Jesus and Tattoos
I came across this video entitled "Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus" by Jeff Bethke and I was immediately intrigued. In this video - which has already gone viral- Jeff poetically explains the conflict I have found many people having with loving Jesus but questioning some elements of organized religion. I don't agree with everything Jeff says in this video, but I relate to a lot of the frustration he is conveying. I don't know if any of you have ever noticed that I have a thick black tattoo of a cross on my left wrist. I got this tattoo after publicly coming out in support for Gay marriage.
I am a Republican and a Christian, but my support for gay marriage and equality in this country has drawn severe lines between me and some Republican party members and fellow Christians (emphasis in some, not all). I was shocked and upset over a lot of the response and a lot of backlash that was projected my way after choosing to support something that I believe is my generation's civil rights movement. I was publicly accused of being a bad Christian and proclaimed by some to have cemented my place in hell because of my support for the gay community. I got the tattoo on my wrist as a visual reminder that my God is all loving and all forgiving, and that no stranger should ever make me question my relationship with God. I wanted the tattoo design to be simple and to the point, almost tribal looking because it's symbolism to me is simple and to the point. It's a visual reminder on my body to keep the faith in what I believe.
What do you think of this video? How does faith play a role in your life? Do you have any tattoos that hold any religious or spiritual meaning to you?
The early church got upset when the printing press was invented and bibles got printed, got translated, people got burned at the stake over it. Why? It created a whole lot of people interpreting the thing, the most egregious being Martin Luther. He dared to call the organized church on its bad behavior and used a new (reconstituted?) interpretation to do it. He got his vote cancelled and needed an army to defend against the church.
On the current political front, or affront, we see the battle of church and state being played out over women's health and reproduction issues. If it was the super bowl, it wouldn't matter, but it isn't. One person's choice is another's pain, so much so that people get damaged, seriously damaged, as in SHOT, in the process. All because of an interpretation of pixels on a page.
Lest anyone get carried away by this, the Constitution and Bill of RIghts is also just that, pixels on a page, with tons of court cases and loads of guesswork making up the current interpretation. On occasion, we just snip out the parts we find not useful at the moment (See here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_American_internment). Or we even add pieces for convenience ("personhood" of corporations). All done with the magic of rearranging pixels. Be aware.... your so called "freedom" and "liberty" are a snippet away from being gone.
What is money? More pixels. Now that is really scary. Yeah, there's the special paper and all, but the "value" has been chipped away for decades and we are just now getting to fight about it. Ron Paul is right about it, but he doesn't know it, and he has no following. He is not messianic enough to alter perceptions.
:o)
Your comment about precedent is well taken, as it adds validity to the interpretation whatever it is. For religious entities, we have the corollary: tradition. They all work to reinforce or refute an interpretation.
The ultimate upshot of all this is: it is all interpretation, and by extension, perception, and there is only one thing you can do about it: be responsible for whatever interpretation you choose, know it is a choice, and know it is yours. Ok, that is really three things. This puts you in charge of your life and your world view, even if inherited from someone or something else (like a church or a government). Next time you find yourself considering someone's position or point of view (pick someone inflammatory - currently, Rush Limbaugh will do), notice what you are thinking. It is either violent agreement or violent disagreement. That is only a clue into the room containing your interpretation.
All the great people who have carved their way into a new paradigm have done this (Jesus, Gallileo, etc.). Some have been killed for it, some exiled, some merely excommunicated, all have suffered, and all have taken a stand.
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