22 septembre 2005
COMPLAISANCE DANS LA MYTHOLOGIE MEDIEVALE
Texte
original en anglais : http://www.truluck.com/html/apa_warning.html
Publié en
le 1er Août 2003
Traduit
par mes soins, donc pas forcément très bien, je vous prie de m’excuser…
L’auteur
parle pour le contexte américain, qui est différent, et où bien que l’église et
l’état soient théoriquement séparés comme en France, l’influence du religieux
dans la politique est énorme.
-----
L'EGLISE ET L'ETAT
L'église
catholique s'est opposée au contrôle des naissances dans le monde entier, et a
ainsi contribué à l'explosion démographique, à la souffrance et à la mort de
millions de personnes vivant dans la pauvreté dans les pays du tiers-monde
où l'Eglise Catholique est dominante. En
interdisant le divorce, l'église a contribué à la violence domestique ; et
aujourd'hui, nous voyons que l'église ne contrôle pas la sexualité de ses
propres prêtres catholiques. On voit clairement les contradictions créées au
sein de l'église par des mythologies médiévales.
L'argent
est le pouvoir, et la santé de l'église catholique romaine est si bonne qu'elle
peut absorber les millions de dollars que les actions en justice à propos des
enfants abusés ont coûté.
Il est
hypocrite et absurde pour l'église de vouloir user de son rôle impérial pour
être la source de la moralité sexuelle.
UN
PRESIDENT MAL INFORME
La
mythologie médiévale n'a pas de place légitime dans le monde moderne. Les révolutions
scientifiques, et la marche rapide du savoir et des découvertes rendent les
utilisations politiques/religieuses de la mythologie médiévale obsolètes,
ridicules et dangereuses.
LA
OÙ EST L'ARGENT
L'Eglise
et le président [des USA] sont en quête du pouvoir qu'apporte l'argent.
Tant que
les églises et les religions légalistes abusives et faisant de la
désinformation contrôleront une grande partie de la pensée publique, le facteur
financier continuera de contredire la raison et la justice. La politique est contrôlée
et dirigée par l'argent. La raison qui fait que le président a suffisamment de
pouvoir pour fonctionner comme un "président impérial" et peut ainsi
décider personnellement du sort des individus est l'incroyable somme d'argent
qui l'a propulsé et le maintient dans la Maison Blanche.
LA COURT
SUPRÊME
Comment
vous sentez-vous lorsque vous lisez et voyez des débats et des attaques à
propos des personnes dont vous faites partie ? D’où avez-vous vos propres
informations à propos de vous-même ? De vous-même ou de sources
extérieures ?
Beaucoup
de personnes tentent de décider qui vous êtes à votre place, comme si vous n’aviez
pas de cerveau et de raisonnement logique. En temps que LGBT vous avez le même
droit que n’importe qui à penser votre propre personne, et à découvrir vos
propres réalités et valeurs, pour lesquelles Dieu nous a créé selon son image,
et nous as envoyé son esprit comme une voix d’acceptation et d’affirmation
personnelle.
SAVOIR LA
VERITE
Il n’y
pas substitution à la vérité. Mensonges, distorsions, demi-vérités (qui sont
aussi des demi-mensonges !), hypocrisies, et mauvaise information sont les
ennemis mortels de la vérité qu’on peut trouver dans le vrai Jésus. Jésus a dit :
« je suis la vérité » et « je suis venu pour apporter la vérité ».
Jésus a proclamé « Vous allez connaître la vérité, et la vérité va vous
libérer ». Prenez le temps de voir comment est utilisé le mot « vérité »
dans l’évangile de Jean. Quand l’esprit de Jésus vous guide, vous êtes guidés
dans toute la vérité.
----
hors
citation :
*A propos
du mariage entre personnes du même sexe, voir l’article :
Pour ou Contre le mariage gay ?
** LGBT :
Lesbiennes | Gays | Bisexuel-le-s | Transsexuel-le-s
07 août 2005
Contre l'utilisation homophobe de la Bible
Un bon site pour contrer les attaques contre les gays, les lesbiennes et les trans Bible à l'appui :
http://www.truluck.com/ (en anglais)
Quelques points importants pour commencer que je mets ici et que je traduis pour le coup (pardon, ça doit être bancal, mais en ce moment, je fais l'inverse, j'essaye de penser directement en allemand (pas de prob) et en anglais (le mal !)) :
Learn this facts about bible and homosexuality :
- Le concept "orientation sexuelle" n'est pas mentionnée dans la Bible.
- Les langues bibliques grec et hébreux n'ont pas de mot pour "homosexuel", "sexe" ou "amour romantique" [remarquez, on n'utilise pas cette expression en français non plus héhé]
- La Bible ne dit nulle part que les gays et les lesbiennes peuvent ou devraient changer leur orientation sexuelle
- Les six passages bibliques utilisés contre les homosexuels ne sont pas correctement traduits, et utilisés hors contexte afin de blesser les gens
- L'utilisation de la Bible pour condamner les lesbiennes violent les principes schientifiques de traduction et d'interprétation, est académiquement indéfendable, irresponsable et ignorant !
- La bible dans les langues originales ne condamne jamais "l'amour romatique entre deux personnes de même sexe" comme un péché ["same sexe romantic love" on n'utilise pas cette expression en français je crois]
- La Bible donne un soutien positif aux relations entre personnes de même sexe : dans les histoires de Ruth et Naomi (livre de Ruth), et de David et Jonathan (1 Samuel 18-20 et 2 Samuel 1)
- Les traducteurs et éditeurs de la Bible qui persistent à utiliser des traductions homophobes pour blesser et détruire les gays et les lesbiennes doivent être défiés et corrigés
- Jésus n'a jamais mentionné l'homosexualité. Les distortions de la Bible en attaques contre les homosexuels demandent des reponses claires et effectives maintenant !
- La Bible démontre et redémontre l'amour de Dieu, sa protection et son acceptation de toutes les personnes rejetées, exclues, mal comprises et aliénées.
http://www.truluck.com/html/the_bible_and_homosexuality.html
27 juillet 2005
Can I loose my salvation ?
Last sunday, the "AuPairGirls" from MICC discussed the topic "can i loose my salvation?"
Here the resume by Lexi, I founded interessting (I couldnt come), so here for you too...:
The answer we came to was "no" here are the scriptures we
studied...
1 John 5:11-13 ">God has given us eternal
life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not
have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe
in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal
life."
- so if you "have the Son" in other words believe and accept
Jesus, then "you have eternal life", eternal life is not temporary or something
to be lost, but is eternal
1 John 5:16-17 "If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death."
-we discussed what sin might be the one referred to here, the "sin that leads to death." We ruled out murder, adultery, and many other because there are examples in the Bible that show people being forgiven of those sins. We concluded that the only unforgivable sin could be to refuse the free gift of salvation, because Christ died on the cross to forgive ALL sins, so to refuse the gift would be the only sin left.
Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love
for us in this: While we were still sinners. Chist died for us."
- the importance of this scripture to me is that Christ died for me while i was still a sinner, so there is nothing i did to earn my salvation. and if i cannot earn my salvation then how could i lose it, my salvation does not depend on me and my actions. salvation is a gift.
John 10:27-30 "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."
-that scripture makes it pretty clear, we (a people that know Jesus and follow Him) cannot be snatched from his hand and we will never perish, doesn't sound like we can lose our salvation.
1 John 2:19 "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they sould have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us."
- this scripture as we discussed talks about people who were never really saved. it says that if they really belong to us they would not have left. Once you accept Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit, i believe the Bible says that it is impossible to fall away or to lose your salvation. so the next question is, how do we know that we are really saved?
well if we believe and accept Jesus we are saved, here are some scriptures about Jesus being the only way, 1 John 1:12-13, John 3:16, Hebrews 6:4-6, John 14:6 and Acts 4:12
We also read the parable of the ten virgins found in Matthew 25:1-13
- that although it seems that 5 of the virgins lost their
salvation, the truth is that they never had any "oil" (likely a symbol of the
Holy Spirit). Although they had the same outer appearance as the other virgins
and even lamps, they were missing what was inside the lamps.
28 mars 2005
Women and Christ, Meditation 22
After that anguished Sabbath, Mary hurried
in the predawn light to the tomb. Each
Gospel account mentions her by name and finds the stone moved. The tomb is empty. The corpse is gone. Mary Magdalene dashes back to inform Peter
and John. The two men rush to the tomb
and find it empty. Although they
believed something significant happened, as yet the men did not understand that
Jesus had risen from the dead. They go
home, shaking their heads in confusion. Everyone is gone except Mary, an emotional
wreck, her body racked with bitter, profuse weeping. Her profound grief comes from the depths of
her soul. Fact: Humankind can identify with her despair and acute sense of
bereavement. Suddenly she sees two glorious beings in
dazzling white clothes. They call her
“Woman,” with the greatest respect and courtesy. The angelic beings ask why she is
crying. Her answer is emotional and
distraught. She turns away and bumps
into Jesus. Through her tears, she
thinks he is a cemetery employee or gardener. Blinded by grief, Mary did not recognize him. Jesus tenderly asks why she is weeping and
she babbles something in response. In one of the most beautiful moments in the
entire Bible, in Hebrew, Jesus calls her by name. “Miriam.” She instantly recognizes her name, spoken only as Jesus could call
her. Joyfully Mary embraces him and
calls him, “Rabbouni! (Teacher, Master).” God truth: Jesus is the eternal Good
Shepherd of our souls, and calls us by name (John 10:3). Jesus honors Mary Magdalene by choosing her
above all others to be the very first apostle to see him alive in his new
resurrected state. He sends her to the
male disciples with the astonishing message that he is alive. Jesus used not only a woman, but also someone
who had previously suffered from serious mental illness, to be his first
messenger. Mary’s message: ‘Jesus is alive! I’ve seen him with my own eyes. He is risen. He is alive!’ Just as Jesus called Miriam, he also calls
us by name, for he is alive. We are
given the same fantastic message given to Mary Magdalene. With Mary, we can find the courage needed to
break oppressive traditions in order to follow Jesus in obedience. With Mary, we too, can come to Jesus for
healing. With her, we can serve him with
gratitude, giving of ourselves wholeheartedly and joyfully. Gender, age, sexual orientation, race, social
class, and financial or ethnic backgrounds do not restrict our possibilities for
God’s service. Jesus calls us to love
him with the love Mary Magdalene had for him. Prayer: Rabbouni, Teacher, Master, and LORD -- help us be a spiritual person of
excellence through the example of Mary Magdalene. Help us love you as she did. Let us follow you wherever you lead, willing
to go against the flow of oppressive tradition if need be, to serve you in
joyful obedience. Use us as you have
used Mary Magdalene. Amen. John 20:1-18 (special
attention please, to verses 1, 11, 16, 18)
26 mars 2005
Women and Christ
There are many lessons in this story:
Mary and Martha show us how to live with
doubts and fears about death, while embracing divine promises of resurrection
and life with Christ. Jesus gives us a reminder that God always
hears our prayers. Lazarus will gratefully tell his story again
and again to eager listeners. He will
never fear death knocking at his door again. Politics and religion are
deadly bedfellows. Jesus was perceived
as an acute danger to the sensitive status quo of the occupying Roman government
and the Jewish peoples’ freedom to practice their religion in a precarious
coexistence. The religious authorities
unit in a bipartisan effort to protect their lifestyles and political, social,
religious and financial interests through a sinister plan. Ancient and modern history provides many
examples of how religious institutions easily corrupt with politics. Prayer: God, who would have thought these few verses, could generate so many
lessons. Open our eyes to contemporary
religious-political corruption locally, nationally and globally. Show us how to take action and be agents of
change. Amen.Meditation 16: Politics
and Religion
John 11:
41-48
Lazarus (Greek Eleaser, God has helped) is
raised from the dead. The rejoicing
sisters and crowd praise God and honor Jesus although some skeptics and enemies
went to the Pharisees and informed them of what Jesus had done. The Pharisees call an emergency council
meeting and decide Jesus and Lazarus must die.
17 mars 2005
Women and Christ
Meditation 10: A Jewish
Woman and Jesus
John
8:1-12
Biblical scholars’ debate this story’s
authenticity, but I find it a beautiful example of divine mercy and compassion
in the face of religious hatred and contempt. The Jewish religious leaders are consumed with hatred for Jesus. Their religion became toxic and abusive, and
for this woman, had deadly potential. Jesus faced an impossible dilemma. According to Jewish religious law, the woman
was in serious trouble. Adultery among
married people merited death by stoning (Deuteronomy 22:22-24; Leviticus
20:10). If the woman was a betrothed
virgin, she was to be executed by strangulation. The Mosaic Law required the execution of both
parties (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22). In this carefully planned trap, the hostile
religious leaders tried to trick Jesus into giving an answer violating the Law
of Moses and the existing Roman law. Roman law did not allow the Jews to carry out their death sentences
without permission (John 18:31). According to Jewish law, the witnesses were
required to throw the first stones at the condemned person (Deuteronomy
17:7). Jesus defused the situation with
these immortal words: “Let anyone among
you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Jesus tenderly approaches
the terrified, humiliated and dazed woman and he respectfully addresses her as a
person of value and dignity by calling her, ‘dear woman,’ the same expression he
used when speaking to his mother in John 2:4. In this dramatic teachable moment, he gives her spiritual instruction
that changed the course of her life. He refused to condemn her,
rather, he ordered her to go home and live a new life. Jesus offered her compassion and forgiveness,
not condemnation. He saw her as a person
of value, not bait in a trap. Through
this moment of spiritual conversation, she was forgiven and returned to her
community and family, given a new chance at life. Jesus was indeed her
Savior. Prayer: “I look to You, O One Who Sees through me and
my deceptions. You look upon my
emptiness and fill me with encouragement and a deep, sustaining love. Seek me out in the wilderness of my struggle
for survival, where my spirit longs for nurture and my heart for
tenderness. O One Who Sees Me, look at
me in our solitudes together, and let me be the one who sees Shalom when I look
at You. Blessed be Thou, now and
forever. Amen.” (WW p. 441)


