Living Hope Bible Church - Issaquah, WA - December 8th, 2013

  

“You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”
― Anne Lamott

     First, I want to explain the reason for choosing this quote in regards to my visit to the Living Hope Bible Church today. The reason I chose this quote because the pastor began the sermon by quoting the statistics of everyone who calls themselves Christians. He then proceeded to imply that the Orthodox, Mormons and Catholics are not Christians. It was strange to hear such a narrow definition of Christendom considering that in general it is not something I've seen directed at other Christians, it is mostly against other religions when you see such a strict definition of the religion defining what it believes or what it considers a definition of it's beliefs. This forever marred it since I think that attacking others within the sect of its religion is part of what is wrong with religion in general...it is a great tribalism that sees no room for outsiders who aren't part of the group.

      To contrast this the people who welcomed me were kind and listened to me...they were a bit too eager to get me to join, but sadly I've come to expect that from most small churches. Invisibility and a place to listen is usually best found in large churches or congregations.

      The building is small, simple and nice...it clearly isn't about the money from what I saw, which was something I liked about it...the negative of attacking others and using Jesus's quotes in John towards the Jewish leaders about how him saying that genetics wasn't the basis of virtue or the good started being applied to everyone else...beginning with the groups named above.

      I don't see how one can live virtuously while condemning those who have not even been met and consuming those whose minds you do not know. It is a poison in religion that is propped up by most often the most literal interpretation of texts and the need to justify that which in the end so often to wrongs.

"The Dragon and the Nativity" - Issaquah Christian Church - Issaquah, WA - December 1st, 2013

 

 http://signs.stewartsigns.com/church_sign_issaquah_christian_1030.jpg

      Issaquah Christian Church was an interesting experience, overall good as far as the message is concerned and space being respected. The sermon was about "The Dragon and the Nativity" and worked on incorporating the Devil into the Nativity story (and tying the Nativity into the Fall at Genesis and visions in Revelations). Considering my view of the Supernatural I don't know if God exists, so do doubt the existence of a malevolent force of evil too, I am a bit of an empiricist and skeptic when it comes to the Supernatural and things that cannot be tested. Why I say it was overall good was because of the focus in the sermon.

    The focus of the sermon was the "So What?" The nativity story involves the social ostracizing of Mary and Joseph, both by the people in Bethlehem, and most likely Joseph's family if he had any, considering Mary was pregnant when they weren't married yet. It reminded me of how it could just as easily apply to a Gay or Trans couple...kicked out of their family because of their love and the child they chose to care for. In that way Jesus and the Devil as symbols of how we treat one another was very relevant to me.

    I know that I can do so much better for living love for others and being there for those who have no one. To me that was what the sermon and service reminded me of.

      The music was alright, there was a lot of passion from the singers and the people, and the songs were what I'd heard at most modern Christian services in regards to Christian Rock.

     My space was also respected, when I was there I got to remain anonymous and not pressured to join, which is a plus for me for any Church visit.

     The structure of the service was announcements, three songs, communion, the sermon, collection, final announcements and then everyone left.

     The environment was simple, which I liked, though I wish there had been more talk of social justice abroad...Haiti was mentioned but only as bringing over Christian music and radios...I was hoping education would at least get a mention as part of the mission. The sermon was also good when not taken literally but seen as symbolic as the potential we have with one another and strangers each and everyday.

     There are millions of ostracized Mary and Joseph's, just looking for acceptance, home and a safe to be...be it the refugees, the homeless, GLBTQ folks, and those who have been rejected simply for being who they are.  

November Missionary Experiences in Issaquah - November 26th, 2013

       This has been an interesting month in regards to people evangelizing to me about their faith in Issaquah. The first involved an older woman who had lost her social security, and the second involved Mormon Missionaries. I'll also leave a little blurb for facebook friends who have evangelized this month too.

        The older woman is a woman I've seen at the Issaquah library when I go there on lunch breaks during work. She always greets everyone (including cars) with a "Have a great day," She is definitely kind and unique. The time she did what I would call missionary work or experience is when she gave my coworker and I poetry about Jesus. She told us, "Food for thought," and then left. Apparently others have had this experience with her too as far as her expressing her faith in any social situation or environment. If you drop by Issaquah and the library you'll probably meet her.

     The second experience was also at the library, except outside of it since it was closed. I had just gotten off work and was reading "The Adventures of Telemachus," a great book and one of my current favorites now by Louis Aragon when two Mormon missionaries dropped by. We talked about mythology for a while and they attempted to try and get me to talk about the Church, my reasons for leaving and unbelief were not a conversation I exactly wanted to have so I told them if I had any questions I'd just ask my Dad's family who is almost all Mormon (not to mention just recall memory from when I was growing up and do research). So they asked if I wanted a prayer and who for...My life is great, I don't need anything really. I have an amazing support network, I currently don't have any physical or mental ailments and there are people who honestly deserve others thoughts and actions a lot more than me. So I asked them to pray for the Philippines and those going through the Tsunami and other disasters. It was there the two young guys did the prayer and I used to remember too (and think of best action to take to help those going through that suffering). After they gave me a card the Bellevue Festival of the Nativity, hosted by the Mormon Church (may go for nostalgia, nativity shows were a staple growing up in Elementary school during the Holiday season). They went on their way.

      The third thing I've noticed is evangelizing by friends. Most are of the Catholic and Evangelical Christian variety, with a few Mormon family members also doing a post or two, and the majority of the time it is the person doing it by facing the reasons they believe and the honesty in facing themselves, or part of the work they are doing within a community. It is not always the case though, sometimes it can involve targeting of a group such as going against the gay community or sharing links of those who are...and I have trouble seeing how that can be love in any way. In the future I'll do another post explaining why I believe Gay Marriage is a right and how it is just as ethical and gives as much to the common good as any other stable consensual relationship built around a community.

   In the end I don't see it as bad. Missionary work can be harmless as long as the one doing the work accepts "no" as an answer or leaves room for other view points and can see the humanity in another person and respect them for who they are, and who uses the opportunity to do service within the community they are in. Any person can live with virtue, and if you're putting yourself out there with your religious beliefs, virtue is the best thing you can do too. 

    We all advocate are points of view in different ways, the key is how you do it and what you do. Is what you are doing taking the rights away from another? Are you coming from a place of self and ego or awareness of all members of the community? What you do and how you do it are part of what it means, to live with virtue.