God is not about fear

[realFedUp]

This is what I really hate about a corporate
and patriarchal church that makes God into
some hateful male figure who teaches by punishing.

God is love and not a male or female
but if you choose, visualize God
as loving parents, who want the best
for their child, to bring out talents, intellect,
teach empathy, give him or her a firm foundation
to work and live with hope for a better life and world,
to treat others as God's children, to give back
what was given, to see God in all creation
and respect life.

Today was an opportunity for the Catholic
church to embrace what Jesus Christ
really taught and lived. Unfortunately the Cardinals
chose to remain enmeshed in a patriarchal and
fear based hierarchy. No child of God should face
getting and dying of AIDS, being a slave to others, to
not being in charge of their own lives: financial
health and spiritual, being sexually abused by
others, financially supporting a hierarchy that
doesn't respect the choices that lead to individual wholeness.

God loves women. Women were ones who remained vigil
at Christ's crucifixion. Women were first to
see that Jesus's body was gone, and first spoke
to the risen Christ. Women are not part of the
hierarchy of the Catholic church and are not honored
as ministers of God's word. It's really abhorrent
to me as a Christian. God doesn't speak just through
men. Jesus treated men and women equally. The
corporate church in my opinion has skewed Christ's
message for ego and greed and power.

God loves all "his" or "her" creation, gays and
lesbians included.

Jesus would frankly be unhappy with the trappings
of this and other churches whose main concern is
keeping people subservient, restricted, (un)whole (unholy),
frightened.

We are all made in God's image...made to use all
our talents, love each other, protect the weak, speak
for the ones who have no voice, pass on the message
that we are all God's children, not just the ones
wearing the red cossacks. Fear restricts creativity.

An opportunity was missed for a higher calling today.
Sad.

[bushisanidiot]

1. God is Love. Hate filled "christians" twist teachings in the bible to

suit their political agendas..

it's as obvious as "Ann" Coulter's adam's apple..

[Brianboru]

2. God is Love, but

1. Why didn't Jesus choose any women as his disciples?

2. What we know about God comes from Scripture. God revealed himself as a Father. Why do you think He did that?

[Boomer]

3. Don't know much about Christianity, do you?

>> 1. Why didn't Jesus choose any women as his disciples? <<

He did. Her name was Mary Magadalene. Her gospel didn't make the final cut into the Bible As We Know It Today 'cause the church didn't like uppity women.

[AuntiBush]

21. No where in the bible does it say MM was what they claim

Thanks Boomer. You are exactly right. Only in Luke and he makes a mere mention of "a" woman that "sinned." That's it, folks.

And the rest is history... man-made that is.

[realFedUp]

4. The disciples chose themselves in a way

and you have to remember the context and
times Jesus was living in...women were
basically servants, had strict rules on
their bodies and minds and presence.

Jesus's disciples, some who didn't exactly
stand by him, and only a few who decided to spread
his message also had the support of many
people, women included who had the courage to speak Jesus's
message.

Open your mind. Don't stick to the mainstream message.

[Brianboru]

8. Why is the time context important?

since Jesus knew that what he was saying was to hold us for at least a couple thousand years. Jesus had no problems with changing the status quo - he changed many things. If he wanted women priests, why didn't he make one a disciple? (And I don't buy the "men wrote the Bible" line. If we don't believe all scripture was written by God, why believe any of it?)

This is my struggle - the scripture is locked in time. There was no ammendment process established, except through the Catholic Church (what you bind on earth will be bound in heaven) The Catholic Church does not change. What if I "open my mind" to things that are different from what the Church teaches, or what the Bible says is truth, and later find out that Jesus really meant what he said? That's a bet I'm not ready to make.

I just have more questions than answers right now.

[realFedUp]

10. God's message is not locked in time

When you read the scripture, you meet God
in the words. They may be a different message
than someone else receives. Trust it if it's
good and speaks to you. The words of the scripture
were written and translated in two languages from English...by
mortal people who received the words from
others. It also includes points of view that reflect the
times people were living in. You have to look at
the context of history when you read these words
literally.

Look, I am no minister, priest, rabbi et al, but
I am called to get through all the trappings
and get to Christ's message, which references
Mosaic teachings....things we should have learned
in kindergarten. We are called to the truth.

Pull back the curtain. Read Jesus's words. They
are in red in the New Testament. Jesus was a radical
messenger, courageously spreading good news to people
living under decades of occupation, who had no more hope.

What might be radical to you is you are a co-creator
with God to be your whole self on this earth at this
time....you are a messenger to spread hope.

[Brianboru]

11. It can't be all relative.

"They may be a different message than someone else receives."

Thats not what the scripture says:

"I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you" (1 Cor. 11:2).

"Follow the pattern of the sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus; guard the truth that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us" (2 Tim. 1:13-14).

"So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter." (2 Thess. 2:15)

"You, then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:1-2).

"First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God" (2 Peter 1:20-21).

A message of hope is fine, but what is the truth?

[realFedUp]

13. Guard the truth that has been entrusted in you

I don't know...do some see the truth more
clearly than others?

[aneerkoinos]

14. That's Paul

Not Jeebus.

[AuntiBush]

22. Think of it like this

If you dictated everything I said and did... and you're ready to put it in print, but your editor takes passages out, changes your words, re-writes to please (Constantine), and those in polically religious leaders of great power and money, and was told you'd be be-headed (John the Baptist), sent into exile (John), told to rewrite all over again (Matthew) and so on and so forth, you get the bible.

What is it that makes you think "God" actually wrote the bible?
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - Which one do you believe is "God?"

You see, they were men. Flesh.

[realFedUp]

6. welcome to DU btw seekthetruth

you also have to remember that Scripture was
written years after Christ's death, passed down
orally, and translated in different languages.
What was included in the New Testament was the
decision of a fourth century Italian emperor
Constantine who rode the wave of people's faith
in Christ's message.

Jesus was a messenger. God's message is still
one to listen to and God's knows, this world would
be much better if we and our churches focused
on Jesus's words and deeds. His message was radical
under Roman empirical rule. He was crucified
for his message and growing crowds of people
who found hope under Roman occupation.

[aneerkoinos]

9. God

Mary Magdalene, High priestess, was allready answered.

If Jesus thought that God comes from Scriptute, surely he would have written somethint. He didn't.

"Father" is just linguistic convention, just as Sophia/Holy ghost being a feminine aspect is linguistic convention.

Are you saying that God is a linguistic convention?

Gnostics say that the Supreme God (not the male sky-god demiurge tribal guy of Old Testament), the undefinable one, is both sexes and neither, (s)he/it is androgynous and sexless.

There's nothing sexist, either way, in what Jesus taught in Gospel of Thomas, except the Jewish linguistic convention about talking about Father instead of Mother.

[hvn_nbr_2]

15. Love God. Fear God. There's no fear in love.

The Bible says you must love God. (multiple places)

The Bible says you must fear God. (multiple places)

The Bible says there is no fear in love. (one of John's letters)

Therefore, if you don't apply some discernment and use your own brain and sense of ethics, the people who make war by flinging Bible-verse grenades back and forth have you by the balls in a double-bind ball-lock.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

16. the translations of scripture called God "Father"

when one examines the original Aramaic, one finds something far different. Take the first line of the Lord's Prayer:

Our Father, who art in heaven

In Aramaic is

Abwoom d'bash mia

Which can be translated as "Creator all all" - no mention of gender. Check out Neil Douglas-Klotz's "Prayers of the Cosmos" and other works for more information.

[Maat]

19. That's great information.

Thanks, Ayeshaaqqiqa!

[DoYouEverWonder]

17. Jesus did choose women as his disciples

There were at least two Mary's and of course his own mother.

There were others. The apostles were married men. In the early church, most sects of christianity treated women as equals, which at that time was unusual.

It wasn't until Paul of Tarsus came along and teaming up with the Roman Empire that the true teachings of Jesus were lost.

The church today has little to do with anything that Jesus intended.

[AuntiBush]

20. With "God,"the word "but" does not equate.

1. Jesus was surrounded by women. You need to read-up more in your bible. Of course, out of all the disciples (there were more then 12), only 4 made it to the Bible and God didn't call for that one, either.

2. You say, "God comes from Scriptures." Well, think... who wrote the scriptures? Wasn't God. It was "mere men."

So, to answer the second question, "Why do you think he (God) did that," he didn't. Man did.

The original latin/greek translations were suited to Constantine. You might want to read up on the historical aspects of religion.

Edited: Spelling error

[coloradodem2005]

5. My problem is that Christians of many denominations...

...always used fear and condescention to get their point across. They want to depict God as a controlling parent that tells you that you can never have anything that you pursue and then they say that the greatest love and freedom is through Christ.

[realFedUp]

7. Yeah....it's a travesty

Jesus is blamed for the corporate
religion, which I think he'd shun
as he did the temples and priests
who sold out to the Romans.

[OneBlueSky]

12. Amen . . . n/t

.

[Maat]

18. I quite agree.

I'm a Religious Scientist (www.rsintl.org), and we are panentheists - we believe that God is an energy within.