Church

Abraham's was a false religion?

Wayne — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 09:34:07 -0400

Last Sunday, my pastor tried to equate Judaism to a number of false faiths. To be sure, the modern perversion of Judaism is at odds with the TNK (Bible) in many ways. However, my pastor didn't mention modern Judaism but essentially named Abraham as father of a false religion (akin to Buddha, Confucius, and Muhammad). I'm sure he's not cognizant of just how much he violated Biblical/Godly doctrine in so doing. » read more »

Advancing the Kingdom

Wayne — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 11:14:42 -0500

Preachers are fond of talking about "advancing", "furthering", "adding to", or "growing" the Kingdom. These phrases are usually used in the context of Christian ministry and witnessing, suggesting that our evangelism can/will make the Kingdom expand. I have not been able to find any Biblical references to this concept. Where in the Scriptures does our Lord mention anything about our ability, let alone responsibility, to advance or grow His Kingdom? » read more »

Blog fodder

Wayne — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 08:08:55 -0500

What purpose does the modern church fulfill, if not accountability? Its teachings are watered down at best, corrupt and perverted at worst. Its fellowship is largely superficial. Its programs are devoid of spiritual life. Blog fodder. That's what my wife calls church these days, blog fodder. So it is. » read more »

Tired of swirling

Wayne — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:34:42 -0500

I'm getting tired of being a lonely voice in the wilderness, so to speak. I suppose it's not too terribly lonely. There seem to be a very few cohorts who see the dangers we're planting for ourselves. I don't see many converts, though. Most of the stupid masses are content to watch Christendom and America go down the toilet--nay, not just watch: they lift the seat, press the lever, and jump in and pull others with them. This supports my long-term observation that those who practice evil tend to be stupidly self-destructive (bogus labels of "Christian" or "American" notwithstanding). » read more »

Organized religion

Wayne — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:40:26 -0500

I've always had various bones to pick with "organized religion" or more specifically, the modern Christian [sic] church. I left denominationalism because of the growing list of issues in organized religion, only to learn nondenominationalism isn't much better. There is not one that I could feel good about recommending to new believers, for example.

Several heresies are commonly taught including tithing, Prosperity Doctrine, subtle forms of antisemitism (often including Replacement Theology or merely apathy toward God's Chosen People), Sunday Sabbath, various levels of rejection of the Tenakh, seeker friendliness, and more and worse. Most of the good churches--the best I could find--still teach most of these heresies. Even setting aside their heresies, I've yet to find a church that doesn't overtly and insistently violate God's will regularly (and I mean on big issues, not whether or not to put in stained glass or such benign matters). » read more »

Live Praise & Worship 24/7

Charla — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:51:54 -0500

The International House of Prayer in Kansas City has teamed up with God TV to webstream their live 24/7 praise & worship sets. They are offering a 7 day trial before having to subscribe ($10 a month). This trial goes until Jan. 7th. You do have to register before getting access to the trial but it's well worth it.

Here's their website to check them out. http://theprayerroom.tv/

These people go day and night worshipping God in prayer intercession & devotion sets. It's pretty powerful. There's just something awesome about live worship. Personal worship alone is great too. But there is something so strong when many get together to worship in a corporate setting. » read more »

Good Organizations

Wayne — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 15:42:28 -0400

(Forgive my choice of taxonomies for this article. All of them are a bit of a stretch.)

Chuck Colson recently wrote an article about the Rockies and why their team has met with success of late. This got me to thinkin' 'bout what ingredients are necessary for an organization to truly be good. » read more »

Jesus Will Still Be There

MerelyChristian — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 22:35:15 -0400

You may have gathered that I am not a fan of contemporary church music. Well, one of the songs recommended by DailyEncouragement.net has been on my MP3 player for a few months, and I can’t listen to it without tears welling up in my eyes. It’s ‘Jesus Will Still Be There’, performed by Point of Grace on the 1995 album, “Today’s Best Christian Hits”. I’m starting to open up more to that musical style.

And here are the lyrics:

Things change, plans fail
You look for love on a grander scale
Storms rise, hopes fade
And you place your bets on another day
When the going gets tough, when the ride's too rough » read more »

Catholic authority

Wayne — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 19:35:07 -0400

I was studying Matthew 16:18 and noticed something in the Greek. Peter's name is petros, which is not just "rock" but implies "a piece of a rock". Meanwhile, the rock (or Rock?) upon which the church is built--in the same verse--is petras, which implies "a mass of a rock". These are clearly two different ideas. The Lord seems to be using Simon Peter's name as a kind of pun, a play on words, a metaphor, that he is a "chip off the ol' block." The "chip" and the "block" cannot be synonymous. There's no way an educated man can deduce the Catholic doctrine of Church and Papal supremacy based on this verse. » read more »

Christian Music: It's About Lyrics, Not Notes!

Katrina — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 14:50:05 -0400

In light of the recent discussions regarding music and more
specifically Christian music
(http://tuscanycircle.net/drupa...), I feel compelled
to offer my opinion.

First of all, let me start by saying that music (tunes, melodies, etc.) are
nothing more than notes on paper. It has no meaning in and of itself. It
can evoke thoughts and feelings in the listener, but each listener will have
different thoughts and feelings from the same music. I would assert here
that each listener is responsible for his own thoughts and feelings
associated with the music and it is NOT the music itself. In fact, » read more »