Closet Christian

I can never understand "Christian-based" hate groups. It's very oxymoronic. Isn't it? How can you be Christian and hate your brother, when Christ has called you to to love all your brothers, especially those marginalized, and even your enemies? I'll give them one thing though, they are right about the country changing as far as being taken over. But, I argue that it has NOTHING to do with sexual preferences, race, religious views, or ethnicity. It has to do with ignorance, misinformation, misconceptions, and backwards ideology perpetrated by media. We are not one another's enemies. We are all people trying to make it in the world, people, just people.

My thoughts and ideas make me a very isolated and unpopular person in this backward town. Unfortunately in this primarily Christian town, my Christianity is frowned upon and unacceptable.

"I do not believe in the death penalty, because Christ tells me I should forgive my brethren." I live in a prison town, and I have lost my guard friends because of that statement. I also believe that God has told us not to take a life. He, and only He, is to avenge. I also believe the death penalty allows some victim's families to live with guilt because they fought for the death penalty. Often it creeps in slowly as they realized that these are people. They become at odds with Christ. I also believe the death penalty allows the criminal to get off easy. They never have to live with the guilt of their crimes. The taking of a loved one is a life sentence for the victim's family and a travesty for all involved. It should be  life sentence for the perpetrator, as well.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

~ Romans 12:17-21

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

~ Matthew 6:14-15

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

~ Mark 11:25

"Although I support the use of guns and bows for hunting for food, I believe that assault rifles should be outlawed, and hunting should only be done for food not for sport." Again, I have lost many "Christian" friends from this statement. New Oxford American Dictionary defines assault as, "make a physical attack on," and assault rifle as, "a rapid-fire, magazine-fed automatic rifle designed for infantry use." There is no reason for an individual to have an assault rifle other than to kill mass numbers of people. It is not logical to use an assault rifle as a hunting rifle. Once we start saying it is okay for the general public to have public access to military weapons, our problems grow and even more mass numbers of people begin to die. We would not want our neighbor to have a bomb designed to kill mass numbers of people, we would not allow our neighbors to have a rocket launcher, would not allow our neighbors to carry hand grenades, so why do we allow assault rifles? I agree that each person has the right to own a handgun, rifle, shot gun, bow, and crossbow, but assault rifles I will never get behind. For a matter of fact, my home has weapons, but they are not weapons of mass destruction. A gun used wisely does not kill a man, and just because we have been given dominion over the animals of Earth, we have been warned to care for it and its lifeforms.

"Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'"

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. 

~ NIV Genesis 1:26-30

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 

~ NIV Genesis 2:15

Remember, love one another. I do. ♥

For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

~ 1 John 3:11-16

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

~ John 13:34-35

Singing

Singing is very different than talking. I, for one, love to sing at the top of my lungs. Many songs that I sing, which are not hymns, I have found have spiritual qualities. For instance, I love to sing along with U2 and Pink Floyd. Both of these artists point out the failures of man, and the needs of others, as well as the need of something more than materialism. I love to sing in church as well, and every time that I sing, I feel uplifted and closer to God. Song does put us on level ground with one another. Many people use song to express themselves. My husband can usually tell what kind of mood I am in by the music that is playing on the radio. He doesn’t even have to lay eyes on me to be able to tell. When I am down, I listen to uplifting music to pick myself back up.

Beautiful Day

U2

The heart is a bloom
Shoots up through the stony ground
There's no room
No space to rent in this town

You're out of luck
And the reason that you had to care
The traffic is stuck
And you're not moving anywhere

You thought you'd found a friend
To take you out of this place
Someone you could lend a hand
In return for grace

It's a beautiful day
Sky falls, you feel like
It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away

You're on the road
But you've got no destination
You're in the mud
In the maze of her imagination

You love this town
Even if that doesn't ring true
You've been all over
And it's been all over you

It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
It's a beautiful day

Touch me
Take me to that other place
Teach me
I know I'm not a hopeless case

See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by cloud
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out
See the Bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light
And see the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colors came out

It was a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
Beautiful day

Touch me
Take me to that other place
Reach me
I know I'm not a hopeless case

What you don't have you don't need it now
What you don't know you can feel it somehow
What you don't have you don't need it now
Don't need it now
Was a beautiful day

A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Psalm 100:1-2 

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16

Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, Ephesians 5:19

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! Psalm 95:1-2

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. James 5:13

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Psalm 150:1-6

Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. Psalm 147:1

What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. 1 Corinthians 14:15

I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13:6

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, Acts 16:25

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Psalm 95:1

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17

My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all the day. Psalm 71:8

Saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.” Hebrews 2:12

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Hebrews 13:15

And in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.” Romans 15:9

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Mark 14:26

I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you, Psalm 144:9

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. Exodus 15:1

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:23-24

Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. Psalm 33:3

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Matthew 26:30

David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim. And they carried the ark of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart, with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark. And David and all the house of Israel were making merry before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. 2 Samuel 6:1-23

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song. God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate him shall flee before him! As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away; as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God! But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy! Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the Lord; exult before him! Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. Psalm 68:1-35

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. John 4:23 

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:24

By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our lyres. For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! Psalm 137:1-9

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared, a great king over all the earth. He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet. He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Psalm 47:1-9

Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Psalm 105:2

Woman Caught in Adultery

The woman in John 8:1-11 could have been any one of Gilligan’s stages. She was either in the selfish stage, in which she committed adultery in order to fulfill her primitive desires; or she was in the second stage, in which she committed adultery in order to make someone else happy by fulfilling their primitive desires. The woman could have also been in the final stage, in which she was not thinking about everyone else, but thinking about her interconnectedness with others. She could have been tired of making everyone else happy and decided to make herself happy for once by giving in to her primitive desires. Women during that time were thought of more as property. They did not marry for love, but usually to pay off debts of their fathers. We do not have a clear indication of why this woman committed adultery, nor do we have enough background information to make such assumptions about her reason for committing adultery. It is possible that she did not believe she was ethically wrong for committing adultery. She may have felt that she was still a virtuous person because she did not feel wrong in the act of committing adultery.

The woman may have been married to a man that she never loved, therefore she may have never felt as if she were his wife. If this were the case, then the woman would be in Kohlberg’s sixth stage of moral reasoning, which would be universal ethical principles. The woman could have possibly been in the fifth stage of moral reasoning too. She could have had different values. She may have been pagan instead of Jewish or Christian. If so, then she would not have been bound by the laws of God. In pagan societies during this time, it was completely acceptable for people to commit adultery especially those in the upper classes of society. Another aspect to look at is the fact that what we consider children today, were considered women in Biblical times.  If this were actually a pubescent child (which were considered women), perhaps a teenager, then she may be more at stage three of Kohlberg’s theory. She may not yet have the mental capacity to make legal decisions.

Along the same lines, the woman may have had a limited mental capacity and be well into full adulthood. This could have put the woman at any of Kohlberg’s other stages. The woman may have wanted to be a “good girl” and please the man she committed adultery with. The woman may have needed money for something and looked at what was in it for her which would put her in Kohlberg’s second stage. She may have gotten money for her services. The woman could have been in Kohlberg’s first stage and never learned right from wrong. She may not have had any idea that adultery was bad. Perhaps the woman was of full mental capacity and been in Gilligan’s second stage. She may have been a prostitute that was trying to make money to feed her family. Therefore she sacrificed herself to care for the needs of her family.

The men in the story thought they were at stage six of Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning. However, these men were more at stage four. They thought that punishing the woman was better for all mankind. They figured out though that they were just pushing people to “obey laws;” yet they too were not without sin, which means they were not obeying God’s laws. The men began to realize they had a lot more to learn about morals and ethics than they had previously known. Finally, Jesus is at Kohlberg’s unproven seventh level. His moral reasoning comes from his being the Son of God. It is more spiritual and mixed with religion.

KOHLBERG'S SIX LEVELS OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

(ETHICS OF JUSTICE/RIGHTS)

A.  PRE-CONVENTIONAL LEVEL

STAGE 1:  Deferring to authority

STAGE 2:  Learning to satisfy one’s own needs.

B.  CONVENTIONAL LEVEL

STAGE 3:  Conforming to stereotypical roles.

STAGE 4:  Sense that individual roles contribute to social order.

C.  POST-CONVENTIONAL LEVEL

STAGE 5:  Morality thought of in terms of rights and standards endorsed by society as a whole.

STAGE 6:  Morality thought of as self-chosen, universal principles of justice.

On Kohlberg's model, moral development is the development of an autonomous self, capable of being motivated by abstract principles understood as a kind of "mathematical" solution to conflicts of interests.

GILLIGAN'S SIX STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT 

(ETHICS OF CARE)

A.  PRE-CONVENTIONAL LEVEL

STAGE 1:  Caring for the self.

STAGE 2:  Stage 1 concern judged to be selfish.

B.  CONVENTIONAL LEVEL

STAGE 3:  Goodness is caring for others, frequently equated with self-sacrifice.

STAGE 4:  Illogic of the inequality between self and others becomes evident. Search for equilibrium.

C.  POST-CONVENTIONAL LEVEL

STAGE 5:  Focus on the dynamics of relationships, to eliminate the tension between self and others.

STAGE 6:  Care is extended beyond personal relationships to a general recognition of the interdependence of self and other, accompanied by a universal condemnation of exploitation and hurt.

On Gilligan's model, moral development is the development of a self-in-relation. Morality is understood in terms of the preservation of valuable human relations. Progress from stage to stage is motivated by increasing understanding of human relationships.