Month: January 2013

Emergent Church

Emergent Church… Good Theology … Bad Theology

From Tony Jones in his book The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier: Good theology begets beautiful Christianity. And so it follows that Bad theology begets ugly Christianity. That may sound supremely arrogant, but hear me out. A lot of us, emergents included, are disheartened by the complexion of Christianity in America. We’re embarrassed by the Jesus junk we see in stores, by the … Continue reading Emergent Church… Good Theology … Bad Theology

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Book review, Emergent Church

The Emergent Church….. They Love Everyone….

I am going to spend the next few posts giving you some more info about the emergent church movement now taking place around the world. The source for these posts is a book by Tony Jones entitled The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier. Tony is one of the original leaders of this movement so his words have an insight into the beginning thoughts about just … Continue reading The Emergent Church….. They Love Everyone….

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Christianity, Creeds & Beliefs, Theology

The Church and Evolution….

I know you expect this post to be about how the church is very much against the idea of evolution. But really it is going to be quite the opposite. Yes, many denominations within the church, like so many other areas of science, deny evolution of the species as originated by Darwin. The Scopes Monkey trial was evidence of that. William Jennings Bryan put up … Continue reading The Church and Evolution….

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About Jesus, Christianity

Man’s Fingerprints…..

One thing that seems so hard for many fundamentalist Christians is the idea that much of their religious traditions and beliefs come from man, not God. They seem totally unable to even conceive of that idea. Without that acknowledgement they have doomed their version of Christianity to the trash heap of time. Science, that they generally deem as the enemy, will eventually become just be … Continue reading Man’s Fingerprints…..

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Christianity, I believe

Inclusiveness…..

Despite recent trends the U.S. is still pretty much an inclusive society. As the saying on the plaque at the Statue Of Liberty goes we welcome all others to our shores. The resulting diversity is in my mind one of the primary reasons we have been such a strong and prosperous country. Elitism is by definition exclusive. It wants more and more for a smaller and … Continue reading Inclusiveness…..

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About Jesus, Christianity, Emergent Church

Not to Confuse Jesus With the Packaging….

I want to spend this post telling you a little more about today’s emergent churches. No, this is not just a different denomination coming onto the scene but instead is a paradigm shift taking place in the church itself and many times within existing church structures, even at the individual congregational level. Let’s look as some more words about this from Harvey Cox in his … Continue reading Not to Confuse Jesus With the Packaging….

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UnSpecified

Paul as Usurper of Christianity?

Source: Paul as Usurper of Christianity? « Common Treasury. I am aware that there has been much discussion in the past on the alleged contrasting visions of Jesus in the gospels (especially Matthew, Mark, and Luke-Acts) and the message in the Paul’s letters. There is something to the charge I think (not that I have studied this in great detail); I have on a couple of … Continue reading Paul as Usurper of Christianity?

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Christianity, Creeds & Beliefs, Emergent Church

Those Non-Western Christians…

Anyone who has read much of this blog knows that I take the creeds of the Christian church to have done more harm than good.  Here are some words about that by Harvey Cox in his book The Future of Faith: Creeds were always something theologians invented, often to stake out spheres of authority. The vast body of lay Christians knew little about them and … Continue reading Those Non-Western Christians…

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About Jesus, Theology

Prosperity Gospel And Joel Osteen — Fact or Crap……

I am going into the attack mode this morning. I don’t do this often but sometimes one of those 39,000 versions of Jesus Christ  around today severely strike my ire. That is the case with the “Prosperity Gospel”. When I came across these calendars in a stand recently their position next to each other got my immediate attention. Here are some words from Christianity Today … Continue reading Prosperity Gospel And Joel Osteen — Fact or Crap……

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About Jesus, Creeds & Beliefs, Emergent Church, I believe

Don’t Embarrass God….

Since this is the first post here in 2013 I pray we all make a new years resolution to not embarrass God!! We followers of Jesus seem to think that our self-proclamation that we are Christians doesn’t affect anyone but ourselves. But in reality making that claim and then not living up the actions necessary to show the world that you follow Jesus embarrasses God. … Continue reading Don’t Embarrass God….

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