Skip to content

J.S. Park: Hospital Chaplain, Skeptical Christian

From Devout Atheist to Skeptical Pastor: A Blog For Busted-Up, Beat-Down People (Like Me)

  • About / Bio.
  • Featured Posts and Lists.
  • Podcast.

Day: March 10, 2014

Quote: Outside


“Lord, teach us to step outside ourselves. Teach us to go out into the streets and manifest your love. True charity requires courage: let us overcome the fear of getting our hands dirty so as to help those in need.”


— Pope Francis

Share this!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • Print
  • Email
  • More
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...
Posted on March 10, 2014March 2, 2014 by JS ParkPosted in Christianity, Church, Culture, Life, Ministry, Relationships, Religion, Theology1 Comment

Facebook:

Facebook:

Top Posts:

  • I Hate My Life and Myself and I Want to Die: What Do I Do?
    I Hate My Life and Myself and I Want to Die: What Do I Do?
  • Grieve Angry
    Grieve Angry
  • All I Did Was Survive
    All I Did Was Survive
  • How To Cut Someone Off The "Christian" Way
    How To Cut Someone Off The "Christian" Way
  • Still You Are
    Still You Are
  • About / Bio.
    About / Bio.

J.S. Park’s Bio:

My Instagram #typewritertherapy

If your faith is making you a jerk, throw it out and start over. If your faith makes you want to fight “worldly people” all the time and you‘re always shaking your head at “this generation,” then your god is too small and your god is probably you. One of the reasons I was an atheist for so long is because I often wondered if religion makes people worse. Objectively worse. Religion seems to set up a battle position in which “I must guard the truth” and “If you disagree, you’re the enemy, the infidel, the heathen, and evidence of the apocalypse.” Instead of serving the poor and welcoming foreigners and loving the rejected—you know, the stuff that the Bible cares about—money is spent basically enforcing a kid’s fort with passwords and Don’t Enter signs and alarmist war strategies against a phantom caricature that’s only made up to feel like something important is being fought for. My guess is that some religious folks do not see their faith as a gift that has saved them, but rather as a weapon by which they must “save” everyone else. So then, the kingdom-military-triumphalist language in the Bible is lifted to boost the ego and separate from “worldliness” and to claim that any criticism against the church is “an attack against the family.” It makes Christians look really weird. I don’t mean that in a good way, like “Wow she’s so weird for giving away money to fight human trafficking.” I mean weird as in “He just hurled that venti Starbucks coffee at the barista because it didn’t say Christmas on it.” Yes, persecution exists. Which is all the more reason that saying persecution can never, ever be used in a comfortable context. God stop me if I ever think I’m being persecuted when I’m really being called out and held accountable. God help me if I ever use my faith to divide, out of superiority, as a lens of cynicism, instead of giving me hope that we are all within God’s grasp, His grace, His peace. #typewritertherapy #faith #religion #church #christianity #grace #Jesus #jesusjuke #persecution #encouragement #jspark #typography #lettering #love #accountability #stayhumble #empathy #compassion #bible #truth #scripture #christian
My first pastor visited. He officiated the wedding for me and my wife. I sincerely, truly owe my life to him. His love of God is unparalleled, and it was God’s grace through him that broke through to me. Also, we had to do the wow face. #pastor #testimony #grace #faith #wedding #marriage #thankyou #grateful #wowface
Hey friends! I’m super excited: My book is going to be released in exactly five months, on May 5th 2020. Home stretch! Soon I’ll be launching a book campaign where you can get an advance copy of the book, plus I’ll be live on webcam to meet you, answer questions, possibly present my dog. If you’d definitely like to be part of the group, please message me your email! Next year in April, I’ll be going to Chicago to give a chapel message at the Moody Bible Institute. And in May, I’ll be at the NY BookExpo in the Javits Center, at a stand with my publisher. Hopefully I’ll get to meet you in Chicago or NY! (Sorry, my dog has other plans. He’s a midnight yodeler back in Florida.) I would love your prayers during this time. Writing a book is crazy hard. This is on top of a wild full-time job, part-time job, marriage, and yep, my dog. Totally not complaining, it’s all a blessing. But I humbly ask for prayers of strength and rest. Thank you in advance, truly. Please let me know how I may pray for you, too. You need to know: Each of you helped to make this book happen with your constant presence and kind words. Thank you. I’ve learned so much from your stories and comments and dialogue, especially on our Friday questions. God bless friends, and much love to each of you. — J.S. @moodypublishers @moodybible @bookexpo #books #thevoiceswecarry #published #jspark #moodybibleinstitute #northfield #author #thankyou #typewritertherapy #chicago #newyork #bookexpo #

Recent Comments:

Christine Goodnough on Tell Your Story Even (and Espe…
ccole48 on The Jesus That I “Prefer”
sparkythejesusfreak on The Jesus That I “Prefer”
nopew on Fragile and Resilient: So We F…
Jesska on Fragile and Resilient: So We F…
leftnfree on More Than All That’s Happ…
leftnfree on More Than All That’s Happ…

Tumblr:

Twitter:

My Tweets

Subscribe to my YouTube Channel:

Search Bar:

RSS J.S. Park’s Podcast RSS:

  • Spoken Word: Friday / Saturday / Sunday - Death, Doubt, and Deliverance
  • 3 Habits Every Married Couple Needs to Know | Marriage & Faith - J.S. Park
  • Do the Abused Need to Forgive Their Abuser? About Boundaries for the Traumatized - J.S. Park
  • From Atheism to Faith: Discovering the Hidden Story of Humanity - J.S. Park

Support:

Donate Button

Featured on Editors’ Top Picks of Wordpress, March 10th 2017

Featured on the Front Page of Wordpress, December 16th 2015

Freshly Pressed: November 6th 2012

Social Media:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Meta:

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Calendar Archive:

March 2014
M T W T F S S
« Feb   Apr »
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31  

Join 6,309 other followers

Pages:

  • About / Bio.
  • Featured Posts and Lists.
  • Podcast.
  • Speaking.

Recent Posts:

  • Five Months Until Book Release!
  • Tell Your Story Even (and Especially) If No One Listens
  • The Jesus That I “Prefer”
  • My Favorite Female Influences
  • Fragile and Resilient: So We Fall and Rise
  • Up Again
  • Love Sees a Greatness Even When
  • More Than All That’s Happened
  • The World Needs Your Anger
Blog at WordPress.com.
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
%d bloggers like this: