WOW...this story was really eye opening for me! Very interesting to see what our generation is choosing to believe in right now. This just shows how God really needs to reveal himself to this generation is a strong way. I think people need to make sure of the facts and truth of what they are choosing to believe in and not just run to the first thing you find. 1Timothy4:1-Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving head to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.
Wow...how did you manage to leave out a mainstream, old fashoned, bible thumping Baptist. There are only about a million in Tulsa. Way to go, UTW. And concerning the above comment - it's not "giving head", but "giving heed". That must be some church they go to! Woo Hoo!
What really bothers me most about this article is how the writer and many of the others being interviewed are so self-indulgent and attempting to instruct God. Either that or they want to form God in their own image by making themselves just like God. It's more like they are saying, "If I can just pick and choose what parts of God I want to believe, and what parts I don't, then I don't have to take personal responsibility for my sin and can be excused for my sins because the god I have created doesn't say (or at least I don't personally believe) that I have actually sinned." John, the only eye witness to the ministry of Jesus to write one of the four gospels, quotes Jesus as saying, "I am THE way, THE truth, and THE life. NO ONE comes to the Father but by me." He didn't say He was A way, He said He was THE way, and I am willing to bet my eternal soul on that fact. Either He is who He says He is and was telling the truth, or He was the most evil of deceivers by instituting the greatest lie upon mankind. There is no middle ground. Trying to say He is only ONE OF MANY ways is disingenuous at best, and total self-deception at its worst. I find it very interesting that all but one of Christ's apostles died horrifying and excruciating deaths rather than deny their faith in Him as the Son of God. The only one to die a natural death was John, who died of old age as an exile on the island of Patmos. How many reading this would actually allow themselves to be put through such incredibly painful torture and die such a horrible death for a lie. It is by the truth of Christ that I live, and it is for the truth of Christ that I would die.
Does what "bible thumping Baptist's" think about spirituality really need to be reported on? I don't think so; mainstream Christianity is in our faces every day, we get it. Thanks UTW for this fantastic article. And maybe what our generation is choosing to believe right now IS God revealing himself in a strong way.
@uprising I took this as a piece of reportage, not commentary, and I thought the writer did a great job of reporting on the interviewees' beliefs, rather than their own. So I think it's quite silly to include the writer in your accusation of blasphemy.
It's really hard to place credence in the opinions of those, like yourself, who present their religious theories as fact. There are millions of thinking, caring, intelligent, GOOD human beings all over the world who would completely disagree with you. That's one of the reasons I loved this article. It educated me on the varied beliefs of others, which sound just as valid to me as the teachings of the Christian church (and quite a bit easier to swallow, to be honest).
WOW...this story was really eye opening for me! Very interesting to see what our generation is choosing to believe in right now. This just shows how God really needs to reveal himself to this generation is a strong way. I think people need to make sure of the facts and truth of what they are choosing to believe in and not just run to the first thing you find. 1Timothy4:1-Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils
@seektulsa, God doesn't really care what is easy for you to swallow or not. It certainly wasn't easy for God's only begotten Son to suffer and be put to death on a cross for our sins! You are no different than those in the article who attempt to create a god made in your own image, thinking with your own humanistic reasoning that you are accepted in the eyes of the god you have created. The Israelites made a god out of a golden calf that they fashioned with their own hands; look how far that got them! The overarching point that the author is making with this article is that as long as a person does good works, then any form of worship is acceptable. Unfortunately for those who believe that, God does not grade on a curve. He does not weigh our good works on some sort of cosmic scale, He only receives those who come to Him by way of the cross and through the sacrificial blood of Jesus. That is a fact whether you accept it or not, it's your choice.
Some of the commenters really don't get the purpose of this article. The writer is not trying to proselytize anyone to any system of belief (or lack thereof), it is merely a story of diverse people and their own spiritual journey. It is a great read. Tulsa is no longer the "diamond in the buckle of the Bible Belt". Our spiritual landscape has changed. That is a fact. Some comments here reveal the fear and knee-jerk reaction of some evangelical believers. I have been in evangelical, "full gospel" ministry since I was 18. I am 55 now. Most of what I believe now hasn't changed. What has changed is how I perceive what my purpose is, and how I am supposed to fulfill that purpose. Tulsa is jam-packed with toxic churches, weak theology, and dangerous beliefs about Christian pastors, apostles, elders, etc. We have become stagnant in our spiritual journey because we have celebrity leaders who we dare not question, for fear of "touch not my anointed". I think God loves doubters and questioners. If he is God, our doubts cannot effect him or his love and plan for us. A good dose of the attribute of God's Sovereignty, and our supposed belief that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to lead folks to Christ's truth may help us treat everyone as Christ did when he walked around down here. Don't be defensive. Don't be fatalistic and use people's search for the divine as a sign of the last days. That is weak, and not faith. Maybe God is very pleased that people are seeking truth and purpose here in Tulsa, and not just joining our celebrity-based, money-seeking mega churches. Maybe it's time for us to question the "entertainment" value of our services, and our wonderful inside the church foyer coffee shops as a biblical or practical way of "evangelism". Some people will be more touched for His kingdom by our genuinely loving and accepting them as creations of God worthy of dignity and respect, than by our outright judgment and condemnation. Just saying.
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Re: Modern Spirituality
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Re: Modern Spirituality
Re: Modern Spirituality
And concerning the above comment - it's not "giving head", but "giving heed". That must be some church they go to! Woo Hoo!
Re: Modern Spirituality
Re: Modern Spirituality
Re: Modern Spirituality
It's really hard to place credence in the opinions of those, like yourself, who present their religious theories as fact. There are millions of thinking, caring, intelligent, GOOD human beings all over the world who would completely disagree with you. That's one of the reasons I loved this article. It educated me on the varied beliefs of others, which sound just as valid to me as the teachings of the Christian church (and quite a bit easier to swallow, to be honest).
Re: Modern Spirituality
Re: Modern Spirituality
Re: Modern Spirituality
Re: Modern Spirituality