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Anna Posts a ‘c’hurch Vent
I have to be honest… I’m biting HOLES thru my tongue trying very hard not to light into the ASSES of the people in my Sunday School class. And I’m not not NOT sending my children to VBS there. And I’m questioning the wisdom in sending my kids to Sunday School, too, since we’re being blunt. The legalism in ‘c’hurch is about DRIVING me FREEEEEKIN’ crazy!!! ((And yes, I said ASSES on purpose.))
We’re studying the Ten Commandments. Very interesting, since I go in having read up on the Messianic side as well as the ‘chrischun’ side of things before hand. I’m learning a LOT this way. ((I always tend to learn the most from the classes and/or sermons that are the LEAST scripturally sound, though, have you noticed that, too?))
So we’re studying ‘thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain’. I’m totally good with that, and while I have no qualms with ‘shit’, ‘piss’, ‘hell’, or ‘damn’… I never take the Lord’s name in vain. I don’t even say ‘God bless you’ when folks sneeze, because frankly I feel it’s a flippant use and too close to not only breaking the Law but hurting the Lord. I don’t even post OMG…osh unless the ‘osh’ is connectedly unbreakably to the initials. And I wince when people type it ‘osh’-less on my site. This is a BIG BIG BIG no-no in Anna’s book.
What pisseth me off ((haha.)) in Sunday school was when people started applying it to the people around them. “I work with this guy… every sentence has to start with the Lord’s name in vain.” Or, “I’ve been listening for it this past week, and the people at school are just terrible… I hear it all day long.”
((For those of you who need clarification, taking the Lord’s name in vain is when you say “OhMyGAWD!!” or “JE-sus!” or something similar as an exclamation with no reverence or thought as to the Deity it addresses. For me, that’s also “I swear t’God!” and “Gadzuhnheit” (or however you spell ‘God bless you’ in German.). Enough of that, my skin is totally crawling.
Anyhow… these church-goin’ folk are all goin’ off about how the people at school and work and on TV and on the news and in the movies use the Lord’s name…. HELLO, they’re the world! They’re depraved. That’s what depraved people do!! It’s not ignorance, it’s choice. They *know* who God is… they don’t need a reminder. They simply do what they want because they haven’t been convicted by the Holy Spirit. And last I heard, it’s the Holy Spirit who does the convicting, not us holier-than-thous who *sniff* at our co-workers over their words. They’re GONNA break the commandments… because they aren’t worried about the One who gave the commandments.
Nonnies are still under judgment… which is why Christ Jesus said, “Judge not, lest ye be judged”… you don’t judge people who are already under judgment. It’s called overkill and interference. It’s also why Jesus clarified that statement in Matthew with one in John 7:24… “judge righteous judgment”. We are to judge (2 Timothy 4 says ‘correct, rebuke with long suffering and sound doctrine’) the RIGHTEOUS. Don’t be holding the nonnies accountable… they’re already being held as such, thanks. By God. His deal. Period.
Once a rich young ruler came up to Jesus and asked how he could be saved. Jesus said ‘obey the ten commandments.’ The kid said, “Yeah, okay, I’ve done that.” RIGHT THERE… he broke two of the commandments… he LIED (for none are righteous, no not one) and he WORSHIPPED ANOTHER GOD (elevated himself before God, as perfect BEFORE the atonement for all sins). Did Jesus say to this very ignorant young sap – ‘Dude, you just broke two commandments!’? No, He didn’t. The kid was ALREADY under judgment. Without saying another word, I’ve proven my point. We are to emulate Christ… and He didn’t judge the kid… yet the whole damn Sunday School class is judging their co-workers, students, classmates, and carpools?! I… can’t… be that legalistic.
And OF COURSE the conversation didn’t just stick to the Lord’s name in vain… it moved on to cover ALL ‘curse’ words. (((grits teeth))). Let’s not ADD to scripture or anything, on top of what’s already been done… but we won’t go into this. I’ve posted waaaaayyyy too many blogs on language and why chrischuns drive me nuts with their legalistic, unscriptural demands already.
Next week is the Sabbath. I’m already researching it extensively. And I have a feeling I might not have *ANY* tongue left by the time class is over…
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circumstances_mean_nothing
/ July 23, 2006I love this post. It’s ecactly where I am at right now. Ever since my parents practically forbid me to go to my church and have been forcing me to go to theirs, I’ve been up to my ears in legalistic garbage that drives me up that wall, so right on for calling it like it is.Have a great (what time is it?) night :)Leeza
circumstances_mean_nothing
/ July 23, 2006exactly* (but I’m sure you knew what I meant, hehe)
tozhannah
/ July 24, 2006Have you seen this: http://www.newswithviews.com/Cuddy/dennis70.htm ? It is a two part article; the end of the second part is about Solona.
As for your situation, being led by the Spirit is so different from legalism, but perhaps if one has only known legalism, one does not know the difference. Of course, it is almost impossible to get a legalist to understand that distinction. Oh well.
wondering04
/ July 24, 2006You may end up drawn and quartered. I think it might be interesting to point out that Jesus reduced the 10 commandments down to 2, Love the Lord and Love each other as yourself. If you do that, the rest takes care of itself.
Wanted you to notice that a very short entry on my site had to do with what is occuring in this day and age. Pastor Don basically read Zechariah 9-12 and pointed out where the different cities were, and how this sure seems to parallel what is going on today. Not a lot of notes to take, because basically it was just reading the words, no explaination necessary.
I am praying hard for Jerusalem and for the wisdom of this country, sigh.
I suspect that your Sunday School won’t know what hit them if you decide to unearth a bit of scriptural knowledge for them. sigh.Heather
Cagey
/ July 24, 2006I read once that the practice of saying “God Bless You” was from very superstitious individuals who believed upon sneezing their spirit would be cast out of their bodies and be floating somewhere for the devil to catch. Saying “God Bless You” was supposed to be a way of getting it back into your body safely. Sounds like something a ‘church’ invented to me. :rofl:
Psalm113vs9
/ July 24, 2006So looking forward to hearing their interpretation of commandment #4…I have heard by many that the others were repeated some where in the new testament, but not #4…so curious to see what your furch says about it.
I have been going to furch with dh and I still attend Church on Thursday nights. A buddy of mine who is now a pastor like 6 hours southeast of here was at furch last week and I asked him if he thought our furches pastor reminded him of joel osteen style preaching (nothing against joel I was just looking for a feel good name, guess I could have said warren but my mind was just trying to think of a name fast) and my buddy said that yes he did. This furch pastor is very short sermons and to me sound like fluff. Last week was all about the power of our words and it’s always God is a loving God. Yes HE is but HE is also just and holy and in the end sinners won’t consider HIM such a loving God. oh and there is always an altar call, and if the praying seems to last too long, these prayers are rushed off into another room….
Anna
/ July 24, 2006Tozhannah – Thanks for the link, I’m on my way over to check it now.Wondering_04 – Jesus did no such thing. Every commandment was repeated in the NT excepting for the Sabbath… I’m working on that one now. But Jesus never reduced them, He summarized them. The first five are about loving God, the second five are about loving others. ((I’ll come leave this comment at your site, since you’re busy. *wink!*))
I won’t be bothering to say anything in ‘c’hurch. The problem is that I *really* like the teacher. He’s a very learned man… he has EXTREME potential… except that he lets something hold him back. He talks about ‘strong/brave christians’ as if they’re a different breed than he is. If I could change his perspective… but only the he can choose to use the full potential that the Spirit has placed within him. He’s one I could reason with… I think there’s enough desire toward Truth in him that we could really have an incredible chat. But as for the class… I’ve been red-flagging people as each week goes on. There are people like Jolly-Guy who I want to bear hug and call ‘brother’… but the big-wigs in the class (and church, it seems) are the ones whose eyes are seriously blinded… past anything one person could say.
Cagey – I had heard that, too… but it seemed hokey to me, so I dismissed it. Kinda like walking under ladders, sprinkling salt over your shoulder and the proverbial path-crossing black cat. ((LoL!!!)) We say ‘Bless you’ – leaving God out of it completely.
spinner_mom
/ July 24, 2006Yep, we say ‘Bless you’ too! I don’t think too many people think when they say ‘God!’ or ‘Oh my God!’ now a days. I think that if you use it in a totally conscious way it’s alright. Too many people speak unconsciously though. You can pretty much tell the difference between the people that just shoot it off all the time, and people who say it because they’ve thought it through. I use the ‘oh my gawd’ thing sometimes but sometimes nothing else really fits certain situations. Anytime I read OMG though I immediatly think ‘oh my gosh’.Definitely give me lots to think about though. Like why would people leave God out of blessing someone, but then people want it out of the Pledge of Allegiance? Or they are willing to say the bless you one, but then not the pledge one, or whatever? Would make a good poll!
Kathi
/ July 25, 2006I try diligently not to be too legalistic. Truth be told, all of us have legalism issues to work on – mostly the ones that pop in our mind but don’t necessarily come out of our mouth. Those are the ones I try hardest to work on.
julie
/ September 20, 2007“gesundheit” is literally German for “healthiness”, nothing to do with deity at all