A Book.

[brinny]

Originally Posted by brinny View Post
Thank you. Care to elaborate?

Well, a hidden secret is going to affect how anyone relates to others. Fear of being discovered, suspicions of intents of others, etc.

But, for, say... a jock to come out and admit that he had a homosexual experience in middle school, would be to almost really "DIE" in his adored school environment. Yet, afterward, he could begin to learn to live without that guilt and fear.......... UNLESS he is shot by other Christians for being wounded.

Thank you, yes, that is a sort of "dying, isn't it? And the added thing about being "shot" by other Christians....

that's just kind of traumatizing....

 

[Willie T]

To further this example ... one could argue that believers who would require such a person to "sew together fig leaves before presenting themselves before the Lord" would also be shooting the wounded. This is often a kind of shooting that happens LATER, after a person is already in the door, so to speak.

Such a person is accepted, and brought in "Just as they are, no shame," ... but then expected to change immediately, or to forcibly create some new man to put on and clothe themselves with in order to remain, etc. So while honesty may bring them out from hiding amongst the bushes, they are expected to look/act/behave a certain way that might be completely fake in order to be tolerated from there on out. If they simply remain naked and free, so to speak, they may be blamed, or kicked out, or further shown what they need to do in order to fall in line and "please God", etc.

So those who don't get killed by the shooting ... there is the risk they will have others try to forcibly cover over their wounds and nakedness to where, instead of receiving new garments and a new man from Christ, other try to have some Frankenstein man-made version thrust upon them, to cover over what still needs healing, redeeming, freedom, etc.

Reminds me of the people who want to throw away kids who "got a break when they were arrested last year, and they are still running with that gang."

Uh..... what does anyone really expect? "Hey, Jack! You got wet over a month ago... Grow a halo!"

 

[Willie T]

Dog's bumping my leg with his nose. Gotta go walk him...... or else...

 

[TillICollapse]

Reading your post is reminding me of the dynamics in the story of the Good Samaritan.

Getting back to your experience, did you get angry at God?

Did I get angry at God ? Yes and no.

On the one hand, I understand the mercy of God and patience of God means the lost can be found, love can be shown, grace can go anywhere, etc. I need it, and so do others. If I am being unloving, it doesn't mean God is lol ... and knowing that I can fail and become selfish, but still be used to help a lost one with grace and love ... is humbling and frustrating at the same time. More often than not, I blame the ignorance of the one performing the wounding unintentionally. "They know not what they do." Do I WISH they understood what they are doing ? Of course. But they literally don't realize what they are doing ...

I find it's easier to deal with someone who knows they are purposefully hurting ... verses someone who is ignorant of it. If I start to blame God, it's when I don't understand why He can give specific types of believers the ability to harm those whom He sends and it hasn't stopped yet in certain contexts. I can see why unbelievers may harm ... but when believers are allowed to persecute, harm, etc (see: Israel and the prophets, the faithful, Jesus, etc) ... long after I personally think their "grace period" should have ended ... I reach a limit and I get fed up, confused, and hurt. I start to blame God in certain ways, but it's usually like Jonah was upset with God. I may not fully blame actually, but I get *angry*, because I don't know what to trust about the outcomes. With unbelievers ... I view it differently many times. With believers ... looking at some of my own past history a bit, and then to Israel and how they treated the prophets, Jesus, the disciples, etc ... I don't always trust the outcome will be something I want. Perhaps this time, with a believer, it will end badly and they will be allowed to finally do me in, so to speak. And God will let it happen ... he'll let a believer who "knows not what they are doing" tear me apart because there is a history of it happening already with people And being "sacrificed" for unbelievers is one thing to me ... for a believer who knows-not-what-they-do is another. Jesus should be enough, my blood shouldn't be required. It feels like a never ending death, one with no resurrection ... the wounds just get reopened, and I start to get angry with God if I can't see a reason behind allowing it to continue

 

[TillICollapse]

Uh..... what does anyone really expect? "Hey, Jack! You got wet over a month ago... Grow a halo!"

Hahaha! .... *makes mental note of quip* lol

 

[brinny]

To further this example ... one could argue that believers who would require such a person to "sew together fig leaves before presenting themselves before the Lord" would also be shooting the wounded. This is often a kind of shooting that happens LATER, after a person is already in the door, so to speak.

Such a person is accepted, and brought in "Just as they are, no shame," ... but then expected to change immediately, or to forcibly create some new man to put on and clothe themselves with in order to remain, etc. So while honesty may bring them out from hiding amongst the bushes, they are expected to look/act/behave a certain way that might be completely fake in order to be tolerated from there on out. If they simply remain naked and free, so to speak, they may be blamed, or kicked out, or further shown what they need to do in order to fall in line and "please God", etc.

So those who don't get killed by the shooting ... there is the risk they will have others try to forcibly cover over their wounds and nakedness to where, instead of receiving new garments and a new man from Christ, other try to have some Frankenstein man-made version thrust upon them, to cover over what still needs healing, redeeming, freedom, etc.

i remember listening to a sermon once where the speaker brought up how a new convert was asked to give his testimony.....and he got up there in front of everybody, said a few words and then said he didn't know what the "h" else to say.....

 

[brinny]

Originally Posted by brinny View Post
Reading your post is reminding me of the dynamics in the story of the Good Samaritan.

Getting back to your experience, did you get angry at God?

Did I get angry at God ? Yes and no.

On the one hand, I understand the mercy of God and patience of God means the lost can be found, love can be shown, grace can go anywhere, etc. I need it, and so do others. If I am being unloving, it doesn't mean God is lol ... and knowing that I can fail and become selfish, but still be used to help a lost one with grace and love ... is humbling and frustrating at the same time. More often than not, I blame the ignorance of the one performing the wounding unintentionally. "They know not what they do." Do I WISH they understood what they are doing ? Of course. But they literally don't realize what they are doing ...

I find it's easier to deal with someone who knows they are purposefully hurting ... verses someone who is ignorant of it. If I start to blame God, it's when I don't understand why He can give specific types of believers the ability to harm those whom He sends and it hasn't stopped yet in certain contexts. I can see why unbelievers may harm ... but when believers are allowed to persecute, harm, etc (see: Israel and the prophets, the faithful, Jesus, etc) ... long after I personally think their "grace period" should have ended ... I reach a limit and I get fed up, confused, and hurt. I start to blame God in certain ways, but it's usually like Jonah was upset with God. I may not fully blame actually, but I get *angry*, because I don't know what to trust about the outcomes. With unbelievers ... I view it differently many times. With believers ... looking at some of my own past history a bit, and then to Israel and how they treated the prophets, Jesus, the disciples, etc ... I don't always trust the outcome will be something I want. Perhaps this time, with a believer, it will end badly and they will be allowed to finally do me in, so to speak. And God will let it happen ... he'll let a believer who "knows not what they are doing" tear me apart because there is a history of it happening already with people And being "sacrificed" for unbelievers is one thing to me ... for a believer who knows-not-what-they-do is another. Jesus should be enough, my blood shouldn't be required. It feels like a never ending death, one with no resurrection ... the wounds just get reopened, and I start to get angry with God if I can't see a reason behind allowing it to continue

it IS complicated.....know what i heard on a sermon just last night>

That God is BIG enough to hear our raw, hurtin'-anger...

maybe that's what it means to "wrestle with God"

Do you ever talk to God when yer angry with Him?

 

[brinny]

Dog's bumping my leg with his nose. Gotta go walk him...... or else...

hahaaaaaaaa

i just realized yu meant fer-real to walk him

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Dog's bumping my leg with his nose. Gotta go walk him...... or else...

What about if it starts humping yer leg?



.

 

[Willie T]

What about if it starts humping yer leg?



.

He's 14, fixed, and the poor guy has never.........

Well, let's just say, it ain't gonna happen.

 

[TillICollapse]

What about if it starts humping yer leg?



.

Again ... I actually thought that's what it said the first time and I had to do a double take lol

 

[brinny]

i had a puppy that did that once.....i was soooo disgusted

 

[TillICollapse]

it IS complicated.....know what i heard on a sermon just last night>

That God is BIG enough to hear our raw, hurtin'-anger...

maybe that's what it means to "wrestle with God"

Do you ever talk to God when yer angry with Him?

Yeah of course I talk to Him when I'm angry lol

As far as wrestling with God ... hmm ... that's another topic I think. Which, by the way, wasn't Jacob injured after his own wrestling ... ? Wounded, in other words ?

 

[TillICollapse]

i had a puppy that did that once.....i was soooo disgusted

Awww man ... I just had a flashback to some chihuahua horrors I once witnessed hahaha ....

 

[brinny]

Originally Posted by brinny View Post
it IS complicated.....know what i heard on a sermon just last night>

That God is BIG enough to hear our raw, hurtin'-anger...

maybe that's what it means to "wrestle with God"

Do you ever talk to God when yer angry with Him?

Yeah of course I talk to Him when I'm angry lol

As far as wrestling with God ... hmm ... that's another topic I think. Which, by the way, wasn't Jacob injured after his own wrestling ... ? Wounded, in other words ?

hahaaaa as i was reading yer response yer user name came to mind as i was thinkin' about the wrestling with God

 

[Thekla]

A friend of mine mentioned this book to me; she'd read it years ago and thought it quite good. Per her report, it deals with the mis/treatment of Christians with emotional and mental illness. (My friend struggles with a mental illness - with true courage and fortitude.) She had been a dedicated Evangelical Christian (who had converted from RC); however, due to her experiences in her new community related to her mi., she first left the Church and is now an avowed atheist.

 

[Strong in Him]

I just ran across a title of a book that kinda stopped me dead in my tracks, titled:

"Why Do Christians Shoot Their Wounded?"

Anybody ever heard of it, or have any thoughts about the title of it and what it possibly means?

Thank you kindly.

Never heard of the book, but I'd say it is an excellent question.

Why do Christians shoot - i.e wound or injure, spiritually or emotionally - those who are already vulnerable and hurting?
I'd say first of all that not all Christians do this, but some do. I'm sorry to say that I have even experienced it on these forums, with regards to the area of healing - someone is in pain, ill or disabled, has prayed for healing for some time and in their distress, asks "why won't God heal me?" Sometimes the answer has been "you haven't got enough faith/haven't prayed hard enough/had ancestors who did x,y or z" Implication - it's your fault; you are lacking in some way.
Or someone may be going through a hard time; illness, unemployment etc, and just happens to mention that they are gay or their father was a freemason/spiritualist, and so they are told that this is the cause of their troubles; a punishment.

Maybe I'm just sensitive because I've been on the receiving end of arguments like this, but this is what the title says to me.

 

[prodromos]

It seems to me that the book talks about our failure as Christians to obey Jesus' command to "judge not, lest you be judged". When faced with someone's revealed falleness our response should be to reflect on our own falleness, hidden or not, and not to consider such a person as any worse than our own pitiable selves.
But for the grace of God, there stand I. Now how can I be a vehicle of God's grace to this person. We are saved in community, through the love and mercy of our fellow christians. If we don't see Christ in our fallen brothers and sisters and meet them in their need, we have the parable of the sheep and the goats to teach us where we will eventually find ourselves standing.

Forgive me, as I am the last person who should preach such things to others. Consider this me thinking out loud about my own failure to refrain from judging others.

 

[brinny]

A friend of mine mentioned this book to me; she'd read it years ago and thought it quite good. Per her report, it deals with the mis/treatment of Christians with emotional and mental illness. (My friend struggles with a mental illness - with true courage and fortitude.) She had been a dedicated Evangelical Christian (who had converted from RC); however, due to her experiences in her new community related to her mi., she first left the Church and is now an avowed atheist.

i'm sooooooo sorry that your precious friend experienced such woundings and pain. (((hug)))

I just ordered this book (a 2nd hand copy) and i plan on delving into it and meditating and studying it.

 

[brinny]

Originally Posted by brinny View Post
I just ran across a title of a book that kinda stopped me dead in my tracks, titled:

"Why Do Christians Shoot Their Wounded?"

Anybody ever heard of it, or have any thoughts about the title of it and what it possibly means?

Thank you kindly.

Never heard of the book, but I'd say it is an excellent question.

Why do Christians shoot - i.e wound or injure, spiritually or emotionally - those who are already vulnerable and hurting?
I'd say first of all that not all Christians do this, but some do. I'm sorry to say that I have even experienced it on these forums, with regards to the area of healing - someone is in pain, ill or disabled, has prayed for healing for some time and in their distress, asks "why won't God heal me?" Sometimes the answer has been "you haven't got enough faith/haven't prayed hard enough/had ancestors who did x,y or z" Implication - it's your fault; you are lacking in some way.
Or someone may be going through a hard time; illness, unemployment etc, and just happens to mention that they are gay or their father was a freemason/spiritualist, and so they are told that this is the cause of their troubles; a punishment.

Maybe I'm just sensitive because I've been on the receiving end of arguments like this, but this is what the title says to me.

Just recently i have realized that sometimes these "tendencies" to pre-judge are just so subtle....there is a man that walks up and down the street during the day and in the middle of the night "yelling" unintelligibly....as if he has no controll over it....and it didn't dawn on me that perhaps it's Tourettes or something similar....or a combination of things...at first i found i was judging him and wondering where he got a'loose from....but then, gradually i realized that i was "judging" him and i didn't even know him....i mean maybe "i" don't know what's wrong, but "God" does.....

as i look back, my thoughts were automatic and merciless......

where does that come from?

It comes from my heart, and that my heart is not perfected in Christ, at all....

and it is just one example of just how im-perfect i am....and yes, it can just as easily be a member of the Body of Christ that i could be so quick to judge...and condemn....

why are we sooo quick to shoot our wounded? Therein lies the question for each of us to examine, because to one degree or another we may all have that tendency....