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Post by Vyckie D. Garrison on Jul 9, 2010 9:45:47 GMT -5
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Post by cherylannhannah on Jul 9, 2010 10:15:15 GMT -5
Another writer amongst us! My story will sound pretty flat in comparison because I don't have the patience to polish it up and add in all the dialogue like some of you do.
What is amazing to me is how similar the stories are right across denominational lines and all of them contain stories of judgement, condemnation, pridefulness in "doing things right and therefore being more acceptable to God than thou" , and a pervading sense of guilt and never being able to measure up against impossible standards.
The more I am reading not only this but what passes for fundamental North American Christianity, the more I see that it has less to do with God and more to do with cultural distinctives. The Pharisees are alive and walk amongst us.
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Post by xara on Jul 9, 2010 10:30:42 GMT -5
Wow. You tell that story well.
A charismatic Lutheran church? Interesting. I grew up Missouri Synod Lutheran and find that hard to imagine. I am used to church being very cold and impersonal. Very ritualistic. But then I went to "The country club church" and we were one of the poorer families that went there (not that we were poor, just middle class but most of the families were upper middle class). So we were always being judged because we didn't dress as nicely as most of the families there.
I wouldn't have liked John either.
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Post by rosa on Jul 9, 2010 11:25:34 GMT -5
I do not get why so many of these types think that it's okay to be INCREDIBLY RUDE to make their "teaching point."
I'm sorry, when a person tells you your name "what's your real name" is not one of the acceptable responses.
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Post by Ex-Adriel on Jul 9, 2010 11:38:51 GMT -5
Xara - We were "technically" Missouri Synod. Until I was old enough to start going to church when we visited my grandparents (Mother was raised Lutheran) - I didn't have a clue how very odd our church was. Strict Lutheran churches are dry as dust compared to 'Golgotha.' It was a real eye-opener.
I honestly don't know now how on earth our pastor got away with all that he did at that church, but it might have had something to do with the exploding attendance. It was a very popular church in our city.
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Post by Sierra on Jul 9, 2010 11:49:30 GMT -5
I do not get why so many of these types think that it's okay to be INCREDIBLY RUDE to make their "teaching point." I'm sorry, when a person tells you your name "what's your real name" is not one of the acceptable responses. This. I remember well that look of bewilderment and disdain, even disgust, from patriarchal males. It's really creepy when you start getting it from the male children, too.
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Post by hopewell on Jul 9, 2010 12:38:42 GMT -5
Great! Another fascinating new life story! I have a feeling I know what's coming and it isn't freedom! Hurry up with more!!!!
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becky
New Member
Posts: 28
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Post by becky on Jul 9, 2010 13:16:38 GMT -5
Just had to chime in to say I'm really looking forward to the rest of your story. (As an aside, I, too, was raised in a Charismatic Lutheran (LCMS) church! I really did enjoy the blend of the two views on the world, though it also raised its own issues. I'm curious to see where things went from there.)
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Post by Ex-Adriel on Jul 9, 2010 13:27:57 GMT -5
Becky - If I ever get past my own current issues with church attendance (and churches in general), I would love to find another place like that was.
As far as I was concerned, it was pretty near perfect. Granted, I was a kid, and didn't hear much about the conflicts (of which I'm sure there were many) but in retrospect it was very nice (and seems uncommon, having been to lots of other churches since then) to have a grounding in an actual creed - attending yearlong confirmation classes for example - as well as having people who seemed HAPPY to be attending church, celebrating Christ and the gospel.
Most liturgical churches have the first, but everyone seems to suffer through the services at the best passively, like it is a penance or a trial.
Most charismatic churches have the second, but God forbid you ask them about the specific tenents of their faith - there's a lot of "love and joy" but not much depth to the understanding.
I remember that church quite fondly.
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Post by Ex-Adriel on Jul 9, 2010 13:37:49 GMT -5
That look never fails to rile me up. I know it's meant to shrivel people up inside, but I had very bombastic relatives, and snotty behavior like that just sets me off.
Once I realized that I irritated John even more by not becoming properly submissive and cowed by his disgust, I have to admit I did it on purpose because I was an abominable little brat. ;D I comfort myself that at least I was disrespecting people who deserved it.
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Post by cherylannhannah on Jul 9, 2010 14:11:50 GMT -5
I'm currently attending a Fellowship Baptist church that functions more like a non-denominational church and the fellowship is amazing. These people reached out to me and my children after we were excommunicated from our other church and they actually act the way Christians are s upposed to act -- with grace and mercy towards each other. I sometimes long for the more formal liturgy that I experienced in the reformed church, however. When I get a hankering that becomes too big for me, I go to an Anglican church. I love the self conscious acts of worship that accompany a more formal liturgy and it's one of the things I miss.
Sometimes I go to a Lutheran church too. The one we have here does both traditional and contemporary worship.
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Post by Sierra on Jul 9, 2010 14:36:15 GMT -5
That look never fails to rile me up. I know it's meant to shrivel people up inside, but I had very bombastic relatives, and snotty behavior like that just sets me off. Once I realized that I irritated John even more by not becoming properly submissive and cowed by his disgust, I have to admit I did it on purpose because I was an abominable little brat. ;D I comfort myself that at least I was disrespecting people who deserved it. It triggered my defiant streak, too. ;D Welcome to the club! I especially liked challenging the doodz about their aversion to the idea of single female missionaries. I would say, "But Paul said it's better to remain single, right? That way I can devote my whole life to God rather than spending all my time taking care of babies! God is calling me NOT to get married. In fact, I think he wants me to be a truck driver and carry the gospel across the country... I'll get a prairie dog for companionship. I don't even need to HAVE a home..." Their faces would get all wrinkly and they would shoot each other terrified looks and mumble something about "the right spirit." ;D
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Post by Ex-Adriel on Jul 9, 2010 16:18:20 GMT -5
LOL - Wow, I wish I'd thought of that.
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Post by krwordgazer on Jul 9, 2010 20:59:56 GMT -5
Right now my palm is itching to slap John and tell him to go away and leave your happy family in peace. You write extremely well, ex-Adriel.
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Post by freefromtyranny on Jul 10, 2010 14:33:00 GMT -5
It's nice to see where it all started. Sometimes it's so hard to pinpoint where everything began. Can't wait for the next installment.
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Post by lodrelhai on Jul 11, 2010 16:48:02 GMT -5
I suspect your dad would have brought you with him for things like engine repair even if you'd also had a dozen brothers, because he sounds like mine. My dad included all his children in his interests, regardless of gender. He saw no reason why a girl should be any less adept than a boy at changing breaks or fishing. Nor why a boy couldn't cook for a family and keep house just as well as a girl.
Other things sound familiar too - mom's concerns about her children's spirituality, her focus on gender-appropriate dress and behavior, interpretation of signs and visions and dreams... been there, done that, have the heart-scars to prove it. Isn't it strange, that though the father is supposed to be the "spiritual head of the family," the mother thinks nothing of taking the reins - including his - if she thinks he's not spiritual enough?
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Post by lois on Jul 12, 2010 20:05:15 GMT -5
I "googled" LCMS and charismatic and came up with a lot of information. Very interesting and controversial movement. I really look forward to more of the story.
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Post by jillrhudybarrett on Jul 18, 2010 15:34:48 GMT -5
Yes, yes! Some super saint or saints come into the picture, and they have a special (but given the fact that we've all met at least one, definitely not unique) way of making you feel like a cut-rate, substandard, grade B- Christian. And they know. They know it all. How you should talk and walk and hold your mouth and dress and eat, and which Scriptures you have been grotesquely violating for years without a clue. Their tolerance for singing and studying scripture make you feel lazier than a tree sloth. You don't even enjoy singing God's praises for four hours solid, but you learn. Sometimes you marry the super-saint, but oftener you just marry an overbearing schmo because of her or him.
Jill
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