Usually on Tuesday nights you can find me at a Starbucks somewhere in Midtown attending Touch and Agree- my weekly prayer meeting. However, after an unsettling discussion at the meeting two weeks ago, I’ve decided to take a little break.
The topic that arose that week revolved around who, in the end, will gain entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. One of the members of the group was explaining a book she was reading in which the author references the Torah, the Koran, and the Bible in an effort to accurately trace, back to Abraham, the lineage of the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian religions. As I sat and listened to her description of the book, a question began to surface in my mind: “What happens to those who don’t believe in the teachings of the Bible when they pass on?” I posed this question to the group and was met with a variety of different answers- which then sparked a rather interesting discussion.
At first, when I offered the example of someone living outside of a modern civilization who has never heard of Jesus before, I was told that in their case, Jesus would simply look at what’s in their heart when deciding whether they should be let into the Kingdom. Fair enough. I pushed a little further and asked about those who made up other religions- Jews, Muslims, etc.- as well as those people who have no religion, but are more spiritual- Buddhists and Yogi’s. This is where things got heated. We talked about what these other religions believe that is in opposition to the Christian belief that Jesus died on the cross and is the risen Messiah. Everyone at the table was very adamant about Christianity- or the belief that Jesus is the risen Messiah- being the only way to gain eternal life. The Bible was quoted as saying (and I’m paraphrasing for I am not well versed in scripture), that the word of God will reach the 4 corners of the earth; every man will make a choice, and those who do not accept that belief will not be allowed passage. One girl went as far as saying, “I know with complete certainty that if you don’t believe then you will not be allowed into the Kindgom.” This is where I just shut down!
Excuse me? You know with complete certainty? I don’t think so. Yes, you may believe with complete certainty, but there’s no way you could possibly know for a fact who will and will not gain entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. I was so floored by that statement, and over the conversation as a whole, that I just sat there in silence. I didn’t reply- especially as I was the only one at the table who seemed to disagree. But that comment, and the subsequent backing from the rest of the group, took me back to why I stopped going to church and became spiritual over religious in the first place. There is nothing wrong with believing the teachings of the Bible and leading your life accordingly; but I take serious issue with a number of Christians who shut out and condemn any person or thinking that differs from what they “know” as truth. This girl, and what felt like everyone else at that table, was ready to send countless people straight to hell for not believing what she believes- just because of what the book that sat in front of her said. Suppose she wasn’t a Christian. Suppose she grew up as a Jew reading the Torah. She would have no idea about the teachings of Christ, and would have a completely different set of values and beliefs. Would she then believe that she was going to hell? Not at all.
I brought up my recent foray into Orpah’s Spiritual podcast channel, which drew more of the same type of commentary. Most threw out the whole idea of general Spirituality saying, “no…you can’t just wrap everything together and call it the Universe- someone’s in control. He has a name, and you should respect that and call him by his name… it’s God.” Eckhart Tolle’s book, “A New Earth”- a book from which I’ve gained a great deal of insight- was brought up in the discussion, and someone mentioned that she advised a friend who was reading it to throw the book out- calling it “the devil’s book”- and asking how can you be a Christian and go by something that doesn’t claim God or follow the Bible? By this time I had had enough. We had to break the discussion because the diner we were in was closing, and as we scooted out to find another location, I took the opportunity to excuse myself and go home. I haven’t been back to the group since.
I am a believer- let me make that clear. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, was buried, and that he is the risen Messiah. But what I don’t believe is that acknowledging and believing that is the only way to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven and gain eternal life. If God is omnipresent and can commune with us in many different ways, then why can’t we do the same? I’m not saying that all religions and methods of spirituality are acceptable- I don’t know for sure what is and isn’t valid- but I do think that the road to knowing, believing in, and following God, and eventually getting into the Kingdom, has many lanes and many passages.
it’s been quite a while since i’ve thanked the lawd for one of his marvelous, manly creations. in celebration of his 36th birthday today, i decided to bring back an oldie, but delicious goodie!
eddie cibrian
eddie’s been givin’ us the hotness for quite some time now, but i must say the role that stamped him forever into my fantasies was his one-scene performance in the 1998-released movie “living out loud.” *swoon*
thank you, lord, for being the amazingly talented creator that you are! good job, jesus! oh, and happy birthday, eddie!
a few days ago, i departed from my regularly scheduled daytime tv watching and tuned in to cnn. now, i’m not much of a news & politics guy (although it saddens me a bit to admit), but i must say my interest in all things newsworthy heightened dramatically when some random on-location reporter chick signed off and handed the reigns back over to:
tj holmes!
okay. where in the orgsmically intelligent hell did this man come from? seriously! needless to say, i had cnn on lock for the rest of the morning into the afternoon. tj fed me information on everything from the troubled economy to stripper auditions in rhode island, and by the end of his broadcast i found myself on my knees with my hands raised in praise to the good lawd for his bountiul goodness and impeccable craftsmanship.
after wiping the drool from my lips, i headed on over to wikipedia to stalk learn more about mr. tj holmes. there i learned that he’s 31, originally from arkansas, and is based out of atlanta, georgia. contrary to the desires of my gay heart, he’s straight and married, with a daughter. as much as i want to throw mad side-eye action in the direction of his marital status, there is nothing about this man that even remotely seems gay, and so i must let it go. but let me catch him walking around manhattan by his lonesome during the summer with a muscle-t on…
*sigh* well, at least he got me to watch the news!
everyone please… let’s take a moment (or several) to bow our heads and give thanx for the gloriousness that is tj holmes! good job, jesus!
by now, i’m sure you’ve all seen bow wow’s sex scene from entourage. if not, or if, like me, you’d love to watch it again for the umpteenth time, here it is:
you have NO IDEA how much i want to be in place of that woman on top of him! seriously. lil’ bow wow done gone and grown up! he used to be this scrawny little kid rapper that garnered nothing but “awwww” from me. and then, all of a sudden, he dropped the “lil,” and unleashed his sexy!
i have a big thing for eyes- especially one’s that lay outside the usual blue, black or brown. his eyes alone warm my little hot pocket. on top of that, he put on some muscle! being a member of the bird-chest gene pool myself, i revel in the beauty and sculpted goodness that he’s got going for himself. it’s also a great reminder of what is possible if i were to really hit the gym like i’m supposed to.
all in all, bow wow is one incredibly orgasmic young man! i don’t know much about his personal anything (although you know i’d love to), but from what i’ve been seeing of him recently, my fantasies have gotten far more exciting… and intense, lol.
good job, jesus!
oh, and notable mention to his probable boyfriend, omarion. it’s his birfday today. not sure what’s going on between those two, but i do have the following picture on my vision board under the reflection of my life- boyfriends!
to date, there has never been a female recipient of a “good job, jesus!” post on evolution of a man. particularly, because there are little to no women parts that make even the most sensitive part of my little hot pocket warm with delight. but, in the spirit of open-mindedness and straight up love and admiration, i just have to give it up to this young woman (no, it’s not beyonce!).
ladies and gentlemen, i give you:
dawn richard!
let me go on record and say, “i love this girl to death!” and after tonight’s episode of making the band 4, i’m convinced that she’s my sister from another mister. the way she delivered her diatribe about the reality of danity kane was very reminiscent to the “real talk” that spills from my mouth whenever i’m passionately speaking about something. you want the truth? here it is [vomit!]. people don’t often like to hear the truth, but those of us who know how to tell it, do it so very well.
there are many other reasons why i love dawn, too. she’s my favorite member of the group- i couldn’t keep my eyes off of her when i went to the mtb4 show at hammerstein ballroom. she was incredibly sexy and gave off so much fierce energy and attitude that had me screaming at the top of my lungs. plus her vocals were crazy! on top of all that, i feel like she’s just incredibly down to earth. that sounds so cliche, but there’s just something in the truthfulness and vulnerability about her that is just very relateable.
and let’s not forget… she’s dating que from day 26! theirs is a relationship that just makes you go, “awwww!” it’s so cute! i can’t wait for that to happen to me- to meet someone who makes me all giddy, happy and twitterpated. *sigh* i actually found a picture of them and posted it on my vision board:
“awwwww!”
so yeah, dawn: u my girl! can’t wait to see where your career goes and what you do in the future.
i just finished watching “stomp the yard” on the starz movie channel, and i gotta say, i really love that movie! for one, i love dancing. dancing and stomping are two things that i’ve, on several occasion, tried to do, but could never quite get the hang of. one person who’s definitely got it down (and quite deliciously i might add) is:
columbus short
it’s been a really long time since i’ve seen anyone move like columbus did in this movie! maybe it’s a result of me being disconnected to practically anything going on in the streets, but his dance moves were nothing like i’ve ever seen! i would love to take dance lessons from him! like in some gay remake of “save the last dance” or some shit. in “stomp the yard” megan good won his affection; however if this were my movie, columbus would have fallen in love with me- the quiet, but sexy bandsman that just happened to catch his fraternity-stompin’ eye.
his acting was good and, like i said, his dancing was amazing, but what also caught my eye (and warmed my little hot pocket) were the many times he appeared shirtless on screen:
*swoon!* there were times during the movie i could hardly contain myself. and the boy is funny and sweet, too! a cutie pie, a great dancer, and a good man! oh, what blissful heaven it would be to have a man like that by my side!
once, in bed bath and beyond, i was mistaken for columbus by one of the checkout girls. i greatly accepted the compliment (it was a really good one), but secretly wished that when she stared in my direction calling his name, columbus was actually there. i probably wouldn’t have been balsy enough to say something to him, but i definitely would have made some use of the situation, lol.
oh, columbus i heart you. for your dancing, your swagger, your smile, your sweat glistening body in this movie, and of course, your sexiness. you’ve made boy-crazy people such as myself swoon with delight the world over!
good job, jesus! can you send one of him to my doorstep, please?
ok, i know you’re all about to mob together in an effort to beat some sense into me for this one, but i’ve just gotta get this out. this boy’s been all up in my face lately- on the blogs, tv, and radio- and as spring has finally sprung here in new york, my little hot pocket flutters with delight at all of the nekkidness that is beginning to resurface.
such bounty of naked skin includes the ever-so “look at me, dammit!”:
ray j
i know, i know! it’s like “wtf’ but just let me have this one, lol. although i wouldn’t actually ever go there, cuz… ewww, there’s just something about this boy that’s just so fucking sexy to me. maybe it’s because he walks, talks, and oozes “i’ll fuck the shit out of you!” intellectually, i’m cursing myself out for thinking such things, but every time he starts to lick those lips, pull up his shirt and tries to drop his c-list swagger, my hot pocket and i just salivate with horniness.
the world is still waiting patiently to see what is purpose is, but for now i’m counting my blessings [read: enjoying his nakedness] and taking the time to salute and rise for “brandy’s little brother” with a hearty:
i’ve been waiting for a “good job, jesus” post for a few days now- i usually just let the universe hit me in the form of a “good job, jesus” thought or experience. today, i got my thought.
i was sitting around, hanging with friends and watching tv, when i looked to the computer on my right and saw the following picture flying across the screen:
this pic (which just so happens to be of the very gorgeous bruno seasons) is part of the multi-thousand photo screensaver of hot photos and guys that plays on heavy rotation throughout my computer’s idle time. my first thought upon viewing this particular pic was, “work, bitch!” my second: “i HAVE to hit that pose!” i remembered that i began a photo shoot project not too long ago, and i would love to use this as a goal picture sometime during the summer!
so, as this picture and thought have inspired me to get my shit together and workout, eat rigtht etc., so that i may achieve a picture eligible for a “who ran it”- it has won the “GJ,J” title for the week!
will on November 10th, 2009
