Tag Archives: Judgmental

Why Believe or Connect with God 2018-96

Posted in Contemplation, Religious, Spiritual by

Why Believe or Connect with God           2018-96

This is a simple question that came to mind when surfing the Web the other day.

An article stated that many millennials (Born between 1980 and 1990’s) do not go to church or any religious place, due to many reasons that were listed. Not only is that a fact but they list “No Religion or belief” as a reason, in most cases.

The thing that was interesting were the comments below the article which were stated by various people responding to the article. I scrolled down and read them, and my first thought was a little over the top of understanding. The reasons were bonified, but they or many of them, were pure hokum. 

Some were legitimate, and I agreed that they had a case, but not against all religions regarding the church portion.

First off, it DOES take “FAITH” to believe in a God or in his son Jesus Christ, the man-God.  Nobody has the ability to look back in the past and see the wounds that Jesus Christ had from the Cruxificition at that time. So, doubting Thomas did and it convinced him that Jesus was who He was, at that time. We today do not have that luxury of seeing and believing with something right in front of us. So, I can understand, somewhat, why the lack of faith is present in society today.

But, using the reasons for not going to church that were used, is a stretch.  I will list some now and explain my thoughts. I could probably write a full discourse about each item, but will not do so now, and only a concise, short thought for each of them.

1. Churches are hypocritical in their thinking.   There are some churches and people that go to them that are hypocritical in practice.  That is not right but is a fact. I will repeat this— NOT ALL are that way. To use this broad statement is not only incorrect, but inconsistent with reality.

2. Churches are money grabbing and should be taxed.  Churches need money to exist, support community endeavors and pay for other needs.  To tax them is not going to do anything, except put many out of existence.  If any church DEMANDS people to give money to them or to tithe at 10%, then that is THAT church or religion, NOT ALL of them. If you tithe fine, if you give what you can, fine, if you just go to church and not contribute, fine, so be it.

3. People are judgmental.   Not right, but is so in some cases where humans are going to and exist. This is true in society as a whole, not right, but a fact. But NOT ALL are that way. People being judgmental exists everywhere, so saying a church or religion is so, is a fact, but not the absolute truth.

4.  People in churches are prejudicial towards gays and blacks (if a white church). Not right, but if so, they do NOT represent the majority or churches in general, as a whole. There ARE churches in most locations of the country that have an accepting attitude of everyone welcome; they have to be found and usually on the internet  they state this fact.                      

5. Children are molested by leaders in the church. This HAS happened and is wrong and sometimes, even covered up, but does NOT represent churches in general.  I would think that this is even a rare factor overall for churches in general; sad but true.

6. Too many rules, regulations, dictates, and laws. The only list that counts are the Ten Commandments, for the individual, and internal church ones are subject to change if needed and desired. There has to be some way of guidance for any organization to run and function. Many churches have “Constitutions” that show how the church is run, how it should react to situations, and these are needed, just like the country of the United States, has now.

7. Too many churches with just old people in them. That is a problem for some churches in certain locations, again due to the times.  Getting younger couples to attend is difficult if there are none now in a particular church. Maybe if those young people attended, that church would change for a betterment.

8. Fake stories in the Bible equal lies.  The Old Testament has many “stories”, which are there to make a point, but they do not mean the story is accurate or absolutely true.  They are stories; period. Some religions have beliefs that everything in the Bible is correct, which is wrong in my mind.

9. No proof of Jesus being the Son of God.  There is no birth certificate of Jesus; again, Faith works. The desire to believe also has to be there, and if not, well that is too bad.

10. God does NOT show Himself or talk to us today.  Hmmm, I will deny this as a fact and say that maybe the person did not look or listen, therefore did not see or hear. God is everywhere and most importantly, always Present, always aware, always active, for those that need. He is also alive, to those that will just give Him a chance to react to our needs.

ll. Prayers not answered.  Depends on the prayer and circumstances, which may or may not be accurate of a statement.  God does His thing in His way and in His time, so this is not an absolute. If a prayer for winning the lottery, for instance, to a certain person is not answered, it does not mean He is not there, just was not your time to win. If a wife or mother died and you prayed that they would not, perhaps it was time for them to go; sad!!!  God works in His way, not ours and that is hard to understand for many.

I would rather those that commented did so with honest reply’s, instead of personal hokum type responses. To give a reason for not believing or not going to church for a GOOD reason is one thing, but I don’t think many of the above, are bonified reasons overall.

If it is easier to sleep in, go play golf on Sunday morning, or attend a soccer team match at your kid’s high school, but these are excuses, not reasons for not going. It is also easier to not believe, because believing DOES require commitment and action on our part, which many refuse to do; also sad!!!!

If you just plain don’t believe in God, again, I understand, and both of us will find out someday which was correct. 

Peace,

Den Betts

                                bettsden@gmail.com      = email

                                thebettsden.com             = Blog site

Was Jesus a Good Christian? 2017-39

Posted in Religious by

                                                   Was Jesus a Good Christian?  2017-39

Of course not!  He was of the Jewish heritage and most likely WAS a good Jew for his time. That is to be expected, BUT the Jewish leaders did not think so.  They connived with each other, and baited him to expose his thoughts about the Hebrew religion.  They persevered and managed to trap him into a situation where they could take Him to the Roman authorities to be found guilty of a charge they wanted to make against Him.

Jesus was a Rabbi and, as such, was a teacher of the Hebrew Scripture. He KNEW the past writers of this religion and could bring up passages that made His sermons standout. 

I do not know what a “Good Christian” today would be. Who decides? Who dictates to those around them that someone is a good this or that?  If that happens, then those people are being judgmental and that says something about them and not the one they judge.

Being able to quote Scripture at moment’s notice, does not make you a good Christian. Knowing the stories of the Bible does not make you one either.  It shows that you have a great memory at least, but not necessarily a great pious person. 

I would think it takes effort on one’s part to LIVE the life of what Jesus would want you to do, and using his teachings, as a guide to life. It is HARD to live a life like that of someone (Jesus) who was practically perfect. OK, some would say absolutely perfect, but I am sure he had some faults not reported in Scripture.

To strive for perfection or at least betterment of self would be a great goal. To NOT be discouraged in the process is probably a good reality, but the important thing is to try.

Den Betts

Mirror, Mirror On the Wall 2015-156

Posted in Current Events by

Mirror, Mirror On the Wall 2015-156

Look into a mirror at yourself and what do you see? Touch your right ear!!! In the mirror it appears as if touching your left ear, whereas, it is actually your right ear, of course….

That is what a mirror does, is it not? It makes things appear different. It does not tell us the truth of what it shows; it lies, or does it ????!!!!!

We sometimes do that to ourselves or about ourselves at times. We become like the mirror— lying to ourselves. It is human nature to a degree. We want our best side, our good thoughts, and the personification of ourselves to others the way we want it to be.

How much we want the mirror like shown in the Disney movie “Snow White” and ask, “Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all.” Or something like that was said. It is very much too easy to allow the mirror to lie to us also.  The mirror does not really care and only tells or shows us reality. It is not being judgmental –  only factual. It is up to us to throw the spin of what the mirror is plainly showing.

The same goes for the perception we have of ourselves and how others see or perceive us. We think of ourselves as being one way and at times, others think the opposite. We want others to see us as we do and when we find that is not the case, we might be dejected or worse.

Don’t blame the mirror (messenger) for telling us why it or they say, or perceive for they are only being what they are, when doing so.

It is also our fault for allowing others to plainly lie to us when they state something or look us in the eye and want us to believe in what they did or are doing. Again, let the mirror of life decree what is really there or is happening.

I had a Facebook friend post pictures, statements and articles on FB that were debunked years ago and proven to be wrong/incorrect. The statement this person made was, “I just post them, I don’t check them”. I told this person that many of the posts they made were incorrect and untrue. They were originally made to incite, distort and deceive whoever got them. They continued on and on, and I decided to unfriend this person only because of what they were doing, which I differed with as an untruth happening. I still like this friend, just not what is posted by this person.

The mirror DOES lie at times, but many other times just distorts for many reasons. If the mirror lies enough, it can become, to be thought of, as a truth and maybe that is why we have to be careful, with what we hear or see……

I watched the TV in December of 2015 and a politician stated that he saw people dancing in the street in New York right after 911 occurred. He claimed he was in New Jersey at the time, I think. Either he had wonderful 20/20 vision and a telescopic one at that, or perhaps he was referring to a TV he was watching. The mirror of his mind was making this up or he was the only one watching TV at that moment.   I can state that I DID see some people elsewhere doing so, but that was not in America, but instead overseas in a Middle East country.

The mind benders of life change things for many reasons. We, as society as a whole, have to be extra vigilant not to be caught up in their passion of control over us. Sometimes it only takes a little change of the truth to make us (in the mirror), believe in what they want us to believe.

The year 2016 will soon be here and with its coming; more claims on TV about this and that will be thrown at us. I say, “Be aware, be on guard, and consider what you hear and who is saying it and what they are saying for what reason.” This goes for people and the media in general. Do NOT be comforted by the mirror of life, but instead be thoughtful and let your good judgement be the mainstay of life………

 

Den Betts

Judgmental 2015-20

Posted in Religious by

Judgmental     2015-20

What a word, Judgment! How many of us judge others on a regular basis? How many of us would admit doing so? Good questions!  Why do we judge, if we do?  I would think, there are reasons for this act.

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” This is as written in the Bible in Matthew 7. This sounds pretty clear as a religious saying.  So, why, again, do we judge others?

I think that it is stating for us not to judge hypocritically, for it also goes more into detail. I believe it is saying —don’t be self-righteous in your judgments of others. If, in the religious context, I judge someone else for their sinning, I might be judged for sinning even worse; don’t know.

People that state they are Christians have the thought, sometimes, that they are imposing their views on others. It is more so, when it is done by Christians who speak out against behaviors and lifestyles which they look as “sinning” and is considered to be terrible towards God. Heaven forbid!! I believe it is only God that can judge, or will judge others and we could well do, by leaving the judgment to Him.

Our society lives by the rule that what we do is either good or bad and perhaps, it is up to the individual to decide what is right and wrong. I think the religious fanatics who are intolerant are looked at as being judgmental if they take their religion seriously and say something about what they believe. That is normal, but at times, taken to the extreme., such as the Westboro Baptist so called church. (Why did I add that last bit to the sentence?)  The problem with that thought is where those that are not religious then look at ALL the religious as being judgmental. Walt Whitman said, “Be curious, not judgmental.”

How can I judge someone for swearing, when I do so at times, unwittingly? What I may have verbally, or silently said, after smashing my thumb with a hammer is still swearing. So, there I am, standing with a dripping and bloody finger and later saying things about someone else for swearing, for whatever reason. Just isn’t fair, is it. Is swearing, basically, taking the Lord’s name in vain, and vulgarity is plain bad language? I had a talk with someone recently and that is what he believes, anyhow.

I just looked online and found that there has been much written about the subject. There are so many trains of thought about this, with many referring to religious verses and statements. That is ok with me, but I think of the normal, everyday, way of life of treating most everyone with respect and mentally trying to live in the shoes of others and experience what it feels like at times.

Stereotyping people is a way of judging and to do so rather than looking at the other as an individual person and not part of the whole that is being compared to, is more than just important. We can realize that the other faction can judge us as well, so, by trying not to judge is a step in the right direction.

Using any prejudice towards another is another no – no.  By being prejudiced towards someone based on skin color, religion, or any other reason, is opening yourself up to be judged. I know of one person, who is an avowed racist and when they speak towards another person of color, they themselves are opening up themselves to be judged for the actions or thoughts. It could be they just don’t care, but if enough people called them on it, they might change, because of their being singled out.

I was at a breakfast meeting the other day and the subject of “Exclusion” came up. I will react to those things said, at a later time, but will reference this one about judgment. An anonymous quote is “I am grateful that I am not judgmental as all those censorious, self-righteous people around me.” Is this not the way many of us think at times? Well, some of us, anyway…………..

Thank you for taking the time to read this; it is appreciated! You are welcome to give me your thoughts about this subject or any that I have made or make in the future.

Den Betts