Some Random Curmudgeonly Rumblings...
"And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” "
- Jesus, Matthew 13:52 -
Today I was musing about some things...
As has so often happened during the last ten months since I joined Steemit, thoughts of upcoming articles have been rumbling through my brain.
Where have I been on Steemit? Where am I going? So many articles, so little time...
Freedom!
Photo courtesy of Tomas Sobek and http://unsplash.com
As I observe the incredible successes of some other Steemians,
I find myself tempted to tighten my focus. My impression, right or wrong, is that those who focus on one or two topical areas seem to rise toward the top of the "trending" column more often.
But, much as I would love to trend and achieve large enough Steem payouts to live on, that is really not why I am here.
I am a generalist.
While it is true that I have certain interests that may drive me more than others, I really am interested in everything. And so I will continue to publish on a very eclectic array of topics.
Those precious few of you who actually read what I write regularly, or at least frequently, know that I am very open about my beliefs. I feel that this is important because I want my readers to know and understand who I am and where I am coming from, even if we may differ radically in our outlook on life. I truly believe that I can learn a lot from others with different perspectives, and I also feel that the converse is true.
Even if you, dear reader, do not share my belief that Jesus is God, I feel that sharing that faith as transparently as possible will (at the very least) give you some insight into my poetry, my art, and my music. And conversely, as I come to understand your unique outlook on life, I can appreciate your work better as well.
Even if our beliefs overlap,
you may find that my particular understanding of the scriptures diverges from "conventional Christianity" as you have grown up with it and been taught.
I have become convinced that many who may have been raised in "the church" have ended up leaving the church and rejecting Christianity for all the wrong reasons.
Friend, is it possible that you may have "thrown the baby out with the bathwater?" Could you be missing the entire point of belief in Jesus simply because you've had the wrong version shoved down your throat?
Some may wonder, for example, how one who professes to be a Christian can simultaneously be an anarchist?
Or maybe a false image of God as a sadistic torturer has caused you to turn away?
Perhaps a jingoistic "militant church" has turned you off by misrepresenting the reality of what the bible teaches?
I believe these are aberrations.
I believe that the truth has been obscured and distorted by the organizations and systems that have grown up around true Christianity. I also believe that the truth is still present, still accessible through reading the bible.
"So Jesus said to the Judeans who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”"
- John 8:31-32
You very likely think you are already "free."
I believe that the worst form of slavery may be this: To think one is free, while actually being in bondage.
I see this kind of slavery in almost every realm. Not just spiritual, but political and intellectual. I have experienced such slavery, in varying degrees, during much of my life. I hope to share, more and more, my own journey towards freedom in every realm, and my great hopes for a spectacular future.
I hope to share my personal "Visions of Eternity," not in some ecstatic prophetic sense, but proceeding from a life-long growth in understanding of what I have observed and read.
If you are not already,
I hope you will become a regular reader of my articles. Feel free to skip the ones you find utterly boring! But, please don't simply pass over an article merely because it's on a topic you may have a pre-determined opinion about...
The best way to truly learn is to have our own opinions and beliefs challenged. Otherwise, we're nothing more than a fulfillment of the old saying, "He was just preaching to the choir." If you want to learn, don't just listen to "the preacher." Turn on the radio from time to time and dial up someone with a slightly different outlook.
Don't just be the choir...
Photo courtesy of Ben White and http://unsplash.com
Tune your dial to @creatr.
Take part in the discussions below my articles.
I truly hope that your thinking may be slightly expanded, and that we can learn from one another.
~FIN~
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You are why I'm here on Steemit!
I have very eclectic interests and hope, over time, to write about them all.
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Hi, thanks for your encouraging post. I'am an evangelist and apologist from Germany. so good to know other Christians are here. In the german speaking community I'm still quite alone. Anyways, may God bless you! :)
One thing I've learned: You never meet Christians until you are open about being a Christian. Then you find out we are everywhere!
And, by God's kindness, we will one day get to go everywhere! ;)
Oh, hi Stan, really appreciate your posts! God bless your efforts!
Hello, friend!
There are many Christians here on Steemit. You will also find many non-Christians who nevertheless are of very good will. I have found Steemit to be a very interactive and gracious community, for the most part.
Steem on! ;)
That's true. I can confirm that totally. Steemit is an outstanding platform. So thanks! :) Blessings
You already know you have made an impact on my life, opening my mind and being there when I have needed a friend. You write about anything you want ill always be there to read it :)
Thank you, my dear friend Karen!
Always glad to have you reading and commenting on my musings! ;) :D
😄😇😄
And I'm always glad to read them,
Keep being you :)
Truer words were never spoken @creatr ! Nice post, thoughtful & inspiring !
Thank you, @lanceman.
Accept for the Bible... :-P
You might find it interesting to look into how the occult has infiltrated the Evangelical church, and how this has caused it to deviate and become more worldly.
Yes, thank you. I have some awareness of that, and will certainly continue to keep my eyes open.
I've been discovering that lately myself, about being a generalist here versus sticking to a small area of content. Hopefully between Steemit and Steemit users some solutions will be found to that problem.
Thanks, @doule, for your thoughtful comment.
I really do believe that as the Steemit community grows in numbers we will find more readers. ;)
And thank you. I'm hopeful we'll find more readers too. I wonder if Steemit or the Steemit community have any plans to market articles, especially to people outside. Some of the articles here might be of more permanent interest to people as they talk about a topic in some depth and here are also a lot of people who might be interested in an article and follow it from a link, but don't want to join, at least at that moment. In a blogging sense, that person did read the article and maybe came to know there was a site called Steemit, and could look for it later, but since there's no advertising the article being read didn't benefit Steemit or the author as much as it might have. I'm starting to figure out ways to also publish some of what I write here on the outside too, with information about Steemit and links back to it.
First, Thank You kindly for the Re-Steem my friend. ;)
Yes, cross-posting to Facebook and other media is good and helpful, and yes, readers do come in from the outside whether or not they "stick" and join Steemit. These are all good things!
One great reason that I spend so much time here is that Steemit promises to be a "permanent archive" of what I write. I hope that my writing will outlast me and be accessible to my descendants, should they one day develop an interest in who I am... ;)
You're very welcome. I know what you mean about readers coming in from the outside. That's how I happened to learn of Steemit, people posting articles from it somewhere else. I never thought about Steemit being a permanent archive. That's interesting. This is a platform that really encourages blogging, which didn't work all that well for me, even though I've always written and posted quite a lot online. Some people do well keeping diaries, and other people don't. But for some reason, Steemit helps to keep me going with it :)
I believe that as Steemit grows, its popularity will spread largely by word of mouth. I, personally, heard about it from a you tuber who my dad was watching, who talked about cryptocurrencies. However, as the community grows, it will naturally begin to feature in google and other search engines, which will bring more people into fold.
Let God worry about the growth of the project, as he takes care of everything else. ^_^
Agreed. Amen! Since you're new, here's a user-friendly guide to Steemit I put together that you may find to be helpful. God bless!
@creatr Hello!!!
I love your posts! I always enjoy reading them, as a fellow 'unconventional' Christian! Haha. I'm hoping to make my blog largely about Bible study, so it's nice to see others who are interested in that.
I'm going to follow you and I'm looking forward to seeing your next posts ^_^
Welcome, and thanks for saying "Hi." ;)
Haha, no problem! ^_^ It's nice to meet like-minded people!
sincerity is always trending my friend, and you're one of the sincere people here on steemit :)
Thank you, my friend! :) :D
I pray that God provides for you and that his spirit is with you in your undertakings <3
Thanks!
I feel the sincerity of your thoughts and hearts here in your article. Let your voice be heard all the time as your ponder the word of the God and sharing it to us. You are such an encouragement to us. God bless you more.
Thank you.
I completely agree. Although many of the writers on Steemit, especially the ones frequently featured in the Trending section, usually stick to 1 or 2 niche categories, if you're interested in various topics and subjects, then by all means you should write about anything you feel like! Especially if you are a talented and conscientious writer like my friend @creatr ;)
Many thanks...
You're welcome friend!