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10/16/21 02:05 PM #48    

 

Lester Dan Langley

Last Sunday (October 10) my Sunday school class took a break from Adam Hamilton (the writer of choice for Methodists) and discussed three issues I identified as part of the legacy of the long American Revolution––the January 6th assault on the Capitol, the charge that the American Revolution precipitated a war against women, and how God plays a crucial role in our civil religion. My goal was to answer a seemingly unanswerable question: How does the empiricist (the numbers cruncher) speak to a person of faith? The readings for the first came from an essay on how Evangelical/Fundamentalist Christians divided on the assault and a profile identifying the majority in the "insurrectionists" as just like the BHS Class of 1958, representative of a cross-section of society but about 30-40 years younger. For the second, I used Abigail Adams's "Remember the Ladies" letter and Paxton Smith's unauthorized 2021 valedictory address criticizing Texas's "Heartbeat Law" as a threat to women's rights. For the third, I chose JFK's 1961 Inaugural (remember his statement that our work in the world was "God's own") and an exchange between me and a Lutheran pastor in Pittsburgh who believes that the decline in religiosity in denominational churches is due to the fact that the non-denominational churches can appeal to people who respond not to reason but to emotions. In other words, the traditional churches have lessened up on laying down rules that must be followed. The two women associate pastors of the Church joined the group.

I was a bit surprised at their responses, but you may not be. For the first––the insurrection at the Capitol––there was minimal to non-existent interest in looking at the event as a Constitutional crisis. The general view was that these people were "mischief makers" who ought not to have been there. (Frankly, I was heartened by the ambiguity that Fundamentalist leaders displayed.) As for the second, there was ZILCH support for abortion as an integral tenet of women's rights, which I understood. I could not quite absorb the repeated insistence that women, indirectly but effectively, do have control over their rights. I am able to handle the bumper sticker question "Would Jesus drive an SUV?" but, fortunately, one of the associate pastors jumped to my defense when I was asked, "How would Jesus have reacted to an abortion?" As for the third question, the group was understandably spiritually emboldened with JFK's invocation of God's work as part of our national purpuse, but ABSOLUTELY and to me disturbingly UNMOVED by the well-documented response that when our government gets into the business of doing God's work in the world we wind up damaging our national interest and sacrificing lives. 

Most of my Sunday school class vote Republican and probably belong to the Trump nation, broadly defined.  I promised I would listen and I did. I did not mention that if Donald Trump wants to know his future he should watch the Andy Griffith film, "A Face In the Crowd." I did not get around to posing my last question: If you think of "redneck" not in racial or gendered or class terms but as someone who is defiant of what is perceived as an unjust and unconstitutional exercise of authority, was Jesus the messiah of the rednecks?

As always, when I am lost, I pray and ask for help, but both God and Jesus are exasperated with me. God tells me to "play the hand I've been dealt" and Jesus's reaction is "When are you going to stop living your living your life as a Greek tragedy?" Help me out on this one. I want to cross over. I want to belong to people of faith who don't tell me that "it's over."

A final query. Neither of the associate pastors could answer this question. Perhaps you can. Why would a man––I do not presume how a woman would answer––prefer to be called a sinner rather than a loser?


10/18/21 02:55 PM #49    

Lorean Holloway (Thompson)

Just trust the scriptures.  Ecc12:13 ---Noah had never seen rain, but he built an ark.  Follow the scriptures.  Have faith.  Pure religion James 1:27 --you have to have faith in the scriptures first.  Acts tells how to be saved and the Epistles tell us how to live.  Not easy.  I hope you find peace..  You have interesting posts, they are too deep for me.  I had to read Bill Buckley with a dictionary years ago. Prayers 


10/24/21 01:19 AM #50    

Amada Vidaurri

Dan,

I hesitate to write because few of the women do and I don't know why.  Abigail Adams was right and we all probably agree that women are equal to men and that we can now speak and vote.  

January : I'm surprised something did not happen sooner.  How long were people supposed to put up with the rioting and looting in Seattle, Chicago, New York, etc.  I don't think the Constitution was a factor.

Socialism:  Is this what Lyndon Johnson intended with his Great Society?  I don't think we all need to be reduced to the lowest common denominator.  Human nature being what it is, there will always be poverty and although we all all unique, we are  all not equal except in the  eyes of God.  We do try to help those who cannot help themselves.

Abortion:  I do not have children and I do not know the lyrics to any "he done me wrong songs", so maybe I am not too biased .  I am a Catholic.  I do not know about other faiths, but the various denomiations of the Christian fath cannot agree  when life begins - at conception, when there is a heartbeat, when the fetus is viable, etc.; when and how does the soul arrive? If it is a life, why is abortion not murder?  Is murder o.k.?

There is a lot of rhetoric about "choice" and 'rights".  If you were a willing particpant at the creation, why are you not responsible for the consequences?  If it is not a medical necessity, does this take care of the "ooops!", I didn't mean to get  pregnant factor?  Does the father have any rights?  We do not hear much about having a moral compass.

Opinions:  Yes, I have more

Sinners:  A sinner vs. a loser - You can repent witth your dying breath.

Amada

 

ISMS

You may have already seen a version of this.  A friend shared this with me.

An English teacher wrote to Ann Landers and asked for a repeat of a prevous column.  Her class was reading Orwell's 1984 and she wanted to explain the isms without having to teach too much history. The new column may have been from 12-4-2002.  Landers called it an "oldie but goldie".

SOCIALISM: You have two cows; give one to your neighbor. COMMUNISM: You have two cows; give both cows to the governent and they  might give you some milk. FASCISM: You have two cows; give all of the milk to the government and the government sells it. NAZISM: You have two cows; the government shoots you and takes both cows.  ANARCHISM: You have two cows; shoot the government agent and steal another cow.  CAPITALISM; You have two cows; sell one, buy a bull.

 

 


02/15/22 10:03 AM #51    

 

Lester Dan Langley

In early March I will participate in an Emmaus Walk. I've read about its benefits and even transformative power. If any of you has taken the Walk, I'd be grateful to hear about your experience. For a year, I've been consulting a therapist in an effort to "liberate" the person I have "trapped" within me––I am a "5" on the Enneagram scale––and instinctively fearful about revealing myself. "Fives" ("Investigarors") are notoriously fearful, as are "Fours" ("Individualists") and "Sixes" ("Loyalists"), but "Fives" can border on bipolarism. In other words, they can be perceptive and innovative but also secretive and isolated. My weakest link is with a "Two," who are "Helpers"  and care-givers and are characterized by their demonstrative, generous, and people-pleaasing ways yet can be possessive and suffer from sadness. (No woman who is a Two should ever watch "Looking for Mr. Goodbar.") I understand those men who desperately want the love of a Two. I'm hopeful the Emmaus Walk will strengthen my resolve to find balance in my life––defined benefits in my retirement and in my faith––and to serve God.


02/16/22 09:21 AM #52    

 

Charles Boyd

Dan,

I attended the the walk to Emaus quite a few years ago.  It was very helpful for me to see how important that it is to be in tune with the Love of Jesus for each of us!!!  Since then I have been more adept at meeting with him each day, even during very hectic days.  Do I always do it well, no.  But I do attempt to be in touch with him each and every day!  Be blessed brother and let the Spirit guide you in your walk!!!

Your Indian in Jesus, 

Chief


02/18/22 12:54 PM #53    

Ruthie Darby (Laughery)

Lynda, you are in my prayers.  Thots and love 


02/19/22 08:20 AM #54    

 

Charles Boyd

Oh Jesus, wash Lynda with your awesome peace, comfort and presence today!!!  Take care of her Lord!!!

Your Indian in Jesus,

Chief


03/14/22 01:23 PM #55    

 

Lester Dan Langley

The Emmaus Walk is a form of "spiritual hazing," but I've experienced nothing like it––fifteen sessions from "Priorities" to the "Fourth Day" in which the participant hears lay and clerical presenters speak to their lives of despair and recovery. I now understand what Christian brotherhood means. I sat at a table with three former prisoners––one of them a brute of a man with tattoos on both arms––and listened to their experiences with the "Walk" that takes place in prisons. Then there are the moving chapel events with supporters who are praying for those who are going on the "Walk." My sponsor––a Methodist pastor––has suggested that I play a role at a future Emmaus meeting, but I am hesitant to do so. I am unworthy. What do I say to a group of men who have endured a hell I never experienced and recovered? What do I say to people who know who I am when I have spent most of my life trying to figure out my identity? Paul Tillich was right. One has to make a leap of faith. But how do I blend, fuse, knot together or whatever, reason and analysis with faith? Perhaps a story will suffice. My roommate at Emmaus was a 33-year old trucker engaged to a 45-year-old and deeply religious cosmetologist. He seemed uncertain about the marriage's survival. "She can't come with me on the road." "Don't worry," I told him. "You are in store for some very special homecomings."

 

 


03/15/22 10:33 AM #56    

 

Charles Boyd

Dan,

I too was blessed on the walk to Emmaus!  Is anyone worthy except our Jesus? No, you and I are called to boldly stand for and with Jesus each day and in every way.  Sounds easy, but it does require lots of hard work.  So spend your time proclaiming Jesus and let him use you to bless others remembering it is he that does all of the blessing, you and I just his instruments!!!  wa do ji sa!!!

Your Indian in Jesus,

Chief

P.S.:  "wa do ji sa" is simply Thank you Jesus in Cherokee!!!

 


12/09/22 02:15 PM #57    

 

Lester Dan Langley

Dear Classmates, Those of us who are Methodists are nowadays attuned to the division among us that has prompted breakaways from some UMC churches to the Global Methodist Church. The central issue, according to most of those in my own UMC church and in my S.S. class, seems to hinge on the appointment of gay and lesbian (and, I presume, transgender) pastors. Of late, I have been visiting other churches in San Angelo to get a feel for what is happening. Frankly, I'm puzzled, as a careful reading of the literature on the issue seems to indicate that the differences are actually very minor. Both groups are accepting of members who may not be "straight" but divided on the question of appointment of pastors. I realize I am going out on the proverbial "limb" on this one, but I believe that the real issue within the Methodist (and other denominations) within Protestantism and perhaps in Roman Catholicism as well is NOT about sexual identity but about EQUALITY for women. Global Methodism professes a need to return to John Wesley's teachings. I agree. But if the issue is the place of women in the church or in society, Wesley was almost as screwed up as Donald Trump. Have you read his essay, "On Suicide?" The need within Methodism, I believe, is not so much a return to Wesley's teachings but to Jesus's message, which is about inclusivity. As is sometimes said, Jesus left no jerk behind. Keep the faith and have a Happy and Blessed Holiday Season. Lester Dan. UGA 35, OSU, 21; UGA 40, Michigan 17

 

 


12/10/22 09:14 AM #58    

John Wilkinson

Dan, thanks very much for your thought provoking post.  I too am a Methodist.  I feel you are 100% correct that Christianity needs to focus much more on following the teachings of Jesus in many areas including the equality of women and would add His emphasis on maintaining unity in the church.

Happy holidays to you and also to all of my other classmates!


12/11/22 09:45 AM #59    

 

Charles Boyd

Dan,

I was a methodist but found a non-demonational church in Denver who just proclaims the Word!!!  We enjoy the church and a great Sunday School class.  The Methodist Bishop in Colorado is gay .  I agree that gays etc. need to be ministered too by the Church and can be members but for leadership it is not acceptable.  We are to love others and help them find Christ and to follow His Word.  

Your Indian in Jesus,

Chief


12/14/22 12:52 PM #60    

 

Lester Dan Langley

Your––meaning anybody from the Class of '58 reading this––recollections may be better than mine, but I recall hearing secondary and tertiary accounts of a dispute  in the 1960s or 1970s about a homosexual man in the choir of a prominent Baptist church in Borger. Although the details may be in dispute, but, as I heard the story, the male deacons in the church were, literally and figuratively, "hell bent" on getting the "queer out of the choir." My mother was in that choir, and one of my sources in the matter. The story she told me was that the choir refused to go along with the movement. My mother overwhelmingly and without reservation disapproved of homosexuality, but she joined her defiant colleagues. As she explained it to me, "The man in question had a beautiful voice, and I believe God chose to place him in our group. I just didn't want to stand near him." My mother had firm convictions about drink. I recall one visit I made. She had already retired for the night. I wanted a beer. So I walked to a nearby convenience store, bought a Schlitz tall boy, brought it back to the apartment, drained it with pleasure, and put the empty in a NEIGHBOR'S garbage can. I believe God understood. P.S. Take a look at the story on the Munn family of Borger in the latest TEXAS MONTHLY and give me your thoughts.


01/14/23 11:24 AM #61    

 

Lester Dan Langley

Most of our class, I believe, remember several of our teachers more than others. I am one of that number. My first selection for the list would be John Gentili. (He attended the 50th reunion.) In the past few weeks, I was finally able to track him down by going on the white pages for Arizona. The name and e-mail address I got turned out to be his son, also named John Gentili, who forwarded my message to the father. Mr. Gentili is 93 now. If you wish to drop him a line, let me know. 

On another, more controversial issue––the January 6th Report––you should take a look at the review of the Report in a sharp critique by Jill Lepore in the January 16th issue of THE NEW YORKER magazine: "What the January 6th report doesn't see."  Lepore is no fan of Donald Trump, but she does believe in the truth, which can be complicated and nuanced. Lepore is angry because of the focus on Trump and the Big Lie and not the Congress and those Americans who have swallowed not the Lie  (in her words, an "inept phrase" which Hitler employed) but the distorted history, the counter-narrative of American history that "2 of 5 and 3 of 5 Republicans" believe. Lepore calls for a Report that will ask why so many people believe that narrative. Her answer (on p. 64) is that the Committee and so many leaders comport themselves as a privileged elite alien to those they pretend to lead and have been seduced by the world of Twitter and its message. What she forgets is that 2/3rds of those "insurrectitionists" do believe they were acting in the American revolutionary tradition and that some of the earliest critics of what happened on January 6, 2021, were evangelical Christian leaders who had endorsed Donald Trump.

 


02/04/23 01:40 PM #62    

 

Lester Dan Langley

Well, I did it again. For several First Fridays, which are reserved for those who have experienced the Emmaus Walk, I never said very much. At the last meeting, which was very well attended, I did make some comments. The topic ranged over numerous complaints, particularly the distractions of technology, such as driving and talking on the cell phone. I was particularly alerted to the men's ongoing frustration with their children or their wives and their complaints about his behavior and/or priorities. As men nowadays believe they are under assault from all directions. Sociologists have discovered that a class on the Angry Male may draw more students than the old favorite, Marriage and the Family. I made some effort in suggesting what should be done. My proposal––a Sunday School class entitled "For Men Only"––did not go across very well. In my Methodist church, there have been programs and classes designed principally for women, although men are not expressly denied enrollment. I have heard more than one woman cleric voice the judgement that churches are for women. I'll steer clear of that one, but, ladies (and men, if so inclined), you can weigh in. In any event, I suggested an appropriate beginning for the class would be a discussion of John Wesley's essay, "Thoughts on Suicide."  That piece, written when he was an old man, may have been inspired by his long and troubled relationship with women. Wesley understood something every male pastor knows: The obligations of one's ministry often brings problems for the marriage. Wesley's recommendation? Pretend you are single.The larger issue is the status of women in the church and the question of women's equality. The UMC took until 2019 to acknowledge that men and women are equal in the eyes of God. Some faiths and organizations came to a decision about this matter years ago. Consider the following statement about gender equality, which is taken NOT from the UN Declaration of Universal Rights (1948) but from a Preamble by the Women of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s:

WE BELIEVE in the mission of emancipated womanhood, freed from the shackles of old-world traditions, and standing unafraid in the full effulgence of equality and enlightenment. 

WE BELIEVE in the equality of men and women in political, religious, fraternal, civic, and social affairs wherein there should be no distinction of sex.

 


03/03/23 01:42 PM #63    

 

Lester Dan Langley

This is for those who are angry about the teaching of "woke" ideas and beliefs in K to 12 schools and at universities and colleges or, conversely, those who believe these assaults are unfounded and we should be alert to inequities and injustices that are embedded in our legal systems and social practices and be active in ridding them from society with laws and behavior. I posed this question to a retired cleric (a Protestant), and his response surprised me. "I can understand the concern," he said, "particularly if we are talking about gender identity to a first grader." By that remark, I inferred that he was saying  that for some parents of a first grader, this IS a problem that warrants a discussion and counseling but we don't have to preoccupy ourselves with it to the detriment of teaching about love and acceptance of others. He recognized that the issue of "woke" teaching for adults is a different matter. He posed one of those proverbial hypothetical questions: "How would you classify the Sermon on the Mount? To one degree or another, each of its passages speaks against what the scribes of Jesus's era were teaching." Listening to him, I began to have mental flashbacks to my career, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s, when I was much more outspoken about the attitude of some of my senior colleagues or department chairs who championed high standards for hiring but, by one device or another, rigged the system against people of color——for example, not considering Asian Americans or African Americans for a position. Those of us who are Methodists are alert to the divisions or "disaffiliation" debates nowadays rending the church. Francis Asbury, one of the first Methodists bishops in this country, spoke to that issue in compelling language. I am an old man and I accept the fact that I don't belong in the classroom anymore, but, if I could relive my life and career, I believe I might try to be more understanding of colleagues or seniors who seemed to me to take immoral or unChristian positions on some matters. Maybe conversation rather than condemnation would have been the answer. That's not the same thing, to paraphrase Mark Twain, as "hearing Satan's side of the story."

Happy Easter and God Bless all those who believe that hope is not what you see but what you don't see.


04/10/23 07:47 AM #64    

 

Paula Kay Collins (Diamond)

Anybody in Amarillo that could let me tag along with them to the reunion? I can't drive anymore but would love to go. You can call me at 806-731-3535. 

Thanks,

Paula Collins Diamond

 


05/11/23 02:15 PM #65    

 

Lester Dan Langley

Dear Classmates,

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to chat more with some of you at the April 22 reunion. I've "folded" my project about "God, Jesus, and the Battle for the Soul of the Long American Revolution" into a personal but, I believe, more relevant long essay, "God, Jesus, and My Life With the Long American Revolution," which will address the issue of what it's like to be both observer and participant and the dilemma each of us has about being objective. 

By making the book a memoir, I can better express my intention of speaking to (and maybe for) others, particularly those of the 8th generation of the American Revolution (1951 to 1975), who feel pummeled by the changes going on about them. You've already told me what it's like for you to watch your children and your grandchildren slip away, but I need more. "God, Jesus, and My Experience With the Long American Revolution," is your story as much as mine. I make no pretension that the book is a scholarly account, although it draws on several relevant scholarly works. I am just as interrested in how you balance what's in your heart and your head. How do you know when something is a moral or spiritual issue or what is "evidence"? I'm giving a couple of talks this summer on the historian (and you are a historian) as observer and participant. Two of my suggested readings are Hebrews 11:1 (KJV) and one of the episodes from the Andy Griffith Show, "Aunt Bee, the Juror." 

The memoir will bring religion to center stage for each of the five parts: Revolution or Rebellion; the importance of Place; His and Her American Revolution or The Ghost of Abigail Adams; Progress and Prophecy; Nationhood, Being and Belonging; and the Epilog. Each of these parts may begin with something happening now. For example, imagine that James Dean did not die but lived to make a sequel to "Rebel Without a Cause," which was released in 1968 as "Revolutionary Without a Cause." Your children or grandchildren might not take note of the difference, but I am guessing that you would. So, I'll be getting back to you. I depend on you more than you know. It was always difficult for me to "fit in" to the academic world, where I spent forty years and dedicated myself to what I once believed was my first love: my career. That took its toll, as did November 22, 1963. 

It's a difficult process to reconnect with friends and family. But I always keep in mind that without Christianity, especially conservative Christians, human rights as we know it would not be possible. What makes Christianity different is its focus on the person. The problem comes when government intrudes and secular messiahs mislead us. As always, you can keep your remarks off the record. None of your names will appear in the final draft. Let's start our conversation with this one: Someone proposes putting up a marker or a sign of the Ten Commandments in every courtroom or classroom, and someone else suggests, "No, put up the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount instead." Or, for the guys of our class: We get to the Pearly Gates and we are confronted not with St. Peter but Judge Judy. Thanks, LDL


05/19/23 10:15 AM #66    

Melvin Grimes

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMADA VIDAURRI!!


05/26/23 02:03 PM #67    

 

Lester Dan Langley

 Let's begin with a quotation from the late Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Antonin Scalia:

Justice Antonin Scalia, “Quotations,” Politico 2/14/2016, remarks delivered at a Knights of Columbus convention in 2016

Believing in traditional Christianity is something else, Scalia said, referencing beliefs such as God being born the son of a virgin and the concept of heaven and hell.

“God assumed from the beginning that the wise of the world would view Christians as fools ... and he has not been disappointed,” Scalia said.

“If I have brought any message today, it is this: Have the courage to have your wisdom regarded as stupidity,” he added. “Be fools for Christ. And have the courage to suffer the contempt of the sophisticated world.”   

Scalia professed to be an orginalist and a conservative, but he was once taken to task when he implied that the Supreme Court should be attentive to "majoritarian views," which prompted several legal scholars to state that on that theory he could have been removed from the bench. 

My interest here is his observation that all Christians should be "fools for Christ." This makes me a bit uneasy because my experience is that most Christians I know do not consider themselves fools. Are we fools if we believe in the. definition of "evidence" as faith in things we cannot see but want to believe are true? (Hebrews 11:1). Am I a fool for believing that what we need in every schoolhouse or court is not the Ten Commandments but the Beatitudes, the first 8 verses of the Sermon on the Mount? Am I a fool for believing that Jesus sometimes dwelled on the thought of getting a look alike to take his place on the cross (a plot the Romans might have gone along with) , runnng off with Mary Magdalene and having children, and that some of their descendants are running restaurants in downtown Manhatten? Am I a fool for believing that Jesus is the Messiah of the Rednecks and that's the reason he would NOT want to drive an SUV (remember that bumper sticker) but would have preferred a Ford F-150?  OK, that's enough. In the end, all I can say is that I want to believe and I want to belong, and if that makes me a fool, I'll live with it, hoping that on Judgement Day, Judge Judy will understand.


08/08/23 10:24 AM #68    

 

Lester Dan Langley

You may recall the story of the most famous psychology exam question——WHY?——to which there were only two universally accepted answers, "Why Not" and "So What." My return to the church, among other spiritual awakenings, has convinced me there is a third answer which should be universally accepted: "John 3:16."

On a different note, you may be interested in a recent book about the early days of Borger by Caleb Pirtle III and J. Ronald Hardin: Borger: Last Dance at Sundown, when the town was known as the "Sodom of the Panhandle." It has a name index. When I was teaching the US history survey at UGA, I would often try and usually fail to get across some points of comparison with Athens (the "Classic City") and Borger. Only later did I discover that the best way to do comparisons is to look FIRST for differences, which will tell you more. In the end, when I framed the two cities side by side, I would simply say: In Athens, the "war" means the "Civil War"; in Borger, it means WWII. To the students in my US history class in Costa Rica in Fall 1986, Athens, Ga., meant music. What was the biggest difference my UGA students found between Borger and their home towns? What I told them about the bonds of those of us in the BHS Class of '58 and how they felt about their own high school graduating class. So much for "hunger of memory."


09/18/23 12:51 PM #69    

 

Lester Dan Langley

You may be familiar with the video series on towns in the USA. I just watched one of them——empty towns in the Texas Panhandle——and it begins with Borger, from the boom days of the 1920s to the present. (Skellytown, White Deer, and Pampa are the other featured towns.) Some of the shots are depressing, which will not surprise you. These mini-series videos can be misleading, and this one is no exception. I saw lots of shots of houses, from poor and dilapidated to more upscale but did not see ONE shot of any church. I grew up in a shotgun house (712 Whittenburg), which looks much worse today than it was in the 1950s. My room was at the back, but to get to it I had to go all the way through the house from the front, as there was NO room on either side for passage. I could have entered from the back alley, but I dared not to when I came home from my job as night waterer of the greens ( 8pm to 2am) at Phillips country club. I miss the fifties so much, mainly because of my bond with you. In writing my memoir ("God, Jesus, and My Life with the American Revolution"), I have had to confront my past, its contradictions and conflicts, and the pain of being someone who wants to fit in but refuses to be fitted in. On that note, I believe I may be preaching to the choir.


11/26/23 10:03 AM #70    

 

Lester Dan Langley

For the fourth time in my life, I have rejoined one of the largest groups in Christendom––the migrant from one denomination to another. In my case, the journey went from Southern Baptist to American Baptist to Episcopalian to Universal Methodist Church. About a month ago, I resigned my membership in the last and have been attending a Global Methodist Church. The Methodist church I joined at approximately 9:30 am on September 4, 2017, has a new minister. He's very good. I did not like the dismissal of our woman deacon, but the Church had little choice in making the decision. But that's not the reason I dropped my church membership. I've stopped going to Men's Bible Studies but I am still going to my old Sunday School Class and last night (Nov. 25) attended the contemporary service on Saturday afternoon. I may not join or may never join another church, but I know I belong in a church. The probem I ran into was recognizing that I was saying too much and not listening enough. I was trained––aren't we all––into accepting the adage that "Truth Lies in the Eyes of the Beholder."  But be careful when you say that to someone who believes in Hebrews 11:1 and its admonition that truth (evidence) lies in our faith in what we DON'T see but want to see. If one believes that our elected officials are God's agents––as did the Baptists who championed Thomas Jefferson despite his very unChristian beliefs––then what good comes from getting into an argument or intense debate with a believer in discussing the meaning of a particular verse or parable. A Sunday School or Men's Bible Studies class is not Sociology or Philosophy 101. I am circular. I envy the linear-minded and especially the believer who is certain "beyond a Scriptural doubt" that EVERY problem the believer is confronting is addressed in Scripture. I want to live my life over again. Nowadays, I find myself getting into trouble when I go to a historical convention (as I did earlier this month) and hear a participant at a session on "conservatism" indict George Wallace or Woodrow Wilson for their racist views. They DID profess racist views, but their lives are more complicated. Instead of saying nothing when the chair asks for comments, I ask the speaker if we should take into account what these people did. After he was shot and in a wheelchair, Wallace went into Alabama churches to talk about his life and behavior and that should matter. "Do you believe in redemption?" I asked . "Well, if the person really means it" is the response. Maybe I should just be quiet and never ask "Why" if it leads to "Why Not" or, worse, "So What." Circumstance does matter. My brother-in-law, who spent a lifetime in law enforcement, told me what he learned as a detective: "My best sources of information were angry wives and whores, not deacons of the First Baptist Church." I know, you're thinking, "that's not good enough" for some situations. And you're right. If I go to John 3:16, I don't have to ask "Why?"


11/27/23 02:32 PM #71    

 

Charles Boyd

Dan,

If you are wrestling with confusion, look at the following scriptures:

      Isa 26: 3  -  1 Cor 14:33  -  Isa 55: 8 - 9

Your Indian in Jesus,  Chief


12/19/23 10:28 AM #72    

 

Lester Dan Langley

Merry Christmas! I wrote this Christmas Message ("The Best Gift") the last time Christmas occurred on a Monday (2017). I thought it appropiate for you this Christmas.

I trust this holiday season is enjoyable for you, despite the proverbial "downers" that for some seem to coincide with holidays. If your experience is similar to mine, you may have given a gift card and gotten one in return. In my Sunday School Class yesterday, the sentiments were mixed, predictably so from a generation of "fifties" women (who are in charge and outnumber the men) and one self-identified "grumpy old man" who opined he could never accept the notion of Christmas occurring on Monday. My "surrogate big sister" (the former neighbor and cheerleader) was absent with the flu. Nowadays she talks about dying, and I tell her no one who dresses so nicely (I recall those times when she always wore jewelry while mowing her lawn) can really mean that. Her attitude reminds me of Abigail Adams (author of the iconic March/April 1776 letter "Remember the Ladies"), and she is proud to have been one of the millions of women whose vote denied Hillary Clinton the election of 2016. We have bonded, so I do not comment that just as Richard Nixon made possible the election of Jimmy Carter, and Carter, the election of Ronald Reagan, President Trump will make possible the election of our first woman chief executive. Here's trusting she will be a "fifties" woman or, if you like hybrids, a "fifty-sixties" gal, with the "fifties" as the dominant trait. This has been my first Christmas with the group after joining the Methodist Church, and, despite the fact that I never hear "Just As I Am" as the Invitational, they do accept me just as I am––a liberal who like Barry defines himself as a Goldwater liberal, a believer in affirmative action who thinks that we should leave no jerk behind, and a guy who was lucky to have been in the Borger High Class of '58 and to have married "Abigail Adams." You accept me as I am, and when I tell her that I am interested in changing no one but myself, the response is, "Why don't you." I like having a choice, but memories are for me the best gift. 


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