Jason Coleman

Since I posted a quote about God talking to people yesterday, I thought it interesting to run across a quote today about people talking to God. So call it point, counterpoint.

“The president of the United States [George W. Bush] has claimed, on more than one occasion, to be in dialogue with God. If he said that he was talking to God through his hairdryer, this would precipitate a national emergency. I fail to see how the addition of a hairdryer makes the claim more ridiculous or offensive.”

via Sam Harris Quotes (Author of Letter to a Christian Nation).

I don’t think I ever “hear the voice of God” but I do hear other people speak that way about their own spiritual journeys. No matter whether you do or not, here’s a little guidance on keeping things in perspective.

Have you ever known someone who is always saying: “God told me . . . ”

. . . I think it cheapens the privilege of hearing the voice of the Lord to think of it as a non-stop series of heavenly tweets.

via God Told Me…...

“This means,” the Master continued “that when someone reaches out to you for help, you should never say ‘I pray that God will help you.’ Instead for the moment, you should become an atheist, imagine that there is no God who can help, and say ‘I will help you.’”

via i wish i could be strong without somebody there..

This quote highlights the three “levels of involvement” Christians use when someone asks for help.

1. I will help you.
2. I will not help you.
3. I will pray for you (instead of helping you).

I know some would argue that praying for someone — asking God for a perfect resolution to the problem — is more useful than trying to solve the problem with our own hands. But I think that the person in need of assistance would see the offer to pray similarly as they’d see the offer to wish upon a star. Praying may be an important part of the process to the helper, but human involvement is the more important part of the process to the person in need. “I will help you” is the best answer.

A beautiful quote from another website, emphasis mine:

“A wise old mother is Nature—

She guideth her children’s feet

In many a flowery pathway; And her strong life-currents beat, Sometimes in intricate channels— As a mountain stream may run— But ever her purpose triumphs, And ever the goal is won. Her eyes are the eyes of Argus, And she utters her decree: The brook shall come to the river, And the river shall reach the sea.”

~ANDREW DOWNING, “Destiny”~

via Laguna Woods.

I hadn’t heard about the religion of Sheilaism until it was mentioned by the Slacktivist today. It’s named for a woman named Sheila, a practitioner of no particular religion who still lived by spiritual practices and beliefs of her own devising.

Here’s a quote from the wikipedia article about Sheilaism that was fun to ponder for a while.

Recent scholarship has re-evaluated Sheilaism, noting that even those who claim a particular organizaed denomination and regularly attend church often have highly individualized perceptions of their faith.

via Sheilaism – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

This blogger has a great analysis of the categories used by each side of the gay-marriage debate. You’ll need to read the whole article for the full effect, but here’s a quote from the middle that is probably self-explanatory.

Thus when a conservative hears someone saying that gay sex is okay, they’re seeing that person dip into the box labeled “What God forbids,” and thus they wonder how, if you can dip into that box for one thing, that’s any different from taking something else out of that same box, like pedophilia or bestiality. But for the progressive, pedophilia and bestiality aren’t in the same box as gay sex. So when the conservative asks how someone can accept gay sex but still condemn pedophilia or bestiality, the progressive says, “What? Where in the world is that question coming from?”

via So you say you don’t hate gay people, Part IV.

A quote from Chris Kluwe’s response to a congressman using his political influence to try to stifle the free speech of professional athletes on the topic of gay marriage. Not very polite overall, but this section here lands perfectly.

You know what having these rights will make gays? Full-fledged American citizens just like everyone else, with the freedom to pursue happiness and all that entails. Do the civil-rights struggles of the past 200 years mean absolutely nothing to you?

via “They Wont Magically Turn You Into A Lustful Cockmonster”: Chris Kluwe Explains Gay Marriage To The Politician Who Is Offended By An NFL Player Supporting It.

I enjoy reading the Friendly Atheist but I don’t have much call to quote him around here. He really nails this one about marriage equality though:

You can’t say I love my black friends, but I don’t think they should be allowed to marry white people… without simultaneously being a racist.

It doesn’t matter how big of a smile you put on your face, or how many gay friends you (think you) have, or how often you’ve gone to a gay pride parade.

If you’re voting against marriage equality, you’re a bigot. … There’s not a single, credible, non-religious reason to deny equal rights to gay people.

via If You Oppose Marriage Equality, What Else Am I Supposed to Call You?.

I’ve not read Janet Oberholtzer until today, but she has the best summation I’ve read of the Chick-fil-A gay-marriage controversy.

With freedom of speech it’s a given that sometimes people will be hurt by what others say. And that’s what happened and there’s been a big reaction.

via Thinking about Chick-fil-A, Wounds and Kindness | Janet Oberholtzer.

She’s nailed it. Freedom of speech issue? It’s in there. Angry reaction to being denied a civil right? It’s in there!

So now that she’s got a controversy, where does she take it? I like that part too.

Love is kind. So since a large portion of this reaction is coming from a place of injury, wouldn’t love and kindness … be more beneficial than ignoring or dismissing the concerns? After all, it is kind to recognize and acknowledge the pain others feel.

“You can’t plow a field by turning it over in your mind.”

(Old Irish proverb)

via Bright And Keen, Christian Blog, Christian Blogs, ChristianBlog.Com.