(879,1,'2011-10-21 11:17:56','2011-10-21 18:17:56','Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were just two days away, and the Pharisees — the chief priests and teachers of the law were trying to figure out how to arrest Jesus and kill him.  They decided to wait until after the celebrations for fear that others would riot against the established church.\r\n\r\nSo they sent spies to watch the heretic in action in order to gather some hard evidence to justify the death penalty.  Flash forward a few days to Bethany.  Jesus is reclining in the main living area of a house owned by a man named Simon who happens to be a leper.  His disciples are with him and so are the spies.\r\n\r\nSuddenly a beautiful and distraught woman came into the room holding an alabaster jar in her arms.  As her eyes wildly searched each face, Jesus realized who she was.  <strong>The jar contained perfume made of pure nard and cost the woman a year’s wages.</strong>\r\n\r\nLocking eyes onto him she smiled, bent down low and broke the jar, and began to move towards Jesus so that she might anoint him with the contents.  However, knowing her intentions, Jesus quickly moved to the side avoiding the woman with her expensive perfume as he motioned to his disciple Peter with a single glance.\r\n\r\nThe perfume spilled recklessly on the floor near him and began to expand rapidly into a pool of aromatic liquid onto the surface of the floor as the woman fell to one knee <strong>astonished that Jesus would seem so repulsed by her doting gesture.  </strong>Disgusted with the woman’s sin Jesus turned to his Disciples and the Pharisees in attendance and said “She should not have wasted that expensive perfume. It could have been sold and used to help the poor, the widows and orphans. What is <em>she</em> doing with it anyway?”\r\n\r\nIn the alleyway Peter held the woman roughly by the arm and without looking at her said “what did you think you were doing?  You know that your <strong>chosen lifestyle is not the kind that the Master agrees with.  Why, He can not even look at or be in the same room with you.  </strong>Once you turn from your evil ways and choose to live either a life of celibacy as an unworthy woman, or just marry a man like the rest of the women here, you can come back and the Rabbi will accept your gifts.  Until then, stay away. The Master will have nothing more to do with you.”\r\n\r\nThrough heaving sobs the woman looked up at Peter and managed to say, \"B-but Simon is a Leper...\"\r\n\r\n\"...At least he\'s a man.  But you...   What are you anyway?\" Peter said as he shoved the young woman towards the street harshly causing her to trip and fall sharply onto the ground, broken, and even more distraught then before.  Peter smiled smugly, then went back inside.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/woman_9.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-571\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/woman_9-300x248.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"248\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWith this last round of rejection in mind, the young girl lay silently on her side in the dirt, her knees drawn to her chest, both hands clasped tightly over her ears, tears streaming down the side of her face while sounds of guffawing laughter echoed loudly into the alleyway from Simon’s house.  Jesus had finally obtained acceptance by his peers -- the Pharisees, for making clear his stance against at least one of the established religious rejects of the day. <strong>There would no longer be a need for his death. </strong>\r\n[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAHq9byLyyI]','The Alabaster Jar - A Parable','','inherit','open','open','','55-revision-34','','','2011-10-21 11:17:56','2011-10-21 18:17:56','',55,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/55-revision-34/',0,'revision','',0),(878,4,'2011-10-21 11:17:14','2011-10-21 18:17:14','Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were just two days away, and the Pharisees — the chief priests and teachers of the law were trying to figure out how to arrest Jesus and kill him.  They decided to wait until after the celebrations for fear that others would riot against the established church.\r\n\r\nSo they sent spies to watch the heretic in action in order to gather some hard evidence to justify the death penalty.  Flash forward a few days to Bethany.  Jesus is reclining in the main living area of a house owned by a man named Simon who happens to be a leper.  His disciples are with him and so are the spies.\r\n\r\nSuddenly a beautiful and distraught woman came into the room holding an alabaster jar in her arms.  As her eyes wildly searched each face, Jesus realized who she was.  <strong>The jar contained perfume made of pure nard and cost the woman a year’s wages.</strong>\r\n\r\nLocking eyes onto him she smiled, bent down low and broke the jar, and began to move towards Jesus so that she might anoint him with the contents.  However, knowing her intentions, Jesus quickly moved to the side avoiding the woman with her expensive perfume as he motioned to his disciple Peter with a single glance.\r\n\r\nThe perfume spilled recklessly on the floor near him and began to expand rapidly into a pool of aromatic liquid onto the surface of the floor as the woman fell to one knee <strong>astonished that Jesus would seem so repulsed by her doting gesture.  </strong>Disgusted with the woman’s sin Jesus turned to his Disciples and the Pharisees in attendance and said “She should not have wasted that expensive perfume. It could have been sold and used to help the poor, the widows and orphans. What is <em>she</em> doing with it anyway?”\r\n\r\nIn the alleyway Peter held the woman roughly by the arm and without looking at her said “what did you think you were doing?  You know that your <strong>chosen lifestyle is not the kind that the Master agrees with.  Why, He can not even look at or be in the same room with you.  </strong>Once you turn from your evil ways and choose to live either a life of celibacy as an unworthy woman, or just marry a man like the rest of the women here, you can come back and the Rabbi will accept your gifts.  Until then, stay away. The Master will have nothing more to do with you.”\r\n\r\nThrough heaving sobs the woman looked up at Peter and managed to say, \"B-but Simon is a Leper...\"\r\n\r\n\"...At least he\'s a man.  But you...   What are you anyway?\" Peter said as he shoved the young woman towards the street harshly causing her to trip and fall sharply onto the ground, broken, and even more distraught then before.  Peter smiled smugly, then went back inside.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/woman_9.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-571\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/woman_9-300x248.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"248\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWith this last round of rejection in mind, the young girl lay silently on her side in the dirt, her knees drawn to her chest, both hands clasped tightly over her ears, tears streaming down the side of her face while sounds of guffawing laughter echoed loudly into the alleyway from Simon’s house.  Jesus had finally obtained acceptance by his peers -- the Pharisees, for making clear his stance against at least one of the established religious rejects of the day. <strong>There would no longer be a need for his death. </strong>\r\n[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAHq9byLyyI]\r\n\r\n[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZkFZM4IdrY&amp;w=500&amp;h=369]','The Alabaster Jar - A Parable','','inherit','open','open','','55-revision-33','','','2011-10-21 11:17:14','2011-10-21 18:17:14','',55,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/55-revision-33/',0,'revision','',0),(1690,51,'2011-11-05 08:00:09','2011-11-05 15:00:09','<strong>Hello, my name is Sarah, and I\'m a picky eater.</strong>\r\n\r\nI grew up in a family of picky eaters. Our standard menu included: frozen pizza, tacos, pasta, and occasionally some form of fast food. All processed, store bought food filled our plates. Occasionally, the garden salad graced our plates too. We received the admonishment to give thanks despite out distaste for the watery lettuce and bland tomato. My mother coupled guilt and shame when we pushed our dinner around on the plate, trying to make it appear as if we had eaten a great deal more than we had. Dutifully, my mother reminded us: “there are starving children all over Africa and Asia who would be happy to eat what you are turning your noses up at.”\r\n\r\n<strong>Even as an adult, my ideology surrounding food remained consistent—be grateful, clean your plate.</strong>\r\n\r\n<strong></strong> As a Christian, I believed we must thankful for our food. Questioning God\'s provisions stemmed from an ungrateful, thankless heart. Who was I to say the that grocery stores piled high all year with tomatoes, apples, meats, cheeses wasn\'t how God chose to provide for my needs? God truly blessed us with a bounty of available food but was all this food really a sign of God\'s blessing? Beneath the colorful description of the produce and meats, the signs stated where the food came. Produce delivered from South America. Meats trucked in from large processing plants. What I counted as God\'s gifts were wrecking havoc on the sustainability of our global climate and its resources.\r\n\r\n<strong> Perhaps, parenthood jolted me out of my complacency.</strong>\r\n\r\nI no longer had the luxury of making all the food decisions, and these decisions only affecting myself. Two children expected me to make healthier choices for them than they would make for themselves. Healthier choices meant learning about how our food comes to the store. Through my research, I learned two things. First, food should be local sourced. Local food is fresher, and it doesn\'t require the amount of resources expended in bringing food from farther away. Secondly, food should be seasonal. Nothing tastes better than a summer garden tomato. When we learn to eat seasonally, we experience food at its nutritional peak.\r\n\r\n<strong>I decided I wanted my children to be picky eaters.</strong>\r\n\r\nNot the kind of picky eater whose diet subsists of chicken nuggets and apple slices. But the kind of picky eater focused upon the sustainability of their food and its impact upon the global communities. As a parent, I want to teach my children not simply to be thankful for their food but mindful of the how the food came to their plates. This is not an easy task. When I grow to the grocery store, the fruits and vegetables are beautiful compounded by my children\'s desire to have apples in the winter or tomatoes in the fall. It\'s hard to say no when they are asking for healthy foods, but I use this opportunity to discuss sustainability and eating seasonally. We plant gardens and watch out food grow. Slowly, my children are learning that the food grown in our garden tastes better than store bought. They are becoming picky eaters.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/j-pf/536096926/sizes/l/in/photostream/\">Photo by: J-P-F</a>','Raising Picky Eaters','','publish','open','open','','raising-picky-eaters','','','2011-11-03 08:43:28','2011-11-03 15:43:28','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1690',0,'post','',0),(886,1,'2011-10-20 11:48:16','2011-10-20 18:48:16','Pain invited my ear, \"Listen to me, for I have knowledge of Truth hidden in what you fear.\"\r\n\r\nFear roared, \"Do not look or listen to pain, it will only lead you to more discomfort!\"\r\n\r\nLove whispered, \"Go into this pain, it is safe. You will only discover more to love.\"\r\n\r\nShame whimpered, \"Remember everything that has happened to you, everyone despises you. This will not work.\"\r\n\r\nCourage invoked, \"All fear is an illusion, walk straight ahead!\"\r\n\r\nPride demanded, \"You have everything you need already, this is a waste of time.\"\r\n\r\nEver notice how throughout a day what you are  feeling will interpret reality for you. As you follow these feelings they usually lead you to thoughts. These thought are ideas about your self, others and how life is playing out. Few questions these thoughts, few face the idea\'s of being separate, alone and unwanted. We tend to settle for a hope of one day getting what we want so we can be happy.\r\n\r\nWhat would life be like if we embraced all of it? What would like be like if we stopped avoiding pain and ran into what we have been taught to fear.\r\n\r\nWhy do we stop going to the gym? Because we no longer engage with the benefits the pain brings us. This benefit is strength.\r\n\r\nWHY BADSTUFF HAPPENS\r\n<em>by Elsa Joy Bailey</em>\r\n\r\nIf it weren\'t for my beautiful sad mother\r\ndrinking a beaker of cold cyanide when I was three,\r\nI wouldn\'t have learned\r\nshe could both love and abandon me\r\nin one hot severe breath.\r\nNor would I have grown flowers in my heart\r\nfor people who urgently want to die.\r\n\r\nIf I had not broken my leg in a wild fall,\r\nI wouldn\'t have learned that stark physical pain\r\nis, to my great surprise, not permanent.\r\n\r\nIf I hadn\'t fallen in love with someone\r\nwho didn\'t love me,\r\nI would never have realized that unrequited love\r\nis still an ecstatic dance of the heart.\r\n\r\nIf I hadn\'t encountered praise and blame,\r\nsuccess and failure, heat and cold, darkness and light,\r\nblows and kisses, pain and bliss,\r\nnever would I have found out that through it all\r\nthere is a Spirit within me\r\nwhich remains unceasingly alive and loving.\r\n\r\nIf I hadn\'t received the gift of knowing you,\r\nI would not have come to realise\r\nthat our stories are different in details,\r\nbut never in essence.\r\n\r\nIf I hadn\'t lived through an era of hurting\r\nI would never have met the miracle\r\nof being fed with kindness by a friend.\r\n\r\nIf I hadn\'t discovered that you and I\r\nare two threads in the same vast cloth,\r\nI would have remained forever lost and imprisoned\r\nin my separate universe.\r\n\r\nIf I hadn\'t seen both good and evil\r\noccupying space in the same event,\r\nI would never have met the hand of humour\r\npainting over these polarities\r\nwith new clarity and light.\r\n\r\nIf I hadn\'t wept a thousand tears\r\nover the loss of a beloved,\r\nI would never have been driven inward\r\nto find the eternal companion,\r\nmy Soul.\r\n\r\nIf I had not witnessed cruelty\r\nand man\'s inhumanity to man,\r\nI would not have been forced to look\r\nbeneath the ugliness of fear,\r\nand encounter the common Heart\r\nthat lies beneath it.\r\n\r\nIf I hadn\'t encountered our myriad differences,\r\nI would never have discovered that you and I\r\nare not two,\r\nbut infinite sparks of love ever arising\r\nfrom one indestructible Flame.\r\n\r\nAnd if I hadn\'t felt abandoned and heartsick,\r\nI would never have heard the wordless whisper\r\nof an abiding, unseeable Friend,\r\nwho translated the feeling of alone\r\ninto All One.','Pain a wonderful Teacher','','inherit','open','open','','843-revision-5','','','2011-10-20 11:48:16','2011-10-20 18:48:16','',843,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/20/843-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(887,0,'2011-10-21 13:43:05','2011-10-21 20:43:05','Anything in the faith realm of life!\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Elizabeth Hagan\nAUTHOR EMAIL: pastorhagan@comcast.net\nAUTHOR URL: http://preacherontheplaza.wordpress.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Proketive\nIP: 108.48.34.156\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Elizabeth Hagan\n    [Email] =&gt; pastorhagan@comcast.net\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; http://preacherontheplaza.wordpress.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Anything in the faith realm of life! \n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; elizabethevanshagan\n)\n','Elizabeth Hagan - 2011-10-21 13:43:05','','publish','open','open','','fea0ac0c209740974e39b75dbd89f92d','','','2011-10-21 13:43:05','2011-10-21 20:43:05','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=887',0,'feedback','',0),(888,1,'2011-10-21 14:00:28','2011-10-21 21:00:28','The AP is <a href=\"http://news.yahoo.com/obama-announces-total-iraq-troop-withdrawal-165635034.html\" target=\"_blank\">reporting</a> that Obama has declared an end to the Iraq war, and will withdraw troops by the end of the year.  In August 2010, he declared the U.S. combat mission over.  The <a href=\"http://usliberals.about.com/od/homelandsecurit1/a/IraqNumbers.htm\" target=\"_blank\">cost</a> of the war is 900 billion dollars, and 4,481 US Soldiers Killed, 32,195 Seriously Wounded.  You can see the President\'s response on video <a href=\"http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/27029045\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>.\r\n\r\nAs many of you will no doubt denounce the decision or praise it, tell us why.  Do you think this is a good decision or a bad one.\r\n\r\n<em>Photo courtesy of <a href=\"http://www.kued.org/?area=pressReleases&amp;action=details&amp;id=NDMx\" target=\"_blank\">KUED</a>.</em>','Obama Declares End To War','','publish','open','open','','obama-declares-end-to-war','','','2011-10-22 23:45:07','2011-10-23 06:45:07','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=888',0,'post','',5),(889,1,'2011-10-21 13:54:59','2011-10-21 20:54:59','','end_of_afghanistan','','inherit','open','open','','end_of_afghanistan','','','2011-10-21 13:54:59','2011-10-21 20:54:59','',888,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/end_of_afghanistan.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(890,1,'2011-10-21 13:59:36','2011-10-21 20:59:36','The AP is <a href=\"http://news.yahoo.com/obama-announces-total-iraq-troop-withdrawal-165635034.html\" target=\"_blank\">reporting</a> that Obama has declared an end to the Iraq war, and will withdraw troops by the end of the year.  In August 2010, he declared the U.S. combat mission over.  The <a href=\"http://usliberals.about.com/od/homelandsecurit1/a/IraqNumbers.htm\" target=\"_blank\">cost</a> of the war is 9 billion dollars, and 4,481 US Soldiers Killed, 32,195 Seriously Wounded.\n\nAs many of you will no doubt denounce the decision or praise it, tell us why.  Do you think this is a good decision or a bad one.\n\n<em>Photo courtesy of <a href=\"http://www.kued.org/?area=pressReleases&amp;action=details&amp;id=NDMx\" target=\"_blank\">KUED</a>.</em>','Obama Declares End To War','','inherit','open','open','','888-revision','','','2011-10-21 13:59:36','2011-10-21 20:59:36','',888,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/888-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(891,1,'2011-10-21 14:00:28','2011-10-21 21:00:28','The AP is <a href=\"http://news.yahoo.com/obama-announces-total-iraq-troop-withdrawal-165635034.html\" target=\"_blank\">reporting</a> that Obama has declared an end to the Iraq war, and will withdraw troops by the end of the year.  In August 2010, he declared the U.S. combat mission over.  The <a href=\"http://usliberals.about.com/od/homelandsecurit1/a/IraqNumbers.htm\" target=\"_blank\">cost</a> of the war is 9 billion dollars, and 4,481 US Soldiers Killed, 32,195 Seriously Wounded.  You can see the President\'s response on video <a href=\"http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/27029045\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>.\r\n\r\nAs many of you will no doubt denounce the decision or praise it, tell us why.  Do you think this is a good decision or a bad one.\r\n\r\n<em>Photo courtesy of <a href=\"http://www.kued.org/?area=pressReleases&amp;action=details&amp;id=NDMx\" target=\"_blank\">KUED</a>.</em>','Obama Declares End To War','','inherit','open','open','','888-revision-2','','','2011-10-21 14:00:28','2011-10-21 21:00:28','',888,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/888-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(892,1,'2011-10-05 22:14:16','2011-10-06 05:14:16','<strong>About Provoketive Magazine</strong>: In a world saturated with people shouting at each other, it\'s rare to find a place where people can engage in conversation with each other.  Provoketive Magazine hopes to change that.  We\'re creating a space of rich conversation about life, faith, justice and culture without judgment.  Our desire is to provoke the reader\'s imagination through conversation and open up spaces of dialogue, learning, and hope.\r\n\r\n<strong>Current Categories</strong>:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Life: Business, Family, Growth, Humorous, Health, Sports, Technology, and World</li>\r\n	<li>Faith: Spirituality, Theology, Interfaith Dialogue, Spiritual Practices, and Questions</li>\r\n	<li>Justice: Social Justice, Gender Equality, Politics and Economics</li>\r\n	<li>Culture: Movies, Books, Music, Art, Poetry and Interviews</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIf you are a writer and want to participate with us in creating this rich space of conversation, we invite you to sign up today.  Use the form below to provide the following information.  We will respond to you in 1-3 days with instructions for participation.\r\n\r\n[contact-form subject=\"Provoketive Magazine Writing For Proketive\" to=\"jb@thriven.org\"] [contact-field label=\"Name\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Email\" type=\"email\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Existing Blog or Website\" type=\"url\" /] [contact-field label=\"List the topic you are interested writing about\" type=\"textarea\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Current or New Wordpress Login Name (We\\\'ll send you a password.)\" type=\"text\" required=\"true\" /] [/contact-form]','Writing For Proketive','','inherit','open','open','','358-revision-22','','','2011-10-05 22:14:16','2011-10-06 05:14:16','',358,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/05/358-revision-22/',0,'revision','',0),(893,0,'2011-10-21 14:09:01','2011-10-21 21:09:01','http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/obama-declares-end-to-war/\r\n\r\nI think the cost is $900 billion, not 9 billion.\r\n\r\nI didn\'t want to point this out in the public comments.\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Andy MItchell\nAUTHOR EMAIL: gadfly1974@yahoo.com\nAUTHOR URL: \nSUBJECT: [Provoketive Magazine] Contact Us\nIP: 74.69.23.179\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Andy MItchell\n    [Email] =&gt; gadfly1974@yahoo.com\n    [Comment] =&gt; http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/obama-declares-end-to-war/\r\n\r\nI think the cost is $900 billion, not 9 billion.\r\n\r\nI didn\'t want to point this out in the public comments.\n)\n','Andy MItchell - 2011-10-21 14:09:01','','publish','open','open','','a631a36ab11630cbb39ec1164c0ce4eb','','','2011-10-21 14:09:01','2011-10-21 21:09:01','',16,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=893',0,'feedback','',0),(895,0,'2011-10-21 15:39:08','2011-10-21 22:39:08','i care about and write about memory, faith, following jesus without (necessarily) being a christian, the crazy stuff we all think and do and how we don\'t need to be so afraid just to be who we are. i truly believe jesus saw the world as love, god as love, and people as love - and folks turned it, just because of human nature and the nature of systems and groupthink, into fear and machinery and idolatry. but maybe it\'s just me.\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Rick Diamond\nAUTHOR EMAIL: journeyingrick@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://www.peacefulblackbear.blogspot.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Proketive\nIP: 66.68.188.233\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Rick Diamond\n    [Email] =&gt; journeyingrick@gmail.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; www.peacefulblackbear.blogspot.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; i care about and write about memory, faith, following jesus without (necessarily) being a christian, the crazy stuff we all think and do and how we don\'t need to be so afraid just to be who we are. i truly believe jesus saw the world as love, god as love, and people as love - and folks turned it, just because of human nature and the nature of systems and groupthink, into fear and machinery and idolatry. but maybe it\'s just me. \n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; journeyingrick\n)\n','Rick Diamond - 2011-10-21 15:39:08','','publish','open','open','','d003d316f0050af0f439b7b4d3fe71ca','','','2011-10-21 15:39:08','2011-10-21 22:39:08','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=895',0,'feedback','',0),(894,1,'2011-10-21 14:00:31','2011-10-21 21:00:31','<p>The AP is <a href=\"http://news.yahoo.com/obama-announces-total-iraq-troop-withdrawal-165635034.html\" target=\"_blank\" data-mce-href=\"http://news.yahoo.com/obama-announces-total-iraq-troop-withdrawal-165635034.html\">reporting</a> that Obama has declared an end to the Iraq war, and will withdraw troops by the end of the year.&nbsp; In August 2010, he declared the U.S. combat mission over. &nbsp;The <a href=\"http://usliberals.about.com/od/homelandsecurit1/a/IraqNumbers.htm\" target=\"_blank\" data-mce-href=\"http://usliberals.about.com/od/homelandsecurit1/a/IraqNumbers.htm\">cost</a> of the war is 9 billion dollars, and 4,481 US Soldiers Killed, 32,195 Seriously&nbsp;Wounded.&nbsp; You can see the President\'s response on video <a target=\"_blank\" data-mce-href=\"http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/27029045\" href=\"http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/27029045\">here</a>.<br></p><p>As many of you will no doubt denounce the decision or praise it, tell us why.&nbsp; Do you think this is a good decision or a bad one.&nbsp;</p><p><em>Photo courtesy of <a target=\"_blank\" data-mce-href=\"http://www.kued.org/?area=pressReleases&amp;action=details&amp;id=NDMx\" href=\"http://www.kued.org/?area=pressReleases&amp;action=details&amp;id=NDMx\"><span class=\"mceItemHidden\"><span class=\"hiddenSpellError\" pre=\"\">KUED</span></span></a>.</em><br></p>','Obama Declares End To War','','inherit','open','open','','888-revision-3','','','2011-10-21 14:00:31','2011-10-21 21:00:31','',888,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/888-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(896,0,'2011-10-21 15:50:47','2011-10-21 22:50:47','humor, culture, books, marriage, sports\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Jennifer Luitwieler\nAUTHOR EMAIL: jennifer@jenniferluitwieler.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://jenniferluitwieler.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Proketive\nIP: 99.58.240.183\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Jennifer Luitwieler\n    [Email] =&gt; jennifer@jenniferluitwieler.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; http://jenniferluitwieler.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; humor, culture, books, marriage, sports\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; Jennifer Luitwieler\n)\n','Jennifer Luitwieler - 2011-10-21 15:50:47','','publish','open','open','','e4f02c719880c31d947c03e9b6513e7d','','','2011-10-21 15:50:47','2011-10-21 22:50:47','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=896',0,'feedback','',0),(897,4,'2011-10-24 12:00:24','2011-10-24 19:00:24','“You get to choose, John.  It is your choice regardless of what others think about you…”\r\n\r\nDesperate words from a man I deeply respected.\r\n\r\nSee I had lived my life up until that point based on someone else’s choices, someone else’s direction and someone else’s will for my life.  I thought I was doing the right thing.  But, who was I kidding, it never felt right.  I always felt as if I was living by someone else’s rules.  I was a classic people pleaser.  I hear that it is just part of my personality type to do things this way.\r\n\r\nSee at some point I saw life and my personal image as some kind of game.  You know, learn the rules, take out your game pieces and play your heart out?  The one who follows the rules and plays by them the best is the winner of the game.  The game lasts a lifetime and the ultimate goal in my Christianity was to win the prize.  You know the crown or the mansion or the walk down streets of gold?\r\n\r\nThat meant an absolute abstention from the “World” as I knew it.  Well, that is what my youth pastor told me, and then my senior pastor and my pastors and leaders after that.  My whole life it seems, someone was telling me to abstain from the world and all that was in it or risk contamination of the soul.\r\n\r\n<strong>Music</strong>\r\n\r\nChristian music was in fact the only wholesome music out there that fed the soul.  So, it made sense to me that at the age of 36 I had grown accustomed to collecting and listening to all sorts of genres of Christian music.  I had chants from monks, CCM pop stuff, Christian Rock, Rap, New Wave, Vineyard and Maranatha and Hosanna and Hillsong music stacked high in CDs and cassette tapes from the past.\r\n\r\nI had become quite the worship leader, learning how to play the guitar at the age of 9 and singing since I was old enough to hum.  I never played that God forsaken “secular” music for fear of truly disappointing God and throwing my pearls before swine.  I was convinced by my leaders that to play music that was not Godly, was a sin and that if I did that, then God would somehow take my gifts away and give them to someone else.\r\n\r\nSo up until that point I knew of secular musicians and such, but I did not know any.  We were told stories of backwards masking and rituals to the devil and stuff like that to scare us away from ever putting money into the hands of these evil doers in exchange for their music.\r\n\r\nI sat through a 6 week course on “Rock and Roll: The Devil’s Music” as a youth, the entire time wondering if this could actually be true – thinking <em>is it possible that all of these people worship the devil?  Is this some kind of satanic conspiracy?  For real?</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>Art, Movies, etc.</strong>\r\n\r\nWe were told that any artwork that displays the human body in any other form but with clothes on is pornography designed to pull you away from your walk with the Lord.  That brochures, underwear catalogs, billboards, TV commercials, magazines have all sold out to the devil by allowing ads that showed scantily clad women on them.  We were told that to buy these things and to give any kind of patronage to them is supporting the Devil and his work.  So as youth we boycotted art museums that dared to display the naked human form.  We used words like filth, garbage, trash, to describe the work of artists that refused to honor God by clothing their models and subjects of art.\r\n\r\nI was taught that anything that mentions magic as good is bad.  So all movies that depict magic as some kind of good thing are promoting the Devil.  That meant that we would have never went to see Harry Potter had it been available.  We were told to beware of <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104254/\" target=\"_blank\">Ferngully</a>, the animated movie, for instance because it had fairies in it and they used magic and the movie was promoted by tree-hugging Satanists.\r\n\r\nMovies depicting sex, except within the confines of a Christian marriage were off limits.  That meant that I was not allowed to watch rated R movies and most PG movies.\r\n\r\nI remember wondering why movies and art and TV and other things were off limits.  What were my leaders so afraid of, that I would somehow worship Satan if I watched a rated R movie?  But, I did what they told me to do.  I refrained.  And when I slipped up and watched a rated R movie for the shear entertainment value, I felt guilty and I never told anyone about it.\r\n\r\n“You get to choose, John.  It is your choice regardless of what others think about you…” He said.\r\n\r\n“But, if I only listen to Christian music I will not be tempted by music to sin and lust and do other stuff.”\r\n\r\n“Really John?  Do you really believe that listening to the Beatles is going to cause you to take LSD?”\r\n\r\nI smiled.  <em>Of course not.  Of course I did not believe that</em>.\r\n\r\n“Well, no.”\r\n\r\n“No.  No is right John.  So why?  How is it that you are 36 years old and you have never listened to any good music?”\r\n\r\nHe was hitting me where I live.  See I have always loved music.  Again, I was singing since I was a kid and I knew what good singing sounded like.  I knew what good lyrics sounded like.  I knew what good music sounded like.  He was right.  I had deprived myself for this many years because…\r\n\r\n“Because of what?”\r\n\r\n“Well, like I said.  If I only listen to things of God, my mind will only be on things of God.”\r\n\r\n“Yeah, so how is that working for you?”\r\n\r\n<em>It wasn’t.  </em>It really wasn’t.  I knew that.  Christian Music, Christian Movies and books, Bible reading, praying, going to church, hanging out with only Christian people, none of that stuff seemed to keep me from frequently falling into sinful misery.  I was living a lie.  My external was crystal clean, but inside I was a mess.\r\n\r\nI began to realize that I had invested a lot into the externals.  I had placed a lifetime into making myself look holy, making myself look Christian when deep down I doubted God, deep down I struggled with sex and love addiction, selfishness, self-hatred, and pain.  None of this was being dealt with.  None of it could be touched by God, because I kept it so far away from him.  I had run out of arguments and packaged responses only to realize that they were never my arguments or responses to begin with.  These arguments and justifications and condemnations of the world around me were the voices of my youth pastor, my senior pastor and my previous church leaders.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-898\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/297474_174765455942302_152405444844970_359252_1497562969_n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"410\" height=\"307\" />\r\n\r\nSo there I was, a pastor at a thriving church in Houston, Texas being grilled by my fellow pastors on of all things, my external walk with God.  They wanted to know why I refused to enjoy the beauty of the world around me.  They wanted to know how I could justify not listening to good music and watching good shows.  They were concerned that my Christian life was getting in the way of me truly living with others.  They would not let up.  And so, for the first time in my life, I made a decision about my own life.\r\n\r\nI was going to begin to think for myself.  I would shut out the voices from the past and live life based on what God told me directly, or what God told me through my good and trusted friends, and on what made sense when considering the whole context of the Bible and the words of Jesus.\r\n\r\nIt was scary and even a little painful to venture out on my own this way, but I was not alone.  I had good and trusted friends who were willing to walk with me during this time.  This experience caused me to listen to my heart and really listen to the voice of God.  It taught me that even when things look super-spiritual, they can be just as harmful as any tactic of the Devil.  If you find yourself hiding from the world and living out of fear of the people in it ask yourself, is that what Jesus did?  Did Jesus only hang out with the religious people?  Did Jesus only spend time reading scripture, praying, and sticking closely to the religious Jews?\r\n\r\nIf we are to be followers of Jesus, could it mean that we are to be like him -- an integral part of the world around us, intimately involved in the lives of those who are different from us, interested in the people that some would call “the other?”  Interested in their music, their art, their heart and soul?  If we are to be this way, then why do we hide?  Why do we separate ourselves from everyone else?  Jesus didn’t.\r\n\r\nWhere did we learn that in order to be good Christians all we have to do is 1.  Read the Bible; 2.  Pray to God; 3.  Hang out with other Christians; and 4. Witness?  Doesn’t it seem obvious that something is missing here?  Think of it this way, of 1, 2, 3, and 4 where in the Bible does Jesus instruct us to do these things?  Where does he say that “all you have to do in order to follow me are these four things?”   He doesn\'t.  Instead he commands us to love others as we love ourselves.  He commissions us to go out and share the good news about him and his kingdom to the world, not just other Christians.  He models what that love looks like when he hangs out with the Samaritan woman and he protects the adulteress and he touches the leper and he speaks highly of the eunuch and he tells a story about a \"good\" Samaritan, and he spends a long time preaching, healing and touching hundreds of \"others\" on a mountain side, all the while totally immersed in his own culture and totally accepting of other cultures of the day.','You Get to Choose','','publish','open','open','','you-get-to-choose','','','2011-10-22 23:49:52','2011-10-23 06:49:52','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=897',0,'post','',10),(898,4,'2011-10-21 16:32:40','2011-10-21 23:32:40','','297474_174765455942302_152405444844970_359252_1497562969_n','','inherit','open','open','','297474_174765455942302_152405444844970_359252_1497562969_n','','','2011-10-21 16:32:40','2011-10-21 23:32:40','',897,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/297474_174765455942302_152405444844970_359252_1497562969_n.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(899,4,'2011-10-21 16:57:29','2011-10-21 23:57:29','','1035957_17800353','','inherit','open','open','','1035957_17800353','','','2011-10-21 16:57:29','2011-10-21 23:57:29','',0,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/1035957_17800353.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(900,4,'2011-10-21 16:51:07','2011-10-21 23:51:07','“You get to choose, John.  It is your choice regardless of what others think about you…”\n\nDesperate words from a man I deeply respected.\n\nSee I had lived my life up until that point based on someone else’s choices, someone else’s direction and someone else’s will for my life.  I thought I was doing the right thing.  But, who was I kidding, it never felt right.  I always felt as if I was living by someone else’s rules.  I was a classic people pleaser.  I hear that it is just part of my personality type to do things this way.\n\nSee at some point I saw life and my personal image as some kind of game.  You know, learn the rules, take out your game pieces and play your heart out?  The one who follows the rules and plays by them the best is the winner of the game.  The game lasts a lifetime and the ultimate goal in my Christianity was to win the prize.  You know the crown or the mansion or the walk down streets of gold?\n\nThat meant an absolute abstention from the “World” as I knew it.  Well, that is what my youth pastor told me, and then my senior pastor and my pastors and leaders after that.  My whole life it seems, someone was telling me to abstain from the world and all that was in it or risk contamination of the soul.\n\n<strong>Music</strong>\n\nChristian music was in fact the only wholesome music out there that fed the soul.  So, it made sense to me that at the age of 36 I had grown accustomed to collecting and listening to all sorts of genres of Christian music.  I had chants from monks, CCM pop stuff, Christian Rock, Rap, New Wave, Vineyard and Maranantha and Hosanna and Hillsong music stacked high in CDs and cassette tapes from the past.\n\nI had become quite the worship leader, learning how to play the guitar at the age of 9 and singing since I was old enough to hum.  I never played that God forsaken “secular” music for fear of truly disappointing God and throwing my pearls before swine.  I was convinced by my leaders that to play music that was not Godly, was a sin and that if I did that, then God would somehow take my gifts away and give them to someone else.\n\nSo up until that point I knew of secular musicians and such, but I did not know any.  We were told stories of backwards masking and rituals to the devil and stuff like that to scare us away from ever putting money into the hands of these evil doers in exchange for their music.\n\nI sat through a 6 week course on “Rock and Roll: The Devil’s Music” as a youth, the entire time wondering if this could actually be true – thinking <em>is it possible that all of these people worship the devil?  Is this some kind of satanic conspiracy?  For real?</em>\n\n<strong>Art, Movies, etc.</strong>\n\nWe were told that any artwork that displays the human body in any other form but with clothes on is pornography designed to pull you away from your walk with the Lord.  That brochures, underwear catalogs, billboards, TV commercials, magazines have all sold out to the devil by allowing ads that showed scantily clad women on them.  We were told that to buy these things and to give any kind of patronage to them is supporting the Devil and his work.  So as youth we boycotted art museums that dared to display the naked human form.  We used words like filth, garbage, trash, to describe the work of artists that refused to honor God by clothing their models and subjects of art.\n\nI was taught that anything that mentions magic as good is bad.  So all movies that depict magic as some kind of good thing are promoting the Devil.  That meant that we would have never went to see Harry Potter had it been available.  We were told to beware of <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104254/\" target=\"_blank\">Ferngully</a>, the animated movie, for instance because it had fairies in it and they used magic and the movie was promoted by tree-hugging Satanists.\n\nMovies depicting sex, except within the confines of a Christian marriage were off limits.  That meant that I was not allowed to watch rated R movies and most PG movies.\n\nI remember wondering why movies and art and TV and other things were off limits.  What were my leaders so afraid of, that I would somehow worship Satan if I watched a rated R movie?  But, I did what they told me to do.  I refrained.  And when I slipped up and watched a rated R movie for the shear entertainment value, I felt guilty and I never told anyone about it.\n\n“You get to choose, John.  It is your choice regardless of what others think about you…” He said.\n\n“But, if I only listen to Christian music I will not be tempted by music to sin and lust and do other stuff.”\n\n“Really John?  Do you really believe that listening to the Beatles is going to cause you to take LSD?”\n\nI smiled.  <em>Of course not.  Of course I did not believe that</em>.\n\n“Well, no.”\n\n“No.  No is right John.  So why?  How is it that you are 36 years old and you have never listened to any good music?”\n\nHe was hitting me where I live.  See I have always loved music.  Again, I was singing since I was a kid and I knew what good singing sounded like.  I knew what good lyrics sounded like.  I knew what good music sounded like.  He was right.  I had deprived myself for this many years because…\n\n“Because of what?”\n\n“Well, like I said.  If I only listen to things of God, my mind will only be on things of God.”\n\n“Yeah, so how is that working for you?”\n\n<em>It wasn’t.  </em>It really wasn’t.  I knew that.  Christian Music, Christian Movies and books, Bible reading, praying, going to church, hanging out with only Christian people, none of that stuff seemed to keep me from frequently falling into sinful misery.  I was living a lie.  My external was crystal clean, but inside I was a mess.\n\nI began to realize that I had invested a lot into the externals.  I had placed a lifetime into making myself look holy, making myself look Christian when deep down I doubted God, deep down I struggled with sex and love addiction, selfishness, self-hatred, and pain.  None of this was being dealt with.  None of it could be touched by God, because I kept it so far away from him.  I had run out of arguments and packaged responses only to realize that they were never my arguments or responses to begin with.  These arguments and justifications and condemnations of the world around me were the voices of my youth pastor, my senior pastor and my previous church leaders.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-898\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/297474_174765455942302_152405444844970_359252_1497562969_n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" />\n\nSo there I was, a pastor at a thriving church in Houston, Texas being grilled by my fellow pastors on of all things, my external walk with God.  They wanted to know why I refused to enjoy the beauty of the world around me.  They wanted to know how I could justify not listening to good music and watching good shows.  They were concerned that my Christian life was getting in the way of me truly living with others.  They would not let up.  And so, for the first time in my life, I made a decision about my own life.\n\nI was going to begin to think for myself.  I would shut out the voices from the past and live life based on what God told me directly, or what God told me through my good and trusted friends, and on what made sense when considering the whole context of the Bible and the words of Jesus.\n\nIt was scary and even a little painful to venture out on my own this way, but I was not alone.  I had good and trusted friends who were willing to walk with me during this time.  This experience caused me to listen to my heart and really listen to the voice of God.  It taught me that even when things look super-spiritual, they can be just as harmful as any tactic of the Devil.  If you find yourself hiding from the world and living out of fear of the people in it ask yourself, is that what Jesus did?  Did Jesus only hang out with the religious people?  Did Jesus only spend time reading scripture, praying, and sticking closely to the religious Jews?\n\nIf we are to be followers of Jesus, could it mean that we are to be like him -- an integral part of the world around us, intimately involved in the lives of those who are different from us, interested in the people that some would call “the other?”  Interested in their music, their art, their heart and soul?  If we are to be this way, then why do we hide?  Why do we separate ourselves from everyone else?  Jesus didn’t.\n\nWhere did we learn that in order to be good Christians all we have to do is 1.  Read the Bible; 2.  Pray to God; 3.  Hang out with other Christians; and 4. Witness?  Doesn’t it seem obvious that something is missing here?  Think of it this way, of 1, 2, 3, and 4 where in the Bible does Jesus instruct us to do these things?  Where does he say that “all you have to do in order to follow me are these four things?”   He doesn\'t.  Instead he commands us to love others as we love ourselves.  He commissions us to go out and share the good news about him and his kingdom to the world, not just other Christians.  He models what that love looks like when he hangs out with the Samaritan woman and he protects the adulteress and he touches the leper and he speaks highly of the eunuch and he tells a story about a \"good\" Samaritan, and he spends a long time preaching, healing and touching hundreds of \"others\" on a mountain side, all the while totally immersed in his own culture and totally accepting of other cultures of the day.','You Get to Choose','','inherit','open','open','','897-revision','','','2011-10-21 16:51:07','2011-10-21 23:51:07','',897,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/897-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(901,4,'2011-12-03 16:57:15','2011-12-04 00:57:15','“You get to choose, John.  It is your choice regardless of what others think about you…”\n\nDesperate words from a man I deeply respected.\n\nSee I had lived my life up until that point based on someone else’s choices, someone else’s direction and someone else’s will for my life.  I thought I was doing the right thing.  But, who was I kidding, it never felt right.  I always felt as if I was living by someone else’s rules.  I was a classic people pleaser.  I hear that it is just part of my personality type to do things this way.\n\nSee at some point I saw life and my personal image as some kind of game.  You know, learn the rules, take out your game pieces and play your heart out?  The one who follows the rules and plays by them the best is the winner of the game.  The game lasts a lifetime and the ultimate goal in my Christianity was to win the prize.  You know the crown or the mansion or the walk down streets of gold?\n\nThat meant an absolute abstention from the “World” as I knew it.  Well, that is what my youth pastor told me, and then my senior pastor and my pastors and leaders after that.  My whole life it seems, someone was telling me to abstain from the world and all that was in it or risk contamination of the soul.\n\n<strong>Music</strong>\n\nChristian music was in fact the only wholesome music out there that fed the soul.  So, it made sense to me that at the age of 36 I had grown accustomed to collecting and listening to all sorts of genres of Christian music.  I had chants from monks, CCM pop stuff, Christian Rock, Rap, New Wave, Vineyard and Maranatha and Hosanna and Hillsong music stacked high in CDs and cassette tapes from the past.\n\nI had become quite the worship leader, learning how to play the guitar at the age of 9 and singing since I was old enough to hum.  I never played that God forsaken “secular” music for fear of truly disappointing God and throwing my pearls before swine.  I was convinced by my leaders that to play music that was not Godly, was a sin and that if I did that, then God would somehow take my gifts away and give them to someone else.\n\nSo up until that point I knew of secular musicians and such, but I did not know any.  We were told stories of backwards masking and rituals to the devil and stuff like that to scare us away from ever putting money into the hands of these evil doers in exchange for their music.\n\nI sat through a 6 week course on “Rock and Roll: The Devil’s Music” as a youth, the entire time wondering if this could actually be true – thinking <em>is it possible that all of these people worship the devil?  Is this some kind of satanic conspiracy?  For real?</em>\n\n<strong>Art, Movies, etc.</strong>\n\nWe were told that any artwork that displays the human body in any other form but with clothes on is pornography designed to pull you away from your walk with the Lord.  That brochures, underwear catalogs, billboards, TV commercials, magazines have all sold out to the devil by allowing ads that showed scantily clad women on them.  We were told that to buy these things and to give any kind of patronage to them is supporting the Devil and his work.  So as youth we boycotted art museums that dared to display the naked human form.  We used words like filth, garbage, trash, to describe the work of artists that refused to honor God by clothing their models and subjects of art.\n\nI was taught that anything that mentions magic as good is bad.  So all movies that depict magic as some kind of good thing are promoting the Devil.  That meant that we would have never went to see Harry Potter had it been available.  We were told to beware of <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104254/\" target=\"_blank\">Ferngully</a>, the animated movie, for instance because it had fairies in it and they used magic and the movie was promoted by tree-hugging Satanists.\n\nMovies depicting sex, except within the confines of a Christian marriage were off limits.  That meant that I was not allowed to watch rated R movies and most PG movies.\n\nI remember wondering why movies and art and TV and other things were off limits.  What were my leaders so afraid of, that I would somehow worship Satan if I watched a rated R movie?  But, I did what they told me to do.  I refrained.  And when I slipped up and watched a rated R movie for the shear entertainment value, I felt guilty and I never told anyone about it.\n\n“You get to choose, John.  It is your choice regardless of what others think about you…” He said.\n\n“But, if I only listen to Christian music I will not be tempted by music to sin and lust and do other stuff.”\n\n“Really John?  Do you really believe that listening to the Beatles is going to cause you to take LSD?”\n\nI smiled.  <em>Of course not.  Of course I did not believe that</em>.\n\n“Well, no.”\n\n“No.  No is right John.  So why?  How is it that you are 36 years old and you have never listened to any good music?”\n\nHe was hitting me where I live.  See I have always loved music.  Again, I was singing since I was a kid and I knew what good singing sounded like.  I knew what good lyrics sounded like.  I knew what good music sounded like.  He was right.  I had deprived myself for this many years because…\n\n“Because of what?”\n\n“Well, like I said.  If I only listen to things of God, my mind will only be on things of God.”\n\n“Yeah, so how is that working for you?”\n\n<em>It wasn’t.  </em>It really wasn’t.  I knew that.  Christian Music, Christian Movies and books, Bible reading, praying, going to church, hanging out with only Christian people, none of that stuff seemed to keep me from frequently falling into sinful misery.  I was living a lie.  My external was crystal clean, but inside I was a mess.\n\nI began to realize that I had invested a lot into the externals.  I had placed a lifetime into making myself look holy, making myself look Christian when deep down I doubted God, deep down I struggled with sex and love addiction, selfishness, self-hatred, and pain.  None of this was being dealt with.  None of it could be touched by God, because I kept it so far away from him.  I had run out of arguments and packaged responses only to realize that they were never my arguments or responses to begin with.  These arguments and justifications and condemnations of the world around me were the voices of my youth pastor, my senior pastor and my previous church leaders.\n\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-898\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/297474_174765455942302_152405444844970_359252_1497562969_n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"410\" height=\"307\" />\n\nSo there I was, a pastor at a thriving church in Houston, Texas being grilled by my fellow pastors on of all things, my external walk with God.  They wanted to know why I refused to enjoy the beauty of the world around me.  They wanted to know how I could justify not listening to good music and watching good shows.  They were concerned that my Christian life was getting in the way of me truly living with others.  They would not let up.  And so, for the first time in my life, I made a decision about my own life.\n\nI was going to begin to think for myself.  I would shut out the voices from the past and live life based on what God told me directly, or what God told me through my good and trusted friends, and on what made sense when considering the whole context of the Bible and the words of Jesus.\n\nIt was scary and even a little painful to venture out on my own this way, but I was not alone.  I had good and trusted friends who were willing to walk with me during this time.  This experience caused me to listen to my heart and really listen to the voice of God.  It taught me that even when things look super-spiritual, they can be just as harmful as any tactic of the Devil.  If you find yourself hiding from the world and living out of fear of the people in it ask yourself, is that what Jesus did?  Did Jesus only hang out with the religious people?  Did Jesus only spend time reading scripture, praying, and sticking closely to the religious Jews?\n\nIf we are to be followers of Jesus, could it mean that we are to be like him -- an integral part of the world around us, intimately involved in the lives of those who are different from us, interested in the people that some would call “the other?”  Interested in their music, their art, their heart and soul?  If we are to be this way, then why do we hide?  Why do we separate ourselves from everyone else?  Jesus didn’t.\n\nWhere did we learn that in order to be good Christians all we have to do is 1.  Read the Bible; 2.  Pray to God; 3.  Hang out with other Christians; and 4. Witness?  Doesn’t it seem obvious that something is missing here?  Think of it this way, of 1, 2, 3, and 4 where in the Bible does Jesus instruct us to do these things?  Where does he say that “all you have to do in order to follow me are these four things?”   He doesn\'t.  Instead he commands us to love others as we love ourselves.  He commissions us to go out and share the good news about him and his kingdom to the world, not just other Christians.  He models what that love looks like when he hangs out with the Samaritan woman and he protects the adulteress and he touches the leper and he speaks highly of the eunuch and he tells a story about a \"good\" Samaritan, and he spends a long time preaching, healing and touching hundreds of \"others\" on a mountain side, all the while totally immersed in his own culture and totally accepting of other cultures of the day.','You Get to Choose','','inherit','open','open','','897-autosave','','','2011-12-03 16:57:15','2011-12-04 00:57:15','',897,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/897-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(902,4,'2011-10-21 16:58:53','2011-10-21 23:58:53','“You get to choose, John.  It is your choice regardless of what others think about you…”\r\n\r\nDesperate words from a man I deeply respected.\r\n\r\nSee I had lived my life up until that point based on someone else’s choices, someone else’s direction and someone else’s will for my life.  I thought I was doing the right thing.  But, who was I kidding, it never felt right.  I always felt as if I was living by someone else’s rules.  I was a classic people pleaser.  I hear that it is just part of my personality type to do things this way.\r\n\r\nSee at some point I saw life and my personal image as some kind of game.  You know, learn the rules, take out your game pieces and play your heart out?  The one who follows the rules and plays by them the best is the winner of the game.  The game lasts a lifetime and the ultimate goal in my Christianity was to win the prize.  You know the crown or the mansion or the walk down streets of gold?\r\n\r\nThat meant an absolute abstention from the “World” as I knew it.  Well, that is what my youth pastor told me, and then my senior pastor and my pastors and leaders after that.  My whole life it seems, someone was telling me to abstain from the world and all that was in it or risk contamination of the soul.\r\n\r\n<strong>Music</strong>\r\n\r\nChristian music was in fact the only wholesome music out there that fed the soul.  So, it made sense to me that at the age of 36 I had grown accustomed to collecting and listening to all sorts of genres of Christian music.  I had chants from monks, CCM pop stuff, Christian Rock, Rap, New Wave, Vineyard and Maranantha and Hosanna and Hillsong music stacked high in CDs and cassette tapes from the past.\r\n\r\nI had become quite the worship leader, learning how to play the guitar at the age of 9 and singing since I was old enough to hum.  I never played that God forsaken “secular” music for fear of truly disappointing God and throwing my pearls before swine.  I was convinced by my leaders that to play music that was not Godly, was a sin and that if I did that, then God would somehow take my gifts away and give them to someone else.\r\n\r\nSo up until that point I knew of secular musicians and such, but I did not know any.  We were told stories of backwards masking and rituals to the devil and stuff like that to scare us away from ever putting money into the hands of these evil doers in exchange for their music.\r\n\r\nI sat through a 6 week course on “Rock and Roll: The Devil’s Music” as a youth, the entire time wondering if this could actually be true – thinking <em>is it possible that all of these people worship the devil?  Is this some kind of satanic conspiracy?  For real?</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>Art, Movies, etc.</strong>\r\n\r\nWe were told that any artwork that displays the human body in any other form but with clothes on is pornography designed to pull you away from your walk with the Lord.  That brochures, underwear catalogs, billboards, TV commercials, magazines have all sold out to the devil by allowing ads that showed scantily clad women on them.  We were told that to buy these things and to give any kind of patronage to them is supporting the Devil and his work.  So as youth we boycotted art museums that dared to display the naked human form.  We used words like filth, garbage, trash, to describe the work of artists that refused to honor God by clothing their models and subjects of art.\r\n\r\nI was taught that anything that mentions magic as good is bad.  So all movies that depict magic as some kind of good thing are promoting the Devil.  That meant that we would have never went to see Harry Potter had it been available.  We were told to beware of <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104254/\" target=\"_blank\">Ferngully</a>, the animated movie, for instance because it had fairies in it and they used magic and the movie was promoted by tree-hugging Satanists.\r\n\r\nMovies depicting sex, except within the confines of a Christian marriage were off limits.  That meant that I was not allowed to watch rated R movies and most PG movies.\r\n\r\nI remember wondering why movies and art and TV and other things were off limits.  What were my leaders so afraid of, that I would somehow worship Satan if I watched a rated R movie?  But, I did what they told me to do.  I refrained.  And when I slipped up and watched a rated R movie for the shear entertainment value, I felt guilty and I never told anyone about it.\r\n\r\n“You get to choose, John.  It is your choice regardless of what others think about you…” He said.\r\n\r\n“But, if I only listen to Christian music I will not be tempted by music to sin and lust and do other stuff.”\r\n\r\n“Really John?  Do you really believe that listening to the Beatles is going to cause you to take LSD?”\r\n\r\nI smiled.  <em>Of course not.  Of course I did not believe that</em>.\r\n\r\n“Well, no.”\r\n\r\n“No.  No is right John.  So why?  How is it that you are 36 years old and you have never listened to any good music?”\r\n\r\nHe was hitting me where I live.  See I have always loved music.  Again, I was singing since I was a kid and I knew what good singing sounded like.  I knew what good lyrics sounded like.  I knew what good music sounded like.  He was right.  I had deprived myself for this many years because…\r\n\r\n“Because of what?”\r\n\r\n“Well, like I said.  If I only listen to things of God, my mind will only be on things of God.”\r\n\r\n“Yeah, so how is that working for you?”\r\n\r\n<em>It wasn’t.  </em>It really wasn’t.  I knew that.  Christian Music, Christian Movies and books, Bible reading, praying, going to church, hanging out with only Christian people, none of that stuff seemed to keep me from frequently falling into sinful misery.  I was living a lie.  My external was crystal clean, but inside I was a mess.\r\n\r\nI began to realize that I had invested a lot into the externals.  I had placed a lifetime into making myself look holy, making myself look Christian when deep down I doubted God, deep down I struggled with sex and love addiction, selfishness, self-hatred, and pain.  None of this was being dealt with.  None of it could be touched by God, because I kept it so far away from him.  I had run out of arguments and packaged responses only to realize that they were never my arguments or responses to begin with.  These arguments and justifications and condemnations of the world around me were the voices of my youth pastor, my senior pastor and my previous church leaders.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-898\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/297474_174765455942302_152405444844970_359252_1497562969_n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" />\r\n\r\nSo there I was, a pastor at a thriving church in Houston, Texas being grilled by my fellow pastors on of all things, my external walk with God.  They wanted to know why I refused to enjoy the beauty of the world around me.  They wanted to know how I could justify not listening to good music and watching good shows.  They were concerned that my Christian life was getting in the way of me truly living with others.  They would not let up.  And so, for the first time in my life, I made a decision about my own life.\r\n\r\nI was going to begin to think for myself.  I would shut out the voices from the past and live life based on what God told me directly, or what God told me through my good and trusted friends, and on what made sense when considering the whole context of the Bible and the words of Jesus.\r\n\r\nIt was scary and even a little painful to venture out on my own this way, but I was not alone.  I had good and trusted friends who were willing to walk with me during this time.  This experience caused me to listen to my heart and really listen to the voice of God.  It taught me that even when things look super-spiritual, they can be just as harmful as any tactic of the Devil.  If you find yourself hiding from the world and living out of fear of the people in it ask yourself, is that what Jesus did?  Did Jesus only hang out with the religious people?  Did Jesus only spend time reading scripture, praying, and sticking closely to the religious Jews?\r\n\r\nIf we are to be followers of Jesus, could it mean that we are to be like him -- an integral part of the world around us, intimately involved in the lives of those who are different from us, interested in the people that some would call “the other?”  Interested in their music, their art, their heart and soul?  If we are to be this way, then why do we hide?  Why do we separate ourselves from everyone else?  Jesus didn’t.\r\n\r\nWhere did we learn that in order to be good Christians all we have to do is 1.  Read the Bible; 2.  Pray to God; 3.  Hang out with other Christians; and 4. Witness?  Doesn’t it seem obvious that something is missing here?  Think of it this way, of 1, 2, 3, and 4 where in the Bible does Jesus instruct us to do these things?  Where does he say that “all you have to do in order to follow me are these four things?”   He doesn\'t.  Instead he commands us to love others as we love ourselves.  He commissions us to go out and share the good news about him and his kingdom to the world, not just other Christians.  He models what that love looks like when he hangs out with the Samaritan woman and he protects the adulteress and he touches the leper and he speaks highly of the eunuch and he tells a story about a \"good\" Samaritan, and he spends a long time preaching, healing and touching hundreds of \"others\" on a mountain side, all the while totally immersed in his own culture and totally accepting of other cultures of the day.','You Get to Choose','','inherit','open','open','','897-revision-2','','','2011-10-21 16:58:53','2011-10-21 23:58:53','',897,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/897-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(903,4,'2011-10-21 17:00:56','2011-10-22 00:00:56','“You get to choose, John.  It is your choice regardless of what others think about you…”\r\n\r\nDesperate words from a man I deeply respected.\r\n\r\nSee I had lived my life up until that point based on someone else’s choices, someone else’s direction and someone else’s will for my life.  I thought I was doing the right thing.  But, who was I kidding, it never felt right.  I always felt as if I was living by someone else’s rules.  I was a classic people pleaser.  I hear that it is just part of my personality type to do things this way.\r\n\r\nSee at some point I saw life and my personal image as some kind of game.  You know, learn the rules, take out your game pieces and play your heart out?  The one who follows the rules and plays by them the best is the winner of the game.  The game lasts a lifetime and the ultimate goal in my Christianity was to win the prize.  You know the crown or the mansion or the walk down streets of gold?\r\n\r\nThat meant an absolute abstention from the “World” as I knew it.  Well, that is what my youth pastor told me, and then my senior pastor and my pastors and leaders after that.  My whole life it seems, someone was telling me to abstain from the world and all that was in it or risk contamination of the soul.\r\n\r\n<strong>Music</strong>\r\n\r\nChristian music was in fact the only wholesome music out there that fed the soul.  So, it made sense to me that at the age of 36 I had grown accustomed to collecting and listening to all sorts of genres of Christian music.  I had chants from monks, CCM pop stuff, Christian Rock, Rap, New Wave, Vineyard and Maranatha and Hosanna and Hillsong music stacked high in CDs and cassette tapes from the past.\r\n\r\nI had become quite the worship leader, learning how to play the guitar at the age of 9 and singing since I was old enough to hum.  I never played that God forsaken “secular” music for fear of truly disappointing God and throwing my pearls before swine.  I was convinced by my leaders that to play music that was not Godly, was a sin and that if I did that, then God would somehow take my gifts away and give them to someone else.\r\n\r\nSo up until that point I knew of secular musicians and such, but I did not know any.  We were told stories of backwards masking and rituals to the devil and stuff like that to scare us away from ever putting money into the hands of these evil doers in exchange for their music.\r\n\r\nI sat through a 6 week course on “Rock and Roll: The Devil’s Music” as a youth, the entire time wondering if this could actually be true – thinking <em>is it possible that all of these people worship the devil?  Is this some kind of satanic conspiracy?  For real?</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>Art, Movies, etc.</strong>\r\n\r\nWe were told that any artwork that displays the human body in any other form but with clothes on is pornography designed to pull you away from your walk with the Lord.  That brochures, underwear catalogs, billboards, TV commercials, magazines have all sold out to the devil by allowing ads that showed scantily clad women on them.  We were told that to buy these things and to give any kind of patronage to them is supporting the Devil and his work.  So as youth we boycotted art museums that dared to display the naked human form.  We used words like filth, garbage, trash, to describe the work of artists that refused to honor God by clothing their models and subjects of art.\r\n\r\nI was taught that anything that mentions magic as good is bad.  So all movies that depict magic as some kind of good thing are promoting the Devil.  That meant that we would have never went to see Harry Potter had it been available.  We were told to beware of <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104254/\" target=\"_blank\">Ferngully</a>, the animated movie, for instance because it had fairies in it and they used magic and the movie was promoted by tree-hugging Satanists.\r\n\r\nMovies depicting sex, except within the confines of a Christian marriage were off limits.  That meant that I was not allowed to watch rated R movies and most PG movies.\r\n\r\nI remember wondering why movies and art and TV and other things were off limits.  What were my leaders so afraid of, that I would somehow worship Satan if I watched a rated R movie?  But, I did what they told me to do.  I refrained.  And when I slipped up and watched a rated R movie for the shear entertainment value, I felt guilty and I never told anyone about it.\r\n\r\n“You get to choose, John.  It is your choice regardless of what others think about you…” He said.\r\n\r\n“But, if I only listen to Christian music I will not be tempted by music to sin and lust and do other stuff.”\r\n\r\n“Really John?  Do you really believe that listening to the Beatles is going to cause you to take LSD?”\r\n\r\nI smiled.  <em>Of course not.  Of course I did not believe that</em>.\r\n\r\n“Well, no.”\r\n\r\n“No.  No is right John.  So why?  How is it that you are 36 years old and you have never listened to any good music?”\r\n\r\nHe was hitting me where I live.  See I have always loved music.  Again, I was singing since I was a kid and I knew what good singing sounded like.  I knew what good lyrics sounded like.  I knew what good music sounded like.  He was right.  I had deprived myself for this many years because…\r\n\r\n“Because of what?”\r\n\r\n“Well, like I said.  If I only listen to things of God, my mind will only be on things of God.”\r\n\r\n“Yeah, so how is that working for you?”\r\n\r\n<em>It wasn’t.  </em>It really wasn’t.  I knew that.  Christian Music, Christian Movies and books, Bible reading, praying, going to church, hanging out with only Christian people, none of that stuff seemed to keep me from frequently falling into sinful misery.  I was living a lie.  My external was crystal clean, but inside I was a mess.\r\n\r\nI began to realize that I had invested a lot into the externals.  I had placed a lifetime into making myself look holy, making myself look Christian when deep down I doubted God, deep down I struggled with sex and love addiction, selfishness, self-hatred, and pain.  None of this was being dealt with.  None of it could be touched by God, because I kept it so far away from him.  I had run out of arguments and packaged responses only to realize that they were never my arguments or responses to begin with.  These arguments and justifications and condemnations of the world around me were the voices of my youth pastor, my senior pastor and my previous church leaders.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-898\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/297474_174765455942302_152405444844970_359252_1497562969_n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" />\r\n\r\nSo there I was, a pastor at a thriving church in Houston, Texas being grilled by my fellow pastors on of all things, my external walk with God.  They wanted to know why I refused to enjoy the beauty of the world around me.  They wanted to know how I could justify not listening to good music and watching good shows.  They were concerned that my Christian life was getting in the way of me truly living with others.  They would not let up.  And so, for the first time in my life, I made a decision about my own life.\r\n\r\nI was going to begin to think for myself.  I would shut out the voices from the past and live life based on what God told me directly, or what God told me through my good and trusted friends, and on what made sense when considering the whole context of the Bible and the words of Jesus.\r\n\r\nIt was scary and even a little painful to venture out on my own this way, but I was not alone.  I had good and trusted friends who were willing to walk with me during this time.  This experience caused me to listen to my heart and really listen to the voice of God.  It taught me that even when things look super-spiritual, they can be just as harmful as any tactic of the Devil.  If you find yourself hiding from the world and living out of fear of the people in it ask yourself, is that what Jesus did?  Did Jesus only hang out with the religious people?  Did Jesus only spend time reading scripture, praying, and sticking closely to the religious Jews?\r\n\r\nIf we are to be followers of Jesus, could it mean that we are to be like him -- an integral part of the world around us, intimately involved in the lives of those who are different from us, interested in the people that some would call “the other?”  Interested in their music, their art, their heart and soul?  If we are to be this way, then why do we hide?  Why do we separate ourselves from everyone else?  Jesus didn’t.\r\n\r\nWhere did we learn that in order to be good Christians all we have to do is 1.  Read the Bible; 2.  Pray to God; 3.  Hang out with other Christians; and 4. Witness?  Doesn’t it seem obvious that something is missing here?  Think of it this way, of 1, 2, 3, and 4 where in the Bible does Jesus instruct us to do these things?  Where does he say that “all you have to do in order to follow me are these four things?”   He doesn\'t.  Instead he commands us to love others as we love ourselves.  He commissions us to go out and share the good news about him and his kingdom to the world, not just other Christians.  He models what that love looks like when he hangs out with the Samaritan woman and he protects the adulteress and he touches the leper and he speaks highly of the eunuch and he tells a story about a \"good\" Samaritan, and he spends a long time preaching, healing and touching hundreds of \"others\" on a mountain side, all the while totally immersed in his own culture and totally accepting of other cultures of the day.','You Get to Choose','','inherit','open','open','','897-revision-3','','','2011-10-21 17:00:56','2011-10-22 00:00:56','',897,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/897-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(904,1,'2011-10-21 17:03:24','2011-10-22 00:03:24','“You get to choose, John.  It is your choice regardless of what others think about you…”\r\n\r\nDesperate words from a man I deeply respected.\r\n\r\nSee I had lived my life up until that point based on someone else’s choices, someone else’s direction and someone else’s will for my life.  I thought I was doing the right thing.  But, who was I kidding, it never felt right.  I always felt as if I was living by someone else’s rules.  I was a classic people pleaser.  I hear that it is just part of my personality type to do things this way.\r\n\r\nSee at some point I saw life and my personal image as some kind of game.  You know, learn the rules, take out your game pieces and play your heart out?  The one who follows the rules and plays by them the best is the winner of the game.  The game lasts a lifetime and the ultimate goal in my Christianity was to win the prize.  You know the crown or the mansion or the walk down streets of gold?\r\n\r\nThat meant an absolute abstention from the “World” as I knew it.  Well, that is what my youth pastor told me, and then my senior pastor and my pastors and leaders after that.  My whole life it seems, someone was telling me to abstain from the world and all that was in it or risk contamination of the soul.\r\n\r\n<strong>Music</strong>\r\n\r\nChristian music was in fact the only wholesome music out there that fed the soul.  So, it made sense to me that at the age of 36 I had grown accustomed to collecting and listening to all sorts of genres of Christian music.  I had chants from monks, CCM pop stuff, Christian Rock, Rap, New Wave, Vineyard and Maranatha and Hosanna and Hillsong music stacked high in CDs and cassette tapes from the past.\r\n\r\nI had become quite the worship leader, learning how to play the guitar at the age of 9 and singing since I was old enough to hum.  I never played that God forsaken “secular” music for fear of truly disappointing God and throwing my pearls before swine.  I was convinced by my leaders that to play music that was not Godly, was a sin and that if I did that, then God would somehow take my gifts away and give them to someone else.\r\n\r\nSo up until that point I knew of secular musicians and such, but I did not know any.  We were told stories of backwards masking and rituals to the devil and stuff like that to scare us away from ever putting money into the hands of these evil doers in exchange for their music.\r\n\r\nI sat through a 6 week course on “Rock and Roll: The Devil’s Music” as a youth, the entire time wondering if this could actually be true – thinking <em>is it possible that all of these people worship the devil?  Is this some kind of satanic conspiracy?  For real?</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>Art, Movies, etc.</strong>\r\n\r\nWe were told that any artwork that displays the human body in any other form but with clothes on is pornography designed to pull you away from your walk with the Lord.  That brochures, underwear catalogs, billboards, TV commercials, magazines have all sold out to the devil by allowing ads that showed scantily clad women on them.  We were told that to buy these things and to give any kind of patronage to them is supporting the Devil and his work.  So as youth we boycotted art museums that dared to display the naked human form.  We used words like filth, garbage, trash, to describe the work of artists that refused to honor God by clothing their models and subjects of art.\r\n\r\nI was taught that anything that mentions magic as good is bad.  So all movies that depict magic as some kind of good thing are promoting the Devil.  That meant that we would have never went to see Harry Potter had it been available.  We were told to beware of <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104254/\" target=\"_blank\">Ferngully</a>, the animated movie, for instance because it had fairies in it and they used magic and the movie was promoted by tree-hugging Satanists.\r\n\r\nMovies depicting sex, except within the confines of a Christian marriage were off limits.  That meant that I was not allowed to watch rated R movies and most PG movies.\r\n\r\nI remember wondering why movies and art and TV and other things were off limits.  What were my leaders so afraid of, that I would somehow worship Satan if I watched a rated R movie?  But, I did what they told me to do.  I refrained.  And when I slipped up and watched a rated R movie for the shear entertainment value, I felt guilty and I never told anyone about it.\r\n\r\n“You get to choose, John.  It is your choice regardless of what others think about you…” He said.\r\n\r\n“But, if I only listen to Christian music I will not be tempted by music to sin and lust and do other stuff.”\r\n\r\n“Really John?  Do you really believe that listening to the Beatles is going to cause you to take LSD?”\r\n\r\nI smiled.  <em>Of course not.  Of course I did not believe that</em>.\r\n\r\n“Well, no.”\r\n\r\n“No.  No is right John.  So why?  How is it that you are 36 years old and you have never listened to any good music?”\r\n\r\nHe was hitting me where I live.  See I have always loved music.  Again, I was singing since I was a kid and I knew what good singing sounded like.  I knew what good lyrics sounded like.  I knew what good music sounded like.  He was right.  I had deprived myself for this many years because…\r\n\r\n“Because of what?”\r\n\r\n“Well, like I said.  If I only listen to things of God, my mind will only be on things of God.”\r\n\r\n“Yeah, so how is that working for you?”\r\n\r\n<em>It wasn’t.  </em>It really wasn’t.  I knew that.  Christian Music, Christian Movies and books, Bible reading, praying, going to church, hanging out with only Christian people, none of that stuff seemed to keep me from frequently falling into sinful misery.  I was living a lie.  My external was crystal clean, but inside I was a mess.\r\n\r\nI began to realize that I had invested a lot into the externals.  I had placed a lifetime into making myself look holy, making myself look Christian when deep down I doubted God, deep down I struggled with sex and love addiction, selfishness, self-hatred, and pain.  None of this was being dealt with.  None of it could be touched by God, because I kept it so far away from him.  I had run out of arguments and packaged responses only to realize that they were never my arguments or responses to begin with.  These arguments and justifications and condemnations of the world around me were the voices of my youth pastor, my senior pastor and my previous church leaders.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-898\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/297474_174765455942302_152405444844970_359252_1497562969_n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"410\" height=\"307\" />\r\n\r\nSo there I was, a pastor at a thriving church in Houston, Texas being grilled by my fellow pastors on of all things, my external walk with God.  They wanted to know why I refused to enjoy the beauty of the world around me.  They wanted to know how I could justify not listening to good music and watching good shows.  They were concerned that my Christian life was getting in the way of me truly living with others.  They would not let up.  And so, for the first time in my life, I made a decision about my own life.\r\n\r\nI was going to begin to think for myself.  I would shut out the voices from the past and live life based on what God told me directly, or what God told me through my good and trusted friends, and on what made sense when considering the whole context of the Bible and the words of Jesus.\r\n\r\nIt was scary and even a little painful to venture out on my own this way, but I was not alone.  I had good and trusted friends who were willing to walk with me during this time.  This experience caused me to listen to my heart and really listen to the voice of God.  It taught me that even when things look super-spiritual, they can be just as harmful as any tactic of the Devil.  If you find yourself hiding from the world and living out of fear of the people in it ask yourself, is that what Jesus did?  Did Jesus only hang out with the religious people?  Did Jesus only spend time reading scripture, praying, and sticking closely to the religious Jews?\r\n\r\nIf we are to be followers of Jesus, could it mean that we are to be like him -- an integral part of the world around us, intimately involved in the lives of those who are different from us, interested in the people that some would call “the other?”  Interested in their music, their art, their heart and soul?  If we are to be this way, then why do we hide?  Why do we separate ourselves from everyone else?  Jesus didn’t.\r\n\r\nWhere did we learn that in order to be good Christians all we have to do is 1.  Read the Bible; 2.  Pray to God; 3.  Hang out with other Christians; and 4. Witness?  Doesn’t it seem obvious that something is missing here?  Think of it this way, of 1, 2, 3, and 4 where in the Bible does Jesus instruct us to do these things?  Where does he say that “all you have to do in order to follow me are these four things?”   He doesn\'t.  Instead he commands us to love others as we love ourselves.  He commissions us to go out and share the good news about him and his kingdom to the world, not just other Christians.  He models what that love looks like when he hangs out with the Samaritan woman and he protects the adulteress and he touches the leper and he speaks highly of the eunuch and he tells a story about a \"good\" Samaritan, and he spends a long time preaching, healing and touching hundreds of \"others\" on a mountain side, all the while totally immersed in his own culture and totally accepting of other cultures of the day.','You Get to Choose','','inherit','open','open','','897-revision-4','','','2011-10-21 17:03:24','2011-10-22 00:03:24','',897,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/897-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(905,1,'2011-10-21 17:43:46','2011-10-22 00:43:46','“You get to choose, John.  It is your choice regardless of what others think about you…”\r\n\r\nDesperate words from a man I deeply respected.\r\n\r\nSee I had lived my life up until that point based on someone else’s choices, someone else’s direction and someone else’s will for my life.  I thought I was doing the right thing.  But, who was I kidding, it never felt right.  I always felt as if I was living by someone else’s rules.  I was a classic people pleaser.  I hear that it is just part of my personality type to do things this way.\r\n\r\nSee at some point I saw life and my personal image as some kind of game.  You know, learn the rules, take out your game pieces and play your heart out?  The one who follows the rules and plays by them the best is the winner of the game.  The game lasts a lifetime and the ultimate goal in my Christianity was to win the prize.  You know the crown or the mansion or the walk down streets of gold?\r\n\r\nThat meant an absolute abstention from the “World” as I knew it.  Well, that is what my youth pastor told me, and then my senior pastor and my pastors and leaders after that.  My whole life it seems, someone was telling me to abstain from the world and all that was in it or risk contamination of the soul.\r\n\r\n<strong>Music</strong>\r\n\r\nChristian music was in fact the only wholesome music out there that fed the soul.  So, it made sense to me that at the age of 36 I had grown accustomed to collecting and listening to all sorts of genres of Christian music.  I had chants from monks, CCM pop stuff, Christian Rock, Rap, New Wave, Vineyard and Maranatha and Hosanna and Hillsong music stacked high in CDs and cassette tapes from the past.\r\n\r\nI had become quite the worship leader, learning how to play the guitar at the age of 9 and singing since I was old enough to hum.  I never played that God forsaken “secular” music for fear of truly disappointing God and throwing my pearls before swine.  I was convinced by my leaders that to play music that was not Godly, was a sin and that if I did that, then God would somehow take my gifts away and give them to someone else.\r\n\r\nSo up until that point I knew of secular musicians and such, but I did not know any.  We were told stories of backwards masking and rituals to the devil and stuff like that to scare us away from ever putting money into the hands of these evil doers in exchange for their music.\r\n\r\nI sat through a 6 week course on “Rock and Roll: The Devil’s Music” as a youth, the entire time wondering if this could actually be true – thinking <em>is it possible that all of these people worship the devil?  Is this some kind of satanic conspiracy?  For real?</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>Art, Movies, etc.</strong>\r\n\r\nWe were told that any artwork that displays the human body in any other form but with clothes on is pornography designed to pull you away from your walk with the Lord.  That brochures, underwear catalogs, billboards, TV commercials, magazines have all sold out to the devil by allowing ads that showed scantily clad women on them.  We were told that to buy these things and to give any kind of patronage to them is supporting the Devil and his work.  So as youth we boycotted art museums that dared to display the naked human form.  We used words like filth, garbage, trash, to describe the work of artists that refused to honor God by clothing their models and subjects of art.\r\n\r\nI was taught that anything that mentions magic as good is bad.  So all movies that depict magic as some kind of good thing are promoting the Devil.  That meant that we would have never went to see Harry Potter had it been available.  We were told to beware of <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104254/\" target=\"_blank\">Ferngully</a>, the animated movie, for instance because it had fairies in it and they used magic and the movie was promoted by tree-hugging Satanists.\r\n\r\nMovies depicting sex, except within the confines of a Christian marriage were off limits.  That meant that I was not allowed to watch rated R movies and most PG movies.\r\n\r\nI remember wondering why movies and art and TV and other things were off limits.  What were my leaders so afraid of, that I would somehow worship Satan if I watched a rated R movie?  But, I did what they told me to do.  I refrained.  And when I slipped up and watched a rated R movie for the shear entertainment value, I felt guilty and I never told anyone about it.\r\n\r\n“You get to choose, John.  It is your choice regardless of what others think about you…” He said.\r\n\r\n“But, if I only listen to Christian music I will not be tempted by music to sin and lust and do other stuff.”\r\n\r\n“Really John?  Do you really believe that listening to the Beatles is going to cause you to take LSD?”\r\n\r\nI smiled.  <em>Of course not.  Of course I did not believe that</em>.\r\n\r\n“Well, no.”\r\n\r\n“No.  No is right John.  So why?  How is it that you are 36 years old and you have never listened to any good music?”\r\n\r\nHe was hitting me where I live.  See I have always loved music.  Again, I was singing since I was a kid and I knew what good singing sounded like.  I knew what good lyrics sounded like.  I knew what good music sounded like.  He was right.  I had deprived myself for this many years because…\r\n\r\n“Because of what?”\r\n\r\n“Well, like I said.  If I only listen to things of God, my mind will only be on things of God.”\r\n\r\n“Yeah, so how is that working for you?”\r\n\r\n<em>It wasn’t.  </em>It really wasn’t.  I knew that.  Christian Music, Christian Movies and books, Bible reading, praying, going to church, hanging out with only Christian people, none of that stuff seemed to keep me from frequently falling into sinful misery.  I was living a lie.  My external was crystal clean, but inside I was a mess.\r\n\r\nI began to realize that I had invested a lot into the externals.  I had placed a lifetime into making myself look holy, making myself look Christian when deep down I doubted God, deep down I struggled with sex and love addiction, selfishness, self-hatred, and pain.  None of this was being dealt with.  None of it could be touched by God, because I kept it so far away from him.  I had run out of arguments and packaged responses only to realize that they were never my arguments or responses to begin with.  These arguments and justifications and condemnations of the world around me were the voices of my youth pastor, my senior pastor and my previous church leaders.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-898\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/297474_174765455942302_152405444844970_359252_1497562969_n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"410\" height=\"307\" />\r\n\r\nSo there I was, a pastor at a thriving church in Houston, Texas being grilled by my fellow pastors on of all things, my external walk with God.  They wanted to know why I refused to enjoy the beauty of the world around me.  They wanted to know how I could justify not listening to good music and watching good shows.  They were concerned that my Christian life was getting in the way of me truly living with others.  They would not let up.  And so, for the first time in my life, I made a decision about my own life.\r\n\r\nI was going to begin to think for myself.  I would shut out the voices from the past and live life based on what God told me directly, or what God told me through my good and trusted friends, and on what made sense when considering the whole context of the Bible and the words of Jesus.\r\n\r\nIt was scary and even a little painful to venture out on my own this way, but I was not alone.  I had good and trusted friends who were willing to walk with me during this time.  This experience caused me to listen to my heart and really listen to the voice of God.  It taught me that even when things look super-spiritual, they can be just as harmful as any tactic of the Devil.  If you find yourself hiding from the world and living out of fear of the people in it ask yourself, is that what Jesus did?  Did Jesus only hang out with the religious people?  Did Jesus only spend time reading scripture, praying, and sticking closely to the religious Jews?\r\n\r\nIf we are to be followers of Jesus, could it mean that we are to be like him -- an integral part of the world around us, intimately involved in the lives of those who are different from us, interested in the people that some would call “the other?”  Interested in their music, their art, their heart and soul?  If we are to be this way, then why do we hide?  Why do we separate ourselves from everyone else?  Jesus didn’t.\r\n\r\nWhere did we learn that in order to be good Christians all we have to do is 1.  Read the Bible; 2.  Pray to God; 3.  Hang out with other Christians; and 4. Witness?  Doesn’t it seem obvious that something is missing here?  Think of it this way, of 1, 2, 3, and 4 where in the Bible does Jesus instruct us to do these things?  Where does he say that “all you have to do in order to follow me are these four things?”   He doesn\'t.  Instead he commands us to love others as we love ourselves.  He commissions us to go out and share the good news about him and his kingdom to the world, not just other Christians.  He models what that love looks like when he hangs out with the Samaritan woman and he protects the adulteress and he touches the leper and he speaks highly of the eunuch and he tells a story about a \"good\" Samaritan, and he spends a long time preaching, healing and touching hundreds of \"others\" on a mountain side, all the while totally immersed in his own culture and totally accepting of other cultures of the day.','You Get to Choose','','inherit','open','open','','897-revision-5','','','2011-10-21 17:43:46','2011-10-22 00:43:46','',897,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/897-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(906,48,'2011-10-23 12:00:11','2011-10-23 19:00:11','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punch line, of course.\r\n\r\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchant for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially awkward or difficult situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, humor is a lot less humorous when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil genie joke.\r\n\r\nThe evil genie joke is a standard in many a comic\'s repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! The lamp contains a genie who is now at their beck and call, eagerly waiting to grant them three wishes. (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the genies caught on to that jig a long time ago.) These jokes highlight how important it is to be careful what you ask for or how you ask for it; while the genie gives the person exactly what they wished for, the result is comically undesirable, like the man who asks for a wife 30 years his junior, only to have the genie make him 30 years older rather than making his wife younger.\r\n\r\nI sometimes find myself feeling like the poor sap who\'s the butt of the genie jokes, believing God has given me exactly what I prayed for, but purposefully made it so I would hate every minute of it. People say you should be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it. Well, I think this also applies to prayer, and not just the tongue-in-cheek cautions people often give to avoid praying for patience.\r\n\r\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a circumstance with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was excruciatingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone assured me  it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\r\n\r\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I concluded that God couldn\'t really want me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, my husband and I decided it was time for me to leave my job. After a few more weeks and a few more disagreements with leadership, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry. As a result, we lost relationships with everyone who was still on the ministry team, people we thought were our friends for all those years. It was a difficult and painful, and while I regret some of the aftermath, the leaving I do not regret.\r\n\r\nWhen I look back on this situation, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\r\n\r\nAt some point we all caricature God, making Him into our own golden calf, an idol of our choosing and creation. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to their God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\r\n\r\nI usually assume these characterizations of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our images of God do show certain aspects of Him, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the Old Testament, where God gave people what they wanted even when it was neither His will for them nor in their best interest.  One such time was when the Israelites demanded a king so they could be like the other nations. God gave them the king that they wanted even though they were in effect rejecting Him as their king and they would soon resent this new earthly king\'s power over them (see 1 Samuel 8:1-22). Perhaps God does sometimes play the part of the Evil Genie, and sometimes we play the part of the punch line.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punch Line?','','publish','open','open','','whats-the-punch-line','','','2011-10-22 23:33:59','2011-10-23 06:33:59','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=906',0,'post','',4),(907,48,'2011-10-21 17:53:16','2011-10-22 00:53:16','A young, caucasian male, holding a golden magic lamp.','Holding a Magic Lamp','','inherit','open','open','','holding-a-magic-lamp','','','2011-10-21 17:53:16','2011-10-22 00:53:16','',906,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/iStock_000011506598Large.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(908,0,'2011-10-21 17:55:48','2011-10-22 00:55:48','Theology, Spirituality, Culture (Books), Family\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Jason Postma\nAUTHOR EMAIL: rootedradical@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://www.rootedradical.wordpress.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Proketive\nIP: 99.250.184.94\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Jason Postma\n    [Email] =&gt; rootedradical@gmail.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; www.rootedradical.wordpress.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Theology, Spirituality, Culture (Books), Family\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; rootedradical\n)\n','Jason Postma - 2011-10-21 17:55:48','','publish','open','open','','6126964cffc758c9daafb44590078db9','','','2011-10-21 17:55:48','2011-10-22 00:55:48','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=908',0,'feedback','',0),(909,48,'2011-10-21 17:52:28','2011-10-22 00:52:28','','Views of God: Evil Genie','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision','','','2011-10-21 17:52:28','2011-10-22 00:52:28','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/906-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(910,48,'2011-10-21 18:27:15','2011-10-22 01:27:15','The human mind, while a wonderful and powerful mechanism, truly seems to fall short when striving to comprehend the complexities of the world, let alone attempting to comprehend the truly uncomprehensable: God. Perhaps that is why the Israelites carved a golden calf to serve as their God while Moses was up conversing with said God up the mountain. God contains so much in one being that seems contradictory to us mere humans: wrathful judgment and mercy, anger and grace, violence and gentleness; a still, quiet voice, and a voice like thunder.\n\nIt is no wonder that in our twisted minds and skewed mental schemas, we have created God in an image of our choosing, much like a golden calf. Some, especially those who had absent or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry and stern father or as a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, who never intervenes on earth, while some think of God as a cruel puppetmaster, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul.  A recent development seems to be the view of God as some sort of cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a 3000 square foot house.\n\nI am not immune to this phenomenon. Recently it occured to me that I occasionally caricature God as an Evil Genie-- just waiting to give me everything I ask for, but in some weird\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Views of God: Evil Genie','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-2','','','2011-10-21 18:27:15','2011-10-22 01:27:15','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/906-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(911,48,'2011-10-21 18:32:07','2011-10-22 01:32:07','The human mind, while a wonderful and powerful mechanism, truly seems to fall short when striving to comprehend the complexities of the world, let alone attempting to comprehend the truly incomprehensible: God. Perhaps that is why the Israelites carved a golden calf to serve as their God while Moses was up conversing with said God up the mountain. God contains so much in one being that seems contradictory to us mere humans: wrathful judgment and mercy, anger and grace, violence and gentleness; a still, quiet voice, and a voice like thunder.\n\nIt is no wonder that in our twisted minds and skewed mental schemas, we have created God in an image of our choosing, much like a golden calf. Some, especially those who had absent or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry and stern father or as a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, who never intervenes on earth, while some think of God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul.  A recent development seems to be the view of God as some sort of cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a 3000 square foot house.\n\nI am not immune to this phenomenon. Recently it occurred to me that I occasionally caricature God as an Evil Genie-- just waiting to give me everything I ask for, but in some weird twisted way to punish or fool me. It\'s like the punch line in a joke: a foolish person happens upon a lamp, rubs it three times, to find a genie at his or her beckon call. They get their three wishes, but usually not how they\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Views of God: Evil Genie','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-3','','','2011-10-21 18:32:07','2011-10-22 01:32:07','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/906-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(912,1,'2011-10-21 14:06:53','2011-10-21 21:06:53','<strong>About Provoketive Magazine</strong>: In a world saturated with people shouting at each other, it\'s rare to find a place where people can engage in conversation with each other.  Provoketive Magazine hopes to change that.  We\'re creating a space of rich conversation about life, faith, justice and culture without judgment.  Our desire is to provoke the reader\'s imagination through conversation and open up spaces of dialogue, learning, and hope.\r\n\r\n<strong>Current Categories</strong>:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Life: Business, Family, Growth, Humorous, Health, Sports, Technology, and World</li>\r\n	<li>Faith: Spirituality, Theology, Interfaith Dialogue, Spiritual Practices, and Questions</li>\r\n	<li>Justice: Social Justice, Gender Equality, Politics and Economics</li>\r\n	<li>Culture: Movies, Books, Music, Art, Poetry and Interviews</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nIf you are a writer and want to participate with us in creating this rich space of conversation, we invite you to sign up today.  Use the form below to provide the following information.  We will respond to you in 1-3 days with instructions for participation.\r\n\r\n[contact-form subject=\"Provoketive Magazine Writing For Proketive\" to=\"jb@thriven.org\"] [contact-field label=\"Name\" type=\"name\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Email\" type=\"email\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Existing Blog or Website\" type=\"url\" /] [contact-field label=\"List the topic you are interested writing about\" type=\"textarea\" required=\"true\" /] [contact-field label=\"Current or New Wordpress Login Name (We\\\'ll send you a password.)\" type=\"text\" required=\"true\" /] [/contact-form]','Writing For Provoketive','','inherit','open','open','','358-revision-23','','','2011-10-21 14:06:53','2011-10-21 21:06:53','',358,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/358-revision-23/',0,'revision','',0),(913,0,'2011-10-21 18:48:57','2011-10-22 01:48:57','test\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Jonathan Brink\nAUTHOR EMAIL: jb@thriven.org\nAUTHOR URL: http://jonathanbrink.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 75.54.150.243\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Jonathan Brink\n    [Email] =&gt; jb@thriven.org\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; http://jonathanbrink.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; test\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; test\n)\n','Jonathan Brink - 2011-10-21 18:48:57','','publish','open','open','','cd72889e604c2478d613c70c999346ba','','','2011-10-21 18:48:57','2011-10-22 01:48:57','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=913',0,'feedback','',0),(914,48,'2011-10-21 18:43:25','2011-10-22 01:43:25','The human mind, while a wonderful and powerful mechanism, truly seems to fall short when striving to comprehend the complexities of the world, let alone attempting to comprehend the truly incomprehensible: God. Perhaps that is why the Israelites carved a golden calf to serve as their God while Moses was up conversing with said God up the mountain. God contains so much in one being that seems contradictory to us mere humans: wrathful judgment and mercy, anger and grace, violence and gentleness; a still, quiet voice, and a voice like thunder.\n\nIt is no wonder that in our twisted minds and skewed mental schemas, we have created God in an image of our choosing, much like a golden calf. Some, especially those who had absent or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry and stern father or as a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, who never intervenes on earth, while some think of God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul.  A recent development seems to be the view of God as some sort of cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a 3000 square foot house.\n\nI am not immune to this phenomenon. Recently it occurred to me that I occasionally caricature God as an Evil Genie-- just waiting to give me everything I ask for, but in some weird twisted way to punish or fool me. It\'s like the punch line in a joke: a foolish person happens upon a lamp, rubs it three times, to find a genie at his or her beckon call. They get their three wishes, but usually not how they\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Views of God: Evil Genie','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-4','','','2011-10-21 18:43:25','2011-10-22 01:43:25','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/906-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(932,48,'2011-10-22 12:46:15','2011-10-22 19:46:15','The human mind, while a wonderful and powerful mechanism, truly seems to fall short when striving to comprehend the complexities of the world, let alone attempting to comprehend the truly incomprehensible: God. Perhaps that is why the Israelites carved a golden calf to serve as their God while Moses was up conversing with said God up the mountain. God contains so much in one being that seems contradictory to us mere humans: wrathful judgment and mercy, anger and grace, violence and gentleness; a still, quiet voice, and a voice like thunder.\r\n\r\nIt is no wonder that in our twisted minds and skewed mental schemas, we have created God in an image of our choosing, much like a golden calf. Some, especially those who had absent or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry and stern father or as a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, who never intervenes on earth, while some think of God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul.  A recent development seems to be the view of God as some sort of cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a 3000 square foot house.\r\n\r\nI am not immune to this phenomenon. Recently it occurred to me that I occasionally caricature God as an Evil Genie-- just waiting to give me everything I ask for, but in some weird twisted way to punish or fool me. It\'s like the punch line in a joke: a foolish person happens upon a lamp, rubs it three times, to find a genie at his or her beckon call. They get their three wishes, but usually not how they\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Wjat','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-6','','','2011-10-22 12:46:15','2011-10-22 19:46:15','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(917,24,'2011-10-22 10:39:33','2011-10-22 17:39:33','[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zpssk85XTQQ]\n<div>So as you watch this clip, who do  you associate yourself with? Is it Aragorn and his strength, Legolas and his skill, Gandalf with his power, Frodo with a mission or Gimli with his ferocity? Maybe I feel a little less noble and strong, maybe I can really relate to Boromir and his attempts to be noble, but his lust for power gets to him, or I feel like Sam the good friend of someone with a mission and I want to make sure they feel supported.  Many times, I feel like Merry and &amp; Pippin lost in self-gratification not knowing what to do.\n\nThis scene had a profound unexpected effect on me. I was shocked to see how my heart reacted to the characters. Instead of relating to the ‘main’ characters, I was caught off guard by the profound amount of emotion and empathy I felt for the \"Cave Troll.\"\n\nIn the scene you can see that this \"Troll\" has a chain around his neck. This brings up some questions.\nIs he someones pet?\nWhat was he like as a little cave troll?\nWhat did they do to him to shape him into this angry, violent monster?\nWhat if one of our \"heroes\" knew the troll language, or had some troll food. Could this enemy have been tamed, befriended or at least set free?\n\nThe real question for me was who or what is my enemy? I was told my entire life about a Devil who was out to destroy my life. I was told that he uses music, movies, seductive women, drugs and temptations of all kinds to seduce me into darkness. I needed to defend the faith, to battle the devil and his kingdom of darkness through prayer, scripture declarations and even fasting.\n\nJesus seemed at ease around these supposed enemies. Even during  his great temptation in the desert the enemy could find \"no place in him.\" He did not defend himself or argue doctrines or beliefs with this enemy. Jesus\' lack of defense revealed a supreme security.\n\nPersonally I have spent so much time in my life polarizing people, groups, beliefs into some sort of enemy. That way I know who I can criticize, judge, inflict punishment on. At the same time I have hidden and defended my pain, projected my judgements and fears on all sorts of people. Always imagining that I am Aragorn fighting for some lost freedom.\n\nMatthew 11:12 - From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.\n\nI don’t think Jesus in the above passage was approving of violence. Perhaps he was illuminating the struggle we are engaged in, one we have created. If I perceive you are keeping me from what I want, you then become my enemy. If Heaven has what I want then I will go in and take it.\n\nLetting go of the need to have enemies “out there” I realize, \"I\'m the Troll.\" I am the real enemy. My fear and pain have been my shelter, I have allowed myself to be used and abused to hopefully find somewhere to belong. I have a big chain around my neck, I\'m tired, hungry and dying. I use this anger toward my enemies to justify the violence I use on them.\n\nPerhaps my cry was for something I had never lost. I was taught to seek love and to withhold it from those I feared. This process had lead me to a world of chaos, blinded by need, lost in what is unacceptable.  I found myself incapable of accepting love and kindness. I was invested in my story of pain.\n\nIf you can relate to this story, I pray that you may find comfort and rest in the willingness to surrender all to God as you know him. Realizing your life is out of control, accepting you are being run by your feelings and thoughts is the first step in true spiritual growth.\n\nMay whatever you feel you need to defend find peace in giving up the need to have enemies. For if I love my enemies, I suddenly do not have any.\n\n\"Love is what we are born with.\nFear is what we learn.\nThe spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices\nand the acceptance of love back in our hearts.\nLove is the essential reality and our purpose on earth.\nTo be consciously aware of it,\nto experience love in ourselves and others,\nis the meaning of life.\nMeaning does not lie in things.\nMeaning lies in us.\"\n-Marianne Williamson\n\nNothing Real can be threatened.\nNothing unreal exists.\nHerein lies the Peace of God.\n- A Course in Miracles</div>','Defense is the first act of War','','inherit','open','open','','497-revision-11','','','2011-10-22 10:39:33','2011-10-22 17:39:33','',497,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/497-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(919,24,'2011-10-22 10:45:27','2011-10-22 17:45:27','&nbsp;\r\n<div>\r\n\r\nSo as you watch this clip, who do  you associate yourself with? Is it Aragorn and his strength, Legolas and his skill, Gandalf with his power, Frodo with a mission or Gimli with his ferocity? Maybe I feel a little less noble and strong, maybe I can really relate to Boromir and his attempts to be noble, but his lust for power gets to him, or I feel like Sam the good friend of someone with a mission and I want to make sure they feel supported.  Many times, I feel like Merry and &amp; Pippin lost in self-gratification not knowing what to do.\r\n\r\nThis scene had a profound unexpected effect on me. I was shocked to see how my heart reacted to the characters. Instead of relating to the ‘main’ characters, I was caught off guard by the profound amount of emotion and empathy I felt for the \"Cave Troll.\"\r\n\r\nIn the scene you can see that this \"Troll\" has a chain around his neck. This brings up some questions.\r\nIs he someones pet?\r\nWhat was he like as a little cave troll?\r\nWhat did they do to him to shape him into this angry, violent monster?\r\nWhat if one of our \"heroes\" knew the troll language, or had some troll food. Could this enemy have been tamed, befriended or at least set free?\r\n\r\nThe real question for me was who or what is my enemy? I was told my entire life about a Devil who was out to destroy my life. I was told that he uses music, movies, seductive women, drugs and temptations of all kinds to seduce me into darkness. I needed to defend the faith, to battle the devil and his kingdom of darkness through prayer, scripture declarations and even fasting.\r\n\r\nJesus seemed at ease around these supposed enemies. Even during  his great temptation in the desert the enemy could find \"no place in him.\" He did not defend himself or argue doctrines or beliefs with this enemy. Jesus\' lack of defense revealed a supreme security.\r\n\r\nPersonally I have spent so much time in my life polarizing people, groups, beliefs into some sort of enemy. That way I know who I can criticize, judge, inflict punishment on. At the same time I have hidden and defended my pain, projected my judgements and fears on all sorts of people. Always imagining that I am Aragorn fighting for some lost freedom.\r\n\r\nMatthew 11:12 - From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.\r\n\r\nI don’t think Jesus in the above passage was approving of violence. Perhaps he was illuminating the struggle we are engaged in, one we have created. If I perceive you are keeping me from what I want, you then become my enemy. If Heaven has what I want then I will go in and take it.\r\n\r\nLetting go of the need to have enemies “out there” I realize, \"I\'m the Troll.\" I am the real enemy. My fear and pain have been my shelter, I have allowed myself to be used and abused to hopefully find somewhere to belong. I have a big chain around my neck, I\'m tired, hungry and dying. I use this anger toward my enemies to justify the violence I use on them.\r\n\r\nPerhaps my cry was for something I had never lost. I was taught to seek love and to withhold it from those I feared. This process had lead me to a world of chaos, blinded by need, lost in what is unacceptable.  I found myself incapable of accepting love and kindness. I was invested in my story of pain.\r\n\r\nIf you can relate to this story, I pray that you may find comfort and rest in the willingness to surrender all to God as you know him. Realizing your life is out of control, accepting you are being run by your feelings and thoughts is the first step in true spiritual growth.\r\n\r\nMay whatever you feel you need to defend find peace in giving up the need to have enemies. For if I love my enemies, I suddenly do not have any.\r\n\r\n\"Love is what we are born with.\r\nFear is what we learn.\r\nThe spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices\r\nand the acceptance of love back in our hearts.\r\nLove is the essential reality and our purpose on earth.\r\nTo be consciously aware of it,\r\nto experience love in ourselves and others,\r\nis the meaning of life.\r\nMeaning does not lie in things.\r\nMeaning lies in us.\"\r\n-Marianne Williamson\r\n\r\nNothing Real can be threatened.\r\nNothing unreal exists.\r\nHerein lies the Peace of God.\r\n- A Course in Miracles\r\n\r\n</div>','Defense is the first act of War','','inherit','open','open','','497-revision-13','','','2011-10-22 10:45:27','2011-10-22 17:45:27','',497,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/497-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0),(918,24,'2011-10-22 10:45:08','2011-10-22 17:45:08','[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zpssk85XTQQ&amp;w=420&amp;h=315]\r\n\r\n<div>So as you watch this clip, who do  you associate yourself with? Is it Aragorn and his strength, Legolas and his skill, Gandalf with his power, Frodo with a mission or Gimli with his ferocity? Maybe I feel a little less noble and strong, maybe I can really relate to Boromir and his attempts to be noble, but his lust for power gets to him, or I feel like Sam the good friend of someone with a mission and I want to make sure they feel supported.  Many times, I feel like Merry and &amp; Pippin lost in self-gratification not knowing what to do.\r\n\r\nThis scene had a profound unexpected effect on me. I was shocked to see how my heart reacted to the characters. Instead of relating to the ‘main’ characters, I was caught off guard by the profound amount of emotion and empathy I felt for the \"Cave Troll.\"\r\n\r\nIn the scene you can see that this \"Troll\" has a chain around his neck. This brings up some questions.\r\nIs he someones pet?\r\nWhat was he like as a little cave troll?\r\nWhat did they do to him to shape him into this angry, violent monster?\r\nWhat if one of our \"heroes\" knew the troll language, or had some troll food. Could this enemy have been tamed, befriended or at least set free?\r\n\r\nThe real question for me was who or what is my enemy? I was told my entire life about a Devil who was out to destroy my life. I was told that he uses music, movies, seductive women, drugs and temptations of all kinds to seduce me into darkness. I needed to defend the faith, to battle the devil and his kingdom of darkness through prayer, scripture declarations and even fasting.\r\n\r\nJesus seemed at ease around these supposed enemies. Even during  his great temptation in the desert the enemy could find \"no place in him.\" He did not defend himself or argue doctrines or beliefs with this enemy. Jesus\' lack of defense revealed a supreme security.\r\n\r\nPersonally I have spent so much time in my life polarizing people, groups, beliefs into some sort of enemy. That way I know who I can criticize, judge, inflict punishment on. At the same time I have hidden and defended my pain, projected my judgements and fears on all sorts of people. Always imagining that I am Aragorn fighting for some lost freedom.\r\n\r\nMatthew 11:12 - From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.\r\n\r\nI don’t think Jesus in the above passage was approving of violence. Perhaps he was illuminating the struggle we are engaged in, one we have created. If I perceive you are keeping me from what I want, you then become my enemy. If Heaven has what I want then I will go in and take it.\r\n\r\nLetting go of the need to have enemies “out there” I realize, \"I\'m the Troll.\" I am the real enemy. My fear and pain have been my shelter, I have allowed myself to be used and abused to hopefully find somewhere to belong. I have a big chain around my neck, I\'m tired, hungry and dying. I use this anger toward my enemies to justify the violence I use on them.\r\n\r\nPerhaps my cry was for something I had never lost. I was taught to seek love and to withhold it from those I feared. This process had lead me to a world of chaos, blinded by need, lost in what is unacceptable.  I found myself incapable of accepting love and kindness. I was invested in my story of pain.\r\n\r\nIf you can relate to this story, I pray that you may find comfort and rest in the willingness to surrender all to God as you know him. Realizing your life is out of control, accepting you are being run by your feelings and thoughts is the first step in true spiritual growth.\r\n\r\nMay whatever you feel you need to defend find peace in giving up the need to have enemies. For if I love my enemies, I suddenly do not have any.\r\n\r\n\"Love is what we are born with.\r\nFear is what we learn.\r\nThe spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices\r\nand the acceptance of love back in our hearts.\r\nLove is the essential reality and our purpose on earth.\r\nTo be consciously aware of it,\r\nto experience love in ourselves and others,\r\nis the meaning of life.\r\nMeaning does not lie in things.\r\nMeaning lies in us.\"\r\n-Marianne Williamson\r\n\r\nNothing Real can be threatened.\r\nNothing unreal exists.\r\nHerein lies the Peace of God.\r\n- A Course in Miracles</div>','Defense is the first act of War','','inherit','open','open','','497-revision-12','','','2011-10-22 10:45:08','2011-10-22 17:45:08','',497,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/497-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(920,24,'2011-10-22 10:45:44','2011-10-22 17:45:44','[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zpssk85XTQQ&amp;w=420&amp;h=315]\r\n<div>\r\n\r\nSo as you watch this clip, who do  you associate yourself with? Is it Aragorn and his strength, Legolas and his skill, Gandalf with his power, Frodo with a mission or Gimli with his ferocity? Maybe I feel a little less noble and strong, maybe I can really relate to Boromir and his attempts to be noble, but his lust for power gets to him, or I feel like Sam the good friend of someone with a mission and I want to make sure they feel supported.  Many times, I feel like Merry and &amp; Pippin lost in self-gratification not knowing what to do.\r\n\r\nThis scene had a profound unexpected effect on me. I was shocked to see how my heart reacted to the characters. Instead of relating to the ‘main’ characters, I was caught off guard by the profound amount of emotion and empathy I felt for the \"Cave Troll.\"\r\n\r\nIn the scene you can see that this \"Troll\" has a chain around his neck. This brings up some questions.\r\nIs he someones pet?\r\nWhat was he like as a little cave troll?\r\nWhat did they do to him to shape him into this angry, violent monster?\r\nWhat if one of our \"heroes\" knew the troll language, or had some troll food. Could this enemy have been tamed, befriended or at least set free?\r\n\r\nThe real question for me was who or what is my enemy? I was told my entire life about a Devil who was out to destroy my life. I was told that he uses music, movies, seductive women, drugs and temptations of all kinds to seduce me into darkness. I needed to defend the faith, to battle the devil and his kingdom of darkness through prayer, scripture declarations and even fasting.\r\n\r\nJesus seemed at ease around these supposed enemies. Even during  his great temptation in the desert the enemy could find \"no place in him.\" He did not defend himself or argue doctrines or beliefs with this enemy. Jesus\' lack of defense revealed a supreme security.\r\n\r\nPersonally I have spent so much time in my life polarizing people, groups, beliefs into some sort of enemy. That way I know who I can criticize, judge, inflict punishment on. At the same time I have hidden and defended my pain, projected my judgements and fears on all sorts of people. Always imagining that I am Aragorn fighting for some lost freedom.\r\n\r\nMatthew 11:12 - From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.\r\n\r\nI don’t think Jesus in the above passage was approving of violence. Perhaps he was illuminating the struggle we are engaged in, one we have created. If I perceive you are keeping me from what I want, you then become my enemy. If Heaven has what I want then I will go in and take it.\r\n\r\nLetting go of the need to have enemies “out there” I realize, \"I\'m the Troll.\" I am the real enemy. My fear and pain have been my shelter, I have allowed myself to be used and abused to hopefully find somewhere to belong. I have a big chain around my neck, I\'m tired, hungry and dying. I use this anger toward my enemies to justify the violence I use on them.\r\n\r\nPerhaps my cry was for something I had never lost. I was taught to seek love and to withhold it from those I feared. This process had lead me to a world of chaos, blinded by need, lost in what is unacceptable.  I found myself incapable of accepting love and kindness. I was invested in my story of pain.\r\n\r\nIf you can relate to this story, I pray that you may find comfort and rest in the willingness to surrender all to God as you know him. Realizing your life is out of control, accepting you are being run by your feelings and thoughts is the first step in true spiritual growth.\r\n\r\nMay whatever you feel you need to defend find peace in giving up the need to have enemies. For if I love my enemies, I suddenly do not have any.\r\n\r\n\"Love is what we are born with.\r\nFear is what we learn.\r\nThe spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices\r\nand the acceptance of love back in our hearts.\r\nLove is the essential reality and our purpose on earth.\r\nTo be consciously aware of it,\r\nto experience love in ourselves and others,\r\nis the meaning of life.\r\nMeaning does not lie in things.\r\nMeaning lies in us.\"\r\n-Marianne Williamson\r\n\r\nNothing Real can be threatened.\r\nNothing unreal exists.\r\nHerein lies the Peace of God.\r\n- A Course in Miracles\r\n\r\n</div>','Defense is the first act of War','','inherit','open','open','','497-revision-14','','','2011-10-22 10:45:44','2011-10-22 17:45:44','',497,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/497-revision-14/',0,'revision','',0),(921,24,'2011-10-22 10:49:41','2011-10-22 17:49:41','Pain invited my ear, \"Listen to me, for I have knowledge of Truth hidden in what you fear.\"\n\nFear roared, \"Do not look or listen to pain, it will only lead you to more discomfort!\"\n\nLove whispered, \"Go into this pain, it is safe. You will only discover more to love.\"\n\nShame whimpered, \"Remember everything that has happened to you, everyone despises you. This will not work.\"\n\nCourage invoked, \"All fear is an illusion, walk straight ahead!\"\n\nPride demanded, \"You have everything you need already, this is a waste of time.\"\n\nEver notice how throughout a day what you are  feeling will interpret reality for you. As you follow these feelings they usually lead you to thoughts. These thought are ideas about your self, others and how life is playing out. Few questions these thoughts, few face the idea\'s of being separate, alone and unwanted. We tend to settle for a hope of one day getting what we want so we can be happy.\n\nWhat would life be like if we embraced all of it? What would like be like if we stopped avoiding pain and ran into what we have been taught to fear.\n\nWhy do we stop going to the gym? Because we no longer engage with the benefits the pain brings us. This benefit is strength.\nWhy do we fear the dentist? His cleaning, dril\n\nWHY BADSTUFF HAPPENS\n<em>by Elsa Joy Bailey</em>\n\nIf it weren\'t for my beautiful sad mother\ndrinking a beaker of cold cyanide when I was three,\nI wouldn\'t have learned\nshe could both love and abandon me\nin one hot severe breath.\nNor would I have grown flowers in my heart\nfor people who urgently want to die.\n\nIf I had not broken my leg in a wild fall,\nI wouldn\'t have learned that stark physical pain\nis, to my great surprise, not permanent.\n\nIf I hadn\'t fallen in love with someone\nwho didn\'t love me,\nI would never have realized that unrequited love\nis still an ecstatic dance of the heart.\n\nIf I hadn\'t encountered praise and blame,\nsuccess and failure, heat and cold, darkness and light,\nblows and kisses, pain and bliss,\nnever would I have found out that through it all\nthere is a Spirit within me\nwhich remains unceasingly alive and loving.\n\nIf I hadn\'t received the gift of knowing you,\nI would not have come to realise\nthat our stories are different in details,\nbut never in essence.\n\nIf I hadn\'t lived through an era of hurting\nI would never have met the miracle\nof being fed with kindness by a friend.\n\nIf I hadn\'t discovered that you and I\nare two threads in the same vast cloth,\nI would have remained forever lost and imprisoned\nin my separate universe.\n\nIf I hadn\'t seen both good and evil\noccupying space in the same event,\nI would never have met the hand of humour\npainting over these polarities\nwith new clarity and light.\n\nIf I hadn\'t wept a thousand tears\nover the loss of a beloved,\nI would never have been driven inward\nto find the eternal companion,\nmy Soul.\n\nIf I had not witnessed cruelty\nand man\'s inhumanity to man,\nI would not have been forced to look\nbeneath the ugliness of fear,\nand encounter the common Heart\nthat lies beneath it.\n\nIf I hadn\'t encountered our myriad differences,\nI would never have discovered that you and I\nare not two,\nbut infinite sparks of love ever arising\nfrom one indestructible Flame.\n\nAnd if I hadn\'t felt abandoned and heartsick,\nI would never have heard the wordless whisper\nof an abiding, unseeable Friend,\nwho translated the feeling of alone\ninto All One.','Pain A Wonderful Teacher','','inherit','open','open','','843-revision-6','','','2011-10-22 10:49:41','2011-10-22 17:49:41','',843,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/843-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(923,1,'2011-10-22 10:46:41','2011-10-22 17:46:41','[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zpssk85XTQQ&amp;w=420&amp;h=315]\r\n<div>\r\n\r\nSo as you watch this clip, who do  you associate yourself with? Is it Aragorn and his strength, Legolas and his skill, Gandalf with his power, Frodo with a mission or Gimli with his ferocity? Maybe I feel a little less noble and strong, maybe I can really relate to Boromir and his attempts to be noble, but his lust for power gets to him, or I feel like Sam the good friend of someone with a mission and I want to make sure they feel supported.  Many times, I feel like Merry and &amp; Pippin lost in self-gratification not knowing what to do.\r\n\r\nThis scene had a profound unexpected effect on me. I was shocked to see how my heart reacted to the characters. Instead of relating to the ‘main’ characters, I was caught off guard by the profound amount of emotion and empathy I felt for the \"Cave Troll.\"\r\n\r\nIn the scene you can see that this \"Troll\" has a chain around his neck. This brings up some questions.\r\nIs he someones pet?\r\nWhat was he like as a little cave troll?\r\nWhat did they do to him to shape him into this angry, violent monster?\r\nWhat if one of our \"heroes\" knew the troll language, or had some troll food. Could this enemy have been tamed, befriended or at least set free?\r\n\r\nThe real question for me was who or what is my enemy? I was told my entire life about a Devil who was out to destroy my life. I was told that he uses music, movies, seductive women, drugs and temptations of all kinds to seduce me into darkness. I needed to defend the faith, to battle the devil and his kingdom of darkness through prayer, scripture declarations and even fasting.\r\n\r\nJesus seemed at ease around these supposed enemies. Even during  his great temptation in the desert the enemy could find \"no place in him.\" He did not defend himself or argue doctrines or beliefs with this enemy. Jesus\' lack of defense revealed a supreme security.\r\n\r\nPersonally I have spent so much time in my life polarizing people, groups, beliefs into some sort of enemy. That way I know who I can criticize, judge, inflict punishment on. At the same time I have hidden and defended my pain, projected my judgements and fears on all sorts of people. Always imagining that I am Aragorn fighting for some lost freedom.\r\n\r\nMatthew 11:12 - From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.\r\n\r\nI don’t think Jesus in the above passage was approving of violence. Perhaps he was illuminating the struggle we are engaged in, one we have created. If I perceive you are keeping me from what I want, you then become my enemy. If Heaven has what I want then I will go in and take it.\r\n\r\nLetting go of the need to have enemies “out there” I realize, \"I\'m the Troll.\" I am the real enemy. My fear and pain have been my shelter, I have allowed myself to be used and abused to hopefully find somewhere to belong. I have a big chain around my neck, I\'m tired, hungry and dying. I use this anger toward my enemies to justify the violence I use on them.\r\n\r\nPerhaps my cry was for something I had never lost. I was taught to seek love and to withhold it from those I feared. This process had lead me to a world of chaos, blinded by need, lost in what is unacceptable.  I found myself incapable of accepting love and kindness. I was invested in my story of pain.\r\n\r\nIf you can relate to this story, I pray that you may find comfort and rest in the willingness to surrender all to God as you know him. Realizing your life is out of control, accepting you are being run by your feelings and thoughts is the first step in true spiritual growth.\r\n\r\nMay whatever you feel you need to defend find peace in giving up the need to have enemies. For if I love my enemies, I suddenly do not have any.\r\n\r\n\"Love is what we are born with.\r\nFear is what we learn.\r\nThe spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices\r\nand the acceptance of love back in our hearts.\r\nLove is the essential reality and our purpose on earth.\r\nTo be consciously aware of it,\r\nto experience love in ourselves and others,\r\nis the meaning of life.\r\nMeaning does not lie in things.\r\nMeaning lies in us.\"\r\n-Marianne Williamson\r\n\r\nNothing Real can be threatened.\r\nNothing unreal exists.\r\nHerein lies the Peace of God.\r\n- A Course in Miracles\r\n\r\n</div>','Defense is the first act of War','','inherit','open','open','','497-revision-15','','','2011-10-22 10:46:41','2011-10-22 17:46:41','',497,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/497-revision-15/',0,'revision','',0),(924,1,'2011-10-22 11:40:50','2011-10-22 18:40:50','','Cave_troll_scene','','inherit','open','open','','cave_troll_scene','','','2011-10-22 11:40:50','2011-10-22 18:40:50','',497,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Cave_troll_scene.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(925,1,'2011-10-22 11:36:56','2011-10-22 18:36:56','<iframe width=\"500\" height=\"339\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/Zpssk85XTQQ\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\r\n\r\nSo as you watch this clip, who do &nbsp;you associate yourself with? Is it Aragorn and his strength, Legolas and his skill, Gandalf with his power, Frodo with a mission or Gimli with his ferocity? Maybe I feel a little less noble and strong, maybe I can really relate to Boromir and his attempts to be noble, but his lust for power gets to him, or I feel like Sam the good friend of someone with a mission and I want to make sure they feel supported. &nbsp;Many times, I feel like Merry and &amp; Pippin lost in self-gratification not knowing what to do.\r\n\r\nThis scene had a profound unexpected effect on me. I was shocked to see how my heart reacted to the characters. Instead of relating to the ‘main’ characters, I was caught off guard by the profound amount of emotion and empathy I felt for the \"Cave Troll.\"\r\n\r\nIn the scene you can see that this \"Troll\" has a chain around his neck. This brings up some questions.\r\nIs he someones pet?\r\nWhat was he like as a little cave troll?\r\nWhat did they do to him to shape him into this angry, violent monster?\r\nWhat if one of our \"heroes\" knew the troll language, or had some troll food. Could this enemy have been tamed, befriended or at least set free?\r\n\r\nThe real question for me was who or what is my enemy? I was told my entire life about a Devil who was out to destroy my life. I was told that he uses music, movies, seductive women, drugs and temptations of all kinds to seduce me into darkness. I needed to defend the faith, to battle the devil and his kingdom of darkness through prayer, scripture declarations and even fasting.\r\n\r\nJesus seemed at ease around these supposed enemies. Even during &nbsp;his great temptation in the desert the enemy could find \"no place in him.\" He did not defend himself or argue doctrines or beliefs with this enemy. Jesus\' lack of defense revealed a supreme security.\r\n\r\nPersonally I have spent so much time in my life polarizing people, groups, beliefs into some sort of enemy. That way I know who I can criticize, judge, inflict punishment on. At the same time I have hidden and defended my pain, projected my judgements and fears on all sorts of people. Always imagining that I am Aragorn fighting for some lost freedom.\r\n\r\nMatthew 11:12 - From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.\r\n\r\nI don’t think Jesus in the above passage was approving of violence. Perhaps he was illuminating the struggle we are engaged in, one we have created. If I perceive you are keeping me from what I want, you then become my enemy. If Heaven has what I want then I will go in and take it.\r\n\r\nLetting go of the need to have enemies “out there” I realize, \"I\'m the Troll.\" I am the real enemy. My fear and pain have been my shelter, I have allowed myself to be used and abused to hopefully find somewhere to belong. I have a big chain around my neck, I\'m tired, hungry and dying. I use this anger toward my enemies to justify the violence I use on them.\r\n\r\nPerhaps my cry was for something I had never lost. I was taught to seek love and to withhold it from those I feared. This process had lead me to a world of chaos, blinded by need, lost in what is unacceptable. &nbsp;I found myself incapable of accepting love and kindness. I was invested in my story of pain.\r\n\r\nIf you can relate to this story, I pray that you may find comfort and rest in the willingness to surrender all to God as you know him. Realizing your life is out of control, accepting you are being run by your feelings and thoughts is the first step in true spiritual growth.\r\n\r\nMay whatever you feel you need to defend find peace in giving up the need to have enemies. For if I love my enemies, I suddenly do not have any.\r\n\r\n\"Love is what we are born with.\r\nFear is what we learn.\r\nThe spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices\r\nand the acceptance of love back in our hearts.\r\nLove is the essential reality and our purpose on earth.\r\nTo be consciously aware of it,\r\nto experience love in ourselves and others,\r\nis the meaning of life.\r\nMeaning does not lie in things.\r\nMeaning lies in us.\"\r\n-Marianne Williamson\r\n\r\nNothing Real can be threatened.\r\nNothing unreal exists.\r\nHerein lies the Peace of God.\r\n- A Course in Miracles\r\n\r\n</div>','Defense is the first act of War','','inherit','open','open','','497-revision-16','','','2011-10-22 11:36:56','2011-10-22 18:36:56','',497,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/497-revision-16/',0,'revision','',0),(926,12,'2011-10-22 23:28:03','2011-10-23 06:28:03','I was just perusing the Provoketive site and saw a picture my friend Jonathan posted of a <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/10/19/bacon-for-love/\">dozen \"bacon roses.\"</a> He seemingly balked at the idea.\r\n\r\nLiving in California may keep Jonathan from enjoying the nuances of bacon delights here in the South. A bouquet of bacon roses would be a delight for many young southern maidens.\r\n\r\nBacon love in the past few years has taken a life of its own. Without even doing research, I can name several bacon oddities I\'ve seen online in the past few months: bacon flavored vodka, bacon flavored toothpaste, bacon bikinis, bacon ice cream and chocolate covered bacon.\r\n\r\nLet\'s face it, bacon makes just about everything taste better. I agree.\r\n\r\nBut the bacon lovers need to slow their roll for a second. I believe there might be a contender for the title.\r\n\r\nI was discussing it with my lovely wife, Allison, last night and I asked her which was better. She said without hesitating, \"bacon.\"\r\n\r\nI said, \"Hold up. Just think about it for a second. You\'re sitting around and you want to eat. It\'s late. Bacon? Maybe, but dang. It takes time to cook. Even if you microwave it, there\'s still cleanup. And don\'t tell me you\'re going to buy pre-cooked bacon. That\'s just un-American.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pb.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-928\" style=\"margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px;\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pb.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"272\" height=\"279\" /></a>\"So you go to the pantry and there it is. A pristine, unopened jar of peanut butter. Your heart races. You know why? Because peanut butter is like a dessert. Heck, it is a dessert. It\'s so sweet, we add it to desserts to make them better. We\'ve even made it into a verb - \'peanut-buttier.\'\r\n\r\n\"You open the jar, pull back the shiny silver lid and what do you see?\"\r\n\r\nMy wife was salivating while she was thinking about peanut butter at this point. She said what I\'m thinking. \"The smooth peanut butter.\"\r\n\r\nI said, \"No. You see smooth ripples of undisturbed sweetness, begging for you to dig into it with a spoon.\"\r\n\r\n\"MMMMMMMMMMM,\" she said.\r\n\r\n\"That\'s right. You want bacon now?\"\r\n\r\n\"No,\" she said.\r\n\r\n\"And you take that first succulent bite that just slides onto your tongue. You look down into the indention you made and you say to yourself, \'I need to smooth that hole over.\' So you dig into it more, taking bite after bite.\"\r\n\r\nShe said, \"Until you realize you\'ve eaten half the jar.\"\r\n\r\n\"And that\'s the beauty of it,\" I said. \"That, and peanut butter is just as versatile as bacon. You put it on crackers to make them better, you can\'t have a PB&amp;J without the PB, Reese\'s Peanut Butter Cups would be nothing without them . . . \"\r\n\r\nShe interrupted, \"And no one would eat celery without it.\"\r\n\r\n\"Excellent point,\" I said.\r\n\r\n\"But,\" my sweet wife said, \"peanut butter gives me indegestion. I\'m sticking with bacon.\"\r\n\r\nMy shoulders dropped. \"Well,\" I said pouting, \"I think bacon at least has a contender.\"','Bacon vs. Peanut Butter: The Fight Is On','','publish','open','open','','bacon-vs-peanut-butter-the-fight-is-on','','\nhttp://provoketive.com/2011/10/19/bacon-for-love/','2011-10-22 23:28:03','2011-10-23 06:28:03','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=926',0,'post','',7),(927,12,'2011-10-22 12:09:56','2011-10-22 19:09:56','','bacon','','inherit','open','open','','bacon-2','','','2011-10-22 12:09:56','2011-10-22 19:09:56','',926,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bacon1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(928,12,'2011-10-22 12:10:48','2011-10-22 19:10:48','','pb','','inherit','open','open','','pb','','','2011-10-22 12:10:48','2011-10-22 19:10:48','',926,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pb.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(929,12,'2011-10-22 12:07:33','2011-10-22 19:07:33','I was just perusing the Provoketive site and saw a picture my friend Jonathan posted of a <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/10/19/bacon-for-love/\">dozen \"bacon roses.\"</a> He seemingly balked at the idea.\n\nLiving in California may keep Jonathan from enjoying the nuances of bacon delights here in the South. Bacon love in the past few years has taken a life of its own. Without even doing research, I can name several bacon oddities I\'ve seen online in the past few months: bacon flavored vodka, bacon flavored toothpaste, bacon bikinis, bacon ice cream and chocolate covered bacon.\n\nLet\'s face it, bacon makes just about everything taste better. I agree.\n\nBut the bacon lovers need to slow their roll for a second. I believe there might be a contender for the title.\n\nI was discussing it with my lovely wife last night and I asked her which was better. She said without hesitating, \"bacon.\"\n\nI said, \"Hold up. Just think about it for a second. You\'re sitting around and you want to eat. It\'s late. Bacon? Maybe, but dang. It takes time to cook. Even if you microwave it, there\'s still cleanup. And don\'t tell me you\'re going to buy pre-cooked bacon. That\'s just un-American.\n\n\"So you go to the pantry and there it is. A pristine, unopened jar of peanut butter. Your heart races. You know why? Because peanut butter is like a dessert. Heck, it is a dessert. It\'s so sweet, we add it to desserts to make them better. We\'ve even made it into a verb - \'peanut-buttier.\'\n\n\"You open the jar, pull back the shiny silver lid and what do you see?\"\n\nMy wife is salivating while she\'s thinking about peanut butter at this point. She says what I\'m thinking. \"The smooth peanut butter.\"\n\nI say, \"No. You see smooth ripples of undisturbed sweetness, begging for you to dig into it with a spoon.\"\n\n\"MMMMMMMMMMM,\" she says.\n\n\"That\'s right. You want bacon now?\"\n\n\"No,\" she says.\n\n\"And you take that first succulent bite that just slides onto your tongue. You look down into the indention you made and you say to yourself, \'I need to smooth that hole over.\' So you dig into it more, taking bite after bite.\"\n\nShe said, \"Until you realize you\'ve eaten half the jar.\"\n\n\"And that\'s the beauty of it,\" I said. \"That, and peanut butter is just as versatile as bacon. You put it on crackers to make them better, you can\'t have a PB&amp;J without the PB, Reese\'s Peanut Butter Cups would be nothing without them . . . \"\n\nShe interrupted, \"And no one would eat celery without it.\"\n\n\"Excellent point,\" I said.\n\n\"But,\" my sweet wife said, \"peanut butter gives me indegestion. I\'m sticking with bacon.\"\n\nMy shoulders dropped. \"Well,\" I said pouting, \"I think bacon at least has a contender.\"','Bacon vs. Peanut Butter: The Fight Is On','','inherit','open','open','','926-revision','','','2011-10-22 12:07:33','2011-10-22 19:07:33','',926,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/926-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(930,12,'2011-10-22 12:11:34','2011-10-22 19:11:34','I was just perusing the Provoketive site and saw a picture my friend Jonathan posted of a <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/10/19/bacon-for-love/\">dozen \"bacon roses.\"</a> He seemingly balked at the idea.\n\nLiving in California may keep Jonathan from enjoying the nuances of bacon delights here in the South. Bacon love in the past few years has taken a life of its own. Without even doing research, I can name several bacon oddities I\'ve seen online in the past few months: bacon flavored vodka, bacon flavored toothpaste, bacon bikinis, bacon ice cream and chocolate covered bacon.\n\nLet\'s face it, bacon makes just about everything taste better. I agree.\n\nBut the bacon lovers need to slow their roll for a second. I believe there might be a contender for the title.\n\nI was discussing it with my lovely wife last night and I asked her which was better. She said without hesitating, \"bacon.\"\n\nI said, \"Hold up. Just think about it for a second. You\'re sitting around and you want to eat. It\'s late. Bacon? Maybe, but dang. It takes time to cook. Even if you microwave it, there\'s still cleanup. And don\'t tell me you\'re going to buy pre-cooked bacon. That\'s just un-American.\n\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pb.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-928\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pb.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"272\" height=\"279\" /></a>\"So you go to the pantry and there it is. A pristine, unopened jar of peanut butter. Your heart races. You know why? Because peanut butter is like a dessert. Heck, it is a dessert. It\'s so sweet, we add it to desserts to make them better. We\'ve even made it into a verb - \'peanut-buttier.\'\n\n\"You open the jar, pull back the shiny silver lid and what do you see?\"\n\nMy wife is salivating while she\'s thinking about peanut butter at this point. She says what I\'m thinking. \"The smooth peanut butter.\"\n\nI say, \"No. You see smooth ripples of undisturbed sweetness, begging for you to dig into it with a spoon.\"\n\n\"MMMMMMMMMMM,\" she says.\n\n\"That\'s right. You want bacon now?\"\n\n\"No,\" she says.\n\n\"And you take that first succulent bite that just slides onto your tongue. You look down into the indention you made and you say to yourself, \'I need to smooth that hole over.\' So you dig into it more, taking bite after bite.\"\n\nShe said, \"Until you realize you\'ve eaten half the jar.\"\n\n\"And that\'s the beauty of it,\" I said. \"That, and peanut butter is just as versatile as bacon. You put it on crackers to make them better, you can\'t have a PB&amp;J without the PB, Reese\'s Peanut Butter Cups would be nothing without them . . . \"\n\nShe interrupted, \"And no one would eat celery without it.\"\n\n\"Excellent point,\" I said.\n\n\"But,\" my sweet wife said, \"peanut butter gives me indegestion. I\'m sticking with bacon.\"\n\nMy shoulders dropped. \"Well,\" I said pouting, \"I think bacon at least has a contender.\"','Bacon vs. Peanut Butter: The Fight Is On','','inherit','open','open','','926-revision-2','','','2011-10-22 12:11:34','2011-10-22 19:11:34','',926,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/926-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(931,48,'2011-10-21 18:56:19','2011-10-22 01:56:19','The human mind, while a wonderful and powerful mechanism, truly seems to fall short when striving to comprehend the complexities of the world, let alone attempting to comprehend the truly incomprehensible: God. Perhaps that is why the Israelites carved a golden calf to serve as their God while Moses was up conversing with said God up the mountain. God contains so much in one being that seems contradictory to us mere humans: wrathful judgment and mercy, anger and grace, violence and gentleness; a still, quiet voice, and a voice like thunder.\r\n\r\nIt is no wonder that in our twisted minds and skewed mental schemas, we have created God in an image of our choosing, much like a golden calf. Some, especially those who had absent or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry and stern father or as a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, who never intervenes on earth, while some think of God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul.  A recent development seems to be the view of God as some sort of cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a 3000 square foot house.\r\n\r\nI am not immune to this phenomenon. Recently it occurred to me that I occasionally caricature God as an Evil Genie-- just waiting to give me everything I ask for, but in some weird twisted way to punish or fool me. It\'s like the punch line in a joke: a foolish person happens upon a lamp, rubs it three times, to find a genie at his or her beckon call. They get their three wishes, but usually not how they\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Views of God: Evil Genie','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-5','','','2011-10-21 18:56:19','2011-10-22 01:56:19','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/906-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(933,1,'2011-10-22 23:29:09','2011-10-23 06:29:09','I was just perusing the Provoketive site and saw a picture my friend Jonathan posted of a <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/10/19/bacon-for-love/\">dozen \"bacon roses.\"</a> He seemingly balked at the idea.\n\nLiving in California may keep Jonathan from enjoying the nuances of bacon delights here in the South. A bouquet of bacon roses would be a delight for many young southern maidens.\n\nBacon love in the past few years has taken a life of its own. Without even doing research, I can name several bacon oddities I\'ve seen online in the past few months: bacon flavored vodka, bacon flavored toothpaste, bacon bikinis, bacon ice cream and chocolate covered bacon.\n\nLet\'s face it, bacon makes just about everything taste better. I agree.\n\nBut the bacon lovers need to slow their roll for a second. I believe there might be a contender for the title.\n\nI was discussing it with my lovely wife, Allison, last night and I asked her which was better. She said without hesitating, \"bacon.\"\n\nI said, \"Hold up. Just think about it for a second. You\'re sitting around and you want to eat. It\'s late. Bacon? Maybe, but dang. It takes time to cook. Even if you microwave it, there\'s still cleanup. And don\'t tell me you\'re going to buy pre-cooked bacon. That\'s just un-American.\n\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pb.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-928\" style=\"margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px;\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pb.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"272\" height=\"279\" /></a>\"So you go to the pantry and there it is. A pristine, unopened jar of peanut butter. Your heart races. You know why? Because peanut butter is like a dessert. Heck, it is a dessert. It\'s so sweet, we add it to desserts to make them better. We\'ve even made it into a verb - \'peanut-buttier.\'\n\n\"You open the jar, pull back the shiny silver lid and what do you see?\"\n\nMy wife was salivating while she was thinking about peanut butter at this point. She said what I\'m thinking. \"The smooth peanut butter.\"\n\nI said, \"No. You see smooth ripples of undisturbed sweetness, begging for you to dig into it with a spoon.\"\n\n\"MMMMMMMMMMM,\" she said.\n\n\"That\'s right. You want bacon now?\"\n\n\"No,\" she said.\n\n\"And you take that first succulent bite that just slides onto your tongue. You look down into the indention you made and you say to yourself, \'I need to smooth that hole over.\' So you dig into it more, taking bite after bite.\"\n\nShe said, \"Until you realize you\'ve eaten half the jar.\"\n\n\"And that\'s the beauty of it,\" I said. \"That, and peanut butter is just as versatile as bacon. You put it on crackers to make them better, you can\'t have a PB&amp;J without the PB, Reese\'s Peanut Butter Cups would be nothing without them . . . \"\n\nShe interrupted, \"And no one would eat celery without it.\"\n\n\"Excellent point,\" I said.\n\n\"But,\" my sweet wife said, \"peanut butter gives me indegestion. I\'m sticking with bacon.\"\n\nMy shoulders dropped. \"Well,\" I said pouting, \"I think bacon at least has a contender.\"','Bacon vs. Peanut Butter: The Fight Is On','','inherit','open','open','','926-autosave','','','2011-10-22 23:29:09','2011-10-23 06:29:09','',926,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/926-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(935,48,'2011-10-22 13:24:38','2011-10-22 20:24:38','I have a confession to make: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a drawn out and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punchline, of course.\n\nThis is very apropos, given my penchence for humor. If humor were be a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially _____ situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, it\'s a lot less funny when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil Genie joke.\n\nIt\'s a standard joke: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! It contains a genie waiting to grant them three wishes (except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the Genies caught on to that gig a long time ago). So, they make their wishes, and the genie grants his or her wish, exactly as worded. A man asks for a wife 30 years his junior, so instead of making his wife younger, the genie ages the man 30 years.\n\nSo, like the poor sap who\'s the butt of the Genie jokes, so I find myself sometimes with God. I pray, asking for something, sometimes afraid that He will give me what I say that I want, but in the end I don\'t really want.\n\nThis is how I recently came to view a specific situation, regarding a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined up, I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go all the way.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea  what \"all the way\" meant at the times. But I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. It was also a lot of pain. My boss wasn\'t the most pleasant person to work for, and my job was fairly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking daytimer and message  service. I didn\'t enjoy my job, but everyone told me it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\n\nIn the end, I finally decided that God couldn\'t really mean for me to be in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that they must be wrong. There was more for me to do. Shortly after that, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry, and lost relationship with those we thought were our friends for all those years. It was painful. When I look back on this, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently all the way meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out.\n\nI don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed Godis will, or missed His timing to leave sooner, or simply I am just thankful for His mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\n\nAt some point we all caricature God, creating Him into our own little Golden Calf, and idol of our choosing. Some, especially those who had absent or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry and stern father or as a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, who never intervenes on earth, while some think of God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. A particular caricature in vogue right now is God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nDo you have any incorrect views of ways that you caricature God? How do you move beyond them into a correct view of the nature of God?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punchline?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-8','','','2011-10-22 13:24:38','2011-10-22 20:24:38','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(934,48,'2011-10-22 12:57:46','2011-10-22 19:57:46','I have a confession to make: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a drawn out and badly delivered joke. Where am I I in this equation? I am the punchline, of course.\n\nThis is very apropos, given my penchence for humor. If humor were be a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially _____ situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, it\'s a lot less funny when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil Genie joke.\n\nIt\'s a standard joke: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! It contains a genie waiting to grant them three wishes (except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the Genies caught on to that gig a long time ago). So, they make their wishes, and the genie grants his or her wish, exactly as worded, but taking advantage of w\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe human mind, while a wonderful and powerful mechanism, truly seems to fall short when striving to comprehend the complexities of the world, let alone attempting to comprehend the truly incomprehensible: God. Perhaps that is why the Israelites carved a golden calf to serve as their God while Moses was up conversing with said God up the mountain. God contains so much in one being that seems contradictory to us mere humans: wrathful judgment and mercy, anger and grace, violence and gentleness; a still, quiet voice, and a voice like thunder.\n\nIt is no wonder that in our twisted minds and skewed mental schemas, we have created God in an image of our choosing, much like a golden calf. Some, especially those who had absent or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry and stern father or as a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, who never intervenes on earth, while some think of God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul.  A recent development seems to be the view of God as some sort of cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a 3000 square foot house.\n\nI am not immune to this phenomenon. Recently it occurred to me that I occasionally caricature God as an Evil Genie-- just waiting to give me everything I ask for, but in some weird twisted way to punish or fool me. I\n\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punchline?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-7','','','2011-10-22 12:57:46','2011-10-22 19:57:46','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(936,0,'2011-10-22 13:36:29','2011-10-22 20:36:29','Faith and Spirituality\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Adam Drake\nAUTHOR EMAIL: AdamDDrake@Gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://glimpsesofgreatness.blogspot.com/\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 173.74.240.199\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Adam Drake\n    [Email] =&gt; AdamDDrake@Gmail.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; http://glimpsesofgreatness.blogspot.com/\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Faith and Spirituality\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; 1StoryAWeek\n)\n','Adam Drake - 2011-10-22 13:36:29','','publish','open','open','','77332b2a3cf3cc1533a379d2ba9ec282','','','2011-10-22 13:36:29','2011-10-22 20:36:29','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=936',0,'feedback','',0),(937,48,'2011-10-22 13:59:34','2011-10-22 20:59:34','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punchline, of course.\n\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchence for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially _____ situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, it\'s a lot less funny when you are the butt of the joke.Specifically, an evil Genie joke.\n\nThe evil Genie joke is a standard in many jokesters\' repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! It contains a genie waiting to grant them three wishes. (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the Genies caught on to that gig a long time ago.) So, the ke their wishes, and the genie grants his or her wish, exactly as worded. A man asks for a wife 30 years his junior, so instead of making his wife younger, the genie ages the man 30 years.\n\nLike the poor sap who\'s the butt of the Genie jokes, so I find myself sometimes with God, thinking He\'s given me exactly what I prayed for, but in a very undesirable manner. People often joke that you shouldn\'t ask God for patience, because He\'ll give you situations to build your patience. I think I might be taking this concept one step further, in thinking that He is punishing me for praying amiss by giving me the very thing for which I prayed.\n\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a specific situation with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea  what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was mind-numbingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone told me it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\n\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I came to the conclusion that God couldn\'t really desire me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, we decided it was time for me to leave my position. Shortly after that, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry, and lost relationship with those we thought were our friends for all those years. It was painful.\n\nWhen I look back on this, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\n\nAt some point we all caricature God, creating Him into our own little Golden Calf, and idol of our choosing. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or  a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\n\nI usually assume these caricatures of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. If this is entirely true, I don\'t think I want to dissect what my view of God as an Evil Genie reveals about myself. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our caricatures do reveal certain aspects of God, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the old testament, where God gave the people what they wanted, even when it was not His will for them (e.g. granted the Nation of Israel a King to rule over them).\n\nSo, what do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\n\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punchline?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-9','','','2011-10-22 13:59:34','2011-10-22 20:59:34','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(938,48,'2011-10-22 14:02:45','2011-10-22 21:02:45','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punchline, of course.\n\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchence for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially _____ situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, it\'s a lot less funny when you are the butt of the joke.Specifically, an evil Genie joke.\n\nThe evil Genie joke is a standard in many jokesters\' repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! It contains a genie waiting to grant them three wishes. (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the Genies caught on to that gig a long time ago.) So, the ke their wishes, and the genie grants his or her wish, exactly as worded. A man asks for a wife 30 years his junior, so instead of making his wife younger, the genie ages the man 30 years.\n\nLike the poor sap who\'s the butt of the Genie jokes, so I find myself sometimes with God, thinking He\'s given me exactly what I prayed for, but in a very undesirable manner. People often joke that you shouldn\'t ask God for patience, because He\'ll give you situations to build your patience. I think I might be taking this concept one step further, in thinking that He is punishing me for praying amiss by giving me the very thing for which I prayed.\n\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a specific situation with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea  what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was mind-numbingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone told me it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\n\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I came to the conclusion that God couldn\'t really desire me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, we decided it was time for me to leave my position. Shortly after that, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry, and lost relationship with those we thought were our friends for all those years. It was painful.\n\nWhen I look back on this, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\n\nAt some point we all caricature God, creating Him into our own little Golden Calf, and idol of our choosing. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or  a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\n\nI usually assume these caricatures of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. If this is entirely true, I don\'t think I want to dissect what my view of God as an Evil Genie reveals about myself. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps some our caricatures do reveal certain aspects of God, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the old testament, where God gave the people what they wanted, even when it was not His will for them (e.g. granting the Nation of Israel a King to rule over them).\n\nSo, what do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\n\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punchline?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-10','','','2011-10-22 14:02:45','2011-10-22 21:02:45','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(939,48,'2011-10-22 14:03:15','2011-10-22 21:03:15','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punchline, of course.\r\n\r\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchence for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially _____ situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, it\'s a lot less funny when you are the butt of the joke.Specifically, an evil Genie joke.\r\n\r\nThe evil Genie joke is a standard in many jokesters\' repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! It contains a genie waiting to grant them three wishes. (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the Genies caught on to that gig a long time ago.) So, the ke their wishes, and the genie grants his or her wish, exactly as worded. A man asks for a wife 30 years his junior, so instead of making his wife younger, the genie ages the man 30 years.\r\n\r\nLike the poor sap who\'s the butt of the Genie jokes, so I find myself sometimes with God, thinking He\'s given me exactly what I prayed for, but in a very undesirable manner. People often joke that you shouldn\'t ask God for patience, because He\'ll give you situations to build your patience. I think I might be taking this concept one step further, in thinking that He is punishing me for praying amiss by giving me the very thing for which I prayed.\r\n\r\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a specific situation with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea  what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was mind-numbingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone told me it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\r\n\r\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I came to the conclusion that God couldn\'t really desire me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, we decided it was time for me to leave my position. Shortly after that, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry, and lost relationship with those we thought were our friends for all those years. It was painful.\r\n\r\nWhen I look back on this, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\r\n\r\nAt some point we all caricature God, creating Him into our own little Golden Calf, and idol of our choosing. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or  a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\r\n\r\nI usually assume these caricatures of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. If this is entirely true, I don\'t think I want to dissect what my view of God as an Evil Genie reveals about myself. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our caricatures do reveal certain aspects of God, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the old testament, where God gave the people what they wanted, even when it was not His will for them (e.g. granting the Nation of Israel a King to rule over them).\r\n\r\nSo, what do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punchline?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-11','','','2011-10-22 14:03:15','2011-10-22 21:03:15','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(940,48,'2011-10-22 14:18:11','2011-10-22 21:18:11','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punch line, of course.\r\n\r\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchant for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially awkward or difficult situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, it\'s a lot less funny when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil Genie joke.\r\n\r\nThe evil Genie joke is a standard in many jokesters\' repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! The lamp contains a genie at their beck and call, eagerly waiting to grant them three wishes (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the Genies caught on to that jig a long time ago.) So, the ask their wishes, and the genie grants his or her wish, exactly as worded. A man asks for a wife 30 years his junior, so instead of making his wife younger, the genie ages the man 30 years.\r\n\r\nLike the poor sap who\'s the butt of the Genie jokes, so I find myself sometimes with God, thinking He\'s given me exactly what I prayed for, but in a very undesirable manner. People often joke that you shouldn\'t ask God for patience, because He\'ll give you situations to build your patience. I think I might be taking this concept one step further, in thinking that He is punishing me for praying amiss by giving me the very thing for which I prayed.\r\n\r\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a circumstance with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was mind-numbingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone assured me  it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\r\n\r\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I came to the conclusion that God couldn\'t really desire me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, my husband and I decided it was time for me to leave my position. After a few more weeks and a few more disagreements with leadership, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry. As a result, we lost relationship with those we thought were our friends for all those years who were still a part of the ministry. It was a difficult and painful, but the leaving I do not regret.\r\n\r\nWhen I look back on this situation, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\r\n\r\nAt some point we all caricature God, making Him into our own Golden Calf, an idol of our choosing and creation. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to their God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\r\n\r\nI usually assume these caricatures of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. If this is entirely true, I don\'t think I want to dissect what my view of God as an Evil Genie reveals about me. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our caricatures do reveal certain aspects of God, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the Old Testament, where God gave the people what they wanted, even when it was not His will for them (e.g. granting the Nation of Israel a King to rule over them). So, perhaps God sometimes does play the part of the Evil Genie, and sometimes we play the part of the punch line.\r\n\r\nSo, what do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punchline?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-12','','','2011-10-22 14:18:11','2011-10-22 21:18:11','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(941,48,'2011-10-22 14:19:10','2011-10-22 21:19:10','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punch line, of course.\r\n\r\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchant for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially awkward or difficult situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, it\'s a lot less funny when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil Genie joke.\r\n\r\nThe evil Genie joke is a standard in many jokesters\' repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! The lamp contains a genie at their beck and call, eagerly waiting to grant them three wishes (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the Genies caught on to that jig a long time ago.) So, the ask their wishes, and the genie grants his or her wish, exactly as worded. A man asks for a wife 30 years his junior, so instead of making his wife younger, the genie ages the man 30 years.\r\n\r\nLike the poor sap who\'s the butt of the Genie jokes, so I find myself sometimes with God, thinking He\'s given me exactly what I prayed for, but in a very undesirable manner. People often joke that you shouldn\'t ask God for patience, because He\'ll give you situations to build your patience. I think I might be taking this concept one step further, in thinking that He is punishing me for praying amiss by giving me the very thing for which I prayed.\r\n\r\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a circumstance with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was mind-numbingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone assured me  it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\r\n\r\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I came to the conclusion that God couldn\'t really desire me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, my husband and I decided it was time for me to leave my position. After a few more weeks and a few more disagreements with leadership, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry. As a result, we lost relationship with those we thought were our friends for all those years who were still a part of the ministry. It was a difficult and painful, but the leaving I do not regret.\r\n\r\nWhen I look back on this situation, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\r\n\r\nAt some point we all caricature God, making Him into our own Golden Calf, an idol of our choosing and creation. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to their God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\r\n\r\nI usually assume these caricatures of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. If this is entirely true, I don\'t think I want to dissect what my view of God as an Evil Genie reveals about me. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our caricatures do reveal certain aspects of God, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the Old Testament, where God gave the people what they wanted, even when it was not His will for them (e.g. granting the Nation of Israel a King to rule over them). So, perhaps God sometimes does play the part of the Evil Genie, and sometimes we play the part of the punch line.\r\n\r\nSo, what do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punch Line?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-13','','','2011-10-22 14:19:10','2011-10-22 21:19:10','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0),(942,48,'2011-10-22 14:25:12','2011-10-22 21:25:12','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punch line, of course.\n\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchant for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially awkward or difficult situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, humor is a lot less humorous when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil Genie joke.\n\nThe evil Genie joke is a standard in many jokesters\' repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! The lamp contains a genie at their beck and call, eagerly waiting to grant them three wishes (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the Genies caught on to that jig a long time ago.) Usually these jokes are meant to highlight the importance of what you ask for or how you ask for it. So, the ask their wishes, and the genie grants his or her wish, exactly as worded. A man asks for a wife 30 years his junior, so instead of making his wife younger, the genie ages the man 30 years.\n\nLike the poor sap who\'s the butt of the Genie jokes, so I find myself sometimes with God, thinking He\'s given me exactly what I prayed for, but in a very undesirable manner. People often joke that you shouldn\'t ask God for patience, because He\'ll give you situations to build your patience. I think I might be taking this concept one step further, in thinking that He is punishing me for praying amiss by giving me the very thing for which I prayed.\n\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a circumstance with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was mind-numbingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone assured me  it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\n\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I came to the conclusion that God couldn\'t really desire me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, my husband and I decided it was time for me to leave my position. After a few more weeks and a few more disagreements with leadership, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry. As a result, we lost relationship with those we thought were our friends for all those years who were still a part of the ministry. It was a difficult and painful, but the leaving I do not regret.\n\nWhen I look back on this situation, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\n\nAt some point we all caricature God, making Him into our own Golden Calf, an idol of our choosing and creation. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to their God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\n\nI usually assume these caricatures of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. If this is entirely true, I don\'t think I want to dissect what my view of God as an Evil Genie reveals about me. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our caricatures do reveal certain aspects of God, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the Old Testament, where God gave the people what they wanted, even when it was not His will for them (e.g. granting the Nation of Israel a King to rule over them). So, perhaps God sometimes does play the part of the Evil Genie, and sometimes we play the part of the punch line.\n\nSo, what do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\n\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punch Line?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-14','','','2011-10-22 14:25:12','2011-10-22 21:25:12','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-14/',0,'revision','',0),(945,48,'2011-10-22 15:02:48','2011-10-22 22:02:48','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punch line, of course.\n\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchant for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially awkward or difficult situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, humor is a lot less humorous when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil Genie joke.\n\nThe evil Genie joke is a standard in many jokesters\' repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! The lamp contains a genie who is now at their beck and call, eagerly waiting to grant them three wishes (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the Genies caught on to that jig a long time ago.) These jokes highlight how important it is to be careful what you ask for or how you ask for it; while the genie gives the person exactly what they wished for, the result is comically undesirable (like the man who asked for a wife 30 years his junior, and the genie makes him 30 years older rather than making his wife younger).\n\nLike the poor sap who\'s the butt of the Genie jokes, so I find myself sometimes with God, thinking He\'s given me exactly what I prayed for, but in a very disagreeable way. People often joke that you shouldn\'t ask God for patience, because He\'ll give you situations to build your patience. I think I might be taking this concept one step further, in thinking that He is punishing me for praying amiss by giving me the very thing for which I prayed.\n\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a circumstance with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was excruciatingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone assured me  it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\n\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I concluded that God couldn\'t really want me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, my husband and I decided it was time for me to leave my job. After a few more weeks and a few more disagreements with leadership, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry. As a result, we lost relationships with everyone who was still on the ministry team, people we thought were our friends for all those years. It was a difficult and painful, and while I regret some of the aftermath, the leaving I do not regret.\n\nWhen I look back on this situation, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\n\nAt some point we all caricature God, making Him into our own Golden Calf, an idol of our choosing and creation. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to their God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\n\nI usually assume these characterizations of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our depictions do reveal certain aspects of God, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the Old Testament, where God gave the people what they wanted, even when it was not His will for them (e.g. granting the Nation of Israel a King to rule over them). So, perhaps God sometimes does play the part of the Evil Genie, and sometimes we play the part of the punch line.\n\nWhat do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\n\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punch Line?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-16','','','2011-10-22 15:02:48','2011-10-22 22:02:48','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-16/',0,'revision','',0),(944,48,'2011-10-22 14:57:39','2011-10-22 21:57:39','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punch line, of course.\n\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchant for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially awkward or difficult situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, humor is a lot less humorous when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil Genie joke.\n\nThe evil Genie joke is a standard in many jokesters\' repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! The lamp contains a genie who is now at their beck and call, eagerly waiting to grant them three wishes (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the Genies caught on to that jig a long time ago.) These jokes highlight how important it is to be careful what you ask for or how you ask for it; while the genie gives the person exactly what they wished for, the result is comically undesirable (like the man who asked for a wife 30 years his junior, and the genie makes him 30 years older rather than making his wife younger).\n\nLike the poor sap who\'s the butt of the Genie jokes, so I find myself sometimes with God, thinking He\'s given me exactly what I prayed for, but in a very disagreeable way. People often joke that you shouldn\'t ask God for patience, because He\'ll give you situations to build your patience. I think I might be taking this concept one step further, in thinking that He is punishing me for praying amiss by giving me the very thing for which I prayed.\n\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a circumstance with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was excruciatingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone assured me  it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\n\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I concluded that God couldn\'t really want me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, my husband and I decided it was time for me to leave my job. After a few more weeks and a few more disagreements with leadership, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry. As a result, we lost relationships with everyone who was still on the ministry team, people we thought were our friends for all those years. It was a difficult and painful, and while I regret some of the aftermath, the leaving I do not regret.\n\nWhen I look back on this situation, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\n\nAt some point we all caricature God, making Him into our own Golden Calf, an idol of our choosing and creation. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to their God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\n\nI usually assume these caricatures of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. If this is entirely true, I don\'t think I want to dissect what my view of God as an Evil Genie reveals about me. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our caricatures do reveal certain aspects of God, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the Old Testament, where God gave the people what they wanted, even when it was not His will for them (e.g. granting the Nation of Israel a King to rule over them). So, perhaps God sometimes does play the part of the Evil Genie, and sometimes we play the part of the punch line.\n\nSo, what do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\n\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punch Line?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-15','','','2011-10-22 14:57:39','2011-10-22 21:57:39','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-15/',0,'revision','',0),(946,48,'2011-10-22 15:04:04','2011-10-22 22:04:04','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punch line, of course.\n\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchant for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially awkward or difficult situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, humor is a lot less humorous when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil Genie joke.\n\nThe evil Genie joke is a standard in many s\' repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! The lamp contains a genie who is now at their beck and call, eagerly waiting to grant them three wishes (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the Genies caught on to that jig a long time ago.) These jokes highlight how important it is to be careful what you ask for or how you ask for it; while the genie gives the person exactly what they wished for, the result is comically undesirable (like the man who asked for a wife 30 years his junior, and the genie makes him 30 years older rather than making his wife younger).\n\nLike the poor sap who\'s the butt of the Genie jokes, so I find myself sometimes with God, thinking He\'s given me exactly what I prayed for, but in a very disagreeable way. People often joke that you shouldn\'t ask God for patience, because He\'ll give you situations to build your patience. I think I might be taking this concept one step further, in thinking that He is punishing me for praying amiss by giving me the very thing for which I prayed.\n\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a circumstance with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was excruciatingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone assured me  it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\n\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I concluded that God couldn\'t really want me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, my husband and I decided it was time for me to leave my job. After a few more weeks and a few more disagreements with leadership, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry. As a result, we lost relationships with everyone who was still on the ministry team, people we thought were our friends for all those years. It was a difficult and painful, and while I regret some of the aftermath, the leaving I do not regret.\n\nWhen I look back on this situation, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\n\nAt some point we all caricature God, making Him into our own Golden Calf, an idol of our choosing and creation. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to their God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\n\nI usually assume these characterizations of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our depictions do reveal certain aspects of God, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the Old Testament, where God gave the people what they wanted, even when it was not His will for them (e.g. granting the Nation of Israel a King to rule over them). So, perhaps God sometimes does play the part of the Evil Genie, and sometimes we play the part of the punch line.\n\nWhat do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\n\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punch Line?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-17','','','2011-10-22 15:04:04','2011-10-22 22:04:04','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-17/',0,'revision','',0),(947,48,'2011-10-22 15:05:26','2011-10-22 22:05:26','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punch line, of course.\n\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchant for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially awkward or difficult situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, humor is a lot less humorous when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil genie joke.\n\nThe evil genie joke is a standard in many a comic\'s repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! The lamp contains a genie who is now at their beck and call, eagerly waiting to grant them three wishes (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the genies caught on to that jig a long time ago.) These jokes highlight how important it is to be careful what you ask for or how you ask for it; while the genie gives the person exactly what they wished for, the result is comically undesirable (like the man who asked for a wife 30 years his junior, and the genie makes him 30 years older rather than making his wife younger).\n\nLike the poor sap who\'s the butt of the genie jokes, so I find myself sometimes with God, thinking He\'s given me exactly what I prayed for, but in a very disagreeable way. People often joke that you shouldn\'t ask God for patience, because He\'ll give you situations to build your patience. I think I might be taking this concept one step further, in thinking that He is punishing me for praying amiss by giving me the very thing for which I prayed.\n\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a circumstance with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was excruciatingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone assured me  it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\n\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I concluded that God couldn\'t really want me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, my husband and I decided it was time for me to leave my job. After a few more weeks and a few more disagreements with leadership, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry. As a result, we lost relationships with everyone who was still on the ministry team, people we thought were our friends for all those years. It was a difficult and painful, and while I regret some of the aftermath, the leaving I do not regret.\n\nWhen I look back on this situation, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\n\nAt some point we all caricature God, making Him into our own Golden Calf, an idol of our choosing and creation. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to their God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\n\nI usually assume these characterizations of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our depictions do reveal certain aspects of God, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the Old Testament, where God gave the people what they wanted, even when it was not His will for them (e.g. granting the Nation of Israel a King to rule over them). So, perhaps God sometimes does play the part of the Evil Genie, and sometimes we play the part of the punch line.\n\nWhat do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\n\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punch Line?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-18','','','2011-10-22 15:05:26','2011-10-22 22:05:26','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-18/',0,'revision','',0),(948,48,'2011-10-22 15:06:53','2011-10-22 22:06:53','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punch line, of course.\n\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchant for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially awkward or difficult situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, humor is a lot less humorous when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil genie joke.\n\nThe evil genie joke is a standard in many a comic\'s repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! The lamp contains a genie who is now at their beck and call, eagerly waiting to grant them three wishes (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the genies caught on to that jig a long time ago.) These jokes highlight the careful what you ask for or how you ask for it; while the genie gives the person exactly what they wished for, the result is comically undesirable (like the man who asked for a wife 30 years his junior, and the genie makes him 30 years older rather than making his wife younger).\n\nLike the poor sap who\'s the butt of the genie jokes, so I find myself sometimes with God, thinking He\'s given me exactly what I prayed for, but in a very disagreeable way. People often joke that you shouldn\'t ask God for patience, because He\'ll give you situations to build your patience. I think I might be taking this concept one step further, in thinking that He is punishing me for praying amiss by giving me the very thing for which I prayed.\n\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a circumstance with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was excruciatingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone assured me  it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\n\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I concluded that God couldn\'t really want me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, my husband and I decided it was time for me to leave my job. After a few more weeks and a few more disagreements with leadership, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry. As a result, we lost relationships with everyone who was still on the ministry team, people we thought were our friends for all those years. It was a difficult and painful, and while I regret some of the aftermath, the leaving I do not regret.\n\nWhen I look back on this situation, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\n\nAt some point we all caricature God, making Him into our own golden calf, an idol of our choosing and creation. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to their God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\n\nI usually assume these characterizations of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our depictions do reveal certain aspects of God, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the Old Testament, where God gave the people what they wanted, even when it was not His will for them (e.g. granting the Nation of Israel a King to rule over them). So, perhaps God sometimes does play the part of the Evil Genie, and sometimes we play the part of the punch line.\n\nWhat do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\n\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punch Line?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-19','','','2011-10-22 15:06:53','2011-10-22 22:06:53','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-19/',0,'revision','',0),(955,48,'2011-10-22 15:49:21','2011-10-22 22:49:21','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punch line, of course.\n\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchant for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially awkward or difficult situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, humor is a lot less humorous when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil genie joke.\n\nThe evil genie joke is a standard in many a comic\'s repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! The lamp contains a genie who is now at their beck and call, eagerly waiting to grant them three wishes. (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the genies caught on to that jig a long time ago.) These jokes highlight how important it is to be careful what you ask for or how you ask for it; while the genie gives the person exactly what they wished for, the result is comically undesirable, like the man who asks for a wife 30 years his junior, only to have the genie make him 30 years older rather than making his wife younger.\n\nI sometimes find myself feeling like the poor sap who\'s the butt of the genie jokes, believing God has given me exactly what I prayed for, but purposefully made it so I would hate every minute of it. People say you should be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it. Well, I think this also applies to prayer, and not just the tongue-in-cheek cautions people often give to avoid praying for patience.\n\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a circumstance with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was excruciatingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone assured me  it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\n\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I concluded that God couldn\'t really want me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, my husband and I decided it was time for me to leave my job. After a few more weeks and a few more disagreements with leadership, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry. As a result, we lost relationships with everyone who was still on the ministry team, people we thought were our friends for all those years. It was a difficult and painful, and while I regret some of the aftermath, the leaving I do not regret.\n\nWhen I look back on this situation, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\n\nAt some point we all caricature God, making Him into our own golden calf, an idol of our choosing and creation. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to their God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\n\nI usually assume these characterizations of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our images of God do show certain aspects of Him, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the Old Testament, where God gave people what they wanted even when it was neither His will for them nor in their best interest.  One such time was when the Israelites demanded a king so they could be like the other nations. God gave them the king that they wanted even though they were in effect rejecting Him as their king and they would soon resent this new earthly king\'s power over them (see 1 Samuel 8:1-22). Perhaps God does sometimes play the part of the Evil Genie, and sometimes we play the part of the punch line.\n\nWhat do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\n\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punch Line?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-25','','','2011-10-22 15:49:21','2011-10-22 22:49:21','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-25/',0,'revision','',0),(949,48,'2011-10-22 15:35:12','2011-10-22 22:35:12','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punch line, of course.\n\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchant for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially awkward or difficult situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, humor is a lot less humorous when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil genie joke.\n\nThe evil genie joke is a standard in many a comic\'s repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! The lamp contains a genie who is now at their beck and call, eagerly waiting to grant them three wishes (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the genies caught on to that jig a long time ago.) These jokes highlight how important it is to be careful what you ask for or how you ask for it; while the genie gives the person exactly what they wished for, the result is comically undesirable (like the man who asked for a wife 30 years his junior, and the genie makes him 30 years older rather than making his wife younger).\n\nLike the poor sap who\'s the butt of the genie jokes, so I find myself sometimes with God, thinking He\'s given me exactly what I prayed for, but in a very disagreeable way. People often joke that you shouldn\'t ask God for patience, because He\'ll give you situations to build your patience. I think I might be taking this concept one step further, in thinking that He is punishing me for praying amiss by giving me the very thing for which I prayed.\n\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a circumstance with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was excruciatingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone assured me  it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\n\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I concluded that God couldn\'t really want me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, my husband and I decided it was time for me to leave my job. After a few more weeks and a few more disagreements with leadership, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry. As a result, we lost relationships with everyone who was still on the ministry team, people we thought were our friends for all those years. It was a difficult and painful, and while I regret some of the aftermath, the leaving I do not regret.\n\nWhen I look back on this situation, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\n\nAt some point we all caricature God, making Him into our own golden calf, an idol of our choosing and creation. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to their God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\n\nI usually assume these characterizations of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our images of God do show certain aspects of Him, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the Old Testament, where God gave people what they wanted even when it was neither His will for them nor in their best interest.  One such time was when the Israelites demanded a king so they could be like the other nations. God gave them the king that they wanted even though it was a rejection of Himself as their king, and warned them that they would soon resent the king\'s power over them (see 1 Samuel 8:1-22).\n\nPerhaps God sometimes does sometimesplay the part of the Evil Genie, and sometimes we play the part of the punch line.\n\nWhat do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\n\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punch Line?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-20','','','2011-10-22 15:35:12','2011-10-22 22:35:12','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-20/',0,'revision','',0),(950,48,'2011-10-22 15:35:47','2011-10-22 22:35:47','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punch line, of course.\r\n\r\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchant for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially awkward or difficult situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, humor is a lot less humorous when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil genie joke.\r\n\r\nThe evil genie joke is a standard in many a comic\'s repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! The lamp contains a genie who is now at their beck and call, eagerly waiting to grant them three wishes (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the genies caught on to that jig a long time ago.) These jokes highlight how important it is to be careful what you ask for or how you ask for it; while the genie gives the person exactly what they wished for, the result is comically undesirable (like the man who asked for a wife 30 years his junior, and the genie makes him 30 years older rather than making his wife younger).\r\n\r\nLike the poor sap who\'s the butt of the genie jokes, so I find myself sometimes with God, thinking He\'s given me exactly what I prayed for, but in a very disagreeable way. People often joke that you shouldn\'t ask God for patience, because He\'ll give you situations to build your patience. I think I might be taking this concept one step further, in thinking that He is punishing me for praying amiss by giving me the very thing for which I prayed.\r\n\r\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a circumstance with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was excruciatingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone assured me  it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\r\n\r\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I concluded that God couldn\'t really want me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, my husband and I decided it was time for me to leave my job. After a few more weeks and a few more disagreements with leadership, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry. As a result, we lost relationships with everyone who was still on the ministry team, people we thought were our friends for all those years. It was a difficult and painful, and while I regret some of the aftermath, the leaving I do not regret.\r\n\r\nWhen I look back on this situation, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\r\n\r\nAt some point we all caricature God, making Him into our own golden calf, an idol of our choosing and creation. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to their God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\r\n\r\nI usually assume these characterizations of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our images of God do show certain aspects of Him, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the Old Testament, where God gave people what they wanted even when it was neither His will for them nor in their best interest.  One such time was when the Israelites demanded a king so they could be like the other nations. God gave them the king that they wanted even though it was a rejection of Himself as their king, and warned them that they would soon resent the king\'s power over them (see 1 Samuel 8:1-22). Perhaps God does sometimes play the part of the Evil Genie, and sometimes we play the part of the punch line.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punch Line?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-21','','','2011-10-22 15:35:47','2011-10-22 22:35:47','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-21/',0,'revision','',0),(952,48,'2011-10-22 15:35:53','2011-10-22 22:35:53','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punch line, of course.\r\n\r\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchant for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially awkward or difficult situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, humor is a lot less humorous when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil genie joke.\r\n\r\nThe evil genie joke is a standard in many a comic\'s repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! The lamp contains a genie who is now at their beck and call, eagerly waiting to grant them three wishes (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the genies caught on to that jig a long time ago.) These jokes highlight how important it is to be careful what you ask for or how you ask for it; while the genie gives the person exactly what they wished for, the result is comically undesirable (like the man who asked for a wife 30 years his junior, and the genie makes him 30 years older rather than making his wife younger).\r\n\r\nLike the poor sap who\'s the butt of the genie jokes, so I find myself sometimes with God, thinking He\'s given me exactly what I prayed for, but in a very disagreeable way. People often joke that you shouldn\'t ask God for patience, because He\'ll give you situations to build your patience. I think I might be taking this concept one step further, in thinking that He is punishing me for praying amiss by giving me the very thing for which I prayed.\r\n\r\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a circumstance with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was excruciatingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone assured me  it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\r\n\r\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I concluded that God couldn\'t really want me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, my husband and I decided it was time for me to leave my job. After a few more weeks and a few more disagreements with leadership, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry. As a result, we lost relationships with everyone who was still on the ministry team, people we thought were our friends for all those years. It was a difficult and painful, and while I regret some of the aftermath, the leaving I do not regret.\r\n\r\nWhen I look back on this situation, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\r\n\r\nAt some point we all caricature God, making Him into our own golden calf, an idol of our choosing and creation. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to their God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\r\n\r\nI usually assume these characterizations of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our images of God do show certain aspects of Him, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the Old Testament, where God gave people what they wanted even when it was neither His will for them nor in their best interest.  One such time was when the Israelites demanded a king so they could be like the other nations. God gave them the king that they wanted even though it was a rejection of Himself as their king, and warned them that they would soon resent the king\'s power over them (see 1 Samuel 8:1-22). Perhaps God does sometimes play the part of the Evil Genie, and sometimes we play the part of the punch line.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punch Line?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-22','','','2011-10-22 15:35:53','2011-10-22 22:35:53','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-22/',0,'revision','',0),(953,48,'2011-10-22 15:47:04','2011-10-22 22:47:04','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punch line, of course.\n\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchant for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially awkward or difficult situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, humor is a lot less humorous when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil genie joke.\n\nThe evil genie joke is a standard in many a comic\'s repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! The lamp contains a genie who is now at their beck and call, eagerly waiting to grant them three wishes. (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the genies caught on to that jig a long time ago.) These jokes highlight how important it is to be careful what you ask for or how you ask for it; while the genie gives the person exactly what they wished for, the result is comically undesirable, like the man who asks for a wife 30 years his junior, only to have the genie make him 30 years older rather than making his wife younger.\n\nI sometimes find myself feeling like the poor sap who\'s the butt of the genie jokes, believing God has given me exactly what I prayed for, but purposefully made it so I would hate every minute of it. People say you should be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it. Well, I think this also applies to prayer, and not just the tongue-in-cheek cautions people often give to avoid praying for patience and brokenness.\n\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a circumstance with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was excruciatingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone assured me  it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\n\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I concluded that God couldn\'t really want me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, my husband and I decided it was time for me to leave my job. After a few more weeks and a few more disagreements with leadership, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry. As a result, we lost relationships with everyone who was still on the ministry team, people we thought were our friends for all those years. It was a difficult and painful, and while I regret some of the aftermath, the leaving I do not regret.\n\nWhen I look back on this situation, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\n\nAt some point we all caricature God, making Him into our own golden calf, an idol of our choosing and creation. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to their God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\n\nI usually assume these characterizations of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our images of God do show certain aspects of Him, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the Old Testament, where God gave people what they wanted even when it was neither His will for them nor in their best interest.  One such time was when the Israelites demanded a king so they could be like the other nations. God gave them the king that they wanted even though they were in effect rejecting Him as their king and they would soon resent this new earthly king\'s power over them (see 1 Samuel 8:1-22). Perhaps God does sometimes play the part of the Evil Genie, and sometimes we play the part of the punch line.\n\nWhat do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\n\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punch Line?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-23','','','2011-10-22 15:47:04','2011-10-22 22:47:04','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-23/',0,'revision','',0),(954,48,'2011-10-22 15:48:12','2011-10-22 22:48:12','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punch line, of course.\n\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchant for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially awkward or difficult situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, humor is a lot less humorous when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil genie joke.\n\nThe evil genie joke is a standard in many a comic\'s repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! The lamp contains a genie who is now at their beck and call, eagerly waiting to grant them three wishes. (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the genies caught on to that jig a long time ago.) These jokes highlight how important it is to be careful what you ask for or how you ask for it; while the genie gives the person exactly what they wished for, the result is comically undesirable, like the man who asks for a wife 30 years his junior, only to have the genie make him 30 years older rather than making his wife younger.\n\nI sometimes find myself feeling like the poor sap who\'s the butt of the genie jokes, believing God has given me exactly what I prayed for, but purposefully made it so I would hate every minute of it. People say you should be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it. Well, I think this also applies to prayer, and not just the tongue-in-cheek cautions people often give to avoid praying for patience and brokenness.\n\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a circumstance with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was excruciatingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone assured me  it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\n\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I concluded that God couldn\'t really want me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, my husband and I decided it was time for me to leave my job. After a few more weeks and a few more disagreements with leadership, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry. As a result, we lost relationships with everyone who was still on the ministry team, people we thought were our friends for all those years. It was a difficult and painful, and while I regret some of the aftermath, the leaving I do not regret.\n\nWhen I look back on this situation, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\n\nAt some point we all caricature God, making Him into our own golden calf, an idol of our choosing and creation. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to their God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\n\nI usually assume these characterizations of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our images of God do show certain aspects of Him, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the Old Testament, where God gave people what they wanted even when it was neither His will for them nor in their best interest.  One such time was when the Israelites demanded a king so they could be like the other nations. God gave them the king that they wanted even though they were in effect rejecting Him as their king and they would soon resent this new earthly king\'s power over them (see 1 Samuel 8:1-22). Perhaps God does sometimes play the part of the Evil Genie, and sometimes we play the part of the punch line.\n\nWhat do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\n\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punch Line?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-24','','','2011-10-22 15:48:12','2011-10-22 22:48:12','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-24/',0,'revision','',0),(957,48,'2011-10-22 15:51:28','2011-10-22 22:51:28','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punch line, of course.\n\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchant for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially awkward or difficult situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, humor is a lot less humorous when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil genie joke.\n\nThe evil genie joke is a standard in many a comic\'s repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! The lamp contains a genie who is now at their beck and call, eagerly waiting to grant them three wishes. (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the genies caught on to that jig a long time ago.) These jokes highlight how important it is to be careful what you ask for or how you ask for it; while the genie gives the person exactly what they wished for, the result is comically undesirable, like the man who asks for a wife 30 years his junior, only to have the genie make him 30 years older rather than making his wife younger.\n\nI sometimes find myself feeling like the poor sap who\'s the butt of the genie jokes, believing God has given me exactly what I prayed for, but purposefully made it so I would hate every minute of it. People say you should be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it. Well, I think this also applies to prayer, and not just the tongue-in-cheek cautions people often give to avoid praying for patience.\n\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a circumstance with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was excruciatingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone assured me  it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\n\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I concluded that God couldn\'t really want me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, my husband and I decided it was time for me to leave my job. After a few more weeks and a few more disagreements with leadership, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry. As a result, we lost relationships with everyone who was still on the ministry team, people we thought were our friends for all those years. It was a difficult and painful, and while I regret some of the aftermath, the leaving I do not regret.\n\nWhen I look back on this situation, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\n\nAt some point we all caricature God, making Him into our own golden calf, an idol of our choosing and creation. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to their God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\n\nI usually assume these characterizations of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our images of God do show certain aspects of Him, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the Old Testament, where God gave people what they wanted even when it was neither His will for them nor in their best interest.  One such time was when the Israelites demanded a king so they could be like the other nations. God gave them the king that they wanted even though they were in effect rejecting Him as their king and they would soon resent this new earthly king\'s power over them (see 1 Samuel 8:1-22). Perhaps God does sometimes play the part of the Evil Genie, and sometimes we play the part of the punch line.\n\nWhat do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\n\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punch Line?','','inherit','open','open','','906-autosave','','','2011-10-22 15:51:28','2011-10-22 22:51:28','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(956,48,'2011-10-22 15:49:59','2011-10-22 22:49:59','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punch line, of course.\r\n\r\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchant for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially awkward or difficult situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, humor is a lot less humorous when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil genie joke.\r\n\r\nThe evil genie joke is a standard in many a comic\'s repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! The lamp contains a genie who is now at their beck and call, eagerly waiting to grant them three wishes. (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the genies caught on to that jig a long time ago.) These jokes highlight how important it is to be careful what you ask for or how you ask for it; while the genie gives the person exactly what they wished for, the result is comically undesirable, like the man who asks for a wife 30 years his junior, only to have the genie make him 30 years older rather than making his wife younger.\r\n\r\nI sometimes find myself feeling like the poor sap who\'s the butt of the genie jokes, believing God has given me exactly what I prayed for, but purposefully made it so I would hate every minute of it. People say you should be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it. Well, I think this also applies to prayer, and not just the tongue-in-cheek cautions people often give to avoid praying for patience.\r\n\r\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a circumstance with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was excruciatingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone assured me  it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\r\n\r\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I concluded that God couldn\'t really want me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, my husband and I decided it was time for me to leave my job. After a few more weeks and a few more disagreements with leadership, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry. As a result, we lost relationships with everyone who was still on the ministry team, people we thought were our friends for all those years. It was a difficult and painful, and while I regret some of the aftermath, the leaving I do not regret.\r\n\r\nWhen I look back on this situation, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\r\n\r\nAt some point we all caricature God, making Him into our own golden calf, an idol of our choosing and creation. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to their God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\r\n\r\nI usually assume these characterizations of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our images of God do show certain aspects of Him, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the Old Testament, where God gave people what they wanted even when it was neither His will for them nor in their best interest.  One such time was when the Israelites demanded a king so they could be like the other nations. God gave them the king that they wanted even though they were in effect rejecting Him as their king and they would soon resent this new earthly king\'s power over them (see 1 Samuel 8:1-22). Perhaps God does sometimes play the part of the Evil Genie, and sometimes we play the part of the punch line.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punch Line?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-26','','','2011-10-22 15:49:59','2011-10-22 22:49:59','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-26/',0,'revision','',0),(958,12,'2011-10-22 12:13:25','2011-10-22 19:13:25','I was just perusing the Provoketive site and saw a picture my friend Jonathan posted of a <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/10/19/bacon-for-love/\">dozen \"bacon roses.\"</a> He seemingly balked at the idea.\r\n\r\nLiving in California may keep Jonathan from enjoying the nuances of bacon delights here in the South. Bacon love in the past few years has taken a life of its own. Without even doing research, I can name several bacon oddities I\'ve seen online in the past few months: bacon flavored vodka, bacon flavored toothpaste, bacon bikinis, bacon ice cream and chocolate covered bacon.\r\n\r\nLet\'s face it, bacon makes just about everything taste better. I agree.\r\n\r\nBut the bacon lovers need to slow their roll for a second. I believe there might be a contender for the title.\r\n\r\nI was discussing it with my lovely wife, Allison, last night and I asked her which was better. She said without hesitating, \"bacon.\"\r\n\r\nI said, \"Hold up. Just think about it for a second. You\'re sitting around and you want to eat. It\'s late. Bacon? Maybe, but dang. It takes time to cook. Even if you microwave it, there\'s still cleanup. And don\'t tell me you\'re going to buy pre-cooked bacon. That\'s just un-American.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pb.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-928\" style=\"margin-left: 5px;margin-right: 5px\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pb.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"272\" height=\"279\" /></a>\"So you go to the pantry and there it is. A pristine, unopened jar of peanut butter. Your heart races. You know why? Because peanut butter is like a dessert. Heck, it is a dessert. It\'s so sweet, we add it to desserts to make them better. We\'ve even made it into a verb - \'peanut-buttier.\'\r\n\r\n\"You open the jar, pull back the shiny silver lid and what do you see?\"\r\n\r\nMy wife was salivating while she was thinking about peanut butter at this point. She said what I\'m thinking. \"The smooth peanut butter.\"\r\n\r\nI said, \"No. You see smooth ripples of undisturbed sweetness, begging for you to dig into it with a spoon.\"\r\n\r\n\"MMMMMMMMMMM,\" she said.\r\n\r\n\"That\'s right. You want bacon now?\"\r\n\r\n\"No,\" she said.\r\n\r\n\"And you take that first succulent bite that just slides onto your tongue. You look down into the indention you made and you say to yourself, \'I need to smooth that hole over.\' So you dig into it more, taking bite after bite.\"\r\n\r\nShe said, \"Until you realize you\'ve eaten half the jar.\"\r\n\r\n\"And that\'s the beauty of it,\" I said. \"That, and peanut butter is just as versatile as bacon. You put it on crackers to make them better, you can\'t have a PB&amp;J without the PB, Reese\'s Peanut Butter Cups would be nothing without them . . . \"\r\n\r\nShe interrupted, \"And no one would eat celery without it.\"\r\n\r\n\"Excellent point,\" I said.\r\n\r\n\"But,\" my sweet wife said, \"peanut butter gives me indegestion. I\'m sticking with bacon.\"\r\n\r\nMy shoulders dropped. \"Well,\" I said pouting, \"I think bacon at least has a contender.\"','Bacon vs. Peanut Butter: The Fight Is On','','inherit','open','open','','926-revision-3','','','2011-10-22 12:13:25','2011-10-22 19:13:25','',926,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/926-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(959,75,'2011-10-25 09:00:22','2011-10-25 16:00:22','I spend a lot of time trying to hear from God. I read my Bible each day, have quiet prayer times, worship wholeheartedly, and so forth. So it surprises me when God chooses to speak to me while I am brushing my teeth. The more I think about it though, the more I like it. I think it’s a testament of our relationship. You don’t interrupt a man in the bathroom unless your relationship with him is pretty firmly rooted.\r\n\r\nSo there I am after work tonight scrubbing my molars with my Oral-B when God flips a light switch on in my head. He suddenly gave me a deeper understanding of a scripture I had read and thought about last week. But before I  share what He is teaching me I need to catch you up on what I taught myself.\r\n\r\nTwo thousand years ago when Jesus was walking around Israel, He was smashing through all these roadblocks that people thought were in their way of getting to God. Now the people who were perceived to be far along that road did not like this because they were in an elite category. There were so many roadblocks to God that not very many people were considered to be close to Him and chosen by Him. Jews believed that if you had any kind of physical handicap it was a product of your sin. They believed that if you did not follow the letter of the law set by Moses and the extra 300+ rules created in addition to the ones Moses delivered, then God would not speak to you. They believed that God controlled all the wealth in the Earth and if you were poor it was because God did not favor you. This last one sheds light on the scriptures I was reading.\r\n\r\nOne day a very rich man came to Jesus and asked Him what he had to do to be saved. Jesus told him the answer that applied to everyone who was listening, then Jesus told him the answer that applied to just him. He told him, “Go and sell everything you have. Give it to the poor and come follow me.”  The Bible says that the man went away very sad because he had many possessions. It’s at this point that Jesus turns to the crowd and utters the famous phrase that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to go to heaven. The crowd stood in disbelief. If richness was a sign of God’s favor and it was hard for rich men to make it to heaven then who could be saved? Jesus was trying to teach the people that God does not favor men who love their money more than God. Once I learned all this I thought I understood the situation completely. Then a week later I went to brush my teeth.\r\n\r\nStanding in front of my mirror God gave me a glimpse of what the rich man felt and his sadness was motivated by something totally different than I expected. In that man’s culture his wealth automatically gave him great influence and respect much like our culture today, but he received something that our culture does not attribute to the wealthy. People assumed that he was close to God. His riches were a symbol of spiritual condition to a people who believed that wealth was a sign of being one of God’s chosen few. I don’t think he was sad because he found happiness in all his stuff. Rich people will be the first to tell you that the things they buy can’t sustain their happiness. I think he was sad because he did not want to lose his spiritual place in the minds of everyone who knew him.\r\n\r\nThis is what God is teaching me. It is very popular these days to use the quote from Gandhi that says, “Be the change you want to see in the world”, but there are very few people actually being the change. We like to go to church so that people will see us and think we are faithful to God, but we don’t like to wake up early on our Saturday and go help the poor. We find ways to help our friends judge our walk with God based on what they see. If we are not careful we can begin to attend church, or raise our hands in worship, or even preach to assure people that we are one of God’s chosen few. God knows what we love more than following Him and He WILL ask us to give it up. God wants to have a close relationship with me whether people know it or not. When we become more concerned with people believing we are close to God than actually being close to God, then we have become Pharisees. When God showed me this I really began to check my motivation on everything I do. And I asked myself if I truly love God the way people think I do based on everything I don’t do. What I found out was that I have some work to do, but I know that now I can work on it caring only what Jesus thinks.','Moses and Oral-B','','publish','open','open','','moses-and-oral-b','','','2011-10-23 16:58:28','2011-10-23 23:58:28','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=959',0,'post','',6),(960,75,'2011-10-22 16:08:12','2011-10-22 23:08:12','','toothbrush','','inherit','open','open','','toothbrush','','','2011-10-22 16:08:12','2011-10-22 23:08:12','',959,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/toothbrush.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(961,75,'2011-10-22 16:02:24','2011-10-22 23:02:24','I spend a lot of time trying to hear from God. I read my Bible each day, have quiet prayer times, worship wholeheartedly, and so forth. So it surprises me when God chooses to speak to me when I am brushing my teeth. The more I think about it though, he more I like it. I think it’s a testament of our relationship. You don’t interrupt a man in the bathroom unless your relationship with him is pretty firmly rooted.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSo there I am after work tonight scrubbing my molars with my Oral-B when God flips a light switch on in my head. He suddenly gave me a deeper understanding of a scripture I had read and thought about last week. But before I can share what He is teaching me I need to catch you up on what I taught myself.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTwo thousand years ago when Jesus was walking around Israel, He was smashing through all these roadblocks that people thought were in their way of getting to God. Now the people who were perceived to be far along that road did not like this because they were in an elite category. There were so many roadblocks to God that not very many people were considered to be close to Him and chosen by Him. Jews believed that if you had any kind of physical handicap it was a product of your sin. They believed that if you did not follow the letter of the law set by Moses and the extra 300+ rules created since him, then God would not speak to you. They believed that God controlled all the wealth in the Earth and if you were poor it was because God did not favor you. This last one sheds light on the scriptures I was reading.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOne day a very rich man came to Jesus and asked Him what he had to do to be saved. Jesus told him the answer that applied to everyone who was listening, then Jesus told him the answer that applied to just him. He told him, “Go and sell everything you have. Give it to the poor and come follow me.” The Bible says that the man went away very sad because he had many possessions. It’s at this point that Jesus turns to the crowd and utters the famous phrase that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to go to heaven. The crowd stood in disbelief. If richness was a sign of God’s favor and it was hard for rich men to make it to heaven then who could be saved? Jesus was trying to teach the people that God does not favor men who love their money more than God. Once I learned all this I thought I understood the situation completely. Then a week later I went to brush my teeth.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nStanding in front of my mirror God gave me a glimpse of what the rich man felt and his sadness was motivated by something totally different than I expected. In that man’s culture his wealth automatically gave him great influence and respect much like our culture today, but he received something that our culture does not attribute to the wealthy. People assumed that he was close to God. His riches were a symbol to people who believed that wealth was a sign of being one of God’s chosen few. I don’t think he was sad because he found happiness in all his stuff. Rich people will be the first to tell you that the things they buy can’t sustain their happiness. I think he was sad because he did not want to lose his spiritual place in the minds of everyone who knew him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThis is what God is teaching me. It is very popular these days to use the quote from Gandhi that says, “Be the change you want to see in the world”, but there are very few people actually being the change. We like to go to church so that people will see us and think we are faithful to God, but we don’t like to wake up early on our Saturday and go help the poor. We find ways to help our friends judge our walk with God based on what they see. If we are not careful we can begin to attend church, or raise our hands in worship, or even preach to assure people that we are one of God’s chosen few. God knows what we love more than following Him and He WILL ask us to give it up. God wants to have a close relationship with me whether people know it or not. When we become more concerned with people believing we are close to God than actually being close to God, then we have become Pharisees. When God showed me this I really began to check my motivation on everything I do. And I asked myself if I truly love God the way people think I do based on everything I don’t do. What I found out was that I have some work to do, but I know that now I can work on it caring only what Jesus thinks.','Moses and Oral-B','','inherit','open','open','','959-revision','','','2011-10-22 16:02:24','2011-10-22 23:02:24','',959,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/959-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(966,75,'2011-10-22 16:16:12','2011-10-22 23:16:12','I spend a lot of time trying to hear from God. I read my Bible each day, have quiet prayer times, worship wholeheartedly, and so forth. So it surprises me when God chooses to speak to me when I am brushing my teeth. The more I think about it though, he more I like it. I think it’s a testament of our relationship. You don’t interrupt a man in the bathroom unless your relationship with him is pretty firmly rooted.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSo there I am after work tonight scrubbing my molars with my Oral-B when God flips a light switch on in my head. He suddenly gave me a deeper understanding of a scripture I had read and thought about last week. But before I can share what He is teaching me I need to catch you up on what I taught myself.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTwo thousand years ago when Jesus was walking around Israel, He was smashing through all these roadblocks that people thought were in their way of getting to God. Now the people who were perceived to be far along that road did not like this because they were in an elite category. There were so many roadblocks to God that not very many people were considered to be close to Him and chosen by Him. Jews believed that if you had any kind of physical handicap it was a product of your sin. They believed that if you did not follow the letter of the law set by Moses and the extra 300+ rules created since him, then God would not speak to you. They believed that God controlled all the wealth in the Earth and if you were poor it was because God did not favor you. This last one sheds light on the scriptures I was reading.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOne day a very rich man came to Jesus and asked Him what he had to do to be saved. Jesus told him the answer that applied to everyone who was listening, then Jesus told him the answer that applied to just him. He told him, “Go and sell everything you have. Give it to the poor and come follow me.” The Bible says that the man went away very sad because he had many possessions. It’s at this point that Jesus turns to the crowd and utters the famous phrase that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to go to heaven. The crowd stood in disbelief. If richness was a sign of God’s favor and it was hard for rich men to make it to heaven then who could be saved? Jesus was trying to teach the people that God does not favor men who love their money more than God. Once I learned all this I thought I understood the situation completely. Then a week later I went to brush my teeth.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nStanding in front of my mirror God gave me a glimpse of what the rich man felt and his sadness was motivated by something totally different than I expected. In that man’s culture his wealth automatically gave him great influence and respect much like our culture today, but he received something that our culture does not attribute to the wealthy. People assumed that he was close to God. His riches were a symbol to people who believed that wealth was a sign of being one of God’s chosen few. I don’t think he was sad because he found happiness in all his stuff. Rich people will be the first to tell you that the things they buy can’t sustain their happiness. I think he was sad because he did not want to lose his spiritual place in the minds of everyone who knew him.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThis is what God is teaching me. It is very popular these days to use the quote from Gandhi that says, “Be the change you want to see in the world”, but there are very few people actually being the change. We like to go to church so that people will see us and think we are faithful to God, but we don’t like to wake up early on our Saturday and go help the poor. We find ways to help our friends judge our walk with God based on what they see. If we are not careful we can begin to attend church, or raise our hands in worship, or even preach to assure people that we are one of God’s chosen few. God knows what we love more than following Him and He WILL ask us to give it up. God wants to have a close relationship with me whether people know it or not. When we become more concerned with people believing we are close to God than actually being close to God, then we have become Pharisees. When God showed me this I really began to check my motivation on everything I do. And I asked myself if I truly love God the way people think I do based on everything I don’t do. What I found out was that I have some work to do, but I know that now I can work on it caring only what Jesus thinks.','Moses and Oral-B','','inherit','open','open','','959-revision-6','','','2011-10-22 16:16:12','2011-10-22 23:16:12','',959,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/959-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(962,75,'2011-10-22 16:10:06','2011-10-22 23:10:06','I spend a lot of time trying to hear from God. I read my Bible each day, have quiet prayer times, worship wholeheartedly, and so forth. So it surprises me when God chooses to speak to me when I am brushing my teeth. The more I think about it though, he more I like it. I think it’s a testament of our relationship. You don’t interrupt a man in the bathroom unless your relationship with him is pretty firmly rooted.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo there I am after work tonight scrubbing my molars with my Oral-B when God flips a light switch on in my head. He suddenly gave me a deeper understanding of a scripture I had read and thought about last week. But before I can share what He is teaching me I need to catch you up on what I taught myself.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTwo thousand years ago when Jesus was walking around Israel, He was smashing through all these roadblocks that people thought were in their way of getting to God. Now the people who were perceived to be far along that road did not like this because they were in an elite category. There were so many roadblocks to God that not very many people were considered to be close to Him and chosen by Him. Jews believed that if you had any kind of physical handicap it was a product of your sin. They believed that if you did not follow the letter of the law set by Moses and the extra 300+ rules created since him, then God would not speak to you. They believed that God controlled all the wealth in the Earth and if you were poor it was because God did not favor you. This last one sheds light on the scriptures I was reading.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOne day a very rich man came to Jesus and asked Him what he had to do to be saved. Jesus told him the answer that applied to everyone who was listening, then Jesus told him the answer that applied to just him. He told him, “Go and sell everything you have. Give it to the poor and come follow me.” The Bible says that the man went away very sad because he had many possessions. It’s at this point that Jesus turns to the crowd and utters the famous phrase that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to go to heaven. The crowd stood in disbelief. If richness was a sign of God’s favor and it was hard for rich men to make it to heaven then who could be saved? Jesus was trying to teach the people that God does not favor men who love their money more than God. Once I learned all this I thought I understood the situation completely. Then a week later I went to brush my teeth.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nStanding in front of my mirror God gave me a glimpse of what the rich man felt and his sadness was motivated by something totally different than I expected. In that man’s culture his wealth automatically gave him great influence and respect much like our culture today, but he received something that our culture does not attribute to the wealthy. People assumed that he was close to God. His riches were a symbol to people who believed that wealth was a sign of being one of God’s chosen few. I don’t think he was sad because he found happiness in all his stuff. Rich people will be the first to tell you that the things they buy can’t sustain their happiness. I think he was sad because he did not want to lose his spiritual place in the minds of everyone who knew him.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis is what God is teaching me. It is very popular these days to use the quote from Gandhi that says, “Be the change you want to see in the world”, but there are very few people actually being the change. We like to go to church so that people will see us and think we are faithful to God, but we don’t like to wake up early on our Saturday and go help the poor. We find ways to help our friends judge our walk with God based on what they see. If we are not careful we can begin to attend church, or raise our hands in worship, or even preach to assure people that we are one of God’s chosen few. God knows what we love more than following Him and He WILL ask us to give it up. God wants to have a close relationship with me whether people know it or not. When we become more concerned with people believing we are close to God than actually being close to God, then we have become Pharisees. When God showed me this I really began to check my motivation on everything I do. And I asked myself if I truly love God the way people think I do based on everything I don’t do. What I found out was that I have some work to do, but I know that now I can work on it caring only what Jesus thinks.','Moses and Oral-B','','inherit','open','open','','959-revision-2','','','2011-10-22 16:10:06','2011-10-22 23:10:06','',959,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/959-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(963,75,'2011-10-22 16:11:03','2011-10-22 23:11:03','I spend a lot of time trying to hear from God. I read my Bible each day, have quiet prayer times, worship wholeheartedly, and so forth. So it surprises me when God chooses to speak to me when I am brushing my teeth. The more I think about it though, he more I like it. I think it’s a testament of our relationship. You don’t interrupt a man in the bathroom unless your relationship with him is pretty firmly rooted.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo there I am after work tonight scrubbing my molars with my Oral-B when God flips a light switch on in my head. He suddenly gave me a deeper understanding of a scripture I had read and thought about last week. But before I can share what He is teaching me I need to catch you up on what I taught myself.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTwo thousand years ago when Jesus was walking around Israel, He was smashing through all these roadblocks that people thought were in their way of getting to God. Now the people who were perceived to be far along that road did not like this because they were in an elite category. There were so many roadblocks to God that not very many people were considered to be close to Him and chosen by Him. Jews believed that if you had any kind of physical handicap it was a product of your sin. They believed that if you did not follow the letter of the law set by Moses and the extra 300+ rules created since him, then God would not speak to you. They believed that God controlled all the wealth in the Earth and if you were poor it was because God did not favor you. This last one sheds light on the scriptures I was reading.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOne day a very rich man came to Jesus and asked Him what he had to do to be saved. Jesus told him the answer that applied to everyone who was listening, then Jesus told him the answer that applied to just him. He told him, “Go and sell everything you have. Give it to the poor and come follow me.” The Bible says that the man went away very sad because he had many possessions. It’s at this point that Jesus turns to the crowd and utters the famous phrase that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to go to heaven. The crowd stood in disbelief. If richness was a sign of God’s favor and it was hard for rich men to make it to heaven then who could be saved? Jesus was trying to teach the people that God does not favor men who love their money more than God. Once I learned all this I thought I understood the situation completely. Then a week later I went to brush my teeth.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nStanding in front of my mirror God gave me a glimpse of what the rich man felt and his sadness was motivated by something totally different than I expected. In that man’s culture his wealth automatically gave him great influence and respect much like our culture today, but he received something that our culture does not attribute to the wealthy. People assumed that he was close to God. His riches were a symbol to people who believed that wealth was a sign of being one of God’s chosen few. I don’t think he was sad because he found happiness in all his stuff. Rich people will be the first to tell you that the things they buy can’t sustain their happiness. I think he was sad because he did not want to lose his spiritual place in the minds of everyone who knew him.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis is what God is teaching me. It is very popular these days to use the quote from Gandhi that says, “Be the change you want to see in the world”, but there are very few people actually being the change. We like to go to church so that people will see us and think we are faithful to God, but we don’t like to wake up early on our Saturday and go help the poor. We find ways to help our friends judge our walk with God based on what they see. If we are not careful we can begin to attend church, or raise our hands in worship, or even preach to assure people that we are one of God’s chosen few. God knows what we love more than following Him and He WILL ask us to give it up. God wants to have a close relationship with me whether people know it or not. When we become more concerned with people believing we are close to God than actually being close to God, then we have become Pharisees. When God showed me this I really began to check my motivation on everything I do. And I asked myself if I truly love God the way people think I do based on everything I don’t do. What I found out was that I have some work to do, but I know that now I can work on it caring only what Jesus thinks.','Moses and Oral-B','','inherit','open','open','','959-revision-3','','','2011-10-22 16:11:03','2011-10-22 23:11:03','',959,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/959-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(964,75,'2011-10-22 16:12:37','2011-10-22 23:12:37','I spend a lot of time trying to hear from God. I read my Bible each day, have quiet prayer times, worship wholeheartedly, and so forth. So it surprises me when God chooses to speak to me when I am brushing my teeth. The more I think about it though, he more I like it. I think it’s a testament of our relationship. You don’t interrupt a man in the bathroom unless your relationship with him is pretty firmly rooted.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo there I am after work tonight scrubbing my molars with my Oral-B when God flips a light switch on in my head. He suddenly gave me a deeper understanding of a scripture I had read and thought about last week. But before I can share what He is teaching me I need to catch you up on what I taught myself.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTwo thousand years ago when Jesus was walking around Israel, He was smashing through all these roadblocks that people thought were in their way of getting to God. Now the people who were perceived to be far along that road did not like this because they were in an elite category. There were so many roadblocks to God that not very many people were considered to be close to Him and chosen by Him. Jews believed that if you had any kind of physical handicap it was a product of your sin. They believed that if you did not follow the letter of the law set by Moses and the extra 300+ rules created since him, then God would not speak to you. They believed that God controlled all the wealth in the Earth and if you were poor it was because God did not favor you. This last one sheds light on the scriptures I was reading.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOne day a very rich man came to Jesus and asked Him what he had to do to be saved. Jesus told him the answer that applied to everyone who was listening, then Jesus told him the answer that applied to just him. He told him, “Go and sell everything you have. Give it to the poor and come follow me.” The Bible says that the man went away very sad because he had many possessions. It’s at this point that Jesus turns to the crowd and utters the famous phrase that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to go to heaven. The crowd stood in disbelief. If richness was a sign of God’s favor and it was hard for rich men to make it to heaven then who could be saved? Jesus was trying to teach the people that God does not favor men who love their money more than God. Once I learned all this I thought I understood the situation completely. Then a week later I went to brush my teeth.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nStanding in front of my mirror God gave me a glimpse of what the rich man felt and his sadness was motivated by something totally different than I expected. In that man’s culture his wealth automatically gave him great influence and respect much like our culture today, but he received something that our culture does not attribute to the wealthy. People assumed that he was close to God. His riches were a symbol to people who believed that wealth was a sign of being one of God’s chosen few. I don’t think he was sad because he found happiness in all his stuff. Rich people will be the first to tell you that the things they buy can’t sustain their happiness. I think he was sad because he did not want to lose his spiritual place in the minds of everyone who knew him.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis is what God is teaching me. It is very popular these days to use the quote from Gandhi that says, “Be the change you want to see in the world”, but there are very few people actually being the change. We like to go to church so that people will see us and think we are faithful to God, but we don’t like to wake up early on our Saturday and go help the poor. We find ways to help our friends judge our walk with God based on what they see. If we are not careful we can begin to attend church, or raise our hands in worship, or even preach to assure people that we are one of God’s chosen few. God knows what we love more than following Him and He WILL ask us to give it up. God wants to have a close relationship with me whether people know it or not. When we become more concerned with people believing we are close to God than actually being close to God, then we have become Pharisees. When God showed me this I really began to check my motivation on everything I do. And I asked myself if I truly love God the way people think I do based on everything I don’t do. What I found out was that I have some work to do, but I know that now I can work on it caring only what Jesus thinks.','Moses and Oral-B','','inherit','open','open','','959-revision-4','','','2011-10-22 16:12:37','2011-10-22 23:12:37','',959,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/959-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(965,75,'2011-10-22 16:13:25','2011-10-22 23:13:25','I spend a lot of time trying to hear from God. I read my Bible each day, have quiet prayer times, worship wholeheartedly, and so forth. So it surprises me when God chooses to speak to me when I am brushing my teeth. The more I think about it though, he more I like it. I think it’s a testament of our relationship. You don’t interrupt a man in the bathroom unless your relationship with him is pretty firmly rooted.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo there I am after work tonight scrubbing my molars with my Oral-B when God flips a light switch on in my head. He suddenly gave me a deeper understanding of a scripture I had read and thought about last week. But before I can share what He is teaching me I need to catch you up on what I taught myself.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTwo thousand years ago when Jesus was walking around Israel, He was smashing through all these roadblocks that people thought were in their way of getting to God. Now the people who were perceived to be far along that road did not like this because they were in an elite category. There were so many roadblocks to God that not very many people were considered to be close to Him and chosen by Him. Jews believed that if you had any kind of physical handicap it was a product of your sin. They believed that if you did not follow the letter of the law set by Moses and the extra 300+ rules created since him, then God would not speak to you. They believed that God controlled all the wealth in the Earth and if you were poor it was because God did not favor you. This last one sheds light on the scriptures I was reading.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOne day a very rich man came to Jesus and asked Him what he had to do to be saved. Jesus told him the answer that applied to everyone who was listening, then Jesus told him the answer that applied to just him. He told him, “Go and sell everything you have. Give it to the poor and come follow me.” The Bible says that the man went away very sad because he had many possessions. It’s at this point that Jesus turns to the crowd and utters the famous phrase that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to go to heaven. The crowd stood in disbelief. If richness was a sign of God’s favor and it was hard for rich men to make it to heaven then who could be saved? Jesus was trying to teach the people that God does not favor men who love their money more than God. Once I learned all this I thought I understood the situation completely. Then a week later I went to brush my teeth.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nStanding in front of my mirror God gave me a glimpse of what the rich man felt and his sadness was motivated by something totally different than I expected. In that man’s culture his wealth automatically gave him great influence and respect much like our culture today, but he received something that our culture does not attribute to the wealthy. People assumed that he was close to God. His riches were a symbol to people who believed that wealth was a sign of being one of God’s chosen few. I don’t think he was sad because he found happiness in all his stuff. Rich people will be the first to tell you that the things they buy can’t sustain their happiness. I think he was sad because he did not want to lose his spiritual place in the minds of everyone who knew him.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis is what God is teaching me. It is very popular these days to use the quote from Gandhi that says, “Be the change you want to see in the world”, but there are very few people actually being the change. We like to go to church so that people will see us and think we are faithful to God, but we don’t like to wake up early on our Saturday and go help the poor. We find ways to help our friends judge our walk with God based on what they see. If we are not careful we can begin to attend church, or raise our hands in worship, or even preach to assure people that we are one of God’s chosen few. God knows what we love more than following Him and He WILL ask us to give it up. God wants to have a close relationship with me whether people know it or not. When we become more concerned with people believing we are close to God than actually being close to God, then we have become Pharisees. When God showed me this I really began to check my motivation on everything I do. And I asked myself if I truly love God the way people think I do based on everything I don’t do. What I found out was that I have some work to do, but I know that now I can work on it caring only what Jesus thinks.','Moses and Oral-B','','inherit','open','open','','959-revision-5','','','2011-10-22 16:13:25','2011-10-22 23:13:25','',959,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/959-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(967,75,'2011-10-23 19:41:31','2011-10-24 02:41:31','I spend a lot of time trying to hear from God. I read my Bible each day, have quiet prayer times, worship wholeheartedly, and so forth. So it surprises me when God chooses to speak to me while I am brushing my teeth. The more I think about it though, the more I like it. I think it’s a testament of our relationship. You don’t interrupt a man in the bathroom unless your relationship with him is pretty firmly rooted.\r\n\r\nSo there I am after work tonight scrubbing my molars with my Oral-B when God flips a light switch on in my head. He suddenly gave me a deeper understanding of a scripture I had read and thought about last week. But before I  share what He is teaching me I need to catch you up on what I taught myself.\r\n\r\nTwo thousand years ago when Jesus was walking around Israel, He was smashing through all these roadblocks that people thought were in their way of getting to God. Now the people who were perceived to be far along that road did not like this because they were in an elite category. There were so many roadblocks to God that not very many people were considered to be close to Him and chosen by Him. Jews believed that if you had any kind of physical handicap it was a product of your sin. They believed that if you did not follow the letter of the law set by Moses and the extra 300+ rules created in addition to the ones Moses delivered, then God would not speak to you. They believed that God controlled all the wealth in the Earth and if you were poor it was because God did not favor you. This last one sheds light on the scriptures I was reading.\r\n\r\nOne day a very rich man came to Jesus and asked Him what he had to do to be saved. Jesus told him the answer that applied to everyone who was listening, then Jesus told him the answer that applied to just him. He told him, “Go and sell everything you have. Give it to the poor and come follow me.”  The Bible says that the man went away very sad because he had many possessions. It’s at this point that Jesus turns to the crowd and utters the famous phrase that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to go to heaven. The crowd stood in disbelief. If richness was a sign of God’s favor and it was hard for rich men to make it to heaven then who could be saved? Jesus was trying to teach the people that God does not favor men who love their money more than God. Once I learned all this I thought I understood the situation completely. Then a week later I went to brush my teeth.\r\n\r\nStanding in front of my mirror God gave me a glimpse of what the rich man felt and his sadness was motivated by something totally different than I expected. In that man’s culture his wealth automatically gave him great influence and respect much like our culture today, but he received something that our culture does not attribute to the wealthy. People assumed that he was close to God. His riches were a symbol of spiritual condition to a people who believed that wealth was a sign of being one of God’s chosen few. I don’t think he was sad because he found happiness in all his stuff. Rich people will be the first to tell you that the things they buy can’t sustain their happiness. I think he was sad because he did not want to lose his spiritual place in the minds of everyone who knew him.\r\n\r\nThis is what God is teaching me. It is very popular these days to use the quote from Gandhi that says, “Be the change you want to see in the world”, but there are very few people actually being the change. We like to go to church so that people will see us and think we are faithful to God, but we don’t like to wake up early on our Saturday and go help the poor. We find ways to help our friends judge our walk with God based on what they see. If we are not careful we can begin to attend church, or raise our hands in worship, or even preach to assure people that we are one of God’s chosen few. God knows what we love more than following Him and He WILL ask us to give it up. God wants to have a close relationship with me whether people know it or not. When we become more concerned with people believing we are close to God than actually being close to God, then we have become Pharisees. When God showed me this I really began to check my motivation on everything I do. And I asked myself if I truly love God the way people think I do based on everything I don’t do. What I found out was that I have some work to do, but I know that now I can work on it caring only what Jesus thinks.','Moses and Oral-B','','inherit','open','open','','959-autosave','','','2011-10-23 19:41:31','2011-10-24 02:41:31','',959,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/959-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(1442,58,'2011-10-30 16:07:34','2011-10-30 23:07:34','Recently, I heard a speaker make reference to Schrodinger’s Cat. For those who don’t know, or don’t care to look it up on Wikipedia, Schrodinger’s Cat references a hypothetical experiment which supposes that a cat, placed into a sealed box containing a tablet of cyanide as well as a small vial of acid dripping onto the tablet, could, during the duration of and/or at the conclusion of the experiment, be either alive or dead - or in a state of flux of both states at the same time - because we are uncertain if the tablet has or has not broken open and therefore killed the cat. Since we cannot know for certain, the cat is simultaneously both dead and alive according to quantum law, in a superposition of states. It is only when we break open the box and learn the condition of the cat that the superposition is lost, and the cat becomes one or the other (dead or alive). This situation is sometimes called quantum indeterminacy or the observer\'s paradox: the observation or measurement itself affects an outcome, so that the outcome as such does not exist unless the measurement is made. That is, there is no single outcome unless it is observed.\r\n<h4>And we thought that when it came to boxes, Pandora had it bad.</h4>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1473\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Image (c) 2011 Bennett.\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Schr_dinger_s_cat_sleeping_awake.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-1473\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Schr_dinger_s_cat_sleeping_awake-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nIndividuals such as myself who grew up reading comic books as well as watching and reading science fiction tend to be a bit comfortable discussing concepts like Schrodinger’s Cat, mainly because we’ve already opened our minds up to the probability of an infinite diversity of infinite combinations. When the answer to a question of “Is it A, or is it B?” turns out to be “Yes,” it can be maddening to some people who are more dualistic in their thinking, especially in their theology.\r\n\r\nTo take this analogy to a point of a spiritual parallel, imagine yourself as the cat, the redemptive grace of the cross as the cyanide pellet, and the dripping acid as the Holy Spirit. For believers, at some point in our life’s journey, we invite grace (Christ) into the box of our lives. The acid drip comes with the grace, and interacts with and releases the power contained in the pellet. However, some individuals - with every head bowed and every eye closed – may simply raise a hand and have a sealed pellet placed into their box. The power remains there, waiting. The power remains there, offered. But the power remains not acted upon. Ironically enough, releasing the power within the cyanide pellet, which normally would kill, allows the “cat” to become alive, but only when it dies to self.\r\n\r\nGrace tends to express itself as a more pluralistic concept than a dualistic one. Again, for some, this can be maddening, and yet somehow simultaneously comforting in the inexplicable nature of it all. However, if this same grace, which is freely offered and freely taken, is not acted upon, in, and within our lives, our grace is basically dead. Cheap, some might call it.\r\n\r\nSometimes the boxes we live in are sealed by us to guard against the prying eyes of others. Maybe we simply haven’t learned that it’s okay to take off the box lid for others to see the experiment take place. We may be afraid of letting others discover that our cat isn’t the full-blooded Persian we have made it out to be, but is instead a mixed tabby. Regardless, we are called to show and display this grace we have invited in to be active. Matthew 5:14-16 states, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”\r\n\r\nObserving the experiment does indeed change the outcome. Observing someone who claims to be a follower should affect both how the observed and the observer interact with one other as well as what can be inferred about the presence of grace within the believer’s life. We’re called to be observed, and not live in sealed boxes. 2 Corinthians 9:13 states, “Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.” This is the essence of community life, which we as believers are made to live and serve in.\r\n\r\nWe can’t just live in our box, looking at the pellet, pawing it every so often. We have to actively allow the pellet be broken, releasing what it contains and letting it spill into and over us. We have to let observations take place, no matter how much it might inconvenience or annoy us to be observed.\r\n\r\nOtherwise our faith, our grace, and our redemption is like nothing more than a dead cat in a sealed box.\r\n\r\n<strong>Both of which, after a short time, will stink.</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo Credit: Jean-Marie Huet</em>','Schrodinger\'s Cross','','publish','open','open','','schrodingers-cross','','','2011-10-30 16:18:26','2011-10-30 23:18:26','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1442',0,'post','',0),(970,28,'2011-10-23 10:07:05','2011-10-23 17:07:05','I am a Progressive Christian. I enjoy my connections with others who see themselves as Progressive Christians. One thing I have come to realize about the entire Progressive Conversation is that while we see something’s the same, there is no way to say “This is what <em>all</em> Progressive Christian believes” because on one, or group speaks for all Progressive Christians. To view the Progressive Conversation as some monolithic belief system is placing the Progressive Conversation into the same structure as the Evangelical Church, which seems to put the Progressive Conversation on some kind of linear thought pattern.\r\n\r\nThe idea that there is some pre-approved list of beliefs seems weird to me, because I see the idea of being in the Progressive Conversation as less of a “religious order” and more of a though pattern, an attitude of how we approach our life and faith; how we put our faith into action.\r\n\r\nWith all that being said, I would like to address a recent article brought to my attention by my friend George Koukouris and written by Carlotta Morrow on the Christocentric.com site entitled, <em><a title=\"Beware of Progressive Christianity: Jesus lovers are really Jesus haters\" href=\"http://christocentric.com/main/?p=3707\" target=\"_blank\">Beware of Progressive Christianity: Jesus lovers are really Jesus hater</a>. </em>Keep in mind, as I mentioned before, there is no one single voice that speaks for the Progressive Christian Conversation, simply a collection of voices – and I am but one voice in that collection.\r\n\r\nFirst Point:\r\n\r\nLet me start with her point that Progressive Christians do not love Jesus. She writes, <em>“For a group that thrives on the scriptures that speak of loving one another, why would I say they hate Jesus? Along with their scriptures of loving God and one another, Jesus also makes clear who actually loves him…” </em>She then goes on to quote Jesus’ words in John’s recording of the life of Jesus in John 14:14-15 and 21 – where Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (I would quote each line, but they all say the same thing).\r\n\r\nI think she is trying to say we do not follow the commandments of Jesus. It is sad that she would think that way, because we do. What she seems to miss, and I am not sure I would say she did it on purpose to make her point, is that in John 14:17 Jesus says, “This is my command: Love each other.” And in John 15:12 Jesus says, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” So, it seems simple enough, that if we love each other as Jesus loved us we are following his command. If there is one thing I can say about those I know in the Progressive Conversation is that they love others, very deeply.\r\n\r\nSecond Point:\r\n\r\nThe second thing that caught my eye was when she wrote, “<em>Progressive Christianity (sometimes known as emergence Christianity) is a movement that is swelling in numbers day by day</em>.” It caught my eye because she is placing together two very different points of view – Progressive and Emerging.\r\n\r\nWhile they are not mutually exclusive of each other, and there are people who see themselves in both Conversations (as I do), there are many who call themselves Progressive who would not connect with the Emerging Conversation, as there are many in the Emerging Conversation who would not see themselves as part of the Progressive Conversation. Her point shows less of a connection between the two Conversations and more of her truly not understanding what those Conversations are about.\r\n\r\nPoint Three:\r\n\r\nI agree with all the scriptures she quotes, but what she needs to remember is that while I agree with the scriptures, I do not agree with how she interpreters them. For example, she quotes 2 Timothy 4:2-4, “<em>Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” </em>I agree with her on this, but that is not to say I agree with her. You see, she is assuming that she, and those who follow her ideas, are the only ones preaching the word. Her view is a “power view” where she is saying that is you disagree with her understanding of scripture, you are not preaching the truth – as if she has the only truth worth knowing.\r\n\r\nPoint Four:\r\n\r\nThis point, I find rather sad. Not because it is a valid point, but because she discounts it when she writes, “This aberrant faux Christian movement’s primary scriptures to defend their love for people are found in the Bible and says, “<em>These things I command you, that you love one another.” John 15:17 or “Love your neighbor as yourself,“  Matthew 22:36-40.” </em>Can you see the disconnection? At one point in her article she accuses the Progressive Conversation of not following the commands of Jesus, and at the other end she accuses us of seeing those commands as the primary point in our faith journey.\r\n\r\nMost of the people I know in the Progressive Conversation filter everything they do, think, say, write and live through the command of loving each other. But this is what we are told to do by Jesus, to follow the command he gave us – to love each other. She tries to bring out the point that because we desire to love everyone, the idea of “sin” becomes offensive to us – and she is just so wrong. We see “sin” for what it is, “Hamartano” (in Greek) or “missing the mark.” It is not something that paralyzes us, or causes us to live in fear – it is not something we do, but it is part of who we are. It is not something we own, it is something we strive to work out in our walk with God. We see it as a way of living in community, where we help each other through issues facing our lives and not as something named and shunned.\r\n\r\nPoint Five:\r\n\r\nThis is a collective point, not a standalone point. In her article she list 9 examples of how people in the Progressive Conversation are not truly following the “true path,” and to be honest, she is missed the mark on this. Here are the points she brings out (Italic) and my response to what she offers.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>“<em>Progressives believe that Jesus is one of <strong>many</strong> ways to God</em>:” Keeping in mind that many in the Progressive Conversation have very different points of view, let me say this – I have found her to be very wrong on this point. I know of many in the Conversation who believe as I do, that Jesus is the truth, the way and the light – and to get to the Father we go through the Son. That being said, I also know of others who believe differently, and while I would disagree with them I respect their points of view. My prayer is that people see how I walk in Christ and they desire to share in that journey (kind of killing her 6<sup>th</sup> point) and walk with me.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that the Bible shouldn’t be taken literally:”</em> Not even close to where I am at, or what others I know believe. I believe Scripture should be taken, read and understood as the Holy Spirit directs the individual. I will admit that I am not a “bible literalist” in that parts of Scripture are to be read as a metaphor for life. Most of the people I know in the Conversation take the words of Scripture very seriously; they just may not take them the way she (and others) desire us to take them. When I read Scripture I filter all through the words or Jesus, not through the words of Paul or any particular political stance.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that one is eventually saved through good works:”</em> Most of the Progressives I know believe that salvation is through Jesus, and when we are saved our lives are changed and we seek to do what is right by God, and in turn to do right by the rest of humanity. I personally do not see that as “works” because what I do is based on my love of others through Jesus. If my faith does not cause me to want to help others I would have to say that my faith at that point is dead.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe all people are already children of God:”</em> They are, all people of God’s children and because they are, we love them and care for them – we speak against injustice, war, hunger, violence, pain and we seek to embrace those others have pushed aside. If we see people as anything less that the children of God we have lost the love Jesus desires us to share with the world.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe there is no absolute truth, but whatever your truth is considered the truth:”</em> I am still surprised that we are still in the conversation about “absolute truth.” The idea that people do not believe in a truth seems silly to me, because we all see our point of view as true and our views as “absolute truths.” I think her concern is that some may not see<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> her</span></em></strong> truth as absolute.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that since only God can draw man to Himself (right), then we are not to be involved in converting people (wrong):”</em> This seems weird to me because if we actually had this view we would not be growing and we would not be talking to others about our faith.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives refuse to believe that the bible even teaches this belief. That somehow the scriptures are misunderstood and taken out of context; or that the admonitions against homosexuality don’t apply to our time:”</em> All Scripture is seen contextually. Now, I will admit that many in the Progressive Conversation have no issue with the LGBTQ Community, while others still wrestle with the Scripture and how we balance our command to love others as Jesus loved us.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that there are no boundaries in genders. Women are told not to submit to anyone:”</em> That is true, yet false. You see, as a Progressive Christian I believe everyone follower of Christ must submit to God. The idea of “submission” is seen by many as a power issue, where the male decides everything, with a “the buck stops here” mentality. Keep in mind, it is not that “women are told not to submit to anyone” it is that everyone is told to submit to Christ, and not to another human. Besides, what does her point of view do with the scriptures that says in Christ there are no male or female?</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe evolution is not incompatible to Christianity:”</em> Yea, that one is pretty much on spot – but the Progressive Conversation is not the only Follower’s of Christ that believe that.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe God’s word changes with societal changes:”</em> No, I think most are OK with the idea that God never changes, but we do – and our understanding of God does change. History is filled with changes to our Christian faith based on a new understanding of how God is working in our lives. If that were not the case, we would never have had the Reformation. We would have never experienced all the Enlightenments of the past – because God does not change.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nPoint Six:\r\n\r\nHer language is rather hurtful and aggressive. Things like “Progressive Christians despise God’s word” and “watch the hate they spew once they find you don’t support their beliefs” and “I don’t consider progressive Christians true Christians…” Her point is made, and it is one of the foundations of being a Progressive Christian – that we love and speak kindly of one another.\r\n\r\nIn the past I have had disagreements with other Progressive Christians and I have never been insulted, or had “hate” spewed at me for disagreeing with them. Whenever I have had a conversation with those in the Progressive Conversation I have always had my points listen to, and sometime rejected – but I can say that I have also had conversations with those on the self-defining “Christian Right” and I have walked away hurt, damaged and insulted. It is funny that when she speaks of the “hate” spewed by the Progressives Conversation and then reading her words of hate – kind of makes me wonder.','Progressives Are Not One Voice','','publish','open','open','','progressives-are-not-one-voice','','','2011-10-23 10:07:05','2011-10-23 17:07:05','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=970',0,'post','',0),(971,28,'2011-10-22 17:43:07','2011-10-23 00:43:07','','progressive2','','inherit','open','open','','progressive2','','','2011-10-22 17:43:07','2011-10-23 00:43:07','',970,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/progressive2.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(972,28,'2011-10-22 17:41:02','2011-10-23 00:41:02','I am a Progressive Christian. I enjoy my connections with others who see themselves as Progressive Christians. One thing I have come to realize about the entire Progressive Conversation is that while we see something’s the same, there is no way to say “This is what <em>all</em> Progressive Christian believes” because on one, or group speaks for all Progressive Christians. To view the Progressive Conversation as some monolithic belief system is placing the Progressive Conversation into the same structure as the Evangelical Church, which seems to put the Progressive Conversation on some kind of linier thought pattern.\n\nThe idea that there is some pre-approved list of beliefs seems weird to me, because I see the idea of being in the Progressive Conversation as less of a “religious order” and more of a though pattern, an attitude of how we approach our life and faith; how we put our faith into action.\n\nWith all that being said, I would like to address a recent article brought to my attention by my friend George Koukouris and written by Carlotta Morrow on the Christocentric.com site entitled, <em>Beware of Progressive Christianity: Jesus lovers are really Jesus hater. </em>Keep in mind, as I mentioned before, there is no one single voice that speaks for the Progressive Christian Conversation, simply a collection of voices – and I am but one voice in that collection.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFirst Point:\n\nLet me start with her point that Progressive Christians do not love Jesus. She writes, <em>“For a group that thrives on the scriptures that speak of loving one another, why would I say they hate Jesus? Along with their scriptures of loving God and one another, Jesus also makes clear who actually loves him…” </em>She then goes on to quote Jesus’ words in John’s recording of the life of Jesus in John 14:14-15 and 21 – where Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (I would quote each line, but they all say the same thing).\n\nI think she is trying to say we do not follow the commandments of Jesus. It is sad that she would think that way, because we do. What she seems to miss, and I am not sure I would say she did it on purpose to make her point, is that in John 14:17 Jesus says, “This is my command: Love each other.” And in John 15:12 Jesus says, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” So, it seems simple enough, that if we love each other as Jesus loved us we are following his command. If there is one thing I can say about those I know in the Progressive Conversation is that they love others, very deeply.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSecond Point:\n\nThe second thing that caught my eye was when she wrote, “<em>Progressive Christianity (sometimes known as emergence Christianity) is a movement that is swelling in numbers day by day</em>.” It caught my eye because she is placing together two very different points of view – Progressive and Emerging.\n\nWhile they are not mutually exclusive of each other, and there are people who see themselves in both Conversations (as I do), there are many who call themselves Progressive who would not connect with the Emerging Conversation, as there are many in the Emerging Conversation who would not see themselves as part of the Progressive Conversation. Her point shows less of a connection between the two Conversations and more of her truly not understanding what those Conversations are about.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPoint Three:\n\nI agree with all the scriptures she quotes, but what she needs to remember is that while I agree with the scriptures, I do not agree with how she interpreters them. For example, she quotes 2 Timothy 4:2-4, “<em>Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” </em>I agree with her on this, but that is not to say I agree with her. You see, she is assuming that she, and those who follow her ideas, are the only ones preaching the word. Her view is a “power view” where she is saying that is you disagree with her understanding of scripture, you are not preaching the truth – as if she has the only truth worth knowing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPoint Four:\n\nThis point, I find rather sad. Not because it is a valid point, but because she discounts it when she writes, “This aberrant faux Christian movement’s primary scriptures to defend their love for people are found in the Bible and says, “<em>These things I command you, that you love one another.” John 15:17 or “Love your neighbor as yourself,“  Matthew 22:36-40.” </em>Can you see the disconnection? At one point in her article she accuses the Progressive Conversation of not following the commands of Jesus, and at the other end she accuses us of seeing those commands as the primary point in our faith journey.\n\nMost of the people I know in the Progressive Conversation filter everything they do, think, say, write and live through the command of loving each other. But this is what we are told to do by Jesus, to follow the command he gave us – to love each other. She tries to bring out the point that because we desire to love everyone, the idea of “sin” becomes offensive to us – and she is just so wrong. We see “sin” for what it is, “Hamartano” (in Greek) or “missing the mark.” It is not something that paralyzes us, or causes us to live in fear – it is not something we do, but it is part of who we are. It is not something we own, it is something we strive to work out in our walk with God. We see it as a way of living in community, where we help each other through issues facing our lives and not as something named and shunned.\n\n<strong><em> </em></strong>\n\nPoint Five:\n\nThis is a collective point, not a standalone point. In her article she list 9 examples of how people in the Progressive Conversation are not truly following the “true path,” and to be honest, she is missed the mark on this. Here are the points she brings out (Italic) and my response to what she offers.\n<ul>\n	<li>“<em>Progressives believe that Jesus is one of <strong>many</strong> ways to God</em>:” Keeping in mind that many in the Progressive Conversation have very different points of view, let me say this – I have found her to be very wrong on this point. I know of many in the Conversation who believe as I do, that Jesus is the truth, the way and the light – and to get to the Father we go through the Son. That being said, I also know of others who believe differently, and while I would disagree with them I respect their points of view. My prayer is that people see how I walk in Christ and they desire to share in that journey (kind of killing her 6<sup>th</sup> point) and walk with me.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that the Bible shouldn’t be taken literally:”</em> Not even close to where I am at, or what others I know believe. I believe Scripture should be taken, read and understood as the Holy Spirit directs the individual. I will admit that I am not a “bible literalist” in that parts of Scripture are to be read as a metaphor for life. Most of the people I know in the Conversation take the words of Scripture very seriously; they just may not take them the way she (and others) desire us to take them. When I read Scripture I filter all through the words or Jesus, not through the words of Paul or any particular political stance.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that one is eventually saved through good works:”</em> Most of the Progressives I know believe that salvation is through Jesus, and when we are saved our lives are changed and we seek to do what is right by God, and in turn to do right by the rest of numanity. I personally do not see that as “works” because what I do is based on my love of others through Jesus. If my faith does not cause me to want to help others I would have to say that my faith at that point is dead.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe all people are already children of God:”</em> They are, all people of God’s children and because they are, we love them and care for them – we speak against injustice, war, hunger, violence, pain and we seek to embrace those others have pushed aside. If we see people as anything less that the children of God we have lost the love Jesus desires us to share with the world.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe there is no absolute truth, but whatever your truth is considered the truth:”</em> I am still surprised that we are still in the conversation about “absolute truth.” The idea that people do not believe in a truth seems silly to me, because we all see our point of view as true and our views as “absolute truths.” I think her concern is that some may not see<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"> her</span></em></strong> truth as absolute.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that since only God can draw man to Himself (right), then we are not to be involved in converting people (wrong):”</em> This seems weird to me because if we actually had this view we would not be growing and we would not be talking to others about our faith.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives refuse to believe that the bible even teaches this belief. That somehow the scriptures are misunderstood and taken out of context; or that the admonitions against homosexuality don’t apply to our time:”</em> All Scripture is seen contextually. Now, I will admit that many in the Progressive Conversation have no issue with the LGBTQ Community, while others still wrestle with the Scripture and how we balance our command to love others as Jesus loved us.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that there are no boundaries in genders. Women are told not to submit to anyone:”</em> That is true, yet false. You see, as a Progressive Christian I believe everyone follower of Christ must submit to God. The idea of “submission” is seen by many as a power issue, where the male decides everything, with a “the buck stops here” mentality. Keep in mind, it is not that “women are told not to submit to anyone” it is that everyone is told to submit to Christ, and not to another human. Besides, what does her point of view do with the scriptures that says in Christ there are no male or female?</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe evolution is not incompatible to Christianity:”</em> Yea, that one is pretty much on spot – but the Progressive Conversation is not the only Follower’s of Christ that believe that.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe God’s word changes with societal changes:”</em> No, I think most are OK with the idea that God never changes, but we do – and our understanding of God does change. History is filled with changes to our Christian faith based on a new understanding of how God is working in our lives. If that were not the case, we would never have had the Reformation. We would have never experienced all the Enlightenments of the past – because God does not change.</li>\n</ul>\n&nbsp;\n\nPoint Six:\n\nHer language is rather hurtful and aggressive. Things like “Progressive Christians despise God’s word” and “watch the hate they spew once they find you don’t support their beliefs” and “I don’t consider progressive Christians true Christians…” Her point is made, and it is one of the foundations of being a Progressive Christian – that we love and speak kindly of one another.\n\nIn the past I have had disagreements with other Progressive Christians and I have never been insulted, or had “hate” spewed at me for disagreeing with them. Whenever I have had a conversation with those in the Progressive Conversation I have always had my points listen to, and sometime rejected – but I can say that I have also had conversations with those on the self-defining “Christian Right” and I have walked away hurt, damaged and insulted. It is funny that when she speaks of the “hate” spewed by the Progressives Conversation and then reading her words of hate – kind of makes me wonder.','Progressives are not one voice','','inherit','open','open','','970-revision','','','2011-10-22 17:41:02','2011-10-23 00:41:02','',970,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/970-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(991,1,'2011-10-22 23:41:20','2011-10-23 06:41:20',' ','','','publish','open','open','','991','','','2012-01-19 11:08:29','2012-01-19 19:08:29','',15,'http://provoketive.com/?p=991',19,'nav_menu_item','',0),(973,66,'2011-10-24 08:00:24','2011-10-24 15:00:24','I go to a church which “doesn’t believe anything” or “believes everything” or “let’s you decide to believe whatever you want.”  People often say this when I tell them I am a Unitarian-Universalist. To a traditional, dogmatic church (TDC) each of these views might make sense.  None is true, however, from my perspective, and I have spent much of my life in the TDC.  The non-dogmatic religious community or spiritual path is simply something other than the TDC and trying to make comparisons becomes painful.  I want to have a go at understanding the differences, well, differently.\r\n\r\nPoetry is better than doctrine in so many ways, but doctrine is so much more popular than poetry.  Let me count the ways.  I love to cook, and when I am preparing to cook a meal—one which promises to be delicious and to quench my current hunger or a particular longing—I have to find the right recipe.  Hopefully, someone has already created the recipe for me and with the internet, I can find exactly what I am looking for.\r\n\r\nI read those internet recipes checking off whether I have the needed ingredients or whether I can find them at a nearby store.  As I read the recipes, they go to the box in my brain.  I turn them into pluses or minuses—judgments to be exact—yes or no.  Before long, I’ve gathered the ingredients, made the meal and enjoyed it with my family.  Final judgment:  I love this meal and it should be repeated again, or not.\r\n\r\nPoetry does not work this way.  To date, I\'ve never picked up a poem I immediately liked.  I tend to read poems like recipes, looking for ingredients to check off.  Poems don’t work this way, and if you find one that does, then it’s not a poem.\r\n\r\nI have to read the poem aloud.  Poetry is never meant to be read silently—not any poem, anywhere, in any language, at any time.  Poetry requires the audible voice in order for human beings to begin to enter into what poetry is.  (Don’t take it from me.  Go find a poem and read it silently to yourself.  Then, read it out loud, three or five or seven times and notice what begins to happen.)  When I begin to read a poem aloud it does not go to the box in my brain.  In fact, I cannot tell where it goes.  Often, the poem goes all over me—all over my body.  A poem, maybe even a part of one poem, may be rushing around my chest and throat.  I cannot speak for the tears that are flooding my eyes.  Another poem may stir lower in my body and I feel like a stag in mating season!  Another makes me tender, or angry, or expands my vision beyond imagination.  Another makes me sad, and only joy can enter my interior space.  Regardless, a poem read aloud multiple times leaves me always more connected—to people, trees, animals, the sky, the earth, the sea.\r\n\r\nPoems are always more trouble than a recipe.  They require a different effort and  willingness to be moved, unsettled and changed.\r\n\r\nReligious communities and spiritual paths formed around doctrine are serving up recipes.  I don’t offer this as a criticism so much as an observation.  Doctrine works like a recipe.  People come to religious communities and spiritual paths hungry and with needs they want filled.  Doctrines can be read silently and they go straight to the box in the brain where we check things off—yes or no.  When we join TDCs we start cooking with the recipe and make our judgments—repeat, or not?\r\n\r\nEnter the few religious communities who do not offer dogmatic doctrines—the non-dogmatic communities (NDC).  Examples include the Unitarian-Universalist Association, The Society of Friends (aka Quakers), some forms of Buddhism, some communities of modern Druids and Eclectic Pagans, new organizations like the Progressive Christian Alliance and even some of the so-called emergent evangelical churches. This is one strange mix to have something in common! These communities require more work than the TDC.  Much like poetry at first glance, they may not offer much appeal if one is viewing them from the TDC perspective.\r\n\r\nThe NDCs invite people into a space.  They offer them some tools to use in such space.  They are invited to explore: their own lives, meaning in general and in particular,  their history and anything which nothing else in life has been able to clarify for them.  The tools may be principles, stories, a stream of wisdom traditions, occasional or seasonal rituals, or perhaps even some symbols, but there is no recipe.   There are no doctrines and no requirements beyond basic human respect for self and others in the community.  NDCs invite the seeker into the art of their lives.  The seeker is then, at some point, put on the spot: what will I do with all of this?  Will I take up some of these tools and see what I can do with them, or is this just a bad idea?\r\n\r\nNDCs often remain small communities, experiencing often the revolving door syndrome.  Too many people—on some level—are just too intimidated to pick up the tools to see what they can create in and for themselves.  They may claim boredom, or the NDC is not meeting their needs. NDCs offer poetry, not recipes.\r\n\r\nThe traditional dogmatic communities are the norm, and they are not going away.  They work for too many people, just like recipe collections in books and on the internet.  The doctrines give people something to check out in the box in their brains, and when it fits what they feel hungry for, they bite.  They experience an immediate sense of belonging, and because the doctrinal recipe has satisfied their current hunger or needs, they also experience less anxiety and feel “right” in the world.\r\n\r\nThe non-dogmatic communities  seem to me to be more prevalent these days.  A generation ago, only groups like the Unitarians, the Quakers and a few Buddhists fit this description.  Evangelical Christianity and post-modern Christians forming new non-dogmatic associations is a significant shift away from recipes and toward poetry.  I wonder if what happens for folks is what has happened to me:  after so many years in the TDC following the recipes, I found they didn’t quench my hunger.  I had a taste for something I couldn’t even name.  The NDC will not name it for them.  If it tried, then they wouldn’t be non-dogmatic communities.  This is the real temptation for NDCs, in my opinion.  As more individuals enter into NDCs and face the existential crisis around the tools presented to them, it can be tempting for the NDC to tell them what to do.  If the NDC slips and tells them what to do with the tools, they will without doubt create beliefs concerning the tools, i.e. doctrine.  When this happens, the poetry ceases.  I am convinced most traditional dogmatic communities once began as poetry and not recipes.\r\n\r\nThe traditional dogmatic community  may look at the non-dogmatic communities and say:  but you have no doctrine!  How can you expect to lead moral lives, find peace, salvation and meaning?  The answer is poetry.  The non-dogmatic communities do not have doctrine, and yet, they often lead moral lives, are peaceful people and find meaning in their lives.  Salvation is a doctrine recipe, but when a person begins to engage in the deep poetics of life he/she begins to discover salvation has always been theirs.  This self-discovery is what comes from working with the tools which the NDC provides for one’s life space.  In as many ways as there are poems, individuals begin to find a connection to all things, and in the connection there is an “in this moment” salvation.  They experience this.  The TDC will not at all understand.\r\n\r\nIn deference to some really gifted cooks, I must acknowledge there are those who do what they do with food much like poetry, creating the dish from some personal space they have long been exploring.  I love to cook, but more and more these days, I love my growing poetry collection.','To Dogma or Not','','publish','open','open','','to-dogma-or-not','','','2011-10-22 23:47:45','2011-10-23 06:47:45','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=973',0,'post','',2),(974,28,'2011-10-22 17:43:57','2011-10-23 00:43:57','I am a Progressive Christian. I enjoy my connections with others who see themselves as Progressive Christians. One thing I have come to realize about the entire Progressive Conversation is that while we see something’s the same, there is no way to say “This is what <em>all</em> Progressive Christian believes” because on one, or group speaks for all Progressive Christians. To view the Progressive Conversation as some monolithic belief system is placing the Progressive Conversation into the same structure as the Evangelical Church, which seems to put the Progressive Conversation on some kind of linier thought pattern.\r\n\r\nThe idea that there is some pre-approved list of beliefs seems weird to me, because I see the idea of being in the Progressive Conversation as less of a “religious order” and more of a though pattern, an attitude of how we approach our life and faith; how we put our faith into action.\r\n\r\nWith all that being said, I would like to address a recent article brought to my attention by my friend George Koukouris and written by Carlotta Morrow on the Christocentric.com site entitled, <em>Beware of Progressive Christianity: Jesus lovers are really Jesus hater. </em>Keep in mind, as I mentioned before, there is no one single voice that speaks for the Progressive Christian Conversation, simply a collection of voices – and I am but one voice in that collection.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst Point:\r\n\r\nLet me start with her point that Progressive Christians do not love Jesus. She writes, <em>“For a group that thrives on the scriptures that speak of loving one another, why would I say they hate Jesus? Along with their scriptures of loving God and one another, Jesus also makes clear who actually loves him…” </em>She then goes on to quote Jesus’ words in John’s recording of the life of Jesus in John 14:14-15 and 21 – where Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (I would quote each line, but they all say the same thing).\r\n\r\nI think she is trying to say we do not follow the commandments of Jesus. It is sad that she would think that way, because we do. What she seems to miss, and I am not sure I would say she did it on purpose to make her point, is that in John 14:17 Jesus says, “This is my command: Love each other.” And in John 15:12 Jesus says, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” So, it seems simple enough, that if we love each other as Jesus loved us we are following his command. If there is one thing I can say about those I know in the Progressive Conversation is that they love others, very deeply.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSecond Point:\r\n\r\nThe second thing that caught my eye was when she wrote, “<em>Progressive Christianity (sometimes known as emergence Christianity) is a movement that is swelling in numbers day by day</em>.” It caught my eye because she is placing together two very different points of view – Progressive and Emerging.\r\n\r\nWhile they are not mutually exclusive of each other, and there are people who see themselves in both Conversations (as I do), there are many who call themselves Progressive who would not connect with the Emerging Conversation, as there are many in the Emerging Conversation who would not see themselves as part of the Progressive Conversation. Her point shows less of a connection between the two Conversations and more of her truly not understanding what those Conversations are about.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPoint Three:\r\n\r\nI agree with all the scriptures she quotes, but what she needs to remember is that while I agree with the scriptures, I do not agree with how she interpreters them. For example, she quotes 2 Timothy 4:2-4, “<em>Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” </em>I agree with her on this, but that is not to say I agree with her. You see, she is assuming that she, and those who follow her ideas, are the only ones preaching the word. Her view is a “power view” where she is saying that is you disagree with her understanding of scripture, you are not preaching the truth – as if she has the only truth worth knowing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPoint Four:\r\n\r\nThis point, I find rather sad. Not because it is a valid point, but because she discounts it when she writes, “This aberrant faux Christian movement’s primary scriptures to defend their love for people are found in the Bible and says, “<em>These things I command you, that you love one another.” John 15:17 or “Love your neighbor as yourself,“  Matthew 22:36-40.” </em>Can you see the disconnection? At one point in her article she accuses the Progressive Conversation of not following the commands of Jesus, and at the other end she accuses us of seeing those commands as the primary point in our faith journey.\r\n\r\nMost of the people I know in the Progressive Conversation filter everything they do, think, say, write and live through the command of loving each other. But this is what we are told to do by Jesus, to follow the command he gave us – to love each other. She tries to bring out the point that because we desire to love everyone, the idea of “sin” becomes offensive to us – and she is just so wrong. We see “sin” for what it is, “Hamartano” (in Greek) or “missing the mark.” It is not something that paralyzes us, or causes us to live in fear – it is not something we do, but it is part of who we are. It is not something we own, it is something we strive to work out in our walk with God. We see it as a way of living in community, where we help each other through issues facing our lives and not as something named and shunned.\r\n\r\n<strong><em> </em></strong>\r\n\r\nPoint Five:\r\n\r\nThis is a collective point, not a standalone point. In her article she list 9 examples of how people in the Progressive Conversation are not truly following the “true path,” and to be honest, she is missed the mark on this. Here are the points she brings out (Italic) and my response to what she offers.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>“<em>Progressives believe that Jesus is one of <strong>many</strong> ways to God</em>:” Keeping in mind that many in the Progressive Conversation have very different points of view, let me say this – I have found her to be very wrong on this point. I know of many in the Conversation who believe as I do, that Jesus is the truth, the way and the light – and to get to the Father we go through the Son. That being said, I also know of others who believe differently, and while I would disagree with them I respect their points of view. My prayer is that people see how I walk in Christ and they desire to share in that journey (kind of killing her 6<sup>th</sup> point) and walk with me.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that the Bible shouldn’t be taken literally:”</em> Not even close to where I am at, or what others I know believe. I believe Scripture should be taken, read and understood as the Holy Spirit directs the individual. I will admit that I am not a “bible literalist” in that parts of Scripture are to be read as a metaphor for life. Most of the people I know in the Conversation take the words of Scripture very seriously; they just may not take them the way she (and others) desire us to take them. When I read Scripture I filter all through the words or Jesus, not through the words of Paul or any particular political stance.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that one is eventually saved through good works:”</em> Most of the Progressives I know believe that salvation is through Jesus, and when we are saved our lives are changed and we seek to do what is right by God, and in turn to do right by the rest of numanity. I personally do not see that as “works” because what I do is based on my love of others through Jesus. If my faith does not cause me to want to help others I would have to say that my faith at that point is dead.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe all people are already children of God:”</em> They are, all people of God’s children and because they are, we love them and care for them – we speak against injustice, war, hunger, violence, pain and we seek to embrace those others have pushed aside. If we see people as anything less that the children of God we have lost the love Jesus desires us to share with the world.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe there is no absolute truth, but whatever your truth is considered the truth:”</em> I am still surprised that we are still in the conversation about “absolute truth.” The idea that people do not believe in a truth seems silly to me, because we all see our point of view as true and our views as “absolute truths.” I think her concern is that some may not see<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"> her</span></em></strong> truth as absolute.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that since only God can draw man to Himself (right), then we are not to be involved in converting people (wrong):”</em> This seems weird to me because if we actually had this view we would not be growing and we would not be talking to others about our faith.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives refuse to believe that the bible even teaches this belief. That somehow the scriptures are misunderstood and taken out of context; or that the admonitions against homosexuality don’t apply to our time:”</em> All Scripture is seen contextually. Now, I will admit that many in the Progressive Conversation have no issue with the LGBTQ Community, while others still wrestle with the Scripture and how we balance our command to love others as Jesus loved us.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that there are no boundaries in genders. Women are told not to submit to anyone:”</em> That is true, yet false. You see, as a Progressive Christian I believe everyone follower of Christ must submit to God. The idea of “submission” is seen by many as a power issue, where the male decides everything, with a “the buck stops here” mentality. Keep in mind, it is not that “women are told not to submit to anyone” it is that everyone is told to submit to Christ, and not to another human. Besides, what does her point of view do with the scriptures that says in Christ there are no male or female?</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe evolution is not incompatible to Christianity:”</em> Yea, that one is pretty much on spot – but the Progressive Conversation is not the only Follower’s of Christ that believe that.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe God’s word changes with societal changes:”</em> No, I think most are OK with the idea that God never changes, but we do – and our understanding of God does change. History is filled with changes to our Christian faith based on a new understanding of how God is working in our lives. If that were not the case, we would never have had the Reformation. We would have never experienced all the Enlightenments of the past – because God does not change.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPoint Six:\r\n\r\nHer language is rather hurtful and aggressive. Things like “Progressive Christians despise God’s word” and “watch the hate they spew once they find you don’t support their beliefs” and “I don’t consider progressive Christians true Christians…” Her point is made, and it is one of the foundations of being a Progressive Christian – that we love and speak kindly of one another.\r\n\r\nIn the past I have had disagreements with other Progressive Christians and I have never been insulted, or had “hate” spewed at me for disagreeing with them. Whenever I have had a conversation with those in the Progressive Conversation I have always had my points listen to, and sometime rejected – but I can say that I have also had conversations with those on the self-defining “Christian Right” and I have walked away hurt, damaged and insulted. It is funny that when she speaks of the “hate” spewed by the Progressives Conversation and then reading her words of hate – kind of makes me wonder.','Progressives are not one voice','','inherit','open','open','','970-revision-2','','','2011-10-22 17:43:57','2011-10-23 00:43:57','',970,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/970-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(982,66,'2011-10-22 18:48:42','2011-10-23 01:48:42','I go to a church which “doesn’t believe anything” or “believes everything” or “let’s you decide to believe whatever you want.”  People often say this when I tell them I am a Unitarian-Universalist. To a traditional, dogmatic church (TDC) each of these views might make sense.  None is true, however, from my perspective, and I have spent much of my life in the TDC.  The non-dogmatic religious community or spiritual path is simply something other than the TDC and trying to make comparisons becomes painful.  I want to have a go at understanding the differences, well, differently.\n\nPoetry is better than doctrine in so many ways, but doctrine is so much more popular than poetry.  Let me count the ways.  I love to cook, and when I am preparing to cook a meal—one which promises to be delicious and to quench my current hunger or a particular longing—I have to find the right recipe.  Hopefully, someone has already created the recipe for me and with the internet, I can find exactly what I am looking for.\n\nI read those internet recipes checking off whether I have the needed ingredients or whether I can find them at a nearby store.  As I read the recipes, they go to the box in my brain.  I turn them into pluses or minuses—judgments to be exact—yes or no.  Before long, I’ve gathered the ingredients, made the meal and enjoyed it with my family.  Final judgment:  I love this meal and it should be repeated again, or not.\n\nPoetry does not work this way.  To date, I\'ve never picked up a poem I immediately liked.  I tend to read poems like recipes, looking for ingredients to check off.  Poems don’t work this way, and if you find one that does, then it’s not a poem.\n\nI have to read the poem aloud.  Poetry is never meant to be read silently—not any poem, anywhere, in any language, at any time.  Poetry requires the audible voice in order for human beings to begin to enter into what poetry is.  (Don’t take it from me.  Go find a poem and read it silently to yourself.  Then, read it out loud, three or five or seven times and notice what begins to happen.)  When I begin to read a poem aloud it does not go to the box in my brain.  In fact, I cannot tell where it goes.  Often, the poem goes all over me—all over my body.  A poem, maybe even a part of one poem, may be rushing around my chest and throat.  I cannot speak for the tears that are flooding my eyes.  Another poem may stir lower in my body and I feel like a stag in mating season!  Another makes me tender, or angry, or expands my vision beyond imagination.  Another makes me sad, and only joy can enter my interior space.  Regardless, a poem read aloud multiple times leaves me always more connected—to people, trees, animals, the sky, the earth, the sea.\n\nPoems are always more trouble than a recipe.  They require a different effort and  willingness to be moved, unsettled and changed.\n\nReligious communities and spiritual paths formed around doctrine are serving up recipes.  I don’t offer this as a criticism so much as an observation.  Doctrine works like a recipe.  People come to religious communities and spiritual paths hungry and with needs they want filled.  Doctrines can be read silently and they go straight to the box in the brain where we check things off—yes or no.  When we join TDCs we start cooking with the recipe and make our judgments—repeat, or not?\n\nEnter the few religious communities who do not offer dogmatic doctrines—the non-dogmatic communities (NDC).  Examples include the Unitarian-Universalist Association, The Society of Friends (aka Quakers), some forms of Buddhism, some communities of modern Druids and Eclectic Pagans, new organizations like the Progressive Christian Alliance and even some of the so-called emergent evangelical churches. This is one strange mix to have something in common! These communities require more work than the TDC.  Much like poetry at first glance, they may not offer much appeal if one is viewing them from the TDC perspective.\n\nThe NDCs invite people into a space.  They offer them some tools to use in such space.  They are invited to explore: their own lives, meaning in general and in particular,  their history and anything which nothing else in life has been able to clarify for them.  The tools may be principles, stories, a stream of wisdom traditions, occasional or seasonal rituals, or perhaps even some symbols, but there is no recipe.   There are no doctrines and no requirements beyond basic human respect for self and others in the community.  NDCs invite the seeker into the art of their lives.  The seeker is then, at some point, put on the spot: what will I do with all of this?  Will I take up some of these tools and see what I can do with them, or is this just a bad idea?\n\nNDCs often remain small communities, experiencing often the revolving door syndrome.  Too many people—on some level—are just too intimidated to pick up the tools to see what they can create in and for themselves.  They may claim boredom, or the NDC is not meeting their needs. NDCs offer poetry, not recipes.\n\nThe traditional dogmatic communities are the norm, and they are not going away.  They work for too many people, just like recipe collections in books and on the internet.  The doctrines give people something to check out in the box in their brains, and when it fits what they feel hungry for, they bite.  They experience an immediate sense of belonging, and because the doctrinal recipe has satisfied their current hunger or needs, they also experience less anxiety and feel “right” in the world.\n\nThe non-dogmatic communities  seem to me to be more prevalent these days.  A generation ago, only groups like the Unitarians, the Quakers and a few Buddhists fit this description.  Evangelical Christianity and post-modern Christians forming new non-dogmatic associations is a significant shift away from recipes and toward poetry.  I wonder if what happens for folks is what has happened to me:  after so many years in the TDC following the recipes, I found they didn’t quench my hunger.  I had a taste for something I couldn’t even name.  The NDC will not name it for them.  If it tried, then they wouldn’t be non-dogmatic communities.  This is the real temptation for NDCs, in my opinion.  As more individuals enter into NDCs and face the existential crisis around the tools presented to them, it can be tempting for the NDC to tell them what to do.  If the NDC slips and tells them what to do with the tools, they will without doubt create beliefs concerning the tools, i.e. doctrine.  When this happens, the poetry ceases.  I am convinced most traditional dogmatic communities once began as poetry and not recipes.\n\nThe traditional dogmatic community  may look at the non-dogmatic communities and say:  but you have no doctrine!  How can you expect to lead moral lives, find peace, salvation and meaning?  The answer is poetry.  The non-dogmatic communities do not have doctrine, and yet, they often lead moral lives, are peaceful people and find meaning in their lives.  Salvation is a doctrine recipe, but when a person begins to engage in the deep poetics of life he/she begins to discover salvation has always been theirs.  This self-discovery is what comes from working with the tools which the NDC provides for one’s life space.  In as many ways as there are poems, individuals begin to find a connection to all things, and in the connection there is an “in this moment” salvation.  They experience this.  The TDC will not at all understand.\n\nIn deference to some really gifted cooks, I must acknowledge there are those who do what they do with food much like poetry, creating the dish from some personal space they have long been exploring.  I love to cook, but more and more these days, I love my growing poetry collection.','To Dogma or Not','','inherit','open','open','','973-revision','','','2011-10-22 18:48:42','2011-10-23 01:48:42','',973,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/973-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(981,66,'2011-10-22 18:41:03','2011-10-23 01:41:03','','Featured Image Labyrinth','','inherit','open','open','','featured-image-labyrinth','','','2011-10-22 18:41:03','2011-10-23 01:41:03','',973,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Featured-Image-Labyrinth.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(983,66,'2011-10-22 18:49:02','2011-10-23 01:49:02','I go to a church which “doesn’t believe anything” or “believes everything” or “let’s you decide to believe whatever you want.”  People often say this when I tell them I am a Unitarian-Universalist. To a traditional, dogmatic church (TDC) each of these views might make sense.  None is true, however, from my perspective, and I have spent much of my life in the TDC.  The non-dogmatic religious community or spiritual path is simply something other than the TDC and trying to make comparisons becomes painful.  I want to have a go at understanding the differences, well, differently.\r\n\r\nPoetry is better than doctrine in so many ways, but doctrine is so much more popular than poetry.  Let me count the ways.  I love to cook, and when I am preparing to cook a meal—one which promises to be delicious and to quench my current hunger or a particular longing—I have to find the right recipe.  Hopefully, someone has already created the recipe for me and with the internet, I can find exactly what I am looking for.\r\n\r\nI read those internet recipes checking off whether I have the needed ingredients or whether I can find them at a nearby store.  As I read the recipes, they go to the box in my brain.  I turn them into pluses or minuses—judgments to be exact—yes or no.  Before long, I’ve gathered the ingredients, made the meal and enjoyed it with my family.  Final judgment:  I love this meal and it should be repeated again, or not.\r\n\r\nPoetry does not work this way.  To date, I\'ve never picked up a poem I immediately liked.  I tend to read poems like recipes, looking for ingredients to check off.  Poems don’t work this way, and if you find one that does, then it’s not a poem.\r\n\r\nI have to read the poem aloud.  Poetry is never meant to be read silently—not any poem, anywhere, in any language, at any time.  Poetry requires the audible voice in order for human beings to begin to enter into what poetry is.  (Don’t take it from me.  Go find a poem and read it silently to yourself.  Then, read it out loud, three or five or seven times and notice what begins to happen.)  When I begin to read a poem aloud it does not go to the box in my brain.  In fact, I cannot tell where it goes.  Often, the poem goes all over me—all over my body.  A poem, maybe even a part of one poem, may be rushing around my chest and throat.  I cannot speak for the tears that are flooding my eyes.  Another poem may stir lower in my body and I feel like a stag in mating season!  Another makes me tender, or angry, or expands my vision beyond imagination.  Another makes me sad, and only joy can enter my interior space.  Regardless, a poem read aloud multiple times leaves me always more connected—to people, trees, animals, the sky, the earth, the sea.\r\n\r\nPoems are always more trouble than a recipe.  They require a different effort and  willingness to be moved, unsettled and changed.\r\n\r\nReligious communities and spiritual paths formed around doctrine are serving up recipes.  I don’t offer this as a criticism so much as an observation.  Doctrine works like a recipe.  People come to religious communities and spiritual paths hungry and with needs they want filled.  Doctrines can be read silently and they go straight to the box in the brain where we check things off—yes or no.  When we join TDCs we start cooking with the recipe and make our judgments—repeat, or not?\r\n\r\nEnter the few religious communities who do not offer dogmatic doctrines—the non-dogmatic communities (NDC).  Examples include the Unitarian-Universalist Association, The Society of Friends (aka Quakers), some forms of Buddhism, some communities of modern Druids and Eclectic Pagans, new organizations like the Progressive Christian Alliance and even some of the so-called emergent evangelical churches. This is one strange mix to have something in common! These communities require more work than the TDC.  Much like poetry at first glance, they may not offer much appeal if one is viewing them from the TDC perspective.\r\n\r\nThe NDCs invite people into a space.  They offer them some tools to use in such space.  They are invited to explore: their own lives, meaning in general and in particular,  their history and anything which nothing else in life has been able to clarify for them.  The tools may be principles, stories, a stream of wisdom traditions, occasional or seasonal rituals, or perhaps even some symbols, but there is no recipe.   There are no doctrines and no requirements beyond basic human respect for self and others in the community.  NDCs invite the seeker into the art of their lives.  The seeker is then, at some point, put on the spot: what will I do with all of this?  Will I take up some of these tools and see what I can do with them, or is this just a bad idea?\r\n\r\nNDCs often remain small communities, experiencing often the revolving door syndrome.  Too many people—on some level—are just too intimidated to pick up the tools to see what they can create in and for themselves.  They may claim boredom, or the NDC is not meeting their needs. NDCs offer poetry, not recipes.\r\n\r\nThe traditional dogmatic communities are the norm, and they are not going away.  They work for too many people, just like recipe collections in books and on the internet.  The doctrines give people something to check out in the box in their brains, and when it fits what they feel hungry for, they bite.  They experience an immediate sense of belonging, and because the doctrinal recipe has satisfied their current hunger or needs, they also experience less anxiety and feel “right” in the world.\r\n\r\nThe non-dogmatic communities  seem to me to be more prevalent these days.  A generation ago, only groups like the Unitarians, the Quakers and a few Buddhists fit this description.  Evangelical Christianity and post-modern Christians forming new non-dogmatic associations is a significant shift away from recipes and toward poetry.  I wonder if what happens for folks is what has happened to me:  after so many years in the TDC following the recipes, I found they didn’t quench my hunger.  I had a taste for something I couldn’t even name.  The NDC will not name it for them.  If it tried, then they wouldn’t be non-dogmatic communities.  This is the real temptation for NDCs, in my opinion.  As more individuals enter into NDCs and face the existential crisis around the tools presented to them, it can be tempting for the NDC to tell them what to do.  If the NDC slips and tells them what to do with the tools, they will without doubt create beliefs concerning the tools, i.e. doctrine.  When this happens, the poetry ceases.  I am convinced most traditional dogmatic communities once began as poetry and not recipes.\r\n\r\nThe traditional dogmatic community  may look at the non-dogmatic communities and say:  but you have no doctrine!  How can you expect to lead moral lives, find peace, salvation and meaning?  The answer is poetry.  The non-dogmatic communities do not have doctrine, and yet, they often lead moral lives, are peaceful people and find meaning in their lives.  Salvation is a doctrine recipe, but when a person begins to engage in the deep poetics of life he/she begins to discover salvation has always been theirs.  This self-discovery is what comes from working with the tools which the NDC provides for one’s life space.  In as many ways as there are poems, individuals begin to find a connection to all things, and in the connection there is an “in this moment” salvation.  They experience this.  The TDC will not at all understand.\r\n\r\nIn deference to some really gifted cooks, I must acknowledge there are those who do what they do with food much like poetry, creating the dish from some personal space they have long been exploring.  I love to cook, but more and more these days, I love my growing poetry collection.','To Dogma or Not','','inherit','open','open','','973-revision-2','','','2011-10-22 18:49:02','2011-10-23 01:49:02','',973,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/973-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(984,1,'2011-10-22 23:46:30','2011-10-23 06:46:30','I go to a church which “doesn’t believe anything” or “believes everything” or “let’s you decide to believe whatever you want.”  People often say this when I tell them I am a Unitarian-Universalist. To a traditional, dogmatic church (TDC) each of these views might make sense.  None is true, however, from my perspective, and I have spent much of my life in the TDC.  The non-dogmatic religious community or spiritual path is simply something other than the TDC and trying to make comparisons becomes painful.  I want to have a go at understanding the differences, well, differently.\n\nPoetry is better than doctrine in so many ways, but doctrine is so much more popular than poetry.  Let me count the ways.  I love to cook, and when I am preparing to cook a meal—one which promises to be delicious and to quench my current hunger or a particular longing—I have to find the right recipe.  Hopefully, someone has already created the recipe for me and with the internet, I can find exactly what I am looking for.\n\nI read those internet recipes checking off whether I have the needed ingredients or whether I can find them at a nearby store.  As I read the recipes, they go to the box in my brain.  I turn them into pluses or minuses—judgments to be exact—yes or no.  Before long, I’ve gathered the ingredients, made the meal and enjoyed it with my family.  Final judgment:  I love this meal and it should be repeated again, or not.\n\nPoetry does not work this way.  To date, I\'ve never picked up a poem I immediately liked.  I tend to read poems like recipes, looking for ingredients to check off.  Poems don’t work this way, and if you find one that does, then it’s not a poem.\n\nI have to read the poem aloud.  Poetry is never meant to be read silently—not any poem, anywhere, in any language, at any time.  Poetry requires the audible voice in order for human beings to begin to enter into what poetry is.  (Don’t take it from me.  Go find a poem and read it silently to yourself.  Then, read it out loud, three or five or seven times and notice what begins to happen.)  When I begin to read a poem aloud it does not go to the box in my brain.  In fact, I cannot tell where it goes.  Often, the poem goes all over me—all over my body.  A poem, maybe even a part of one poem, may be rushing around my chest and throat.  I cannot speak for the tears that are flooding my eyes.  Another poem may stir lower in my body and I feel like a stag in mating season!  Another makes me tender, or angry, or expands my vision beyond imagination.  Another makes me sad, and only joy can enter my interior space.  Regardless, a poem read aloud multiple times leaves me always more connected—to people, trees, animals, the sky, the earth, the sea.\n\nPoems are always more trouble than a recipe.  They require a different effort and  willingness to be moved, unsettled and changed.\n\nReligious communities and spiritual paths formed around doctrine are serving up recipes.  I don’t offer this as a criticism so much as an observation.  Doctrine works like a recipe.  People come to religious communities and spiritual paths hungry and with needs they want filled.  Doctrines can be read silently and they go straight to the box in the brain where we check things off—yes or no.  When we join TDCs we start cooking with the recipe and make our judgments—repeat, or not?\n\nEnter the few religious communities who do not offer dogmatic doctrines—the non-dogmatic communities (NDC).  Examples include the Unitarian-Universalist Association, The Society of Friends (aka Quakers), some forms of Buddhism, some communities of modern Druids and Eclectic Pagans, new organizations like the Progressive Christian Alliance and even some of the so-called emergent evangelical churches. This is one strange mix to have something in common! These communities require more work than the TDC.  Much like poetry at first glance, they may not offer much appeal if one is viewing them from the TDC perspective.\n\nThe NDCs invite people into a space.  They offer them some tools to use in such space.  They are invited to explore: their own lives, meaning in general and in particular,  their history and anything which nothing else in life has been able to clarify for them.  The tools may be principles, stories, a stream of wisdom traditions, occasional or seasonal rituals, or perhaps even some symbols, but there is no recipe.   There are no doctrines and no requirements beyond basic human respect for self and others in the community.  NDCs invite the seeker into the art of their lives.  The seeker is then, at some point, put on the spot: what will I do with all of this?  Will I take up some of these tools and see what I can do with them, or is this just a bad idea?\n\nNDCs often remain small communities, experiencing often the revolving door syndrome.  Too many people—on some level—are just too intimidated to pick up the tools to see what they can create in and for themselves.  They may claim boredom, or the NDC is not meeting their needs. NDCs offer poetry, not recipes.\n\nThe traditional dogmatic communities are the norm, and they are not going away.  They work for too many people, just like recipe collections in books and on the internet.  The doctrines give people something to check out in the box in their brains, and when it fits what they feel hungry for, they bite.  They experience an immediate sense of belonging, and because the doctrinal recipe has satisfied their current hunger or needs, they also experience less anxiety and feel “right” in the world.\n\nThe non-dogmatic communities  seem to me to be more prevalent these days.  A generation ago, only groups like the Unitarians, the Quakers and a few Buddhists fit this description.  Evangelical Christianity and post-modern Christians forming new non-dogmatic associations is a significant shift away from recipes and toward poetry.  I wonder if what happens for folks is what has happened to me:  after so many years in the TDC following the recipes, I found they didn’t quench my hunger.  I had a taste for something I couldn’t even name.  The NDC will not name it for them.  If it tried, then they wouldn’t be non-dogmatic communities.  This is the real temptation for NDCs, in my opinion.  As more individuals enter into NDCs and face the existential crisis around the tools presented to them, it can be tempting for the NDC to tell them what to do.  If the NDC slips and tells them what to do with the tools, they will without doubt create beliefs concerning the tools, i.e. doctrine.  When this happens, the poetry ceases.  I am convinced most traditional dogmatic communities once began as poetry and not recipes.\n\nThe traditional dogmatic community  may look at the non-dogmatic communities and say:  but you have no doctrine!  How can you expect to lead moral lives, find peace, salvation and meaning?  The answer is poetry.  The non-dogmatic communities do not have doctrine, and yet, they often lead moral lives, are peaceful people and find meaning in their lives.  Salvation is a doctrine recipe, but when a person begins to engage in the deep poetics of life he/she begins to discover salvation has always been theirs.  This self-discovery is what comes from working with the tools which the NDC provides for one’s life space.  In as many ways as there are poems, individuals begin to find a connection to all things, and in the connection there is an “in this moment” salvation.  They experience this.  The TDC will not at all understand.\n\nIn deference to some really gifted cooks, I must acknowledge there are those who do what they do with food much like poetry, creating the dish from some personal space they have long been exploring.  I love to cook, but more and more these days, I love my growing poetry collection.','To Dogma or Not','','inherit','open','open','','973-autosave','','','2011-10-22 23:46:30','2011-10-23 06:46:30','',973,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/973-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(985,1,'2011-10-22 15:59:25','2011-10-22 22:59:25','I was just perusing the Provoketive site and saw a picture my friend Jonathan posted of a <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/10/19/bacon-for-love/\">dozen \"bacon roses.\"</a> He seemingly balked at the idea.\r\n\r\nLiving in California may keep Jonathan from enjoying the nuances of bacon delights here in the South. A bouquet of bacon roses would be a delight for many young southern maidens.\r\n\r\nBacon love in the past few years has taken a life of its own. Without even doing research, I can name several bacon oddities I\'ve seen online in the past few months: bacon flavored vodka, bacon flavored toothpaste, bacon bikinis, bacon ice cream and chocolate covered bacon.\r\n\r\nLet\'s face it, bacon makes just about everything taste better. I agree.\r\n\r\nBut the bacon lovers need to slow their roll for a second. I believe there might be a contender for the title.\r\n\r\nI was discussing it with my lovely wife, Allison, last night and I asked her which was better. She said without hesitating, \"bacon.\"\r\n\r\nI said, \"Hold up. Just think about it for a second. You\'re sitting around and you want to eat. It\'s late. Bacon? Maybe, but dang. It takes time to cook. Even if you microwave it, there\'s still cleanup. And don\'t tell me you\'re going to buy pre-cooked bacon. That\'s just un-American.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pb.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-928\" style=\"margin-left: 5px;margin-right: 5px\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pb.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"272\" height=\"279\" /></a>\"So you go to the pantry and there it is. A pristine, unopened jar of peanut butter. Your heart races. You know why? Because peanut butter is like a dessert. Heck, it is a dessert. It\'s so sweet, we add it to desserts to make them better. We\'ve even made it into a verb - \'peanut-buttier.\'\r\n\r\n\"You open the jar, pull back the shiny silver lid and what do you see?\"\r\n\r\nMy wife was salivating while she was thinking about peanut butter at this point. She said what I\'m thinking. \"The smooth peanut butter.\"\r\n\r\nI said, \"No. You see smooth ripples of undisturbed sweetness, begging for you to dig into it with a spoon.\"\r\n\r\n\"MMMMMMMMMMM,\" she said.\r\n\r\n\"That\'s right. You want bacon now?\"\r\n\r\n\"No,\" she said.\r\n\r\n\"And you take that first succulent bite that just slides onto your tongue. You look down into the indention you made and you say to yourself, \'I need to smooth that hole over.\' So you dig into it more, taking bite after bite.\"\r\n\r\nShe said, \"Until you realize you\'ve eaten half the jar.\"\r\n\r\n\"And that\'s the beauty of it,\" I said. \"That, and peanut butter is just as versatile as bacon. You put it on crackers to make them better, you can\'t have a PB&amp;J without the PB, Reese\'s Peanut Butter Cups would be nothing without them . . . \"\r\n\r\nShe interrupted, \"And no one would eat celery without it.\"\r\n\r\n\"Excellent point,\" I said.\r\n\r\n\"But,\" my sweet wife said, \"peanut butter gives me indegestion. I\'m sticking with bacon.\"\r\n\r\nMy shoulders dropped. \"Well,\" I said pouting, \"I think bacon at least has a contender.\"','Bacon vs. Peanut Butter: The Fight Is On','','inherit','open','open','','926-revision-4','','','2011-10-22 15:59:25','2011-10-22 22:59:25','',926,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/926-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(986,1,'2011-10-22 15:50:24','2011-10-22 22:50:24','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punch line, of course.\r\n\r\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchant for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially awkward or difficult situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, humor is a lot less humorous when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil genie joke.\r\n\r\nThe evil genie joke is a standard in many a comic\'s repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! The lamp contains a genie who is now at their beck and call, eagerly waiting to grant them three wishes. (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the genies caught on to that jig a long time ago.) These jokes highlight how important it is to be careful what you ask for or how you ask for it; while the genie gives the person exactly what they wished for, the result is comically undesirable, like the man who asks for a wife 30 years his junior, only to have the genie make him 30 years older rather than making his wife younger.\r\n\r\nI sometimes find myself feeling like the poor sap who\'s the butt of the genie jokes, believing God has given me exactly what I prayed for, but purposefully made it so I would hate every minute of it. People say you should be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it. Well, I think this also applies to prayer, and not just the tongue-in-cheek cautions people often give to avoid praying for patience.\r\n\r\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a circumstance with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was excruciatingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone assured me  it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\r\n\r\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I concluded that God couldn\'t really want me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, my husband and I decided it was time for me to leave my job. After a few more weeks and a few more disagreements with leadership, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry. As a result, we lost relationships with everyone who was still on the ministry team, people we thought were our friends for all those years. It was a difficult and painful, and while I regret some of the aftermath, the leaving I do not regret.\r\n\r\nWhen I look back on this situation, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\r\n\r\nAt some point we all caricature God, making Him into our own golden calf, an idol of our choosing and creation. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to their God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\r\n\r\nI usually assume these characterizations of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our images of God do show certain aspects of Him, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the Old Testament, where God gave people what they wanted even when it was neither His will for them nor in their best interest.  One such time was when the Israelites demanded a king so they could be like the other nations. God gave them the king that they wanted even though they were in effect rejecting Him as their king and they would soon resent this new earthly king\'s power over them (see 1 Samuel 8:1-22). Perhaps God does sometimes play the part of the Evil Genie, and sometimes we play the part of the punch line.\r\n\r\nWhat do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punch Line?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-27','','','2011-10-22 15:50:24','2011-10-22 22:50:24','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-27/',0,'revision','',0),(987,1,'2011-10-22 23:33:09','2011-10-23 06:33:09','I have a confession: sometimes I view my relationship to God like a poorly written and badly delivered joke. Where am I in this equation? I am the punch line, of course.\n\nThis is very àpropos, given my penchant for humor. If humor was a calling or a spiritual gift, you can bet I\'d be constantly on the prayer hotline asking for that one.  Humor can defuse potentially awkward or difficult situations.  It\'s also a great defense mechanism, one of many in my arsenal. However, humor is a lot less humorous when you are the butt of the joke. Specifically, an evil genie joke.\n\nThe evil genie joke is a standard in many a comic\'s repertoire: someone comes across a magic lamp, and behold! The lamp contains a genie who is now at their beck and call, eagerly waiting to grant them three wishes. (Except for wishing for more wishes. Apparently all the genies caught on to that jig a long time ago.) These jokes highlight how important it is to be careful what you ask for or how you ask for it; while the genie gives the person exactly what they wished for, the result is comically undesirable, like the man who asks for a wife 30 years his junior, only to have the genie make him 30 years older rather than making his wife younger.\n\nI sometimes find myself feeling like the poor sap who\'s the butt of the genie jokes, believing God has given me exactly what I prayed for, but purposefully made it so I would hate every minute of it. People say you should be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it. Well, I think this also applies to prayer, and not just the tongue-in-cheek cautions people often give to avoid praying for patience.\n\nIt hit me that I was viewing things this way, when I thought back over a circumstance with a ministry team I served on for many years. When my husband and I first joined the ministry I had to turn from another dream of mine to go to graduate school, and so I told God, \"Fine. But if we are going to join up, I want to go <em>all the way</em>.\" I\'m pretty sure I had no idea what \"all the way\" meant at the time, but I am sure I didn\'t think it meant what actually transpired over those next few years. I ended up the assistant to the head of the ministry, sort of in the \"inner circle\", and privy to all sorts of information. At first it was an honor, but that didn\'t last long. My boss was a very difficult person to work for, and on top of that, my job was excruciatingly boring most of the time. I was essentially a walking appointment calendar and message service. I didn\'t enjoy my job in the least, but everyone assured me  it was my \"calling\" and that only I could do it.\n\nIn the end, after much prayer and soul-searching, I concluded that God couldn\'t really want me to continue in a job I hated for the rest of my foreseeable life, and that the leadership were wrong. So, my husband and I decided it was time for me to leave my job. After a few more weeks and a few more disagreements with leadership, my husband and I got the right foot of fellowship out the door of the ministry. As a result, we lost relationships with everyone who was still on the ministry team, people we thought were our friends for all those years. It was a difficult and painful, and while I regret some of the aftermath, the leaving I do not regret.\n\nWhen I look back on this situation, sometimes I smirk and think that God gave me exactly what I asked for: to go all the way. In this case, apparently <em>all the way</em> meant being dragged through the hoops of the ministry until we left or were kicked out. I don\'t always view it this way. Sometimes I think I simply missed God\'s will altogether, or missed His timing to leave sooner, and sometimes I am simply thankful for His great mercy in releasing from there. But, often I drift back into viewing God as an Evil Genie, granting a fool\'s poorly worded wish.\n\nAt some point we all caricature God, making Him into our own golden calf, an idol of our choosing and creation. Some, especially those who had cruel or abusive fathers, think of God as an angry father or a punitive taskmaster. Others view God as an aloof spiritual being, one who never intervenes on earth; conversely, some people picture God as a cruel puppet master, causing and controlling the fates of every suffering soul. Those who are a tad more optimistic pray to their God, the cosmic ATM machine, waiting to indulge our every whim or fancy, like a shiny, new SUV or a new pair of Jimmy Choos.\n\nI usually assume these characterizations of God reveal more about our own character and nature than that of God. But, maybe even this is too simplistic; perhaps our images of God do show certain aspects of Him, just not the whole picture. There are examples, particularly in the Old Testament, where God gave people what they wanted even when it was neither His will for them nor in their best interest.  One such time was when the Israelites demanded a king so they could be like the other nations. God gave them the king that they wanted even though they were in effect rejecting Him as their king and they would soon resent this new earthly king\'s power over them (see 1 Samuel 8:1-22). Perhaps God does sometimes play the part of the Evil Genie, and sometimes we play the part of the punch line.\n\nWhat do you think: Do you see God in His image or one of your own creation? Are our caricatures of God merely a view into our own characters, or do they reveal partial aspects of the nature of God?\n\n&nbsp;','What\'s the Punch Line?','','inherit','open','open','','906-revision-28','','','2011-10-22 23:33:09','2011-10-23 06:33:09','',906,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/906-revision-28/',0,'revision','',0),(988,28,'2011-10-23 10:49:17','2011-10-23 17:49:17','I am a Progressive Christian. I enjoy my connections with others who see themselves as Progressive Christians. One thing I have come to realize about the entire Progressive Conversation is that while we see something’s the same, there is no way to say “This is what <em>all</em> Progressive Christian believes” because on one, or group speaks for all Progressive Christians. To view the Progressive Conversation as some monolithic belief system is placing the Progressive Conversation into the same structure as the Evangelical Church, which seems to put the Progressive Conversation on some kind of linear thought pattern.\n\nThe idea that there is some pre-approved list of beliefs seems weird to me, because I see the idea of being in the Progressive Conversation as less of a “religious order” and more of a though pattern, an attitude of how we approach our life and faith; how we put our faith into action.\n\nWith all that being said, I would like to address a recent article brought to my attention by my friend George Koukouris and written by Carlotta Morrow on the Christocentric.com site entitled, <em><a title=\"Beware of Progressive Christianity: Jesus lovers are really Jesus haters\" href=\"http://christocentric.com/main/?p=3707\" target=\"_blank\">Beware of Progressive Christianity: Jesus lovers are really Jesus hater</a>. </em>Keep in mind, as I mentioned before, there is no one single voice that speaks for the Progressive Christian Conversation, simply a collection of voices – and I am but one voice in that collection.\n\nFirst Point:\n\nLet me start with her point that Progressive Christians do not love Jesus. She writes, <em>“For a group that thrives on the scriptures that speak of loving one another, why would I say they hate Jesus? Along with their scriptures of loving God and one another, Jesus also makes clear who actually loves him…” </em>She then goes on to quote Jesus’ words in John’s recording of the life of Jesus in John 14:14-15 and 21 – where Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (I would quote each line, but they all say the same thing).\n\nI think she is trying to say we do not follow the commandments of Jesus. It is sad that she would think that way, because we do. What she seems to miss, and I am not sure I would say she did it on purpose to make her point, is that in John 14:17 Jesus says, “This is my command: Love each other.” And in John 15:12 Jesus says, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” So, it seems simple enough, that if we love each other as Jesus loved us we are following his command. If there is one thing I can say about those I know in the Progressive Conversation is that they love others, very deeply.\n\nSecond Point:\n\nThe second thing that caught my eye was when she wrote, “<em>Progressive Christianity (sometimes known as emergence Christianity) is a movement that is swelling in numbers day by day</em>.” It caught my eye because she is placing together two very different points of view – Progressive and Emerging.\n\nWhile they are not mutually exclusive of each other, and there are people who see themselves in both Conversations (as I do), there are many who call themselves Progressive who would not connect with the Emerging Conversation, as there are many in the Emerging Conversation who would not see themselves as part of the Progressive Conversation. Her point shows less of a connection between the two Conversations and more of her truly not understanding what those Conversations are about.\n\nPoint Three:\n\nI agree with all the scriptures she quotes, but what she needs to remember is that while I agree with the scriptures, I do not agree with how she interpreters them. For example, she quotes 2 Timothy 4:2-4, “<em>Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” </em>I agree with her on this, but that is not to say I agree with her. You see, she is assuming that she, and those who follow her ideas, are the only ones preaching the word. Her view is a “power view” where she is saying that is you disagree with her understanding of scripture, you are not preaching the truth – as if she has the only truth worth knowing.\n\nPoint Four:\n\nThis point, I find rather sad. Not because it is a valid point, but because she discounts it when she writes, “This aberrant faux Christian movement’s primary scriptures to defend their love for people are found in the Bible and says, “<em>These things I command you, that you love one another.” John 15:17 or “Love your neighbor as yourself,“  Matthew 22:36-40.” </em>Can you see the disconnection? At one point in her article she accuses the Progressive Conversation of not following the commands of Jesus, and at the other end she accuses us of seeing those commands as the primary point in our faith journey.\n\nMost of the people I know in the Progressive Conversation filter everything they do, think, say, write and live through the command of loving each other. But this is what we are told to do by Jesus, to follow the command he gave us – to love each other. She tries to bring out the point that because we desire to love everyone, the idea of “sin” becomes offensive to us – and she is just so wrong. We see “sin” for what it is, “Hamartano” (in Greek) or “missing the mark.” It is not something that paralyzes us, or causes us to live in fear – it is not something we do, but it is part of who we are. It is not something we own, it is something we strive to work out in our walk with God. We see it as a way of living in community, where we help each other through issues facing our lives and not as something named and shunned.\n\nPoint Five:\n\nThis is a collective point, not a standalone point. In her article she list 9 examples of how people in the Progressive Conversation are not truly following the “true path,” and to be honest, she is missed the mark on this. Here are the points she brings out (Italic) and my response to what she offers.\n<ul>\n	<li>“<em>Progressives believe that Jesus is one of <strong>many</strong> ways to God</em>:” Keeping in mind that many in the Progressive Conversation have very different points of view, let me say this – I have found her to be very wrong on this point. I know of many in the Conversation who believe as I do, that Jesus is the truth, the way and the light – and to get to the Father we go through the Son. That being said, I also know of others who believe differently, and while I would disagree with them I respect their points of view. My prayer is that people see how I walk in Christ and they desire to share in that journey (kind of killing her 6<sup>th</sup> point) and walk with me.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that the Bible shouldn’t be taken literally:”</em> Not even close to where I am at, or what others I know believe. I believe Scripture should be taken, read and understood as the Holy Spirit directs the individual. I will admit that I am not a “bible literalist” in that parts of Scripture are to be read as a metaphor for life. Most of the people I know in the Conversation take the words of Scripture very seriously; they just may not take them the way she (and others) desire us to take them. When I read Scripture I filter all through the words or Jesus, not through the words of Paul or any particular political stance.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that one is eventually saved through good works:”</em> Most of the Progressives I know believe that salvation is through Jesus, and when we are saved our lives are changed and we seek to do what is right by God, and in turn to do right by the rest of humanity. I personally do not see that as “works” because what I do is based on my love of others through Jesus. If my faith does not cause me to want to help others I would have to say that my faith at that point is dead.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe all people are already children of God:”</em> They are, all people of God’s children and because they are, we love them and care for them – we speak against injustice, war, hunger, violence, pain and we seek to embrace those others have pushed aside. If we see people as anything less that the children of God we have lost the love Jesus desires us to share with the world.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe there is no absolute truth, but whatever your truth is considered the truth:”</em> I am still surprised that we are still in the conversation about “absolute truth.” The idea that people do not believe in a truth seems silly to me, because we all see our point of view as true and our views as “absolute truths.” I think her concern is that some may not see<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"> her</span></em></strong> truth as absolute.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that since only God can draw man to Himself (right), then we are not to be involved in converting people (wrong):”</em> This seems weird to me because if we actually had this view we would not be growing and we would not be talking to others about our faith.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives refuse to believe that the bible even teaches this belief. That somehow the scriptures are misunderstood and taken out of context; or that the admonitions against homosexuality don’t apply to our time:”</em> All Scripture is seen contextually. Now, I will admit that many in the Progressive Conversation have no issue with the LGBTQ Community, while others still wrestle with the Scripture and how we balance our command to love others as Jesus loved us.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that there are no boundaries in genders. Women are told not to submit to anyone:”</em> That is true, yet false. You see, as a Progressive Christian I believe everyone follower of Christ must submit to God. The idea of “submission” is seen by many as a power issue, where the male decides everything, with a “the buck stops here” mentality. Keep in mind, it is not that “women are told not to submit to anyone” it is that everyone is told to submit to Christ, and not to another human. Besides, what does her point of view do with the scriptures that says in Christ there are no male or female?</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe evolution is not incompatible to Christianity:”</em> Yea, that one is pretty much on spot – but the Progressive Conversation is not the only Follower’s of Christ that believe that.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe God’s word changes with societal changes:”</em> No, I think most are OK with the idea that God never changes, but we do – and our understanding of God does change. History is filled with changes to our Christian faith based on a new understanding of how God is working in our lives. If that were not the case, we would never have had the Reformation. We would have never experienced all the Enlightenments of the past – because God does not change.</li>\n</ul>\nPoint Six:\n\nHer language is rather hurtful and aggressive. Things like “Progressive Christians despise God’s word” and “watch the hate they spew once they find you don’t support their beliefs” and “I don’t consider progressive Christians true Christians…” Her point is made, and it is one of the foundations of being a Progressive Christian – that we love and speak kindly of one another.\n\nIn the past I have had disagreements with other Progressive Christians and I have never been insulted, or had “hate” spewed at me for disagreeing with them. Whenever I have had a conversation with those in the Progressive Conversation I have always had my points listen to, and sometime rejected – but I can say that I have also had conversations with those on the self-defining “Christian Right” and I have walked away hurt, damaged and insulted. It is funny that when she speaks of the “hate” spewed by the Progressives Conversation and then reading her words of hate – kind of makes me wonder.','Progressives Are Not One Voice','','inherit','open','open','','970-autosave','','','2011-10-23 10:49:17','2011-10-23 17:49:17','',970,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/970-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(989,1,'2011-10-22 17:45:42','2011-10-23 00:45:42','I am a Progressive Christian. I enjoy my connections with others who see themselves as Progressive Christians. One thing I have come to realize about the entire Progressive Conversation is that while we see something’s the same, there is no way to say “This is what <em>all</em> Progressive Christian believes” because on one, or group speaks for all Progressive Christians. To view the Progressive Conversation as some monolithic belief system is placing the Progressive Conversation into the same structure as the Evangelical Church, which seems to put the Progressive Conversation on some kind of linier thought pattern.\r\n\r\nThe idea that there is some pre-approved list of beliefs seems weird to me, because I see the idea of being in the Progressive Conversation as less of a “religious order” and more of a though pattern, an attitude of how we approach our life and faith; how we put our faith into action.\r\n\r\nWith all that being said, I would like to address a recent article brought to my attention by my friend George Koukouris and written by Carlotta Morrow on the Christocentric.com site entitled, <em>Beware of Progressive Christianity: Jesus lovers are really Jesus hater. </em>Keep in mind, as I mentioned before, there is no one single voice that speaks for the Progressive Christian Conversation, simply a collection of voices – and I am but one voice in that collection.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst Point:\r\n\r\nLet me start with her point that Progressive Christians do not love Jesus. She writes, <em>“For a group that thrives on the scriptures that speak of loving one another, why would I say they hate Jesus? Along with their scriptures of loving God and one another, Jesus also makes clear who actually loves him…” </em>She then goes on to quote Jesus’ words in John’s recording of the life of Jesus in John 14:14-15 and 21 – where Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (I would quote each line, but they all say the same thing).\r\n\r\nI think she is trying to say we do not follow the commandments of Jesus. It is sad that she would think that way, because we do. What she seems to miss, and I am not sure I would say she did it on purpose to make her point, is that in John 14:17 Jesus says, “This is my command: Love each other.” And in John 15:12 Jesus says, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” So, it seems simple enough, that if we love each other as Jesus loved us we are following his command. If there is one thing I can say about those I know in the Progressive Conversation is that they love others, very deeply.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSecond Point:\r\n\r\nThe second thing that caught my eye was when she wrote, “<em>Progressive Christianity (sometimes known as emergence Christianity) is a movement that is swelling in numbers day by day</em>.” It caught my eye because she is placing together two very different points of view – Progressive and Emerging.\r\n\r\nWhile they are not mutually exclusive of each other, and there are people who see themselves in both Conversations (as I do), there are many who call themselves Progressive who would not connect with the Emerging Conversation, as there are many in the Emerging Conversation who would not see themselves as part of the Progressive Conversation. Her point shows less of a connection between the two Conversations and more of her truly not understanding what those Conversations are about.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPoint Three:\r\n\r\nI agree with all the scriptures she quotes, but what she needs to remember is that while I agree with the scriptures, I do not agree with how she interpreters them. For example, she quotes 2 Timothy 4:2-4, “<em>Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” </em>I agree with her on this, but that is not to say I agree with her. You see, she is assuming that she, and those who follow her ideas, are the only ones preaching the word. Her view is a “power view” where she is saying that is you disagree with her understanding of scripture, you are not preaching the truth – as if she has the only truth worth knowing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPoint Four:\r\n\r\nThis point, I find rather sad. Not because it is a valid point, but because she discounts it when she writes, “This aberrant faux Christian movement’s primary scriptures to defend their love for people are found in the Bible and says, “<em>These things I command you, that you love one another.” John 15:17 or “Love your neighbor as yourself,“  Matthew 22:36-40.” </em>Can you see the disconnection? At one point in her article she accuses the Progressive Conversation of not following the commands of Jesus, and at the other end she accuses us of seeing those commands as the primary point in our faith journey.\r\n\r\nMost of the people I know in the Progressive Conversation filter everything they do, think, say, write and live through the command of loving each other. But this is what we are told to do by Jesus, to follow the command he gave us – to love each other. She tries to bring out the point that because we desire to love everyone, the idea of “sin” becomes offensive to us – and she is just so wrong. We see “sin” for what it is, “Hamartano” (in Greek) or “missing the mark.” It is not something that paralyzes us, or causes us to live in fear – it is not something we do, but it is part of who we are. It is not something we own, it is something we strive to work out in our walk with God. We see it as a way of living in community, where we help each other through issues facing our lives and not as something named and shunned.\r\n\r\n<strong><em> </em></strong>\r\n\r\nPoint Five:\r\n\r\nThis is a collective point, not a standalone point. In her article she list 9 examples of how people in the Progressive Conversation are not truly following the “true path,” and to be honest, she is missed the mark on this. Here are the points she brings out (Italic) and my response to what she offers.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>“<em>Progressives believe that Jesus is one of <strong>many</strong> ways to God</em>:” Keeping in mind that many in the Progressive Conversation have very different points of view, let me say this – I have found her to be very wrong on this point. I know of many in the Conversation who believe as I do, that Jesus is the truth, the way and the light – and to get to the Father we go through the Son. That being said, I also know of others who believe differently, and while I would disagree with them I respect their points of view. My prayer is that people see how I walk in Christ and they desire to share in that journey (kind of killing her 6<sup>th</sup> point) and walk with me.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that the Bible shouldn’t be taken literally:”</em> Not even close to where I am at, or what others I know believe. I believe Scripture should be taken, read and understood as the Holy Spirit directs the individual. I will admit that I am not a “bible literalist” in that parts of Scripture are to be read as a metaphor for life. Most of the people I know in the Conversation take the words of Scripture very seriously; they just may not take them the way she (and others) desire us to take them. When I read Scripture I filter all through the words or Jesus, not through the words of Paul or any particular political stance.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that one is eventually saved through good works:”</em> Most of the Progressives I know believe that salvation is through Jesus, and when we are saved our lives are changed and we seek to do what is right by God, and in turn to do right by the rest of numanity. I personally do not see that as “works” because what I do is based on my love of others through Jesus. If my faith does not cause me to want to help others I would have to say that my faith at that point is dead.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe all people are already children of God:”</em> They are, all people of God’s children and because they are, we love them and care for them – we speak against injustice, war, hunger, violence, pain and we seek to embrace those others have pushed aside. If we see people as anything less that the children of God we have lost the love Jesus desires us to share with the world.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe there is no absolute truth, but whatever your truth is considered the truth:”</em> I am still surprised that we are still in the conversation about “absolute truth.” The idea that people do not believe in a truth seems silly to me, because we all see our point of view as true and our views as “absolute truths.” I think her concern is that some may not see<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"> her</span></em></strong> truth as absolute.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that since only God can draw man to Himself (right), then we are not to be involved in converting people (wrong):”</em> This seems weird to me because if we actually had this view we would not be growing and we would not be talking to others about our faith.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives refuse to believe that the bible even teaches this belief. That somehow the scriptures are misunderstood and taken out of context; or that the admonitions against homosexuality don’t apply to our time:”</em> All Scripture is seen contextually. Now, I will admit that many in the Progressive Conversation have no issue with the LGBTQ Community, while others still wrestle with the Scripture and how we balance our command to love others as Jesus loved us.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that there are no boundaries in genders. Women are told not to submit to anyone:”</em> That is true, yet false. You see, as a Progressive Christian I believe everyone follower of Christ must submit to God. The idea of “submission” is seen by many as a power issue, where the male decides everything, with a “the buck stops here” mentality. Keep in mind, it is not that “women are told not to submit to anyone” it is that everyone is told to submit to Christ, and not to another human. Besides, what does her point of view do with the scriptures that says in Christ there are no male or female?</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe evolution is not incompatible to Christianity:”</em> Yea, that one is pretty much on spot – but the Progressive Conversation is not the only Follower’s of Christ that believe that.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe God’s word changes with societal changes:”</em> No, I think most are OK with the idea that God never changes, but we do – and our understanding of God does change. History is filled with changes to our Christian faith based on a new understanding of how God is working in our lives. If that were not the case, we would never have had the Reformation. We would have never experienced all the Enlightenments of the past – because God does not change.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPoint Six:\r\n\r\nHer language is rather hurtful and aggressive. Things like “Progressive Christians despise God’s word” and “watch the hate they spew once they find you don’t support their beliefs” and “I don’t consider progressive Christians true Christians…” Her point is made, and it is one of the foundations of being a Progressive Christian – that we love and speak kindly of one another.\r\n\r\nIn the past I have had disagreements with other Progressive Christians and I have never been insulted, or had “hate” spewed at me for disagreeing with them. Whenever I have had a conversation with those in the Progressive Conversation I have always had my points listen to, and sometime rejected – but I can say that I have also had conversations with those on the self-defining “Christian Right” and I have walked away hurt, damaged and insulted. It is funny that when she speaks of the “hate” spewed by the Progressives Conversation and then reading her words of hate – kind of makes me wonder.','Progressives Are Not One Voice','','inherit','open','open','','970-revision-3','','','2011-10-22 17:45:42','2011-10-23 00:45:42','',970,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/970-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(990,1,'2011-10-22 23:38:02','2011-10-23 06:38:02','I am a Progressive Christian. I enjoy my connections with others who see themselves as Progressive Christians. One thing I have come to realize about the entire Progressive Conversation is that while we see something’s the same, there is no way to say “This is what <em>all</em> Progressive Christian believes” because on one, or group speaks for all Progressive Christians. To view the Progressive Conversation as some monolithic belief system is placing the Progressive Conversation into the same structure as the Evangelical Church, which seems to put the Progressive Conversation on some kind of linear thought pattern.\r\n\r\nThe idea that there is some pre-approved list of beliefs seems weird to me, because I see the idea of being in the Progressive Conversation as less of a “religious order” and more of a though pattern, an attitude of how we approach our life and faith; how we put our faith into action.\r\n\r\nWith all that being said, I would like to address a recent article brought to my attention by my friend George Koukouris and written by Carlotta Morrow on the Christocentric.com site entitled, <em>Beware of Progressive Christianity: Jesus lovers are really Jesus hater. </em>Keep in mind, as I mentioned before, there is no one single voice that speaks for the Progressive Christian Conversation, simply a collection of voices – and I am but one voice in that collection.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst Point:\r\n\r\nLet me start with her point that Progressive Christians do not love Jesus. She writes, <em>“For a group that thrives on the scriptures that speak of loving one another, why would I say they hate Jesus? Along with their scriptures of loving God and one another, Jesus also makes clear who actually loves him…” </em>She then goes on to quote Jesus’ words in John’s recording of the life of Jesus in John 14:14-15 and 21 – where Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (I would quote each line, but they all say the same thing).\r\n\r\nI think she is trying to say we do not follow the commandments of Jesus. It is sad that she would think that way, because we do. What she seems to miss, and I am not sure I would say she did it on purpose to make her point, is that in John 14:17 Jesus says, “This is my command: Love each other.” And in John 15:12 Jesus says, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” So, it seems simple enough, that if we love each other as Jesus loved us we are following his command. If there is one thing I can say about those I know in the Progressive Conversation is that they love others, very deeply.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSecond Point:\r\n\r\nThe second thing that caught my eye was when she wrote, “<em>Progressive Christianity (sometimes known as emergence Christianity) is a movement that is swelling in numbers day by day</em>.” It caught my eye because she is placing together two very different points of view – Progressive and Emerging.\r\n\r\nWhile they are not mutually exclusive of each other, and there are people who see themselves in both Conversations (as I do), there are many who call themselves Progressive who would not connect with the Emerging Conversation, as there are many in the Emerging Conversation who would not see themselves as part of the Progressive Conversation. Her point shows less of a connection between the two Conversations and more of her truly not understanding what those Conversations are about.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPoint Three:\r\n\r\nI agree with all the scriptures she quotes, but what she needs to remember is that while I agree with the scriptures, I do not agree with how she interpreters them. For example, she quotes 2 Timothy 4:2-4, “<em>Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” </em>I agree with her on this, but that is not to say I agree with her. You see, she is assuming that she, and those who follow her ideas, are the only ones preaching the word. Her view is a “power view” where she is saying that is you disagree with her understanding of scripture, you are not preaching the truth – as if she has the only truth worth knowing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPoint Four:\r\n\r\nThis point, I find rather sad. Not because it is a valid point, but because she discounts it when she writes, “This aberrant faux Christian movement’s primary scriptures to defend their love for people are found in the Bible and says, “<em>These things I command you, that you love one another.” John 15:17 or “Love your neighbor as yourself,“  Matthew 22:36-40.” </em>Can you see the disconnection? At one point in her article she accuses the Progressive Conversation of not following the commands of Jesus, and at the other end she accuses us of seeing those commands as the primary point in our faith journey.\r\n\r\nMost of the people I know in the Progressive Conversation filter everything they do, think, say, write and live through the command of loving each other. But this is what we are told to do by Jesus, to follow the command he gave us – to love each other. She tries to bring out the point that because we desire to love everyone, the idea of “sin” becomes offensive to us – and she is just so wrong. We see “sin” for what it is, “Hamartano” (in Greek) or “missing the mark.” It is not something that paralyzes us, or causes us to live in fear – it is not something we do, but it is part of who we are. It is not something we own, it is something we strive to work out in our walk with God. We see it as a way of living in community, where we help each other through issues facing our lives and not as something named and shunned.\r\n\r\n<strong><em> </em></strong>\r\n\r\nPoint Five:\r\n\r\nThis is a collective point, not a standalone point. In her article she list 9 examples of how people in the Progressive Conversation are not truly following the “true path,” and to be honest, she is missed the mark on this. Here are the points she brings out (Italic) and my response to what she offers.\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>“<em>Progressives believe that Jesus is one of <strong>many</strong> ways to God</em>:” Keeping in mind that many in the Progressive Conversation have very different points of view, let me say this – I have found her to be very wrong on this point. I know of many in the Conversation who believe as I do, that Jesus is the truth, the way and the light – and to get to the Father we go through the Son. That being said, I also know of others who believe differently, and while I would disagree with them I respect their points of view. My prayer is that people see how I walk in Christ and they desire to share in that journey (kind of killing her 6<sup>th</sup> point) and walk with me.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that the Bible shouldn’t be taken literally:”</em> Not even close to where I am at, or what others I know believe. I believe Scripture should be taken, read and understood as the Holy Spirit directs the individual. I will admit that I am not a “bible literalist” in that parts of Scripture are to be read as a metaphor for life. Most of the people I know in the Conversation take the words of Scripture very seriously; they just may not take them the way she (and others) desire us to take them. When I read Scripture I filter all through the words or Jesus, not through the words of Paul or any particular political stance.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that one is eventually saved through good works:”</em> Most of the Progressives I know believe that salvation is through Jesus, and when we are saved our lives are changed and we seek to do what is right by God, and in turn to do right by the rest of humanity. I personally do not see that as “works” because what I do is based on my love of others through Jesus. If my faith does not cause me to want to help others I would have to say that my faith at that point is dead.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe all people are already children of God:”</em> They are, all people of God’s children and because they are, we love them and care for them – we speak against injustice, war, hunger, violence, pain and we seek to embrace those others have pushed aside. If we see people as anything less that the children of God we have lost the love Jesus desires us to share with the world.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe there is no absolute truth, but whatever your truth is considered the truth:”</em> I am still surprised that we are still in the conversation about “absolute truth.” The idea that people do not believe in a truth seems silly to me, because we all see our point of view as true and our views as “absolute truths.” I think her concern is that some may not see<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> her</span></em></strong> truth as absolute.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that since only God can draw man to Himself (right), then we are not to be involved in converting people (wrong):”</em> This seems weird to me because if we actually had this view we would not be growing and we would not be talking to others about our faith.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives refuse to believe that the bible even teaches this belief. That somehow the scriptures are misunderstood and taken out of context; or that the admonitions against homosexuality don’t apply to our time:”</em> All Scripture is seen contextually. Now, I will admit that many in the Progressive Conversation have no issue with the LGBTQ Community, while others still wrestle with the Scripture and how we balance our command to love others as Jesus loved us.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that there are no boundaries in genders. Women are told not to submit to anyone:”</em> That is true, yet false. You see, as a Progressive Christian I believe everyone follower of Christ must submit to God. The idea of “submission” is seen by many as a power issue, where the male decides everything, with a “the buck stops here” mentality. Keep in mind, it is not that “women are told not to submit to anyone” it is that everyone is told to submit to Christ, and not to another human. Besides, what does her point of view do with the scriptures that says in Christ there are no male or female?</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe evolution is not incompatible to Christianity:”</em> Yea, that one is pretty much on spot – but the Progressive Conversation is not the only Follower’s of Christ that believe that.</li>\r\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe God’s word changes with societal changes:”</em> No, I think most are OK with the idea that God never changes, but we do – and our understanding of God does change. History is filled with changes to our Christian faith based on a new understanding of how God is working in our lives. If that were not the case, we would never have had the Reformation. We would have never experienced all the Enlightenments of the past – because God does not change.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPoint Six:\r\n\r\nHer language is rather hurtful and aggressive. Things like “Progressive Christians despise God’s word” and “watch the hate they spew once they find you don’t support their beliefs” and “I don’t consider progressive Christians true Christians…” Her point is made, and it is one of the foundations of being a Progressive Christian – that we love and speak kindly of one another.\r\n\r\nIn the past I have had disagreements with other Progressive Christians and I have never been insulted, or had “hate” spewed at me for disagreeing with them. Whenever I have had a conversation with those in the Progressive Conversation I have always had my points listen to, and sometime rejected – but I can say that I have also had conversations with those on the self-defining “Christian Right” and I have walked away hurt, damaged and insulted. It is funny that when she speaks of the “hate” spewed by the Progressives Conversation and then reading her words of hate – kind of makes me wonder.','Progressives Are Not One Voice','','inherit','open','open','','970-revision-4','','','2011-10-22 23:38:02','2011-10-23 06:38:02','',970,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/970-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(992,1,'2011-10-22 23:39:25','2011-10-23 06:39:25','I am a Progressive Christian. I enjoy my connections with others who see themselves as Progressive Christians. One thing I have come to realize about the entire Progressive Conversation is that while we see something’s the same, there is no way to say “This is what <em>all</em> Progressive Christian believes” because on one, or group speaks for all Progressive Christians. To view the Progressive Conversation as some monolithic belief system is placing the Progressive Conversation into the same structure as the Evangelical Church, which seems to put the Progressive Conversation on some kind of linear thought pattern.\n\nThe idea that there is some pre-approved list of beliefs seems weird to me, because I see the idea of being in the Progressive Conversation as less of a “religious order” and more of a though pattern, an attitude of how we approach our life and faith; how we put our faith into action.\n\nWith all that being said, I would like to address a recent article brought to my attention by my friend George Koukouris and written by Carlotta Morrow on the Christocentric.com site entitled, <em>Beware of Progressive Christianity: Jesus lovers are really Jesus hater. </em>Keep in mind, as I mentioned before, there is no one single voice that speaks for the Progressive Christian Conversation, simply a collection of voices – and I am but one voice in that collection.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFirst Point:\n\nLet me start with her point that Progressive Christians do not love Jesus. She writes, <em>“For a group that thrives on the scriptures that speak of loving one another, why would I say they hate Jesus? Along with their scriptures of loving God and one another, Jesus also makes clear who actually loves him…” </em>She then goes on to quote Jesus’ words in John’s recording of the life of Jesus in John 14:14-15 and 21 – where Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (I would quote each line, but they all say the same thing).\n\nI think she is trying to say we do not follow the commandments of Jesus. It is sad that she would think that way, because we do. What she seems to miss, and I am not sure I would say she did it on purpose to make her point, is that in John 14:17 Jesus says, “This is my command: Love each other.” And in John 15:12 Jesus says, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” So, it seems simple enough, that if we love each other as Jesus loved us we are following his command. If there is one thing I can say about those I know in the Progressive Conversation is that they love others, very deeply.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSecond Point:\n\nThe second thing that caught my eye was when she wrote, “<em>Progressive Christianity (sometimes known as emergence Christianity) is a movement that is swelling in numbers day by day</em>.” It caught my eye because she is placing together two very different points of view – Progressive and Emerging.\n\nWhile they are not mutually exclusive of each other, and there are people who see themselves in both Conversations (as I do), there are many who call themselves Progressive who would not connect with the Emerging Conversation, as there are many in the Emerging Conversation who would not see themselves as part of the Progressive Conversation. Her point shows less of a connection between the two Conversations and more of her truly not understanding what those Conversations are about.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPoint Three:\n\nI agree with all the scriptures she quotes, but what she needs to remember is that while I agree with the scriptures, I do not agree with how she interpreters them. For example, she quotes 2 Timothy 4:2-4, “<em>Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” </em>I agree with her on this, but that is not to say I agree with her. You see, she is assuming that she, and those who follow her ideas, are the only ones preaching the word. Her view is a “power view” where she is saying that is you disagree with her understanding of scripture, you are not preaching the truth – as if she has the only truth worth knowing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPoint Four:\n\nThis point, I find rather sad. Not because it is a valid point, but because she discounts it when she writes, “This aberrant faux Christian movement’s primary scriptures to defend their love for people are found in the Bible and says, “<em>These things I command you, that you love one another.” John 15:17 or “Love your neighbor as yourself,“  Matthew 22:36-40.” </em>Can you see the disconnection? At one point in her article she accuses the Progressive Conversation of not following the commands of Jesus, and at the other end she accuses us of seeing those commands as the primary point in our faith journey.\n\nMost of the people I know in the Progressive Conversation filter everything they do, think, say, write and live through the command of loving each other. But this is what we are told to do by Jesus, to follow the command he gave us – to love each other. She tries to bring out the point that because we desire to love everyone, the idea of “sin” becomes offensive to us – and she is just so wrong. We see “sin” for what it is, “Hamartano” (in Greek) or “missing the mark.” It is not something that paralyzes us, or causes us to live in fear – it is not something we do, but it is part of who we are. It is not something we own, it is something we strive to work out in our walk with God. We see it as a way of living in community, where we help each other through issues facing our lives and not as something named and shunned.\n\n<strong><em> </em></strong>\n\nPoint Five:\n\nThis is a collective point, not a standalone point. In her article she list 9 examples of how people in the Progressive Conversation are not truly following the “true path,” and to be honest, she is missed the mark on this. Here are the points she brings out (Italic) and my response to what she offers.\n<ul>\n	<li>“<em>Progressives believe that Jesus is one of <strong>many</strong> ways to God</em>:” Keeping in mind that many in the Progressive Conversation have very different points of view, let me say this – I have found her to be very wrong on this point. I know of many in the Conversation who believe as I do, that Jesus is the truth, the way and the light – and to get to the Father we go through the Son. That being said, I also know of others who believe differently, and while I would disagree with them I respect their points of view. My prayer is that people see how I walk in Christ and they desire to share in that journey (kind of killing her 6<sup>th</sup> point) and walk with me.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that the Bible shouldn’t be taken literally:”</em> Not even close to where I am at, or what others I know believe. I believe Scripture should be taken, read and understood as the Holy Spirit directs the individual. I will admit that I am not a “bible literalist” in that parts of Scripture are to be read as a metaphor for life. Most of the people I know in the Conversation take the words of Scripture very seriously; they just may not take them the way she (and others) desire us to take them. When I read Scripture I filter all through the words or Jesus, not through the words of Paul or any particular political stance.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that one is eventually saved through good works:”</em> Most of the Progressives I know believe that salvation is through Jesus, and when we are saved our lives are changed and we seek to do what is right by God, and in turn to do right by the rest of humanity. I personally do not see that as “works” because what I do is based on my love of others through Jesus. If my faith does not cause me to want to help others I would have to say that my faith at that point is dead.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe all people are already children of God:”</em> They are, all people of God’s children and because they are, we love them and care for them – we speak against injustice, war, hunger, violence, pain and we seek to embrace those others have pushed aside. If we see people as anything less that the children of God we have lost the love Jesus desires us to share with the world.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe there is no absolute truth, but whatever your truth is considered the truth:”</em> I am still surprised that we are still in the conversation about “absolute truth.” The idea that people do not believe in a truth seems silly to me, because we all see our point of view as true and our views as “absolute truths.” I think her concern is that some may not see<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> her</span></em></strong> truth as absolute.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that since only God can draw man to Himself (right), then we are not to be involved in converting people (wrong):”</em> This seems weird to me because if we actually had this view we would not be growing and we would not be talking to others about our faith.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives refuse to believe that the bible even teaches this belief. That somehow the scriptures are misunderstood and taken out of context; or that the admonitions against homosexuality don’t apply to our time:”</em> All Scripture is seen contextually. Now, I will admit that many in the Progressive Conversation have no issue with the LGBTQ Community, while others still wrestle with the Scripture and how we balance our command to love others as Jesus loved us.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that there are no boundaries in genders. Women are told not to submit to anyone:”</em> That is true, yet false. You see, as a Progressive Christian I believe everyone follower of Christ must submit to God. The idea of “submission” is seen by many as a power issue, where the male decides everything, with a “the buck stops here” mentality. Keep in mind, it is not that “women are told not to submit to anyone” it is that everyone is told to submit to Christ, and not to another human. Besides, what does her point of view do with the scriptures that says in Christ there are no male or female?</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe evolution is not incompatible to Christianity:”</em> Yea, that one is pretty much on spot – but the Progressive Conversation is not the only Follower’s of Christ that believe that.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe God’s word changes with societal changes:”</em> No, I think most are OK with the idea that God never changes, but we do – and our understanding of God does change. History is filled with changes to our Christian faith based on a new understanding of how God is working in our lives. If that were not the case, we would never have had the Reformation. We would have never experienced all the Enlightenments of the past – because God does not change.</li>\n</ul>\n&nbsp;\n\nPoint Six:\n\nHer language is rather hurtful and aggressive. Things like “Progressive Christians despise God’s word” and “watch the hate they spew once they find you don’t support their beliefs” and “I don’t consider progressive Christians true Christians…” Her point is made, and it is one of the foundations of being a Progressive Christian – that we love and speak kindly of one another.\n\nIn the past I have had disagreements with other Progressive Christians and I have never been insulted, or had “hate” spewed at me for disagreeing with them. Whenever I have had a conversation with those in the Progressive Conversation I have always had my points listen to, and sometime rejected – but I can say that I have also had conversations with those on the self-defining “Christian Right” and I have walked away hurt, damaged and insulted. It is funny that when she speaks of the “hate” spewed by the Progressives Conversation and then reading her words of hate – kind of makes me wonder.','Progressives Are Not One Voice','','inherit','open','open','','970-revision-5','','','2011-10-22 23:39:25','2011-10-23 06:39:25','',970,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/970-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(1007,28,'2011-10-23 01:05:19','2011-10-23 08:05:19','I am a Progressive Christian. I enjoy my connections with others who see themselves as Progressive Christians. One thing I have come to realize about the entire Progressive Conversation is that while we see something’s the same, there is no way to say “This is what <em>all</em> Progressive Christian believes” because on one, or group speaks for all Progressive Christians. To view the Progressive Conversation as some monolithic belief system is placing the Progressive Conversation into the same structure as the Evangelical Church, which seems to put the Progressive Conversation on some kind of linear thought pattern.\n\nThe idea that there is some pre-approved list of beliefs seems weird to me, because I see the idea of being in the Progressive Conversation as less of a “religious order” and more of a though pattern, an attitude of how we approach our life and faith; how we put our faith into action.\n\nWith all that being said, I would like to address a recent article brought to my attention by my friend George Koukouris and written by Carlotta Morrow on the Christocentric.com site entitled, <em>Beware of Progressive Christianity: Jesus lovers are really Jesus hater. </em>Keep in mind, as I mentioned before, there is no one single voice that speaks for the Progressive Christian Conversation, simply a collection of voices – and I am but one voice in that collection.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFirst Point:\n\nLet me start with her point that Progressive Christians do not love Jesus. She writes, <em>“For a group that thrives on the scriptures that speak of loving one another, why would I say they hate Jesus? Along with their scriptures of loving God and one another, Jesus also makes clear who actually loves him…” </em>She then goes on to quote Jesus’ words in John’s recording of the life of Jesus in John 14:14-15 and 21 – where Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (I would quote each line, but they all say the same thing).\n\nI think she is trying to say we do not follow the commandments of Jesus. It is sad that she would think that way, because we do. What she seems to miss, and I am not sure I would say she did it on purpose to make her point, is that in John 14:17 Jesus says, “This is my command: Love each other.” And in John 15:12 Jesus says, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” So, it seems simple enough, that if we love each other as Jesus loved us we are following his command. If there is one thing I can say about those I know in the Progressive Conversation is that they love others, very deeply.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSecond Point:\n\nThe second thing that caught my eye was when she wrote, “<em>Progressive Christianity (sometimes known as emergence Christianity) is a movement that is swelling in numbers day by day</em>.” It caught my eye because she is placing together two very different points of view – Progressive and Emerging.\n\nWhile they are not mutually exclusive of each other, and there are people who see themselves in both Conversations (as I do), there are many who call themselves Progressive who would not connect with the Emerging Conversation, as there are many in the Emerging Conversation who would not see themselves as part of the Progressive Conversation. Her point shows less of a connection between the two Conversations and more of her truly not understanding what those Conversations are about.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPoint Three:\n\nI agree with all the scriptures she quotes, but what she needs to remember is that while I agree with the scriptures, I do not agree with how she interpreters them. For example, she quotes 2 Timothy 4:2-4, “<em>Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” </em>I agree with her on this, but that is not to say I agree with her. You see, she is assuming that she, and those who follow her ideas, are the only ones preaching the word. Her view is a “power view” where she is saying that is you disagree with her understanding of scripture, you are not preaching the truth – as if she has the only truth worth knowing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPoint Four:\n\nThis point, I find rather sad. Not because it is a valid point, but because she discounts it when she writes, “This aberrant faux Christian movement’s primary scriptures to defend their love for people are found in the Bible and says, “<em>These things I command you, that you love one another.” John 15:17 or “Love your neighbor as yourself,“  Matthew 22:36-40.” </em>Can you see the disconnection? At one point in her article she accuses the Progressive Conversation of not following the commands of Jesus, and at the other end she accuses us of seeing those commands as the primary point in our faith journey.\n\nMost of the people I know in the Progressive Conversation filter everything they do, think, say, write and live through the command of loving each other. But this is what we are told to do by Jesus, to follow the command he gave us – to love each other. She tries to bring out the point that because we desire to love everyone, the idea of “sin” becomes offensive to us – and she is just so wrong. We see “sin” for what it is, “Hamartano” (in Greek) or “missing the mark.” It is not something that paralyzes us, or causes us to live in fear – it is not something we do, but it is part of who we are. It is not something we own, it is something we strive to work out in our walk with God. We see it as a way of living in community, where we help each other through issues facing our lives and not as something named and shunned.\n\n<strong><em> </em></strong>\n\nPoint Five:\n\nThis is a collective point, not a standalone point. In her article she list 9 examples of how people in the Progressive Conversation are not truly following the “true path,” and to be honest, she is missed the mark on this. Here are the points she brings out (Italic) and my response to what she offers.\n<ul>\n	<li>“<em>Progressives believe that Jesus is one of <strong>many</strong> ways to God</em>:” Keeping in mind that many in the Progressive Conversation have very different points of view, let me say this – I have found her to be very wrong on this point. I know of many in the Conversation who believe as I do, that Jesus is the truth, the way and the light – and to get to the Father we go through the Son. That being said, I also know of others who believe differently, and while I would disagree with them I respect their points of view. My prayer is that people see how I walk in Christ and they desire to share in that journey (kind of killing her 6<sup>th</sup> point) and walk with me.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that the Bible shouldn’t be taken literally:”</em> Not even close to where I am at, or what others I know believe. I believe Scripture should be taken, read and understood as the Holy Spirit directs the individual. I will admit that I am not a “bible literalist” in that parts of Scripture are to be read as a metaphor for life. Most of the people I know in the Conversation take the words of Scripture very seriously; they just may not take them the way she (and others) desire us to take them. When I read Scripture I filter all through the words or Jesus, not through the words of Paul or any particular political stance.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that one is eventually saved through good works:”</em> Most of the Progressives I know believe that salvation is through Jesus, and when we are saved our lives are changed and we seek to do what is right by God, and in turn to do right by the rest of humanity. I personally do not see that as “works” because what I do is based on my love of others through Jesus. If my faith does not cause me to want to help others I would have to say that my faith at that point is dead.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe all people are already children of God:”</em> They are, all people of God’s children and because they are, we love them and care for them – we speak against injustice, war, hunger, violence, pain and we seek to embrace those others have pushed aside. If we see people as anything less that the children of God we have lost the love Jesus desires us to share with the world.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe there is no absolute truth, but whatever your truth is considered the truth:”</em> I am still surprised that we are still in the conversation about “absolute truth.” The idea that people do not believe in a truth seems silly to me, because we all see our point of view as true and our views as “absolute truths.” I think her concern is that some may not see<strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"> her</span></em></strong> truth as absolute.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that since only God can draw man to Himself (right), then we are not to be involved in converting people (wrong):”</em> This seems weird to me because if we actually had this view we would not be growing and we would not be talking to others about our faith.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives refuse to believe that the bible even teaches this belief. That somehow the scriptures are misunderstood and taken out of context; or that the admonitions against homosexuality don’t apply to our time:”</em> All Scripture is seen contextually. Now, I will admit that many in the Progressive Conversation have no issue with the LGBTQ Community, while others still wrestle with the Scripture and how we balance our command to love others as Jesus loved us.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe that there are no boundaries in genders. Women are told not to submit to anyone:”</em> That is true, yet false. You see, as a Progressive Christian I believe everyone follower of Christ must submit to God. The idea of “submission” is seen by many as a power issue, where the male decides everything, with a “the buck stops here” mentality. Keep in mind, it is not that “women are told not to submit to anyone” it is that everyone is told to submit to Christ, and not to another human. Besides, what does her point of view do with the scriptures that says in Christ there are no male or female?</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe evolution is not incompatible to Christianity:”</em> Yea, that one is pretty much on spot – but the Progressive Conversation is not the only Follower’s of Christ that believe that.</li>\n	<li><em>“Progressives believe God’s word changes with societal changes:”</em> No, I think most are OK with the idea that God never changes, but we do – and our understanding of God does change. History is filled with changes to our Christian faith based on a new understanding of how God is working in our lives. If that were not the case, we would never have had the Reformation. We would have never experienced all the Enlightenments of the past – because God does not change.</li>\n</ul>\n&nbsp;\n\nPoint Six:\n\nHer language is rather hurtful and aggressive. Things like “Progressive Christians despise God’s word” and “watch the hate they spew once they find you don’t support their beliefs” and “I don’t consider progressive Christians true Christians…” Her point is made, and it is one of the foundations of being a Progressive Christian – that we love and speak kindly of one another.\n\nIn the past I have had disagreements with other Progressive Christians and I have never been insulted, or had “hate” spewed at me for disagreeing with them. Whenever I have had a conversation with those in the Progressive Conversation I have always had my points listen to, and sometime rejected – but I can say that I have also had conversations with those on the self-defining “Christian Right” and I have walked away hurt, damaged and insulted. It is funny that when she speaks of the “hate” spewed by the Progressives Conversation and then reading her words of hate – kind of makes me wonder.','Progressives Are Not One Voice','','inherit','open','open','','970-revision-6','','','2011-10-23 01:05:19','2011-10-23 08:05:19','',970,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/970-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(993,1,'2011-10-19 12:24:13','2011-10-19 19:24:13','<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/4gFJfCUun8s\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"500\" height=\"339\"></iframe>\r\n\r\nChris Hedges, a Pulitzer Prize winning author shares some radical ideas.  He even calls the Tea Part classic fascism. What do you think?','Is Civil Disobedience The Only Hope?','','inherit','open','open','','758-revision-4','','','2011-10-19 12:24:13','2011-10-19 19:24:13','',758,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/19/758-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(994,1,'2011-10-21 14:22:04','2011-10-21 21:22:04','The AP is <a href=\"http://news.yahoo.com/obama-announces-total-iraq-troop-withdrawal-165635034.html\" target=\"_blank\">reporting</a> that Obama has declared an end to the Iraq war, and will withdraw troops by the end of the year.  In August 2010, he declared the U.S. combat mission over.  The <a href=\"http://usliberals.about.com/od/homelandsecurit1/a/IraqNumbers.htm\" target=\"_blank\">cost</a> of the war is 900 billion dollars, and 4,481 US Soldiers Killed, 32,195 Seriously Wounded.  You can see the President\'s response on video <a href=\"http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/27029045\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>.\r\n\r\nAs many of you will no doubt denounce the decision or praise it, tell us why.  Do you think this is a good decision or a bad one.\r\n\r\n<em>Photo courtesy of <a href=\"http://www.kued.org/?area=pressReleases&amp;action=details&amp;id=NDMx\" target=\"_blank\">KUED</a>.</em>','Obama Declares End To War','','inherit','open','open','','888-revision-4','','','2011-10-21 14:22:04','2011-10-21 21:22:04','',888,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/888-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(995,1,'2011-10-22 18:49:19','2011-10-23 01:49:19','I go to a church which “doesn’t believe anything” or “believes everything” or “let’s you decide to believe whatever you want.”  People often say this when I tell them I am a Unitarian-Universalist. To a traditional, dogmatic church (TDC) each of these views might make sense.  None is true, however, from my perspective, and I have spent much of my life in the TDC.  The non-dogmatic religious community or spiritual path is simply something other than the TDC and trying to make comparisons becomes painful.  I want to have a go at understanding the differences, well, differently.\r\n\r\nPoetry is better than doctrine in so many ways, but doctrine is so much more popular than poetry.  Let me count the ways.  I love to cook, and when I am preparing to cook a meal—one which promises to be delicious and to quench my current hunger or a particular longing—I have to find the right recipe.  Hopefully, someone has already created the recipe for me and with the internet, I can find exactly what I am looking for.\r\n\r\nI read those internet recipes checking off whether I have the needed ingredients or whether I can find them at a nearby store.  As I read the recipes, they go to the box in my brain.  I turn them into pluses or minuses—judgments to be exact—yes or no.  Before long, I’ve gathered the ingredients, made the meal and enjoyed it with my family.  Final judgment:  I love this meal and it should be repeated again, or not.\r\n\r\nPoetry does not work this way.  To date, I\'ve never picked up a poem I immediately liked.  I tend to read poems like recipes, looking for ingredients to check off.  Poems don’t work this way, and if you find one that does, then it’s not a poem.\r\n\r\nI have to read the poem aloud.  Poetry is never meant to be read silently—not any poem, anywhere, in any language, at any time.  Poetry requires the audible voice in order for human beings to begin to enter into what poetry is.  (Don’t take it from me.  Go find a poem and read it silently to yourself.  Then, read it out loud, three or five or seven times and notice what begins to happen.)  When I begin to read a poem aloud it does not go to the box in my brain.  In fact, I cannot tell where it goes.  Often, the poem goes all over me—all over my body.  A poem, maybe even a part of one poem, may be rushing around my chest and throat.  I cannot speak for the tears that are flooding my eyes.  Another poem may stir lower in my body and I feel like a stag in mating season!  Another makes me tender, or angry, or expands my vision beyond imagination.  Another makes me sad, and only joy can enter my interior space.  Regardless, a poem read aloud multiple times leaves me always more connected—to people, trees, animals, the sky, the earth, the sea.\r\n\r\nPoems are always more trouble than a recipe.  They require a different effort and  willingness to be moved, unsettled and changed.\r\n\r\nReligious communities and spiritual paths formed around doctrine are serving up recipes.  I don’t offer this as a criticism so much as an observation.  Doctrine works like a recipe.  People come to religious communities and spiritual paths hungry and with needs they want filled.  Doctrines can be read silently and they go straight to the box in the brain where we check things off—yes or no.  When we join TDCs we start cooking with the recipe and make our judgments—repeat, or not?\r\n\r\nEnter the few religious communities who do not offer dogmatic doctrines—the non-dogmatic communities (NDC).  Examples include the Unitarian-Universalist Association, The Society of Friends (aka Quakers), some forms of Buddhism, some communities of modern Druids and Eclectic Pagans, new organizations like the Progressive Christian Alliance and even some of the so-called emergent evangelical churches. This is one strange mix to have something in common! These communities require more work than the TDC.  Much like poetry at first glance, they may not offer much appeal if one is viewing them from the TDC perspective.\r\n\r\nThe NDCs invite people into a space.  They offer them some tools to use in such space.  They are invited to explore: their own lives, meaning in general and in particular,  their history and anything which nothing else in life has been able to clarify for them.  The tools may be principles, stories, a stream of wisdom traditions, occasional or seasonal rituals, or perhaps even some symbols, but there is no recipe.   There are no doctrines and no requirements beyond basic human respect for self and others in the community.  NDCs invite the seeker into the art of their lives.  The seeker is then, at some point, put on the spot: what will I do with all of this?  Will I take up some of these tools and see what I can do with them, or is this just a bad idea?\r\n\r\nNDCs often remain small communities, experiencing often the revolving door syndrome.  Too many people—on some level—are just too intimidated to pick up the tools to see what they can create in and for themselves.  They may claim boredom, or the NDC is not meeting their needs. NDCs offer poetry, not recipes.\r\n\r\nThe traditional dogmatic communities are the norm, and they are not going away.  They work for too many people, just like recipe collections in books and on the internet.  The doctrines give people something to check out in the box in their brains, and when it fits what they feel hungry for, they bite.  They experience an immediate sense of belonging, and because the doctrinal recipe has satisfied their current hunger or needs, they also experience less anxiety and feel “right” in the world.\r\n\r\nThe non-dogmatic communities  seem to me to be more prevalent these days.  A generation ago, only groups like the Unitarians, the Quakers and a few Buddhists fit this description.  Evangelical Christianity and post-modern Christians forming new non-dogmatic associations is a significant shift away from recipes and toward poetry.  I wonder if what happens for folks is what has happened to me:  after so many years in the TDC following the recipes, I found they didn’t quench my hunger.  I had a taste for something I couldn’t even name.  The NDC will not name it for them.  If it tried, then they wouldn’t be non-dogmatic communities.  This is the real temptation for NDCs, in my opinion.  As more individuals enter into NDCs and face the existential crisis around the tools presented to them, it can be tempting for the NDC to tell them what to do.  If the NDC slips and tells them what to do with the tools, they will without doubt create beliefs concerning the tools, i.e. doctrine.  When this happens, the poetry ceases.  I am convinced most traditional dogmatic communities once began as poetry and not recipes.\r\n\r\nThe traditional dogmatic community  may look at the non-dogmatic communities and say:  but you have no doctrine!  How can you expect to lead moral lives, find peace, salvation and meaning?  The answer is poetry.  The non-dogmatic communities do not have doctrine, and yet, they often lead moral lives, are peaceful people and find meaning in their lives.  Salvation is a doctrine recipe, but when a person begins to engage in the deep poetics of life he/she begins to discover salvation has always been theirs.  This self-discovery is what comes from working with the tools which the NDC provides for one’s life space.  In as many ways as there are poems, individuals begin to find a connection to all things, and in the connection there is an “in this moment” salvation.  They experience this.  The TDC will not at all understand.\r\n\r\nIn deference to some really gifted cooks, I must acknowledge there are those who do what they do with food much like poetry, creating the dish from some personal space they have long been exploring.  I love to cook, but more and more these days, I love my growing poetry collection.','To Dogma or Not','','inherit','open','open','','973-revision-3','','','2011-10-22 18:49:19','2011-10-23 01:49:19','',973,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/973-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(996,1,'2011-10-22 16:17:04','2011-10-22 23:17:04','I spend a lot of time trying to hear from God. I read my Bible each day, have quiet prayer times, worship wholeheartedly, and so forth. So it surprises me when God chooses to speak to me when I am brushing my teeth. The more I think about it though, he more I like it. I think it’s a testament of our relationship. You don’t interrupt a man in the bathroom unless your relationship with him is pretty firmly rooted.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo there I am after work tonight scrubbing my molars with my Oral-B when God flips a light switch on in my head. He suddenly gave me a deeper understanding of a scripture I had read and thought about last week. But before I can share what He is teaching me I need to catch you up on what I taught myself.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTwo thousand years ago when Jesus was walking around Israel, He was smashing through all these roadblocks that people thought were in their way of getting to God. Now the people who were perceived to be far along that road did not like this because they were in an elite category. There were so many roadblocks to God that not very many people were considered to be close to Him and chosen by Him. Jews believed that if you had any kind of physical handicap it was a product of your sin. They believed that if you did not follow the letter of the law set by Moses and the extra 300+ rules created since him, then God would not speak to you. They believed that God controlled all the wealth in the Earth and if you were poor it was because God did not favor you. This last one sheds light on the scriptures I was reading.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOne day a very rich man came to Jesus and asked Him what he had to do to be saved. Jesus told him the answer that applied to everyone who was listening, then Jesus told him the answer that applied to just him. He told him, “Go and sell everything you have. Give it to the poor and come follow me.” The Bible says that the man went away very sad because he had many possessions. It’s at this point that Jesus turns to the crowd and utters the famous phrase that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to go to heaven. The crowd stood in disbelief. If richness was a sign of God’s favor and it was hard for rich men to make it to heaven then who could be saved? Jesus was trying to teach the people that God does not favor men who love their money more than God. Once I learned all this I thought I understood the situation completely. Then a week later I went to brush my teeth.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nStanding in front of my mirror God gave me a glimpse of what the rich man felt and his sadness was motivated by something totally different than I expected. In that man’s culture his wealth automatically gave him great influence and respect much like our culture today, but he received something that our culture does not attribute to the wealthy. People assumed that he was close to God. His riches were a symbol to people who believed that wealth was a sign of being one of God’s chosen few. I don’t think he was sad because he found happiness in all his stuff. Rich people will be the first to tell you that the things they buy can’t sustain their happiness. I think he was sad because he did not want to lose his spiritual place in the minds of everyone who knew him.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis is what God is teaching me. It is very popular these days to use the quote from Gandhi that says, “Be the change you want to see in the world”, but there are very few people actually being the change. We like to go to church so that people will see us and think we are faithful to God, but we don’t like to wake up early on our Saturday and go help the poor. We find ways to help our friends judge our walk with God based on what they see. If we are not careful we can begin to attend church, or raise our hands in worship, or even preach to assure people that we are one of God’s chosen few. God knows what we love more than following Him and He WILL ask us to give it up. God wants to have a close relationship with me whether people know it or not. When we become more concerned with people believing we are close to God than actually being close to God, then we have become Pharisees. When God showed me this I really began to check my motivation on everything I do. And I asked myself if I truly love God the way people think I do based on everything I don’t do. What I found out was that I have some work to do, but I know that now I can work on it caring only what Jesus thinks.','Moses and Oral-B','','inherit','open','open','','959-revision-7','','','2011-10-22 16:17:04','2011-10-22 23:17:04','',959,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/959-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(997,1,'2011-10-22 23:48:20','2011-10-23 06:48:20','I spend a lot of time trying to hear from God. I read my Bible each day, have quiet prayer times, worship wholeheartedly, and so forth. So it surprises me when God chooses to speak to me while I am brushing my teeth. The more I think about it though, the more I like it. I think it’s a testament of our relationship. You don’t interrupt a man in the bathroom unless your relationship with him is pretty firmly rooted.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSo there I am after work tonight scrubbing my molars with my Oral-B when God flips a light switch on in my head. He suddenly gave me a deeper understanding of a scripture I had read and thought about last week. But before I  share what He is teaching me I need to catch you up on what I taught myself.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTwo thousand years ago when Jesus was walking around Israel, He was smashing through all these roadblocks that people thought were in their way of getting to God. Now the people who were perceived to be far along that road did not like this because they were in an elite category. There were so many roadblocks to God that not very many people were considered to be close to Him and chosen by Him. Jews believed that if you had any kind of physical handicap it was a product of your sin. They believed that if you did not follow the letter of the law set by Moses and the extra 300+ rules created in addition to the ones Moses delivered, then God would not speak to you. They believed that God controlled all the wealth in the Earth and if you were poor it was because God did not favor you. This last one sheds light on the scriptures I was reading.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOne day a very rich man came to Jesus and asked Him what he had to do to be saved. Jesus told him the answer that applied to everyone who was listening, then Jesus told him the answer that applied to just him. He told him, “Go and sell everything you have. Give it to the poor and come follow me.”  The Bible says that the man went away very sad because he had many possessions. It’s at this point that Jesus turns to the crowd and utters the famous phrase that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to go to heaven. The crowd stood in disbelief. If richness was a sign of God’s favor and it was hard for rich men to make it to heaven then who could be saved? Jesus was trying to teach the people that God does not favor men who love their money more than God. Once I learned all this I thought I understood the situation completely. Then a week later I went to brush my teeth.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nStanding in front of my mirror God gave me a glimpse of what the rich man felt and his sadness was motivated by something totally different than I expected. In that man’s culture his wealth automatically gave him great influence and respect much like our culture today, but he received something that our culture does not attribute to the wealthy. People assumed that he was close to God. His riches were a symbol of spiritual condition to a people who believed that wealth was a sign of being one of God’s chosen few. I don’t think he was sad because he found happiness in all his stuff. Rich people will be the first to tell you that the things they buy can’t sustain their happiness. I think he was sad because he did not want to lose his spiritual place in the minds of everyone who knew him.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThis is what God is teaching me. It is very popular these days to use the quote from Gandhi that says, “Be the change you want to see in the world”, but there are very few people actually being the change. We like to go to church so that people will see us and think we are faithful to God, but we don’t like to wake up early on our Saturday and go help the poor. We find ways to help our friends judge our walk with God based on what they see. If we are not careful we can begin to attend church, or raise our hands in worship, or even preach to assure people that we are one of God’s chosen few. God knows what we love more than following Him and He WILL ask us to give it up. God wants to have a close relationship with me whether people know it or not. When we become more concerned with people believing we are close to God than actually being close to God, then we have become Pharisees. When God showed me this I really began to check my motivation on everything I do. And I asked myself if I truly love God the way people think I do based on everything I don’t do. What I found out was that I have some work to do, but I know that now I can work on it caring only what Jesus thinks.','Moses and Oral-B','','inherit','open','open','','959-revision-8','','','2011-10-22 23:48:20','2011-10-23 06:48:20','',959,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/22/959-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(998,1,'2011-10-21 17:44:00','2011-10-22 00:44:00','“You get to choose, John.  It is your choice regardless of what others think about you…”\r\n\r\nDesperate words from a man I deeply respected.\r\n\r\nSee I had lived my life up until that point based on someone else’s choices, someone else’s direction and someone else’s will for my life.  I thought I was doing the right thing.  But, who was I kidding, it never felt right.  I always felt as if I was living by someone else’s rules.  I was a classic people pleaser.  I hear that it is just part of my personality type to do things this way.\r\n\r\nSee at some point I saw life and my personal image as some kind of game.  You know, learn the rules, take out your game pieces and play your heart out?  The one who follows the rules and plays by them the best is the winner of the game.  The game lasts a lifetime and the ultimate goal in my Christianity was to win the prize.  You know the crown or the mansion or the walk down streets of gold?\r\n\r\nThat meant an absolute abstention from the “World” as I knew it.  Well, that is what my youth pastor told me, and then my senior pastor and my pastors and leaders after that.  My whole life it seems, someone was telling me to abstain from the world and all that was in it or risk contamination of the soul.\r\n\r\n<strong>Music</strong>\r\n\r\nChristian music was in fact the only wholesome music out there that fed the soul.  So, it made sense to me that at the age of 36 I had grown accustomed to collecting and listening to all sorts of genres of Christian music.  I had chants from monks, CCM pop stuff, Christian Rock, Rap, New Wave, Vineyard and Maranatha and Hosanna and Hillsong music stacked high in CDs and cassette tapes from the past.\r\n\r\nI had become quite the worship leader, learning how to play the guitar at the age of 9 and singing since I was old enough to hum.  I never played that God forsaken “secular” music for fear of truly disappointing God and throwing my pearls before swine.  I was convinced by my leaders that to play music that was not Godly, was a sin and that if I did that, then God would somehow take my gifts away and give them to someone else.\r\n\r\nSo up until that point I knew of secular musicians and such, but I did not know any.  We were told stories of backwards masking and rituals to the devil and stuff like that to scare us away from ever putting money into the hands of these evil doers in exchange for their music.\r\n\r\nI sat through a 6 week course on “Rock and Roll: The Devil’s Music” as a youth, the entire time wondering if this could actually be true – thinking <em>is it possible that all of these people worship the devil?  Is this some kind of satanic conspiracy?  For real?</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>Art, Movies, etc.</strong>\r\n\r\nWe were told that any artwork that displays the human body in any other form but with clothes on is pornography designed to pull you away from your walk with the Lord.  That brochures, underwear catalogs, billboards, TV commercials, magazines have all sold out to the devil by allowing ads that showed scantily clad women on them.  We were told that to buy these things and to give any kind of patronage to them is supporting the Devil and his work.  So as youth we boycotted art museums that dared to display the naked human form.  We used words like filth, garbage, trash, to describe the work of artists that refused to honor God by clothing their models and subjects of art.\r\n\r\nI was taught that anything that mentions magic as good is bad.  So all movies that depict magic as some kind of good thing are promoting the Devil.  That meant that we would have never went to see Harry Potter had it been available.  We were told to beware of <a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104254/\" target=\"_blank\">Ferngully</a>, the animated movie, for instance because it had fairies in it and they used magic and the movie was promoted by tree-hugging Satanists.\r\n\r\nMovies depicting sex, except within the confines of a Christian marriage were off limits.  That meant that I was not allowed to watch rated R movies and most PG movies.\r\n\r\nI remember wondering why movies and art and TV and other things were off limits.  What were my leaders so afraid of, that I would somehow worship Satan if I watched a rated R movie?  But, I did what they told me to do.  I refrained.  And when I slipped up and watched a rated R movie for the shear entertainment value, I felt guilty and I never told anyone about it.\r\n\r\n“You get to choose, John.  It is your choice regardless of what others think about you…” He said.\r\n\r\n“But, if I only listen to Christian music I will not be tempted by music to sin and lust and do other stuff.”\r\n\r\n“Really John?  Do you really believe that listening to the Beatles is going to cause you to take LSD?”\r\n\r\nI smiled.  <em>Of course not.  Of course I did not believe that</em>.\r\n\r\n“Well, no.”\r\n\r\n“No.  No is right John.  So why?  How is it that you are 36 years old and you have never listened to any good music?”\r\n\r\nHe was hitting me where I live.  See I have always loved music.  Again, I was singing since I was a kid and I knew what good singing sounded like.  I knew what good lyrics sounded like.  I knew what good music sounded like.  He was right.  I had deprived myself for this many years because…\r\n\r\n“Because of what?”\r\n\r\n“Well, like I said.  If I only listen to things of God, my mind will only be on things of God.”\r\n\r\n“Yeah, so how is that working for you?”\r\n\r\n<em>It wasn’t.  </em>It really wasn’t.  I knew that.  Christian Music, Christian Movies and books, Bible reading, praying, going to church, hanging out with only Christian people, none of that stuff seemed to keep me from frequently falling into sinful misery.  I was living a lie.  My external was crystal clean, but inside I was a mess.\r\n\r\nI began to realize that I had invested a lot into the externals.  I had placed a lifetime into making myself look holy, making myself look Christian when deep down I doubted God, deep down I struggled with sex and love addiction, selfishness, self-hatred, and pain.  None of this was being dealt with.  None of it could be touched by God, because I kept it so far away from him.  I had run out of arguments and packaged responses only to realize that they were never my arguments or responses to begin with.  These arguments and justifications and condemnations of the world around me were the voices of my youth pastor, my senior pastor and my previous church leaders.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-898\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/297474_174765455942302_152405444844970_359252_1497562969_n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"410\" height=\"307\" />\r\n\r\nSo there I was, a pastor at a thriving church in Houston, Texas being grilled by my fellow pastors on of all things, my external walk with God.  They wanted to know why I refused to enjoy the beauty of the world around me.  They wanted to know how I could justify not listening to good music and watching good shows.  They were concerned that my Christian life was getting in the way of me truly living with others.  They would not let up.  And so, for the first time in my life, I made a decision about my own life.\r\n\r\nI was going to begin to think for myself.  I would shut out the voices from the past and live life based on what God told me directly, or what God told me through my good and trusted friends, and on what made sense when considering the whole context of the Bible and the words of Jesus.\r\n\r\nIt was scary and even a little painful to venture out on my own this way, but I was not alone.  I had good and trusted friends who were willing to walk with me during this time.  This experience caused me to listen to my heart and really listen to the voice of God.  It taught me that even when things look super-spiritual, they can be just as harmful as any tactic of the Devil.  If you find yourself hiding from the world and living out of fear of the people in it ask yourself, is that what Jesus did?  Did Jesus only hang out with the religious people?  Did Jesus only spend time reading scripture, praying, and sticking closely to the religious Jews?\r\n\r\nIf we are to be followers of Jesus, could it mean that we are to be like him -- an integral part of the world around us, intimately involved in the lives of those who are different from us, interested in the people that some would call “the other?”  Interested in their music, their art, their heart and soul?  If we are to be this way, then why do we hide?  Why do we separate ourselves from everyone else?  Jesus didn’t.\r\n\r\nWhere did we learn that in order to be good Christians all we have to do is 1.  Read the Bible; 2.  Pray to God; 3.  Hang out with other Christians; and 4. Witness?  Doesn’t it seem obvious that something is missing here?  Think of it this way, of 1, 2, 3, and 4 where in the Bible does Jesus instruct us to do these things?  Where does he say that “all you have to do in order to follow me are these four things?”   He doesn\'t.  Instead he commands us to love others as we love ourselves.  He commissions us to go out and share the good news about him and his kingdom to the world, not just other Christians.  He models what that love looks like when he hangs out with the Samaritan woman and he protects the adulteress and he touches the leper and he speaks highly of the eunuch and he tells a story about a \"good\" Samaritan, and he spends a long time preaching, healing and touching hundreds of \"others\" on a mountain side, all the while totally immersed in his own culture and totally accepting of other cultures of the day.','You Get to Choose','','inherit','open','open','','897-revision-6','','','2011-10-21 17:44:00','2011-10-22 00:44:00','',897,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/897-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(999,1,'2011-10-21 09:22:48','2011-10-21 16:22:48','I remember when I was 8, there was an uproar about why our new youth leader was allowing boys and girls to swim together in the same swimming pool in the overnight lock-in. Shocking!\r\n\r\nBelieve it or not, it’s still a huge issue today for some people. That’s fine. I say let everyone be with their small arguments about the Bible as long as it doesn’t keep me from using the public pool.\r\n\r\nScoot the calendar forward to modern day and there has been a debate for the past several years over viewing movies in church such as “Avatar” (which has profanity!) or “Transformers” (violence AND profanity!) and discussing the movies with teenagers. During the discussions, redeeming topics from Scripture are brought out.\r\n\r\nOne side of the topic says, “You should never allow this type of thing in the church.” The other says, “Let’s watch it together, find the good topics in it and watch it with them.”\r\n\r\nI remember listening to Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary one day on his radio show. A caller was a bit offended that his church was doing this. I think he expected some sympathy, but Dr. Mohler’s response was pretty straight forward – it’s a great idea. We need to be watching these movies with our kids and supervising them.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bm.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/bm-300x165.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"165\" /></a>That leads me to my little world and my sweet daughters. I say “sweet” until you see them play the Xbox 360 while they play the new Batman: Arkham City and beat the ever loving crud out of some bad guys. You should see them. They sneak up stealthily behind a bad guy brandishing a gun, take him down and knock him unconscious.\r\n\r\n“Did you see that?” they’ll say. “That was awesome!”\r\n\r\nIn the Batman series of games which started with Batman: Arkham Asylum, there is violence and profanity and the series is rated for teens. And I let my girls play.\r\n\r\nBatman is a comic book character who is the alter ego of millionaire Bruce Wayne. His parents were killed in front of him by a criminal when he was a little boy and he has spent his life fighting crime as a vigilante. In both games, he uses a variety of weapons and tools to take down bad guys by non-lethal methods. He uses his detective skills to solve puzzles, meets interesting super villains and makes daring rescues. It’s a lot of fun.\r\n\r\nThere was a moment a couple of years ago when I had to make a conscious decision to allow my girls to play. It wasn’t as careless as me saying, “Yeah, I guess you’re tired of playing Barbie Horse Adventures. Go ahead and pop in Arkham Asylum.”\r\n\r\nI had already played the game and the girls knew how much I loved Batman. I told them they could play but only when I was in the room with them. For a while, they watched me play and they begged me to play themselves. They were hooked.\r\n\r\nSomething interesting happened while they were playing. The first was when my wife Allison walked into the room and said, “He sure kills a lot of people.”\r\n\r\nKatie said, “Batman never kills people. That would be murder.”\r\n\r\nOther times, someone in the game will utter a profanity. Both girls will roll their eyes and look at me or each other. They’ll say, “They shouldn’t say that.” It’s like they’re registering disappointment with the game developers for putting profanity in a game rated “T”.\r\n\r\nThen, my greatest theological “dad” moment. One of them asked, “I know his parents were killed, but why does he seek out justice?”\r\n\r\nI said, “There is a lot of injustice in the world. People throughout history have experienced injustice and have fought against it. They didn’t always wear capes, but they did what they thought was right.”\r\n\r\nEyes fixed firmly on Batman as he soared across the sky, one asked, “Like who?”\r\n\r\nI considered it for a moment. “Martin Luther, a long time ago, saw some injustice in the church he was part of.”\r\n\r\n“Did he fight?” one of them asked as Batman took out yet another villan with a haymaker.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ml.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-817\" style=\"margin-left: 6px; margin-right: 6px;\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ml-211x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"164\" height=\"234\" /></a>“He did, but not with his fists. He took up the power of the pen and began to write. He shared his thoughts with the people and was able to make great changes,” I said.\r\n\r\n“What happened to him?” they asked as Batman went into detective mode.\r\n\r\n“Well, he made a lot of people angry and his life was in danger for a long time. But over time, he ended up helping make the changes that started a new movement in Christianity. In fact, if it weren’t for Martin Luther, we wouldn’t have the church we go to now.”\r\n\r\nThey paused the game. “So, he really was a hero, just without the cape and utility belt.”\r\n\r\n“Yeah, he was, girls. I don’t think there’s going to be a Martin Luther video game anytime soon.”\r\n\r\nWe don’t have to isolate ourselves from the culture in order to instruct them. In fact, knowing my children have strong consciences bound to Scripture before they engage the culture gives me peace when I know one day they will enter into it without me. Being part of the culture with them brings me not only a chance to instruct, but a chance to enjoy certain aspects of it with them. Not only that, but we can share common interests and hobbies.\r\n\r\nThat, and now my girls know how much Batman and Martin Luther rock.','Video Games, Batman, and Martin Luther','','inherit','open','open','','813-revision-4','','','2011-10-21 09:22:48','2011-10-21 16:22:48','',813,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/21/813-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(1000,1,'2011-10-23 00:53:05','2011-10-23 07:53:05','<a href=\"http://natomaschurch.wordpress.com\" target=\"_blank\">The Gates Are Open</a> is <a href=\"http://natomaschurch.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/another-argument-on-mars-hill/\" target=\"_blank\">reporting</a> that <a href=\"http://marshill.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mars Hill Church</a> (Mark Driscoll\'s church in Seattle) is going after another <a href=\"http://marshillsacramento.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mars Hill</a> asking them to ceast and desist the use of the name Mars Hill.  The post includes the following:\r\n<blockquote><em><strong>Several people from Mars Hill church in Seattle have contacted me and let me know the intention of the Cease and Desist letter is to have Mars Hill Sacramento change their logo. Pastor Hagan has not given me permission to post the letter from the lawyer: However, though I am not a lawyer, the first two paragraphs make it pretty plain they are to change the Name of the church, the Name of the website and the Logo and artwork. The next two pages explain the rationale in legalese. If the original intent was only to have Mars Hill Sacramento change the artwork, that should be communicated clearly by legal counsel. At this point, it clearly says they must change their name also. That is all I can say about this issue without being able to post a copy of the document.</strong></em></blockquote>\r\nThe original logos are shown below.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mars1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1002\" title=\"mars1\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mars1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"264\" height=\"105\" /></a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mars2.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1003\" title=\"mars2\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mars2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"178\" height=\"105\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWhat do you think? Does Mark Driscoll have a case?','Mars Hill Goes After Another Church','','publish','open','open','','mars-hill-goes-after-another-church','','','2011-10-23 00:53:05','2011-10-23 07:53:05','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1000',0,'post','',18),(1001,1,'2011-10-23 00:46:09','2011-10-23 07:46:09','','mars_hill_suit','','inherit','open','open','','mars_hill_suit','','','2011-10-23 00:46:09','2011-10-23 07:46:09','',1000,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mars_hill_suit.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(1002,1,'2011-10-23 00:51:13','2011-10-23 07:51:13','','mars1','','inherit','open','open','','mars1','','','2011-10-23 00:51:13','2011-10-23 07:51:13','',1000,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mars1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1003,1,'2011-10-23 00:51:32','2011-10-23 07:51:32','','mars2','','inherit','open','open','','mars2','','','2011-10-23 00:51:32','2011-10-23 07:51:32','',1000,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mars2.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1004,1,'2011-10-23 00:52:16','2011-10-23 07:52:16','<a href=\"http://natomaschurch.wordpress.com\" target=\"_blank\">The Gates Are Open</a> is <a href=\"http://natomaschurch.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/another-argument-on-mars-hill/\" target=\"_blank\">reporting</a> that <a href=\"http://marshill.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mars Hill Church</a> (Mark Driscoll\'s church in Seattle) is going after another <a href=\"http://marshillsacramento.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mars Hill</a> asking them to ceast and desist the use of the name Mars Hill.  The post includes the following:\n<blockquote><em><strong>Several people from Mars Hill church in Seattle have contacted me and let me know the intention of the Cease and Desist letter is to have Mars Hill Sacramento change their logo. Pastor Hagan has not given me permission to post the letter from the lawyer: However, though I am not a lawyer, the first two paragraphs make it pretty plain they are to change the Name of the church, the Name of the website and the Logo and artwork. The next two pages explain the rationale in legalese. If the original intent was only to have Mars Hill Sacramento change the artwork, that should be communicated clearly by legal counsel. At this point, it clearly says they must change their name also. That is all I can say about this issue without being able to post a copy of the document.</strong></em></blockquote>\nThe original logos are\n\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mars1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1002\" title=\"mars1\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mars1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"264\" height=\"105\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mars2.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1003\" title=\"mars2\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mars2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"178\" height=\"105\" /></a>\n\nWhat do you think?','Mars Hill Goes After Another Church','','inherit','open','open','','1000-revision','','','2011-10-23 00:52:16','2011-10-23 07:52:16','',1000,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/1000-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1005,1,'2011-10-23 00:54:10','2011-10-23 07:54:10','<a href=\"http://natomaschurch.wordpress.com\" target=\"_blank\">The Gates Are Open</a> is <a href=\"http://natomaschurch.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/another-argument-on-mars-hill/\" target=\"_blank\">reporting</a> that <a href=\"http://marshill.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mars Hill Church</a> (Mark Driscoll\'s church in Seattle) is going after another <a href=\"http://marshillsacramento.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mars Hill</a> asking them to ceast and desist the use of the name Mars Hill.  The post includes the following:\n<blockquote><em><strong>Several people from Mars Hill church in Seattle have contacted me and let me know the intention of the Cease and Desist letter is to have Mars Hill Sacramento change their logo. Pastor Hagan has not given me permission to post the letter from the lawyer: However, though I am not a lawyer, the first two paragraphs make it pretty plain they are to change the Name of the church, the Name of the website and the Logo and artwork. The next two pages explain the rationale in legalese. If the original intent was only to have Mars Hill Sacramento change the artwork, that should be communicated clearly by legal counsel. At this point, it clearly says they must change their name also. That is all I can say about this issue without being able to post a copy of the document.</strong></em></blockquote>\nThe original logos are shown below.\n\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mars1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1002\" title=\"mars1\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mars1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"264\" height=\"105\" /></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mars2.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1003\" title=\"mars2\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mars2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"178\" height=\"105\" /></a>\n\nWhat do you think? Does Mark Driscoll have a case?','Mars Hill Goes After Another Church','','inherit','open','open','','1000-autosave','','','2011-10-23 00:54:10','2011-10-23 07:54:10','',1000,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/23/1000-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(1009,1,'2011-10-23 11:38:27','2011-10-23 18:38:27','In a connected world, the skill of connecting people is worth it\'s weight in gold.  But do you have what it takes to be a super connector?  Tech Crunch\'s James Altucher <a href=\"http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/23/9-skills-super-connector/\" target=\"_blank\">highlights</a> 9 skills it takes to be a super connector.  Some are very simple like \"introduce two other connectors\" and some are are actually important like \"time\".  Take a <a href=\"http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/23/9-skills-super-connector/\" target=\"_blank\">look</a>.\r\n\r\nWhich one do you wish you could master?','Are You A Super Connector?','','publish','open','open','','are-you-a-super-connector','','http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/23/9-skills-super-connector/\nhttp://techcrunch.com/2011/10/23/9-skills-super-connector/','2011-10-23 11:39:27','2011-10-23 18:39:27','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1009',0,'post','',0),