I work with at least 3 people who are either gay or bisexual. And I get along just fine with all of them. I banter and talk with them like I would anyone else. I would never argue that they are outcasts – they’re not. They are human beings, for better or worse, like the rest of us. I’d even call one a good friend (the other two I haven’t known as long).

I state this to make one simple point. I am un-abashedly anti-homosexualiTY. And yet, even while making such a distinction, I am still called a bigot and homophobe. Even while I share my own views and discuss the matter with my opponents respectfully and stay to the topic, I am personally attacked (not all my opponents on this debate do so, of course; nor are all proponents who share my views as so kind as they should be – that, too, is noted).

For myself, at least, I want it to be understood: Don’t accuse me of being bigoted or hate-mongering or against “equal rights” just because I disagree with you. It’s horribly short-sighted and insulting. It’s misplacing focus on a non-personal topic to a personal focus, all to support one’s opposing argument. So in my further defense on the matter, if I’m going to be attacked, personally, get your facts straight. And the first paragraph of this post are the facts. Thank you.

Originally posted September 15, 2009 on my original blog site, NaitoOfNarnia. Some content has been edited.

AC3* is a place for people like you.
Real people.
At AC3 we take God very seriously
…but we don’t take ourselves too seriously at all.

* AC3 stands for Allen Creek Community Church

That’s my church’s tag line on the front page of the web site – found at www.AC3.org - and I always get a kick out of it no matter how many times I read it. It’s not the typical slogan for a Godly church, wouldn’t you think? Normally we think of the sayings that invoke some kind of spiritual context or references Scripture. But not AC3. At AC3, we do things just a bit out of the traditional. We’re not normal, I tell you.

It should give one pause to think about what makes this particular body of believers so…different. So…peculiar. 

Originally posted June 21, 2012.

Recently, a friend of mine – we’ll call her “Hester” (she’ll kill me for such a name change, but I do have a good reason for it [*] LOL) – texted me and asked a very rare sort of question.

“Hey, you’re the Bible whiz. Do you have any idea where the mustard seed faith thing is?”

I responded back after doing a quick search through the Bible.

“There are a couple, at least: Luke 17:5-10 and Matthew 17:14-20.” I added, “I gave you references to the entire passages – not just the single mustard-seed-faith verses – so you can see the verses in their full context. But not too worry, the passages are very short. And the contexts are not ultra-deep to understand at a glance.”  Continue reading →

Originally posted June 22, 2012.

I’d like to begin by making a clarification. First, I am aware that those in the gay community take their homosexual leanings very personally – as a part of their personal identity. I’m also aware of how disagreements with homosexuality and its (proposed) moral context have been viewed as personal attacks.

Please give me the benefit of the doubt that, while I disagree with homosexuality, in no way is this an attack on any individual who is gay or supports the gay community. As a Christian, I abhor when Christians and non-Christians alike use whatever “justification” they think they have to personally insult and attack the gay community in ways that clearly violate Christian and/or American law. The Bible teaches how to address problems with love. The battle ground should not be a personal one in that regard. I expect better from my fellow Christians, as well – for the standard of conduct has been well set.

This is also not intended to single out those who do struggle with their sexual identity. I can only begin to understand the difficulty such an issue must entail. Once again, there is no criticism against the people who struggle. There is no condemnation to be found here. It is my hope that you are able to read this post without feeling the need to be on the defensive.

MALE or MASCULINE?
While gender identity is, to my understanding, still a very misunderstood topic, I think it’s reasonable to equate psychological gender awareness along with physical gender traits. And this isn’t just mere speculation. There are numerous accounts of studies documented where the male or female gender equates to certain characteristics of the mind (the books “For Men Only” and “For Women Only” offer some great findings on this subject).

This shouldn’t be confused with personality, necessarily. For we have men, for example, who are very aggressive and stereotypically “macho”, while others are more sensitive and soft-spoken. Some have skills of the mind, while others have strength of body (say, for sports). One may be lazy while the other is a dedicated worker. I think there is a major difference between personality & skills versus characteristics that define what it is to be male or female.

Unfortunately, clarifying what I mean by “male” or “female” is not exactly an easy task when talking about the non-physical, mental make-up.

Originally posted June 10.

Note: The odd display of this image will make sense later in this article.

Free will. An issue highly debated about in and out of Christian thought.

The purpose of today’s article is not about free will, itself, but to say that, if free will really is what it is theorized to be – where we are not controlled in any way regarding the choices we make – then we are certainly guilty of abusing it.

In the book of Romans, Paul is writing to the Christians in Rome regarding the very contradictory behavior of sinning while claiming grace and forgiveness under Christ.

Death and life are central concepts in the Bible – with the former being the ultimate consequence for disobeying the Giver of Life. So it’s no surprise that Paul embraces these topics and pits them against each other as he explains why we ought not to sin further when we have also been reborn in Christ.

Paul starts out Romans 6 with a well-known question, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin [so] that grace may abound?” (verse 1, ESV). This question is birthed from a very lengthy discussion about how God’s Law, while good, led to human nature’s proclivity to sin all the more. Why is this? Because human nature is rot with sin. Sin’s nature is to rebel against the Law, against that which is good. Paul explains, further, saying that, through Jesus Christ, God’s grace set us free from our sinful nature.

Paul summed it up nicely at the end of chapter 5, “Therefore, as one trespass [sin, disobedience] led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness [Jesus' death in our place on the cross] leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”(verses 18-21, ESV).

Paul is saying that Adam’s sin (Genesis 3) opened up the floodgates for sin. But Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross opened up the floodgates of grace. The question is, which floodgate are you standing before?  Continue reading →

Originally posted April 26, 2012.

Home.

A place of security and rest. Family gatherings, good food, games, security, rest, and warm showers. The place we long for when we’ve worked hard or had an upsetting day of events. It is where we are shielded from the terrors and horrors of the outside world.

No matter what anyone might tell you, there is truly only one place you call home. Not the next-door neighbor’s house. Not grandma’s house (although, depending on grandma’s house, that might be a cozy place to visit). And certainly not some igloo in the North. No other house will do but the one that you call home.

…….

While working at the mall, cleaning the carpets and floor mats, a swift flying object caught my eye. A bird had somehow managed to find its way inside. Back and forth it swooped from skylight ledge, to skylight ledge, to a window ledge just above the mall doors, and back across the mall to yet another skylight ledge. Anywhere it could see bright sunlight and the open sky. Anything that looked like freedom. He was trying to find home.  Continue reading →

Originally posted May 23, 2012.

[WARNING: If you have not seen the movie described in the following article, 1) I highly recommend you do, and 2) be aware that I describe the plot in minor synopsis here.]

In 2008, a film was made that sparked a lot of…fire…in the hearts of many Christians. So rare is it that a film is made about a key value within Christiandom and done so while set against a human trend that almost worships the antithesis of that value.

That film was “Fireproof”, a record-setting independent story that dared to challenge the values and mindset of Americans and the world over with a dare.

Focusing on a husband and wife – a firefighter and hospital PR respectively – the film addresses the issue of marriage and all the things that threaten to rip it apart…and fighting to save it at all costs. The tag line for the movie was “Never leave your partner behind” playing off of the fact that the main character is a firefighter; appropriate given that both characters dealt with two forms of infidelity. It begs, no, cries out with the question, “How much are you willing to fight in order to save your marriage?”

Kirk Cameron, both in and behind the movie, took that dare and answered back triumphantly and passionately, “With everything I have!“