Play for Jesus...

My kids and I are in Maui for my oldest son's basketball tournament. I know, life's tough.

Anyway, while getting our rental car, I had informed the young and very perky agent of the reason for our visit. A couple of minutes later, my son came walking up and the agent said to him, "Are you the basketball player?"

"Yes", he said.

She replied, "Play for Jesus, it's the only thing that matters!"

In all honesty (and none of them spiritual), that statement made my day. Me and my son needed a good laugh. Of course, if Jesus is paying for my kids college education, we'll play for him anytime.

Feelings, Mysteries and More

Inspired by comments on the "Gay Marriage" post, I have been writing some things out for several days and I just can't finish it. So I am just going to throw up the thoughts I have been having and let them stand on their own. It's been hard for me to make a cohesive post out of it, but maybe you can help me explore it. So here it goes:

ON FEELINGS
For the most part, the Christian subculture is driven by feelings. The problem is, they don't want to admit it. Like a teenage boy driven by his libido, there is an energy and drive to have the feeling of love, relationship and connection while throwing most rationality to the wind. Christians hope for these things, write books and songs about them, and go to services each week to nurture these feelings that they hope to receive via a personal relationship with God.

I think this is an immature, dangerous and unhealthy lifestyle. At its worst it is border-line delusional and at its best it fosters co-dependency.

How does a Christian know God exists? They feel him. How do they know Jesus is "in their heart"? They feel his presence. Who is the "Holy Spirit"? He is the spiritual GPS system, guiding Christians to fulfill the purpose for their lives. How do you know which direction to take when you are at a crossroads?? The Holy Spirit will lead you and it will be clear largely because you will reach a place of peace about your decision. While immersed in the subculture, these thoughts make sense...remove yourself from it and you can see it for what it is: Bullshit! It's ok if you want to believe your own BS, just don't pass it off as fact for everyone else.

ON MYSTERY
The tendency of Christians is to think that atheists or agnostics do not believe in mysteries and wonders, while they supposedly embrace them. They talk of God, Jesus and the HS as being the ultimate mystery... as "real" as anything in the material world, yet unseen.

Christians have a feeling inside them about these things that make them real, like the feelings one has when being in love or watching a sunset. "If I feel it in my heart, it must be real", they say. While seeking to explain these they point to scriptures...for now in reading the Bible it all seems to make sense and the unexplainable becomes real. There are no longer mysteries.

Christianity seeks to explain mysteries, make sense of the unknown, have answers to life's most perplexing questions. However, what I have discovered is this: In Christianity there are no mysteries. Everything is God's plan, His will, His way...no mystery there. If there isn't an answer readily available, you extrapolate one from a myriad of verses in the Bible or you always have the go to line: "We may not know why, but God does. We must have faith in Him!" Once that is said every Christian now "feels" better.

WHERE I AM NOW
For me the real mystery has been leaving the safety of the Christian subculture and leaping from the cliff of faith and falling into the darkness of doubt. Being honest that I didn't "know know" anything was a very big key for me... because I don't. If Christians would just take a step back and listen to their own self-talk that keeps them connected into the Christian subculture, they would be amazed. I also think they would be healthier and happier. I know they'd feel better.