If you are a long time reader of this blog, especially if you were a reader back when I was on blogger, you know that JD Ryan, the atheist blogger of Five Before Chaos, and I have a history of heated debates about all things religious.  So, you might find it interesting that he and I got together for coffee a couple weeks ago to discuss religion.  Not just religion, but my religion.  Or, I should say, we got together to discuss the fact that I no longer consider myself a Christian, but an agnostic.

I still have a lot of things to sort out.  I am by no means an atheist.  I am in a state of just not knowing what to think about the existence (or nonexistence) of god.

All I do know is that for the past four years, I gave my power over to god based on a theology that I no longer believe is true.  Now, I have taken back control and things have never been better.

How this came about is really a long story, the details of which even I am not entirely certain.  Suffice it to say that the questions, the doubts, the contradictions, and the logical inconsistencies just piled up to the point that I could no longer ignore them.

Then one day, I just asked myself, How would my life be different if God wasn’t real? The answer surprised me.  I felt optimistic for the first time in a long time.  I felt like I was in control of my life and I had the power to make it better.  I felt great.

The one thing that scared me more than anything was the thought of telling my husband that I wasn’t a Christian anymore.  In fact, I didn’t want to tell anyone because that would make it real and that was a real threat to my marriage.  Not that I thought we would get divorced over it, although that does happen, but that it would upset my otherwise amazing relationship with my husband.

So, I did what any one would do in that situation.  I e-mailed an antagonistic atheist that likes to harass me on the internet.  We got together for coffee and I was finally able to tell someone what I had been going though.  He was very supportive and gave me some ideas about how to talk to my husband about it.

That night I did tell Bob.  He kind of freaked out for the first couple of days, but now things are going very well.  He says that I am happier than he has seen me in a long time and that things at home, in general, seem much more peaceful.

I have been going back and forth about whether or not I wanted to post this, but in the end I felt like it was the right thing to do.  I was a Christian for the life of this blog and I was very open about that.  It seemed somehow disingenuous to withhold this information.

To answer the obvious question, no, my political views have not changed.  I was a small-government conservative long before I became a Christian and will continue to be, barring any unforeseen head injuries.

If you have any other questions, feel free to pose them in the comments section, or drop me an e-mail.

One of the arguments against the existence of God that Christopher Hitchens kept coming back to boils down to: God would have done things differently.

Just as there are really bad arguments that Christians should never use to justify the existence of God, there are really bad arguments that atheists shouldn’t use.  This would be one of them.

You are not God, so it stands to reason that you don’t know how God would have done things.

Really, it only serves to reveal your arrogance when you make the claim that you know how God would have done things.

Basically, you are saying, “If I were God, I would have done X.  God did Y.  Ergo, God does not exist.”

Are you sure you want your name associated with that faulty logic?  Seriously.

If you were interested in the debate itself, which this post was not really about, here are the links.

Does God Exist? Hitchens vs. Craig – Big Hollywood

Summary of the William Lane Craig vs Christopher Hitchens debate: Does God Exist? – Wintery Knight Blog

“To me, the candy cane has only one context — and that is Christmas and because of this it is truly a religious sign.”

So says Charlotte resident William Gerson in a letter to the school board in which he was opposing the red and white striped pillars at the entrance to the Charlottle Central School, in Vermont.

Actually, Christmas is a secular holiday, in addition to being a religious one, and the candy cane is a pretty innocuous secular symbol.

I grew up in a very non-religious home.  In fact, my mother was very anti-established religion and her own beliefs, which are a sort of a la carte spirituality, I was wholly unaware of until I was an adult.

But my mom loved Christmas.  Christmas was an amazing time with decorations and lights and family time and giving to those in need and those we loved.  There was no nativity scene, no savior, no virgin birth, and definitely no church.

My guess is that the majority of Americans who celebrate Christmas do so in a very non-religious way.  But that is just a guess on my part.  I have no data to back that up.

Claiming that the candy cane is a religious symbol, though, reduces Mr. Gerson to a parody of the separation of school and Christmas crowd.  Not that they are not ridiculous in their own right.

I say, get over it and enjoy a nice mug egg nog.

T’is the season to be jolly, after all.

I struggle with American Christianity. There is the inclination to focus on what God can do for us and to become angry when God doesn’t make everything go our way.

Then there are the ever present prosperity preachers, who lead us to believe that if only we are faithful enough, God will heap riches upon us.

We have books that promise us a great life – a great life by worldly standards – if we are Christians. And in turn, leave people broken and bitter at God when it doesn’t happen.

So, when I was asked to review Joyce Meyer’s new book, which will be released next Tuesday, April 29, entitled, “The Secret to True Happiness,” I was skeptical, to say the least.

Well, I am glad to say now that I was also pleasantly surprised.

Joyce Meyer’s latest work, The Secret to True Happiness: Enjoy Today, Embrace Tomorrow, is not just another pseudo-biblical work promising a life of prosperity.

Instead, Ms. Meyer explains how God calls us to enjoy the life and the circumstances that we have been given. She teaches us how knowing who we are in Christ can allow us to experience true happiness even through the pain and suffering that life can bring us.

Unlike some other popular Christian books that shy away from scripture, The Secret to True Happiness embraces the Bible as the source of its truth.

I must admit, I will be re-reading and working through this book for some time to come. Joyce gives her readers a lot to read, think about, pray about, and apply to their lives.

Joyce Meyer walks us through:

Making the most of what we have,
Living by the Word,
Choosing to be happy,
Finding joy,
Knowing who we are in Christ and how God sees us,
Living by faith,
Trusting God through trials,
Finding rest,
Making good choices,
Having a right perspective about possessions,
Gaining wisdom,
Developing a true commitment to your Christian walk,
Being healthy,
Simplifying,
Cultivating good habits,
Letting God lead,
Practicing discipline,
Embracing tomorrow,
And more.

In The Secret to True Happiness, Joyce Meyer will walk you through how to apply biblical principles and a deeper understanding of your relationship with God and finally understand what it means to be truly happy.

The Secret to True Happiness: Enjoy Today, Embrace Tomorrow will be available on Tuesday, April 29, 2008. Pre-order yours on Amazon today.

I am also giving away a copy at my other blog, All Things Hold Together. All you need to do is leave a comment to win.

I had heard this story a while back, but I didn’t think it was going anywhere. To me, it is clearly none of the government’s business what kind of cars are driven or houses lived in by religious leaders, or what doctrines they preach.

But being none of the government’s business has never gotten in the way of the government doing something stupid, so why start now?

I am going to take a look at this on a few different levels: political, practical, personal, and religious.

First, the political. I think it is a big mistake for the government to start meddling in the affairs of religious groups. And for Congress to go after a particular sect because of its biblical interpretation treads into dangerous constitutional waters.

These ministries are fully allowed by law to hold a tax-exempt status.

I think that the tax-exempt status is absolutely crucial for small and start-up ministries, and it should not be abolished. However, if there is a concern that wealthy ministries should be contributing to the government, then there should be a conversation about whether or not ministries that are bringing in a certain level of funds should be made to pay taxes. Perhaps it is their civic duty to do so. (This would, of course, have to apply to non-religious non-profits, as well.)

Let’s have that conversation, but let’s not have the government debating the merits of certain interpretations of the Bible.

From a practical standpoint, the woman featured in the article is an example of badly applied advice. That does not mean that the advice is bad. I challenge anyone to show me someone who is preaching that one should take out payday loans in order to be able to continue funding a ministry, and that God will reward that with riches.

I am not a fan of the prosperity doctrine. I think that is gives a false impression of what following Christ will reap in this life and, when the cost of following includes physical discomfort in this world, it can lead to a real crisis of faith. There is no shortage of examples of people in the Bible who are faithful, yet do not reap prosperity in this life.

That said, I have listened to Joyce Meyer, who was named in this inquiry and has agreed to comply with the government’s request, and I do know what she preaches.

It includes: Not using credit, living within your means, paying off your debts (and not acquiring new debts), and, yes, tithing.

I have never heard Joyce Meyer say that the blessings will come pouring in, in the form of money or material goods, right away, or that there wouldn’t be tough times. In fact, I have heard her tell stories of her own financial struggles in the past. The faith that she speaks of is faith that God will provide for our needs. And that someday, we will get to a place where money is not a struggle, though that last point I disagree is guaranteed in this life.

The point that Meyer makes is that we need to be good stewards of what God has given us and we will be blessed with more. Taking out payday loans does not fit under the definition of good stewardship.

I am a big fan of much of Joyce Meyer’s work, especially her work in the area of spiritual warfare. I own a couple of her books on that topic. And we have personally put her financial advice, which is the same as any Biblical-based financial plan, into practice and are less than 2 months away from being 100% free of consumer debt.

At the same time, we never send our tithes to Joyce Meyer Ministries because I am personally not comfortable supporting her lavish lifestyle, despite the fact that the ministry does help a lot pf people. We simply choose to support other, less extravagant, ministries.

From a religious perspective, the whole prosperity thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I think that it is a poor representation of the Gospel and it causes followers to view God as their own cosmic vending machine, one that will dispense whatever earthly riches their hearts desire, leaving them angry at God when He does not deliver.

Even Joyce Meyer made a statement, quoted in the AP article, saying that a prosperity gospel “that solely equates blessing with financial gain is out of balance and could damage a person’s walk with God.”

The fact remains, it is not the job of Congress to determine which is the proper Gospel to preach.

When I was a kid, Christmas was a big deal in my house. A BIG deal. My mother loved Christmas. But in our house, it was very much a secular holiday.

When I went out on my own, and had children of my own, I continued the traditions that I was raised with. The lights, the presents, the decorations, the presents, the baking, the presents. Did I mention the presents? My mom was – and is – big on presents.

Ever since I became a Christian, my feelings for Christmas have waned. This year, I started to get excited about baking and decorating, but I didn’t even come close to the excitement of years past. Now that I know that Christmas is supposed to be in honor of the birth of Jesus Christ, now that I know who Jesus is and what he has done and continues to do for me and in me, I cannot seem to get all worked up over a secularized, consumer holiday.

My husband and I both felt like we just wanted to scrap Christmas altogether, but that’s kind of hard with young children – and family.

One day, I got kind of frustrated with all of the expectation of Christmas and said something about not wanting to celebrate Christmas. My 11-year-old son said something mouthy like, “Some Christian you are.” (Yeah, we are working on correcting that legalistic attitude.)

After I explained the origins and current non-Christian nature of Christmas, they were left wondering why we do celebrate Christmas.

Feeling like a Grinch of the first order, I came up with a few good reasons to celebrate.

(1) It’s a good excuse to get together with family.

(2) It can open up opportunities for dialogue with non-Christians about our faith.

(3) It is a time, regardless of whether it was the time of Jesus’ actual birth, that countless people around the globe are focused on Jesus. That is extremely powerful.

Having that conversation, and being forced to come up with good reasons to celebrate Christmas, really made this the best Christmas I have had since becoming a Christian. Sometimes it is hard to reconcile my old life with my new one, but it worth while to settle those issues.

I had a wonderful Christmas. I had a beautiful time with my and my husband’s families, and our own. And I was able to put into perspective some struggles that I have had with my own faith over the past year.

Even though it is not likely the actual time of year of Jesus’ birth, and even though the origins of the holiday are not Christian, I will celebrate the day.

I celebrate the day
That You were born to die
So I could one day pray for You to save my life

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA40wmNSW20]

Celebrate the Day, By Relient K

And with this Christmas wish is missed
The point I could convey
If only I could find the words to say to let You know how much You’ve touched my life
Because here is where You’re finding me, in the exact same place as New Year’s eve
And from a lack of my persistency
We’re less than half as close as I want to be

And the first time
That You opened Your eyes did You realize that You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever

And the first time
That You opened Your eyes did You realize that You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever

And so this Christmas I’ll compare the things I felt in prior years
To what this midnight made so clear
That You have come to meet me here

To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me
In the hope that what You did
That you were born so I might really live
To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me

And the first time
That You opened Your eyes did You realize that You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever

And the first time
That You opened Your eyes did You realize that You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever

And I, I celebrate the day
That You were born to die
So I could one day pray for You to save my life
Pray for You to save my life
Pray for You to save my life

…no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. US Constitution

So this is what it has come to. In order be considered for the Office of President of the United States, we need to know not only if you believe in a creator god, but if you do, we also need to know specifically if you think creation was done in a literal six days or six periods of time. While we’re at it, did God speak creatures into existence or guide the evolutionary process?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-BFEhkIujA]

I do not know if this guy would make a good president. I have not looked into his stance on the issues. I know; I am way behind. But I do know that theologically this is a great answer and one I wholeheartedly agree with, especially the last 40 seconds or so.

Of course that doesn’t mean he would make a good president. I, for one, have no religious test.

It’s kind of long, but I thought it was interesting. If you’re into that sort of thing.

Happy Monday!