And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the
sick.

And he said unto them, “Take nothing for your journey, neither
staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two
coats apiece. And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence
depart. And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city,
shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.”

And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the
gospel, and healing everywhere — as long as they had private health
insurance.

Net Confessional: Confess

If you’ve seen one of the many screen caps of the Bittany/Madonna toungue-fest, you probably need to go here and talk about it.

Summa minutiae: Incense = child abuse

The Catholic Church said today it would take seriously a Government minister’s concern over the threat posed to health by the use of incense.

I could go over how silly this is and how much it sucks and how stupid the people participating in this are and I could say how much I hate this and that about it but I think what I need to do is just summarize my feelings about the whole thing in two words:

That’s stupid.

[In response to Kelly’s entry on her blog with more than a few issues with things.]

So there’s a lot I want to say here, but the topic is one that is core to Protestantism and I, as a Catholic, will have some views about this that don’t add up. I’ll speak, then, as I would when when I was a Protestant (yes, I actually chose to be Catholic; no prayer chains for me, either, mmk? ).

The Bible, ahh, the grand old Book itself. I talk about that a little elsewhere on my site, but to be short: remember that not only did people put pen to paper to make it in the beginning, but people put pen to paper to keep it alive as well. Then people (circa 380) chose what books would be in the Christian Bible (albeit through lots of prayer and research). Then, again, people took pen to paper to keep it alive. Then another man removed books from that Bible and made another. Then these two were copied time and again for years.

This is the sole reason, other than those I list on that page, that I cannot take the Bible at it’s literal word. It’s through the grace of God, surely, that it has remained so close to what it once was (someone once said 98% of the most recent original-language manuscripts match with the ancient copies perfectly) and for the vast majority I see it as what was written, but it’s still a “divinely inspired” book, which is to say man’s book made for a holy purpose.

It’s a wonderful historical document, and a superb spiritual guide, but infallible it is not. Man made it, man copied it, man kept it alive (all through God, but not by God’s sole hand).

(Then we could dive into interpretation, but you obviously have seen firsthand where that problem leads.)

In short: it’s a book you can base your life on, yes, and you would lead a good life that would land you in God’s hands one day if all you did was follow the book as you read it. The danger comes when the unlearned read it and see their own opinions in it and refuse to alter their perceptions for the truths that lie inside. Then they teach. Then people follow. Then people as a whole deviate from Christ’s words (even if they are just copies of copies and have changed slightly) and then, well, God knows, right? Can’t be good.

Back to you, of course. I went through this when I was about eighteen when I dove into Usenet ( groan ) and started “debating” (picking fights) about various parts of the scripture. Before long I was where you are now. It happens to everyone, some later than others, some at the very beginning, some at the very end, but everyone will question their faith eventually. It’s not your job, as some would say, to hold fast and true to what you were taught. It’s your job to seek God, which you’ve discovered. You will never be truly accountable to man. You will never get away from being accountable to God.

local6.com – News – Lightning Strikes Preacher Who Asked For Sign

Bolt Hits Steeple, Travels Through Guest Evangelist’s Microphone

FOREST, Ohio — Damage to a church in Forest, Ohio, is estimated at $20,000 after a preacher asked God for a sign.

A member of the First Baptist Church said a guest evangelist was preaching repentance and seeking a sign from God when lightning struck the steeple. Ronnie Cheney called the incident “awesome, just awesome!” Cheney said the lightning traveled through the microphone, blew out the sound system and enveloped the preacher, who wasn’t hurt. Afterward, services resumed for about 20 minutes until the congregation realized the church was on fire. The building was evacuated.

Shocking.

I’m composing a small essay and I’m fishing for ideas. Help?

I need to know why people thing that organized religion is bad.

Pass it around. I plan on having fun with this one.