LRC, Houston - the weekends-free church in Houston, Texas

Who needs a broken hip or any other injury? Just give me the keys to the safe, give me the formula to success, and tell me what I can do to escape any controversy and I’m in. When a problem is encountered, those in the East pray for God to help them THROUGH it, while we in the West pray for God to get us OUT of it. Wrestling with God just isn’t IN if you embrace most of American religious teachings.

The story of Jacob was just a story and has no meaning to today, so say the Western saints.

The easiest way to live comfortably, albeit wrongly, is to accept II Tim. 3:16 as literal, and of course use the King James translation. ALL Scripture is God-breathed! Everything that is written is GOSPEL, TRUTH, INERRANT, and so on. Except none of that is TRUE! Christian fundamentalism isn’t fundamental at all.

But who wants to get onto the slippery-slope of having to decide what might be literal, what’s metaphorical, and what’s an allegory, much less what’s written poetically and therefore more demonstrably. If “every word” is set in concrete, was never altered, as IS as it IS, then we don’t have to wrestle. Hell (metaporically speaking), we don’t even have to study then. Now that’s what I’m talkin’ bout! But of course that violates the verse a little before the one we just mentioned (II Tim. 2:15) wherein we’re to STUDY to show ourselves WORTHY of the battle.

And then of course we must ask ourselves which version is right? Don’t be afraid to ask! But, be afraid to not question.

Is the right verse the one that says “every Scripture is inspired” or the one that says “all Scripture that is inspired”? Which translator got it right. Oh yes, and of course this was referring to the Hebrew Bible only sinee there wasn’t a Christian one yet. Listen, religious homeostasis isn’t a good thing.

Ah, but I’m being technical now

Granted, opening oneself up to the myriad of possibilites could led one astray, but only nursing on the nipple and being fed milk isn’t going to help one grow up a spiritually healthy person either. We build physical muscle by being STRETCHED. Who are you allowing to stretch you, challenge you to a deeper calling, and more importantly who is MODELING that so you can follow?

Who, besides Jesus, the Christ?