interpretations | Done with Religion

Posts Tagged ‘interpretations’

What Happened to Love and Acceptance?

Posted in Acceptance of Others, christian living, Love of God, Scoop.it, The church, tagged doctrine, interpretations, John 13:34, opinion on March 7, 2018| 6 Comments »

by Jim Gordon

As I look over various postings on social media, it does not take long to realize there are a wide variety of opinions in the christian world. Various biblical interpretations and views on christian doctrine, gun control and a wide variety of issues of our day.

The sad thing is that so often I see the opinions expressed get turned into arguments, name calling and sometimes what seems to be down-right hatred toward one another.

ArguingoverDoctrine

It is sad that we who are christians and supposed to be known for our love for one another get so caught up on arguing over doctrine and interpretation. Why is it we cannot accept that we all have a different view and opinion. We all have a different way of seeing things and interpreting the bible.

As I was in a waiting room the other day, a lady walked in and I heard her tell the receptionist that she was recently widowed. That got me to thinking how a major change in our lives can change our priorities.

When a person hears that they have a serious health condition, or they lose a loved one all the differences of opinion, biblical interpretation and doctrine seem to become less important. The arguing over our views and opinions all of a sudden lose their meaning.

It is times like this that many people come together and encourage and support those who are going through a rough time. It is great that this happens and it is the way it should be.

Yet it is disappointing that it takes a bad situation to bring people together. Why is it we cannot express our views and opinions and accept there are going to be differences of opinion? Why is it we cannot accept one another in our differences and treat one another with respect?

LoveOneAnother

There is certainly nothing wrong with having an opinion. Having different interpretations of the bible and various views on doctrine is normal and good. We can learn from one another when we reasonably discuss these differences. But when we get offended, when we get mad and feel we have to prove our point, that is where the problems begin.

We need to get to a place in our lives that we can discuss our views, listen to the views of others and accept one another in our differences. People need to see that christian people are a family who can love and accept one another whether we completely agree or not.

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Your Opinion Will Get You in Trouble

Posted in Acceptance of Others, christian living, Community, Lifestyles, Scoop.it, tagged acceptance, denominations, Holy Spirit, interpretations, opinion on December 20, 2017| 4 Comments »

Have you noticed that no matter what your opinion or what you believe, just post that thought online and see how many people you get stirred up because they disagree. So many people are ready to argue and try to prove their way is right.

Do you ever get fed up with all the bickering, arguing and disagreements we have over spiritual matters? I sure do.

MyOpinion

We all have opinions, interpretations, beliefs and our way of seeing things. Naturally we are not going to agree with everyone, yet I do not see the purpose of going into long back-and-forth debates trying to prove each other wrong.

Some people love to debate. We all have things we enjoy and like to do and for some getting into long, drawn out debates is a joy.

Others, like me would rather have a short and friendly time of commenting and let it go. I see no reason to debate and try to get others to change their views and see things my way.

In the bible is says ‘if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone’. To me that is saying do not worry about the differences we have or the various ways of thinking. Let each person have their own views and accept that others will see things differently.

Each of us should be able to reason, learn and decide for ourselves what we feel is right. Not only in Christianity but in life itself. It seems many of us want to control others and tell them how to live or point out what we think are their sins and mistakes. In regard to the lives of believers the bible states, ‘who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand’. As followers of Jesus he is our master. Each of us are serving him and are responsible to him, not other people.

HolySpiritOurGuide

I know we can all learn from one another, yet our main source of learning is hearing from the Father through the Holy Spirit who lives within us. We can be guided by the Spirit through the bible and many times through other people, but our allegiance is not to men, governments, pastors or anyone else. We are to follow after our perfect example who is Jesus.

I have decided that for me it is best to be open to hear from others, listen to what they say, seek the guidance of the Spirit as to what I have heard and then move on. If God has something for me to learn from what others say that is great. If what someone says does not resonate with me through the Spirit I move on and let that person have their own view and stick with what makes sense to me.

If we could all follow this way of thinking I think we would get along without all the bickering, arguing and back-biting I see in our world today. Accept one another, respect one another and love one another in the power of the Spirit. Realize it is not wrong to have varying ways of thought. Remember we are called to love God, love our neighbor and look out for the good of others.

For those outside the life of faith we are to treat them the same way. Again, that does not mean we agree or even condone what others do, but we are still to love them with the love of Christ and treat them as our neighbor. The Spirit will convict people of things that need to be changed, it is not our job to judge, convict and condemn people. We are called to love them with a godly love that can only come through the power of the Spirit that is within us.

So, have your opinion, share your opinion in love and be ready to hear and accept the opinions of others even when they disagree.

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So Many Different Views and Opinions

Posted in Acceptance of Others, christian living, Community, Love of God, tagged christian living, doctrine, Gay, gospel, Holy Spirit, interpretations, LGBT, LGBTQ, love, Love of God, opinion on July 13, 2017| 2 Comments »

After being on Facebook for some time and following articles and comments on social media, it does not take long to realize everyone has an opinion. There is nothing wrong with that, it is quite normal. Yet when people start trying to force their opinion on others it becomes a problem.

FacebookOpinions I have found it best to listen to others opinions but not to dwell on them. We all have an opinion on life issues, a way of interpreting the bible and views on living for God but very seldom do we agree on things.

We each need to follow the leading of the Spirit within us and stick with what we feel is right for us. Obviously this does not mean we are always right, but at the time it is best to go with what you feel is the correct way until the Spirit leads you to a different view.

Do not take the view of any person as gospel, do not let any person guilt you or shame you into seeing things their way. Listen to others opinions and respect them, but listen more for the soft, quiet voice of the Spirit to teach you the truth. Always be open to changing your personal views according to what the Spirit teaches.

So often we read an article that says one thing on a particular subject, then find another article that says just the opposite. It is not long until a heated argument begins in the comments and things can get ugly. Name calling and getting mad because of differences of opinion and interpretation is just not the way it should be. We need to learn to accept that we all have different views and we can all be wrong at times.

Sometimes people argue over bible doctrine or subjects that are highly controversial in our world today. We seem to think we have to defend our view and prove our point or we are not being faithful to God. I personally think God can take care of himself and we do not need to defend our interpretations. We are not called to convert people to our way of thinking, we are only called to love them.

In the christian world today, one of the major areas of arguments and differences of opinion seems to be in regard to marriage equality and gay people.

Many christian people seem so hateful toward people who are gay. I am not sure why we tend to make gay people our enemy. I know many gay people who love God and want to follow Jesus. To say they cannot be christian because they are gay is just plain wrong. Yet whether christian or not, gay or straight Jesus calls us to love all people.

Christian people will say being gay is a choice, yet I never remember making the choice to be straight. I was born that way. Is it not the same with people who are gay?

I think so often people only look at the label and do not see the human being. The fact is there is no difference between straight and gay people other than the people we are attracted too. We all want to find that one special person to love and to enjoy life together.

Rather than forcing our opinions on others whether they are gay or straight, christian or atheist, muslim or jew, black or white, republican or democrat, male or female we should be able to show the love of Christ to everyone and accept them as our fellow human beings who want the same things as everyone else. We all want to be happy, enjoy life and be accepted and loved.

It is fine to have our individual opinions, yet we need to remember that not everyone will see things the same way. We are all entitled to have our views and opinions without having love and acceptance being withheld.

BeKind

Jesus said to love God and love one another. He never said to love only certain people or only people who believes the same. We can have our different opinions yet we can love and respect each other even in those differences.

Once we can get past insisting our way is the right way and everyone else is wrong, it will be easier to accept others. When we realize none of us have it all together and we are all learning, then we can accept people with different views and opinions without the hatred and condemnation.

No matter what interpretation, opinion or view you have, we should be able to believe what we feel is right and still accept the differences of others and love one another with the love of God.

A few verses on loving one another:

Mark 12:30-32 — and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Luke 10:36,37 — Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? The expert in the law replied, the one who had mercy on him. Jesus told him, Go and do likewise.

John 13:34 — A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

Galatians 5:14 — For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

1 John 4:20 — If someone says, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

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So Many Voices, So Many Views

Posted in Acceptance of Others, christian living, Lifestyles, Love of God, Word of God, tagged acceptance, Bible, Holy Spirit, interpretations, Jesus, relationships, Spirit, Word of God on April 12, 2017| 4 Comments »

It is amazing to me the variety of voices and views there are in the christian world vying for our attention.

Everyone has their own views and interpretations. I think we can learn something from everyone. Whether it is something new, a better way of doing things, a different way of thinking or just realizing we do not agree with what we hear and it bolsters our own faith.

The problem is that everyone has an opinion. That does not mean everyone is right or wrong. God works in each of us in different ways and what may be right for one person is not right for another.

We need to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit each day, listen for his voice and ask that He will lead us into truth. God will speak and lead us through the Spirit, through the bible and through words spoken from fellow believers. The bible says his sheep know his voice so we need to be sure we are hearing from him, yet we can be assured we can know his voice.

Our relationship with the Father is a day by day experience. What we know and understand today may be completely different from what we believed when we were younger. What we believe today will probably change in the future. God leads us into His truth in His timing as we are ready and open to it.

Our goal is to daily seek the guidance of God through the Spirit and seek His truth. To many of us want to put our focus on a man, a popular evangelist or pastor. Obviously, we can learn from listening to others views and opinions but when we focus on people we can get off track and confused very easily.

Everyone has a different opinion. You can listen to one person or group and hear what they think is the truth, then find another person or group who has a completely different take on the same subject. Putting our trust in people and their opinions often leads to fighting and arguing. Many times, when we have been shown something or led in a particular way we expect everyone to see it our way and to believe the same thing.

The only way to get past all the different views and opinions is to focus on Christ. He will teach us and lead us into the truth. That is not to say we are all going to think and feel the same way on everything. God deals with us personally and in different ways and as followers of Jesus there are many different paths we will walk throughout this life.

We need to remember that the Spirit speaks from within us, he speaks to us from the written word and he can speak to us through other people. We need to be sure we are hearing his voice and know he does not always speak the same way and does not always have the same life experiences for everyone.

It is time we become followers of Jesus and stop being followers of men. Nothing wrong with listening and hearing the views of others, but take it as that. It is their view and opinion. Only Jesus is the one to follow and to be our everything.

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Questions Lead to More Questions

Posted in Acceptance of Others, christian living, tagged church, Holy Spirit, interpretations, questions, religion on November 2, 2016| 10 Comments »

If you grew up in church and the religious organization, have you ever thought about the idea that maybe we were told some wrong things and taught some wrong interpretations?

Most of us who have been in the church for any length of time knows how the system works and it is really all we know. We listen to a pastor and figure they know what they are talking about because they were called by God. They went to a college institution to be taught everything about God by another human.

For my wife and me, the longer we were in the institution the more we felt uncomfortable and began questioning some things that just did not seem to fit together. I remember having several questions over time about doctrine or interpretation that did not make sense to me, or did make sense but not in the traditional teaching of the church. I knew if I asked the pastor or others in the church they would think I was wrong or falling away from my faith.

I think as time goes on being outside the walls of religion we have come to find that some of what we were taught all these years just might not be the way God intended. Man might have taught some wrong doctrines all based on human interpretation apart from the Spirit.

We have found that asking questions usually leads to more questions. I think it is time we stop relying on a pastor or so-called spiritual leader to tell us all about God and start thinking for ourselves. We have the Holy Spirit within us who was sent to teach us. We have the mind of Christ so why do we still think we need another human being to tell us all about God.

There is nothing wrong with discussing thoughts and ideas with other people. It is not wrong to hear different views and interpretations, but in the end follow the leading of the Spirit and do not rely on the opinions of others.

Ask the Spirit to lead you into His truth. Do not be afraid to ask questions. Ask God for guidance. Remember we are all kings and priests, we are all equally functioning parts of the body and Christ is our head. We do not need to rely on another human being to teach us about God. Listen for the quiet and calm voice of the Spirit and seek His guidance.

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Frustrated with Christianity

Posted in christian living, The church, tagged acceptance, argument, Christianity, church, doctrine, Holy Spirit, interpretations on May 19, 2016| 65 Comments »

Have you ever felt frustrated with modern-day Christianity? Obviously the church today is not what God intended and in America the church has become a big corporation more than anything.

On the other hand, no matter what church or Christian group you belong to it seems we just cannot accept each other. We always have groups that say one thing and then along comes another that says something completely different. Then one group gets mad and argues their point and it just seems fruitless to continue debating one another. One group says this is the way to do it, the other says no your way is wrong but our way is the way to do it.

Obviously this is not to say that the advice of trusted Christian friends should be avoided, but the continual arguing over differences, doctrines and interpretations should be something we stay away from at all costs.

I am at a point where I am frustrated with this type of Christianity and ready to say forget it. God loves me. There is nothing I have to do or stop doing to receive God’s love. I am saved through faith in Jesus Christ and I have the Holy Spirit living within me. I do not have to listen to this group or that group, this speaker or that preacher. God can guide me in the way He wants me to go and I no longer should worry about my reputation or what others think as long as I am living pleasing to my Father. Does anyone else feel this way too?

I really think if we accept God’s love for us the way we are, follow Him by being willing to do what He wants us to do and listen to the guiding of the Holy Spirit within us we will be OK no matter what others say. We no longer have to be tossed to and fro by listening to all the different voices in Christianity today. We need to listen and trust God and enjoy the fellowship we have with Him through Christ.