as a preface to the second part of my ‘growing up christian’ post i’d like to make it clear that i am in no way attempting to be negative or overly critical. i am simply interested in digging up my past in a way that will move me forward to being more Christ-like. if it ever comes of like i’m preaching, it’s because i’m pleading with myself to keep going. i got way off track in my first post and didn’t bother to edit it, so i will try to be more focused in this one. preface done. so much of what we learn as evangelicals is that there are a specific set of core beliefs that one must affirm in order to be considered “in the fold,” so to speak. this list includes the following doctrinal affirmations: God created the world in six days (literal or figurative), we are… [Read More]
Posts Tagged ‘religion’
growing up christian (part dos)
August 5th, 2011 
dave 
Posted in American Christianity 
Tags: angel, bullhorn, Christ, Christian, cross, Dave Capozzi, death, disciples, eternal, faith, faithful, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, life, love, religion, resurrection, scripture, sin, sinner, sins, struggle, turn or burn, war 
No Comments »Sacrifice for a King
March 10th, 2011 Dana Fisher “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter- when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; Isaiah 58: 6-8 I would encourage you to read the whole chapter of Isaiah 58. What a cool picture of true fasting. A day removed from the beginning of lent I started to reflect on the beginning of my journey. Not yesterday, but my journey from my previous thoughts on fasting to where I am now as I start out on my 40 days. I humbly… [Read More]
Why I love Buddha
March 6th, 2011 Dana Fisher Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. -1 Peter 4:8 A few years ago, me and Dave would grab coffee in downtown Quincy after serving meals at the Crisis Center and just talk about controversial topics in Christianity: war, soldiers, guns, world religions, etc… Having grown up together, we could do this with civility even with opposing views because we loved each other regardless. Our differing views didn’t prevent either of us from going to heaven, we weren’t debating whether Jesus was just a man, but merely things with which many a Christian struggles to define. He had already known where I was coming from, both growing up in similar church surroundings(and sometimes the same one), and I wanted to understand better where he was coming from. The ideas he was throwing at me were strange, yet sounded and felt right in my… [Read More]
religion and evil: a random rant
October 25th, 2010 dave is religion the cause of evil and suffering in this world? this is a question i have heard answered in the affirmative by many an atheist. while i can’t say that i blame them for feeling this way in our day, historically speaking, nothing could be further from the truth. in fact, just the opposite seems to be true. throughout history, it has been the powerful and educated in society who have manipulated the misinformed and undereducated in order to co-opt their faith with the ideological and/or political pursuits of the elite (see adolf hitler). even a cursory view of the history of the christian faith will prove that what drove the violence in the first 4 centuries a.d. was that of a pursuit of political power to be attained and/or maintained. early christian history proves that those who did not render full allegiance to the powers that be were… [Read More]
Misguided Hate
September 2nd, 2010 Dana Fisher On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” ~Matthew 9:12-13 Remember building sand castles on the beach when you were a kid? Big colorful pails, filled with sand and water; You’d dump them over, tap on the top and gently slide it up, hoping it didn’t crumble. I was never really good at it, only being able to build those cylinders from pails and never building anything close to some of those masterpieces you see on tv, but it was still fun to build, sculpt, and play with friends and nearby beach goers. I’d build competitively against my brother or friends, who could build the best, biggest, or coolest castle. Inevitably, as your back was turned taking a… [Read More]
It’s Real Love
August 16th, 2010 Dana Fisher But you – who are you to judge your neighbor? ~James 4:12 Last week a local newspaper headline began with the words “Bible Thumping Pastor…” A friend posted a status saying to call them and complain over the attack on Christians. Curious, I did a little searching and was able to find the article online and read it. After reading it, it didn’t seem so bad so I asked what was bad and if he had read it. His response: He hadn’t even read the article. Proverbs 21:23 says “He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.” I have always read that and thought, “don’t call people jerks” or “don’t swear”, but this situation made me realize it also includes speaking inaccurately, and swaying peoples opinions on things I don’t know or fully understand. The comment itself wasn’t bad but swaying someone into believing a lie… [Read More]
Posted in American Christianity, Radical Christianity Tags: 1 peter, bible, Christ, Christian, Christianity, christians, compassion, grace, James, Jesus, love, mercy, proverbs, religion, sin, sinner Comments OffFreedom is free
June 1st, 2010 Dana Fisher “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives” ~Isaiah 61:1 As we celebrated Memorial Day this weekend I was struck by a sign outside a church I passed on my way to a cookout late Saturday afternoon. It was a small white building, typical of an older baptist style church with large front doors and a steeple that rose high above the trees. Right at the edge of street was their sign with the black plastic letters which slide in and out with a new message each week. On it it read “Freedom is not free. Thanks to those who fight for ours”. The sign really struck me because freedom really is free. Jesus came, as is written in Isaiah, to set the captives free. Regardless of where you are living, what you have done or are doing, Jesus Christ set you free. The… [Read More]
Posted in American Christianity, Non-Violent Resistance Tags: burden, Christ, Christian, Christianity, church, God, gospel, heart, Isaiah, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John, pray, praying, religion No Comments »Your religion teaches that?
May 31st, 2010 Dana Fisher When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” ~Matthew 12:2 I’ve been having some great challenging conversations with my new boss over the last several months. She’s Jewish and only believes the Old Testament but even from there her viewpoint is really of a secular nature. Our talks, during work no less, have covered sin, the flood, creation, Jesus’s life, and most recently Christians in general. Each time I have been challenged, stumped, and enlightened in some way and while I wasn’t shocked by the last one, it still sort of sat in my stomach for a while with a sickening feeling like eating a bad burrito. We started talking about illegal immigration, similar to my story several weeks ago about the immigration bill. I really don’t need to rehash the whole story, being that it was so… [Read More]
Posted in Non-Violent Resistance, Social Justice Tags: Christ, Christian, Christianity, christians, compassion, God, Jesus, Jew, John, love, Matthew, old testament, Pharisees, religion, sin, sinner No Comments »possessed by truth
March 30th, 2010 dave here is an excerpt from an article jon foreman wrote on the huffington post about being possessed by truth. it’s amazing, as usual: “My thoughts drift to religion. These are the truths that people live by and hold dear. In many ways, these are the truths that inspire our best and worst moments. The truths that motivate Mother Theresa and start religious wars. How can this be? How can fresh water and salt water come from the same hose? Perhaps it has to do with this concept of possession. If I view the truth as my possession to keep safe, I might feel the need to protect my faith. But if I am possessed by the truth, perhaps this protection is no longer needed. Maybe I am set free from the need to defend the truth, rather the truth defends me. The idea of defending an all-powerful deity feels a… [Read More]
