So, the other day I had a revelation, and since I'm in a car with noting else to do, I'll share it with all of you dear and faithful followers. Well, by other day, I mean early this morning when, instead of sleeping like I should've been, I was talking with my parental units about this new movement I've noticed in religion, specifically Christianity. It's very prominent in my school, I'll admit and even flaunt. Don't get me wrong, I don't particularly agree with this particular movement, but I won't condemn people for going with it. See, I'm kind of verge on pacifism when it comes to people's denominations and religions and all that. Mainly because I understand that I won't be able to change anyone, only they can change themselves. Either way, back to the main point.
This "sect" of Christianity seems to me, and I could be wrong, and probably am wrong, to have created this ideal of Christianity being a feel-good religion, about the ego, and not the original core values of the religion. Now, I'm going to propose to you, oh beloveds, my beefs with this movement, but don't take it as a criticism of the people involved with it. After I present my major beefs with it, I'd like to share two stories about said enclave of the Christian faith which bolster these proverbial bovine chunks.
Hokay, here goes the dangerous part, *Draws back like I'm about to be kicked in the tenders* please don't hurt me for this guys! Not to name names, but in many instances my biggest issues have been with the worship and stories I hear from the group called IHOP… no not the pancakes guys, the other ones, the International House of Prayer, as well as the stuff that comes from a group known to me as "Jesus Culture." These guys are towards the charismatic end of the spectrum, and off the charts on that end might I add. On several occasions I've heard songs from them that place so much emphasis on the go, the self, and not God or anything else that matters. For instance, "You make everything work together for my good." That's from a song that came out of IHOP. Last time I heard that song, I got infuriated and almost walked out of the worship service in which I was. This isn't the only thing that's miffed me, see the next paragraph for the next example (I don't like long paragraphs).
Next thing, speaking of long paragraphs: Most every time I've been to worship with someone that's delved into this whole movement, and most every time I've delved into it myself, I've gotten the really happy self-serving experience from it. As I write about this, I recall one time I was walking past a small gathering of people worshipping at my school. Now this wasn't any normal get together with a guitar and some good old Matt Redman, it seemed really different. There was a lot of hooping and hollering and whinnying and yodeling… actually there was just a lot of laughter and hollering, I wish there was yodeling, I might've joined in. Either way, one of my good friends was there, and she tried to pull me over into it. At that point I was exploring my faith and trying to figure out what was going on with it, since I had recently pulled a beachside bully and broke that sandcastle down. Normally at that point I would've happily gone over and joined them, but like I said, something seemed off…. Sort of like how every lowercase g on this page just suddenly became painfully obvious to me….When she came up to me, no joke, her eyes seemed almost glossed over, which was really hard to tell since it was pitch black outside. It was almost like they had gone into a trance similar to the Bacchides in Roman cults. Oops! I wasn’t supposed to compare them to a cult… oh well. She also wouldn't take no for an answer, which stuck an odd chord in me. It was almost like I was being talked down to, like they knew I needed that worship session and I didn't know it or something. Granted, I might be in a completely different place if I had actually gone, but that's beside the point.
Either way, my kiddies, stay tuned for some more on this topic if you don't mind!
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