Answering trite essay by Brian Orme "Why Creatives Leave the Church"

Brian Orme "Why Creatives Leave the Church" http://www.creationswap.com/article/6512

Quote: "It’s hard to feel like you belong when you’re God-given talents aren’t valued and, at times, even suppressed."

The church only wants those who are willing to prostitute their art and turn it into propaganda to increase both numbers in the church and their bank account balances. They are also only interested in "praise and worship" though they have no idea what either means in the real world.

The church is not interested in art for the sake of art. The church especially does not want thinking artists who question man-made dogmas.

As a musician aged 15 years old I began to learn my art playing in Christian Coffee Shops organised by the church I attended. We played the rock songs of the day. No such thing happens today. It is considered "worldly".

If the church wants the many artists who have fled for their creative lives out of churches then they must accept the artists on their own terms. The church needs to be educated in valuing and reading art. Many Christian artists may never mention Jesus in their work. They don't have to. Art is a gift of God and is not merely made acceptable by multiple references to Jesus. Artists make art because making art is good within itself. Artists do not exist to further the aims of church.

BIBLE ADDICTION - The Christian Plague

WHY is it that contemporary Christians seem to be Bible Addicts - addicted to bible reading and bible quoting?

Christians must be addicted to the Bible. ~ Edmund Clowney

Bible addicts have the same characteristics as other addicts:
- Continued use despite negative consequences
- Loss of control, as in more use than planned (broken limits)
- Unpredictability, as in use despite plan not to use (broken promises)
- Compulsivity/preoccupation in thinking
- Denial; Use of defenses to maintain denial
- Build up of (or "break" in) tolerance
- Memory loss, mental confusion, irrational thinking
- Withdrawal discomfort (mental, emotional, and/or psychological).

There are also these other effects:
•Tolerance - the need to engage in the addictive bible reading and bible quoting more and more to get the desired effect
•Withdrawal happens when the person does not read or quote the bible, and they experience unpleasant symptoms, which are often the opposite of the effects of the addictive behavior
•Difficulty cutting down or controlling the addictive bible reading and bible quoting
•Social, occupational or recreational activities becoming more focused around the addiction of bible reading and quoting, and important social and occupational roles being jeopardized
•The person becoming preoccupied with the addiction of bible reading and bible quoting, spending a lot of time on planning, engaging in, and recovering from the addictive behavior

To test whether you are a Bible Addict, don't read the bible for a full month. If you crave a fix anytime during that period then you are addicted. Seek help. The cure for addiction to the Bible involves using one's mind.

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Fundamentalists Anonymous: Twelve Steps to Sanity

by Lee Adams Young

All who have chosen to walk away from biblical fundamentalism are welcome to join Fundamentalists Anonymous, and to consider embracing the following Twelve Steps:

1. I realize that I had turned control of my mind over to another person or group, who had assumed power over my thinking.

2. That person or group persuaded me of the inerrancy of the Bible, in spite of its many internal contradictions.

3. I became addicted to the Bible as the supreme focus of my faith, in spite of the commandment that God should come first.

4. I admit to God, to myself and to another person the shortcomings of my belief in the unbelievable.

5. I have made an inventory of my false claims about the Bible.

6. I have made a list of those whom I led into confusion about the Bible.

7. I am willing to make amends to all those whom I may have led astray.

8. I realize that I have the inner power to restore sanity to my life and to search Scripture for the truth.

9. I will reach out to friends who can help me clarify my thinking about the Bible, God and Jesus.

10. I confess that only with God's help can my mind grasp the truth.

11. I will seek through prayer and meditation to improve my conscious contact with God, praying for knowledge of God's will for me and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these twelve steps, I will offer these steps to other former biblical fundamentalists.

These 12 steps are adapted from those of Alchoholics Anonymous.

from http://www.geocities.com/church_of_hank/fundamentalists_anonymous.html

What do clergy do all week?

"Becky R. McMillan noted, in her report titled “What do clergy do all week?,” that preparing for preaching and worship is, indeed, the most time-consuming task clergy perform. But clergy also find the time to provide pastoral care, attend meetings, train people for ministry and assist in denominational and community-wide events. A majority of full-time Protestant pastors reported working between 42 and 63 hours a week. During that week, the two biggest tasks were preparing for Sunday morning services (one-third of their time) and providing pastoral care (nearly one-fourth of their time). from http://religioninsights.org/what-clergy-do-all-week

I don't think that paid pastors can be justified at all. There is no intermediatory between God and humans (including Jesus). People have always had direct access to God and require no messiah / christ or pastor / priest. Jews have always thought that and it is self-evident in the Old Testament.

The pastor (priest) became important in the past because he (sexism intended) and only he could change the bread and wine into the human flesh of Jesus to be consumed by would be Christian cannibals. In the past he (sexism intended) was also the best educated in the congregation.

Today, many of the people witin the church are better educated than or equally educated to the pastor. Nor are pastors required as much for weddings and funerals anymore as most of these milestones in life are now done by other people outside the church. As an educator I know that it does not take 6 days to prepare a 15 minute sermoan for Sundays. Nor does it take all week to organise a Sunday service. Some clergy do no pastoral visits or counselling whatsoever (like my former Baptist pastor who placed people with a psychologist in the congregation). One only has to read the Brontes who were children of a pastor to understand that pastors at their period of history (according to their novels and letters) spent most of their time amusing themselves and indulging in gossip. A time motion study would be very interesting. The average size of a congregation in Australia is between 60-70 people. ( See http://www.ncls.org.au/default.aspx?sitemapid=131) It is not difficult to manage such a small amount of people. A manager skilled in Human Resouces would do a better job in most cases and would only require one day a week to organise the whole week.

The care I have recieved from pastors has mostly been substandard at best and harmful for the majority. By all means point me to a time and motion study on what pastors REALLY do - not what they SAY they do but what has been measured as their actual activity. I know of no such study but it should be done.

HILLSONG, Sydney - Critique Morning Service 3 April 2011

My wife and I attended Hillsong, Sydney, this morning. We wanted to see first hand the hysteria and nonsense that is Hillsong. We weren't disappointed. It is the first and last time that we will visit.

The church is situated in a business complex with surrounding stores all leased from Hillsong. The local housing is two third's owned by Hillsong. This is not a church as much as a multinational business with church as part of that business venture.

One walks through car park to be greeted by coffee and breakfast both for sale just outside the main doors. Gone are the days of free coffee, tea and biscuits supplied by the church for visitors. User pays for everything at Hillsong.

Pastors Brian and Bobbie Houston won't be at the church door to greet you. If you want to speak to them you need either a news crew, a large donation or some business proposition. Make an appointment a few months in advance.

You walk into the foyer and you immediately see the main feature - Brian and Bobbie Houston. The world revolves around them. 1001 revolting brain-dead dvds, cds, books and books featuring the pair along with all things Hillsong. It was only a premonition of the horrors that await you inside.

The main auditorium holds 5 000 people. The seats are decorated with glossy advertising brochures of a new seminar on a weekend. Only $150 and a really special discount for pensioners and single mums - $10 to $20 off! Wow! What a bargain! Lots of people on the dole are going to be able to afford that.

The auditorium has comfy theatre seating, three huge screens to televise the crap, and a sound system and light and fog show equal to anything at a rock concert. Unfortunately this is not a rock concert at all. This is a Justin Beiber type pop show with nauseating "Jesus is my boyfriend" Jesus Jingles repeated ad nauseum. The guitar tones are permanently switched to that of U2 in "Streets Have No Name". Hand waving with eyes closed is the in thing. The most popular Hillsong cliche is no longer "Awesome! Awesome! Totally awesome!" but "In Jesus name" which is added to every second sentence like a mantra.

The pop show ceases for a while and then you get Bobbie with "the Lord's Supper". The usual McSupper of a thimble of grape juice and a piece of dried cracker. Then they collect your tithes and offerings for those who have not done electronic banking to get 10% of their gross wage deducted and sent to Hillsong weekly. Offerings are expected on top of the tithes.

Brian was in Brisbane so they had a live feed on the three giant TV screens. Brian had been to Bombay where he never met any poor peasants but spoke to thousands who probably paid for the privilege. ( How much did Jesus charge for the sermon on the mount? ) Brian delivered his one point dumbed down sermoan on risk taking. Take a risk and follow what Brian says. Don't use your mind and question as that is of the devil. Brian took half an hour to say that using rather dubious bible verses.

Then came the Altar Call. "Does anyone not know Jesus?" Everyone is supposed to close their eyes as the pastor asks for those who want to invite Jesus into their heart to raise their hand. I kept my eyes open. He pleaded for 5 minutes. He pretended that people were raising their hand. I saw no-one do so. Obviously a trick by snake-oil salesmen. You then say a prayer and - MAGIC - you are now a Christian. Remember to pay our tithes and offerings to Hillsong and give them your details to add you to their mailing list.

You sing another Jesus Jingle.

Jesus is the focus. Jesus is Lord, God, Saviour and Boyfriend. God the Father was never mentioned.

That's it. The End. See you next week. Buy something on your way out.

My wife and I checked the date. No, it wasn't April Fool's Day, it just felt like it.

Christian Praise and Worship

Christians regularly do not use the dictionary definitions of praise and worship but invent their own Christianese which has nothing to do with praise and worship and is incoherent gibberish to anyone outside Christianity. Words have meaning. Those meanings are found in a dictionary.

praise (prz) n.
1. Expression of approval, commendation, or admiration.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Praise is about saying or writing something favourable about another person either to them or to another person. Praise to God, when sung or spoken, must therefore state something good about God. If you only state "I love you / I worship you" and do not give a reason for that love / worship in your words then it is not praise at all but worship. Praise is not repeating the CALL to praise "Praise the Lord!". That call is an invitation to praise God understood as "Let us now praise the Lord!". It is followed, in the Psalms for example, by reasons for the praise. "(Let us) Praise the Lord BECAUSE He created the heaven and the earth." What follows "because" is the actual praise. One should then state the praise "God created the heavens an the earth." Too often all I hear in churches and on Christian cds is a call / invitation to praise and no praise actually happens at all. "Let us praise God ... Okay, when are you going to get around to it?"

wor·ship (wûrshp) n.
1. a. The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object.
b. The ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Worship is all about heart attitude / one's spirit. It is an expression of love. It is addressed TO God and is not ABOUT God to some other person. It is expressed in the first and second persons ( I / You ) and not the third person (He / God). I hear very little of this form of music in Christian churches and on Christian cds labelled as "worship" music as most of it is not addressed to God in the first and second person. It is not merely expressed in song although songs may be used. It is also expressed in actions.