Comments | whaleyam: the spiritual middle?

whaleyam

the spiritual middle?

Jan 25, 2005 19:18

Today I started my second job back at the UC Admissions Office. Everyone was glad to see me, and I got right back into the swing of things -- part of which is listening to music for several hours a day. This is by far the best part of the job, and since I now have my iPod, my music choices are unlimited. Today I had it on shuffle. I kept getting ( Read more... )

Comments 3

I know, it sounds cliche ... lanceuhlot January 27 2005, 05:15:28 UTC

Annie, I'm a little confused by your compartmentalization of christianity ... it seems that you're mostly talking about the religion itself, almost as if it's a cultural phenomenon or encyclopedic definition. But being a christian, I think, isn't really about what you do or say ... it's being a follower of Christ, a person who lives and breathes in relationship with Jesus. Sure, the life you share with Him spills out and manifests itself in certain dogmas and political views and disciplines, but those "symptoms" aren't really at the core of christianity, in my opinion ( ... )

Re: I know, it sounds cliche ... whaleyam January 27 2005, 12:10:21 UTC

That's the hardest part...I grew up in a church that puts a lot of emphasis on what to do and what not to do, and that's how having a realtionship was manifested, doing the right things so God would be pleased with you. If you didn't do those things, they made it really clear that God wasn't happy with you. In college there was less emphasis on doing and more on feeling, but I struggle with that too because you can't just force yourself to feel a certain way. Believe, I've tried and tried. I honestly don't believe that those 2 things are what being a Christian is about, but after sitting in those pews for 24 years of life, that's a hard thing to shake.

So when I'm not doing the "right" thing or feeling the "right" thing, then I feel like God is in a constant state of disappointment with me --which makes it really hard to be close to him. Does that make sense? I feel trapped in that mindset, and I haven't had luck talking myself out of it.

anonymous January 27 2005, 17:23:01 UTC

have you read 'blue like jazz'?

-rachel mc