Christian Platt: The A**hole Christian Survival Guide

Christian Platt is one of my favorite Christian authors.  He is unlike the evangelical writers that write the syrupy twaddle found in WalMart and most Christian books stores. Nor is he anything like the self-righteous legalistic miscreants that head up Church of God splinter groups.  He is a breathe of fresh air in the stagnant and/or backward thinking evangelical atmosphere that permeates this country today. He also feels that Christians should laugh at themselves for many of the stupid things we do and say.

He is writing a new book called  The Asshole Christian Survival Guide.  The title of his book will immediately tick off the uber-legalists and the self righteous in the Churches of God.......because......we all know that there could not possibly be any assholes in Church of God ministerial positions!  Gerald Flurry's not one!  Bob Thiel's not one!  Rod Meredith's not one! Vic Kubik can't possibly be one and most assuredly Dave Pack could NEVER be one! So where does that leave James Malm?

Platt writes:

Are You Ready for the A**hole Apocalypse?

You’ve encountered those Christians who are so self-assured about their faith it’s like fingers on a chalkboard. You’ve met the type that is only satisfied if you think, act and believe just like they do. You know the Christians that want to start a conversation with an awkward question like “have you accepted Jesus into your heart?” or left a tract as a tip, or gave crosses to kids at Halloween or…you get the idea.

One of the best sermons I ever heard started with the sentence, “I’m a Christian because I’m an asshole.” This got me thinking: maybe we do need an example like Jesus to follow because we can ALL be real assholes from time to time. But what I’ve noticed is that too many Christians believe that, once they’ve accepted Jesus, they’re all fixed and are no longer assholes.

And there’s the real irony: Thinking that having Jesus in your heart keeps you from ever being an asshole again makes you an even bigger asshole. So it’s time we talked about it.

 Elsewhere he writes:

Why an Asshole Christian Survival Guide

So if we Christians are supposed to reflect God and Jesus to the world, why are so many of us such jerks?

Sometimes we Christians take everything so seriously it's a real drag. So this book is done very much with tongue in cheek, but also with the intent of getting at some real truth. And I think sometimes the best way to start healing and mending fences between us and the rest of the world is to be able to laugh at ourselves.

So the book is less about fixing us all, but teaching us how to better get along together by helping us come to terms with our inner asshole. Making peace with it, maybe even laughing about it sometimes, but still doing our best not to be too much of an asshole might actually make the world a little bit better place to live.

Where did the Idea Come From?

One of the most inspiring, honest sermons was from my friend who started out by saying, "I'm a Christian because I'm an asshole." At that moment, a little light went on inside me. It's not that I need Jesus because of original sin or to save me from burning in hell. He's not a stamp on my celestial passport. 

But I can be a real asshole. And once I have the humility to admit it, I might actually have something to learn from it. One of the biggest paradoxes, though, is when people mistakenly think that becoming a Christian makes them no longer be an asshole; in fact, Christians who think they're somehow "fixed" are some of the biggest a-holes of all.

The Ultimate Indictment

ht: FT @ Facebook: Herbert W Armstroke

Eric King: Thanks to the intervention of extraterrestrial's and God he was able to influence Obama into making a decision on Syrian refugees.

Forget about all of the empty prayers and petitions belched out by Flurry, Pack, Meredith and Thiel!  God no longer hears their prayers.  God apparently is listening however to one loyal follower from the Church of God who has combined Armstrongite myths with extraterrestrial teachings.  King and crew have been praying since August and finally God heard their prayers!  Woo Hoo!  Apparently it is good to have extraterrestrials and God on your side.

Some SOCT refugee prayers are being answered!

The Science Of Christian Thought posted September 3rd 2015 on its website the following:

“Since August 2015 all SOCT students including  myself have been praying for the immigrants and refugees worldwide. As of today [September 3rd 2015] I am asking all of us to pray at one o’clock PM around the world, no matter what time zone you are in, say a special and powerful prayer that the world wakes up and begins to help our fellow Human Beings. This will amount to powerful group prayers..” CLICK TO SEE ORIGINAL POST

And today we have action taken confirmed by the United States regarding this very important issue:

Obama Increases Number of Syrian Refugees for US Resettlement to 10000

More Construction On Pasadena Campus

This panorama shot is of the new condo complex being constructed
on the site of the old Fine Arts Hall.

The building in the background is where the Science Hall, parking lot and Mediterranean Garden fountains were behind Terrace Villa.

Ambassador Hall is currently being marketed as a private home for $9.5 million.

Philadelphia Church of God Helps Destroy Another Family!

Another story has popped up today by a person who left the Philadelphia Church of God cult and now is shunned by her family and friends.  The evil of Gerald Flurry, his cult ministers and ultimately Armstrongism itself,  continue to march on as present members who know the abuse is wrong stand by and do NOTHING!

My wife Kelly has spent her life helping people. From age 20-21, she moved to Amman, Jordan to volunteer, working at two schools helping children with physical  and mental disabilities , as well as outreach work throughout the Middle East.  She also later spent three weeks volunteering at a UN refugee camp in Somalia to help those wounded in the civil war, has been all over world touring and helping people.  She has been active in causes to stop child and human trafficking, and efforts to promote human and civil rights, both in her community and around the world.  She has worked tirelessly to help others, but now she cannot move forward with her life without receiving help from others.

Kelly is thirty-seven years old and disabled, but it wasn’t always that way.  Kelly was active in sports since the age of 5, and was even granted a scholarship to play college volleyball, but that dream was cut short before playing her first game as her health started taking a turn for the worse.  Now, life isn’t so easy.  She suffers from a neurological disease called Dystonia  (related to Parkinson’s), as well as DVT's (blood clots ), pulmonary embolisms  and other chronic serious pulmonary issues  keeping her reliant on oxygen, Antiphosphilipid Antibody Syndrome, digestive issues (she's lost 35 lbs in the past 6 weeks alone), neck and back issues, and chronically severe compression mega-migraines.  Medical staff has had to resuscitate her back to life three times in the past few years due to physical health problems combined with hospital mistakes.

Additionally, due to her parents joining a high-demand, abusive fundamentalist group at age 5, which Kelly tried to leave quietly at age 30, she has been shunned by her family and friends in the group. This has been very hard on her emotionally, and has led down a road where she also has been diagnosed and is being treated for  Complex PTSD, major depression disorder, and panic/anxiety disorder.   

#HelpSaveKelly - Mayo Clinic Trip