Hello again, Jac!
Glad to hear things are going well for you in the ministry. That's quite an amazing leap in attendance! Whew! Are you overwhelmed, or is there a way of taking it in small strides? Also, I heard you post in other sections that it's somewhat hectic dealing with the skeptics...was that you who wrote that?
I don't recall. If so, could you handle another?
In reality, I would never open my mouth if I entered your church, with the exception of singing...I like choir and when I was a Christian, it felt great to sing to God. I often felt the presence of His hand on me as I sang, but I have slowly slipped away from that. There are times when I regret it, but the move was necessary for me...even when I did believe in God, there were plenty of people who told me that I made up my God for myself and that it wasn't the Christian God, so I have moved toward something different--hedonism!
(Just kidding!) I still feel God's presence, Jac, but I just attribute it to something besides the God most people worship. Whatever it is that I am feeling, I am trying to get to know it (Him or Her or It) from an unbiased perspective--the God I feel seems to be the same force that controls all of nature, so I am continuing my persuit of God through science. I never would have found this website if I had never typed into a search engine "Evidence for God from Science," so you should be able to acknowledge that I am truly in search of meaning, rather than the persecution I am sometimes accused of.
As for Michael Moore--he has this problem with taking facts and skewing them for his own personal benefit. One of my biggest pet peeves is people who are unable to look at things from an unbiased perspective, and Moore definitely does that. However, I did enjoy 9-11 (for the artistic quality of it--I take his words with a grain of salt and was not convinced one way or another politically...being in the military, most of us favored George W. anyway. I just like the way Moore shows the things that the news refuses to show, such as the pain the American soldiers are going through in Iraq--that is a message that, I feel, should not be overlooked, and it's easier to say "I'm glad so few people have died in this war compared to other wars" than it is to say "holy cow! That's a lot of young boys who are dying over there! I always pictured giant Arnold Swarzenegger look-alikes!") I am just worried that this website might be taking a Moore-like twist in the right-winged direction as opposed to Moore's left-wing direction.
It used to be kind of a "fair and balanced" look at things, but the new discussion guidelines have me typing nervously, awaiting the boot from the ranks of people who enjoy honest discussion and different viewpoints. I am learning, however, to control my impulses of typing what I am often feeling--that's kind of a Christian perspective, I think, as I've read how homosexuality "isn't wrong so long as you don't act upon the urge," and I kind of figured my thoughts were not bad so long as I didn't type them out.
Sorry about the goofy analogy, but I thought it worked well.
Anyway, I'm glad to hear that things are going well for you. Now, just give your life to Christ and you'll really be on the right track (couldn't resist, hehe).
I've given my life to Christ before, Jac! I just think he might be a different Christ than the one most of the people on this website take refuge in! Anyway, I'm glad to see we've gotten to the point where good-natured ribbing (perhaps you've seen that exact quote from one of my posts) is enjoyable rather than something to take offense to.
I look forward to reading your posts.
Oh--I'll be in Mississippi for a couple weeks starting Sunday, so there will be another period of inactivity coming from me for just a short time. Ah, the military life...always moving around, never knowing where you live, and not knowing very many of the people you encounter daily. I love this lifestyle!
Can an account become inactive if it isn't used for a while?
