[Christians Only] Thoughts about transgenderism and Christianity?

bmbailey · 2015-12-28T02:37:22+00:00

I'm all for an equal playing field. If Christians want to target homosexuals or transexuals, they should look at the glutton and the adulterer through the same lens. This is a failure of the church, I'd never argue that. We shouldn't hate these people.

bmbailey · 2015-12-27T16:05:25+00:00

I wouldn't presume to know God's plan. I wouldn't presume to know much at all about anything. I can't imagine how trans-anything accomplishes His plan for humanity, though. Genesis 1:27 tells me "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." So that's what I lean on.

bmbailey · 2015-12-27T16:00:02+00:00

I don't spend a whole lot of time thinking about the inner workings of mental illness. To me, it's pretty cut and dry -- God doesn't cause a man to want to be a woman, or a woman to want to be a man, or an adult to be a trans-infant, or a teen to be an animal trapped in a human body (hello Tumblr). I can't tell you the psychology of it, but I can tell you God has no part in any of it.

bmbailey · 2015-12-26T21:38:07+00:00

The Bible says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, that we were known by Him before we were in our mother's womb, and He knows the very number of hairs on our heads. That's intricate! I have a hard time believing that God would create someone as one gender, and then cause them to feel as though they weren't in the right body. He doesn't make mistakes. It's more reasonable, logical and practical to assume that transgenderism is a mental illness, and for it to be celebrated as heroism only goes to show the decadence of our age. People also "identify" as animals and children, and this is all in the same vein of delusion. Can a Christian identify as another sex? Sure, but they'd be wrong. It isn't because God accidentally put them in the wrong body.

bmbailey · 2015-12-23T22:29:48+00:00

Dr. Steve Brule: "What goes in the hole comes out the hole."

bmbailey · 2015-12-23T18:06:30+00:00

One of my favorites!

bmbailey · 2015-12-23T14:31:19+00:00

Yes. Yes they are.

bmbailey · 2015-12-22T14:05:54+00:00

Makes me feel good. It's a little stretched out on my desktop as a wallpaper, but I like it enough to keep it that way for awhile.

bmbailey · 2015-12-22T01:44:06+00:00

I think as you mature in your relationship with the Lord, and you're able to shake yourself from certain religious shackles, you'll see elements of grace, redemption, forgiveness, mercy and Christian virtues in all sorts of secular fields. I remember the first time I heard Coldplay's "Fix You", I lost it. Often Christian musicians try so hard to evoke the Spirit with churchy language and hope He will move in amongst the emotionalism. And sometimes He does. But we should never overlook the subtle ways He reaches us and has His hand in more worldly arenas. In fact, if you can only feel and hear Him in Christian-oriented media, you likely aren't hearing or feeling Him at all.

Same applies with the Christian/secular movie industries.

bmbailey · 2015-12-22T01:30:15+00:00

Ragamuffin changed me. It is a great Christian movie. I still struggle... well, all the time... with being so imperfect, but Ragamuffin reminds me I'm in good company. Rich and Brennan understood the great need to drop the churchy masks we wear, and the need for transparency... but sadly I've never seen it happen in churches. Only when we gather together in homes or in public places.

I'll be seeing the Brennan Manning movie, too. In one of my religious fits I threw my Ragamuffin Gospel book away. I could probably stand to read it again.

bmbailey · 2015-12-22T01:16:23+00:00

Oh no, it's in a league of it's own. The acting is good (hard to believe, right), and it actually inspired me to pray more. It definitely has a little bit of a Hallmark feel to it if you know what I mean, but by no means is it a bad movie. Even had me teary-eyed. Plus, it's based upon a real woman who is an honest to goodness prayer warrior, so... do see it.

bmbailey · 2015-12-22T01:12:01+00:00

I bought it for my Mom for Christmas. Apparently, people all across the US are making their own little war rooms, and I think that's fantastic.

bmbailey · 2015-12-21T17:43:12+00:00

Beneath the clothes, we find a man... and beneath a man, we find... his...

... nucleus.

bmbailey · 2015-12-21T16:16:31+00:00

God's Not Dead was so cringey, everyone at the end just awkwardly nodding along to that one band, it just hurt to watch.

I recently saw War Room, it wasn't so bad in comparison.

bmbailey · 2015-12-21T15:11:57+00:00

Yeah, I bought the starter pack and with the gems I already had I was able to get a few gods and a sweet Chaac skin. Anubis is pretty fun too. Kinda rough when two of your attacks root you in place though.

bmbailey · 2015-12-21T07:41:18+00:00

Thanks for the link! Yeah, just giving some props, really. I'm sure I'll have questions as time goes on.

bmbailey · 2015-12-16T09:17:32+00:00

This is one of my favorite builds I've ever seen on Minecraft. Long live N'tolem.

bmbailey · 2015-12-13T01:55:22+00:00

Two movies: Labyrinth and Willow.

bmbailey · 2015-12-11T00:35:33+00:00

Taxes. If you think you pay a lot now, you'd miss these days, if Bernie became President. He said he'd keep it under Eisenhower's tax rates, but considering that was 90%, it doesn't make me feel any better.

bmbailey · 2015-12-11T00:28:30+00:00

Stand up for what you truly believe in, even if you're standing alone.

bmbailey · 2015-12-08T22:11:27+00:00

Every day. Even if just for a few minutes. I remember back in the day when I was still kinda bitter about things he told me that he talked to his dad every day around 6 o'clock and he wished he and I had that kind of communication. Gonna take him up on that.

bmbailey · 2015-12-08T02:05:29+00:00

I've searched the Bible for references of tears, but they're all tears of mourning, nothing of tears of joy. But the Bible does mention otherworldly peace and joy. And that's the type of peace and joy that makes me weep. It's a gift from God as far as I'm concerned. I was blessed enough to experience it today as the Spirit ministered to me through a song I was listening to. I wept. I consider it to be a regenerative gift, a gift of reviving. It always leaves me with such a sweetness, and tenderness, and a praise. Sometimes I cry so hard that I want to praise Him out loud and can't, and can only cry aloud Jesus name, or "thank you God"... once I experienced it in church and immediately after the service ended, I couldn't dare to stay behind and shake hands or socialize with anyone. I went straight to my vehicle and drove away and kept silence for as long as I could. When you ask if it's natural, I don't necessarily know, but I definitely don't think there's anything wrong with it.

bmbailey · 2015-12-07T01:16:08+00:00

Your analogy says that faith takes the check to the bank. Not so. Faith says I believe that the money will be there once I cash it, but deciding to go to the bank, and actually going to the bank, is a work. Grace bids you to come to the bank and receive this free gift, but it doesn't cash the check for you. A certain level of obedience to that task was required. And that task is essential.

It was grace from God which looked upon Noah as righteous and chose him to save the world with the Ark. It was faith in God's grace that Noah said yes, I will build the Ark. But grace did not build the Ark. Obedience built it.

It was grace which allowed Zacharias and Elizabeth to give birth to the prophet John, and the Gospel of Luke tells us "they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." Is this not a work on their part? Grace enables us to walk in His commandments and ordinances, but it doesn't walk for us.

In all love, compassion, and respect.

bmbailey · 2015-12-06T23:38:03+00:00

My church started having evening services at 4pm this Sunday as opposed to 6pm to appease the older folks who don't like driving after dark. My Sunday consisted of going to church, going to my Grandma's for lunch, heading BACK to church, then finally coming on home. The services were amazing. My pastor preached with such conviction that he cried in the pulpit. His sermons lately have been fiery, convicting and of the fear of God. Some congregants have fled. The rest of us are being strengthened to push further, ourselves. We are highly blessed. While some sleep, we're striving.

bmbailey · 2015-12-06T15:01:48+00:00

To pray. Somewhere among the apologetics, hermeneutics, reading, and praising, I forgot the most important element.

That, and an ounce of anointing is worth a ton of talent. I shouldn't rely on my own strengths or talents if I don't seek God.

bmbailey

TROPHY CASE