********** A Være Kristne I Norge************
To Be A Christian In Norway
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It is important to understand the Norwegian perspective of
religion. From my perspective, Norwegians DO have a
different view of Christianity. In the blog of
www.minneapolise.wordpress.com/ Minneapolise is
very good at explaining WHY some people are TURNED
off by religion. Please listen:
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Try wearing your grubby overalls covered
with manure, your old green John Deere cap, and your
holey flannel shirt to church and you’ll see what I mean.
This caricature is probably the epitome of the modern day
Jesus Christ, but people don’t see Jesus in the straw pile.
They see Jesus in a pile of dollar bills.
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Perhaps, they think that God gives favors to
people who are incredibly good. Perhaps, Ed McMahon
visits the successful, God-fearing Christians with flawless
reputations on a weekly basis. Perhaps, the people
living in a trailer house or in a boat outside of Bergen
or Stavanger weren’t good enough.
Ed McMahon has misplaced their Sweepstakes Letter
and they will never know that they were ten steps away
from winning a Million dollars. Bad Person! You haven’t
prayed enough. You haven’t been to Bible study.
You haven’t put on your VERY BEST for Jesus.
You just aren’t good enough. [God help us.]
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We are all adorable people in God’s eyes. It is a very
miserable perception that poor people haven’t prayed enough
or haven’t forgiven enough or haven’t GIVEN enough or
haven’t spoke in tongues lately. And, then there are the
things that you do TOO MUCH of. We ALL know those
horrible, terrible, awful, very BAD SINS that we will never
recover from.
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From time to time, I have heard that RELIGION is
MISUSED. Sadly, people have been ABUSED within the
realms of the Christian church. This is also the TRUTH.
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I have few answers. I often turn to Andrew Greeley,
Theologian, Author and Sociologist, to explain why these
awful things happen in the Christian church. Again, I
don’t know “why?” other than we are just HUMANS.
We have choices. We all have a will of our own. We all have
strengths and weaknesses. That’s it.
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That’s it! We ARE NOT God, so don’t pretend
that you are. You are just a person. You are a human being.
You are precious in His eyes. You do NOT have the right to
condemn your fellow brothers and sisters. How silly!
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Tourists who have been to Norway know very well that
the Norwegians have a State Church. Going to church in
Norway is like attending a Sons of Norway meeting. There is
a business meeting, some music, and maybe some coffee
afterwards. People wear to church what they’d wear to
a Sons of Norway meeting. Jeans and a t-shirt are totally
appropriate. Don’t sing too loud in the State Church because
you may be the ONLY one singing. Just move your jaw
up and down during the songs and you’ll be fine.
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I have heard through the grapevine that Pentecostal churches
are alive and well in Norway. So, religion isn’t dead, but I
am truly not sure if the State Church is alive and well.
(I haven’t done enough research to know Norwegian
church history beyond the year 1999.)
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In CHURCH today, I was visiting with a friend and I made
this statement: God wants us to crawl on our knees through
the alleys and to get out our flashlights and to find LOST
SOULS or BROKEN SPIRITS. The people that need to hear
a voice of HOPE might not be dressed up in high heels and
three piece suits. They might be parked in a dark alley with
NO money, NO food, NO family, NO home, and with a bottle
of pills, or a bottle of whiskey to keep them warm.
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Minneapolise points out that some Christian people
have a perspective of being BETTER THAN YOU.
Jesus Christ preached humility, compassion, patience,
kindness, gentleness, self-contol, love, peace and a
whole lot more. Jesus Christ did NOT
stand over people screaming at the top of His lungs,
“Be saved or die, Freak!” I don’t think Jesus Christ wore
a bright and shiny crown either. In the end, He wore a
crown of thorns.
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And, the person that makes me laugh sometimes is the
person that brings ME joy.
And, thank you, Minneapolise, for giving me something to
think about.
Humbly,
Sandy S. Zoo
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http://minneapolise.wordpress.com/2007/07/16/kristendom-og-nynorsk/
