Psychology is the study of mind and behavior. I could go to school and spend years studying the greats like Freud, Pavlov, and Carl Jung…or I could just pick up and read the Bible. I’m not knocking those men or their work. But who better to find out the truth about ourselves, than from the One who created us?
God made humans in his image. That alone should give you some indication that we are more than just mere “creatures”. The Book of Genesis teaches us that God gave us dominion over all other creatures on the planet. I’m pointing this out not to rile up animal lovers…but to emphasize how much God favors us.
And what if I told you that not only did he create us in his image, he also embedded in us the feelings, instincts, and a sense of right and wrong? How many times have you heard this?: “I’m not a Christian. I’m not a believer, but I’m still a good person. You can be a moral person without being a Christian!”
“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?
I 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.
The Top 10 Ways the Bible Changed My Life: 1. The Bible Actually Made Me More Tolerant
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.
This is a common question I get when it comes to reading the entire Bible. I know a lot of people have read bits and pieces. Some people have specific scriptures memorized. John 3:16 is a popular one. But actually sitting down and reading the Bible cover to cover…to be honest, when I first did it, I never thought of it was some big accomplishment.
At First, I Hated Religion
Just to give you a little background about who I am. I’m a black 34-year-old Christian Conservative born and raised here in the States. I’ve never been to any Christian College or Theocratic School.
From the age of 12-17, I was raised in a religion that I found extremely oppressive, Jehovah’s Witness. That’s not to knock the religion. All Witnesses aren’t the same, just like all Catholics or Baptist aren’t the same. You’ll never find a nicer group of people…but my parents were new to the religion. And while they may very well have been doing their best, it took a toll. Everything I loved about my childhood was taken away when they joined that religion (like holidays and martial arts). And if I didn’t believe the way they believed, I was hit with guilt trips. They used the False Dilemma fallacy where, if you didn’t believe like a Jehovah’s Witness, then you were wrong and against God. Continue Reading
This is inspired by a video I watched from a Christian Youtuber where she talks about “Bad Christian Advice For Singles” when it comes to dating, from a woman’s perspective. I listened and thought that was cool. So, this list is from a man’s perspective.
Because here’s the thing. I’ve seen comments and complaints from women who say that there’s not enough Christian men out there. Or “good men don’t want them because they’re “too Christian.” This list might give you some greater insight on all that. These are my Top 3 Things That May Cause Me to Lose Interest in a Woman Who Claims to be Christian.
1. They Don’t Take Their Looks Seriously and Believe You Shouldn’t Either
It’s what’s on the inside that counts, right?
I have compassion with this one so I’m going to try and be delicate. If you’re a good Christian woman endeavoring to do what’s good in God’s eyes, why should you be concerned with your beauty? If you’re doing what’s good in God’s eyes and men aren’t attracted to you, then clearly those men must not love God, right?
I’ll Have My Fun Now and Get Religious Later…Would that work?
In this essay, I answer that question and describe the difficulties Christians face when it comes to resisting temptation, while trying to find that elusive good Christian mate if you’re not part of a congregation.
I’ll Have Fun Now and Get Religious Later… – A Theocratic Essay By Rock Tennie
When I was a kid, I must have been thirteen when I looked around the congregation and saw that it was mostly filled with older people. Aside from my brothers, about two other families had kids our age. There was hardly anyone in their 20s and 30s.
My parents became religious Jehovah’s Witnesses when I was eleven, effectively ending the fun things we used to enjoy, like celebrating birthdays and holidays. So, it was only a matter of time before I asked them.
“How about this? How about let me enjoy life and have all the fun I want while I’m still young. And then when I get older, that’s when I’ll get super religious and dedicate my life to God?”
My mom said, “It doesn’t work like that. Because you have the knowledge now. You can’t claim ignorance.”
At the time, I felt this was very cruel of them. I didn’t ask for that knowledge. It was thrust upon me. So when I went to school and saw my peers being able to join sports teams and hang out with each other after school, peers who could talk to each other over the phone and get together for fun events on the weekends…part of me felt jealous and left out, like an alien amongst humans.
Whenever something like this happens, I try to stay silent (as a black man myself) because more often than not, I don’t share the popular opinion. And by “popular” I’m talking about the ones that appear to have the moral high-ground. That being said…brace yourselves.
Is White Guilt Really Helpful to Blacks?
By Rock Tennie
Date – May 30th 2020
In the wake of the horrible murder of George Floyd…rioting and protests have broken out across major cities around the U.S. How much of it is really helping their underlining cause? What exactly is their cause and can it be helped? Here was my take:
“For all those who are so quick to post about the “injustices” done by police to black people…I confess, it does seem a bit disingenuous when they’re relatively silent on the black on black violence.
“You hear it on Facebook and Instagram how people are supposedly “heartbroken” and demand change. Which I agree with to some extent. But over this past Memorial Day Weekend, there was another 40+ people shot and 10 killed in Chicago. This isn’t new. Every Memorial Day weekend for years, it’s been this way. Don’t even get me started on the homicide rate of New Orleans and Baltimore.
“Does racism exist. Yes. Do police officers commit crimes. Yes. But please…miss me on all this outrage. Or is the argument that somehow the death of a black person has more significance based on the color of the murderer, or whether or not they have a badge. And if that’s the case, what do you say to all the mothers and fathers who lost their sons and daughters to drive-bys? What do you say to other minorities who have their own tragedies and injustices afflicting them? (MS-13).
“Murder is murder, whether you’re killed by a cop or a wanna be gangster.”
As you can imagine, those thoughts didn’t sit well with a lot of people, black and white. Continue Reading
It’s been well over a month since I’ve been in a gym and it’s strange. Growing up, I never thought “the gym” would be one of those things I couldn’t do without. It certainly makes me realize how much I appreciate it. Because if it wasn’t for Anytime Fitness…I’d probably still weigh 378lbs
By Rock Tennie
Date – May 4th, 2020
THE GLUTTON:
Let me take you back to the summer of 2007. Back then “Sexy Back” was getting played out on the radio and “High School Musical” was all the rage. I was coming up on my 21st birthday and weighed a whopping 378lbs. I was a glutton. I loved to eat. I lacked discipline. And my college job was a pizza delivery driver. So, I ate pizza almost every night and drank it all down with Dr Pepper.
I often wonder if some black people fantasize about the times of Slavery before and after the Civil War?
Heads up, I’m going to say a lot of things in this provocative essay that might be deemed insensitive or disrespectful. You don’t have to read this. I bow humbly when I say my intentions aren’t to offend. Picture this as me giving a dissertation in the center of some 18th Century university. I have the floor and I’m about speak theories. They may be stupid. They may be wrong. But if there’s one thing I’ve gotten use to in my old age…in saying stupid, wrong things, I’ve come out better enlightened by all those who are so eager (too eager) to correct me. Let’s begin.
In 7th Grade…I wasn’t a good person. All of middle school was a jungle, but 7th Grade was the worse. In 2010, I discovered “Worst,” a manga about a fictional high school filled with delinquents who liked to fight. I think the reason why I was so drawn to those stories was because it reminded me of my own middle school. It felt like my entire class was a gang and honestly…it was ridiculous.
In 7th grade, I cultivated a reputation that I’m not exactly proud of…and yet it served me well. I barely passed, and the main skills I learned was to lie, cheat, and get my way. It was fun at first. But then, things got really bad.
So let’s back it up for a second. Let me take you all the way back to 1999. Think Limp Bizkit’s “Nookie” or Juvenile’s “Back that Azz Up” and you got it. In 1999, I was living in a place called Augusta, Georgia. This is like Atlanta’s more down-south distant cousin, spread out with a lot of woods, flannel, 3XL shirts, and its own state of mind. Here, the culture wasn’t dictated so much by New York or Los Angeles, but by South Park, Power 107 and Y105.
This was the true Dirty South. And they were proud. This song was our 7th Grade Anthem.
And the racism…Don’t worry, this isn’t to complain. I don’t know about the other kids, but at thirteen, I never knew the racism was racism. Is self-segregation racist? Because that’s more or less what happened.
It’s like if you were born in the sweltering heat of Africa before you knew what air conditioning was. You just accept it as a way of life. We didn’t complain. We truly co-existed. Some blacks were racists against whites. And some white kids were racists against blacks. I had two white kids throw a big ass rock that almost hit me in the back of my head, but instead banged against the dumpster. Almost like a prison, in fact, a lot like a prison, everyone seemed to stick to their own.
Except if you were in my class. The arrow is pointing at me.I’m not kidding. If there was any racism from my classmates, none of us showed it. The blacks got along with whites and vice versa. Like I said, we were like our own gang and we took care of our own. I think that’s one of the reasons why we had so much fun.
Team 7B’s Ms. Thompson’s class was the place to be. Even other kids were trying to get transferred to ours.
You see, middle school was a place where money didn’t matter. No one was driving cars. No one had a job. You’d think this’d give us room to focus on things like grades and studying…but for us guys, all we cared about was our reputation. Whether you were a punk, whether you were cool, a baller, a wanna be gangster…or whether you could fight.
I’m not kidding. If there was any racism from my classmates, none of us showed it. The blacks got along with whites and vice versa. Like I said, we were like our own gang and we took care of our own. I think that’s one of the reasons why we had so much fun.
Stage In The Sky 