October's Autumn

Good Question! Although I'm still looking for an answer to my question about Hebrew Bible vs. NT. No more good questions until someone answers mine

Interestingly (at least to me) the Senior Pastor at my church did a sermon entitled "The War on Christmas?!" which gives language to my thoughts and feelings on the matter. If interested you can go here to check it out. He did the Sermon on Christmas Day. http://www.claremontucc.org/QTclips.html

Chia Puppy <{POST_SNAPBACK}> When I went to visit my husband's family everyone has dogs. But they have BIG dogs. I want a medium size dog. My sister has a really cute one who comes up to her knees. I made it 3 coats for Christmas! I had forgotten about the pooh until I stepped in some -- my apartment complex now allows small dogs. Oh, it was awful! The only worse smell is pig pooh! As you can tell pooh smells are really a problem for me! Thank goodness cats bury it!

I guess it depneds on how you define Progressive. I like your term "spiritual infancy." Did you coin it or pick up some where? It reminds me of Corinthians "When I was a child I thought like a child, but when I became an adult, I thought like an adult." I think you may be right. When we take on ideas given to us by those who guided our beliefs when we were young (rather as Christians or as humans or both) and don't look at them critically we are kept "mired in spiritual infancy." My parents, who consider themselves conservatives always told me to question anything I was taught. They did it because I went to public schools and didn't want me to just buy whatever my teachers taught me (evolution, humanism, etc.) Some issues also came up in church (I had a Sunday School teacher who taught us we'd all be 33 in heaven because Jesus died when he was 33). Well, I took it farther than my parents intended me to thanks to my education both as a Psychology Major and then a Theology Major. I get very frustrated when people simply accept what they've been taught and don't think about rather or not they have value. Although sometimes I think we all need a break because it can be exhausting. I find I get growth spurts but then get emotionally tired and have to slow down.

I think because that is how they control people. The fundamentalist movement is all about control.

I want a dog. The only problem (besides my three cats) is that 1) Barking drives me nutty, and 2) Their pooh stinks! Now, If they could make a pooh-less dog...

LOL... I love these!

I don't personally care for CS Lewis as a person he is very sexist. I have a tough time calling him progressive. He seems to be more of a product of his culture. BUt I'm willing to accept that he may have other view points that are progressive. I simply haven't seen them. I f I've read his non-fiction I don't particulalrly remember it. I'm pretty sure it was articles or something short I read, but you never know. I didn't realize I had read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe until I had finished it!

Being a heretic simply means you are ahead of your time Understandably so considering who speaks for Christians. I'm very hesitant to identify myself as a Christian because I don't like people grouping me with those who the stereotype is based on. Unfortunately, unlike most stereotypes, the one you suffer from being accused of is true of those with the biggest mouths in the United States. *sigh* yup, again why I don't tend to identify myself as a Christian with most people. Because Liberals and Progressives tend to come from such a different stand point I've found it very difficult to have any kind of rational conversation about theology with Conservatives/Fundamentalists. I choose to avoid the discussion entirely with them.

Where does the concept of sin come into the bible? It is from the Hebrew Bible or only from the NT? If it is from the Hebrew Bible we need to llok at the meaning in Hebrew. I've heard the defnintion you give for "sin" but have never been able to verify it. Do you have more information on it? I'm curious more about it. Of course "sin" has taken on a whole new meaning in recent centuries and that is mostly what I think we are rallying against.

I personally prefer the label Liberal. Perhaps because I'm ornery and I know it pisses people off

Beatuiful Dreamer: I love cats too! I have that quote on picture collage I made for my cat who died three years ago. Pat Robertson has since apologized. http://www.kfdx.com/news/default.asp?mode=shownews&id=10690

Definately LUST!

I'm reading this topic backwards but I read a letter to the editor in the local newspaper explaining how all this works. It was scary that people think this way, imo. I'm with you and Flow on this one. Even as a conservative/fundamentalist I understood this was wrong. At that point I was in the mid-way with an age of accountability. As an adult who works with children I'm tending to put that age higher and higher. Children are too vulnerable to their parents and culture. I see young adults who behave the way they do primiarily because of their upbringing which leads me to raise the age from 5 to 20 for some people! Just, FYI, I don't believe in hell so the whole thing really isn't an issue for me.

I"m going to have to check that out. As a psychology major I found that talking about things being sin really didn't help matters. It was counter productive, in fact. It is one of the doctrines that I have a tough time dealilng with as a concept of actual existence.

The good news is that there are also churches switching to UCC because of their gay stance. Some AMEs are changing as well as United Methodist. I believe there is a Southern Baptist which is also switching. Those are just specific ones I've been told about. Yeah, it is sad. I like to be affectionate with my husband (hand holding or having his arm around me, etc.) and I feel sad when I see to people who are gay who don't feel comfortable doing similar things in public. Although I do think it is quickly changing. I see young adults and teens being more affectionate with each other and their peers are more comfortable with it. I'm looking forward to the day when read alounds and textbooks recognize that their are gay families and the books I teach out of in schools picture them and talk about them. I'm not very patient with society right now. Good question. I only started going to church again at the end of 2004. I know individuals were speaking out against it. And the politians (some of whom have had affairs and subsequently have been married multiple times) were the people who marriage needed to be defended against! So far no one I've discussed it with has been able to give a good (non-religious) reason for why gay people shouldn't be allowed to get married. They have no reasons. None will say actually say that they would divorce their husband or wife because two gay people got married! In fact, statistics show the opposite. In countries where gay people have the right to marry the divorce rate for straight people went down! I think that came from Sweden. I'll have to go back and see if I can find the article again. As far as your original question goes, my understanding is that they recongize it as a well done (acting, cinemotography, etc.) movie but of course disagree with the "gay thing." I haven't seen anything about the book. I haven't seen it yet but will. I might check out the book, too!

I've read about three of your posts and it looks like we have lots in common. The above is a good example!

Oh, I impress mine by telling them I read book 6 in one day. When they go "WOW" I tell them that is because I read a lot and the more you read the better you get at it! With older kids you might get in trouble trying to stay up with them. My oldest right now are 6th graders who still think Harry Potter is cool. I am now wondering/thinking it might be a more British view. I'm not up at all on British culture. I'm aware of the stereotype of the stiff upper lip, though. I've read very little of his non-fiction but you are probably right about the brother (perhaps eating the Turkish Delight is like tasting the forbidden fruit). And I think you pegged the inconsistency. They are really promoting it on TV. I only go to the theater once or twice a year. I'll sit real close to the screen

NOW I am impressed! I'm challenged by the little game where you have to move one peg all around the board, jumping over other pegs in such an order that you finally only end up with the one peg. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I can never do that two times in a row. I'm pretty sure (but not absolutely) I've done it once. It is all random for me. In one of my classes we had a maze we had to do (too hard to describe). You do it 10 times. In theory the number of mistakes you make each time drops. On about number 5 I got it without any mistakes then I made mistakes on 6, 7, 8, got 9 right and made mistakes on 10. *sigh* Most people once they got it they did the rest w/o error. It is the same with that peg game! Never heard of Sudoku

DOn't say archaelogy isn't science too loudly But seriously, I understand what you mean.

Okay, what is disharmonic convergence? I could look it up but I figured I'd rather ask.

Was the new show Reality TV or more like Law and Order or CSI? Regarding Charlie. I'm FINALLY past The Santa Clause. Now though, I think of him as Charlie when I see him on other shows, like Serenity. "You can't stop the signal Mal ... " <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It is like a CSI/Law & Order. Although there are people who actually do that.

I wasn't terribly excited about the previews. That is why I'm curious what others think about it. I did watch a new show at 9 last night about a group of attorneys who work on cases where the person in prison looks like they might be not-guilty. It was very good. Then I watched NUMB3RS. I really like that show although I sometimes get caught up seeing Charlie as the elf from "The Santa Clause." I have to shake it to stick with the show.

So did anyone actually watch it? What were your thoughts on it?

Probably