The Death Penalty

Here's ten reasons why i don't believe in the death penalty

"rational"

1. how does becoming a killer to punnish a killer make any sense.  Here's an interesting thought on this one.  If I bump into someone by accident, and they pay me back by bumping into me on purpose i'll probably get angry.  If i get angry then i'll do something worse to get that person back.  then that person will do something to get me back.  You see, its an endless cycle and the attacks just get worse and worse.  Here's another example, take the israeli palestinian conflict.  Israel attacks palestine.  Palestine attacks israel back with more fire power.  Israel attacks Palestine with the most firepower yet.  What do we get left with, a problem that keeps on growing, and a bunch of dead people and morning families.  Seems like a good idea to me...  When you respond to violence with violence you become just like the agressor, and then things escalate.

2.  The person to be killed has a family too.  Why should we create two struggling families.  How does that help the original

3.  We already see how well the threat of the death penalty keeps people from commiting crimes.  I mean look at the news, its all happy isn't, no crimes here...

4.What if all the person needed was love, and we go an kill them, thats humane, ain't it.

5.  Finally I just don't think anyone deserves to die, no matter what they've done.

"religious"

6.  That person deserves a chance at redemption

7.  We're all sinners, some people just commit different sins.  by imposing a death penalty we are taking the power out of God's hands and deciding what sins are worst in his eyes for Him.

8.  How can we expect people to not kill when the entire culture they live in thrives around killing

9.  Our saviour was the one who said "Father, please forgive them for they know not what they do" wasn't he.

10.  finally, What ever happened to turning the other cheek, or giving the coat along with the shirt?

HEY

Merry Christmas everyone, let me know what you all got.

Merry Christmas

The Christmas Story

Luke 1

Introduction

 1Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled^[a] among us, 2just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

 5In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. 7But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.

 8Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

 11Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. 14He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth.^[b]16Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. 17And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

 18Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."

 19The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time."

 21Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.

 23When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25"The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

 26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

 29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

 34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

 35The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called^[c] the Son of God. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37For nothing is impossible with God."

 38"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

 39At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

Mary's Song

 46And Mary said: 
   "My soul glorifies the Lord 
    47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 
 48for he has been mindful 
      of the humble state of his servant. 
   From now on all generations will call me blessed, 
    49for the Mighty One has done great things for me— 
      holy is his name. 
 50His mercy extends to those who fear him, 
      from generation to generation. 
 51He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; 
      he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 
 52He has brought down rulers from their thrones 
      but has lifted up the humble. 
 53He has filled the hungry with good things 
      but has sent the rich away empty. 
 54He has helped his servant Israel, 
      remembering to be merciful 
 55to Abraham and his descendants forever, 
      even as he said to our fathers."

 56Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

 57When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

 59On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60but his mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John."

 61They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who has that name."

 62Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John." 64Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.

Zechariah's Song

 67His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: 
 68"Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, 
      because he has come and has redeemed his people. 
 69He has raised up a horn^[d] of salvation for us 
      in the house of his servant David 
 70(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), 
 71salvation from our enemies 
      and from the hand of all who hate us— 
 72to show mercy to our fathers 
      and to remember his holy covenant, 
 73the oath he swore to our father Abraham: 
 74to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, 
      and to enable us to serve him without fear 
 75in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 
 76And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; 
      for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, 
 77to give his people the knowledge of salvation 
      through the forgiveness of their sins, 
 78because of the tender mercy of our God, 
      by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 
 79to shine on those living in darkness 
      and in the shadow of death, 
   to guide our feet into the path of peace."

 80And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel.

Luke 2

The Birth of Jesus

 1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)3And everyone went to his own town to register.

 4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

 8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

 13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 
 14"Glory to God in the highest, 
      and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

 15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

 16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Jesus Presented in the Temple

 21On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.

 22When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"^[b]), 24and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."^[c]

 25Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 
 29"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, 
      you now dismiss^[d] your servant in peace. 
 30For my eyes have seen your salvation, 
    31which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 
 32a light for revelation to the Gentiles 
      and for glory to your people Israel."

 33The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

 36There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.^[e] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

 39When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

NIV

Who is most important in the Christmas Story

Today, I helped serve with the three and four year olds.  The lesson was on the Christmas story, big surprise.  At the end the kids were asked who was most important in the story.  The answer they all gave, which was correct was Jesus, but is it really correct?  Yeah Jesus is pretty huge, but i think the unsung heros of the Christmas story are the sheperds.  The sheperds really were the first disciples.  They were the first ones to stop what they were doing to come see Jesus.  After seeing him they went and told everyone, which is a major part of what Jesus teaches us to do as Disciples.  The Sheperds spread the news without being told to as well, and seeing as many people don't do that now even though they are told to, that was pretty big.  

So, when you read the Christmas story to, think about it.  Yeah, Jesus is huge, but so were the Sheperds, or should I say the first disciples.

My Attack of Christianity Part III

The Commision

So I've been telling you all about what we're not supposed to be doing, or what we've misinterpretted right?   Well here is what the bible says we should do.

First and foremost, we are called to be lovers to the world.  Notice the bolded to, it doesn't say of, it says to.  If you have any questions about loving the world you can see most of my previous posts, its kind of a favorite topic of mine <:).   The second thing we are called to do is to spread the good News.  This seems like a simple task, but it is actually quite difficult, because everything we say is constantly under attack, and we have to be quick on our feet.  Finally we are told to be spots of light in this dark world.  

So what exactly does it mean to be a light to this dark world (the other two are either self explanitory or are tackled in other posts).  Well it means quite a few things.  Most people know the song/psalm (i think its in psalms) about God that goes something like "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."  Well this is what we are called to do too.  You may be saying "Huh?  i thought that was talking about God?"  Yes it was, but remember also that we are the body of Christ so it falls onto our laps as well,  We nee to lead people to God and continue to help them until they are ready to lead others.  The next thing this means is that we are called to be moral towers to the world.  We need to hold ourselces to a higher standard, and though we will not meet it, that standard has to be perfection.  We have to strive to be like Christ in all we do, even if we are destined to not achieve that, it has to be our goal.  The final thing being a light to the world means that we have to be different.  People should notice that we are different.  And they will dislike us for it (buy a copy of "the irresistible revolution" to see a further description of why they will dislike us).

So we're told to spread the Good News, be a light to the world, and do both of those in unconditional love.  Sounds simple, but its not.  Its going to take a lot of work, and a lot of pain to do it.  But we have an all powerful and loving God on our side so, it can't be too bad.

Sorry about the lack of organization.  If you have any ideas for what i should do for the conclusion to this series let me know.  Please, i have no idea where i'm taking this to.

Until next time

God Speed

A break

While i continue compiling the next part of the current series "My Attack of Christianity" here is a quick break

News...

Our Pastor; Brian Jones is resuming blogging.  I really excited because i really enjoyed his previous posts before he stopped.  He is actually going to be writing three blogs.  You can find out more at his main site, brianjones.com.  check it out

Upcoming posts...

  After i finnish my current series I'm thinking about actually doing a blog on drumming since that is the address of the blog.  After that I will be mostly returning to my random ways.  However i am slowly trying to get an outreach ministry started in our youth group, so once that gets started a lot of posts will be about it.

Finally

I want to thank everyone who checks this blog where i present my ramblings

God Speed

My Attack of Christianity Part II

The Verse

There is one verse that almost everyone has memorized, christian and non-christians alike.  That verse, as I'm sure you have guessed by now, is John 3:16.  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, and that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."  This verse (along with a few others that say the same thing) is the foundation of most peoples faith.  That's a good thing, it should be the foundation of your faith.  Its what this is all about.  

By now you're probably wondering what I'm talking about.  Didn't I just say in my last post that there was one poorly misinterpreted verse that has created this pseudo-Christianity.  Yes I did, and let me tell you what I mean.  Yes this verse should be the center of your faith, but only if you truly understand it.  You may be saying, "truly understand it? it seems pretty simple to me" and that is where you are wrong.  Look at the verse more closely, specifically the words belief and Him.  The Greek word for belief is pisteuō. This is a Greek verb that translates as "to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in."  So belief right? (you're probably still thinking that you're just wasting your time by reading this but you're not I promise) yeah, seems like the definition of belief to me.  So lets look at the second word I brought up, Him.  For this we need not look at the Greek but who "Him" is referring to.  I'm sure you all know the answer to that question, Jesus Christ, the son of God.  (Now you're really thinking "way to go captain obvious") Here's my question for you, just who was(is) Jesus.  The son of God? Check!  A revolutionary? Check! A radical? Check!  A poor person? In the worldly sense of the word, check!  A saviour? Check.  A man who hung out with the outcasts, the lepers, the possessed, and the despised? Check!  A lover? Check!  The only perfect person ever? Check!  A teacher? Check!  All right, all right, you've got the point.  this was(and still is) one freaking awesome guy/son of God.  But i want you to think about everything I've said now.  The translation of pisteuō, being  "to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in. and the description of Him being all that it is.  Pay close attention to the place confidence in.  So we are told that by placing confidence in Christ, and by the transitive property, placing confidence in all that Christ was and is we are given salvation.  I don't know about you people, but when i place confidence in something it means I do it.  It means I think it will work.  (now you're thinking that i might not be so crazy after all)

What all that rambling was about is that, yes all that we need is belief in Christ in order to obtain salvation, but we have greatly misunderstood that belief as Christians.   Belief is not just something we do with our minds and hearts, its something we do with our body as well.  It is us showing just how much belief we have by our actions, not to please God and earn ourselves better spots in heaven, but because by truly believing in Christ we have gained His heart, and His compassions, and His love, and we want to share that with everyone.

Well once again thanks for reading my post.  If you haven't checked out the first one scroll down (if your not on my blog go to drummingandrew.blogspot.com).  Just a few more posts to go and you'll all be rid of me for a few days ;).  Its time we start living out our faith. BTW I apologise for the font issues, blogger went nuts and i didn't have the energy to fiddle with it.

Up next:   The Commission (which probably should have been the first post but ohh well)

(i got my greek from blueletterbible.org and my translation from studylight.org)

My Attack of Christianity Part 1 American Dream

This will be probably a four or five part installment.  Yes I am still a christian.  Yes I am being a hypocrite but I am slowly trying to change that.  Here Goes!!!

Sorry Richie Rich

Christianity today has become something unrecognizable.  If the early church were here we wouldn't even be considered pretend Christians.  If Paul were here there would be about thirty books of "To the Church in its current state" and each independent letter would be detailing worse things than are detailed in all of Paul's letters combined.  If Jesus were here in the flesh I imagine we would see Him weep (I imagine He is weeping right now).  Mainstream Christianity has strayed so far from the truth that even the world knows there is something wrong with it (just ask the atheists).  The foundation of today's Christianity is one of belief.  It is that all that is needed to make someone a disciple of Christ is belief in Christ.  Well guess what people... That's not all we need.  This idea came from one poorly interpreted verse (to be discussed later).  There are enough other verses in the bible that say that action is required in addition to belief.  (warning, this is about to get dangerous)  Here's a news flash everyone, you all already know this but choose to ignore it.   Here's what we are truly called to do as Christians.  First we cannot be rich in the worldly sense of the world.  There are so many verses and stories that state this fact that I won't bother recanting any here (if you're looking for some try opening your bible and reading any gospel or letter...).  I lied, here are three.  The book of James in the fifth chapter tells the rich to "weep and groan with anguish" for their "wealth is rotting away" and "the treasure (they) have accumulated will stand as evidence against (them) on the day of Judgement."  In the book of Luke, in the 16th chapter, Jesus says "use you worldly resources to benefit others and make friends.  Then when your earthly possessions are gone they will welcome you to an eternal home."  Jesus goes on to tell the parable of a rich man and Lazarus (look it up on your own Luke 16.19-31).  Early in Luke Jesus says "You cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own!" and "Beware! Guard against every kind of greed.  Life is not measured by how much you own" (13.3 and 12.15 respectively).  As you can see Jesus did not like wealth at all.  Everyone knows where He says "it is easier for an elephant (or some animal of the sort) to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter heaven" (i don't remember the specific verse right now so if you find it let me know).  So part of being a christian is not having wealth, and i guess not being American, seeing as capitalism is all about getting as much as you can.  So how many did i offend there, well guess what, there are no sorrys anymore.  There have been enough sorrys and enough masking of the truth to last a long time.  Its time that the Church became a living being again, "picked up and dusted off their sword) and started emulating Christ in their lives.   

Are you not offended enough yet? OK stick around for the next installments then come talk to me.

I'm not trying to offend people, its just that from experience i know that when peoples beliefs are attacked they get defensive.

Up next "The Verse"