Saved By Grace- The Sunday Collage
Saved by grace. I took this post down once, I thought it was eligible for a re-do.
At the turn of the 20th century, approximately 70% of the United States' citizens claimed some form of Christianity. In 2012, over 80% of Americans claimed to be Christian. Do you believe that?http://www.chron.com/life/houston-belief/article/Poll-Nearly-80-percent-of-Americans-say-they-are-2444092.php Granted the poll is old (2012) and forgive me. I just stumbled onto it this week.
At the turn of the 20th century, approximately 70% of the United States' citizens claimed some form of Christianity. In 2012, over 80% of Americans claimed to be Christian. Do you believe that?http://www.chron.com/life/houston-belief/article/Poll-Nearly-80-percent-of-Americans-say-they-are-2444092.php Granted the poll is old (2012) and forgive me. I just stumbled onto it this week.
So if we are this heap big, Christian nation- how come we don't act like it? Where is this Christian super majority? Perhaps I am insulated from all these folks. Maybe it's the company I keep. Often I think, perhaps my 25 years in Moonbat Valley with the liberals took their anti-Christian toll on me. They were my professors. They were the lawyers, the Wall St brokers and bankers, the real estate developers, therapists and doctors. They were the trust funders, the entrepreneurs, the carpenters, the small town politicians, and a couple of dyed in the wool atheists who assured me the Bible was fiction and Jesus was simply an enlightened man like Ghandi.
All of those intelligent, successful people. Yet, I have never seen them in church and certainly not 80% of them. I've never heard them utter a word about Christ- but apparently 80% of them are Christians. That's what this poll would have me believe.
I had a friend once that described agnostics as chicken shit atheists. They don't really go to church because church is boring and time consuming. They don't believe in God, any God, because God represents accountability and oversight. They don't want to be held accountable. They don't want to live a Christian life because it is inconvenient to their individual wants and desires- none of which tend to be very Christian like. So when asked publicly, often they claim to be Christian because that answer is convenient.
People don't want to be held responsible for their actions. They want what they want. The Supreme Court set aside their own 80% super majority Christian lean and decided one of those issues in Roe v Wade.
It's not just the 53.5 million abortions that women have been chalking up since the early 70's- it's the 53.5 million fathers who went along with that plan and should have had at least some say in the outcome. Sure there are a few frequent flyers or people that have had more than one abortion- but 80 million Christians landed on abortion as their method of birth control?
Recently the pro choice "Planned Parenthood" or "Non-Planned Parenthood" depending on the amount of responsibility you attach to unprotected sex- has been caught bartering and selling parts of fetuses.
Another proud moment for the left and those 8 of 10 Christians who dwell in the liberal life.
Have you ever noticed any articles ever- that are pro christian in any left leaning publications? I never do. It seems a little odd to me given that 80% of folks claim some form of Christianity. You'd think that the owners of such publications might read the same polls that I do and try to cater to their potential audience. Barack Obama claims to be a Christian. He went to church before he was elected President. Since that time, I think church has become inconvenient for him. I am willing to bet anyone, anywhere- any amount, my house even- that Barack Obama has played golf more times than he has attended church since becoming President.
I think you get my point. Our culture claims to be Christian yet I don't think most folks actually are and certainly not anywhere near 80%. I think any number of Christian scholars would agree with me.
The idea of God is inconvenient to most people. They see no utility in it. There is no chain of evidence other than the Bible, no historical marker denoting the Garden of Eden, no Arc of the Covenant sitting at the Smithsonian for them to gape at. So God becomes impossible to believe in for those educated types who are always demanding proof. They are busy anyway- being smart and acquiring things. They see no payoff- no immediate gratification in Christianity.
I was that way once. Completely self absorbed. I didn't understand the concept of unconditional love or the complete and utter fairness contained in the saved by grace concept. I didn't understand anything other than the "what's in this for me" angle because like most Americans- that's all I ever really thought about. Me. What's in it for me.
So that's who we really are. People too busy with their lives, too busy accumulating things, too busy to be bothered with some "fairy tale" written by men in desperate need of hope. They are too intelligent to believe in divine intervention with its lack of proof. They see no utility in faith, no usefulness in the great courage true believers possess. Please forgive me if I don't buy into this cultural delusion where 80% of people claim to be Christians.
The truth is- the Christians that I know act like Christians. They are not ashamed of who they are. They go to church, they help others, they try desperately to do the right things. And they are a super minority. In fact, had that poll claimed that 20% of Americans saw themselves as Christian- I might have believed that figure instead and I think that is far closer to the real truth anyway.
Real Christians understand that we are saved by grace. By unconditional love, love that is available to all men, even the Hitlers and the Ted Bundys of the world despite our overwhelming urge for justice, condemnation, and punishment. Were we saved by deeds alone, including lying about being Christians, it is doubtful that any of us would walk through the pearly gates.
Last Saturday, I wrote this piece. It was up for a bit and then I took it down. I wrote this because I was angry at all of these alleged "Christians", these people who claim to be Christian but do nothing Christian like. Many are self centered, money worshipping leftists- people who claim to be charitable so long as that charity comes at someone else's expense. These are people who do good deeds so long as they derive some self serving benefit like a resume' boost or personal accolade. People should do all of those charitable things, those good deeds, not because it serves their egos but because it's the right thing to do. So I took the blog down because I was angry and that angry tone leaked through. And I thought, how could I make my point and support the position? And then it hit me tonight.
I spent 25 years in the Wood River Valley. Without a doubt, the Ketchum- Sun Valley area is where the leftists live. It is where the biggest millionaires and billionaires fly in with their jets to spend a few weeks in their castles. It is where George Allen, Warren Buffet, and all of the money Gods meet to socialize and discuss ways of making even more money. There are literally thousands of trust funders in the Wood River Valley, old money, kids living on vast sums of inherited money. They inhabit every walk of life. Many of them get involved in local politics. Many are entitled and rude acting, sometimes I think they forget who earned the money in the first place. But there was one common denominator that had gone missing all of those years. I never, ever, saw them go to church or behave in a fashion that would lead you to believe that they were Christians. They will not talk about Christ. The topic is taboo. They simply didn't do that. Ever.
Now I have to be honest and tell you that I have been a sorry excuse for a Christian myself. I attended church rarely, usually only on Easter or Christmas. I attended at other times but it was infrequent at best. But I knew the people with money in that valley- people tend to talk about things like that- and if I knew a thousand millionaires and trust funders- I did not know 50 of them who attended church regularly. Which leads me back to the finish line and my aha moment. Of the hundreds, if not thousands of rich people that I knew- how come I never saw them in church nor did I ever hear them publicly support Christian endeavors? Were they hiding in the closet? Ashamed to be Christian?
The entitled rich were very often- completely self absorbed. Oh they flit about and do good deeds but not for the reasons that a Christian might. They'd throw money at charitable causes because that was easy and it made them feel good about themselves. But you never ever saw them roll up their own sleeves and serve dinner to the homeless. They'd buy the town fireworks so that their children would have those 4th of July memories- just so long as people knew who paid- and maybe that would help fast track the government permitting process with whatever projects they had in the pipeline. That's how wealthy folks think. They will give to charity but never selflessly- like a Christian person might. They are too busy and too distracted for church. They see no useful purpose- they see wasted time instead. They are too busy with all of their money, their possessions, and their entertainment needs to waste time in church. So they don't go. It's just not important to them- there is always something more important than practicing Christianity. I wondered if the rich, leftists in Sun Valley would claim 80% on that Christian poll. Probably. Here's the good news. They too, are saved by grace just like Hitler or Bundy.
Item last. While scanning the obituaries last night in the local paper, it suddenly struck me that virtually nobody in that valley has a Christian type church service. While that may not be certain proof- it tends to support my view that most of the people I know are dying in the absence of a community church. I knew about half of them personally, a couple of them very well. I found it interesting that the overwhelming majority of deceased persons and their families, perhaps 18 of 20, were either having a non-religious memorial (no church) service or no funeral service at all.
Things have certainly changed in my lifetime.
People don't want to be held responsible for their actions. They want what they want. The Supreme Court set aside their own 80% super majority Christian lean and decided one of those issues in Roe v Wade.
It's not just the 53.5 million abortions that women have been chalking up since the early 70's- it's the 53.5 million fathers who went along with that plan and should have had at least some say in the outcome. Sure there are a few frequent flyers or people that have had more than one abortion- but 80 million Christians landed on abortion as their method of birth control?
Recently the pro choice "Planned Parenthood" or "Non-Planned Parenthood" depending on the amount of responsibility you attach to unprotected sex- has been caught bartering and selling parts of fetuses.
Another proud moment for the left and those 8 of 10 Christians who dwell in the liberal life.
Have you ever noticed any articles ever- that are pro christian in any left leaning publications? I never do. It seems a little odd to me given that 80% of folks claim some form of Christianity. You'd think that the owners of such publications might read the same polls that I do and try to cater to their potential audience. Barack Obama claims to be a Christian. He went to church before he was elected President. Since that time, I think church has become inconvenient for him. I am willing to bet anyone, anywhere- any amount, my house even- that Barack Obama has played golf more times than he has attended church since becoming President.
I think you get my point. Our culture claims to be Christian yet I don't think most folks actually are and certainly not anywhere near 80%. I think any number of Christian scholars would agree with me.
The idea of God is inconvenient to most people. They see no utility in it. There is no chain of evidence other than the Bible, no historical marker denoting the Garden of Eden, no Arc of the Covenant sitting at the Smithsonian for them to gape at. So God becomes impossible to believe in for those educated types who are always demanding proof. They are busy anyway- being smart and acquiring things. They see no payoff- no immediate gratification in Christianity.
I was that way once. Completely self absorbed. I didn't understand the concept of unconditional love or the complete and utter fairness contained in the saved by grace concept. I didn't understand anything other than the "what's in this for me" angle because like most Americans- that's all I ever really thought about. Me. What's in it for me.
So that's who we really are. People too busy with their lives, too busy accumulating things, too busy to be bothered with some "fairy tale" written by men in desperate need of hope. They are too intelligent to believe in divine intervention with its lack of proof. They see no utility in faith, no usefulness in the great courage true believers possess. Please forgive me if I don't buy into this cultural delusion where 80% of people claim to be Christians.
The truth is- the Christians that I know act like Christians. They are not ashamed of who they are. They go to church, they help others, they try desperately to do the right things. And they are a super minority. In fact, had that poll claimed that 20% of Americans saw themselves as Christian- I might have believed that figure instead and I think that is far closer to the real truth anyway.
Real Christians understand that we are saved by grace. By unconditional love, love that is available to all men, even the Hitlers and the Ted Bundys of the world despite our overwhelming urge for justice, condemnation, and punishment. Were we saved by deeds alone, including lying about being Christians, it is doubtful that any of us would walk through the pearly gates.
Last Saturday, I wrote this piece. It was up for a bit and then I took it down. I wrote this because I was angry at all of these alleged "Christians", these people who claim to be Christian but do nothing Christian like. Many are self centered, money worshipping leftists- people who claim to be charitable so long as that charity comes at someone else's expense. These are people who do good deeds so long as they derive some self serving benefit like a resume' boost or personal accolade. People should do all of those charitable things, those good deeds, not because it serves their egos but because it's the right thing to do. So I took the blog down because I was angry and that angry tone leaked through. And I thought, how could I make my point and support the position? And then it hit me tonight.
I spent 25 years in the Wood River Valley. Without a doubt, the Ketchum- Sun Valley area is where the leftists live. It is where the biggest millionaires and billionaires fly in with their jets to spend a few weeks in their castles. It is where George Allen, Warren Buffet, and all of the money Gods meet to socialize and discuss ways of making even more money. There are literally thousands of trust funders in the Wood River Valley, old money, kids living on vast sums of inherited money. They inhabit every walk of life. Many of them get involved in local politics. Many are entitled and rude acting, sometimes I think they forget who earned the money in the first place. But there was one common denominator that had gone missing all of those years. I never, ever, saw them go to church or behave in a fashion that would lead you to believe that they were Christians. They will not talk about Christ. The topic is taboo. They simply didn't do that. Ever.
Now I have to be honest and tell you that I have been a sorry excuse for a Christian myself. I attended church rarely, usually only on Easter or Christmas. I attended at other times but it was infrequent at best. But I knew the people with money in that valley- people tend to talk about things like that- and if I knew a thousand millionaires and trust funders- I did not know 50 of them who attended church regularly. Which leads me back to the finish line and my aha moment. Of the hundreds, if not thousands of rich people that I knew- how come I never saw them in church nor did I ever hear them publicly support Christian endeavors? Were they hiding in the closet? Ashamed to be Christian?
The entitled rich were very often- completely self absorbed. Oh they flit about and do good deeds but not for the reasons that a Christian might. They'd throw money at charitable causes because that was easy and it made them feel good about themselves. But you never ever saw them roll up their own sleeves and serve dinner to the homeless. They'd buy the town fireworks so that their children would have those 4th of July memories- just so long as people knew who paid- and maybe that would help fast track the government permitting process with whatever projects they had in the pipeline. That's how wealthy folks think. They will give to charity but never selflessly- like a Christian person might. They are too busy and too distracted for church. They see no useful purpose- they see wasted time instead. They are too busy with all of their money, their possessions, and their entertainment needs to waste time in church. So they don't go. It's just not important to them- there is always something more important than practicing Christianity. I wondered if the rich, leftists in Sun Valley would claim 80% on that Christian poll. Probably. Here's the good news. They too, are saved by grace just like Hitler or Bundy.
Item last. While scanning the obituaries last night in the local paper, it suddenly struck me that virtually nobody in that valley has a Christian type church service. While that may not be certain proof- it tends to support my view that most of the people I know are dying in the absence of a community church. I knew about half of them personally, a couple of them very well. I found it interesting that the overwhelming majority of deceased persons and their families, perhaps 18 of 20, were either having a non-religious memorial (no church) service or no funeral service at all.
Things have certainly changed in my lifetime.
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Rome vs. US
http://www.hisholychurch.org/news/articles/romeus.php