[ SECRET POST #2918 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2918 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 028 secrets from Secret Submission Post #417.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 - random image ], [ 1 - posted twice ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Re: Crisis of faith-iness

[(Anonymous)]

So, are these Facebook people Anabaptists too? Because that is definitely NOT something I, nor anyone else left in my faith community, would say (another Anabaptist pacifist here *waves*). You are blessed, if you grew up in "the most relaxed Mennonite church ever." Mine, yeeeeeah, not so relaxed (not so Mennonite either, LOL), but eh. God wanted me to get something out of it. And I did. (Er. Do.)

Your friends on Facebook? They're the goats, BTW. And, no, I'm not being judgemental. All they're doing is essentially the opposite of what Jesus said, "Be DOERS of My words, not hearers only." Also see, "They profess Me with their lips and profane me with their hearts."

Then there are Paul's letters, "Faith is the evidence of things NOT SEEN, heard, or felt." All this "I gave my heart to Jesus!" or "I felt the Holy Spirit moooooove meeeeeee!" is pure, sheer, self-righteous and self-congratulatory theater, and absolutely based upon 100% human reasoning/the ways of the flesh. (Lean not on your own understanding.) Not "by the Book" at all.

In a nutshell: Go back to your most relaxed Mennonite church ever, nonny. (Sometimes I wish I could find one....) Get involved in their service projects. Read the Bible and do what it says (see the bit in James' letter about the widows and the orphans and the poor, frex).

When the rubber meets the road, it's what a Christian DOES that emulates/reflects the life of Christ, not what they SAY , and definitely NOT the quota of people they "convert" with empty platitudes, devoid of the power of the Spirit.

Re: Crisis of faith-iness

[(Anonymous)]

Well, I say relaxed in that they gave no fucks if you came to church in jeans and a T-shirt, and I think they actually left the general conference over its stance on gays, but I still just get the heebs over call-and-response prayers and even the lord's prayer at the end...something about unison-speak just hits my ear in uncomfortable ways. And I'm no longer in the same town as that particular church.

But thanks for your comments. Particularly reassurances on the "theater" of what I'm hearing (that's mostly not from people in that church, but people I knew outside of it, many of whom have "found God" within the last few years.

Re: Crisis of faith-iness

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT

Yiiiiiiiiiiiikes I would get the heebie jeebies over the call-and-response thing too (gave me the creeps at my granddad's funeral - he was Anglican - not the hippie Anglicans the other ones with the druid outfits and the whole creepy chanting). Not something my church would do, but my church has its own special problems, so I can't recommend it, unfortunately. (We're still Anabaptist, technically, but no longer a Peace Church, which breaks my heart.)

Glad my comments resonated. As for those who say they "found God"? If they had, truly, they wouldn't be talking about it. They would take up their own crosses, and follow Him. Read your Bible, read widely (read every translation you can get your hands on - the Internet is great for this - even the wacky ones), pray often (have conversations with God - there's a reason "the Lord's prayer" is referred to as the MODEL prayer -- see also what Jesus had to say about "vain repetitions"), and just generally...relax? Feeling like you're "doing faith wrong" (or having someone tell you you're doing faith wrong), is doing faith wrong, IMO.