The Real Breaking Bad

"God can't reach perfect people with perfect theology. We need cracks in it so the light of God can shine through" AMR

I walked a life with christians,
They chatted all the way-
But left me none the wiser-
for all they had to say-
I walked this life with Jesus,
and hardly a word said He-
But oh the things I learned -
When my Saviour walked with me...


Here are some thought provoking clips on the traditional views on hell. Amazing to see how it has been viewed over the centuries. I used to ignore it since it was not a place that I would ever visit as a believer etc... But I never realized how it skewed my idea of who God really is... There are a total of four.

Welcome to Jack (Nicholson) in the box!!

Could you imagine if Fast food could be real with people and they hired people who could be real with anyone they served.

A Mainstream Fundamentalist Quote

Some christians put on the mask of kindness, but the underlying current of thought is really this....It is as if the select elect will see a final vindication and be justified with a punishment far worse than any crime that could ever be committed.
Note the Quote below, by a well respected mainstream christian leader. Do you see anything wrong with this at all??


"If my own

Mother

were being carried

to the mouth of

HELL

I would stand and applaud."

A professor in a mainline denominational seminary, explaining that hell will be "understandable," and the saved will rejoice in the misery of the unsaved, once the saved see the glory of Christ and the justice of God. (From the book "Four Views on Hell," Zondervan, 1996, p. 48)

"Christianity" Just another Religion in God's eyes

A religion is an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural or transcendent quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power or truth. It may be expressed through prayer, ritual, meditation, music and art, among other things. It may focus on specific supernatural, metaphysical, and moral claims about reality (the cosmos and human nature) which may yield a set of religious laws, ethics, and a particular lifestyle. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and religious experience.

The term "religion" refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction. "Religion" is sometimes used interchangeably with "faith" or "belief system," but it is more socially defined- than personal convictions, and it entails specific behaviors, respectively.

The development of religion has taken many forms in various cultures. It considers psychological and social roots, along with origins and historical development.

In the frame of western religious thought, religions present a common quality, the "hallmark of patriarchal religious thought": the division of the world in two comprehensive domains, one sacred, the other profane.Religion is often described as a communal system for the coherence of belief focusing on a system of thought, unseen being, person, or object, that is considered to be supernatural, sacred, divine, or of the highest truth. Moral codes, practices, values, institutions, tradition, rituals, and scriptures are often traditionally associated with the core belief, and these may have some overlap with concepts in secular philosophy. Religion is also often described as a "way of life" or a life stance.

Just For The Gehenna of it!

I have been on a journey the last two years and evaluating my personal core beliefs and asking God to filter out what is really not of Him. In doing this, I am trusting that He is faithful and quite capable of keeping me where He wants me to be as I am HIS. With that in mind, those things that I absorbed while sitting in the( institutional church pews for 35+ years )and never questioned became fair game for questioning without fear, blame , guilt, or shame. After all, if it is really taboo or dangerous to challenge the christian group think and it does not stand up to the scrutiny, then that sacred cow needed to be tipped over anyway. Think of it this way. How small would our God really be if we came to Him questioning the "status Quo" and He became easily offended or angry? Believe me, many have reduced Him to that level (and we all do), because they do not have a clear picture of who God really is. And how could they? The institutional church has reduced God's relationship to man by a combination of right decisions, choices and outward behaviours or characteristics that help identify and measure their personal relationship with HIM> Even coming to a point of knowing this the aforementioned, I still invision traces of baggage and cultural group think that limits me. I know this because of the trained responses that I have towards different people, situations, and conversations. One of those trained responses is dismisal...(some of you may even be doing it now) In dismissing a thought or conversation I make the other person (less than) in my mind, while making myself (more than) in the interaction. Sometimes we do it outwardly sometimes inwardly. As time passes, what a man thinks in his heart will be shown outwardly, so it can never be hidden for long. Another way to dismiss is to ignore or have no interaction at all thus avoiding potential conflict. This one is easy to do as it requires no interaction and allows the other person to suffer in silence. This one is proactively bad and malicious if the other person really desires to be heard. It is one of the strongest forms of invalidating a person.

A while back I posted an article that referenced christian double talk I have been reflecting in my business and personal life, how that has affected my relatiobnships with people. Here is the link to the short list if you missed it..... http://urstation.net/double_talk.html

I believe that Jesus was very concerned about relationships. That is why He really came to die, so that we could have it more fully with HIM and be able to love our neighbor as ourself. You cannot love someone as He intended if you have a skewed view of how He relates to you personally. You will treat others at best the same way you see God treating people. If you see a God that is disapointed, judgemental, angry or whatever else?? that will give you permission to do the same. Do we really have a God that says "Do as I say, but not as I do?" We do in many cases see it this way because we read the OT with a distorted lense of God destroying entire cultures steeped in a paticular pagan practice.....so we do the same. We actually do it for Him in most cases, the crusades, witch and heretic burnings, christian movements against ....whatever cause, like abortion, homosexuality, or any other christian heritage atack that comes down the pipeline etc...Only now the group, (under subtle manipulation by the top X-ian leaders of the country) take an offensive stance under the disguise of playing defense, pushing what amounts to pagan practices that have been adapted to the christian culture all the way back to Greco Roman times. For more information on this you can see a good book on tracing these pagan practices at http://www.paganchristianity.org/

This book was an eye opener for sure and I highly recomend it. How could anyone continue in a practice or tradition knowing it has its roots or foundation in paganism? It is like our modern day Christmas or Easter...Christians named it and claimed it as their own, and if you tell a lie long enough it eventually sticks.. I still celebrate both by the way so please do not put me in a box of any kind and label it as most christians do...We tend to label what we do not understand completely. like gnostic, humanistic,universalist, calvanist, etc... I know I still tend to do the same at times. Only now I reference it only to those who desire it to be their label of choice for identity and explanation of where they are coming from. That is one of the reasons I no longer identify with the christian label. I do this as I see that Jesus never came to set up the religion of christianity. That label was used as a deragatiory term in it's beginnings. Really it should be offensive to be called one today and should be placed in an inflamatory category like those names given to blacks, hispanic or asian people. I know that many will claim that it is a relationship not a religion, but you really cannot claim it if you do the research. Here is how to start a religion link. http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/HowTo:Start_a_Religion I know this is being a little sarcastic, but life is more than just chewing gravel for fun and I am sure it steps on some toes, but the shoe fits pretty well in places and I think I have lived within a religion long enough to identify the difference of my relationship against the religion of the institutional church mindset.

My current point? Going back to the old mindset I stated above ,I was thinking about how all this influenced the relationships around me and what the old christian mindset does in a subconscience way. We see our self as evil but saved, and the rest of the unbelieving world as more evil and doomed to an endless torture under the loving eyes of a merciful God. Scripture says, "His mercy endures forever." "His love is never ending." So what happens at the subconscience level when we believe that with "caveats or limitations?" We discipline ourselves to make it fit within the limitations of what we know and believe and rationalize the difference, ultimately showing through in our behaviour and thoughts. We can even do this with contradicting scripture with additional scriptures. That in itself is a flaw if we use the same translations that were put together with man's agenda in mind. This is traced all the way back to the councils that voted in the books of the bible and what early believers regarded as important reading ,vs. what the church leaders wanted. Makes you wonder if they would have done a better job if gallop was around back then? You could say that God weighed in on the split decisions to give one side the majority with His divine influence making the outcome what it is today. I would have to say that if you are one of those who have put God in that box of limited understanding then you might as well take the outcome of the ROE V. WADE vote to be of the same box of God's design. Does not "all things work together for good?"

You can take that thought a step further and say that the traditional christian teaching of hell actually supports abortion at the highest level. After all, if millions and the majority are ultimately bound for eternal torment as the IC (institutional church) teaches then abortion is doing them a huge favor and saving them. And further more when we read stories of mothers killing their children before the traditional age of accountability, the church would secretly rejoice while mourning the loss in an oxy-moron of confusion. It is never an outward expression, but it is an inward conflict nonetheless if they are truthful to their hearts. But most will be satisfied with lying to their feelings towards it as they have the learned response of suppressing and moving on in their race to the end of life. Of course there are many a sweet christian that never allows their mind to go down that path of questioning because of the told "dangers" of doing so.



Then we come to the blame, guilt, and shame message that the gospel has turned into today. Who is at fault, how to fix it and the consequences for not doing so. now we have turned our self into human doings instead of human beings. We have misread Paul's message of the race, and deny ourself until the finish line. Hoping for that day when we can finally....(INSERT FAVORITE HEAVENLY HOPE HERE). What a bunch of crap! I know people who are just waiting patiently for the end of days to come and have no relationship or impact with anyone. Scripture says the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND! That means live , question, interact, dare to fail, act as if salvation is not something you did and that it was a done deal so you can move on! If Christ was slain before the foundations of the world, then it was His plan to do so and His plan for us to sin and miss the mark or ERR as scripture says. Do you think God condemns those He planned to ERR? FOOD FOR THOUGHT. Christian culture takes the pre-destined stance. I do too but in a different way. I see Him as ultimately reconciling everything and everyone to Himself as He is in everything and nothing exists without Him. What could give God more glory than to save the unsavable?(from a human perspective) Here is another food for thought: Adam sin condemns millions upon millions and Christ work only saves some? Do you see something wrong with this picture? Our traditions created a select elect and the roadmap to get into the club??? When did wrong choice and Adam become more powerful than what Christ set out to do? Scripture says, "He wills that all men be saved" Now we have made our will more capable than God's will...l.

This thinking was not even mainstream in the early church. Only one school even taught this and they are the forefathers of the Catholic church, which became the pre-dominent religion throughout the entire dark ages? And we have since embraced it...

I have spent the last two years digging into church history and what they believed and understood, scripture current and past and what has been changed. There is enough evidence to suggest that we have lived blindly, hurt others in the process, and never realized the relationship that our Creator intended to have with Him. I can see Him saying that you got ME all wrong and you make the next generation worse in their behaviour and understanding of me. And the worst part is you worry about it in the process, making my life through you of no effect and a confusion to those around you. I see Him saying to me...

Let him who has ears, to hear and

Be still and know that I am God.



I understand that this could be ignored or wrongly recieved or dismissed as I explained above and I have no idea what prompted me to even type all this out. Even negative feedback is ok as it helps me understand where another is coming from in their beliefs. This is where I am today.

I will put all that on God's shoulders and there really is no point -except to say that God is showing me new things, some that can be expressed and some that really cannot. Rest assured I did not come up with this stuff on my own or without influence. I will post it on my blog and my wisefire where I am documenting my research and conclusions to it. (I have to catch up there) http://wisefire.ning.com/profile/Patrick as I am way behind in posting things.

My blog I will keep private for now, and allow the "select elect"(pun intended) to view, as that will be more personal and intimate in nature. And I believe that type of honesty is based on trust that has been established for me at a spiritual level. Honestly, most of you would not miss much anyhow and what I wrote above is already (TIM) To information much. (ROR) In Japanese that means, "Raugh out Roud"

Patrick

Do you love Jesus, because the other option is hell?

Five years ago,(or less) this type of talk would have pissed me off. Why? Somehow I was able to put a label on it/people and dismiss any other thought process but the one that was engrained into my institutional churched mind. I knew what I knew and had bible verses, pastors,and group think to justify it. Like God needed me to defend Him in some contorted way... I made God in the image I thought He desired to be portrayed.... Judgemental, Fundamental, Conservative, Western, American,Christian, Republican, Structured, Limited to the bible,Limited to how christians describe Him. Then, one day the things that did not fit became real to me, because my relationship started to grow with the Living Saviour and Creator/Lover of my heart.

Getting it Right .......the X-ian way???

God's Truth can handle up to any scrutiny. Every question is appropriate, and lack of understanding is an opportunity to test the tradition of your current thought process. How small would God be if He was offended so easily???

Living in Exponential Times

Did You Know? from Amybeth on Vimeo.

What do you think?

Conditional Love

So I had a dream this weekend about my parents(not usual for me) telling me how selfish, self centered and wrong I have been (in my life) affecting others around me and destroying their lives. They also mentioned how I have damaged the body of Christ as explained in the bible. The crux of it was more how it reflected on their lives than my wife and kids...In my dream, I could not refute what they were saying, it was all to true. Towards the end of the dream before I awoke, I yelled back that I was only doing what I have been taught. And that is to love with expectations. My parents loved me this way because that is the way they see God's character and behavior. In the traditional bible view, you are accepted "if" you admit your worthlessness before God and ask for His forgiveness. So my whole life I have somehow compartmentalized all the double talk that christianity offers and placed them in neat little boxes and went on with the "religious mantra". I posted a standard list of christian double talk by Jeff Preddy

What Traditional Christians Say......&... What They Really Mean.... "There's nothing you must do to be saved."......VS...... "Here's what you must do to be saved:"
"You are absolutely, totally helpless to save yourself." ...VS.... .."You must make a wise right decision in order to be saved."
"God controls all things." .....VS....."God doesn't control man's free will."
"We can't boast about going to heaven." .VS. "If we go to hell, it's our own fault."
"Love never faileth!" ... "Love can't overcome human stubborness."
"Men are in bondage to sin." ...... "Men are free to choose Christ."
"Grace is unmerited favor..." ......."given only to those who merit it with faith and obedience."
"GOD IS THE SAVIOR OF ALL MANKIND (1 Tim. 4:10)" "......"except for about ninety percent of them."
"GOD'S LOVE IN UNCONDITIONAL" ..... "as long as you meet certain conditions."
"GOD'S WILL IS UNOPPOSABLE..." ........ " except by the sinner."
"Salvation is not a thing of chance." ..."There is no second chance to be saved."
"WE HAVE GOOD NEWS FOR YOU!" ... "Most of mankind will perish forever."
"GOD LOVES YOU!" ........"as long as you love Him."
"Christ died for all sin..." ... "except the sin of not believing that He died for all sin."
"The Good Shepherd seeks the lost sheep until he finds it!"..."The Good Shepherd seeks until it's too late."
"God's justice was satisfied in the cross of Christ."...."God's justice demands eternal torment or annihilation."

© 1997 by Jeff Preddy.
May be copied for non-commercial purposes,
such as sharing the good news with others.

A great list that was given me by a dear friend. I never really thought about how that would influence me weeks later. The dream basically confirmed the truth that we reflect everything that makes up the core of our being...everything! good, bad or indifferent. We reflect God. to varying degrees and reflect an improper or skewed image of Him when we see Him in the wrong light. It trickles down you know.

So I am feeling a bit blue about the whole thing right now. Here is what has been bothering me and I have not sorted it all out..
I love my kids. They see me love them more when, their rooms are clean, they don't fight, They clean up after themselves,etc...the list grows. What they experience is that, I am less agitated, more receptive, engaged with them. However it is not enough that they behave in such a way to garnish that love to a central theme or point throughout the days and weeks.
Loving my spouse has a different dynamic but it has the same conditional undercurrent. There are certain things that she does that attract me to her more than others. There are tones, behaviors, and mannerisms that affect how much I want to relate to her and in what way. This is very conditional to me. as I step back to look at it. Perhaps I need to step back even further. Right now it vexes me though as i really cannot identify or even relate to unconditional love.
What does it really look like so that it can be felt and understood by a person? I have exampled it to death and still find myself wanting more...
It is an odd post, not for anyone to read really but to expresss some thoughts.. I am left feeling a bit empty and wanting....just not sure what......

More Art today...

I have some thoughts rolling around in my head again, but I will post them a bit later since they are more of a venting and ranting than anything, and I just do not want to dwell there right now. I will post this stairway to heaven piece. My stairs seem to be wrought with thorns and obstacles instead, so this one is a bit different in that it represents the fantasy one some hope for... Why rain on the parade with the negative staircase that is more realistic...It would probably evoke more emotions that need to be delt with

Feeling Romantic Art....

This blog will have some romantic art posted from time to time. Fair warning if you happen upon it and don't like mushy gushy stuff... My regards to those who do and can appreciate the thought and moment that art captures...

What Now...

It may be a new day, but the years of absorbing and believing traditions laced with lies takes its toll on the mind and body. It is like ripping off a band aid. I sit wondering what next often and I sit reading to try to make sense of it all. Some days I wonder what is the point of having so many values that someone else has given me...How do I arrive ? How do I live the way I was created to be?

So I sit with the proverbial cross around my neck in hopes that all the past has a future meaning...

"Years Later"

A couple years since my last post....I can look back and see a glimpse of who I used to be. I am just glad I can see a difference in thought and heart now. How sad to never move forward in thought and action for some. I actually understand why now. The difficulty in changing patterns within are really tough but worth it. How deeply rooted are the traditions of man within a man I may never know, but I can now hesitate and question the process that make up the emotions that make up the core of who I really am.....Free of labels, free of judgement, free to be free with the ones I love. Learning to turn the conditional into something unconditional in the process.....What better place to be.