“Why does this keep happening?”
“What kind of God allows murderers and pedophiles to exist?”
“If God was real, he would never allow so much pain and suffering to go on!”
After the Parkland Shooting where seventeen students were killed by a gunman in my own state of Florida, I passed by an employee from a different department, an older white woman.
So emotional, she said, “Why does this keep happening!”
And I confess…I smirked. Sounds horrible doesn’t it?
Continue ReadingI had to start with this one because I know it contradicts the current mainstream thought when it comes to religion. But that’s because I believe people often misconstrue tolerance…with condoning. Hate the sin…not the sinner.
In reading the Bible in its entirety, not just pieces, you’re able to see the big picture. You see what happened, what’s happening, why it’s happening, and what’s going to happen. And because I believe with conviction, I’m able to tolerate different points of view with the lens of a spectator, the lens of a Witness…Part of the world, yet taking no part in the world.
In reading the Bible you come to understand that nothing happens by accident. God creates the good days and the bad days. There’s logic and reason, cause and effect. If you believe and trust in God, an almighty entity that created human existence and could wipe us all out in an instant, do you really think he needs you fight his battles for him?
Or are you just using his name to fight your own personal battle? Allow me to illustrate.
Continue ReadingAll my life, I believed that Jesus Christ was the son of God. Two years ago, I was told something different. I was told that Jesus was not only the son of God the way I think of a father and his son…but that Jesus Christ was God himself in the flesh, that Jesus Christ and God are the same person.
In this essay…I’m going to break down my pursuit of the truth. And mind you, everything I’m about to reveal is just my interpretation of the scriptures. I could very well be wrong. However, as a Christian, I believe it’s my responsibility to learn and make a decision about what I believe is the truth. Thus, when I stand before God, it won’t be with this indifferent attitude of “…well, I heard this and that…But I’m not sure what I believe.”
On that note…before you begin, I encourage you to pray. Remember, it’s by the grace of God that we receive our understanding.
Just to give you a little background about who I am. I’m a black 33-year-old Christian Conservative born and raised here in the States. I’ve never been to any Christian College or Theocratic School. I’m not a member of any church or congregation. I have no denomination. That isn’t to slight organized religions. I know God loves assemblies. I’m just a man who decided to pick up the Bible and read it cover to cover. To learn for myself why things are the way they are? How did it come to this? Is there any hope? What should I do? What is right? What is wrong?
Because of a Lutheran.
Haha, so…at the age of 30 (in 2017) and having already read the Bible once in its entirety, I made up my mind to find a wife, a woman who also endeavors to do what’s good in God’s eyes. That’s easier said than done in today’s woke secular culture, unless you’re part of a congregation. I am not.
I attend the Jehovah’s Witnesses Memorial every year, but I couldn’t attend their meetings on a regular basis because it reminded me of the turmoil of my youth. They study these articles in magazines called “Watchtowers,” where a lot of the substance is about how to be a better Jehovah Witness. Since I’m not a Witness, I felt like an outsider. Alone, despite surrounded by others. Continue Reading
Stage In The Sky 