"We have granted you everything you demanded of us, we who had always been the givers, but have only now understood it,” Galt lectures the “looters” and “moochers” who make up the populace. “We have no demands to present you, no terms to bargain about, no compromise to reach. You have nothing to offer us. We do not need you."
Was that quote from someone telling us we don't need all of this government interference/socialism today? Actually no. It's from Ayn Rand's best seller of
1952,Atlas Shrugged. Rand is very hot today and I bet from the above quote you can see why. It's sad that Rand was an atheist and believed in free sex(outside of marriage). If she had been a Christian, I wonder how Atlas Shrugged might have turned out?
Friday, October 30, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Best Quote Yet
This has to be the best quote of the month, if not the year. It's from the blog. And how true it is.
The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) was originally created to provide a counterweight to the leftward lurch of the National Council of Churches. Unfortunately, in recent years, the NAE has, at times, seemed to be playing catch-up with the NCC. And in doing so, they’re pulling away from the denominations they claim to represent.
The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) was originally created to provide a counterweight to the leftward lurch of the National Council of Churches. Unfortunately, in recent years, the NAE has, at times, seemed to be playing catch-up with the NCC. And in doing so, they’re pulling away from the denominations they claim to represent.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Duin's Interview with an Atheist
Julia Duin, who wrote the fascinating book, Quitting Church, recently interviewed atheist Adrian Wooldridge. Here is what he said about [evangelical] Christianity,
When Duin asked Wooldridge, an atheist, how he personally reacted to his findings, he replied: "I must say I have more respect, I felt more warmth for religion after doing research for the book, partly because of the people I came across, such as the Pentecostal pastor in Philadelphia who has done the most amazing work dealing with crack cocaine. It did strike me that religious people have done amazing work to help the poor. But where are the atheists doing exactly the same thing?"
He also told Duin that,
"he believes Pentecostalism will be the major form of 21st century Christianity."
Interesting indeed.
When Duin asked Wooldridge, an atheist, how he personally reacted to his findings, he replied: "I must say I have more respect, I felt more warmth for religion after doing research for the book, partly because of the people I came across, such as the Pentecostal pastor in Philadelphia who has done the most amazing work dealing with crack cocaine. It did strike me that religious people have done amazing work to help the poor. But where are the atheists doing exactly the same thing?"
He also told Duin that,
"he believes Pentecostalism will be the major form of 21st century Christianity."
Interesting indeed.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Great Book out on Secularism and Christianity
In the October Issue of Christianity Today magazine there is a good review of a book that looks very interesting. Professor at Houston Baptist University, Hunter Baker, wrote the book, entitled, The End of Secularism. The fascinating thing that caught my attention was the fact that before his conversion, Baker was a committed secularist. Here are some snippets from the interview with the magazine.
"[According to secularists,] you have Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Mormonism, all of which orbit the sun of secularism. That's utterly fallacious. Secularism is really a competing orthodoxy. And if that's the case, why should one of these competitors be allowed to declare itself the umpire?"
"Our faith in God is actually a very important bulwark against totalitarianism, against the oppression of people, and against a government coming to believe that it is the ultimate power instead of God."
"We should not have to hide because we have a religious point of view. It's not unfair to have a religious point of view, and a religious point of view is not an inferior point of view."
You can read the entire interview here.
"[According to secularists,] you have Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Mormonism, all of which orbit the sun of secularism. That's utterly fallacious. Secularism is really a competing orthodoxy. And if that's the case, why should one of these competitors be allowed to declare itself the umpire?"
"Our faith in God is actually a very important bulwark against totalitarianism, against the oppression of people, and against a government coming to believe that it is the ultimate power instead of God."
"We should not have to hide because we have a religious point of view. It's not unfair to have a religious point of view, and a religious point of view is not an inferior point of view."
You can read the entire interview here.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
The Two Sides of the War
Jollyblogger today has a quote from a Christian conference made by one Doug Wilson. I am assuming from the conference live blog that this is a very Calvinist affair. Here is the quote,
We declare what has been accomplished,
not what we would like to be accomplished.
This quote hit me because it shows two parts of evangelical Christianity today who are at war with each other. Meanwhile, the rest of us are stuck in the middle wondering what's going on.
The Young Calvinists vs. the Emergents
.................or...................
We declare what has been accomplished (the Young Calvinists)
.................vs...................
[not] what we would like to be accomplished (the Emergents).
We declare what has been accomplished,
not what we would like to be accomplished.
This quote hit me because it shows two parts of evangelical Christianity today who are at war with each other. Meanwhile, the rest of us are stuck in the middle wondering what's going on.
The Young Calvinists vs. the Emergents
.................or...................
We declare what has been accomplished (the Young Calvinists)
.................vs...................
[not] what we would like to be accomplished (the Emergents).
Friday, October 16, 2009
Brannon Howse's Five Consequences
Brannon Howse has listed five specific national consequences for denying God gleaned from Romans chapter 1. He wanted to focus on Paul's warnings in this passage because "they are so explicit and frighteningly relevant to what is happening in America today."
I felt these were worth considering so here they are. The link to the entire article describing each point is at the end of this post.
1. The nation that continually rejects God becomes a nation of fools.
2. The nation that continually rejects God accepts pagan spirituality.
3. The nation that continually rejects God accepts homosexuality as
normal.
4. The nation that continually rejects God becomes debased and
violent.
5. The nation that continually rejects God produces judicial, legislative
and executive branches of government that approve of and encourage
immorality and corruption.
You can read the entire article
here.
I felt these were worth considering so here they are. The link to the entire article describing each point is at the end of this post.
1. The nation that continually rejects God becomes a nation of fools.
2. The nation that continually rejects God accepts pagan spirituality.
3. The nation that continually rejects God accepts homosexuality as
normal.
4. The nation that continually rejects God becomes debased and
violent.
5. The nation that continually rejects God produces judicial, legislative
and executive branches of government that approve of and encourage
immorality and corruption.
You can read the entire article
here.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Quote of the Week
Today we need prophetic preachers; not preachers of prophecy
merely, but preachers with a gift of prophecy. The word of wisdom
is missing. We need the gift of discernment again in our pulpits. It
is not ability to predict that we need, but the anointed eye, the
power of spiritual penetration and interpretation, the ability to
appraise the religious scene as viewed from God's position, and
to tell us what is actually going on....
____A. W. Tozer
Amen!
merely, but preachers with a gift of prophecy. The word of wisdom
is missing. We need the gift of discernment again in our pulpits. It
is not ability to predict that we need, but the anointed eye, the
power of spiritual penetration and interpretation, the ability to
appraise the religious scene as viewed from God's position, and
to tell us what is actually going on....
____A. W. Tozer
Amen!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Brother Yun
If you've never heard of Brother Yun, this is a sample. Good stuff indeed.
Here is an excerpt from Brother's Yun's book.
Here is an excerpt from Brother's Yun's book.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
The Strands--Are They Coming Apart?
I almost gave up on Christianity Today magazine because of the "emergenty" direction I saw it going in. The CT publication Leadership Journal was even worse and so I canceled that one. But I kept on with CT itself and I'm glad I did because lately I've seen "the other" side presented a little more. In this month's issue (Oct. 2009) there is an excellent article by Mark Galli about the various strands of the evangelical movement that seem to be tearing it apart at the seams. He identifies their various focuses (or should that be foci?),
--lack of personal morality......their solution: for some, accountability groups, for others, spiritual disciplines
--too much individualism....:their solution: for some house churches, for others, deep church, still for others, missional church, and for others, ancient-future church
--lack of spiritual fervor........their solution: The Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts
--wrong thinking.....their solution: for some, postmodernism, for others, [Pauls] new perspective, for still others, neo-Calvinism (does he mean the Young Calvinists here?), and for others, theology of the kingdom
His solution I think is very good. He says all of this tends to be horizontal thinking instead of vertical thinking, that is, our relationship with God.
A sidebar accompanying Galli's article, by Craig Brian Larson, says that the main vertical discipline needs to be very good Biblical rpeaching. Boy! I sure agree with that assessment.
--lack of personal morality......their solution: for some, accountability groups, for others, spiritual disciplines
--too much individualism....:their solution: for some house churches, for others, deep church, still for others, missional church, and for others, ancient-future church
--lack of spiritual fervor........their solution: The Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts
--wrong thinking.....their solution: for some, postmodernism, for others, [Pauls] new perspective, for still others, neo-Calvinism (does he mean the Young Calvinists here?), and for others, theology of the kingdom
His solution I think is very good. He says all of this tends to be horizontal thinking instead of vertical thinking, that is, our relationship with God.
A sidebar accompanying Galli's article, by Craig Brian Larson, says that the main vertical discipline needs to be very good Biblical rpeaching. Boy! I sure agree with that assessment.
Friday, October 09, 2009
Great Quote of the Week
Another great editorial from Lee Grady in this month's Charisma and Christian Life magazine. Grady is really batting 100 lately. The editorial is about how so many Christians get carried away with the last days teachings. At the end of the article he quotes the 19th century English Baptist pastor/evangelist, Charles Spurgeon. And boy do I ever agree with this quote.
O that Christ crucified were the universal burden of men of God. Your guess at the number of the beast....your conjectures concerning a personal Antichrist--forgive me, I count them as mere bones for dogs; While men are dying, and hell is filling, it seems to me the veriest drivel to be muttering about an Armageddon.....I would sooner pluck one single brand from the burning than explain all mysteries.
Isn't it interesting that there is nothing new under the sun, as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes said. Remember, Spurgeon said this over one hundered years ago. Why? Because it was also happening in his day.
O that Christ crucified were the universal burden of men of God. Your guess at the number of the beast....your conjectures concerning a personal Antichrist--forgive me, I count them as mere bones for dogs; While men are dying, and hell is filling, it seems to me the veriest drivel to be muttering about an Armageddon.....I would sooner pluck one single brand from the burning than explain all mysteries.
Isn't it interesting that there is nothing new under the sun, as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes said. Remember, Spurgeon said this over one hundered years ago. Why? Because it was also happening in his day.
Lee Grady Hits Another Homer
Great editorial from Lee Grady in this month's Charisma and Christian Life magazine. The editorial is about how so many Christians get carried away with the last days teachings. At the end of the article he quotes the 19th century English Baptist pastor/evangelist, Charles Spurgeon. And boy do I ever agree with this quote.
O that Christ crucified were the universal burden of men of God. Your guess at the number of the beast....your conjectures concerning a personal Antichrist--forgive me, I count them as mere bones for dogs; While men are dying, and hell is filling, it seems to me the veriest drivel to be muttering about an Armageddon.....I would sooner pluck one single brand from the burning than explain all mysteries.
Isn't it interesting that there is nothing new under the sun, as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes said. Remeber, Spurgeon said this over one hundered years ago because it was also happening in his day.
O that Christ crucified were the universal burden of men of God. Your guess at the number of the beast....your conjectures concerning a personal Antichrist--forgive me, I count them as mere bones for dogs; While men are dying, and hell is filling, it seems to me the veriest drivel to be muttering about an Armageddon.....I would sooner pluck one single brand from the burning than explain all mysteries.
Isn't it interesting that there is nothing new under the sun, as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes said. Remeber, Spurgeon said this over one hundered years ago because it was also happening in his day.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
You What?
I speak in tongues and most people think I am pretty intelligent.
Peter Smythe was a law student and that means he was probably (and still is) pretty smart and he speaks in tongues too. What did his friend (female) do when he told her that? This is a must read......:)
http://petersmythe.org/tongues-and-anti-intellectualism/
Peter Smythe was a law student and that means he was probably (and still is) pretty smart and he speaks in tongues too. What did his friend (female) do when he told her that? This is a must read......:)
http://petersmythe.org/tongues-and-anti-intellectualism/
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Adult Sunday School Classes' Format
Lately I've been very frustrated about the low level of teaching in our churches, both from the pulpit and in our adult Sunday School classes (as well as in children's and youth classes too). It usually doesn't get any better in our small groups and Bible studies either. I've written a tad about this before but want to enter this discussion again. Many churches are doing something I think is very interesting and I hope they are pulling it off well. Instead of the usual segregation of ages and marital statuses (singles vs. marrieds--or should I say singles against marrieds), these churches are starting intergenerational adult classes by level. Many churches label them like college classes--Christianity 101, 102, 103 and so forth, Then the next level would be Christianity 201, 202, 203. I feel strongly that churches need to think along these lines because new Christians are often in classes over their heads and older Christians (meaning having been a Christian for decades, not necessarily older in age) are bored to tears. So, I suggest four levels organized according to how the church wishes.
Level A--A class for non-Christians (often called seekers). I think something along the lines of the Alpha Course could be used. However, I've never really understood why Alpha has the 10 lessons they have as lessons 4-10 are not really for unbelievers. So, using lessons 1-3 and perhaps expanding them into several weeks after the first three lessons, have question and answer sessions for a semester. We also need to allow the Holy Spirit enough "wiggle room" to convict unbelievers.
Level 1--A class for new believers and others who feel they need a foundational understanding of the faith. This class would last at least a semester and probably a year. These classes would be on the 100 level (i.e. 101, 102, etc.) but you wouldn't need to label them like this if you feel other labels like descriptive names would be better.
Level 2--Level 2 (201,202, etc.) classes for those who are ready to go from level 1. Level two people would probably be on this level for many years thus taking many level 2 classes.
Level 3--the next level up
Level 4--The top level for those who had been "studying" Christians for decades. Some of these classes might be on the seminary level, like beginning Greek/Hebrew, etc.
The only trouble I have with this set-up is the lack of relationships with people in the various levels. But if you put my passion for geographical home groups into practice you would achieve that diversity. Then, adding to those two groups you could still have the married, single and/or interest groups and then I think you would have an excellent wel-rounded discipleship program for your church.
Level A--A class for non-Christians (often called seekers). I think something along the lines of the Alpha Course could be used. However, I've never really understood why Alpha has the 10 lessons they have as lessons 4-10 are not really for unbelievers. So, using lessons 1-3 and perhaps expanding them into several weeks after the first three lessons, have question and answer sessions for a semester. We also need to allow the Holy Spirit enough "wiggle room" to convict unbelievers.
Level 1--A class for new believers and others who feel they need a foundational understanding of the faith. This class would last at least a semester and probably a year. These classes would be on the 100 level (i.e. 101, 102, etc.) but you wouldn't need to label them like this if you feel other labels like descriptive names would be better.
Level 2--Level 2 (201,202, etc.) classes for those who are ready to go from level 1. Level two people would probably be on this level for many years thus taking many level 2 classes.
Level 3--the next level up
Level 4--The top level for those who had been "studying" Christians for decades. Some of these classes might be on the seminary level, like beginning Greek/Hebrew, etc.
The only trouble I have with this set-up is the lack of relationships with people in the various levels. But if you put my passion for geographical home groups into practice you would achieve that diversity. Then, adding to those two groups you could still have the married, single and/or interest groups and then I think you would have an excellent wel-rounded discipleship program for your church.
Friday, October 02, 2009
As you can probably guess, I read a lot, including Christian books and magazines. And, because of this, I tell you a lot about things I read that strike me. One of the sources I've used often here is Modern Reformation magazine. That probably is because I love Michael Horton. I really hadn't understood Calvinism before I read his books, Modern Reformation magazine and listened to the radio program he cohosts, The White Horse Inn. And although I am not a committed Calvinist, I at least have my toes over on that side. Here then is today's tidbit, from Horton of course,
Our children, as well as new converts to the faith, need time to mature, and they need pastors, not programs. They need to belong to a community of disciples--older believers, fellow saints from various walks of life and ethnic backgrounds--who simultaneously show and tell what it means to trust in Christ and to love and serve their neighbors.
Source: Page 48, September/October 2009 issue of Modern Reformation magazine.
Our children, as well as new converts to the faith, need time to mature, and they need pastors, not programs. They need to belong to a community of disciples--older believers, fellow saints from various walks of life and ethnic backgrounds--who simultaneously show and tell what it means to trust in Christ and to love and serve their neighbors.
Source: Page 48, September/October 2009 issue of Modern Reformation magazine.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Quote of the Week--Worth Thinking About
I thought this was worth thinking about.
Background
"Rick Warren's Civil Forums, the venue that brought the Presidential candidates' debate, discussions on global health and testimonies of holocaust survivors just held The Civil Forum on Reconciliation."
The Quote
"...One of the things that typically happens in the course of tyranny and genocide is that the church’s social witness is either sidelined and marginalized or simply subsumed under governmental control. President Kagame said that during the Rwandan genocide, the government and the church “were almost one and the same” (emphasis mine). This severely hampered the church’s ability to act as a critical and mediating institution between the government and its individual citizens."
Source: http://watcherslamp.blogspot.com/2009/09/rick-warren-reconciling-church-and.html
Background
"Rick Warren's Civil Forums, the venue that brought the Presidential candidates' debate, discussions on global health and testimonies of holocaust survivors just held The Civil Forum on Reconciliation."
The Quote
"...One of the things that typically happens in the course of tyranny and genocide is that the church’s social witness is either sidelined and marginalized or simply subsumed under governmental control. President Kagame said that during the Rwandan genocide, the government and the church “were almost one and the same” (emphasis mine). This severely hampered the church’s ability to act as a critical and mediating institution between the government and its individual citizens."
Source: http://watcherslamp.blogspot.com/2009/09/rick-warren-reconciling-church-and.html
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