chado

Thank you for the recommendations.

I've finished reading in the last few weeks "Jesus for the Non-religous" and "Reclaiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World." I greatly enjoyed both. What I realized as I was reading both was that to get the full sense of what Bishop Spong is getting at there are several of his works that would be worth spending time with. Anyhow, thoughts on his works that you consider must reads? (or other authors that he references?) As a side note I also just finished "Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road?: Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World," by Brian D McLaren and I highly recommend it.

Thank you. I've thought about the word 'sin' since a well meaning bible study leader shared a bit about the greek, I think, it's been a while. Anyhow, the illustration was that 'sin' (in greek) came from archery terminology, meaning off target / off the mark. Since then I've often wanted to ask, whose target?

Thank you for the warm welcome. I'm continuing to make my way through previous posts while chiming in on some of the active threads that grab me.

As short hand 'sin' can be a useful tool for discussion, but I agree with you. 'Sin' can become a very destructive idea when used to imprison. I vote for 'obstacle' as a more useful word. An obstacle to a full and abundant life; that is how I wish I could always understand 'sin.' It would do me good rather than getting caught up in the 'woe to me' I am horrible sentiment.

I had a conversation of this nature concerning the pastor of the church I attended in college. Basically my friends did not understand why I went to the church that I did considering what they knew of me. My response to them was basically that I did not always agree with everything the pastor said, but I couldn't help but to respect the man for his heart. He LOVED his congregation. Now I did not agree with all the things he deemed necessary to demonstrate love to others / god, but I never doubted that he cared. I have friends who are much like your friend. Some I know ask such questions because they care for me. I answer them honestly. Some of those friends drift away because they do not know how to continue (yet?!?) the friendship. Other friends are using judgement to elevate themselves. I answer them the same way. They may feel momentarily 'more faithful,' but such feelings are fleeting when I feel no guilt concerning my response. Those friends rarely continue to engage in such conversation. In short, answer honestly and try to consider your friend's heart (what is their motivation).

Some wonderful discussion here. Having spent a great deal of time in the past with video games let share my own experience and why I tend to use caution when engaging with video games (though personally I can get carried away with any past time). Much of my experience with video games was Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games (MMORPGs) so many of these observations are specific to such games, though a few of them could apply to games like gold old Super Mario Brothers. The sense of accomplishment in a video game lessened my feelings of defeat / doubt in relation to daily activities. This release I think can be healthy (e.g. had a tough day at work and enjoyed a round of FIFA at home to unwind). However, I would often use the accomplishment in the video game to avoid facing my feelings about what was going on with work / school. The sense of community in a video game lessoned my feelings of isolation. These connections can be very important / valuable, especially for individuals who have relocated or are being challenged socially for other reasons. There are some great articles here on the subject. There are other things I could add, but I think I'll take some more time to look back over what has been discussed so far before continuing.

I couldn't help myself. I wanted a clever title and after writing an extended 'about me' page in my profile I thought it would be best to introduce myself with an excerpt. My recent thoughts have been about Superman, a childhood hero. As I thought about him as hero figure recently I began to think about how it was his character - not his superpowers that I'd grown to admire. Then a friend of my posted an article on facebook. The author of the article was writing about how she wrestled with / against a theistic understanding of God. As someone with a B.A. in English I always get excited when I have to look up a word to make sure I understand what someone is saying. She referenced John Shelby Spong's book "Jesus for the Non-Religious." I devoured the book. Found this website and I'm currently working my way through "Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World." I've been excited to chat with my wife a bit about what I've been reading and after lurking on the forums for a couple days I thought it would be great fun to chat with all of you.