My Lesbian Friend S

I have a friend named S (or I had a friend because she has completely vanished) who is a very nice person. My heart instantly warmed to her the minute I met her (For some reason we just really clicked and I cared very much about her.). She would come to church and it was a joy to be around her. Then one day she instantly disappeared. Even her best friend L had lost all contact with her (And I knew there had to be some reason behind this broken friendship.). Well, after some reluctance (I really don’t like going around snooping into things that happen at church) the reason came out. S (who had been going to one of those gay recovery groups) had announced she was still gay and that is the way she was going to stay. She was instantly cut off from all church relationships (which is just totally outrageous) and even her best friend L had ceased all contact with her. I have tried to contact S with no success. Anyway this entire situation has set me off on a journey that I could never have imagined (And I am finding out things about myself I never knew). At first I was stunned (I couldn’t believe these people I knew would act this way), then I felt total outrage and then I went on a journey of self-discovery. This journey in fact had begun long before this and started at my conservative Christian college with my best friend J who would also find out he was gay (Actually there was a lot of gay people on campus I would find out later.). On the first part of the journey when I found out my friend J was gay (I eventually just stopped going to church for this and other reasons), but I swore I would never do this again. So I have started attending churches that are progressive and I am really getting it from my conservative friends. So I will eventually, most likely, end up like S thrown out to the wolves and it is really hard to maintain friendships with these people.

Pastor Arrested In Illegal Snake Bust

So this is what happens when you take one verse and the Bible too literally. Sure glad I do not go to this church (Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name in Middlesboro, Kentucky - There is no church website that I couldn find these people probably don’t believe in the intranet because it is not in the Bible). A lady was killed in the church around 1995 from a snakebite. From what I gather the handling of snakes takes place in a minority of churches in the Appalachia region. This practice is taken from the Bible verese where it states true believers can take up serpents, Mark 16:17-18:

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. - Mark 16:17-18

These people call themselves “Sign Followers” and they don’t just hanlde snakes but take Mark 16:17-18 literally and practice handling fire, healing the sick, drinking strychnine, and casting out demons. And appearenlty this is done not to prove anything, but conform to the Word of God. The churches are independent and are connected to three American movements in Protestantism: Holiness, Pentecostalism, and Fundamentalism. These people generally consider themselves as Holiness, and like fundamentalist believe in the literal interpretation of scriputure.

There actually has been a book written about the Coots family (the pastor who was arrested was actually interviewed for the book). The book is The Serpent Handlers: Three Families and Their Faith written by Fred Brown.

The whole thing sounds to me like Luke 4:12 where testing God is not trusting God.


See article about pastor being busted:

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/07/11/pastor_among_suspects_in_illegal_snake_bust/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+news

What Is A Super Bishop - And What is With The Pope?

What is a super bishop sounds to much like a super delegate which spells super trouble (Which Americans have seen first hand.). So good for the Anglican Church for again being the forerunners. I was raised in a denomination that didn't allow woman in leadership positions at all which I would later find was just pure legalism (And Jesus had his hardest time with these kind of people.). So now the Bishop of Rome is chiming in about his disappointed over this decision. Well, he doesn't recognize the Anglican Church or any other church other than the Roman Catholic Church for that matter soo why would he even comment. See here.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7494517.stm

Modern Evangelism In The United States

This picture demonstrates the depths to which evangelism has sunk to in the United States. Can you believe this guy actually won Iowa?

Why A Different Church

What am I trying to say?

I took a quiz and I am still an Evangelical/Baptists in my way of thinking to some extent, but on the bright side at least I did not come out as a fundamentalists that would have been chilling (http://quizfarm.com/test.php?q_id=311716). However, this is not surprising since I was raised as an Evangelical/Baptists, but I hoped I had gotten somewhat beyond this mindset. So please have some patience with me, because sometimes I have these attacks and start thinking like an Evangelical/Baptists and it can be kind of strange. There is still this thought process in the back of my head that if I do not answer certain questions correctly (How old is the world?; Should the Bible be taken literally?; etc…) I may be falling into some type of serious error. This may sound silly, but it is true. So now I am trying to expand my way of thinking by being around some Christians who think differently and being exposed to different teachings. There has to be something more to Christianity that is what my heart is telling me. I think the first step to do this is to attend a church, unlike the one I was brought up in, and hear some brand new teachings on Christ. This is a far better option than the last time I got fed up with evangelism and stopped attending church all together. I went to the movies on Sunday morning instead