Christianity

Further tweak. ← Previous revision Revision as of 02:51, 7 May 2008 Line 121: Line 121: *[[Chris Kempling]], a Canadian public school teacher and counselor, was cited for professional misconduct and suspended for a month after he spoke publicly about Christian-based disapproval of homosexuality.<ref name=supreme>"Supreme Court rejects teacher's appeal over homosexuality issue", Calgary Herald, 29 January 2006, B5 </ref> *[[Chris Kempling]], a Canadian public school teacher and counselor, was cited for professional misconduct and suspended for a month after he spoke publicly about Christian-based disapproval of homosexuality.<ref name=supreme>"Supreme Court rejects teacher's appeal over homosexuality issue", Cal

Scriptural considerations ← Previous revision Revision as of 02:51, 7 May 2008 Line 8: Line 8: *The Bible does not differentiate between foetus and child at the level of terminology.<ref>[Alcorn, Randy, Abortion in the Bible and Church History, www.epm.org/articles/aborhistory.html, accessed 8-25-06]</ref> In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word "yeled" is used to describe both unborn and born children. In the New Testament, the Greek word "brephos" is used. *The Bible does not differentiate between foetus and child at the level of terminology.<ref>[Alcorn, Randy, Abortion in the Bible and Church History, www.epm.org/articles/aborhistory.html, accessed 8-25-06]</ref> In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word "yel

Joshua (Yusha) Evans was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina May God show us all the straight path, Ameen! The Miracle of the Holy Quran - Dr. Husain Sattar (graduate from University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, MashaAllah, Alhamdulillah) Science Islam One of the Mirac…

Joshua (Yusha) Evans was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina May God show us all the straight path, Ameen! The Miracle of the Holy Quran - Dr. Husain Sattar (graduate from University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, MashaAllah, Alhamdulillah) Science Islam One of the Mirac…

glumbert - Gay scientists isolate Christian gene Allan W Janssen is the author of the book The Plain Truth About God (What the mainstream religions don't want you to know!) and is available at the... NOT RECOMMENDED FOR THE OVERLY RELIGIOUS, POLITICAL OR STUPID!

And the Egalitarian MythBy Brian WorleyYe are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. -- Matthew 5:13When one asks me for a positive thought or idea from Christ, immediately this verse comes to mind. Within the context of this verse, the preserving quality of salt is discussed and a frank evaluation of Christianity is rendered. Now if you only want to fight, just “sound bite” this title without any further reading. If you are positive and want to do something constructive with your life, I want to challenge you!Missionary ChatterI have an English speaking Christian missionary for a neighbor here in Latvia. Some native local people find it ironic

The following is a commentary of The Law of Human Nature chapter of C.S. Lewis' book entitled 'mere' Christianity. The purpose is to elaborate C.S. Lewis' arguments to both the causal reader and the readers who have a curosity in his writings. If one finds this intriguing they should look into picking up the book 'mere' Christianity for themselves.

Yesterday was a moving video and I recomend all to see it! (More Than Once!)N O W ! Since I did a book review on 'Pagan Christianity', You need to see this! It is a hoot!Now how was that? Be BLESSED!, 1 aka DP

VenomFangX (Shawn) is one of the many popular young individuals on YouTube who openly discusses criticisms and skepticisms of God. In this particular video, he provides strong logical proof of Christianity by challenging skeptics to fully understand their position when they say the prophesies and historical contexts of the Bible are a man-made...

Forty years ago can seem like light years in cultural terms. Forty years ago, the story of a Vermont lesbian who wanted to take a child away from her biological mother–because the mother was a Christian–would have been unbelievable. Janet Jenkins, part of a now-sundered lesbian twosome, has alleged that because of Lisa Miller’s (the biological mother) [...]

Forty years ago can seem like light years in cultural terms.Forty years ago, the story of a Vermont lesbian who wanted to take a child away from her biological mother--because the mother was a Christian--would have been unbelievable.Janet Jenkins, part of a now-sundered lesbian twosome, has alleged that because of Lisa Miller’s (the biological mother) Christian parenting practices, Miller is no longer is a fit mother. Jenkins is seeking full custody of the child. Miller and Jenkins were a couple before Miller left the relationship and became a Christian. Now, the Virginia Supreme Court has to rule if 6-year-old Isabella, Miller's child, is to be ripped away from her and custody given to Jenkins.Mathew Staver, chief of Liberty Counsel, said the impact of the decision will reach far beyo

Muslim and Malay Brothers & Sisters, do you know that there is a little secret war going on between Christians and Hindus in India?I have known about it for a very long time but seldom got any good report on it. A few hours back however, I stumbled upon the following video on YouTube and very much like to share it with you folks out there. I know you find it hard to view it but I strongly recommend Muslims and Malays to watch it nonetheless since we can learn a lot from it. We get the chance to see the tactics (quite dirty I must say) used by Christian missionaries over in India. One day, such knowledge might help us in protecting our own faith and religion here in Malaysia. InsyAllah…Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their form of religi

HT to Steve "Emergent Village Blogmeister" Knight for pointing at this very interesting blog post from Kimberly Roth on JesusManifesto.com. Kimberly makes some good observations about the two religions, and asks some even better questions. Before I get to her excellent questions, I felt I should note that this:However, there is a flip-side to Tibetan Buddhism. There is work involved, and peace comes with a price. The Tibetan people serve multiple deities, some of whom are full of vengeance. Their religious practices are in part, to appease the deities en route to obtaining enlightenment. Monks create intricately detailed mandalas to house deities and guide meditation. Followers walk the streets of Tibet endlessly spinning prayer wheels in an effort to gain the attention of the Buddha of

First a blast from the past… St. Francis of Assisi: Not a Birkenstock-Clad Hippie But a Converter of Muslims An Interview Frank Rega, author of St. Francis and the Conversion of the Muslims By Michael Baggot - LifeSite News The relationship between Muslims and Christians received added attention this past Easter when Pope Benedict XVI publicly baptized [...]

O People of the Book! commit no excesses in your religion: nor say of Allah aught but the truth. Al-Masih 'Isa the son of Maryam was (no more than) A Messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Maryam, and a Spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His Messengers. Say not "Trinity": desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is One God: glory be to Him: (far Exalted is He) above having a son. To Him belong all things in the heavens and on earth. And enough is Allah as a Disposer of affairs.Surah An-Nisaa [4:171]The Jews call 'Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Al-Masih the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the Unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth!S

Attacks on Pakistani Christians by Islamists ← Previous revision Revision as of 13:41, 11 April 2008 Line 49: Line 49: On September 25, 2002, unidentified gunmen shot dead seven people at a Christian charity in Karachi's central business district. They entered the third-floor offices of the Institute for Peace and Justice (IPJ) and shot their victims in the head. All of the victims were Pakistani Christians. Karachi police chief Tariq Jamil said the victims had their hands tied and their mouths had been covered with tape. On September 25, 2002, unidentified gunmen shot dead seven people at a Christian charity in Karachi's central business district. They entered the third-floor offices of the Institute for Peace and Justice (IPJ)

Sent in by Alan BAs far as I can remember I have been asking questions. To set the scene, I am from the United Kingdom, which is a country whilst not free from religious conflicts is not as willing to show religion on its sleeve with the same pride that America does.Both my parents raised me, and both my parents are Church of Scotland Christians. They are not the hell and damnation type, which seems to be a recurring theme on these testimonials, but the quiet type. In fact, you can barely tell they are of any religious persuasion. And this is where the questions would come. How come my parents were not as 'angry' as other Christians? Why did my parents not go to the same church as my Catholic friends? etc... The problem is, when you get two separate groups of Christians who both "love" the

Christianity-Cult or not? By KARAN MINNIS, Guardian Lifestyles Reporter: Nassau, Bahamas: "Jesus was only a man. He was not the Son of God. His mother, Mary, the wife of Joseph, was not a virgin. She got pregnant the normal way." Have you heard this before? If you haven't, what about this? "Jesus did not raise from the dead. He was killed and buried just like everyone else. Because if He did, more people would have seen him or there would have been proof." It's because of arguments like this that some people believe that Christianity is a fake, and the reasons they claim religion as "fake" and a "cult". There are many people who say that Christianity is the biggest scheme in the world, claiming that from its beginning, it has been used by monarchs to control the various classes. Ac

The following videos were taken of a Chuck Pierce’s preach talk held on August 2007. So, who is Chuck Pierce? Well, he’s some kind of a Christian preacher but you can get more details about him from the internet, just do a search and you shall get it.Now, I want my Muslim Brothers and Sisters to view the following videos and hear what Chuck Pierce has envisioned for Malaysia after the 2008 General Election and in the next 50 years. Think real deep about what his visions and try to understand what is really going on behind the incredible results of the recent 2008 General Election.Part IPart IIBelieve me, you are a foolish Muslim if you think that the results of the 2008 Malaysian General Election were all about victory over oppression. :-)This is why Muslims and Malays in Malaysia must

A local blogger recently posted an article calling Christians hypocrites because while many of us here in Asia choose not to consume food offered to idols, we have no qualms about consuming halal food, i.e. food that is slaughtered according to Islamic rites. Now, for those who are unfamiliar with the Asian context, especially in Singapore [...]

Two separate students, in two separate states are suing their individual schools for hostility toward Christianity: In Santa Ana, California, a sixteen-year-old sophomore at Capistrano Valley High School is suing his teacher, James Corbett, for making overtly anti-religious statements during class. The student, Chad Farnan, claims in the lawsuit that his teacher demonstrates “a sense of hostility [...]

One might think that after an entire year of dealing with an ordeal surrounding issues of the separation of church and state that Kearny High School history teacher and Baptist Minister David Paszkiewicz might want to keep a lower-than-usual profile at school when it comes to such matters. But, of course, anyone who knows Paszkiewicz knows he’s never shy when it comes to his faith — no matter what happened last year.So when one of his students, James Bogucheski, asked him to start a Christian-based club at Kearny High School, Paszkiewicz didn’t even flinch.And, just a few weeks ago, the Alpha and Omega Club (The beginning and the end) began at KHS — with Paszkiewicz as the club’s moderator, and with Bogucheski as the club’s president.At the club’s first meeting — and now ke

BILL KELLER AT LivePrayer.comWhat does God say about racism?"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:38What does God say about racism? Like in all matters of life, when we need the Truth, the real answers, we have to go to our final authority in all matters, the Bible. One of the greatest weapons of satan is division. The enemy has figured out every way imaginable to divide men. Since virtually the beginning of the human experience, man has fallen into satan's trap of division based on the color of a person's skin or their ethnic origin. While racism has always been an issue in this country, the fact is it is an issue in every country. This divisive mindset is not unique to the United States. Sadly, in some f

Unfortunately, a comparison of modern Christianity and ancient pagan idolatry yields far too many similarities. Indeed, the contemporary church may even be said to worship Jesus, the pagan god, instead of Jesus, the almighty God. The Bible is the story not only of God’s saving people from His justice but also of His requiring them to reject all other gods and false religions. In the Old Testament, God commanded the Israelites to shun the polytheistic pagan idolatry of their neighbors—the Canaanites, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Egyptians, and others. The New Testament repudiates both the pagan idolatry the Roman Empire inherited from the Greeks and the false religion of the Pharisees, the important Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day. Every system of religious belief contrary

By Dave, the WMChristianity lauds itself as the panacea for the world’s woes, but Christianity’s approach to rescuing poor humanity is riddled with degradation. Before offering its “so great a salvation” Christianity first condemns, denigrates, and belittles people into believing they are vile creatures, wearing the filthy rags of a pointless existence. Self-confident non-Christians are redefined as “haughty and arrogant.” Sincere human compassion that is bereft of evangelical rhetoric is labeled as “selfishly motivated” and incapable of real or lasting good. Difficult circumstances and obstacles in a person’s life is seen as part of primordial curses put on creation by an unconditionally loving god. What can you, a pathetic sinner, do to overcome the problems in your li

A Muslim author and critic of Islamic fundamentalism who was baptized a Catholic by Pope Benedict said on Sunday Islam is "physiologically violent" and he is now in great danger because of his conversion.

I just spent some time arguing certain tenets of faith with a self professed Christian Evangelical /Fundamentalist. I found his remarks to be fairly typical of most conservative Christians so I thought they might be worth discussing. I’ve generalized my questions to him in the hope for at least some sort of brevity. [...]

Now there is no denying that the bible has been rewritten by men and cannot be taken at face value all of the time. Furthermore, a lot of the stories were meant to be parables and not to be taken lit...

Holy Week is celebrated in Marikina by virtue of a Marikina Christian Festival. Not surprisingly because majority of Marikina comprises of Christians. So for those who wanted to have their unique consecrated experiences this semana santa, here are the activities you may want to see and participate in: Marikina Christian Festival Schedule of Activities March 19, City [...]

Since I am writing The Book, I would have you know that it is just not words that I enjoy writing down, yet also where the rubber meets the road. Here is one that I have read. Tell me what you think! I read the first edition of ‘Pagan Christianity?’ several years ago on a recommendation of a long time colleague, friend and biz partner finding the information interesting and answering some long time Qs for myself. Frank wrote then with what appeared to be a hatchet, tho I found it hard to disagree with him on many issues. Reading this the 2008 edition now with a co-author, George Barna, it is less antagonistic, yet with no holds barred showing no Scriptural basis for they way we all hold Church today. It still maintains the Frank Viola flavor, though having never read Mr. Ba

Could you compare the two types of sermons–the kind Peter gave on the day of Pentecost and the kind we hear in traditional churches today? I’ll take a stab at it. The modern sermon has the following characteristics: 1. It is a regular occurrence delivered faithfully from the pulpit at least once a week. 2. It is delivered by the same person typically the pastor. 3. It is delivered to a passive audience; it is essentially a monologue. 4. It is a cultivated form of speech, possessing a specific structure. It typically contains an introduction, three to five points, and a conclusion. This structure was borrowed from the pagan rhetorical form of speech known as the Greek “homily.” Clement of Alexandria, Chrysostom, and Augustine baptized it and called it “Christian.” And we’ve ne

We are proud as punch that First Presby, John Nash, has just published a new book in two volumes, Christianity: the One, the Many--What Christianity Might Have Been and Still Could Become. John is going to lead our adult forum for the next three weeks on this book. If you are near our mountain, join us Sunday mornings at 9:45.Beginning Thursday, March 19th, John will lead our Thursdays With Jesus group through this book. You can order Dr. Nash's book through Xlibris. It is cool to serve a congregation in which the parishioners write theological books!

Complete book at Sacred Texts: " ... The connection between Christianity and Buddhism is unmistakable, both in terms of the traditional narratives of the respective founders, and in their parable-riddled attributed sayings. Some, particularly occultists, have attempted to explain this by proposing a residence in India by Jesus during his 'lost years,' for instance, Notovich, and the derivative

The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity# Author:Lee Strobel# Format:PDF 1.3MB# Page Count: 304 pages# Publisher: Zondervan (October 1, 2000)# Language: English# ISBN-10: 0310234697# ISBN-13: 978-0310234692Award-winning reporter and author Lee Strobel (The Case for Christ) once again uses his investigative skills to address the primary objections to Christianity. As a former atheist, Strobel understands the rational resistance to faith. He even names the eight most convincing arguments against Christian faith: 1) If there's a loving God, why does this pain-wracked world groan under so much suffering and evil? 2) If the miracles of God contradict science, then how can any rational person believe that they're true? 3) If God is morally pu

I ran across this remark the other day and it hits the nail squarely on the head. Capon is an episcopal priest and cook. “Christianity is not a religion. Christianity is the proclamation of the end of religion, not of a new religion, or even of the best of all religions… If the cross is the [...]

So, I've mentioned that I'm working on my master's thesis, but I haven't said what I'm writing about. I will say that this post is lengthy and not really keeping with my blog's usual tone . . . but it's my blog and I can write about whatever I want to write about. So, let me get all academic on you here for a bit . . . I'll start from the beginning. A few years ago we had a speaker at camp who

Here's a great series produced by Father Michael Courey from St. Katherine's Greek Orthodox Church in Redondo Beach, California. His presentation is based on notes from The Orthodox Church by Timothy Ware. In spite of some choppy editing in the below presentations, Father Michael does a great job, I think, of explaining the history, Tradition, practices, and beliefs of The Orthodox Church.

  At a Christian Conference held in Jerusalem in 1986, a word from the LORD came forth, which included this devastating prophecy, presumably from the heart of God: "And there will be Christianit...

Christmas Is Obviously A Christian Holiday. But what percentage of Americans todayidentify with a Christian religion? About 82% of Americans in 2007 told Gallup interviewers that they identified with a Christian religion. That includes 51% who said they were Protestant, 5% who were "other Christian," 23% Roman Catholic, and 3% who named another Christian faith, including 2% Mormon.Because 11% said they had no religious identity at all, and another 2% didn't answer, these results suggest that well more than 9 out of 10 Americans who identify with a religion are Christian in one way or the other.Has this changed over time?Yes. The percentage of Americans who identify with a Christian religion is down some over the decades. This is not so much because Americans have shifted to other religions, but because a significantly higher percentage of Americans today say they don't have a religious identity. In the late 1940s, when Gallup began summarizing these data, a very small percentage expl

Democrats in congress voted to recognize Islam as "one the of the great religions of the world" and condemned the persecution of Muslims around the world. They also voted to honor the Islamic holiday of Ramadan. Now there's nothing wrong with condemning the persecution of anyone or respecting the religion of anyone, but there is something wrong when Democrats vote for religious tolerance for Muslims but refuse to do the same for Christians, especially when it is known that Christians are the most persecuted people in the world, more than any other peoples around the world.The Ramadan resolution began:Whereas Ramadan is the holy month of fasting and spiritual renewal for Muslims worldwide, and is the 9th month of the Muslim calendar year; and Whereas the observance of the Islamic holy month of Ramandan commenced at dusk on September 13, 2007, and continues for one lunar month:"The Christmas resolution began:Whereas Christmas, a holiday of great significance to Americans and many other

There are some things I do reasonably well but quickly responding to e-mail from readers is not one of them. I enjoy hearing from readers, and I do generally respond, but it often takes me awhile to do so. In this post, I want to address a thought-provoking e-mail I received recently because the question, why I choose to focus on Christianity here, has come up before and will probably continue to do so.The e-mail posed a couple excellent questions:Why do I focus this blog on Christianity? Is it simply because this is the most common religion in the United States where I live, or do I have other reasons?Wouldn't the blog be more effective if it were framed as a broad defense of reason which responded to religion in general instead of focusing so much on one specific instance of religion (i.e., Christianity)? After all, there are many religions across the world, all equally deserving of being labeled as mythology.I think my e-mailed response to this reader may have been something of a c

Well I'm finally getting to see it. I'm writing this from Alaska and I must say it's even more beautiful than I imagined. I find it hard to believe that anyone who can read and write could see this wild land and assign its origin to anything but God. I was asked to review Dinesh D'Souza's new book, "What's So Great About Christianity?" and on the flight up here I nearly finished it. When I first learned about the book I made a mental note to buy it when it hit the shelves. A few days later I had an email offering me a review copy and I accepted. It's very hard to know where to begin with this book. But I'll start by telling you that the chapters are so individually stimulating that if they were all individual books I'd go out of my way to convince you to read each one of them.Among other topics, D'Souza presents recent scientific discoveries that are causing a number of scientists who were formerly atheists to believe that a higher power created the universe. He also quotes a

Did you know that the main inspiration for one of modern Christianity’s foundational assumptions is Plato? You heard that right. It isn’t the Bible, Jesus, the early Christians, or even first century Judaism. It was the Greek philosopher Plato. And that certainly doesn’t bode well, because Plato was a complete nutball. It’s from Plato that we get the idea of the Philosopher-King as the perfect government man could have. In other words, he was an advocate of tyranny and dictatorship. Plato, like most politicians today, thought that nearly everyone (except himself, of course) was a complete and total moron and therefore didn’t know how to take care of himself. To add to the list of bad ideas, he proposed the idea of fiat currency, saying that the money used by the state should be “of no worth amongst the rest of mankind.” We can see how well funny money is working out for the United States. He also liked the idea of limiting freedom by out

What is dehumanization, and how does it facilitate a host of atrocities? How is it now influencing the debate over waterboarding? What is the relationship of Christianity to dehumanization, and should this ancient religion be a source of concern in our dialogue on torture? These are difficult questions for which I do not pretend to have all the answers, however, this post will attempt to find a starting point in a long overdue discussion.DehumanizationDehumanization is a psychological process in which a defined enemy is perceived as less human and thus less deserving of the moral consideration one typically applies to one's fellow human. Classic examples include African slaves in the eyes of White Americans and Jews in the eyes of Nazis. Contemporary examples include illegal immigrants in the eyes of socially conservative Republicans and "Islamofascists" in the eyes of fundamentalist Christians.In most cases, dehumanization unfolds gradually, often requiring considerable time. Hitler

Guess who wrote this and when: If it is religious to advocate rebuilding a church, why is it non-religious to advocate tearing down and rebuilding slum districts? If it is religious to encourage the church to recarpet the aisles and cushion the seats for the feet and backs of worshippers, why is it non-religious to speak of playgrounds for young feet and old-age pensions for aged backs? If you guessed Walter Rauschenbusch 100 years ago, your absolutely right. Looks like we still have the same theological dilemmas in the church today that we did back then. Zach has put together a great collection of quotes from Walter’s book and wrote a post about the importance of writings such as this. Read Zach’s Post Here. Read Walter Rauschenbusch Quotes Here. Read the entire Christianity and The Social Crisis Here. christianity, Social JusticeShare This

It is often said that great art is supposed to be provocative, eliciting strong (and not necessarily) pleasant emotions in those who experience it. Mediocre art may simply produce mildly pleasant feelings, but the great art that ends up being remembered involves confrontation. It forces the audience to confront powerful ideas, and even when it produces unpleasant emotions, the audience is actually changed for having experienced it. It has taken me most of my life to fully comprehend this simple truth, and I cannot help but think that religion was one of the factors which stunted my growth.I think I must have been born without the part of the brain that gives one artistic ability. I've always loved art (especially music, literature, photography, and abstract painting) and had great admiration for this sort of talent. But outside of some limited writing ability, I've never seen any of this ability in myself.My early Christian indoctrination was about behaving oneself, defending against

This is from Steven Carr's blog. It is a definition of Christianity:'The belief that a cosmic Jewish Zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree, which never actually existed.'The Christian beliefs when taken literally look like the above definition. No wonder more and more people are saying, "No thanks." Yet there are many of us who are participating in the reform of Christianity that regards symbols and stories as symbols and stories. Marcus Borg is one such Christian. We are reading The Heart of Christianity in our Thursdays with Jesus group. Rather than regard Christianity as statements you must believe in order to get transported to heaven, Borg sees Christianity as a way of living. We just finished his chapter on

Jimmy Z -  Readers: I thought I would take a quick moment here and make sure I have not alienated those of you who do not share my personal faith. I know that my long-time political web partner SonlitKnight and I do not see eye to eye on all things of faith (he is Catholic and I am Protestant), but on the important matters of Christ we run parallel. Still, many of you may not ascribe to the Christian faith, or any faith at all, and I want to assure you that A Newt One is still your Truth Surge. When I write of Christian topics, I am going to assume that I write to those of you who are Christians. I’m not excluding anyone, but I’m not proselytizing either. I recognize that good people come from all kinds of faith, or no faith at all. We are bound by our conservative politics here at A Newt One, not religious faith. For me, of course, my faith in Christ guides my political convictions, and so it would be impossible for me to exclude the substance of my faith while

Many Christians like Pascal's Wager and are quick to pull it out in debating atheists. While reading a post at Spanish Inquisitor, I found myself wondering what this odd little bit of philosophic gambling has to do with Christianity. I have to assume that Pascal offered this as justification for theism rather than Christianity. If one follows the idea of the wager, I see nothing that would lead one to Christianity as opposed to Islam or some other religion.Pascal expressed this famous bit of apologetics as follows:If you erroneously believe in God, you lose nothing (assuming that death is the absolute end), whereas if you correctly believe in God, you gain everything (eternal bliss). But if you correctly disbelieve in God, you gain nothing (death ends all), whereas if you erroneously disbelieve in God, you lose everything (eternal damnation).Some Christians claim that they find this compelling even though it seems like an incredibly poor reason to believe anything. But how is this sup

Whether the organizations offering free debt consolidation are working according to the principles of Christianity or not is a debatable issue. Many people feel that they dismiss the viewpoint of the Christian way of life. On the other hand, there are people who stand in favor of these consolidation companies.

My parents were don't care atheists and my aunt was hardcore christian. So she took us to church with her. My aunt did the best she could to indoctrinate us but when I grew up I was basicaly an atheist.I am however no longer an atheist.I have seen god.I know what people are talking about when they talk of god (to bad they don't know what they are talking about).I don't have faith in god. God is a fact. Their is no room for faith.This world is an illusion.God is more real than the floor you stand on.I'm not a christian.Seeing god didn't make me a christian.In fact seeing god proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that christianity is full of shit.The very first thing I realised upon seeing god is how full of shit christianity is.If I could tell you one thing about god it is this.God is loving.I don't mean it in the traditional christian sense.I mean it for real.When I say god loves you it means their is no hell.No need for human sacrifice.No need to drink blood.No need to be perfect.N

(Conversations with Bob! Don't hate us because we are beautiful. My turn!)I am reposting an entry I made a while ago. This is a list of two different ways of seeing the Christian tradition. Borg calls these the earlier and the emerging paradigms in his book Heart of Christianity.This was originally printed in the Fourth R by Roy Hoover, a Fellow of the Jesus Seminar and a Methodist minister. It might be fun to vote on where you find yourself in this scheme. Let's try it. Everyone can play. Give a 1 if you are totally with the Brown (biblical, earlier) and a 10 if you are totally with the Blue (modern, emerging). Give a number between 1 and 10 if you find yourself in between these views. Of course, feel free to critique the categories and their descriptions. Here are the two views. My votes at the end of this post!The Biblical View of the History of the Worldand Human LifeVs.The Modern View of the History of the Worldand Human Life 1. The origin of the universe Go

According to a recent study by The Barna Group in which 16-29 year-olds were surveyed, the reputation of Christianity has declined considerably in just a decade. This finding holds for both non-Christian and Christian youth. Evidently, young people are increasingly skeptical of this ancient religion. Excellent news if you ask me.This article is worth a read, but here are some highlights:"16- to 29-year-olds exhibit a greater degree of criticism toward Christianity than did previous generations when they were at the same stage of life.""...today’s young non-Christians are eight times less likely to experience positive associations toward evangelicals than were non-Christians of the Boomer generation...""...91% of the nation’s evangelicals believe that 'Americans are becoming more hostile and negative toward Christianity.'""Common negative perceptions [of Christianity by non-Christians] include that present-day Christianity is judgmental (87%), hypocritical (85%), old-fashioned (78

For hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus the Jewish people waited, some patiently, some not so patiently, for the coming of the Messiah. The prophets foretold of the power that he would wield as he restored Israel to its proper place at the head of all nations. Those that had subjugated and persecuted God’s chosen people would be dealt with in a swift and decisive fashion. In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him and his place of rest will be glorious. In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish, and Judah’s enemies will be cu

Good to see religion doesn’t necessarily mean being stuck in the dark ages. Now if someone can just update the bible, we’d be set. Oh wait, that’s being done too… bible, bling, christianity, gadgets, humour, lolcats, technology, usbShare This

For a Christian country, Americans aren’t all that pleased with Christianity: Nine out of ten non-Christians found Christians too “anti-homosexual,” and nearly as many perceived it as “hypocritical” and “judgmental.” Seventy-five percent found it “too involved in politics.” In fact, in polls conducted between 2004 and this year, sampling 440 non-Christians (and a similar number of Christians) aged 16 to 29, found that 38% had a “bad impression” of present-day Christianity. The number of non-Christians is growing with each succeeding generation: 23% of Americans over 61 were non-Christians; 27% among people ages 42-60; and 40% among 16-29 year olds. Younger Christians, he concludes, are therefore likely to live in an environment where two out of every five of their peers is not a Christian. The Time story is here: Christianity’s Image Problem

Christianity is a monotheistic religion which originated in Palestine about 2000 years ago, when the region was an outlying province of the Roman Empire. It is a religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, a Jewish itinerant preacher, who lived in Palestine in the early part of the first century. [...]

I have been in deep thought lately surrounding the seeming inseparable tie of Community and Christianity. The way I see it, COMMUNITY IS A MUST. It seems to me that God has ordained that you and I could not truly experience the fullness of His love and grace without experiencing that through relationships within the [...]

Martin Robinson believes that the Church in the Western world finds itself in deep crisis. Not only is there a fundamental decline in church membership and attendance, but something more fundamental has been taking place in the second half of the twentieth century. He notes, however, that “the difficulties encountered by the church in the West do not reflect the global position of the church. Far from it. The worldwide church has demonstrated astonishing life and vigour in precisely the same period that the Western church has suffered reversal and decline.” (Robinson and Smith, Invading Secular Space, 2003, 17) There is a scary future ahead if Christians in America fail to understand the times in which they are living and fail to embody the mission and message of Jesus. Imagine this potential scene if we do not: European nations have truly become post-Christian nations. Their great cathedrals and church buildings once were filled with people, but now they sit almost empty on Sun

I sometimes struggle with the ministry identity.  There are so many things in my life that are affected by the fact that I serve as a Pastor.  I’m either going to be restrained from certain things or I’m going to be forced in certain things because of the identity/title that I carry.  Believe me, I’m [...]