A place to snark and vent about CoC doctrine and/or our experiences in the CoC. This is a place for SUPPORT and AGREEMENT only, not a place to tell someone their experience and feelings are wrong, or why we disagree with them.
It might be best if this takes time. This means the less stable elements may be let down slowly. We may see some violence but I hope to see less. Anyway we still have to put up with Trump for 2 months. I hope not another 4 years.
ENA, my DH and I were just discussing this. My thought is this: let it take time to decide the winner of the election. The more time it takes, the closer we get to the end of Trump's term. If he is obsessed with this, maybe it takes his focus off of other evil, spiteful mischief he could be getting into. And yes, the unstable "Trump Train" folks have some time to wrap their heads around a Trump-free White House. I think that might be a good thing. We did take our sign down out of the yard after Nov 3 was over; my DH and son insisted it was safer. We have an apparent Q-Anon guy down the street not too far with white shoe polish messages (like "Texas, wake up!!!") scrawled on the windows of his older Suburban. Other people around us seem pretty stable, and my sign was never touched. Of course, now we have a Q-Anon disciple in the House of Reps, so there's that.
I did read that the Biden / Harris people have had their Secret Service protection well reinforced as we get closer to the final tally and announcement. That eases my mind a little.
Exactly. He will be busy with recounts and lawsuits. Biden is ahead but on razor thin edge. Trump is not patient. Waiting drives him nuts. He cannot stay focused on any task. I have worked in start ups. The people that are dead set on completing the task tend to be successful. Wars are won not only by power but persistance. You can have an inferior force that chews the heck out of you with persistence. You have out survive them. The Taliban will reclaim Afghanistan when we leave. Oh our soldiers perform marvelously but does it pay to keep spending life an treasure for. Yes, it will go back to a failed state. Does it matter? Why are we there? The USA needs to start minding its own business. It repeatedly has involve itself in the politics of other countries. Does it have the right to complain about Russia? We invaded Panama to take a CIA asset, Noriega. We killed around 3,000 Panamanians. This includes civilians. You did not see it on the news. They buried the bodies before they let the news in. I am not proud of what my country has done. It is obvious to others.
My nephew is hard core C of C (it's how he was raised) and I saw an argument on FB recently with a young woman who was arguing that Christmas carols are "unscriptural". How pathetic, for such a young, attractive woman who could be out doing so many things with her life, and having fun...but she's sitting around on FB stewing about whether this or that is "scriptural".
faithandmore wrote:My nephew is hard core C of C (it's how he was raised) and I saw an argument on FB recently with a young woman who was arguing that Christmas carols are "unscriptural". How pathetic, for such a young, attractive woman who could be out doing so many things with her life, and having fun...but she's sitting around on FB stewing about whether this or that is "scriptural".
Christmas cards do not occur in scripture. Christmas carols are not scriptural. Does it matter? The CoC forgets anything that is rational. I can envision a one cup congregation coming down with herpes because one person had it.
The Christmas story is a mash up of Matthew and Luke. It is full of technical errors. Jesus was not born December 25th. December 25th was a pagan holiday that the Catholic Church buried under much celebration. Jesus was the result of a virgin birth. He never talked about it if he even knew it. I would endanger Mary. Joseph was provided for her cover. His birthday varies by about 10 years with Matthew having Herod the Great still alive and Luke when he was dead. Herod died in 4 BCE. Cyrenius was governor of Syria and Judea in 6 CE. Herod died 10 years before. In either case Jesus was born. There were no celebrations of Christmas mentioned by the early church fathers.
Luke 2:1-3 kjv
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
If you want to celebrate Christmas by all means celebrate it. I am not aware that is sin. Let the CoC worry about that. They try to impress God. You can't. I have been forsaking for 49 years. Why? I learned very little truth.
I heard over & over again about "not the real birthday of Jesus". It came up on Facebook again recently with my C of C sister. This is literally all they ever talk about this time of year. they are obsessed with this topic. I don't know why.
faithandmore wrote:I heard over & over again about "not the real birthday of Jesus". It came up on Facebook again recently with my C of C sister. This is literally all they ever talk about this time of year. they are obsessed with this topic. I don't know why.
My guess is that they are horribly conflicted by the Christmas holiday. How could anyone not find it attractive with all the pretty lights and decorations, the annual displays of unusual kindness, the beautiful story of the virgin birth, the general atmosphere of joy that overtakes the end of the year? Yet these people have espoused a religious view that Christmas is wrong. They have to keep condemning it to sort of keep themselves in check. Sort of reminding themselves that this holiday is based on untruths and is wrong. Very few of these detractors won't have a Christmas tree in their home. They go through all kinds of mental contortions to justify it with all that "secular Christmas" B.S. One of the few things I admire about the J.W.s is their integrity on this point. They teach against it and they don't indulge in it on the side. In this culture that must be an enormous effort.
"All things are difficultbeforetheyareeasy."(found in a fortune cookie)
"We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the oppressed. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Forgetting isn't healing." Elie Wiesel
Singing Christmas songs (religious ones)! That was one of the highlights of leaving the COC.
Moogy
NI COC for over 30 years, but out for over 40 years now
Mostly Methodist for about 30 years.
Left the UMC in 2019 based on their decision to condemn LGBT+ persons and to discipline Pastors who perform same-sex marriages
To which my answer (now) must be:
SO WHAT?
SO THE H**L WHAT?
Nobody actually cares. It is a celebration of a birth. You DO accept that the guy was actually BORN, right? So?
I am SO SO tired of that discussion, and it is exasperating. I am not even interested in discussing why this tiny little faction, this splinter of the Christian world, has decided to be contrary and refuse to engage in a relatively benign and generally positive experience.
Even if I don't celebrate it, nor care to, nor particularly miss it, either.
Good grief. Nobody CARES what you think, CofC. You are irrelevant.
Please forgive me. I have not had my coffee yet this morning. Happy holidays everyone, and if you celebrate Christmas, then Merry Christmas to you.
History is the fiction we invent to persuade ourselves that events are knowable and that life has order and direction. That's why events are always reinterpreted when values change. We need new versions of history to allow for our current prejudices.
agricola wrote:'don't know when Jesus was born' - oh yes indeed.
To which my answer (now) must be:
SO WHAT?
SO THE H**L WHAT?
Nobody actually cares. It is a celebration of a birth. You DO accept that the guy was actually BORN, right? So?
I am SO SO tired of that discussion, and it is exasperating. I am not even interested in discussing why this tiny little faction, this splinter of the Christian world, has decided to be contrary and refuse to engage in a relatively benign and generally positive experience.
Even if I don't celebrate it, nor care to, nor particularly miss it, either.
Good grief. Nobody CARES what you think, CofC. You are irrelevant.
Please forgive me. I have not had my coffee yet this morning. Happy holidays everyone, and if you celebrate Christmas, then Merry Christmas to you.
But..but.but...if you throw in a nativity scene without scriptural authoriTIE what is to stop the little kids adding Darth Vader or g.i. joe to the entourage welcoming baby Jesus into the world. I saw this great apostasy myself. I was over at a relatives house,and his little son adding a g.i. joe character toy and Darth Vader toy to the nativity set. They were bringing gifts to jesus next to the wise men. Apostacy I tell you, apostacy!
The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it.----Karl Marx
