Jeremiah the brash, Jeremiah the uncautious

I have to say it's always a little distressing reading your posts. It reminds me so much of what I used to be. The strong philosophy on which I was raised on begins to be reconstructed and certain doubts I might have (with the church) are reinvorced by your words. Most of what you say doesn't surprise me though.

One of the key differences between you and me is that I have returned to church and you have stayed away. I think that is the heart of my distress (and when I say distress I'm not saying its weighing heavy on me, its just something I'm sorting through - ironing out wrinkles). My thoughts used to run parallel to yours and I was (for the most part) in complete agreement. Does that make me damaged? Only if I followed you blindly, and if I'm stupid enough to do that than I'm already damaged.

Children become their parents in many ways. There are individual choices, there are individualistic genes, but children learn so much from there parents just by example. There's no way to avoid that. I understand that you can't blame yourself everytime your kid screws up (far too many parents do) but you can't ignore that everything said and not said is going to have significance. And as for being held accountable; how much do you think a pastor is held accountable for his congregation? Take for instance Grandma's church where the pastor told the congregation that homosexuality is okay. I know you think there's a special place in hell for those people. But in your role as father you serve as the pastor of the household and if you tell Britt, "Don't worry Jer and Jenn don't understand you. It's okay that you merry someone who doesn't care whether God is real or not and it's okay that you have sex with him before you have declared before God and the church that you are commited to him for life." Than I think you will be held accountable for that. Also, I don't quite understand what you mean by "Law" age.

I don't know what you mean when you say I ignore the context of her life and soul? Maybe you don't understand the context of the life and soul of a homosexual. The context? I thought you were a black and white guy? Just because Britt loves him and he loves her doesn't make it right. God needs to be the focus before any of that matters. Love is fleeting, God isn't.

Let me be clear, when I say the church, I mean the body of Christ not the buildings that get errected. I know you've said that you went to school with all the future pastors and learned under the system that taught today's church but i still think you generalize far too much. You went to one school and one church and you say the church makes you puke. Is that from the news, TV evangelists?

I remember you saying to me once, "what if we (members of our family) are the last of the holy people" in which I replied, "what, we're like Noah's family".
I remeber having a hard time swallowing it then but now it seems rediculous. I know you were just offering the possibility but I think it's a clue into your viewpoint. I don't think you are aware of the powerfully lead Christ followers that walk this earth. I think you dismiss much of God's work before even taking a proper look at it. Certainly Satan has got his claws pierced into every man but the church are the outposts of heaven on earth. Like the Isrealites, I believe God works harder to keep these outposts holy, these gatherings of people are supposed to be representing him and because of that he will make the church holy. Like the Isrealites it has its troughs and peaks but God's hand is on it at all times.

The whole bible is about community in Christ. The OT is the Isrealite community, the gospels is Jesus and the decipals and Acts and letters are the community of the Christian church. God wants us to follow him in community. Ya there's some prideful pricks, and some weak ass whiners but all the more reason God wants someone like you among them. I think you need that. I don't think life is about waiting for something to happen. All this said I know I still talk under the veil of youthful idealism and I will never know exactly your purpose or what God has for you. None the less I've very confident you need church; a Christian community that will help you grow.