scandalous

it's late and i need to be up early tomorrow, but i haven't posted in a month and a half.

i've been learning a lot lately. i'd say i have learned more in the last two months than the average person learns in a span of two months. take that, average people! i doubt you would truly care to hear about my specific learnings...actually, you would probably learn that i tend to learn things later than most that is, if i were to enumerate my recent learnings. i feel that most people already know what i know, and if they don't then they should. wait, that's not true. my learnings are on a much deeper level than the average person. i'm not saying i'm better than average, i'm just deeper than average, which, depending upon the reader, might also mean i'm better than average. see, i allow for a sliver of relativism in my daily life, so i'm also open-minded. unless you're wrong. now that i've genuinely insulted most people i will get down to business.

i've been having a good time lately. you're probably wondering, "how in the world has dominick been having a good time lately, i was under the impression that he complains about everything?" and to that i would retort with, "tisk, tisk." the first tisk would answer that yes, it probably does seem like i complain about everything, and the second tisk would serve to explain that i have been breaking every illegitimate rule set forth by the local religious sects (in the name of Jesus of course) and have found that i actually enjoy life more for it. listen, there are certain things of paramount importance to the christian faith. there are things indispensable to the effective witness of God's word, and then there are things superfluous and restricting. these extra things are added by man to serve man's purpose in what they perceive as godliness. this godliness, let's call it false-godliness, was not in fact dictated by God in His scripture. this false-godliness has been fabricated by a culture of christianity to create a facade of piety. there are things which are down right negative to the kingdom of God as dictated by God, and then there are things negative towards the kingdom of man as dictated by man. i will simply give the example of dancing. in the circles in which i run (not by choice; more by simple association) dancing was and still is to an extent looked down upon. dancing!? can you already see the argument against dancing?? that some use dancing to insinuate lewd behavior...to hint of acts that are immoral. this fact leads many to the reactionary response of eliminating dancing from the list of appropriate christian behavior and placing it on the much longer list of shameful, worldly behavior. let me insist that reactionary responses to anything are almost never okay. all things may be and usually are perverted. this does not mean that we eliminate them in their entirety. we must weigh them out and discern whether and how they should be reclaimed for Christ. dancing is one of those activities that should be reclaimed for Christ. we should enjoy dancing because it was created for us to enjoy in the Lord and with each other. scandalous!! i am not nearly at the end of my argument against reactionary responses governing Christian behavior, but allow me to finish this segment by encouraging us to closely evaluate with the bible, all the rules or guidelines we have created. evaluate everything you have been taught by this standard. examine your closest assumption, even the most obvious "fact." from there, with scripture as your guide, move toward the necessities. you will probably find that a lot of what you have been taught is very good. but i'm sure there is some of what you are taught that serves not God but man's created agenda. i find the process liberating.

good night.