Archive for the ‘Religion’ Category
Thinking about book burning – holy or otherwise
As mentioned earlier this week, a pastor in Florida planned to burn copies of the Qu’ran (Koran) on September 11, 2010. His reasoning – “It’s the devil’s book.” Well, so? What does burning the Qu’ran do to change minds and win over people who are convinced that it is God’s book, not satan’s? The answer is – nothing. To many people the physical book itself is what is holy. There are protocols about the proper treatment of the Qu’ran. It is kept on the top shelf. It is never placed under another book. It is covered with a plastic or cloth dust cover when not in use. It is never allowed to be on the floor. Etc, etc, etc. All these have to do with the physical book itself.
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Regarding the Ground Zero “Prayer and Islamic Cultural Center”
200 yards from the site where nearly 3,000 people died on September 11, 2001 by the actions of muslim extremists there is a plot of land upon which adherents of Islam wish to build a 13 story “prayer and cultural center”, an edifice which is being called “The Ground Zero Mosque”. Their plans have fanned the flames of discontent amongst those who remember the celebrations by muslims in the streets around the world that were broadcast in the aftermath of the horrific attacks. However, it is not just non-muslims who are raising their voices. A quick search on a good internet search engine yields a number of articles by and about muslims objecting to this project. From Miss America to imams to political commentators there are voices raised by muslims decrying the intentions of those who have formulated this plan.
Muslim Outrage Over Violence In The Name Of Islam
Thank you to my brother Benjamin Rees for providing the search words that dug up the following information. I had looked online but am one of the world’s worst googlers ever, can’t seem to put the search words together in the right way to find the info sought sometimes. Anyway, below is a follow up to yesterday’s article, starting with the reply by brother Rees. Read the rest of this entry »
Christian Outrage Over Koran Burning
On the news recently is a church in Gainesville, Florida that is preparing to burn copies of the Koran (Quran) on September 11, 2010. 9 years after the horrific acts of violence against peaceful civilians perpetrated by fanatical believers in Islam, the world continues to wonder, “Where is the outrage by the members of this “peaceful” religion?” Many of us remember the dancing in the streets in muslim countries around the world. We remember the words of hate against our nation by members of muslim communities living within our borders. What we did not see was outrage at the acts of violence nor did we hear muslim leaders denouncing the senseless, barbaric murder of thousands of non-combatants and the destruction of private, non-military property. Read the rest of this entry »
Some Thoughts On Church Growth
“Church Growth” – it is now the stuff of books and seminars and college courses. Men dedicate their lives to understanding how to achieve this holy grail. Huge temples are built and marketing experts consulted with the goal of being “seeker friendly” and filling the huge hall with crowds of people. Different denominations and congregations find different ways of fulfilling this goal. Rallies and “Crusades” are held to “bring in the sheaves” (although that ancient hymn is not sung anymore by the majority of those seeking “church growth” ).
Over the years I’ve seen “revivals” and “crusades” and “rallies” performed with the intent of bringing growth to the church. And over the years I’ve seen the same people flocking to the “altar call”, time after time after time. Yes, there are some souls reached through mass means. Yes there are some lives transformed. But are they really effective? The last figures I saw for a huge “Crusade” were something less than five percent (if I recall correctly it was less than one percent, but let’s be generous anyway) of the “decisions for Christ” actually resulted in a person who joined in with a local congregation.
Favorite Sins
Sin – the wedge that separates man from God. Ever since Adam and Eve went against God’s will there has been a great chasm between God and man. Through Jesus the Christ, God reached out to bridge that gap. And His grace allows us to come into His presence, cleansed by the sacrificial death and resurrection of His Son.
If we walk in the light then we learn to abhor sin. But as humans we all harbor varying degrees of attraction to sin. The big problem is that we also tend to have blind spots. We may say “I don’t smoke and I don’t chew and I don’t date the girls that do.” – but what about less obvious sins? What about that which we allow our minds to dwell on, taking comfort in “well, at least I didn’t DO it!”. And what about those thoughts and attitudes that do not reflect the mind of Christ?
The New Testament Church
Much has been written over the years about “restoring the New Testament Church”. Much has been preached on that subject and many battles have been fought over the “right way” to accomplish that goal. There is no doubt that the church has drifted from her moorings over the two thousand years which span the current time and that of Jesus the Christ and His Apostles. In MY mind, the important question to ask is not “how many songs were interspersed with the sermon and Communion” or whether or not they used instruments to accompany their singing, but rather the question should be “What did the Church DO that made her the church?” To many the answer to that question is sought in the area of “praise and worship” or “religious ceremony”. Read the rest of this entry »
The “absolute” for an age with no absolutes
Just got this from a friend’s Facebook status. Fracis Schaeffer had a way with words and some great insight into the human condition.
“In passing, we should note this curious mark of our own age: the only absolute allowed is the absolute insistence that there is no absolute” – Francis Schaeffer
The source of sin
And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” – Mark 7:18-23
For millennia people have sought ways to be ceremonially pure. Their conscience has burned and caused distress because they know that they do not match up with the Divine ideal. God, through The Law of Moses, helped them to search out this tendency – and find that mankind is incapable of attaining purity by elimination of externals. The Lord spoke to His people and told them that He was fed up with their ceremonies and celebrations and fasts – that He wanted a people who sought after justice and mercy rather than being obsesses with sacrifices.
The key to all this? Man is not defiled by that which he eats or drinks, he is defiled by that which comes out from within him. When his thoughts lead him to do that which is against God’s nature – that is what defiles him. Even today people search ways to eliminate externals. “If there is no opportunity to sin there will be no sin” is the rationale. But sin does not come from opportunity, it comes from desire.
What would the consequences be?
Have you ever thought to yourself what the consequences of your beliefs would be – if you REALLY lived them out? I’m talking about what you claim to believe, not what you show you believe by your actions. What would really happen if you lived out your truth claims to the fullest? Read the rest of this entry »
