The church and morose people

[Steve Hayes]

There have been so many threads along the lines of "the church and gay people"
and little else recently that this NG has been getting very boring.

So can we discuss the church and morose people, and morose marriage, just for
a change?

[Catherine Jefferson]

Post by Steve Hayes
There have been so many threads along the lines of "the church and gay people"
and little else recently that this NG has been getting very boring.
So can we discuss the church and morose people, and morose marriage, just for
a change?

ROFL! The subject would be a bit of a downer, but why not? Or, better
yet, let's talk about something else entirely.


Under His mercy,

[Steve Hayes]

On Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:05:45 GMT, Catherine Jefferson

Post by Catherine Jefferson

Post by Steve Hayes
There have been so many threads along the lines of "the church and gay people"
and little else recently that this NG has been getting very boring.
So can we discuss the church and morose people, and morose marriage, just for
a change?

ROFL! The subject would be a bit of a downer, but why not? Or, better
yet, let's talk about something else entirely.

Well, somebody asked for my advice because a woman she knew, a Christian, was
married to a man who believed he was being bewitched.

The husband called in a diviner, who confirmed the bewitchment, and searched
the homestead and found several items in various places that he said had been
placed there by witches, and removed them (for a fee, of course).

When things didn't improve the husband recalled the diviner, and he found
several more such items, and again removed them (for a fee), and said that
most of the husband's family were trying to bewitch him.

The wife is now unhappy about this, and is in fact clinically depressed.

The person asked me for advice, and whether I thought the diviner was using
sleight-of-hand to place the bewitching objects himself.

I said I thought he probably was. Finding one such object is one thing, but
finding several in each visit is another, and suggests that he's on the make.

Also, tossing witchcraft accusations around doesn't do much to improve family
relations.

And the fact that the wife is clinically depressed indicates that his cure
hasn't been too effective either.

Now is that a morose marriage or what?

And what can the church do to help morose people like that?

[B.G. Kent]

Post by Steve Hayes
On Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:05:45 GMT, Catherine Jefferson

Post by Catherine Jefferson

Post by Steve Hayes
There have been so many threads along the lines of "the church and gay people"
and little else recently that this NG has been getting very boring.
So can we discuss the church and morose people, and morose marriage, just for
a change?

ROFL! The subject would be a bit of a downer, but why not? Or, better
yet, let's talk about something else entirely.

Well, somebody asked for my advice because a woman she knew, a Christian, was
married to a man who believed he was being bewitched.

B - well there's a good excuse for bad behavior. No one even questioned if
the "evidence" was put there by the man himself?

Bren

[Catherine Jefferson]

Steve Hayes wrote:
<snip>

Post by Steve Hayes
The person asked me for advice, and whether I thought the diviner was using
sleight-of-hand to place the bewitching objects himself.
I said I thought he probably was. Finding one such object is one thing, but
finding several in each visit is another, and suggests that he's on the make.
Also, tossing witchcraft accusations around doesn't do much to improve family
relations.
And the fact that the wife is clinically depressed indicates that his cure
hasn't been too effective either.
Now is that a morose marriage or what?
And what can the church do to help morose people like that?

Preach the Gospel. That one's easy to diagnose, just hard to cure.
(Christianity is not so much been tried and found wanting as found hard
and therefore not tried.) <wry grin>


Under His mercy,

[DKleinecke]

Post by Steve Hayes
And what can the church do to help morose people like that?

Preach the Gospel. =A0

Succinct. But you left out a few steps.

You have to be careful about that word "preach". These days it implies
harangues and an air of authority.

You will win no one to Christ by a flood of words. Of course, you have
to explain a little. But then you stop. If you look at Jesus' teaching
(not at the great formal sermons that Matthew and John constructed for
him - but at the smaller occasions) you don't see much delivered at
any one time. A single large parable - like the Prodigal Son or The
Good Samaritan - and no elaboration.

Teaching is what is needed - not preaching.

That one's easy to diagnose, just hard to cure.
(Christianity is not so much been tried and found wanting as found hard
and therefore not tried.) <wry grin>

A nice epigram but I prefer "There was only one Christian and he died
on the cross."

Of course what I quoted has it all wrong and Jesus was not a
Christian. He had it right - all the rest of us, the Christianoi, the
followers of Christ - get it wrong. We are mere frail humans.

Let's us test the proposition that Christianity has been tried. By
whom. And who among them gave it up as too hard?

Isn't it the case that they stopped following Christ - but keep on
calling themselves his followers?

[j***@go.com]

Post by Catherine Jefferson
(Christianity is not so much been tried and found wanting as found hard
and therefore not tried.) <wry grin>

Oh, but actually the first of your alternatives is true.
My experience of God has been utterly graceless
despite my pleas to Him for help and something
that I could recognize as love -- and despite the
fact that I got myself martyred, in a sense, for Him
(bounced out of a job for my prophesying -- I'll
never do that again!). No wonder I'm so morose.

-- Jeffrey J. Sargent

[Jani]

Post by Catherine Jefferson

Post by Steve Hayes
There have been so many threads along the lines of "the church and gay people"
and little else recently that this NG has been getting very boring.
So can we discuss the church and morose people, and morose marriage, just for
a change?

ROFL! The subject would be a bit of a downer, but why not?

I had a sudden mental image of a Morose Pride Parade, consisting of Grumpy
Old Men, Grumpy Old Women, and a slouch of emo kids following on behind ;)

Jani

[Catherine Jefferson]

Post by Jani
I had a sudden mental image of a Morose Pride Parade, consisting of Grumpy
Old Men, Grumpy Old Women, and a slouch of emo kids following on behind ;)

But how would you keep anyone morose for more than the few seconds it
would take to realize just how ridiculous it all is and burst out
laughing? ;-)


Under His mercy,

[Jani]

Post by Catherine Jefferson

Post by Jani
I had a sudden mental image of a Morose Pride Parade, consisting of Grumpy
Old Men, Grumpy Old Women, and a slouch of emo kids following on behind ;)

But how would you keep anyone morose for more than the few seconds it
would take to realize just how ridiculous it all is and burst out
laughing? ;-)

You've obviously never dealt with GOMs, GOWs, and emo's ;-)

Jani

[Catherine Jefferson]

Post by Jani

Post by Catherine Jefferson

Post by Jani
I had a sudden mental image of a Morose Pride Parade, consisting of Grumpy
Old Men, Grumpy Old Women, and a slouch of emo kids following on behind ;)

But how would you keep anyone morose for more than the few seconds it
would take to realize just how ridiculous it all is and burst out
laughing? ;-)

You've obviously never dealt with GOMs, GOWs, and emo's ;-)

Sez who? For all you know, I *am* a GOW. (For all you know, I am a
GOM, for that matter.) ;P


Under His mercy,

[S***@yahoo.com]

This is sooooooo funny!!!! A "slouch" of emo kids. Not a passel, not
a flock but a SLOUCH. You are a GENIUS!!!!

Post by Jani
I had a sudden mental image of a Morose Pride Parade, consisting of Grumpy
Old Men, Grumpy Old Women, and a slouch of emo kids following on behind ;)
Jani

[Jani]

Post by S***@yahoo.com

Post by Jani
I had a sudden mental image of a Morose Pride Parade, consisting of Grumpy
Old Men, Grumpy Old Women, and a slouch of emo kids following on behind ;)
Jani

This is sooooooo funny!!!! A "slouch" of emo kids. Not a passel, not
a flock but a SLOUCH. You are a GENIUS!!!!

No, just observant ;) Goth kids don't slouch, emo kids do. It's one of the
ways of distinguishing between the subcultures.

Jani

[Chico]

Post by Steve Hayes
So can we discuss the church and morose people, and morose marriage, just for
a change?

What about them?

[B.G. Kent]

Post by Steve Hayes
So can we discuss the church and morose people, and morose marriage, just for
a change?

B - Morose marriage? why this topic I wonder?

Bren

[Steve Hayes]

Post by B.G. Kent

Post by Steve Hayes
So can we discuss the church and morose people, and morose marriage, just for
a change?

B - Morose marriage? why this topic I wonder?

As I said above -- "just for a change".

[B.G. Kent]

Post by Steve Hayes

Post by B.G. Kent
B - Morose marriage? why this topic I wonder?

As I said above -- "just for a change".

B - Okay. How about environmentalism and Christ too? there's another
topic!

:)

Bren

[S***@yahoo.com]

Well, I always thought I would be less morose at times if I were
married. But since I can't find a guy who is decent enough and worthy
enough, I guess I'll have to find other ways to be happy. I can't
think of anything more morose than wanting to be married and never
having a boyfriend for more than a few weeks because things that are
red flags show up by date 3.

Savvy
www.SavvySingleChristian.blogspot.com

[B.G. Kent]

Post by S***@yahoo.com
Well, I always thought I would be less morose at times if I were
married. But since I can't find a guy who is decent enough and worthy
enough, I guess I'll have to find other ways to be happy. I can't
think of anything more morose than wanting to be married and never
having a boyfriend for more than a few weeks because things that are
red flags show up by date 3.
Savvy

B - red flags? date three? hmm. Well when I separated from my ex I felt so
happy and relieved. My marriage was not good for me because there were too
many things wrong about it and we were turning rapidly into oil and water.
I bloomed after I separated, dated a while and am now in a seven year
relationship that is working. I may marry again, but I won't really worry
if I don't. I'm fine as long as I am living with him someday and right now
due to the relationship being in two countries we can't do that easily
right now anyways.


Too much info Bren!

hehehe...

one thing I do know is that marriage is like a garden and needs careful
tending and attention. Never take each other for granted and always
remember to see each other as human beings first and "the husband" or "the
wife" second. We sometimes treat strangers with more kindness than our
spouses..never forget kindness.

Bren

[Catherine Jefferson]

Post by S***@yahoo.com
Well, I always thought I would be less morose at times if I were
married. But since I can't find a guy who is decent enough and worthy
enough, I guess I'll have to find other ways to be happy. I can't
think of anything more morose than wanting to be married and never
having a boyfriend for more than a few weeks because things that are
red flags show up by date 3.

I can. Ignoring those red flags and marrying the guy because you're so
anxious to be married you don't listen to your head. <wry grin>

I'm married now, but got married for the first time when I was 45 years
old. Watching so many friends get married, suffer from bad marriages,
and get divorced convinced me that being single was much the best thing
unless and until I met someone I specifically wanted to marry. Marrying
just to marry isn't worth the risk of experiencing first-hand just how
much worse a bad marriage is than a single life.


Under His mercy,

[SavvyD]

Post by S***@yahoo.com
Well, I always thought I would be less morose at times if I were
married. =A0But since I can't find a guy who is decent enough and worth=

y

Post by S***@yahoo.com
enough, I guess I'll have to find other ways to be happy. =A0I can't
think of anything more morose than wanting to be married and never
having a boyfriend for more than a few weeks because things that are
red flags show up by date 3.

I can. =A0Ignoring those red flags and marrying the guy because you're so
anxious to be married you don't listen to your head. <wry grin>
I'm married now, but got married for the first time when I was 45 years
old. =A0Watching so many friends get married, suffer from bad marriages,
and get divorced convinced me that being single was much the best thing
unless and until I met someone I specifically wanted to marry. =A0Marryin=

g

just to marry isn't worth the risk of experiencing first-hand just how
much worse a bad marriage is than a single life.
Under His mercy,
--
Personal Home Page =A0 =A0 =A0* =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 <http://www.devsite.org/>
The SpamBouncer =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 * =A0 =A0 <http://www.spambouncer.org/>

Oh, yes, actually, that's why I haven't married, so i agree with you.
It's just hard to answer to friends who don't understand and think
I've been too picky and that there must be SOMEONE for me to date.

And then there is my blog...