass to be assholes to anyone and everyone. To me it's a huge joke, Christianity is not moral in my eye's it's divisive at best. It's down right harmful to society it's a plague to us all.

Me:

The type of repentance you describe, the loop hole kind comes from a misunderstanding of scripture and the teachings of Jesus Christ.

 It is called Cheap Grace and yes, it is indeed damaging and it also not how the process of true repentance works. Paul wrote about it in the book of
Romans:What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

I can see how those that are looking at professed Christians would be turned off by such behavior. Other Christians are turned off by it too. 

Repentance is humbling, often difficult and emotionally painful process. Amends must be made and  consequences if any accepted and forgiveness asked. Also someone who repents makes an honest effort to turn in another direction away from the sin or error. 

Atheist: 

I'm glad you brought poverty up as well, it only provides more evidence in my favor to support my position.
1. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and the U.S. Census Bureau would indicate a correlation between high levels of poverty and large concentrations of religious Americans. For instance, the Pew Forum lists Mississippi as the most religious state, with 82% saying religion is very important in their lives. The state also has the highest percentage of poor people in the country (20.8%).
 No. 2 in terms of poverty is Louisiana (17.6%), which ranks fourth on the religious scale. With the exception of Oklahoma, the rest of the top 10 most religious states are all found in the South: Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Kentucky. All of these states rank near the top for highest concentrations of poor people, ranging from 14.6% to 17.3%

Me: Thank you for the list of states and the link. I will review the material. No more time tonight though. Thank you for the lively discussion. 

Athiest: No problem. I was eating earlier when you asked me to do that. Sorry if I was initially grumpy, I get hangry sometimes. :D

 Have a good night!

Thanks same here, I forgot one more thing to add to that one list on poverty.
At the other end of the scale, New Hampshire, which has the lowest poverty level, also has the lowest percentage of citizens for whom religion is very important: 36% (when combined with Vermont). The second least religious state, Alaska, has the fifth lowest poverty rate.

Me: Oh, Ok! Have a good day. I read your link to the article. Will try to post a comment later. I'm getting ready for work. 

Atheist:

 I was doing some research here and it turns out Atheist are also more intelligent then Theist.  Atheist tend to be better critical thinkers and dismiss claims that are not rational (AKA) religion.
   I think a lot of it has to do with how people come to knowledge, many theist will say they came to knowledge by faith and we know that faith is belief without evidence.  Critical thinking goes out the window when you start using faith as a way of knowing things.
  If one examines how they obtained the knowledge of there belief I've found many people are very close to becoming Atheist.

IT looks to me like people are becoming less religious at this point in time in our part of the world. the data backs that up as well.
  http://priceonomics.com/america-is-becoming-less-religious-secular/  I don't know who these people are that you think are about to become religious, all the statistics say otherwise.  It seems +john hammond is right people aren't turning towards your religion they're turning away from it. 

Just to rubber stamp all that I can give you examples of religious leaders leaving as well.http://www.alternet.org/belief/5-religious-leaders-who-gave-faith-and-became-outspoken-atheists-and-agnostics
This is a really interesting site check this out the stories by people are an interesting read.http://clergyproject.org

Me:

So if I am reading correctly what you wrote it appears you are making the assertion that claims coming from a religious source are not rational. Also it appears your working definition of faith is belief without evidence. Correct? Also curious: how would you define evidence?

 It will be later this evening before I can read the material in your link. It appears you have used the term religious a number of times. What do you mean by the word religious? 

I do have one question for you. Do you equate disbelief with intelligence. Can some one have a attitude of disbelief without basing the disbelief on any reliable data, research and facts? Could an atheist mindset be based more on attitude than research or based on a false hypothesis. If that is the case, then is is possible that an atheist might be inclined to make a Type I or Type II error. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_I_and_type_II_errors
In reading the link you provided about Evidence, I noticed that the article states:"Evidence, broadly construed, is anything presented in support of an assertion."  The article goes on to mention the type of evidence (legal) Types of legal evidence include testimony, documentary evidence, and physical evidence. The parts of a legal case which are not in controversy are known, in general, as the "facts of the case."'I would assert that the documents, books and letters contained in the Bible and Pentateuch contains Testimony evidence, documentary evidence and even physical evidence- there are archaeologists who research archeological sites in the Middle East and have found physical evidence of the accounts of certain events written about in scripture.  Is the evidence conclusive? Perhaps not, but I think it is safe to say there is evidence and there are scholars both of the Jewish and Christian religions that study these things. 

Atheist: Yes, claims based on faith are not rational or reasonable. 

The way I see people using the word faith is as if it's a good epistemology and it's not.
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence  What do you mean?
  Religious: relating to or believing in a religion.

Me:

I am glad you clarified the working definition you are using for the word "faith". My working definition is somewhat different. I would explain faith as prescribed philosophical discipline followed for living rather than a means of revealing evidence or knowledge not currently known. In fact the word disciple is connected the word discipline. There are other religious disciplines such as Zen Buddhism. Have you ever read the Zen and Archery? I don't pretend have vast knowledge of Zen but the discipline clearly followings a prescribed philosophical parameters. Would you assert that Zen Buddhism is irrational? 

Athiest: I practice a form of Zen martial arts or Zen meditation. I have trained in martial arts for over 25 years.  You could say I'm an expert in these matters.

  Zen is a concept much like Chi in kungfu
 It's a form of meditation. It's not a way of attaining knowledge. 

Me: Very neat! I have a great respect for the Zen discipline. I sure you could teach me a thing or two about it. Likewise, my understanding of Christianity is more of a discipline than attaining knowledge. 

Athiest:

I was a christian for over 20 years as well, I grew up seeing all the big names in the 90's Ken Ham, Kent Hovind,Ray Comfort and many more. I've been on both sides of the coin you could say.
  When you say Christianity is a discipline for you, I get that.
However I would disagree that Christianity is a discipline, because you are using faith on some level to attain knowledge that a belief is true, wouldn't you agree?
  I think Christians need to be a lot more humble about there beliefs and stop proclaiming them as true without empirical evidence.

Zen is the art of going inward to attain peace ever your mind and body. Just think of the Yin-Yang that's Zen, it's about attaining balance. It's not a belief though, there is no belief required. 
  You can't tell me christianity isn't a system that requires beliefs, is that what your trying to say?

Me:

I would say Christianity does require a prospective disciple to reach a personal verdict based on the evidence presented in the books and letters contained in the old and new testament to be the "unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church Universal and God's word" to to that same person. Upon reaching a verdict, that person then freely decides whether or not to take on the yoke of discipleship of Jesus and obedience to Jesus and such as way of living is preferred over that persons default way of living. So yes, it does require belief but not based thin air but based on evidence that one is free to accept or not.

I would venture to say that someone committed to the art of Zen must have some belief in the existence of inward peace and balance and the belief that such a state can be achieved through study, meditation and discipline and such as state is preferred over that person's default way of living. Otherwise, why commit to it?

Athiest:

I'm not sure what you are trying to say about christianity? Are you saying the bible is evidence and people can choose to accept it or not? 
  We'll if that's what you're going by, why not follow all the other holy books as well?
  Just because a book say's something and people believe it, that doesn't make it true.
  You're comparing your religion to meditation I don't see any parallels.  One is a belief and the other is a physical practice nothing more it doesn't take belief it's just about relaxing basically.
  It's like comparing riding a bike to believing in Santa it doesn't even make sense.

Me:

The Bible is a collection of books and letters written by many authors within a time period of well over 1000 years.  http://www.everystudent.com/features/bible.html
I don't doubt there are other books and manuscripts of other faiths, yet can you name a comparable book writing over such a period of time by so many writers? I am not saying other books of faith do not have value or truths contained in them--They do.

It is true not everything written in a book is necessarily factual, but again, the Bible is a collection of books of the written by Jewish people and their ancestors. There exists and peculiar common thread pointing to the existence of God.  

Of course, one is free to not accept the evidence and testimony in the Bible. It's up to the each individual. As I pointed out earlier, I suspect those that flippantly dismiss profoundly historic documents are doing so because of attitude rather than scholarly research and evidence. 

Religious disciplines and ways of living often clash with the popular, if it feels good, do it hedonistic freedoms promoted by the secular worlds, so there is risk there. It has been said that Christianity is a hard, serious religion that requires a great deal from its disciples. 

I would say that Zen Buddhism is a lot more than just a way of relaxation. It requires much from those that practice it and yes, I think there is a belief component to it. Have you read Zen in the art of Archery? 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_in_the_Art_of_Archery

You are free to believe what you want to believe. 

My response to: 5 Things to Know About ISIS and the Theology of Evil by Jim Wallis

http://sojo.net/blogs/2015/02/26/5-things-know-about-isis-and-theology-evil

While Jim Wallis makes some solid points and cogent observations, his partisanship shows through his analysis particularly where he writes, "While it’s a common Fox practice to turn everything into a partisan issue against President Obama, O’Reilly is also spreading a very dangerous theology." According to Wallis , Fox News makes it a practice to turn everything into a partisan issue against Obama: everything. Really, Jim? 

Perhaps Wallis is nonplussed that Fox News does report news and commentary that is legitimately critical of President Obama's policies and actions. Such reporting is often lacking on other networks whose biases lean in support of the President and his administration. Such a statement written by Wallis runs counter to the Sojourners Comment Community Covenant (Ephesians 4:29)

While I cannot disagree that the United States Foreign Policy and previous military advances into that region have complicated and at times exacerbated political instabilities among governments, sects and tribes in the Middle East, laying that blame of these problems on our thirst and addiction for oil which in part leads to ISIS as Wallis writes, is also dangerously naive.

I do agree with Wallis it is important that the United States form military alliances from within that region to face and defeat the ISIS forces that are butchering the innocents and threatening neighbors in that region. In order to successfully do that, the United States must also bring itself correctly see ISIS as a Militant Islamic Extremist group. President Obama's refusal to acknowledge the Islamic religious component to what drives ISIS will not serve the US or its allies in defeating ISIS.

While war is an ugly thing, it is sometimes necessary to reign in an untenable situation where innocents are brutally slaughtered, raped and enslaved.

Finally, Wallis seems to imply that Governments and politicians are the only tools people have in solving world problems. Non-Governmental Organizations such as Rotary International, churches and others can also take actions and start dialogues with leaders and citizens of other countries to address other issues that fuel instability and radical extremist.

Refusing to defend civilians and neighbors in danger is not love.

Melee with an Athiest

One of the things I really enjoy doing during my relaxation time is watching YouTube videos. Over the years, I have created quite a list of favorite channels of video bloggers called Vlogs and other channels that offer some interesting takes on a variety of subjects I like.

Saturday, I saw a video made by a very thoughtful Christian blogger where he talked about getting in debates and arguments with atheists on YouTube and other online social platforms. I watched the video and thought he had some interesting thoughts on the subject.

Over the years in my own faith journey, I have engaged in debates with atheists online. I normally don't seek heated debates out, but such encounters are like sparring matches that keep me learning and growing in my faith.

Anyway, after watching the video, I posted a comment in the comment section of the video basically sharing my own thoughts with the Vlogger.

Here is my comment: Well said. I have found many of those that vehemently reject the concept of God are actually very close to believing.

It wasn't long before a atheist decided to call me out. For me it was game on: Here is the exchange:

Atheist: "So you live in Cloud Cuckoo Land then? tell me, whats the weather like in your little make believe world."

My Response: "You tell me. Better check again to verify who is living in such a world."

Athiest: "You say you can read the minds of other people? You say many of us atheists that vehemently reject the concept of God are actually very close to believing.
The only way to know that is if you could actually read their minds.
So you can come back to me and say you can read other peoples minds and show yourself up as a fool.
Or you can admit that you can't read other peoples minds and also show yourself up as a fool by stating that you could.

Can't wait to find out which one you choose?"
My Response:

I reject your premise that the only way one would be able to draw a conclusion about the tendencies of any persons or groups is for one to be able to read minds. It is a false dichotomy you are presenting and I reject it. One can draw a general conclusion by observing behavior of people and also by reading the words that people write and by listening to the words that people say. I never asserted I could read the minds of other people. The conclusions I draw are based upon gathering readily available information about individuals who self identify with a group of people-  (atheists openly hostile to theism) and encountering a number of examples where a conversion occurs with some of these individuals. It is a general personal sociological inference I stated: nothing more.  You are certainly free to disagree with my assertion. 

There you have it. Crickets sounds so far.