Sunday, October 18, 2009

Adam and Eve-not the first???

OK, what's going on in Genesis?  There's Adam and Eve, right? Adam named his wife, Eve, because she was the mother of all living. Genesis 3:20. Then there is Cain and Abel, right? Now when Cain killed his brother, he was banished from the family, such as it was. The Lord said in Genesis 4:15, "therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengence shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him." Whosoever who??? (Sorry. I know that's incorrect English but making a point here.) I thought it was just Adam, Eve and Cain.

Even Cain said in Genesis 4:13-14, "my punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold---, I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth and it shall come to pass that every one that findeth me shall slay me." That's why the Lord set a mark upon him. Every one who???

Then there is the part about Cain's wife. Genesis 4:17, "And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch. v.19 And La'mech took unto him two wives."

Where are all these people coming from???

Sunday, October 11, 2009

What's going on?

There's something going on here, Lord. Probably not just with me but I can only speak for me. Common thread seems to be seeking to know You.

For me, it started with leaving one place of worship after about 20 years, then leaving another after less than a year, being on the "backside of the desert" like Moses and experiencing You like never before. For me, it's been acquiring and reading books that organized religion would frown on. Books by Christians (?) and non-Christians (?) alike. Define Christian for me, Lord because back in the day, it was a derogatory term. Sorry, I digress. Books about Mother/Father God, Buddha, Jesus, Christ (are they one and the same?), Kabbalah, Gnosticism, The Lost Bible, even my essay about being angry with you Lord. And books about leaving the church. Gasp!

Anybody else been there? Books like Leaving Church by Barbara Brown Taylor, The Shack by William Young, Gospel of Inclusion by Bishop Carlton Pearson and So You Don't Want to go to Church Anymore by Wayne Jacobsen and Dave Coleman.

Are you noticing a central theme here? I know You notice the theme, Lord. You designed it especially for me. I'm writing this for the readers who are feeling "something", feeling disquieted about their religious experience, beginning to ask, like I did, "why am I here?", what is my purpose, Lord?" or "why did You let that happen to me, Lord?"

OK, people, how is that working for you?

Romans 8:35, 38-39.