Posted by WorryGirl on March 27, 2003, at 13:00:42
In reply to Re: I've been eating pig lately. And shrimp too. » WorryGirl, posted by Dinah on March 23, 2003, at 8:43:21
> It was in reading the bible and various and sundry books on church history during my search for "the" truth, although I ended up finding only "my" truth, that I read Leviticus and the books written by Jewish scholars on the "why" of dietary restrictions. I was impressed by the idea of bringing holiness to our everyday activities, including eating, and decided to do the same as an expression of my love of God.
> The good news is that I haven't eaten pig lately. Or shrimp. I've again started asking for my meals to be prepared without them. But darn, bacon and ham are so hard to live without! Sorry. My human frailty is showing. And today I work on keeping the Sabbath holy.
Dinah, I commend your decision to practice the dietary laws in the Old Testament. I choose to think that God didn't give the children of Israel those laws merely to show them who's boss. He knew that those foods were unhealthy for various reasons and knew they needed to stay strong. I was raised not eating pork and shrimp, but these days I occasionally indulge in shrimp and snow crab, those scavengers of the sea, so I understand how hard it is to refrain from eating them. Keeping the Sabbath holy is important to me, too, but it can be hard with so many secular activities readily available, and sometimes so much more appealing when I'm vulnerable. Why does it sometimes seem so hard to devote a few hours each week to God (at least for me)?> I consider my own personal faith to be Jamesian rather than Pauline Christianity because I try always to keep in mind the Jewish roots of Christianity, and I try to evaluate church doctrine that arose after the death of Jesus and after Paul brought the religion to the Hellenic community in light of what the historical Jesus said and would, as a Jew, have probably meant by what he said.
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In light of your faith, have you ever gone to a Messianic Jewish temple? There seem to be some similarities. If so, I'd love to hear your views on it.>I don't in any way believe I have a lock on the right path to God, and this is just what works for me.
>Ditto, although I am still searching for what works for me.
> If you feel that spirituality would enrich your life (as it usually enriches mine) I think it would be great to do as you suggested. It has been my experience that even churches that demand a lot from their congregants also leave a lot of room for human frailty. Perfection is usually not required. :) I'm impressed that you can separate the pain caused by your mom's perfectionism from your church and from God.
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I like the way you worded that. The only reason I'm able to separate the perfectionist issues is because I love my mother so much and know in my heart that she means well; she apparently doesn't know any other way. I didn't always feel this way. There was a time when I was a bit resentful and felt more like my siblings, one of who is quite bitter against the church and "the establishment" in general. The other is currently drowning her sorrows in drugs and alcohol, but deep down is crying for fulfillment. As for the church itself, yes, there are some self-righteous, but those are in every church. If anyone finds the "perfect" church I'd like to hear about it, because it would seem that the people would have to be perfect to be members, too (lol).Thanks so much for sharing your faith
poster:WorryGirl
thread:207994
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20021227/msgs/213463.html