Christmas Accuracy 

Please don't take this the wrong way because I am definitely not an advocate or promoter of Christianity. Exposing Christianity. My book supports my major indifference (link below). However, let's get something straight. The United States is a Christian nation. Accepting that has been troubling for me for various reasons. I have had to side with accuracy in spite of the forced brutalization. Christ's name is in the word Christmas. That is obvious. What I cannot understand is why it is politically correct to refer to this time of the year as "Holiday". What is PC to me is accuracy! What is not more accurate than Christ-Christmas-Christianity? Face it folk, Christmas is an American holiday that has its foundation in Christianity. And, I, one who does not care too much about Christianity/Christmas believes that accuracy should prevail - not political correctness. Say it with me, MERRY CHRISTMAS.

http://www.amazon.com/Exposing-Christianity-Sharing-Alternative-Churchs/dp/142419413X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418698625&sr=8-1&keywords=exposing+christianity+brian+e+payne 

The Pseudo Preacher 

Owning the Covenant

Religion has been one of the many tools used to shackle the minds and hearts of the vulnerable. In an effort to make sense of their convoluted lives the Seekers of an understanding have been tricked...fooled into believing that the 'Way' must be obtained via the covenant of the Governing Body. My question, why does the covenant require that the seeker submit completely …give up all and discredit other beliefs, relinquish their hard-earned money and abandon behaviors that have for years served them successfully…to be a part of the Fold? If the covenant transports a message that conveys The Truth, why is there a requirement for the potential new Believer to vacate his or her present Beliefs? Simply put, religiosity is a made-up creation. It has no legitimacy that’s akin to The Truth. Truth in this particular sense is what can be substantiated. In what way can religion be corroborated, validated, authenticated...upheld to a standard of Truth without surrendering its covenant? A covenant is a promise…it is a declaration that has a sole responsibility for building faith. Religion cannot and never has put-forth a Promise that cannot be broken. Thus making religion a frolicsome force that will never produce Legitimacy. It will always be –at its core- a necessity for those who cannot survive without receiving and then owning a Covenant. 

The Pseudo Preacher 

Easter’s Hidden Betrayal

For me – a seminary trained critic of Christianity and a circumnavigator of the Biblical Moments of Jesus - I understand this season of Easter basket gift giving and family togetherness to be contradictory and outlandishly complex. Consequently, the intricacy that I have assigned to Easter has led me to one controversial conclusion: 

I am of the belief that Jesus Christ should not be the celebrated. Neither should the Easter Bunny. Jesus Christ should not be the human trophy that so many Christians acknowledge as their savior...Jesus Christ should not have been declared the reason so many walks of life revel in the form of gluttony and material excess. The contradiction is deceptively Hidden in big church hats, cream-colored Steve Harvey suits and lavender Sunday dresses. 

A more productive piece of literature is Hidden in the mixology of bible interpretation. 

Judas Iscariot's story is the fictional fable that's conveniently ignored and/or used as an evil subplot by the masses. Simply put, The Messiah needed some assistance to fulfill his purpose...his destiny. His father’s suicidal-laced mission was insufficient. Jesus needed an additional circumstance outside of his criminal act e.g. the defacement of the money tables to solidify his fate. 

Assistance/Help is what we should give during this commercialized period of temporary joy and abundant homelessness charity. The hollow bunny rabbit chocolate bar gift givers and receivers of baby blue boiled eggs should be the heroes of the day...the Super Heroes of Easter. We are 'called' to betray so that we will reveal the truth as Judas did. We are summoned to help someone reach their purpose...We are to give back in Betrayal. It is the believers in the Jesus story who should assist in the transformation of man/woman…transform as the Jesus story declares. 

Give the Gift of Betrayal instead of Holy Ghost shouting with competition in mind during church service. Give the Gift of Betrayal instead of sitting through another Resurrection Sunday sermon entitled, He Rose. Give the Gift of Betrayal instead of eating too much hickory smoked ham. The ham that your bible says you should not eat. 

Disloyalty is sealed in our creation. It is our go-to-card when we need to forge Purpose for someone other than ourselves. The original man and woman should be the formatters of all Easter transactions. The he or she sitting next to you is the breathing life spirit that needs your Betrayal. 

Turn your back on just one…on one of God’s most desperate. Do this until death approaches – and then sit back and watch Life as it is Resurrected. 

The Pseudo Preacher

Soul Salvation...

Getting your soul 'saved' does NOTHING to change the world...sitting up in a church this Sunday morning does NOTHING to address injustice. Be like YOUR Jesus - and stop praying for yourself! When was the last time your church addressed female inequality...child exploitation...the cruel advancement of the profitable prison industrial complex...homophobia...addiction minus the judgment? 

-The Pseudo Preacher-

 

“My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?

Have you ever wondered why Jesus asked this question particularly when as we are told via the bible, pastors and Sunday school instructors that he knew his tragic fate…why did he mumble those words since as it is written he knew his Fatherly-given vocation?

Did not he know that he was The Sacrificial Lamb?

Perhaps, he didn’t know that he was divinely selected to die by the hands of the Roman authority. Could the Synoptic Gospels be nothing but fairytale as it is alleged by countless theologians…as it is purported by critics of biblical literature? Were the details altered in such a way to mythicize the character, Jesus…were the stories given numinous characteristics to elevate his eminence so that he would saintly sanction the phrase Jesus is Lord?

He who controlled and continues to control The Greatest Story Ever Told controls the minds of the vulnerable.

Each and every one of us will be helpless at some point in our lives. Many of us have already been in a position of No Way Out. More accurately, some of you are in a hopeless predicament at this very moment.

Life and the life lessons we encounter leaves us with no choice but to be among the Naked…the Defenseless…the Weak…the easily Transformed…made anew by the grace of God’s alleged word.

Our decisions are reflections of the consequences that become the pieces of fabric that encases our earthly subsists. Some have large, and others have small garments made from the fabric.

Maturation is the teacher and the seamstress. Our threads whether thin or thick will eventually break…leaving us oblivious therefore invoking, Why?

Since there is legitimate doubt, confusion and a plethora of misinformation regarding the mythical creation, Jesus

We should consider that Jesus's story was not pre-determined...it may not have been the way it was Written and Understood. Have you ever asked yourself if the misunderstandings about yourself are justifications for your questioning, “My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?

If you are brave enough to believe that Jesus was simply a rebellious man defying the Powers of the Day you are well on your way to understanding his purpose without your Faith Lenses.

And, for you bible enthusiast, Saints and Believers of Christian doctrine, yes - I am aware that Jesus began to ‘backtrack’ toward the end of his beseeching which is clearly bellowed in Psalms 22.

Throughout the beginning of Psalms 22 the writer, David, issues a liturgy of questioning, then David shares the psychological anguish Jesus endured as he was ridiculed while on the cross as if he (David) was writing a song that’s used to invoke defeat, David intensely continues by describing the physical trauma of the torturing (The Crucifixion) – it is as if David is singing a classical opera that summons heartache. Later David uses ‘but’ –a transitional pronouncement- that describes Jesus’ resurrected faith and belief that God did not forsake him. It is here in this refreshed and joyous segment of the Psalm that David wants the reader to understand the context of his canticle:

Like us, we begin our hardships with doubt…doubt that God is not with us or will not be present. In our pleas of desperation we want to know if God is in fact forsaking us. There is nothing wrong with this lack of faith considering we are human beings that are sick, we are Feeble. We are plagued by what this world (you and I) purchased In the Beginning:

Iniquity

Disappointingly, we fail to follow Jesus’ example in that he literally asked The Question, “My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me? which I believe opens the door for the personal dialogue that’s necessary to build a singular relationship with God. As we continue during this monumental moment, many of us undergo a ridicule phase that’s carried out by haters…the enemies we face daily, Imitating Friends. The Churchgoers seated next to you.The men/women who constantly for no apparent reason talk about God any and everywhere. Those folk...

At some point we become sick in mind, spirit and health. We are in pain. Then and only then - when the door has been re-opened that we transition…we move from divine scrutiny to believing.

Restoration has returned.

Beloved, this is the process we must seek to Become. We must doubt, question...when we are in this weary locale so that our faith will be Born Again.

Resurgence awaits.

I ask that you mumble the words of The Son,

“My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?

The Pseudo Preacher