In It But NOT Of It

Here it is, in a nut shell, credit to John Meunier---from this article in the New York Times about gay marriage and the United Methodist Church. Check this highlighted quote:

Randall Miller, assistant professor of ethics at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, is chairman of the commission that organizes the United Methodists’ quadrennial General Conference in April, when bishops and other delegates from around the world will gather in Florida to consider proposed changes to church doctrine, including eliminating the condemnations of homosexuality.

“The United Methodist Church is a great bellwether of where opinions are going in the general society on the issue of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender inclusion,” said Mr. Miller, who will also lead the Northern California delegation to the conference. “Moving the United Methodist Church step by step, and removing these barriers, is a greater step in making the larger society more inclusive.”

Really?

A bellwether of society?

How about being in the world but not of it?

How about a living sacrifice?

How about being set apart?

If the church is just like everything else in society, what good is it?

Not very salty.

My God is NOT mushy. Neither is His doctrine. Sorry, still one of those stubborn evangelicals.

Ash Wednesday and Lent

Well today is Ash Wednesday--the beginning of Lent, the season that draws the Christian community towards Easter. I have not thought very much about sin for a while--I have been more into the acceptance and love of God. I need very little help to find myself missing the mark, although I immediately confessed to sloth on the confession sheet at church tonight.

It has been a while since I have blogged here--I am not sure why. In general I am taking less time blogging. Some of that is that old devil Facebook and some of that is just not taking time to seek out time on line (and frankly some of it is my old and busted keyboard--the lack of "h" and "g" is a real pain!). I have recommitted myself to the doctrine of getting at least one thing done every day. This means getting a better handle on sleep habits and getting up in the morning. I think that I need to be up by 0900, and if that means that I find some stupid brainless thing to do, then so be it. In addition, I now have more time commitments. Wayside, KCPP, a Monday class for two more weeks, CR.... I have thought about this and if I ever had a regular scheduled job I would have to get used to not being quite so flexible.

One thing I have been thinking about is the parallel between God's grace and what happens with some animals at Wayside Waifs and other shelters/rescues. Very often the animals are not lovable, but undergo a transformation...how does that transformation come about? I want to develop that idea at some point.

Enjoy the liturgical purple, folks!