Funny Quote from a Pastor:

"We are a community of grace not judgement. We emphasize grace the other congregations in the area are more judgemental."




no further comments necessary... unless you'd like to implecate yourself by somehow giving another example of the above quote.....
posted by the fly at 10:27 AM | |

 
Sometimes Almost

Last week while scanning stations, my radio accidently stopped on a christian radio station. There was an advertisment playing for a Christian College. The school was obviously trying to catch the attention of young students the excitement of college life. They seemed somehow reluctant to relate too much value to events outside of the classroom. Here is the schools catchy slogan.
"Such and Such Christian College where SOMETIMES the experience outside the classroom is ALMOST as exciting as the experience inside the classroom. "

What does that mean? Sometimes/ Almost. Bland tasteless useless blither. Some homeschool mom is hearing those commercials and thinking "mmmm that sounds great, it sounds like fun, but not too fun."
posted by Andy at 9:14 PM | |

 
"Everything Happens for a Reason!"

While I'm thinking about phrases that bug me here's one.
It generally comes when something really really bad happens.
This phrase isn't used when you fail a test... it's used when your close friend tells you he's a cocaine addict or when a couple teenage girls in your church are awoken by their father as he attempts to kill them with an axe, then he shoots everyone in the house...or when your son dies in a car accident. Bad bad stuff. Sometimes it's used by the family member or close friend who is directly effected by the pain... In these cases it makes since to say something like this....

But often it is said by pastors, or those who are supporting the person in the most pain.
The motive in saying such a thing is to be comforting. But to me it feels like it's a backhanded shot at God. Sit with a group of teenage girl cheerleaders who's two friends were brutally murdered and tell them "everything happens for a reason" and they might believe you for a while... tell that to their parents... and it's another story..

"Everything happens for a reason "is often mistaken for a quote from Paul in the book of Romans when he says "all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purposes"
but these quotes mean very different things.
God can take any situation and work it for good, I believe, because he is in fact GOOD.
But if God is a great puppeteer in the sky making "everything happen for a reason" then he is one sick SOB, and not Good in the least bit.

So when you say "everything happens for a reason" don't be pointing to some kind of holy plan God is working out to make you a better person because a guy murders his family.
When you say "Everything happens for a reason" I hope you mean, some desperate sick man builds a tremendous gambling debt and wants to "save his family" from having to deal with it.. so he hits them over and over with an axe. Don't put that on God.

Everything does not happen for a reason.

but i could be wrong..
posted by riddle at 9:38 PM | |