I know the Old Testament talks about a 10% thithe in several places but is this also applicable to Christians in the New Testament age? Some say yes and some say no. It always impressed me when I read in the book of acts how Early Christians sold everything they had and gave the money to the Apostles for the community good. Here are those … Continue reading 10% Tithe??
Is there anything wrong with having a church be the social center for members’ families as well as a place to worship God? Many churches believe this configuration is totally wrong but in reality most, if not all, churches are to one degree or another clubhouses as well as churches. Some believe the church/clubhouse is the core of the 21st century religious establishment. Should having … Continue reading The Church Clubhouse?
I will let the last post represent those parallel verses that are very similar to each other. In my studies those were somewhat typical of the conflicts of words. I know there are many places in the Old Testament that people report conflicting verses. I did not attempt to cover any of these but instead concentrated on Gospel accounts. What I found were all somewhat … Continue reading Parallel Gospel Verses … Part 3 (The Last Supper)
Before we look at a few of the parallel verses in the Gospel accounts let’s see where there are no parallel accounts. John Chapters 1 through 4 have many of Jesus’ words that are not reported anywhere else. I don’t know if part of that is because John’s Gospel was written several years after the others so John could read Matthew, Mark, and Luke, before … Continue reading Parallel Gospel Verses…. Part 2.
Due to having frequent discussions with my “inerrant and literal” bible friend lately the Gospel messages have been on my mind. I know there are several places in the bible that supposedly report on the same event. If, as my friend, believes, every word in the bible is literally true and directly from God’s mouth (through the totally obedient hands of men’s pens) then why … Continue reading Parallel Gospel Verses… (Part 1)
Today being Memorial Day here in the U.S. I thought I would spend this post mourning all the children of God who have died in the world’s wars. This includes both the soldiers and those innocent civilians called “collateral damage” by the military complexes. Unfortunately wars and killing have been a fact of life for all of our existence. But this killing each other complex … Continue reading Remembering Memorial Day…
Ok, I have probably spent too much time lately looking at the differences between us Christians and not enough time with personal revelation around the red letters. To ameliorate this condition I will try to spend more time reflecting on particular words of Jesus and what they mean to me. Of course along the way I will also have many questions. Some, given my current … Continue reading Red Letter Messages….
Yesterday being Pentecost, and the fact that I just finished posting a series on the Holy Spirit, it is on my mind. After again reading the dramatic account of the Holy Spirit coming to the apostles and others in that closed and hidden room I had a serious question suddenly pop into my mind. Are we ignoring our small messages from the Holy Spirit and therefore also … Continue reading Pentecost on my mind…
There are thousands of different concepts and ideas floating around in Christianity and most of them have followers who have split from others over their specific views. Of course the biggest split started when a lowly monk decided he knew better than the Pope what God was really about. There are those who have split off other denominations because they believe that total immersion is … Continue reading Give them Jesus
In doing this study on the Holy Spirit I am not convinced that I really know how to envision him even now. To me it sounds like he dwells in each of us and always has but came into the theological forefront after Jesus bodily left us to go back to the Father. There are numerous instances of the “Spirit of God” talking to even … Continue reading The Holy Spirit – Part 7 – Some Concluding Thoughts
This time we will be looking at the method and means the Holy Spirit uses to convey messages to us. Acts 13:1-4 In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart … Continue reading The Holy Spirit – Part 6 – The messages from the Holy Spirit
Lets continue with our study of the relationship between the Holy Spirit and baptism. Acts 11:15-17 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So if God gave them the same gift … Continue reading The Holy Spirit – Part 5 – Baptism and the Holy Spirit (con’t)
This time we will look at the relationship between the Holy Spirit and Baptism. Are they one and the same? Let’s start with Peter in Samaria. Acts 8:14-19 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the … Continue reading The Holy Spirit – Part 4 – Baptism and the Holy Spirit
Let’s look at the book of Acts to try and understand just who the Holy Spirit is and what his purpose is. In our previous study, along with some confusion, we learned that the Holy Spirit is a being who Jesus referred to a “him” is not purely a spiritual presence. Ok, let’s go through some of the references to the Holy Spirit in the … Continue reading The Holy Spirit – Part 3 – Dramatic Events
The 16th Chapter of the John comes to mind most frequently when we think of Jesus giving us the Holy Spirit. Here it is: John 16:12-15 NIV “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will … Continue reading The Holy Spirit – Part 2 Jesus’ words
Having just finished up an extensive set of posts on Quakers, the Holy Spirit is on my mind. So I am now going to concentrate on what the Gospels and book of Acts say about the Holy Spirit. This is going to be a seven part post so please bear with me. I find myself tackling tough theological issues lately. I will try to get … Continue reading The Holy Spirit – Part 1
My wife and I watched a DVR copy of the recent TV movie entitled “Amish Grace” last night. This is the movie about the man who shot ten girls in an Amish school house a few years back and then took his own life. Six of the girls died. The main theme of the movie was about forgiveness and not letting hate overpower you. The … Continue reading If God is Love Where Does Hate Come From?
The last post I attempted to report the basic differences between the two major views of the Bible. This time I am going get a little artsy and make a meager attempt to try to compare these views to the concept of the “Bread of Life”. The Literal and Inerrant View see the Bible as a completed loaf of bread coming directly from God. There … Continue reading The Bible is like….
Given the recent blog discussions between myself and a person who takes the literal inerrant view of the Bible I want to spend a few minutes on that subject. There are basically two views on how to interpret Biblical text: Literal and Inerrant Approach – People who espouse this view believe that absolutely every word in the Bible is written by God through human authors. … Continue reading Biblical Views…
Although the overwhelming majority of comments that come into this blog are words of encouragement some say I am too critical of current church establishments and are therefore actually doing harm to the Body of Christ. In some ways I take pride in those type of comments. They are telling me that I am doing what I intend to do and that is to make … Continue reading Some Say…
This is going to be one of my “ranting” posts so be hereby warned! I try not to do them often but…. Some say institutional maintenance has become the prime work of the “church”. As a whole we Christians spend anywhere from 80% to 100% of our collections maintaining our buildings and paying our staff. The rest is either saved for a “rainy day” or … Continue reading Institutional Maintenance?
There are a significant portion, perhaps as much at 15%, of the world’s Christians who believe in the concept of Sola Scriptura. That is that the Bible alone is all they need to understand and relate to God and that it is literally and absolutely totally true in every aspect. Although he personally did not believe in biblical inerrancy the ones who currently follow the teaching … Continue reading It’s in the memo…
I thought the last post was going to be the end of this round on Quakers but thanks to eriu49’s comments on my previous post I came across the following at http://firstfriendswhittier.org I think I can say I agree with every item on this list. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> You Might Be a Quaker if: You think listening is at least as important as talking. You think justice means more … Continue reading You Might Be a Quaker…
The following is actually a comment attached to my April 5 concluding post on Quakerism. I think it is important enough to pull it out and include it as a separate post. Thanks eriu49 for sending it. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I am very interested in your thoughts about Quakerism. I have been attending Meeting since 1995 and find it meets my needs very well. I found a piece … Continue reading Quakers and the Sacraments…
Ok now on to some of the few things where I feel Quakers beliefs fall a little short . The core of Quakerism is as solid a foundation as I think I have ever come across in Christianity. But, much of it seems to eroded especially during the period between 1800 and 1900. I’m sure there are many meetings that still stick to the core … Continue reading Study of Quakers – Some Personal Thoughts (con’t)
One this day let’s celebrate our risen Savior and starting tomorrow concentrate on living our lives as He taught us. Continue reading A Joyous Easter to Everyone
After this fairly thorough study of Quakers I am ready to summarize my personal thoughts on Quakers and their beliefs and practices. First of all I must say that I am very much attuned to most Quaker beliefs. I think that Quakers really understand what Christ taught on how to live our lives. Not only do they believe it but they practice it in their … Continue reading Study of Quakers – Some Personal Thoughts
Before I close out this series with some personal thoughts I wanted to do a quick post here to give you the list of books I have read in order to do these posts. There were also literally hundreds of websites/blogs I visited; too many to mention or name here. Here is the list of books and their authors and some websites. This is by … Continue reading Study of Quakers – (Part 10) Some Source Books and other Miscellaneous things
Quakerism has generally had no creed. George Fox dismissed theologians as “notionists”, and modern Quakers are generally less concerned with theology, and more concerned with acting in accord with the leading of the Spirit than are many other faiths. Quakers have historically expressed a preference for understanding coming from God’s Spirit over the knowledge derived from objective logic or systematic theology. This lack of a … Continue reading Study of Quakers – (Part 9) The Richmond Conference of 1887
I want to open this post with some words from http://www.quakerinfo.org/quakerism/Qreligm.html Quakerism depends on neither the Bible nor on priestly tradition. However, Friends do value the Bible and recognize the “priesthood of all believers. Genuine belief cannot be second hand. Quakers believe that the writers of the Bible were inspired by God but the Bible is not the “Word” of God but instead are words … Continue reading Study of Quakers – (Part 8) The Bible
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