Christian Living Archives - NowTHINK!AboutIt

10 Ways Religious Separation Is Not What You Thought

February 8, 2025 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

The Old Testament Altar
Was Holy
Not Sanitized

Every religion promotes some version of Separation and this isn’t unique to religion. Even social groups impose restrictions on their members. If you want to be a member, you must abide the rules.

With churches, the rules have a moral element. It usually involves a series of Can’t-Dos that aren’t just bad for the group but just bad, as in immoral. Things like you can’t go there or do that or wear that or eat that or say that or think that and so on.

Churches can’t legally tell you who to vote for but they usually find a way to make their opinions known.

As a rule we don’t like being told what we can and can’t do but once we’re convinced that following the rules makes us somehow acceptable, we acquiesce. Fitting in is important.

It’s also true that rules like this on a church level are tolerable because if you don’t like the restrictions in one, you can always move to another.

In recent years, though, religious restrictions have been creeping ever closer to the State level and that’s a problem. Once the State has fully incorporated religious rules, there’s no place you can go.

You don’t have to be religious to know what I’m talking about.

But my focus is not so much on the specific restrictions but the bad spirit they engender in adherents. The people who observe these rules “religiously” become very negative, critical and condemning toward those who don’t. Not just toward the people in the church but everyone. They consider their ideas the gold standard and anyone who falls short is not just different or wrong, but heretical.

History is full of examples. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union loudly protested the consumption of alcohol and played a significant role in establishing the 18th Amendment which prohibited the production, sale and consumption of alcohol for everyone. It went from church level to nationwide. No citizen was allowed to drink.

Christians aren’t the only ones guilty of this.

Some majority Muslim countries (Iran, Iraq, etc.) impose heavy social restrictions on their citizens, maintain distant (at best) relationships with other countries (even Muslim countries) and consider anyone who isn’t them, Satan.

The two groups are very different. They have little in common but one idea they share is their hatred for alcohol and both approached the issue with the same vehemence.

The symbol associated with the WCTU protest was the hatchet. Heart warming they were not.

Those are extreme examples but that same spirit is only just below the surface in many religious groups. When it comes to differences of opinions, religions manage relationships at some level of DefCon. If anyone questions the rules, attack-readiness rises several notches. [Read more…] about 10 Ways Religious Separation Is Not What You Thought

Religion Breeds Good And Bad Spirits In Adherents

January 13, 2025 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Repentance Reflects Your Mindset
Not Your Knowledge

Before we begin, a clarification.

When I mention the word spirit, I’m not talking about a personal being, like the Holy Spirit or a demonic spirit or even the human spirit. I’m talking about attitude, perspective or outlook.

In a word, mindset.

Your personal spirit is the core of your being. Your attitude reveals which way your spirit is leaning. Attitude is the barometer of how well you’re doing spiritually.

Attitude and spirit are, of course, inalterably connected but they aren’t the same. When people cheer loudly and excitedly at sporting events, they are said to have lots of spirit but that expression of spirit is different to the personal spirit from which it derives in the same way thoughts are different to the brain.

I’m focused on your attitude, not your personal spirit. [Read more…] about Religion Breeds Good And Bad Spirits In Adherents

Judgment vs Judgmental

January 11, 2025 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Judgment Is What We Do
Judgmental Is What Others Do To Us

Judgment and Judgmental are two concepts that are easily confused. They aren’t the same. Judgment is something everyone uses everyday for every decision. It’s a process we go through before making decisions.

Sometimes we side with our better judgment. Sometimes we ignore better judgment. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad but either way, the outcome is what we do to ourselves.

There are many skills needed to make good judgments (analytical thinking, emotional intelligence, patience, ethics, pragmatism, and more) but the more important issue is something we don’t usually talk about.

We need to make judgments because we don’t automatically have all the answers to the situations that confront us regularly.

We are not all-knowing. We can’t see all the details.

King Solomon’s first test as a leader is a good example. When two prostitutes squabbled over a baby, Solomon relied on a skill we don’t often associate with good judgment, emotional intelligence (I Kings 3:16-28).

It was a tangled mess. Two mothers were claiming to be the parent of one baby and there was no clear physical evidence to prove one true and the other false.

The ability to judge these situations was scarce. No one knew how to solve this problem so they resorted to the King. The good judgment he employed in solving this problem made him widely respected and it reveals the value of good judgment.

It wasn’t Solomon’s charisma, good looks or physical stature that won the hearts of his people. It was his wisdom (good judgment) that made him great in their eyes. [Read more…] about Judgment vs Judgmental

Catholicism Is More Bad Than Good

December 21, 2024 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

“Unworthy” Speaks To The Manner
In Which You Relate To Others
Not Your Nature

Catholicism is big. Put your finger anywhere on any map and you’ll land close to Catholic influence.

Unfortunately, that can be good or bad. Sometimes very bad.

Even as I write this I know some will balk because they know a few Catholics. They work with some. They are neighbors to others. They’ve heard about Mother Theresa and all these people left very good impressions. They’re good people. They do good things. They are pleasant, social, helpful and the like.

If that was all there was to the argument, enough said, let’s move on but it isn’t.

My arguments here are not aimed at the good Catholics you’ve come to love.

The truth I’m focused on is the fact that everyone has been influenced by the Catholic church. That includes you and me both.

I’m not saying you like them or not, that you agree or disagree. I’m saying that what you think, the way you think, has been in same way influenced by Catholic ideologies.

Catholic Influence Is Both Good And Bad

Influence isn’t necessarily wrong but in the case of the Catholic Church, influence is both negative and positive in every sense. They do good things on the one hand and then turn it into something bad on the other.

Doctrinally, they emphasize the name of Jesus often and loudly. That’s a good thing. They quote Scripture in their services and many of those quotes include the very words Christ spoke. Sometimes that’s all they do other than go through repetivite ceremonies with great fanfare and, of course, offer the sacraments.

The ceremonies don’t offer much in the way of explanation but the sacraments – Communion – are usually accompanied by Scripture which does provide a little understanding.

In every case, however, the simplicity of Scripture is skewed in a Catholic direction. [Read more…] about Catholicism Is More Bad Than Good

Democracy Always Beats Autocracy

December 1, 2024 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Democracy Is Working With People
You Don’t Agree With
To Achieve
What You Both Want

Don’t be fooled by the fact that we just had an election.

it is true that elections are the foundational component in a democratic society. The vote represents the voice of every single person. Individuals vote for the candidates who represent them and they choose those candidates based on the political issues they plan to push, the legislation they intend to introduce.

But that’s not the end of the process. It’s only the beginning.

The fact is we usually pick candidates based on their political views, the issues they intend to support and promote while in office. But the issues are not the issue. It’s also not whether they will keep their campaign promises.

Campaign promises let us know where the candidate stands but we all know that promises are subject to the interactions of law makers in the course of doing their jobs.

The real question is will the candidate I choose be able to negotiate fairly with political peers to get things done? Not will they do everything they said they will do but will they be emotionally mature enough to recognize a good trade off when they see it? Are they wise enough to work with others to get the best possible deal?

We’re learning more and more that what a candidate promises and what they’re able to get done are two different things.

And that should be expected. Candidates come from different places are each working toward different goals. To expect each candidate to achieve their every promise is naive and senseless.

When it comes to politics, middle ground – which is essentially a compromise – is the best you can possibly achieve. It’s the place where both sides get something.

That’s the issue. That’s the democratic process. Elections are necessary but they aren’t enough. The democratic process needs to be well oiled and well used for legislation to move forward in an acceptable manner.

So that means there are two considerations. There’s the vote and that’s where the public engages. Then there’s the legislative process where the elected candidates do their job to work with all other parties to arrive at agreeable legislative solutions.

We call that the democratic process and it isn’t happening so much these days.

Autocrats don’t get it. [Read more…] about Democracy Always Beats Autocracy