monks.

.religion. Jesus.
Pure and undefiled religion is this…to take care of the orphan and the widow in distress, and to be unspotted from the world…James 1:27

"Modern man is responsible to society- HE THINKS TRUTH IS ESTABLISHED BY MAJORITY OPINION. For religious man, responsible to God, God alone determines Truth, and one should avoid judgments based on false, human criteria. God stands diametrically opposed to world. Men were false- God was Truth: an unbounded abyss separated them."

---Abraham Joshua Heschel "Passion for Truth"

"Whenever we talk about religion, it is important that we make clear that true religion is not a bad thing, but a good thing. In fact true religion (a life responsible to God rather than to human opinion, or self rule) is, in my opinion, the way God establishes his Kingdom here on earth. So when we speak of religion in a bad light we are referring always to false religion, or anything that leads us to follow after our own opinions, or the opinions of pop-culture. If Truth is no longer relevant in the opinion polls of humanity, do we disregard Truth in order to be relevant? I hope not. An even more difficult and pressing question is when Truth is in opposition to our own opinion, or doctrines... Do we disregard Truth in order to protect our opinion? I hope not."

-jason Upton

I’m very frustrated.

What’s the purpose of my beliefs if there’s nothing being done with them?

We have fought so hard to kick religion out of our [religion] that we have been left as a bunch of monks speaking in tongues and dancing but making no effect at all on the earth.
Have you thought that it is possible that prayer has become a sort of [idol] to us?

C.S Lewis wrote “ I try not to pray for anything that I could do with my own two hands” .

Maybe I’m wrong. I probably am. But it just frustrates the hell out of me that I’ve spent thousands of hours [on the mountain] but very few hours [in the sea] . _read “burning in the sky” lyrics by : Jason Upton_ I mean, why would we get down from the comforts of the mountain [with all the “high” feeling that it brings]? Why would we trade the pleasures of our [church service] for church service? There’s a big difference. Who even named our gatherings [church service] anyways? Maybe it was the enemy’s attempt to get us to think we were doing our service by going to [service]? And what about religion? isn’t it our duty to be religious? [read verse on top] we now find ourselves to be the most lazy and ineffective generation of the church that there has ever been. Yea, we fill our churches on Friday nights and Sunday mornings, and yet there is more need right outside of our pretty walls then ever before.

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So what does James say our pure religion should be?

To take care of the orphan [the rejected ones] and the widow [ the broken ones] and to be unspotted from the world [pretty obvious] …

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[ I had previously written a long summary [commentary] on what this verse meant to me but I think the [ essay on the law of undulation] was too long so I’ll keep this short.]

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...To take care of the orphan- our first [religious] duty is to be friends to the friendless…”the most terrible poverty in the world Is not the lack of money, but the feeling of being unwanted or unloved”- Mother Teresa. [Selah]

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...To take care of the widow [this might require our finances] . The widow in mind symbolizes the many hurting people today that are in need of love and aid. It’s very easy in our lives to never notice the broken. But everywhere we look, there are hurting, dying people. “look beyond the window there” …

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"It is the choice to suffer with our friends or not. It is the choice to enter into real life with others or not. It is the choice to build community around our common humanity or not. It is the choice to suffer with the One whom suffered for all humanity or not. We 'suffer with Christ' or not."

-Al Sergel

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so maybe religion isnt too bad after all...

“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”
St. Francis of Assisi