A little insight to Fr. Frog's faith and relationship with God. This is my personal theology and does not have any relationship with any particular denomination, doctrine, or dogma.
I believe that...
God created everything, but not in our time frame. It took billions of our years to go from "nothing" to the present state and it is no less a miracle than the purported 7, 24 hour earth human days given in the Genesis stories. (Yes, there a 2 versions.) Getting hung up on how long it took or the exact process is stupid. Ignoring scientific evidence is stupid too, and science is NOT the work of the devil. (Remember that not too long ago major church leaders said that the world was flat and that the earth was the center of the universe and they ridiculed and persecuted those who believed differently as heretics.) God still did it. As an aside consider this.
Some fundamentalist groups claim that the earth (or universe depending on their philosophy) is about 4500 of "our" years old (I recently heard 6000 given too), based upon their supposedly counting of biblical events (of which a lot of things and time frames are missing.) We are also told in scripture that "a thousand years is like a day" to God. OK. If we take all that literally then...
4500 years x 365 days per year = 1,642,500 our days
1000 years per God's day x 1642500 days = 1,642,500,000 years That's 1 billion, 642 million, 500 thousand (plus or minus) years. If we use the 6000 figure it then comes out to 2,190,000,000 (2 billion, 190 million). A VERY long time. Interestingly, there is some scientific evidence that "life" first arose on earth about 1.6 billion years ago.And the problem with the timing is...?
We are inherently good by our initial creation (We were created by God and thus initially good) but eternally sinful by stupidity and greed. In His love for us, God provided a way for redemption by His Grace through Jesus Christ (and not through anything we do), and gave us guidelines on how to live properly in the Scriptures. He gives us further guidance and encouragement through the Holy Spirit. We ignore all these at our peril.
"God created US in His image" does not mean God looks like us. I believe that there is other intelligent life "out there" that He created too. "In His image" means, I believe, that we have the capacity to love others in spite of what they are like. As human Christians we refer to the "Creator" as Father, Son/Jesus, and Holy Spirit," and depict Him in "our" form, but some where out there He may be known as ZX*ДЖΨ', Bahd¬agazõk, and ÐCræblitz, and His story may be a bit different there than here. This should give theologians on both sides hours of entertainment when we meet an extraterrestrial civilization. He is still "God." Note that we cannot make God in our image.
God doesn't have a problem with hobbies and interests, science, medicine, alcohol, food, dancing, working hard, being wealthy, prosperous, famous, enjoying sex, the exact day you set aside for rest and worship, being proud of what you have done, skill at arms, or the format that you choose to worship with. He rejoices that we can enjoy and do things. He does have a problem if we abuse such things or become mindless slaves to them.
God doesn't care what denomination you are, but rather how well you follow His directions.
God gave us minds to think with, and muscles to work with, and hearts to love with. We need to use all three. Blind, mindless obedience to a particular dogma (and dogmas were created by human theologians) is as bad as having no faith guidance.
Only God knows where heaven is.
YOU cannot forgive someone who hurt or wronged another person. Only the aggrieved person(s) can forgive the offense and the offender.
The Communion Table is God's table and not the property of a denomination. It should be open to all baptized Christians who wish to receive. While some denomination have age or education requirements to receive Communion, in my experience most "uneducated" young children understand Holy Communion better than most adults. Besides the Bible states, "Do this in remembrance of me," and not "Do this in remembrance of me if you have been approved." It is between God and the individual.
Whether the bread and wine of the Eucharist become the actual Body and Blood of Christ, are simply the "real presences of Christ," "under the form of...," or are something else, is not worth arguing about unless you are a theologian with time on your hands. Something special takes place in a real and personal way at the Communion Table--God is there for those with an open heart. Come, and receive!
Speaking of baptism. Baptism is the initiation rite of Christianity. You are baptized into the "Christian Faith" and not into a particular denomination. You may, if your denomination has a "confirmation rite," be confirmed as a Christian member of that denomination.
Yes, the Ten Commandments ARE black and white, right and wrong, and no, they are NOT suggestions. The "Two Great Commandments" in the New Testament sum up what the original 10 tell us. Just because we want something to be OK and try to make it so, does not mean it is. Political correctness and trying to soft peddle hard things are the work of the evil one and turn us from right paths.
In our rush to make ourselves think we are in charge, we have no doubt violated the lost 11th Commandment. "I am God. Thou shall not take yourself too seriously."
While there are right and wrong behaviors WE do not have the right to judge and condemn others because they are different than what we believe. That's God's job. We can, however, stand up for what we believe, choose who we and our families associate with or are influenced by, and how to live our own lives and raise our families with our standards. That doesn't make us evil nor bigots.
Showing God's love to all does NOT mean that we have to accept everything that someone wants or does as acceptable or right. We do not have to have our families and children exposed to or influenced by them, to allow them walk over us, have them demand "special" status, nor to be put in positions of authority over us. It does mean that we still have to treat them with love and kindness, even if we hate what they do or stand for.
While we are to help the poor and needy we are not required to let them live on the dole and reap benefits the rest of the people work for, nor are we required to give to them at the cost of our own welfare. Holy scripture refers to the care and feeding of "widows and orphans;" in other words those who are helpless. We are under no obligation to help (nor continue to help) those who are capable of working but who refuse to do so and fail to avail themselves of opportunities help themselves to a better position in life. No one is entitled to anything they do not try to work for.
"In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." -- 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10
God does NOT cause or allow tragedy to happen. We do that well enough ourselves. He does provide the means for us to get through it and to learn from the experience. This fact is frequently forgotten, even by many clergy.
Christianity is NOT a pacifistic religion, but a religion of peace. We are enjoined to try our best to live at peace with others but we are not required to allow others to walk over us or to harm us.
The use of lethal force to defend one's self or someone else against a potentially lethal attack is NOT murder and is not a sin. There is nothing unchristian about skill at arms. "Turning the cheek" refers to insults and not violence.
The best sermons are lived, not spoken.
The greatest threat to "the Church" is politics (a.k.a. political correctness), both internal and external.
The second greatest threat to "the Church" is church leaders or church members who think that they are God.
The job of the Church is NOT political or social activism. It is keeping God's law and Grace in the forefront of the minds of the people and their chosen leaders, spreading the Good News of the Gospel, and showing the love of God to others.
Not all theologians and clergy are "holy men" or "holy women." Unfortunately, there are plenty of scoundrels out there with their own personal agendas and by their works and actions shall ye know who is who.
Frequently people who would make the best ministers / pastors / priests / deacons / bishops / vergers / elders, or whatever, are kept from becoming them by the politically correct hierarchy of a denomination, just as sometimes truly unqualified people are ordained or commissioned by them.
"Ministers" need to be ministered to.
Life is a gift from God. If you are too dumb or too lazy to use a method of birth control when you have sex, you do NOT have the right to murder the unborn baby because it is inconvenient to you. There are better solutions that don't kill the baby, including self-control.
There is more faith in honest doubt than in all the Popes and Bishops in Rome.
If certain words, prayers, actions, customs, gestures, or format of worship are meaningful to you in your worship and life, use them; if not, don't sweat them--but don't belittle those who use or don't use them.
Tithing does not mean giving 10% of your gross time, treasures, and talents to the "church." Tithing means giving 10% of your gross time, treasures, and talents to God's work which can include the church, charities, and direct giving to a need--again something churches have forgotten. Note that we are not blessed because we give, but rather we give because we are blessed.
What we want and what God wants are usually different things.
When one door closes, God always opens another one. Our job is to go through the new door. Or in another vein, "God doesn't expect us to walk on water alone. He just wants us to step out of the boat."
All prayers are answered. It is just that sometimes, not in the time frame we want nor in the form we expect. Sometimes the answer is just giving us the strength to get through the problem, and many times we don't hear the answer because we are too busy talking.
"Go forth and preach the Gospel; if necessary use words." -- Saint Francis of Assisi
Now if you disagree with any of the above, that's fine with me, but they are what shape my faith and that of many of my friends, and they help me to get through life's journey. Please don't email me with rabid denunciations and condemnations--go and live your faith as you feel comfortable. God still loves all of us.
Please email your comments to Fr. Frog by clicking here.
| Back to Fr. Frog's home page |
Updated 2011-04-02