Witt's End

  It’s Easter. I’m seeing so many He is Risen posts. Too many to count. So I thought I’d add my own. Because what does that mean in practice for me? This isn’t a post to slam Easter Egg hunts, or Bunny Rolls, or jelly beans and all of the modern festivities that accompany the holiday. In fact it might be the opposite. No this is me digging deep to see inside of me what does not only Easter but the entire Holy Week mean to me. And what am I going to do about it.  I’m not here to debate the historicity of scripture, or of Christ himself. I have faith that a Savior experienced the things said, and I have faith that it was purposely done for us. I’ve been struck by his actions directly before and directly after he performed the Atonement this week. Really struck. His last acts before the Atonement were to wash the feet of his Apostles and give them the sacrament. To serve them. His last mortal miracle was performed directly after when he healed the ear of the man Peter struck. A m...

 I’ve said before I love music. I love playing it and I love listening to it. I’m at the point where Im back at it. And I want to right about it. 

The lack of acceptance and often hostility I’ve felt in so many circles is currently growing.  This is a stream of consciousness filled with frustration and pain. Read accordingly. Please.—- Have you ever spent time in a place where people hate an inherent part of you? Repeatedly? I’m not talking a belief you hold. I’m talking about something inherent. Intrinsic to you. Now I’m a privileged white guy, so my experience doesn’t involve around race. And usually doesn’t involve my gender.  Mine involves something you can’t see. Something that  ——— I'm just going to say it. I'm flabbergasted at times by how much so many people fear and/or hate queer people. I'm using the catch all term for a reason. It's not a specific fear or anger. It's diffused. It's more inherent. It's frightening to me.  Different cultural groups are grappling with the history and the present as they work through this period of history.  I'm struggling to give the grace to others on this...

I hate how we subconsciously or even consciously rate sins. What’s the worst? I think most of us would say murder. That feels pretty obvious to me. Another common one would be sexual abuse and assault, especially to minors. I can get behind that.  Christ said the greatest sin was to deny the Holy Spirit ( Mark 3:28-29 and plenty of others), to blaspheme him.  The gap between murder and denial of the Holy Spirit may seem off-putting to many. Especially those who do not recognize or identify with the divinity of Jesus Christ. It may even seem off from the other teachings they know of him. And they would be perfectly sound of logic and reason to be troubled by this.  I'm looking at this differently. If the worst sin is to deny the Holy Spirit that brings us to a redemptive Savior, then why do we spend so much time fighting against the ability to change (repentance) and establishing a hierarchy and classification of sin. Especially when Christ gave us a lot of positive tasks...

 Has our church cultured cheapened the Atoning sacrifice of our Savior? I think specifically about purity culture. The idea that purity is upheld and extolled above all else.  Many of us have sat through the chewing gum lesson in church circles. A new piece of gum is held up, and told it’s our purity, look how great it is. Then it’s chewed up and put down on the wrapper. It can’t go back to the way it was. I’ve seen similar lessons demonstrated with a glass or other fragile object. Then and now my reaction has always been, “what the hell?!?” The whole idea of redemption, the whole purpose of an atonement, of salvation is being able to overcome and be restored from our sin and fallen state. The entire purpose. Yet somehow we’ve made it seem that not having to access that restorative power is somehow so much elevated over having to use it. Now I’m not saying that I want people to struggle and suffer. I don’t. But I feel like we are creating incentives to not come forward and not...

Would I have mocked Noah for building a boat? Would I have sided with David or Saul? Would I have followed Jeremiah? Would I have followed Christ? Would I have believed he was resurrected? Those are the religious what if questions I ask all the time about my faith and experience. And if we’re being intellectually honest we don’t know the answer. We can hope. But we don’t know for sure. We can’t know. It gets even more challenging when I start addressing the historical examples. Would I have fought for or against Roman invasion and occupation of the lands of my ancestors? Would I have gone on crusades? Would I go to the New World or would I have stuck in out in the Motherland? Would I have participated in Witch Trials? Would I have joined the Continental Army or been a loyalist? Would I have supported or opposed ratification of the constitution? Would I have supported abolition? Would I stay in the Union, join the confederacy or ignore the war? Would I have homesteaded and settled the w...