Maranatha

tl;dr Tired of emphasis on end times, tired of trying to sort wheat from chaff re end times, and I think I'm overreacting.

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I concede that my view of the end times and current events is probably different than many of my fellow church members. And honestly, I may be the only one in this church who feels as I do.

God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. (Baptist Statement of Faith 2000)

This I believe. Have plenty of Scripture to back this up, and I'm rather convinced that at least with this much I am in full agreement with most of the body of Christ.

Like I say, we agree on the last page, not too sure whether we agree on the last chapter. The myriad of signs and symbols in Daniel and Revelation, from the 70 weeks, to the whore of Babylon, to the mark of the beast, to whether there is a separate rapture, to whether the book of Revelation prophesies a one world gov't, to the timing and nature of the Tribulation... These are things that I believe Christians can disagree on without saying that they've denied the faith.

But as I hear the prevailing talking heads discussing current events, prophecies which they believe are yet to be fulfilled, and how it fits into the end times... There are times I disagree.

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In regards to the emphasis and the interpretation of end times and current events... I don't understand exactly why I get so bent out of shape about it.

Maybe it's pride. I think I'm right, I think they're wrong, and if they're right, that means I was wrong, I'm not the smartest, and I need to rethink my eschatology.

But I'm also worried about (in my estimation) continued cases of Christian prophet wanna be's making bold statements that don't come to pass and bringing unnecessary reproach on the church and the name of Christ. I knew you've heard of apocalyptic cults and their overreaction to the preacher's interpretation.

But if they're right...then it proves that I have neither the state of mind nor the openness of spirit to properly interpret Scripture, prophecy, and current events.

It's not a fear of their version of "Left Behind". It's a fear that I've got no clue.

Thoughts about Americans and guns

This one isn't the neatest, but I just have a lot of thoughts about this subject. I can't do the research that I would like to do to isolate the variable solve the equation to solve the world's problems with my mad mathematics skills. But I'm just tired of Facebook messaging relatives in the same state as a mass shooting.  (Over a hundred miles away, need to brush up on my geography)
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I am bothered by not only the phenomenon of mass shootings, but the fact that in regards to violence, mass shootings are a minority of the crime, a minority of the victims, and yet these idiots who have obtained there 15 minutes of fame by shedding much blood in a short time, have skewed the conversation about violence in our country.
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In general, the NRA voters treat the multitude of privately owned guns as a vaccine against tyranny and crime. But although we are willing to entertain conspiracy theory and bad statistics about physical vaccines (MMR HPV etc), the NRA voters consider the gun sacrosanct, and arm to be pushing against Perhaps my friend is right, In Guns We Trust.

If guns are the vaccine against tyranny, I feel it be appropriate to question whether the vaccine is doing any good, the way you hear innumerable complaints about government over reach. And I think it is fair to ask whether the near universal availability of guns in our country is fueling an increase in crime or a decrease in crime. Start with the statistics of more guns than people in this country, include the decrease in the crime rate in the last 20 years, and go draft Nate Silver and his stat heads.

Our nation is an outlier when you compare the per capita income and the homicide rate. Countries that are as rich as us have lower homicide rates...
Is it the poor parts of our country, is it the disintegration of families and morals, is it the...
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Or, the other question, to what extent does the near universal access to firearms increase the success rate of suicide?

Pedestal / letter to a role model

Damn you.
I thought you had it all together. I envied you. I wanted to be you. Even though we weren't in the same generation, I wanted to be like you when I grew up. You had it all, respect, family, the toys, the position in the church, you were a rockstar.
And you let it go. You traded it in. And everyone knows why. Some people saw it coming. I  didn't. I couldn't even imagine you doing anything like that. Not only because I thought that you were a better man than me, but because of the children.

 I had you on a pedestal. Even after the other disappointments.

You let me down. That's not important. You had responsibilities and turned your back on them. People counted on you, some more than others.

What have we learned today? That even the mighty fall, even the mighty are tempted, and if better men than me succumb, then I must be vigilant.

No man is an island, and your absence leaves some positions empty. Some can be filled. Some can't.

In the name of God repent! Come back. Humble yourself, humble yourself, listen to your elders.

This is what I would say to composite of people, certain people who I can picture in my mind, who I respected from a distance, who really disappointed me, and in their actions caused great harm to their family.

I wasn't close enough to be their Nathan.

...

Just for a moment I was back at school
And felt that old familiar pain...