I Think I’m Gonna Make It
We’ve had a hectic month, but it’s finally over. The geese are honking as they fly overhead. The school bus just picked up some education-bound denizens, and there’s enough of a chill in the air that I’m seriously considering slinking back into the house. I would put my sweater on, but it’s in the car and I don’t feel like walking all the way out there.
Summer has wound down even before Labor Day. We got the Farm Girl off to the airport just fine, and she got home safe and sound with no problems. The Perfects went back to their busy world, taking the Perfect Prince with them – to the frustration of everyone else in the family, of course. Mr. Fixer got the canopy back on the Jeep Eater. Mud Dog has his post-summer/post-camping trip hair cut appointment set for Tuesday.
And I’m tired.
This has been one of the busiest Augusts I’ve ever experienced.
As you read this, I’ll be in Featherville for a brief, let’s-watch-the-fat-girl-try-to-get-up-off-the-ground camping trip. I’m both excited and very nervous about this trip. I haven’t gone camping since March of 2001, and I’ve gotten fatter since then.
I have this thought that I’ll wind up on my back, like a little beetle, waving my arms and legs around as I try to roll over and realize that I’m stuck and can’t get up.
We’ll see…
As a bonus, and because of a comment about the various nicknames I choose for those about whom I write, I figured I’d give you an abreviated cast list of sorts. These are the folks I have already mentioned or will mention in the near future. All others will be dubbed when the need arises.
My Side
Me: D. S. Vic
Mom: Mom aka the Farm Girl
Dad: THE DAD
Maternal Aunt and Uncle: The Muckleshoot Gang
Maternal Uncle: Hippie Dippie Weather Man (Taken from George Carlin’s comedy, of course)
Brother: WonderFink
Childhood Friend: Lady Grace
Adulthood Friend: The Preacher
Husband’s Side
Husband: Mr. Fixer aka Dearest Heart
Father and Lady: Super-Dad and the Vet
Paternal Aunt and Uncle 1: Queen and King
Paternal Aunt and Uncle 2: Princess and Bus Driver
Paternal Uncle and Aunt: The Tax Man and the Witness
Mom and Husband: Pie Lady and Galloping Gourmet
Maternal Aunt and Uncle: Laughing Koi and Jewish Goat
Maternal Uncle and Aunt: Tempered Glaziers
Brother, Wife and Baby: Mr. and Mrs. Perfect and the Perfect Prince
Best Friend: the Carpenter
Workmates: Jedi, Almost-Stumpy, Baby-Sitter, Dewey, New Guy but-not-really and Not-Quite Speed Racer
As I mentioned, most of these folks have already been introduced to you. Many will be mentioned in the near future. Most, of course, have no clue that they have these names. Hopefully, they’re descriptive enough to be entertaining but vague enough that few people will know to whom these monikers actually refer.
Suffice to say, this is the cast of my life. All are loved and admired, except, maybe, the WonderFink. Though I know the truth, that he’s a fink, everyone else seems to think he’s wonderful. Eventually the truth will be revealed!
PS Saturday’s column may be delayed. While I’m hoping to post it on time, I might find myself sleeping through Saturday entirely.
Until next time…
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Immortal Soul: Yes or No
I’m not a Bible scholar. I don’t have any academic authority; no degrees or fancy letters following my name. I do not profess to be the next, great prophet or God’s mouthpiece. What follows is speculation and conjecture based on my experiences, understanding and my very own brand of logic. In short, these are my own opinions, and they do not reflect those of anyone else even remotely connected to this website.
That said, let’s see if I can spout my opinions without starting the Crusades of the Northwest.
Some of the more volatile topics in religious discussion are:
Sabbath: Saturday or Sunday
Christmas: Godly or Commercial
The Law: Active or Done Away
Immortal Soul: Intrinsic at Birth or Gift
While I’ll probably discuss all of these topics at some point, today I’m going to focus on the Immortal Soul issue. As such, I’ll also be briefly discussing the concepts of heaven and hell – since they seem to be interrelated in most portions of Christian society. Also, for the purposes of this column – so that we’re all on the same page – immortal means exempt from death or unending. Soul means the essense or core – that thing that makes a person who and what they are.
Onward.
Are humans born with an immortal soul? Do we have eternal life – of a spiritual kind – intrinsic in our existance?
No.
Until next ti–
Oh, you want more? Okay, I’ll try to explain, but my thoughts could be offensive to some. Just sayin’.
I daresay most Christians believe human kind is born with an intrinsic, immortal soul; that a human’s “self” continues to exist in awareness after the body has died. I frequently hear this theory associated with the danger of “going” to hell if one hasn’t accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The threat of hell seems to be the Christian society’s primary conversion tool.
I really disagree with this perceived belief. I also strenuously disagree with the use of scare tactics – a form of terrorism – to coerce “conversion”. It seems to me that some folks are saying the equivilant of, “Convert or suffer eternal damnation.” That doesn’t sound like the God I know. My God hasn’t ever told me to do something in order to avoid torment – as if He were eagerly waiting for the chance to punish me. My God is not a punitive God.
Does the God I know punish sinners? Yes and no. My speculation is that instead of actively punishing people who do wrong things, God allows them to experience the effect of their choices. To make it more personal, I don’t think God has ever “punished” me. I can’t think of a single time that something negative or painful happened to me that wasn’t at least partially the result of a choice I made. Even when my pain was a result of someone else’s action, I was the one who chose to be around that other person.
Take the scenario of parent, child and stove. The parent tells the child, “Don’t touch the burner.” The child reaches toward it. The parent reiterates, “Don’t touch the burner or you’ll get hurt.” The child continues to reach for the burner, touches it and gets burned.
Like that, I think God allows the effect to happen when, through one’s own free will, they choose to ignore the warning. The God I know does not grab my hand and hold it on the burner to “teach me a lesson”. The whole concept of a threatening, abusive God seems wrong. God gives me the rules, tells me what could happen if I break them and how I will be blessed if I keep them, but He does not cause me pain. He rewards me when I do right and comforts me when I’m in pain.
Using the above analogy, it’s like that parent applying salve to the child’s burned hand then holding the child as it cries, tender words murmured as the child is comforted. “Honey, that’s why I said not to touch it. You’ll get through this and you’ll be okay. I love you, my dear one.”
The idea that God would send His beloved child to a place of eternal torment is just wrong. It is a human concept; a story someone told someone else that just blew up into dogma; something that people believe because everyone else does. It’s like when your grandmother says you can’t go explore the woods because you’ll get eaten by a bear.
More importantly, though, the whole concept of going to hell falls short because I don’t believe that humans have an immortal soul intrinsic at birth. In John 3:3, Jesus says that unless a human is born again, they can’t see the kingdom of God. In verse 5 He reiterates that unless one has been baptized and received the Holy Spirit, they can’t enter the Kingdom. He continues his discourse through verse 21, but in verse 15, He says that He (Jesus) has to die (be on the cross) so that those who believe in Him won’t perish but have eternal life.
Then, in the oft-quoted John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all who beleive in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
You’re welcome to have a different opinion, but, to me, that passage in John says that the alternative to eternal life is death; that eternal life is a gift – a reward, if you will – of believing in God and being baptized. And that passage also indicates that eternal life is entering the kingdom of God. What I don’t see, at the very least, is any mention of having eternal life outside of the Kingdom of God.
In John 10, Jesus gives the analogy of a shepherd and his flock, identifying Himself as the Shepherd and those who believe in Him as His flock. He said His sheep know His voice and follow Him because of this. In verse 28 he says, “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages.”
To me, that says that eternal life, immortality, is something which is given to those who belong to God. It is not something all humans have just because they were born. And, this leads me to believe that there is no genuine threat of eternal torment – some Dente-esque “hell”. The question isn’t a matter of eternal life in heaven – the Kingdom of God – or eternal life in hell – fire and brimstone and a pitchfork-wielding devil.
The question is actually this:
Do you want to know, believe and dedicate your life to God, a result of which is eternal life, or do you want this life you’re currently living to be your only one?
It’s your choice. There’s no pressure, no fear involved. If you choose God, great. I’d love to meet you in the Kingdom. If you choose not, that’s okay too.
Before I close, I’d like to mention the subject of second chances. I believe that those who say “no” to the offer of eternal life get an opportunity to change their minds. I know that there is a resurrection where all who didn’t choose God during their physical lifetime will have the opportunity to “change their vote”, but I haven’t done enough research to discuss this yet. I’ll probably delve into it in the future.
Suffice to say, I believe that everyone gets a “second chance”.
So, there you have it. I say there’s no such thing as an immortal soul intrinsic from birth because immortality is a gift received upon belief in and baptism into the family of God.
Leastways, that’s my opinion.
Until next time…
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Please include Northwest Journal in all correspondence. DSVic@ymail.com
Copyright © 2009-2010 D. S. Vic
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Big Things Afoot
Big things are coming.
Besides the fact that it’s just now dawn and already I’ve done the dishes, made coffee, packed Mr. Fixer’s lunch and set the chicken out to thaw for dinner, big things are happening this month. And yet, August is vanishing before my very eyes.
Back at the coast it’s Kite Festival week. In three more weeks Rod Run will be over and the locals will be cheering with abandon; thrilled that the tourists are finally going back home! The sleepy little peninsula will be able to settle in for its long, winter’s nap… in order to amp up for next year’s tourist attack.
And, lest you think I’m painting the coast locals in a negative light, they aren’t cold or unwelcoming. Think about how you would feel if, in your household of four, you had between 350 and 400 guests from mid-June through mid-September (that’s not a total of 400, that’s up to 400 EVERY DAY). See, the off-season population of the seven towns on the Long Beach Peninsula totals approximately 12,000. During the tourist season, however, on any given day, the population spikes to 120,000 – ocassionally more, like during the Kite Festival and Rod Run.
The locals of the peninsula are welcoming and desirous of such tourist traffic. After all, if you don’t get the summer tourist business, it’s very likely that you won’t last through the winter. Still, it is a relief when all the guests finally go home. Trust me, the day after Rod Run ends, the peninsula seems almost dead by comparison.
Anyway, here in Southwestern Idaho there has been plenty of activity. I haven’t missed the busy-ness of the coast at all. I’m eagerly anticipating my birffday this year, though. Not only does it mark the end of an extremely busy and hectic summer, but it’s also a tremendous milestone.
I’m going to be 40 this year!!! There was a time when I was pretty sure I wouldn’t live past the age of 20. I guess I made it. *grins*
Still, the month of August has been slipping away. From the first day, as Mr. Fixer and I were driving back from Super-Dad’s pool party in Spokane… Hey, how come is it that everywhere I travel is about 8 hours from Boise? Here to the coast is 8 hours. Here to Spokane is 8 hours. Here to Sunriver, Oregon is, you guessed it, 8 hours. Funny that…
Coming back from Spokane started the mayhem. The first week of August was spent in recovery – both from the pool party AND the long drive – and playing with my new toys. (Super-Dad gave me a stock pot the exact size I’ve been looking for, and a red, pristine Pontiac GTO!!!) Mr. Fixer played with his new toys too, but those were just silly tools and stuff.
Okay, okay, the GTO was actually just one of a collection of die-cast models, but it’s still MINE and extremely sweet!
The second week of August was spent in preparation for the Carpenter’s BBQ – which will be detailed later – at which it was made apparent that I am a disappointment to some of Mr. Fixer’s acquaintences because I haven’t given him children yet. Oy!
The third week of August was spent in recovery from the aforementioned BBQ and in preparation for my Dearest Heart’s birffday. Unfortunately, he had to work on his birffday, so there wasn’t any extravigant party or anything. I did make a cake though.
The fourth week – the one we’re currently in – begins the intensive cleaning for the arrival of The Prince. This weekend Mr. Fixer’s brother, sister-in-law and brand-spankin’-new infant son are coming out here for a weekend visit. To say the least, Mr. Fixer is absolutely beside himself! But that’s not all, no. My Mother is also coming for the extended weekend. AND, Super-Dad is coming down for the extended weekend!
There’s the BBQ/reception/baby-shower thing for Super-Dad’s side of the family Saturday night. Sunday morning the Prince and his parents are coming to our place for breakfast. After that, we’ll be going to the home of the Pie Lady and the Galloping Gourmet so that the other side of the family can ogle and coo and fuss over the Prince.
THEN, Monday is our second anniversary, followed by taking Mom back to the airport Tuesday and packing/preparing for our Wednesday departure for a three-day-two-night camping/fishing trip at Featherville.
The two weeks between the end of the camping/fishing trip and my 40th birffday are, I sincerely hope, going to be filled with a LOT of naps, very little cooking and a whole lot of sitting splay-legged on the couch checking to make sure that the remote control isn’t broken by repeatedly flipping through the channels pausing for less than ten seconds on any one scene.
Sometime in all that activity I have to remember to mail the bills at their proper times so that we have a home, electricity and water to come home to after camping in the woods. I’m most definitely certain that one of the first things I’m going to want upon my return is to take a shower!
So, August is vanishing before my eyes. Soon it will be a milestone birffday for me. And I can’t wait. Unlike so many I hear about, I am actually excited about turning 40. Finally, I have attained sufficient chronological age to be considered a real adult. Maybe I’ll start acting like it.
But I doubt it.
Until next time…
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Please include Northwest Journal in all correspondence. DSVic@ymail.com
Copyright © 2009-2010 D. S. Vic
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The Holy Spirit: Why Host It? Part II
In Part I, I wrote about the “what” of hosting the Spirit – the technicalities, so to speak. It is my opinion that one should be of an age or maturity level to understand the choice they’re making, do the research necessary to make an informed decision and choose the method that is right for them. The next step is knowing why you’re making the choice. There are many different reasons for hosting the Spirit, but for relative simplicity I’ll focus on three.
Before I dive into those, I’d like to explain my own reasons. For me, invitation and receipt of the Spirit was a foregone conclusion. I knew, from a very young age, that I had some specific purpose. Part of that purpose necessitated hosting the Spirit. For lack of a better term, I felt a “calling”.
I have frequently heard the term “Calling” in relation to religious/Spiritual pursuits, but I have also sensed a semi-negative implication that if one didn’t feel a calling – compelled, driven or hungry for intensive relationship with God – they were somehow deficient. I do not share that attitude. As such, to those who do not feel the need to “become Christian”, I’d like to say this:
You are not bad, wrong, deficient, unwanted, rejected or unwelcome. Whether or not you feel “called” is no one’s business but yours. Your level of relationship with God is no one’s business but yours. If you feel a need to know God, pursue it. If you don’t, don’t.
You may already be doing what you were “born to do”. You may not have discovered your purpose yet. You may have chosen not to pursue your purpose. Whatever the case, you are not useless, broken or worth any more or less than anyone else. Your life, choices and future are yours to do with as you please.
Let me reiterate: No matter what, the only ones who have any say in your “Spiritual walk” or lack thereof are you and God.
That said, let’s move on.
Why would anyone choose to host the Spirit? Since I haven’t heard of God having any special promotions – “This week only, Host the Ghost and get a free Econo-Max Toaster!” – I’m pretty sure it’s not for the free toaster.
Does hosting the Spirit make you instantly perfect, without sin, blameless? It didn’t for me. Does it make your life simple, without difficulty, trouble free? Definitely not for me. Do you have to host the spirit in order to have relationship with God or to be a good person? No and no.
So, if hosting the spirit doesn’t make you perfect, doesn’t make your life easy, doesn’t make you a good person and isn’t a prerequisite for relationship with God, why do it? What’s the pay off?
First. You will never be alone again. Hosting the Spirit means that you receive a piece of God – His Spirit, essense, core, Identity – to reside within you.
While there are many ways for the Spirit to manifest itself, the most common for me personally is a feeling or sensing of knowledge; an awareness that I’m not the only one dealing with whatever the issue of the hour may be. I still have the right/ability to ignore the advice God gives me, but when I tune in, so to speak, and heed His advice, things work out so much more smoothly.
I see it this way. If I need to get the car from Boise to the coast, I can stand behind it and push. Even with all my strength, it will take great effort and a long time. If I stop and listen, however, I hear/sense God telling me, “Why don’t you get in, turn it on and drive to the coast?”
Yes, it’s an overly simplistic example, but it fits. I often find myself struggling with a problem or task which seems impossible. When I stop and ask for help, though, the solution is almost always as simple as “getting in” and “turning on”. Granted, it is possible to feel alone, but when I shift focus from self to God, I sense Him within me. This alleviates the fear, suspicion and loneliness and makes it so much better knowing that there’s help just a listen away.
Second. Receiving the Spirit means you are “reborn” into the family of God.
With physical birth, one is born into a specific family. Similarly, when you recieve God’s Spirit, you are born, by the Spirit, into God’s family. This, in my understanding, is to what the common term “born again” refers.
I have heard some people equate receipt of the Spirit to adoption or fostering, but I see it a little differently. To me, the physical family of God – the body of humans that believe in and follow/worship the Biblical God – is a huge group of adopted and/or fostered people. Some of us attend formal churches, some do not. We are all parts of the same family, even though we don’t have the same genetic material.
Through the miracle of the Holy Spirit, however, when we ask for and receive it, it’s like we receive an injection of God’s DNA. Through this injection we become the “born into it” children of God; Jesus’ genetic siblings. We aren’t just adopted or fostered – accepted, wanted, loved – but we become the same as. We become equal to Jesus. We become the “biological” offspring of our great God. Receipt of God’s Spiritual genes births in us genetic belonging to our real family.
And, this brings me to point three.
Receipt of God’s Spirit – being born into the genetic family of God – gives us holy birthright. Among those are royalty, immortality and God-hood.
God, as King of kings, is royalty, therefore His offspring are also royalty. If God is royalty, and if His offspring are also royalty, then it follows that Jesus is royalty. If Jesus is royalty, and if we who receive the Spirit become Jesus’ genetic siblings, then we are also royalty. Therefore, those who receive the Holy Spirit are born into royalty.
As children – princes and princesses – of God, part of our birthright includes immortality. Upon receipt of the Spirit, we receive the gift of eternal life. This implies that we do not have immortality prior to receiving the spirit. There are many different opinions about this and I will tackle it – the concept of an immortal soul – in a future column.
Another part of our birthright is God-hood. I would like to qualify that by adding “eventual”.
It is my theory that part of God’s plan for His creation – that of human kind – is to train us to become like Him in every way. To me, this means that eventually those who receive the Spirit can become Gods and Goddesses; Kings and Queens.
How soon this may happen I don’t know. I don’t even know if my theory is truth. But, I suspect it is. I suspect that this physical life is merely an infancy; a time set aside to teach us how to walk, talk and – mostly – love. I think that “real life” starts long after the physical existance has ended.
Due to time constraints, however, I will delve more into that at a later time.
So, to summarize:
I think some reasons to consider invitation to and receipt of God’s Holy spirit are that we will never be alone again, we become the “genetic”, “biological” offspring of God and, as such, we receive the Holy birthrights of (among others) royalty, immortality and eventual God-hood.
And, as I mentioned, I’ll expound on those birthrights and the topic of an immortal soul in future columns. As always, I welcome your feedback. Feel free to use Email, Facebook or the new messageboard, all linked below.
Until next time…
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Please include Northwest Journal in all correspondence. DSVic@ymail.com
Copyright © 2009-2010 D. S. Vic
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The Holy Spirit: Why Host It? Part I
*The opinions, ideas, thoughts and philosophies expressed in this column are mine. They do not necessarily reflect those of the owners of this website, it’s parent or subsidiary companies or Moody Publishing. If you have issue with any content, please contact me directly through the Email address following this column.
Last weekend I described the Holy Spirit – a part of the Biblical-Christian triune God – as a God’s Heart beating within one’s body. That description assumes that one has asked for and received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This weekend, I’d like to give my perspective on why someone might want to do so.
Because this can be a confusing and complex topic, I have specific pionts to make, therefore I’ll be using an outline. Go figure.
Part I: The “What”
I think there are a few issues – technicalities, perhaps – which should be addressed before one chooses to host the Spirit. The first of these is Age of Consent. Is there a specific, minimum age one must acquire before they receive the Holy Spirit? I haven’t read of one.
I know of some religious groups that believe in baptising infants. I know of other groups that require one be an adult prior to baptism. My opinion is that regardless of chronological age, one should have the maturity level to understand the choice they’re making. They should also be able to comprehend how that choice might affect their lives. One should be mature enough to comprehend cause and effect. Most importantly, however, one must be old/mature enough to make the choice of their own Free Will.
I think it is wonderful when young people want to dedicate their lives and hearts to God, but I think it’s really easy to get caught up in a flurry of excitement and lose sight of one’s true motivation. While I could go into a long disertation on brain chemistry and composition and how it changes through one’s teen years and twenties, the gist is this: Know what you’re promising and how it could affect you/your life before you make the promise.
This leads me to point two: Informed Consent
When you choose to buy a car, do you run to the dealer, lay down your money, sign the papers and drive off, or do you do a little research first? There are many steps one should take to inform themselves before consenting to the purchase. Likewise, I think the same precautions one would take with a choice that affects their physical life, they should take with a choice that affects their spiritual life. In short, one should know what they’re promising and what is being promised before sealing the deal.
But, do you have to know everything? Do you have to memorize the fine print?
When I was baptised – the method through which the church said one received the Holy Spirit – I knew that I wanted to dedicate my life to God. I knew a lot about what that meant and how it would affect me, but I didn’t know everything. Even now, more than fifteen years later, I don’t know everything.
Honestly, I don’t think it is possible to know everything. The Spirit changes you. As such, who you were when you received the Spirit isn’t who you will be. This will be touched on in Part II.
Regardless as to whether or not you can discover the “everything” of a choice or decision, I think it’s important to do the research. You need to know that you’re not just signing up for a Spiritual health club. You’re dedicating your life, body, mind and future to God. You’re promising to let God’s Spirit enter you, become part of you and change you from the inside out.
You need to do the research before extending the invitation.
Finally, the third technicality I’d like to address is that of method. There are many schools of thought on how one receives the Spirit. The church in which I was raised believed that baptism through full-immersion in water was the “right” way. Other groups believe that “sprinkling” does the trick. Still others believe that physical baptism isn’t necessary.
I am unwilling to make a blanket statement. As with most everything else in this world, I think the method is a matter of personal conviction. This is part of the “informed consent” issue. You need to do enough research to figure out the method that’s right for you.
For me, full-immersion baptism was right. I was tought that this was a symbolic death of the physical and a birth of the spiritual. The symbolism made sense to me, and it still affects me today. You might not need or want such symbolism.
I’ve met people who did full-immersion who didn’t display much Godly behavior. I’ve also met people who were never baptised at all who seemed very Godly. I don’t think the method is as important as what you do once you’ve received the Spirit.
Still, the method should be important to you. So, talk to God about it and pursue the route that’s best for you. No one else has any say in the matter; it’s between you and God.
Leastways that’s my opinion.
In conclusion of part one:
Be of sufficient maturity to make the invitation. Know what the invitation means, both to you and to God. Know what method is right for you.
And: Play nice, don’t fight, and love each other.
Thus endeth the sermon.
Until next time…
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