I have been soooooo busy with school this semester that I have fallen down on the blogging job. In addition, I have been living on Facebook (add me!) and Twitter (mcgrawmatty… follow me!) because they are small, quick outlets and don’t require quite as much thought as a full on blog post.

Also, I am feeling like perhaps I am growing out of this blog. When I started this blog, I was going through a major transition in my life. My marriage of 9 years was ending, I was contemplating school options and I was re-entering a relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

18 months or so later, I feel that I am entering a new chapter in my life. I think I will maintain this blog in a static state at this address (blog.thestrangeland.net) but this may be one of my final posts here.

so… what to do with my self… i think i will be starting a new site that includes a blog and photo galleries and collections of stuff… more of a family portal… perhaps we will get more authors (possibly my mom/dad/sister/son/Shanny…) we’ll just have to see.

Thanks for spending this time with me. I have appreciated all of your feedback and the friends I have made along the way. Special thanks to Andi, Jeromy, Lindsey, Tracy… your love and support have been so very real to me, even over the separation of time and space.

See you all on the flip side… wherever that may be!

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The homosexual issue is one that conservative, evangelical Christianity has landed on as being of particular importance and I’m not sure why. God does not rank sin. *If* homosexuality is in fact a sin, it isn’t any worse than gossip, lying, swearing, pornography or any other of dozens of sins practiced without notice in American Churches. If I say to you “You are a gossip and that is how I am going to define you and you will never be anything more to me than that and because of it, you may not come to my church and you cannot receive the love of Jesus,” that will be hurtful to you and you will begin to doubt how someone who claims to know Jesus could treat someone that way. If you get that same speech from 10 pastors or 50 or 100, you will begin to believe that God can’t love you and that you are a fundamentally flawed individual. That is what Evangelical Christianity has done to the gay community. It has failed them. We say “Love the sinner, hate the sin,” but that’s bullshit. God the Father never said that. Jesus never said that. God said, “I love you.” He put no conditions on it. If a gay person has accepted Jesus Christ as savior, God doesn’t see that person any differently than he sees me. If we are saved, by Grace, not of ourselves; then when the Father looks at us, He sees Jesus. That is the beauty of our relationship with God. You say “You’re talking about being loving like Christ…why not love what is Righteous and Holy?”. I say, Jesus loved you and me *before* we were Righteous and Holy.

Now, separating the religious from the political, there is no rational, political or societal argument for denying consenting, non-related adults from marrying. Every argument comes back to religion and we cannot use religion as a basis for our government. We are not a theocracy.

I am passionate about this issue because I believe it is a fundamental issue of Human/Civil rights and if I can be half as passionate about this civil rights movement as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was about his, then I will be satisfied.

You have discovered my blog. Welcome! I am glad you are here. I invite you to take a look around and read some of my thoughts. As you do, however, I would like to say the following by way of introduction.

I, like yourself, am a work in progress. I am a student of God and I am not done yet. You may disagree with some, much or all of what you read here, but you must understand that I am a growing, maturing human being. I am “in process”, as it were.

I recently contacted the Sr. pastor of a church regarding a job posting for a children’s pastor. He responded exuberantly and asked if we could have a phone conversation later in the week. I agreed and asked him to let me know when and at what number to call him. The next day I got the following:

Thanks for responding so quickly back. Unfortunately, I am sorry that after reviewing your blog, I don’t think you would be a good fit for a children’s pastor. Your views on gays and abortion are in complete contradiction to the Bible.

Now, this man was well within his rights as the leader of his flock to say this to me. He has every right to choose someone for his staff who agrees with his theology and will support the things he and his church think are important. What troubles me, is that he didn’t even bother to talk to me about them. He read some things that I had written and discounted me altogether.

Another thing which bothers me is he made no reference to my Phil. 1:6 series on the good work that our Lord Jesus is doing in my life. In order to be a pastor, do I need to have arrived? Was this man saying, “I have complete knowledge of ultimate truth and since you don’t agree with me, you have no value in the kingdom”? I hope not.

He mentions specifically my views on “gays and abortion”, two hot-button issues in conservative Christianity and, I imagine I would not feel at home in his church. I am a progressive, after all. However, he assumed many things about me without ever meeting me or talking to me. In truth, I have done the same about him. I assume he is a Republican, that he supports McCain/Palin and that there is at least one American flag in the church and probably up on the stage. Do I know any of these things? No. Are they a safe bet? Yes. Is there anything wrong with being a Republican, supporting McCain/Palin or haveing an American flag in your church? hmmm…. morally, no. These things are differences of opinion and have no implication on my salvation nor on our Christian faith.

Which leads me, ever so round-about-ly to my point. This pastor does a couple of things that I believe are wrong. First, he is terse to the point of rudeness. He levels an accusation at me and bails without offering any advice, counsel or explanation. The second thing is a little harder to sum up. Take a look at his second sentence: “Unfortunately, I am sorry that after reviewing your blog, I don’t think you would be a good fit for a children’s pastor.” Did you see it? He says I wouldn’t be a good children’s pastor. Not that I wouldn’t be a good children’s pastor at his church. Or that I wouldn’t be a good children’s pastor at this time. No, he says I wouldn’t make a good children’s pastor. Period. That is simply judgmental. Finally, he tells me that my views are “in complete contradiction to the Bible”. Well, obviously I don’t believe them to be. A more truthful thing to write would have been, “Your views on gays and abortion are in complete contradiction to my reading of the Bible,” or, “Your views on gays and abortion are in complete contradiction to our church’s beliefs.” There are many Christians in this world who support gay marriage and who are politically pro-choice. We are not any more sinners than those who wish to deny gay people rights or who would seek to legislate what a woman can do with her body. However, and hear me when I say this, Nor are we any less sinners than they are!

So, to any potential employers, pastors, or ministry partners who might read this, please don’t be like this man. If you have issues with me, discuss them with me. I welcome civil, non-argumentative discussion on any topic. I am a work in progress, as I wrote above. So are you.

With sincerity and in the Love of Christ,
Matt McGraw

First off, I am not a “liberal”. I consider myself “progressive” (which to many people means the same thing as liberal). Most often, I think of myself as a “small-government” conservative. I contrast this with the Republican party which is made up of “big-government” conservatives and with the Democratic party which is made up of “big-government” liberals. The party which I most closely align is probably the Libertarian party, but Ron Paul was actually a Republican, “small-government” conservative.

So what does this mean? I support anything which makes government smaller and removes government from our lives. To that end, I support the so-called “Fair Tax” (www.fairtax.org) which is essentially a national, retail sales tax. Retail outlets would collect tax at a specified percentage which would then go to the federal government for their operations. The IRS would effectively be eliminated; we would no longer file a federal income tax form in April. Furthermore, there would be no more loopholes in the tax code because there would be NO tax code. Every person who buys anything from a retail outlet would pay taxes. This would include illegal aliens, tourists, drug dealers… anybody who buys things.

Libertarians also tend to be for less government regulation, less interference and for more civil liberties. This means that I am pro-choice and pro-gay marriage. This causes a problem for many of my brothers and sisters in Christ, and I can fully appreciate their position. Without going into deep detail or starting any arguments, let me simply say that I am not “pro-abortion”. In fact, it is my deepest desire that no child is aborted. Let me assure you that the way to see this happen is NOT by banning abortions. The NRA has a saying, “If we outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns” and the same applies here. Banning abortions will not stop abortions from happening. It will only make them dangerous and illegal and women will die. Where the efforts need to be made are in education (to help stop unwanted pregnancy), in making adoption much easier and less expensive, and by insisting on counseling and waiting or “cooling-off” periods before abortions are performed. Government regulation and interference will not solve the underlying problem.

The same goes for gay-marriage. It isn’t any business of the federal government who a person loves or marries. It isn’t any business of the federal government what goes on between consenting adults in the privacy of their homes. You wouldn’t want the government telling you who you could or couldn’t marry. Government tried to make inter-racial marriage illegal a few decades back and, eventually, that policy was exposed as the prejudice and bigotry that it was. The same is true for gay-marriage as well. The far-right in this country has proposed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union between a man and a woman. This should never be enacted. Only one time in the history of our Constitution has an amendment been added to restrict the personal freedoms of US Citizens and that was the 18th amendment barring the sale and manufacture of alcoholic beverages. That amendment was subsequently repealed by the 21st.

So, that is a bit about me, personally and politically. I welcome any and all questions, comments and snide remarks. If you’re nasty or if you use too much foul language, I will delete your comment.

Thanks.

SDG,
Matty the Stranger

“The Shack” is a book by William Young. It is a story he wrote for his kids that has become a NY Times best-seller. It is one of the most important Christian books on the market today. I believe it may be able to do more for Christian spiritual formation than any other book out there… more than Porpoise Purpose Driven Life.

If you haven’t read it, go get it… right now… I’m dead serious…. I’ll wait.

If you have read it, I have a llittle challenge for you… Go rent or watch the movie, “The Matrix” while thinking about the themes and theology of “The Shack”. I think you may be surprised.

That’s all.

SDG,
Matt

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. (en.wikipedia.com/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance)

A little history on “The Pledge”:
The original pledge was penned by Baptist minister, Francis Bellamy in 1892 and it read simply this:

I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

This is a very simple pledge and, in my humble opinion, does quite nicely. The reading I have done has informed me that Rev. Bellamy would have preferred to have the pledge end with “with equality, liberty, and justice for all”, but many people resented the idea of equality for blacks and women at that period in history, so he left it out. The (somewhat controversial) change in the wording to include the phrase “one nation under God” came about after a vigorous campaign by the Knights of Columbus (a Catholic fraternal organization) in the 1950’s, leading to the Pledge we know today.

Let’s take a look at some of the individual parts:
Webster defines “allegiance” as devotion or loyalty to a person, group, or cause (www.m-w.com). In this case, by saying the Pledge a person is showing devotion or loyalty to the United States of America. Many people mistakenly believe that the Pledge is showing devotion or loyalty to a flag. Don’t forget the words, and to the Republic for which it stands. The pledge is truly an oath of fidelity to our Republic, to our United States of America.

When most people recite the pledge, they do so incorrectly. Is this familiar?

I pledge allegiance (pause) to the flag (pause) of the United States of America (pause) and to the Republic (pause) for which it stands (pause) one nation (pause) under God (pause) indivisible (pause) with liberty and justice for all.

Take particular notice of my emphasized pause. It DOESN’T BELONG there, grammatically speaking. The phrase “one nation under God” is one complete thought. I had a friend growing up who’s dad used to use the phrase “in front of God and everybody” as in “I can’t believe you kids are fighting out here in front of God and everybody”. This was not a particularly religious man; not a Christian. However this is a phrase in common use and we all knew what he meant. “One nation under God” is a similar phrase. It is defined by the word that comes next, “indivisable”. There is no need to emphasize the “under God” part or give it any undue significance. A group of zealous Catholics started using the phrase in there own, private meetings and, through a series of coincidences, Pres. Eisenhower heard the phrase used at a church service and decided it was a worthy addition. One short act of Congress later and the phrase is officially adopted in 1954. Members of right-wing, religious organizations like The 700 Club, Focus on the Family and the now defunct Moral Majority have traditionally pointed to “under God” in the pledge to prove that the US is a Christian Nation, specifically blessed by God. This is, of course, not true as the original Pledge contained no such phrase.

Finally, let us consider the issues surrounding NOT saying the Pledge. Many people choose not to say the pledge due to religious or other reasons. Quakers and Jehovah’s Witnesses do not take oaths or pledges to any symbol, believing only God is worthy of Allegiance. Many Atheists choose not to say the Pledge due to the inclusion of “under God”. People have been cursed, spit on and even physically attacked because they choose not to say the pledge.

I hope that you will think about the Pledge next time you say it at a sporting event, school function or political convention. Say it with reverence and respect. Also, respect the person sitting next to you who may not choose to participate. It is a free country, after all.

Comments? Leave ‘em below!

SDG,
Matty

Also, I have discovered that John McCain was not isolated away to prevent him from hearing the questions asked of Sen. Obama. This goes directly against what was said by Pastor Warren at the start of the event. Anyone who thinks Sen. McCain didn’t know the questions before they were asked is simply fooling themselves.

Thanks,

Matt McGraw

To top it all off, I am living with my folks (which I am NOT complaining about… they have been more than gracious and I appreciate the sacrifices everyone is making on my behalf) and I don’t really have a computer of my own in a place that is conducive to writing. I have my mac set up in my room, but there really isn’t room to sit at it and type. I have to borrow dad’s lappy when I can.

All that is to say, I am feeling very lost with this whole blogging thing. Things are going on… it isn’t that my life is so boring that I don’t have anything to write about… I’m just feeling a little… dry. Know what I mean?

Thanks for listening. Thanks to the 6 or so readers who are still stopping by from time to time.

Bye,

Matty

ps- I don’t get the new GEICO/Caveman/Tennis ad…. ?