The Right Spin

What is truth? Can we know truth? If truth is real and knowable doesn’t that then mean anything that isn’t truth is a lie? If there is no truth in life and existence are then such things as morality and goodness purely subjective? If they are then why is the man who murders worse than the man who saves a life?

Is one man really ever right? Is the other ever wrong?

Can you tell me what truth is? Not what truth is for you but a truth for everyone? Can you tell me a universal indisputable truth? Not, “The Earth orbits the Sun.” That’s not truth. That’s fact. A truth should be something one can build their life upon. Something meaningful and uplifting, even if it’s hard to hear. Truth is the rock which one can always depend upon. Truth does not change through the telling nor though the ages. It is eternal and unchanging.

Tell me a truth.

When Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilate the Roman official asked of Him, “What is truth?” Truth itself stood before Pilate and still he could not see it. Our increasingly secularist world wants us to believe there is no such thing as a universal truth. That truth is subjective and my truth is just as correct as yours. But what is to be done when “truths” conflict? Something cannot be both black and white at the same time. Up cannot be down and light cannot be darkness. So, I ask you, outside of God’s only begotten son Jesus, how can we know truth?

Inspired by this article.

This is a thorny question and one that I do have an opinion on. However, I will not be the one to state my opinion is more correct than a church elder. They are in a position in which only God has the authority to judge them.

As for my opinion: I do believe that homosexuals should be allowed chruch membership. Just as any other human is. We are all sinners and we all need forgiveness. Also we all need to be included into a body of believers that can counsel and suppport us in our walk with Christ. However, this inclusion comes with an expectation of an individual by the group. The individual will repent of thier sins. They will not grasp upon particularly pleasurable sins and expect others to accept this. This then becomes a point of centention within the congregation and allows division to enter the church. We've seen this with the appointment of an openly gay Bishop within the Episcopalian denomination and within individual churches. As a man of God Bishop Robinson knew full well what his appointment would do to his denomination. No matter how ferverently he wished to serve God the unity of the Church should have been his primary concern. He chose his own selfish desires over the needs of his congregation.

Now, Rev. Edward Johnson, former pastor of South Hill United Methodist Church:

...has been banished from the pulpit and denied his salary for one year by the Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, despite the admission he acted on his conscience and his action could be defended "in theory" from the Methodist Book of Discipline.

He's been removed from his positon because he refused chruch membership to an openly gay man. A man who had been attending the church for some time and was also a member of the choir.

I'm inclined to agree with the pastor in this situation because his overall responsibility is to protect the congreation. If he were to allow an openly and unrepentant homosexual into the congration he risks their spiritual growth. If, however, this homosexual man expressed the desire and intention to repent from this sin and was still denied membership then I belive the pastor has errored. I've seen no place within the article that states this is the case.

The Church is to accept all people because we are all sinners in need of God's grace. But acceptance within Church hinges on one's desire to repent. If one does not, and flaunts it, then they must not be allowed to tempt others into stumbling.

He was 11
His sister 3
Her life snuffed out accidentally
Copied the rage from
Snoop our modern sage

Chrissy was 9
Not even in her prime
Dead, dog leash around her head
She played the part from Hollywood's violent art

At 28 Daniel was late
Never found peace
Now deceased
Copied Cobain, blew out his brain

Oh how the angels are falling

-Cindy Morgan (1995)