Random Mind Dumplings 31

*Here we go!  I am going after the Part-Time Christians and Hypocritical Evangelicals on this one.  Brace yourselves.  If this offends you...a hurt dog will holler..and it will be music to my ears.  It's a small price to pay to learn the difference between "right" and righteousness.    

*I have this horrible habit of holding extroverted Christians at a higher standard.  The louder you preach, the more I expect out of you when you practice.  I expect them to be more "Christ-like" than people who are not extroverted Christians.  Although I have designated this habit with the adjective horrible, I do not regret having this habit and have no plans to break it. 

*It is amazing how the standards have changed over the course of two different impeachments.  If the political affiliation of the subject being impeached alters your standards...you are what's wrong with America. 

*Tribalism vs. Racism.  If you admonish everyone who disagrees with you, that is Tribalism.  If you admonish everyone who does not look like you, that is Racism.  Some Trump supporters will tolerate someone of a different race provided that person supports Trump. 

*If the Whistleblower was Melania, she would being doing her job on her platform of battling online bullying.  Maybe her identity is being hidden because Trump may deport her if he found out.  Amazing how someone can't mention Barron's name during congressional hearing but Melania's husband can troll climate change activists on twitter.   #bebest

*The people calling the Mueller Report, the Impeachment proceedings, the porn star payments, the inquest for Trump's taxes and the Ukraine scandal a "Witch Hunt" are the same people that spent years looking for Obama's birth certificate while assuming he was a Muslim.  I noticed they stopped caring about his birth certificate when Trump stopped caring.

*There are two things that make normal people evil: religion and politics.  The people that mix the two are "human scum."  This comment is directed towards the gullible Christians that think Trump brought Christ back in the White House because Obama was allegedly a Muslim.

*I don't hate the GOP.  I would have more respect for that family if they would stop defending their Bigoted Uncle every Thanksgiving.  "Did Uncle Trump just refer to Second Corinthians as Two Corinthians???"

*Fake News - News that Trump does not agree with or makes him look bad.  I can think of a few things in the Old Testament that Evangelicals would describe as Fake News.

*Before you accuse me of not being a Christian, have the bravery to talk to me in person.  I want you to ask me what motivates me to be an honest Husband, a loving Father, and a hard working Professional.

*Merry Christmas AND Happy Holidays...because there is more than one holiday going on after all.  If Happy Holidays offends you, do what you claim to do best...pray for me.

Karma Revelation

I am stuck between two worlds.  A black one and a white one.  A liberal one and a conservative one.  An agnostic and a spiritual one.

Right now, down the street, there is a group of people gathered in a building.  They are singing songs, greeting each other, smiling and shaking hands.  They are there for different reasons.  Some are there for fellowship.  I often wondered why I was there.  I am a reluctant introvert, so the fellowship wasn't the draw.  I realized a few weeks ago, that I was only going so my family would be embraced and enjoy the fellowship that I have been avoiding for the majority of my life.  

Fellowships at religious institutions come with a price and it is not associated with tithing.  The price is independent thinking.  The price is giving up a portion of your individuality to fit in with a large paradigm of beliefs.  I am not saying that politics is ruining religion, I am saying religion is built on politics.  We are at a point where simply "believing in God" is not enough..."how you believe in God" is being evaluated.

I had to officially remove myself from the Sunday School roster and it was a very heartbreaking thing for me to do.  Sure, if you get about five to seven men together on a Sunday, things will be discussed other than the Sunday School lesson.  What bothered me about this group is that whenever we started discussing the perpetual conflict of "good vs. evil", they always resorted to "us vs. them."  Then it would resort to "us vs. liberals."  Then it would resort to "us vs. democrats."  Then it would resort to "us vs. non Christians."  There is a difference between Evil People and People who don't agree with you.  

I have had two great mentors in my life.  One was an Agnostic and the other was a Southern Baptist.  I asked them their definitions of Evil and Sin.  "Evil is treating someone differently for thinking differently than you," said the Agnostic.  "Sin is doing something that Jesus would not do," said the Southern Baptist.  Being stuck between two worlds, I consolidated their ideologies into one:  We should be united in the face of our differences because no one is perfect.  

Although I mentioned my primary reason for joining that church in a previous paragraph, my own personal reason was to become a better person.  Atheists and Agnostics must recognize that certain religious institutions bring out the best in people.  People are motivated to do great things for the less fortunate, use their vacation days to go on missions, and other selfless acts.  What motivates these people?  Is it their belief in God or is it the fact that they are surrounded by people in which they are politically aligned?  I told my Sunday School instructor that I came to the church to escape politics shortly before leaving.  Now my main concern is how my family will be treated there now that I have decided to do some independent learning.  

If I wore a "Black Lives Matter" shirt to this Church down the street, I would get ugly looks.  Not because I would be bringing politics into the church, but because I would be bringing politics that they don't agree with into the church.  The same would apply if I wore a "Make America Great Again" hat to a Black Church.  

A person's relationship with God should be as unique as their fingerprint.  Churches, Mosques, and Synagogues all have one thing in common: they are simply places where people analyze each other's fingerprints.

Random Mind Dumplings 30

*It's been two and a half years since I wrote Random Mind Dumplings 29 (July of 2016).  One of the Dumplings was "In less than four months half of the population in this country will be happy and the other half with think it is the end of the world."  I don't need to say I TOLD YOU SO.  It should be self evident. 

*The winner of any debate is the one who makes less assumptions about their opponent. 

*The folks complaining that CNN (and other "mainstream media") is biased against President #45 didn't say a damn thing about Fox News during President #44's time in office.  I guess the news isn't biased when you agree with it. 

*The only way to "Make America Great Again" is to stop sending out passive/aggressive partisan messages on social media.  Stop perpetuating deliberate divisionalism by asking people to prove their allegiance to your belief. A keyboard/smartphone is not a soapbox. 

*The image below was posted on social media by a Trump supporter who is against "Fake News."

*The image below was posted on social medial by someone who didn't use photoshop. 

*Take the time to notice the difference between someone who is "Always Trump" vs. someone who classifies themselves as "Conservative."  Take the time to notice the difference between someone who is "Never Trump" vs. someone who classifies themselves as "Liberal."  Your view of an individual vs. your view of a paradigm of beliefs cannot be the same.

*If beer had no calories nor carbohydrates and still tasted good, I would have a body of a Greek God!!!

*Atlanta United Football Club won it's first MLS Championship not too long ago.  A conservative radio talk show host went to the celebration parade interviewing people asking "if Trump invited the team to the White House, should the team accept the invitation?"  Some people said yes.  Some people said no.  Smart people said "who cares?  We are Atlanta United, not Atlanta Divided."

*We need more opened minded gray mules in this country as opposed to opinionated cliquish zebras.  If you wear your political views on your sleeves, you are going to find yourselves surrounded by people that only like you because you hate the same people they do. 

*The red Make America Great Again hat is becoming the "hoodie" for the insecure Trump supporter.  If something bad happens to someone wearing this hat, a completely different group comes to their defense than the ones who felt Trayvon Martin's death was unnecessary.