The Past Few Events

Whoops, I didn't manage to write in this last month. I went to a lecture on the 20th of October, and got to meet Marcus Borg in person! I enjoyed the lecture, but mostly the part where he talked about God being Isness. That is so close to talking about pantheism that I felt it stir my spirit. The rest of the lecture was interesting. He talked about biblical literalism and reading the bible historically and metaphorically. I certainly want to learn how to read the bible historically/metaphorically, because literalism is kind of sickening. Although I don't think it will help me like the bible again. I'm tired of Christian language these days. Even metaphorical. Marcus Borg also talked about being an intentional Christian or a conventional Christian. Intentional Christians are Christians because they have chosen to be, they go to church not because everyone else is going, but because that's where they want to be. Last but not least he talked about the last empire and how one day it would fall like all the others, and that Jesus was an anti-empirical. Greed is the root of all evil-empires are the epitome of greed.
I had an interesting thought about the serpent when Mr. Borg said that the Python in Revelation was the symbol for an empire, or Greed. I thought about the serpent in the garden of eden and wondered if that too was greed, and it seems to be just that-for it offered power to Eve, and created greed within her. So, it is not some devil or satan that tempts us, it is just a human desire-greed.

At the end of October I went to church for the first time in three months and I actually had a good time. I thought about what the pastor said in metaphorical terms instead of the way he really meant it, and it helped. That way I was able to just think on positive things and not so much on the negative.
Last Sunday I went to church again, which isn't what I would have wanted to do since it had only been a month since my last visit, but some men from Teen Challenge Vermont were there, and I have loved their stories every time I heard them. They talk about how God saved them from drugs and addictions. They are the only people I have met who I believe when they say "Jesus saved me". It doesn't make any sense when others say it who haven't been saved from anything. I didn't enjoy this group as much as the last two, but maybe it was destroyed by it being holy communion Sunday. Like I said to my friend "This is the first Holy Communion I'm not taking since February 4th." Holy communion in their manner just makes me nauseous. Eh. Besides that, the men didn't seem very happy, and I like to be inspired by saved men-saved men aren't so down, are they? They are free of their addictions! They have their families and friends back! That is something to be happy about, isn't it? Oh, well.