Category Archives: God

Dec 20 1 comments
Christianity, Christmas, God, John Ortberg

My 2011 Christmas Card to You

This is my 2011 Christmas card to you, my Napkin Kin.

Merry and Happy

And the most important thing; he liked them.  He didn’t hang out with all those odd people trying to convert them,  feeling sorry for them, or feeling an obligation to ‘minister’ to them.  If he had, they wouldn’t have trusted him. Even back then a person can tell when someone has an agenda for the relationship.  What I believe is that he liked who they were.  He didn’t spend his time figuring out how to appear to care for them.  He just cared for them.

And guess what? He let them care for him too.  I mean, after all, is there a greater outcast in history than Jesus?  They liked him even with all his wild ideas and uber-serious talk about God and heaven.  They stuck by their friend even when he acted really strange and seemed self-destructive (which he was when you think about it).  They forgave what they probably thought of as his arrogance (Really, you’re saying you are the Son of God? Really?).

My Christmas wish is that, if you are an outcast, you will be given the gift of feeling both loved and liked exactly as you are.  If you are not, then my Christmas wish is that you will tear down the fearful wall of judgment and bring the outcast in.

Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, An outcast lover since 1973.

Quote by John Ortberg, American pastor

Aug 13 1 comments
Death, G. K. Chesterton, God, Religion, theology

The Christian Ideal

 

Day #5 of Religion Week at The Napkin Dad Daily
Here are three questions: 
  1. Throughout history up until the present day, why do so many people talk, argue, hate and kill over theology, doctrine, creed, denominations, interpretations, canons, divinity, hagiography, dogma, faith, communion, baptism, history, piety, revelation, orthodoxy, sacraments, sacredness, ritual, liturgy, relics, veneration, saints, martyrdom, and history?
  2. Why is the world obsessed with the most shallow of pursuits as seen in popular culture?
  3. Is there any real difference between the first two questions?
I have the same answer to both the first and second questions. 
  • Because it’s easier than loving your neighbor.
That answer gives me the answer to my third question.
  • No

What are your answers and why?

……………………………………………………………………………………………….

Drawing and questions by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily

Quote by G. K. Chesterton, 1874-1936, English Writer

Aug 12 1 comments
belief, Carlton Pearson, Christianity, Comtess Diane, faith, God, Religion

>You Have to be Very Religious to Change Your Religion

>

Day #4 of Religion Week at The Napkin Dad Daily
I have always been very intrigued by the Christian martyrs of the ancient and medieval  era.  What they went through for their change of beliefs was horrific.  Not just at the hands of the Romans, but at the hands of other Christians who happened to be in power.
A recent day example is the case of Carlton Pearson.  He was a leader of a huge evangelical, pentecostal church here in Tulsa. He was the darling of that part of American Christianity with a high profile in the public eye, accolades, fame and attention.  
But his religious journey led him to change his mind about something.  Something fundamentally at odds with fundamentalism. 

Whereas his branch of Christianity had always stated that only those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, out loud and in their heads, are saved, he came to believe otherwise. He came to believe that everyone on planet earth, no matter what, was saved. Plenty of people argue about this and I am not here to do that. I am just saying Carlton Pearson had to be very religious to change his religion.

Within weeks of him publicly stating this he was anathema to those who formally embraced him.  He eventually lost his congregation, his building, his friends, his money.  He had a small remnant of people from his church who stayed with him, meeting at another church that lent them their activity hall and sanctuary on Sunday afternoons. 

He eventually found a group of religious people in Tulsa who embraced him and his congregation.  They said you can come here and worship.  They said we have all sorts of people with all sorts of beliefs and they are all loved and accepted.  They said if you change your mind again, we will still accept you, still love you.  They said if you cease to believe at all, we will still accept you, still love you. 

That church is All Souls Unitarian Church and I am proud to be a member.

Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily

Quote by Marie-Josephine de Suin de Beausacq, 1829-1899, French aphorist. She wrote 2 books of aphorisms under the pseudonym Comtess Diane.

Jun 29 0 comments
God, Joseph Campbell, Technology

>A Computer Is Like The Old Testament God

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And for the most part the corporate world isn’t much different.  It isn’t spelled out as exactly as it is in computer code, but it’s severity can also be just as strong.


To survive you have to adapt to that world, understand it’s boundaries and rules and play along even when there is an absurdist logic working within the company just as you have to do with a computer and other technology. For the most part, technology or a company will not bow to your individuality, you must bow to it.


That is why I was never all that great in a corporate world or in getting along with that Old Testament dude!


Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily


Quote by Joseph Campbell, 1904-1987, American writer, lecturer and mythologist.  I saw Joseph Campbell lecture on James Joyce’s Ulysses back in 1982.  I knew nothing about the book but he kept me, and the rest of the audience, enthralled for 2 hours. Now THAT is a good lecturer!


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Sep 19 0 comments
Elbert Hubbard, God, Religion, spirit, theology

>The Intent of Theology

>Theology was, at the beginning, simple story telling. It was an explanation for why things were they way they were. It was handed down over centuries and it didn’t need to be very rigorous in it’s believability because the realm of what was known about the universe was very small at the time. It was their version of science, in a way.

But as time went on and people had more questions and were finding out more ‘truths’ theologians (as they were eventually titled) had to fill out the various stories to be more believable. But at the same time they had to stick with the story already told and somehow combine the new and the old.

The result was a pretty convoluted set of explanations for the how and why of the world that was separated from science as it was developing.

To test this idea clear your mind of any and all ideas of the universe and human origins and development. Now tell a brand new story that explains how we came to be and why we are here. Have it make sense in the here and now, consistent with what you now know about life. Would it be the same story you were taught as a child? Would you have the same organization of life, afterlife, material world, spirit realm? Would you have the same explanations for why things happen, good and bad? Maybe so, maybe not. But it is a good exercise to help us remember that we are listening to a story.

Drawing by Marty Coleman, The Napkin Dad
http://napkindad.blogspot.com
http://www.martycoleman.com

Quote by Elbert Hubbard, 1856-1915, American writer


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