"If you talk about "God" in a deist-physics-behind-everything-pantheistic-feel-good-collective-consciousness sort of way then it's not really a conversation. That version of God is benign and a sort of mental exercise that an intelligent person performs to feel warm and fuzzy. But that's not what Mark Driscoll or most believers are referring to here. The Bible makes very clear claims about the nature and will and intervention of a personal God in this 3D (quite possibly many more dimensioned) reality. A God is presented that listens and responds to prayers, has a "plan" for you, created the whole universe and all life forms (99 percent of which are already extinct) for the benefit and enjoyment of humans. Not only this, you must take care and watch out because one day you'll stand before the judgment seat of this God and he'll cast your soul into a lake of fire to be forever tormented if you don't believe that he impregnated a 12 year old Jewish girl and sacrificed himself to himself as an atonement offering. Infinite punishment is threatened for finite offenses. Human sacrifice is presented as a benevolent act. Broken from Birth is the lynchpin of this whole worldview. I'm just saying it's garbage. Not enough people are speaking plainly about this."

This was a post by a guy in response to an article Mark Driscoll did for the Washington Post. See Here. While obviously some of his perceptions are off, probably due to some emotional response (like 99% of species being extinct), I find it amusing that even this guy, non-Christian, can figure out that the Bible says things that some Christians and Christian pastors don't (or don't want to) admit exist within the pages of scripture.

I've bold-highlighted the areas that in particular stand out.

I could go on a rant, but I'm tired, and I think 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 covers it better than I ever could.

Smoking and 1 Corinthians 6:19

Now, I admit I'm coming at this from a biased perspective, being a smoker. But, being a smoker, I am a common recipient of an argument of this type:

"You know, the Bible says that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and so you shouldn't smoke because you're damaging the temple. Tsk tsk."

The "tsk tsk" is never added, but always subtly implied. The "temple of the Holy Spirit" quote comes from 1 Corinthians 6:19. This is the "go-to" verse for nearly every argument that smoking is a sin. But what people who quote that verse never seem to consider is the verse before it.

"Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body." (v. 18)

So, if you contextualize the verse, what actually damages the "temple" in that regard is sexual immorality. Not smoking, not alcoholism, not gluttony and ensuing obesity, and the last two are actually mentioned as sins in scripture.

So if someone you love smokes, then don't call it a sin and try to guilt them with out-of-context verses. You can call it what it is, an admittedly stupid habit that does damage health, and you can express your concern, but as someone who even now is working towards kicking the habit, you do NO GOOD by throwing accusations at people who smoke, especially Christianized accusations wrapped up in a poorly-used verse. Love them, help them, encourage them, don't nag, don't patronize, don't look on them judgingly, especially because for some smoking is an escape from other issues in their lives, and what they need is the love of Christian community to show the gospel and help them heal in Christ, not people wagging the finger because of their "dirty habit".

Insomnia Anyone?

We survived the trek to Virginia Beach.  The place is amazing, I will try to post some pictures of it later.  I'm currently running on about 45 minutes of sleep since about 1 pm yesterday and I'm thinking I would have been better off without even the 45 minutes.  

So we did have our "oh s**t!!" moment of the drive down.  We got to a small town in southwestern Pennsylvania, abot 6-7 hours of driving already having been done, when I realized that I had my dad's house key, van key, and warehouse key in my pocket.  As I told my mom, it was a good thing I do not have a speaker connected to my brain because the old people sitting in the "classic" Denny's diner at 6:30 in the morning would have been shocked and probably offended at the number and volume of the obscenities going through my mind.  

So cue another 2ish hour car ride to Knoxville, Maryland where we stopped for Starbucks (where I discovered my new love: caramel machiato with cream) and a local UPS store where we were informed the package (keys) would not be there till Monday afternoon...aand then Tuesday afternoon because apparently the dude had little idea what he was doing.  But spare keys were found by the father and the keys are on their way to Niagara Falls so that crisis has been dealt with.  

So far VB has been rainy.  However, no amount of crappy weather could offset the fact that we are 12 stories up overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, AND the fact that my mom took me to a restaurant where I had the most amazing crab soup and crab cakes in the world.  Like seriously.  They were so good they were almost divine.  Slight sad note: I was hoping to get crabs from Dirty Dick's, but their Virginia Beach location has closed down.  There may be another one in a nearby city so all hope is not lost.  I shall press on.  Adios.  

Blasted Cold

Here's me sitting in the sunset, watching trees bend down and sway

From the northern bitter winds that come to carry me away

Watching needles off the trees detach and wander in the wind

Giving me some solid company, whatever door I wander in

And as the wind breaks on my skin and my skin breaks in the cold

I think bitterly to myself, "hope I never do grow old"

For while I'm young and have the audacity to say what I believe

I turn and face the door and wonder if I have the strength to leave

This place

(Oh I want to leave like the leaves did 3 months ahead of me, I wish I had their ambition)

Watch the mourning death of winter and the whiteness that brings

Contrast it with the dark of summer nights, the blackness of the breeze

In my world down is up and up is down, and nothing's in between

It's just a sorry twist in a sorry world with a sorry little me

I am a wanderer at heart (but I've never really wandered)

I am a wanderer at heart

I am a wanderer

(Oh I wanna be) A wanderer

God made me a wanderer at heart

Come back to present mind in the present time and walk through golden gates

Into a rusted yard of circumstance to which I never could relate

Every footstep seemed to short and every breath seemed far too long

Every mark was made too shallow, every move was far too strong

So while I sit with good intentions and slowly waste away

I still wait to live intentionally, like a needle in the hay

That feels lost among the long grass, ever waiting to be found

Yet has found itself quite comfortable, and really weighted down

I am a wanderer at heart

I was a wanderer at heart

I could be a wanderer at heart still

If only I really had the heart

So while I sit among the hay

And waste away my days

I'll reminisce about the days I lived

That never really came