It seems that I have taken up being a Bishop of controversial topics and this one will be no different. But at the same time, it should be enlightening for most.
I referred to Good Friday as also Black Friday. Black Friday is one of the other names for that day. I find myself often saying Black Friday instead of Good Friday. There is a reason. Not all good came from Jesus's crucifixion. According to most Christian traditions, Jesus died for the sins of humanity, but let's say for a moment he didn't.
What if he was actually showing us through his Crucifixion our sins. After all, his first of seven sayings on the cross was "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34. Is that not saying to God that we have sinned by crucifying an innocent man? Some would come back with the fact that Jesus prophesied that his death was essential for the salvation of humanity. Did we possible misinterpret that though? We assumed that it was because he took our sins. This will help support my cause even more. Luke 23:28 "At one point Jesus turned to the women and said, 'Daughters of Jerusalem, don't cry for me. Cry for yourselves and for your children.'"
"Cry for yourselves", interesting statement for someone who died for our sins. The passage goes on to state that they who do not have children should be lucky. Why would they be lucky to not have children if we were coming into a day of "salvation" of our sins?
Let's backtrack a little here for a quick moment. Jesus was preaching God's love for everyone. What made him deserve any less? Now some people will be quick to point fingers and blame the Jewish community. "Oh, they are the one's who crucified him", and so forth. However, others had a say and chose to let a murderer go free instead. Not all of them were Jewish who "voted" by cheering for his Jesus's crucifixion.
So now we get to "place blame" onto those outside the Jewish community, but we still aren't done yet. If those who lined the streets weren't all Jewish why didn't they rally to support Jesus? Instead they spat on him, cursed him, laughed at him, and wouldn't help him. Wait, there is one person who did help, Simon from Cyrene. He was ordered to carry the cross, but he didn't refuse or fuss. For a moment, Simon bore the weight of the fate of humanity. He carried the cross out of love and compassion for Jesus all the way to Skull Hill. This is loving your neighbor. The cross was too heavy for Jesus to carry and Simon "loved his neighbor" and carried it all the way.
Now they reached Skull Hill and the Romans began the actual art of crucifying. With each nail driven into the body was the fate of human sins. They no longer loved, they longed for a show. They stood around the cross taunting Jesus, "Then let him get down from that cross. We'll all become believers then!" Matthew 27:42. Even the "criminals" who were crucified beside him mocked him. Wow. At this point why save anyone from their sins?
What we seem to forget is what happens next. Jesus "died" on the cross and the sun went black in the sky, the earth quaked, the Temple curtain ripped top to bottom, and tombs opened. Does this sound like our sins were redeemed? It sounds like justice to me. God was getting vengeance for crucifying a messenger. Everyone was scared to death. I always pictured "salvation" to be a little more peaceful and calm, didn't you?
Perhaps it is because Jesus didn't actually die for our sins. He died because of our sins to show us how we are wrong in our actions. It is not okay to take pleasure in others sorrow. It is not okay to accuse the innocent. It is not okay to bare false witness against your neighbor. Mostly it is not okay to hate/dislike/mistreat others, including your God.
These are the sins that are brought to light when you really look at Black Friday. We should be remembering his crucifixion as our own towards one another and ourselves. It should be a day of love, respect, and compassion. Once we start following and believing that, Black Friday will once again be Good Friday.
In Faith,
+Isaac
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Clarification to last post
I want to make one thing very clear. The last post "God may love, but the Roman Catholic Church may not" was directed at the Pope, Bishops, and Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. It was also directed at the politicians in America. This is a letter to help pull the wool off of their eyes and allow them to see clearly.
Let me make it perfectly clear. Nowhere did I state that ALL Roman Catholics were to blame. I did mention that there are some who do not fully believe what is being demanded of them, but they fear excommunication if they break from their orders. This is their internal struggle that they must fight and no one else.
I do understand that there are several other religions out there that have taken a few of the same stances as the Roman Catholic Church. Not so much with Reiki, but with same-sex marriage. This letter is for them as well. The only problem is that the Roman Catholic Church is so large and places themselves in the "lime light" on a weekly basis. That is why I directed it to them.
I hope that this helps with those few who needed clarification and expressed it. I will have to say that support for this has been very overwhelming and I want to personally thank all of you for that.
And remember, God loves EVERYONE!
In Faith!
+Isaac
Let me make it perfectly clear. Nowhere did I state that ALL Roman Catholics were to blame. I did mention that there are some who do not fully believe what is being demanded of them, but they fear excommunication if they break from their orders. This is their internal struggle that they must fight and no one else.
I do understand that there are several other religions out there that have taken a few of the same stances as the Roman Catholic Church. Not so much with Reiki, but with same-sex marriage. This letter is for them as well. The only problem is that the Roman Catholic Church is so large and places themselves in the "lime light" on a weekly basis. That is why I directed it to them.
I hope that this helps with those few who needed clarification and expressed it. I will have to say that support for this has been very overwhelming and I want to personally thank all of you for that.
And remember, God loves EVERYONE!
In Faith!
+Isaac
Saturday, April 4, 2009
God may love you, but the Roman Catholic church may not
As you can tell from the title, if you are catholic you may want to stop reading now. If you are a Catholic with an open mind you should be fine.
I was excited to hear that equal rights is finally finding its way around the United States. Just yesterday Iowa joined ranks with a very select few states in legalizing gay marriage. Now here is the part that makes me sick. I had a say the word "Gay Marriage". Why must it be Marriage and Gay Marriage? Why must we characterize the difference of these two? Isn't marriage just that, marriage? What is marriage really?
When you look up "marriage" on Wiktionary you get several definitions.
1. The state of being married
2. The union of two people, to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.
3. A wedding
4. A close union.
5. A joining of two parts
6. (poker slang) A king and a queen as a starting hand in Texas hold'em
Now tell me where does it state that marriage is defined as "a union between a man and a women". It doesn't. Do you know why? That is because it is a religious definition that has clouded our personal judgments and corrupted our legal systems. We, in the United States, are a country of opportunity and change. We are a country of equality and freedom. This is what we tell other countries, but where is that equality and freedom? Where is the opportunity to marry who you choose?
I saw a sign on the internet that a person was holding in Vermont that stuck to me. I don't fully recall the exact wording but it goes something like this, "if we're equal would you trade your marriage for my civil union?" How real is that?
Now I want to start my real bitch-fest about the Roman Catholic church. Iowa gets this historic moment and the Roman Catholic church has to destroy it. Their Bishop's have decided to send a letter out immediately attacking the news. They have to make comments in this statement like, "This decision rejects the wisdom of thousands of years of human history. It implements a novel understanding of marriage, which will grievously harm families and children."
How does equal rights for everyone "grievously harm families and children"? Is it because we are sharing God's second law that Jesus came to enforce "love everyone". The real reason is we are coming into an age where the Roman Catholic church's oppressions aren't being heard anymore. We are starting to believe as King Henry VIII did, perhaps the Roman Catholic church is wrong and not everyone else. The Roman Catholic Church has not existed since the beginning of time. Actually they have only existed since 32AD.
The sad part is that this isn't the first act of hatred from the Catholic church this month. Let us not forget that just last week they decided to come after Reiki practitioners. They declared that Reiki was basically placing demons into people because it wasn't "God's way". If that wasn't bad enough, the week prior we had the Pope declaring that condoms promote AIDs while visiting Africa.
Although it would be a noble thing to become involved in a cause, these are not the ones that the Roman Catholic church should have chosen to become involved in. Perhaps instead of all of their condemning they have done in the last month, they should had decided to be involved in the Holocaust instead of enforcing their theory of non-involvement. They should have been completely condemning of the so-called aryan perfect race who practically single handedly, at the orders of a dictator named Adolf Hitler, annihilated a race of God loving, compassionate, people in Poland during WWII. Perhaps they should have been involved in halting the children’s crusades centuries ago in the name of their God that destroyed hundreds of thousands of tiny children. Perhaps an alternative therapy such as Reiki should be left alone by the Roman Catholic church as it helps and not hurts one single soul unlike the vile statements, innuendos, and misnomers perpetrated by the Roman Catholic church in the name of their God.
The Roman Catholic church with their definitions of marriage and their hatred towards the gay community is setting the world back. They are setting us back to a time of hated. Where does the difference lie between using the words "gay marriage" vs "marriage", "faggot" vs "homosexual", and "niger" vs "human"? These are derogatory, hateful words that come from closed minded thinking and not practicing God's law of "love everyone". We need to transgress towards a time of peace, equality, and understanding. I’m sorry about the off colored words, but I want to stress my point even though these words are not in my vocabulary.
Let us not forget, “let he who is without sin cast the first stone”. The Roman Catholic church should be taking a cold hard look at themselves and their place through history to the present day. Those who are of the same sex, who love one another, should not only have the right legally, but in faith, to be married to the one they love. Even in the eyes of God and in whatever house God inhabits. “Gay marriage” is not an abomination unlike the pedophilia that we have witnessed several times from the Roman Catholic church.
Perhaps the upper echelon of the Roman Catholic church should hold themselves to the same judgmental limited standards as they view the rest of the world. Let us not forget what makes a good religious leader according to Timothy I 3:1-7 “…A leader must be well-thought-of…”. When you lead your flock astray in such ways, how can you be “well thought of“?
God loves me. God is compassionate. God is non-judgmental. God celebrates friendships, brotherhoods and love. What I have come to realize is that God and the image of the Roman Catholic church’s God are two entirely different Creators. Since when are we suppose to fear a God that Christ came down and instructed us to love because he loves us. The Roman Catholic church wants you to fear God and in turn fear them, since they are the “Successors of Peter“ and the “Rock that Christ built his Church upon“. Their beliefs of this sort of practice regarding “do but do not question” is a way of old that we need to no longer accept as today‘s standards. Then there are those rarities in the Roman Catholic church, whose open minded Bishops and Priest are now being threatened with excommunication should they perform a “gay marriage”.
Although many of us are fascinated by the ritual, beautiful ceremony, the pomp & circumstance that we see coming from the Vatican, we must be reminded that all that glitters is not gold. All that is beautiful on the surface can be ugly on the inside. What appears to be beautiful on the surface is only camouflaging the rotting stench of hatred and prejudice. This is the what "grievously harms families and children".
When does it all end? When do they learn that God's mission was to promote love and understanding not hatred and division. I just want to tell everyone who is suffering from this foolishness, God loves everyone. I want to say it again. God loves everyone. EVERYONE. So the next time that you are looking for that right religion just remember, God may love you, but the Roman Catholic church may not.
In Faith,
+Isaac
I was excited to hear that equal rights is finally finding its way around the United States. Just yesterday Iowa joined ranks with a very select few states in legalizing gay marriage. Now here is the part that makes me sick. I had a say the word "Gay Marriage". Why must it be Marriage and Gay Marriage? Why must we characterize the difference of these two? Isn't marriage just that, marriage? What is marriage really?
When you look up "marriage" on Wiktionary you get several definitions.
1. The state of being married
2. The union of two people, to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.
3. A wedding
4. A close union.
5. A joining of two parts
6. (poker slang) A king and a queen as a starting hand in Texas hold'em
Now tell me where does it state that marriage is defined as "a union between a man and a women". It doesn't. Do you know why? That is because it is a religious definition that has clouded our personal judgments and corrupted our legal systems. We, in the United States, are a country of opportunity and change. We are a country of equality and freedom. This is what we tell other countries, but where is that equality and freedom? Where is the opportunity to marry who you choose?
I saw a sign on the internet that a person was holding in Vermont that stuck to me. I don't fully recall the exact wording but it goes something like this, "if we're equal would you trade your marriage for my civil union?" How real is that?
Now I want to start my real bitch-fest about the Roman Catholic church. Iowa gets this historic moment and the Roman Catholic church has to destroy it. Their Bishop's have decided to send a letter out immediately attacking the news. They have to make comments in this statement like, "This decision rejects the wisdom of thousands of years of human history. It implements a novel understanding of marriage, which will grievously harm families and children."
How does equal rights for everyone "grievously harm families and children"? Is it because we are sharing God's second law that Jesus came to enforce "love everyone". The real reason is we are coming into an age where the Roman Catholic church's oppressions aren't being heard anymore. We are starting to believe as King Henry VIII did, perhaps the Roman Catholic church is wrong and not everyone else. The Roman Catholic Church has not existed since the beginning of time. Actually they have only existed since 32AD.
The sad part is that this isn't the first act of hatred from the Catholic church this month. Let us not forget that just last week they decided to come after Reiki practitioners. They declared that Reiki was basically placing demons into people because it wasn't "God's way". If that wasn't bad enough, the week prior we had the Pope declaring that condoms promote AIDs while visiting Africa.
Although it would be a noble thing to become involved in a cause, these are not the ones that the Roman Catholic church should have chosen to become involved in. Perhaps instead of all of their condemning they have done in the last month, they should had decided to be involved in the Holocaust instead of enforcing their theory of non-involvement. They should have been completely condemning of the so-called aryan perfect race who practically single handedly, at the orders of a dictator named Adolf Hitler, annihilated a race of God loving, compassionate, people in Poland during WWII. Perhaps they should have been involved in halting the children’s crusades centuries ago in the name of their God that destroyed hundreds of thousands of tiny children. Perhaps an alternative therapy such as Reiki should be left alone by the Roman Catholic church as it helps and not hurts one single soul unlike the vile statements, innuendos, and misnomers perpetrated by the Roman Catholic church in the name of their God.
The Roman Catholic church with their definitions of marriage and their hatred towards the gay community is setting the world back. They are setting us back to a time of hated. Where does the difference lie between using the words "gay marriage" vs "marriage", "faggot" vs "homosexual", and "niger" vs "human"? These are derogatory, hateful words that come from closed minded thinking and not practicing God's law of "love everyone". We need to transgress towards a time of peace, equality, and understanding. I’m sorry about the off colored words, but I want to stress my point even though these words are not in my vocabulary.
Let us not forget, “let he who is without sin cast the first stone”. The Roman Catholic church should be taking a cold hard look at themselves and their place through history to the present day. Those who are of the same sex, who love one another, should not only have the right legally, but in faith, to be married to the one they love. Even in the eyes of God and in whatever house God inhabits. “Gay marriage” is not an abomination unlike the pedophilia that we have witnessed several times from the Roman Catholic church.
Perhaps the upper echelon of the Roman Catholic church should hold themselves to the same judgmental limited standards as they view the rest of the world. Let us not forget what makes a good religious leader according to Timothy I 3:1-7 “…A leader must be well-thought-of…”. When you lead your flock astray in such ways, how can you be “well thought of“?
God loves me. God is compassionate. God is non-judgmental. God celebrates friendships, brotherhoods and love. What I have come to realize is that God and the image of the Roman Catholic church’s God are two entirely different Creators. Since when are we suppose to fear a God that Christ came down and instructed us to love because he loves us. The Roman Catholic church wants you to fear God and in turn fear them, since they are the “Successors of Peter“ and the “Rock that Christ built his Church upon“. Their beliefs of this sort of practice regarding “do but do not question” is a way of old that we need to no longer accept as today‘s standards. Then there are those rarities in the Roman Catholic church, whose open minded Bishops and Priest are now being threatened with excommunication should they perform a “gay marriage”.
Although many of us are fascinated by the ritual, beautiful ceremony, the pomp & circumstance that we see coming from the Vatican, we must be reminded that all that glitters is not gold. All that is beautiful on the surface can be ugly on the inside. What appears to be beautiful on the surface is only camouflaging the rotting stench of hatred and prejudice. This is the what "grievously harms families and children".
When does it all end? When do they learn that God's mission was to promote love and understanding not hatred and division. I just want to tell everyone who is suffering from this foolishness, God loves everyone. I want to say it again. God loves everyone. EVERYONE. So the next time that you are looking for that right religion just remember, God may love you, but the Roman Catholic church may not.
In Faith,
+Isaac
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