Unwelcoming local churches.

My first Xanga post, which I’ve since ported all to Blogger. I was on Xanga till July 16, 2005.

I am a little annoyed with the churches I’ve been to in this area. I am looking for a church with friendly people. I know they’re out there; I’ve been to churches like that before. That’s the sort of church I join. But thus far I haven’t been to one in this area.

The first church I went to had great worship (led by Bethany people) and a decent sermon. The people didn’t say jack to me (except for the meet-’n’-greet part in the middle of the service that every pastor feels obligated to insert). Unfortunately that was just how the Bethany people liked it; after the service they hopped in their cars and scampered back to Bethany before the cafe ran out of waffle batter.

Liberal media bias.

There are a lot of liberals in the media. I know this firsthand because I used to be in the newspaper business and I worked with a lot of knee-jerk liberals. They’re nice people; fun to hang out with, great to party with, but you don’t want to start a political conversation with them or they’ll bite your head off.

I probably needed my head bitten off. For a long time I was a knee-jerk conservative, and when you put all us knee-jerk types in a room together you don’t get the best vibes. Knee-jerk anything, no matter what your political stripe, isn’t good. At first, the discussion begins with what you believe. But because it’s a knee-jerk belief (in other words, it’s a reflex, but there’s not a lot of depth to it) you can’t really get into why you believe what you do, or why it’s good to believe what you do; all you can do is say that you believe it. Loudly. And then it’s all downhill from there. Because when you can’t defend your position, the only debate tactic you have going for you is that your opponent is just as clueless as you are. Pretty soon you’re not debating the merits of your belief; you’re arguing about who’s stupider.

On Jesus movies.

Jesus movies I have seen, and what I think of them.

I’m a big fan of Jesus, and I also like movies. So naturally, I’d like to see the two come together. Unfortunately, they don’t always come together well.

Here’s a list of Jesus movies I have seen; some of which I own. I have them listed in the order that I like them: favorites to suckiest. This is not a comprehensive list, of course. But it’s a start.

Corporate isn't evil.

I love coffee. I thank God for coffee whenever I drink it. I make it at home; I buy it at coffee houses. I will even buy it at 7-Eleven when the mood strikes me. I'm no coffee snob—although I really don't like Folger's; there's just something about that brand I don't care for. Maybe it's their “flavor crystals,” but I just don't like the taste.

So I went to this one coffeehouse where they have some anti-Starbucks bumper stickers on the wall. The sticker in question has the Starbucks logo, probably in violation of copyright, and “Friends don't let friends drink corporate coffee.”

Temper, temper.

Some folks like developing a reputation as a difficult person.

There’s a person I met on this campus who insists that they’s not all together there. They insist that there’s something wrong with them; that they could just snap at any time. Yet I’ve seen nothing in their behavior which indicates this is true. In fact, I’m largely wondering if any of it is true.

The proper use of apologetics.

Ever read Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell? It’s every high school student’s first introduction to apologetics. Youth pastors love it because whenever someone smart-aleck high school kid has a tough question for them, they can whip out their Josh McDowell and beat him over the head with it. McDowell’s a youth pastor, you know; he had a very practical reason for creating the book.

I like the book. Parts of it are questionable, of course; McDowell’s grasp of Aristotelean logic is shaky in a few parts; he’s awfully fond of the straw man argument, as many Christians are, and for some bizarre reason he quotes a comment by Napoleon Bonaparte more than once about Jesus. He’s pretty sure his big mound of evidence proves that Christianity and Scripture are true, and confronted with this evidence, people should just drop to their knees and accept Jesus as Lord.

Finding a church.

Originally published on my Geocities website “Kent’s Rants.” Technically my first blog post.

I am trying to find a church. I moved to Scotts Valley for school, my home church is all the way back in Vacaville, and Christians are not supposed to go it alone. (That’s how cults start.) So I need a local place of worship.

I realize that, by confessing this, I’ve opened myself up to a lot of emails from well-meaning Christians who think their church is the greatest ever so I should go there. I appreciate the kindness, but there’s no guarantee that I’m going to agree with you once I get to your church. See, I’m looking for a certain thing; one that’s lacking in a lot of Christians, and therefore lacking from a lot of churches. I’m looking for a friendly church.

I haven’t found one yet because I keep going to churches with college students in them. Hang on; I’ll explain this statement soon. But first you should understand that statistically young adults aren’t friendly. They haven’t learned how to be friendly yet. They will someday, when they’re older. But currently they’re growing up, and they’re self-focused and self-centered, and heavily insulated with friends. So instead of being friendly with new people, they’re busy talking with their friends, and I don’t happen to be one of their friends, so I can go to hell for all they care.