The Church Is Called To Be The Safest, Most Gracious, Loving Place On The Face Of The Earth. No One Should

My Commitment to You

I cannot fix everything, as much as I want to. I can't kiss it and make it all better or put a bandaid on it and magically cure all ailments. 

But I can be there. 

I have arms to hug you with. I have a shoulder for you to cry on. I have ears to listen. I have eyes to see you for who you truly are. I have lips to tell you all the wonderful things about yourself. 

I promise that I will never tell you that what you are feeling is wrong or invalid. I promise that I will always acknowledge your pain. 

I promise that I will always encourage you. I promise that I will always be a source of hope and optimism. I promise that I will remind you of why you are a beautiful human being. I promise that I will remind you that life is worth it. I promise that I will cheer you on. 

I promise that I won't give up on you. 

I promise that I will love you, fiercely, unconditionally, and inexorably. I promise that I will never stop loving you no matter what. 

That's what I CAN do. 

Katherine Brown - Fill a Stable - Fill a Stable

Hi friends! This is me SHAMELESSLY promoting my latest fundraising venture! I'm participating in World Vision's "Fill a Stable" event with my university society. It would mean the world to me if you would donate and help us reach our goal of $1200.00.  Thank you in advance :) With love,  -Katherine

reblogging from myself because this is how strongly I feel about it 

ALRIGHT EVERYBODY LISTEN UP

I AM A CHRISTIAN.

I BELIEVE IN HEAVEN AND HELL.

KNOW WHAT I DON’T BELIEVE?

THAT PEOPLE GO TO HELL FOR BEING GAY.

KNOW WHY?

CAUSE THAT’S NOT WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS.

KNOW WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS?

THAT EVERYBODY WOULD GO TO HELL IF NOT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST WHO DIED ON THE CROSS.

THE BIBLE ALSO SAYS THAT IF YOU CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH THAT JESUS IS LORD AND BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, YOU’LL BE SAVED (ROMANS 10 FREAKING 9 MOTHER-TRUCKER)

THEREFORE!!!

PEOPLE GO TO HELL IF THEY DON’T KNOW THE LOVE OF JESUS.

YOU KNOW WHO’S NEVER GONNA KNOW THE LOVE OF JESUS IF THE CHURCH KEEPS BEING RIGID JUDGEMENTAL CONDESCENDING NOT-NICE PEOPLE!?!?!

YOU GUESSED IT!

GAY PEOPLE 

CHURCH, BY OSTRACIZING GAY PEOPLE YOU ARE LITERALLY LIVING THE ANTITHESIS OF YOUR MANDATE.

Are you aware of the process of courting before engagement? It's like hands-off dating until you're engaged and then only hugs and hand-holding until you're married. How do you feel about this, is it something you would do?

Hello! I am indeed aware of such a process! In fact, one of my best friends is Muslim and that’s basically what they do…it’s like hands-off dates with a chaperone. I know it sounds sooo tiresome, but the whole point is to find out whether you are interested in spending the rest of your life with this person. And honestly, it sounds to me like they’re perfected the art of dating.

I am very incredibly interested in what it would be like. I think I really would try it. I don’t think that it’s necessary to remain pure, and I’ve always looked rather askance at the concept of saving your first kiss for your wedding day (simply because I think it’s a tad extreme, and unnecessary). So I don’t exactly think that it’s the right way to do it, but I think it sounds very interesting. It might be a good idea :P

I find that the physical aspect of a relationship has the potential to cloud judgment. Provided I can determine whether or not I’m physically attracted to someone and be aware of it (which I can, I dunno bout you :P) - because physical chemistry still is and always will be a very important part of a relationship - I think that it’s a “smart” way to do dating. You spend your time productively finding out how your values and worldview line up, and discussing thoughts and ideas instead of just, like, macking. :P

Because as important as physical chemistry is, it’s not what holds a marriage together. Mutual respect, appreciation, admiration and commitment is what holds a marriage together. And it’s possible that the way most people do dating focuses too closely on the physical aspect, and doesn’t prepare them for the future. So I think the process of courting *could* potentially produce stronger marriages. 

So in theory, I’m all for it. In practice…….

Honestly, I don’t even know if I could do it :P Well, I guess I could. I probably wouldn’t like it though :P When I’m in a relationship, the mental energy I devote to the physical part is divided evenly between paranoia about PDA and “I can’t wait to kiss him again”. So I think in one way, it’d be best kind! In another, it would annoy me. Thankfully, my love language is not physical touch! It’s words of affirmation, so I think that as long as I got to talk and text, I’d survive. 

Haha that was probably a long of information about me you didn’t need to know. But hopefully, it helps you understand my perspective. :) 

Thanks for the question! Peace and love! -Katherine 

“God made us then whispered “think symphony, not solo.” Individually capable, collectively unbelievable.”

— Bob Goff (via littlethingsaboutgod)

I love your blog, Katherine! and I had a question myself. I was wondering, do you think God has a specific person picked out for us to spend our lives with? (like a soul-mate per say). I (as you know) am a christian and I believe the Lord does have someone for each and every one of us, but there are people who get divorced or never get married, etc. I was just wondering what you thought? :) God bless, Michaela <3

Hey gurl! Thanks so much and right back atcha! :) This is a very, VERY interesting question! My mom thinks that there are any number of people out there that you could be compatible with and given the course your life takes, you might marry any one of them. I mean, if you’re just looking at physical chemistry, personality compatibility and common values, then yes, I imagine there are lots of people out there that I could marry. I personally hope that there’s only one that I will marry, but who knows what’ll happen. In my most sappy moments, I like to believe that my mom is wrong and there is one person that God has “ordained” (if you will) for me and he’s made just right for me and that we’ll go perfectly together like two halves of a whole. 

And if you think about the fact that God has a plan for each and every one of our lives, it makes you wonder if that plan includes a spouse. But then that also depends very heavily on the nature of the plan. Is it a plan like “Katherine, I will use you to inspire people”, or “Katherine, I will use you to feed the hungry” or is it more like “You will work for this company from the 12th of september, 2022 at exactly 11:32:56 am until the 23rd of april, 2036, at exactly 5:44:21 pm”? I dunno. Cause here’s where my brain starts doing gymnastics. Because, like, I’ve heard of God giving people very specific instructions. Stuff like, “go talk to that person.” or “go to this church.” Also, it says that every single day of our lives were “written in His book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16) but what does that mean? Does that mean that He can already see all the choices that we’re going to make? See, the concept of time is very difficult to talk about in relation to God because He is just so OUTSIDE of time that it’s practically pointless to even try to talk about the two of them together. Time might as well not exist for Him because it’s such a very finite measurement of things happening. So I kind of picture God’s view of life not as a timeline but more of a web of consequences. Like He can see all the decisions that people make and how that brings them into contact with other people and how we affect each others’ lives and stuff like that, but not in a linear fashion the way we see time.

So MAYBE, God gives us passions and talents and stuff for a more general plan and then our choices affect the way that plan unfolds, you know? Because what’s the point of giving us free will if our destinies were completely mapped out for us from the start? I absolutely do not believe in destiny. I believe that we create our own destiny. And even though God has a plan for us, we may choose not to follow it. Of course, I think that His plan is the best version of our lives that we could possibly live, but I think it’s highly dynamic and highly variable based on the decisions we make. Maybe God doesn’t actually have a specific person picked out for us, maybe that just depends on what we choose, and He takes it on a case-by-case basis, you know? 

Because He is very much involved in our daily lives. He’s right there with us every step of the way, and we can hear his voice if we listen, even in the most trivial matters. So I’m sure He has an opinion on the person we’re gonna marry, I just don’t think I necessarily believe that He has one picked out for us. 

I know that was so long and maybe a little complicated, haha. I just wanted to give you a good understanding of why I believe what I believe :) Thanks so much for the question! Peace and love! -Katherine 

If you could ask God one question what would it be?

ONE question? Haha ahhh I have so many. They pass in and out of my head several times a week, and for some reason, I never think to write them down. Okay so here’s how I picture it: Right now, I’m a human, and I’m young human at that. Which means I have a mortal, finite view of space and time, which is by definition extremely limited. On top of that, as my mom says to me, “you can be as smart as you want, but until you have lived as long as I have, you will know nothing.” And it’s true, I’ve lived 19 years in a cute, white-picket-fence, sheltered, caucasion, north-american, privileged life. I know nothing!  So I picture me getting to heaven and it’s like my soul, that right now can only kind of taste the infinite, is completely freed of my brain and my emotions and my body and now I’m infinite, I’m free-floating, outside of space and time and none of the restrictions that bind me here on earth exist anymore. I’m part of infinity, I’m living in infinity and I can see everything. All of space and all of time, and I picture it as one huge “OHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" moment. Suddenly you can see a gazillion and one connections between seemingly randomly events in your life, and you can see how a butterfly flapping their wings affects the death of a star on the other side of the universe, and you can see how a trivial choice someone made on the other side of the world generations before you affects your life. And you see, woven through everything, is God’s overriding, all-consuming, overwhelming love and grace. You can literally see his fingerprints in the planets and everything just clicks and you’re like “how did I never see this before?” And then I won’t have any of the questions I have now because I won’t be missing the pieces of information that my poor, human head is currently incapable of containing and comprehending. So it’s not like I’m waiting to see God so that I can ask him to explain this one mystery that’s been bugging me my whole life. However, I will share with you the latest mind-bender I was contemplating, just this morning. So there’s a theory that the curse of original sin is passed on through the father. Because Jesus had a human mother, but was conceived through the Holy Spirit. So He didn’t have a human father, and He was perfect and sinless so obviously, He wasn’t affected by the original sin curse like all other humans. And yet He was fully human and fully God. So I’m sitting there musing about this interesting idea and then I’m like, where did the other 23 chromosomes come from??  Like yeah, the immaculate conception was a miracle, but God uses science and nature as His tools, and Jesus was obviously a fully functional human, so He had to have 46 chromosomes…right? So what were they and where did they come from? Hmmmm. And I said to myself, I really will have to get God to explain that to me when I see Him. So there you go! :) Peace and love! -Katherine 

Jesus is radical. Grace is radical. The Gospel is radical. Christianity isn't for the faint at heart.

What is your opinion on abortion? Especially in cases where consummation was due to rape?

Basically, “a person’s a person, no matter how small.” - Horton Hears A Who, Dr. Seuss. 

If you’re super curious, you can read this blog post by someone I admire greatly, pastor and theologian John Piper. I think that through some miracle, as soon as the sperm unites with the egg, no matter how you break it down to the molecular level, that’s a new person. I don’t think that it’s part of the mother’s body, because each new cell being formed contains a full complement of DNA that is made up of DNA that comes from two separate people and not just from the mother. The DNA in each of those cells codes for a hair colour, an eye colour, a height and a gender. It’s the unique DNA of a person who is an entity unto themselves. And as a Christian, I don’t believe that any human has the right to decide when any other human should die. To me, that child inside of me (hypothetically) is a human. God makes each and every single one of us special and beautiful and He loves us individually. There are verses in the bible that tell us that He knows us before we’re born, that His eyes saw our unformed bodies (Psalm  139:16). Like I said before, if God said it, that’s a good enough reason for me. In the ‘traditional’ (for lack of a better word) case, the sex was consensual but unprotected, resulting in an unwanted pregnancy. Let’s use suspension of disbelief and operate in a theoretical world for a minute here.  In such a case, some might say that it’s the woman’s “choice” to have an abortion. You know what I think is a choice? Having sex. Even past that, you know what else is a choice? Using a condom. In today’s western society, there is NO EXCUSE for an unwanted pregnancy. We have the technology and we have the education. If you don’t want to get pregnant, you don’t have to. Any kid can waltz into planned parenthood and get birth control without their parents even knowing. HOW!? I ask you, do people still manage to get pregnant “accidentally”? So for me, once you’re pregnant, you’ve already made your choice, and now you have to face the consequences. Okay, now we have to face the situation where sex was not a choice, and conception was due to rape. Obviously, I have never been in this situation and hopefully never will, but you never know. That’s why I’ve already decided that abortion is never an option for me. I don’t care what you say, I honestly can’t even consider the thought of killing the baby inside of me (hypothetically). It’s not even just an intellectual, religious standpoint. Whether this adds to the validity or not, it’s also a highly emotional standpoint. I CANNOT think of killing that child. Cause here’s the thing. It’s not the child’s fault. And if we’re still operating on the assumption that that’s a real PERSON, we can’t kill him or her for someone else’s crime. Also, just so you know, many women who have been raped, gotten pregnant and had an abortion, said that the abortion was more invasive and traumatic than the rape. AND many women who have been raped, gotten pregnant and had the baby, said that having the baby was cathartic in a way, and helped them see something positive that came from such a negative experience, and thereby helped with the healing process. I’ve heard girls say that they would never have an abortion unless they were raped. And I’m like “hold up now,” cause is that like it’s murder most of the time, unless you were raped, then it’s not murder? Like, whut? See to me, abortion is either always wrong, or not. And to me, it’s always wrong. To reiterate, this is my opinion. And I’m working with abstract ideas and concepts here. That’s how I think best. I’m just trying to give you an idea of my worldview as it pertains to a philosophical issue. As I’ve said before, and will say again, no decision you have ever made, whether it be different from my decisions or not, will change my opinion of you. 

 Jesus said that the most important commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength (okay, cool, makes sense) BUUUTTT….the SECOND most important commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-39; Mark 12:29-31) And there are entire chapters of the bible devoted entirely to the importance of loving people (1 Corinthians 13) So! Here are the facts: 

Fact Number 1: Jesus loves you. Like, He really, REALLY loves you. Deeply, passionately, intimately, overwhelmingly. He loves you enough to die for you. He loves you so much that He DESPERATELY wants to have a personal relationship with you - to talk to you, to hear your thoughts and to walk with you through this life. Fact Number 2: I love you. I think that every single person in the world deserves to be loved and deserves to be respected simply due to the fact that you are a person and God made you and loves you. Okay, so now we’ve established that Jesus loves you and I love you, for no other reason than the fact that you’re alive, and no matter what. That cannot be altered, edited, ignored, abated, cancelled out, destroyed or denied. 

^That’s like my mantra of life, you guys. And nothing changes it. If you are reading this, and you are someone who has had an abortion, obviously I’m not in your shoes, I don’t have your life, and I don’t know your situation. And I will NEVER EVER judge you. I’m just talking about my choices, which are a completely personal thing. Peace and love! -KatherineP.S. I’m answering all these questions on the assumption that they come from good-natured curiosity, and that you genuinely want to know what I think. I don’t want to spark debates, and I definitely don’t want to participate in them. I’m not into arguing about my faith. P.P.S If I ever offend you or hurt you by something I write, please let me know. I know that I sometimes speak (or write) without thinking. I’m trying to be honest, but gracious, and I might accidentally say something dumb sometime. If I do, let me know and I will definitely apologize and do my best to repair any damage. I’m gonna put my email address in the blog description so you can contact me privately if you want. 

How do you feel about mormons?

Hello my darling! Please accept my sincerest apologies for the extreme tardiness of this answer. I will not bore you with excuses. Suffice to say, I’m sorry :( Incidentally, I am incredibly inspired to answer this question when I’m supposed to be writing an Ecology essay. Funny how that works, isn’t it? 

Now, to start off: The important thing to remember is that I am approaching this with a completely open mind, as unbiased an attitude as I can get, and an academic curiosity. Whatever your beliefs on the topic of theism, I think that’s just dandy and I find it very interesting. One of my best friends is Muslim, and many of my good friends and atheists, and I’m a Christian and it doesn’t matter. I talked to some Mormons in my research for this answer, and they were super nice! I’m not judging, condemning or criticizing. 

All that being said, obviously, since I’ve chosen Christianity, I think that’s the right choice. That’s the last I’m gonna say about it though. 

Okay, here we go. 

The first question to address when talking about Mormonism is this: are Mormons christians? 

I’m gonna have to go with”no” on that one. :S All the Mormon sources I read said they were, and all the Christian sources I read said they weren’t. Go figure, right? I really wanted an unbiased opinion on this one, so I went to good ol’ BBC. They didn’t really pick a stance. But they did give me an overview of the Mormon articles of faith. Here is some of the stuff I found: -Mormons believe that God is an exalted, perfect man. -Mormons believe that there is more than one God. -Mormons believe that human beings have the potential to become like God.

Right there, right off the bat, if you know anything about Christians and about the Bible they build their doctrine on, you’re gonna see some red flags.

God is not an exalted man. God is God. He always was, and always will be. He is eternal, was never created, and never changes in His nature. 

Hebrews 13:8 - “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” John 1:1 - “In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God and The Word was with God.” Genesis 1:1 - “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” John 8:58 - “Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth - before Abraham was, I AM.’” 1 Corinthians 1:25 - “This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.” Isaiah 40:28 - “Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.”Psalm 90:2 - “Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God.”

There’s only one God. 

Isaiah 46:9 - “Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.” Deuteronomy 4:39 - “ Know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.” Ephesians 4:6 - “One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”2 Samuel 7:22 - “Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.” Revelation 22:13 - “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”Humans cannot become like God. We are created by God, for God, and - yes - are made in the image of God, but that simply means that we have souls of spirit, and can go to heaven when we die, but we will never be like the one, the true, the omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, eternal, infinite God. 

Genesis 2:7 - “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”Ecclesiastes 12:7 - “And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”Ephesians 2:8-9 - “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” 

Okay, so don’t you think it’s weird that a religion which claims to be a branch of Christianity possesses a doctrine which in some parts, is in direct opposition of the book which defines Christianity? Especially in some of the most fundamental parts of the faith - the nature of God and the nature of man. There is literally nothing else more integral to the Christian worldview than those two things. 

To ask “if God created the world, who created God?” is almost an oxymoronic question, because if God created the world, I don’t think it’s necessary for someone to have created Him. We fall so often into the trap of thinking about God in terms of our teeny tiny natural existence. We live in a universe defined by space and time, where everything has a beginning and a cause. But that’s because the very fabric of space and time itself was woven by a God who is entirely outside of space and time. Therefore, everything that exists is made by God, is of God, and could not exist without God. The periodic table of elements, the universe, light, heat, thought, existence itself is maintained by God. He. Is. Everything.  So how could you imagine that He previously existed as a man? Or that man could become like Him? Man would not be apart from Him. If you accept the very concept of GOD, you must accept also that He is the original, fundamental being, and that He is not a part of our universe, our universe is a part of Him. Trippy, I know. I’m just saying all this so that you get the scope of how drastically Mormon doctrine differs from what we’ll call “mainstream” Christianity. 

Also, I am severely skeptical of this Joseph Smith guy. 

See, the Book of Mormon happened because Joseph Smith felt that there were too many opposing voices and opinions in the world, and He needed guidance, so he just asked God for guidance, and had a spiritual experience. Now, I am of the belief that even in all things spiritual, one must remain a critical thinker. Here is the first thing I thought about Joseph Smith: “If I am confused about a certain issue and am looking for an answer, the very first place I will go is the Bible”. Come on, are there not equally as many voices and opinions now as there were in 1823? Probably more. And yet, the bible is still relevant and still adequate for any answer I need. So why would I need to go searching for some big ol’ spiritual epiphany when God’s probably just like “I wrote it all down for you! Just read!” ? And spiritual experiences are suuuuuper tricky. I dunno ‘bout you, but when I *think* I hear God’s voice I’m usually like “that’s probably my imagination.” So then I’m like “God, you better hammer this into my head or I’m not gonna believe fosho that it’s you” because I over-think so much. I just think that if this Book of Mormon was legit, it would more widely accepted by biblical scholars.

See, God’s word is unlike any other book you’ve ever encountered. His words have more power than we can imagine. His is the book that has been under attack by dictators for centuries and has never been able to be completely eradicated. It was written in three different languages, on three different continents, by 40 different scribes, over a period of 1600 years and it still has 99% internal consistency on theology and 85% consistency in spelling and punctuation. I think that’s God’s way of showing us that it’s Him. No human could pull that off. And surely a book so old would be lost by now, especially since so many powerful people have tried to destroy all copies. And yet it’s the most widely distributed book in the world. Because it’s unique. It’s divine. It is a supernatural book. And the Book of Mormon just doesn’t measure up. I just feel like if God was really in this, it would be everywhere just like the bible is everywhere, because it would have that same power in its words. But it doesn’t. 

Okay so….in conclusion!!!

I don’t know any mormons personally, but they’re people, so here’s what I know about them for sure: They’re kind and generous and empathetic. They have their strengths and weaknesses. They have their good days and their bad days. They are lovely and God loves them and I love and respect them. 

Here’s what I think about their beliefs: They’re not Christians. I think that they’re something very close, but somewhere it got twisted such that I cannot in good conscience call it Christianity. 

That, however, has no bearing on how I feel about them personally. 

The end! Thanks for tuning into another one of my needlessly-massive answers! 

 Peace and love! -Katherine