Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

Do American Christians care about truth at all?

Do American Christians care about truth at all?

Do American Christians care about truth at all?  That should be a dumb question.  Dumb in the sense that all Christians care about truth.  Don’t we?  Sadly, apparently not.

The headline from NBC News reads: RNC airs video clip of ‘Biden’s America’ — it was actually Barcelona.  Just in case you’re not aware of it, Barcelona is in Spain.  You know – Spain, as in the country across the Atlantic.  In Europe.  Not in America.  Although some people, notably our President – Trump – don’t seem to know this.  Or maybe just flat out don’t care?

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Blessed are the peacemakers

Blessed are the peacemakers

Blessed are the peacemakers.  But who / what are peacemakers?  Some of you will think of a Colt handgun.  Or a strategic bomber.  Or maybe even an MX Missile.  If you’re Christian, or think you’re Christian, hopefully those aren’t the first things that come to mind.  Why not?  Because Blessed are the peacemakers is something Jesus said.  It’s one of the Beatitudes, from the Sermon on the Mount. 

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If God is here - Where is He?

If God is here – Where is He?

If God is here, where is He?  That question seems to have a lot of doubt built into it.  Not since God is here, or since God exists, but If God is here.  Not to mention the obvious doubt that God is here, since there’s no apparent evidence of Him.

However, there are people who end up at this site looking for answers to questions like these two:

What does God want?
Does God cry when we die?

These are people that believe that at least God is here, but maybe wondering whether he still cares.

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Christians don't want power

Do Christians want power?

Do Christians want power?  What kind of question is that?  Look around.  Of course Christians want power.  Check out the Republican Party.  Witness the strange almost worship-like adoration of Donald Trump by so many Evangelical Christians.  They want power.  So why does Scot McKnight say Christians don’t want power?  And why is he right?  How, in the face of all we see, can McKnight possibly be correct when he says Christians don’t want power?

Actually, both statements are correct – Christians do want power.  But also don’t want power.  It’s not really a question of whether or not Christians want power.  It’s a question of what do we mean by power.

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Not a Christian nation - A Nation that repays evil with evil

A Nation that repays evil with evil is not a Christian nation

Hey Trump Christians – these questions are for you.  How do you feel, supporting a President that claims to be the best President ever for Christians, and yet acts the opposite of what Jesus told us to act?  Two says ago, Trump said, “We are a very reciprocal nation with me as the head. When somebody does something negative to us in terms of a country, we do it to them.”  In other words, we repay evil with evil.  Does that sound even remotely like something Jesus ever taught?  Does it bother you that your chosen candidate says and does things like this?  On top of that, consider the likelihood that you support Trump because of his claims about being so much in favor of Christians. 

If you are unhappy with it, where is your voice?  More and more, polls show that the U.S. is no longer a Christian nation.  The fact that we have a leader who blatantly acts very un-Christian and yet claims to be so supportive of Christians tells us something.  It tells us that the polls are right.  We are more un-Christian as a nation.  A nation of individuals.  Individuals who seem to have lost sight of what Christianity is really about.  Or maybe we’re just a nation of so-called Christians who look to the devil to promote our Christian religion?

That might sound a bit strong.  Maybe very strong.  And yet, when so many Christians – including Christian leaders – are so silent when their candidate of choice says and does things like this.  When Trump claims to be so pro-Christian, where is the push-back or the talk of the reality of what he really does being so anti-Christian?  And it’s the same thing when he speaks like this.  Where’s the push-back, asking how someone who claims to be so pro-Christian can say things like that?  Isn’t accountability part of Christianity anymore?

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Who is God?

Messed Up American Theology: Who Is God?

Who Is God?  Since a majority of Americans don’t believe even some of the basic teachings of the Bible, there’s no choice but to believe American theology is messed up.  And I mean really basic stuff.  Like critical things about Jesus.  Not surprisingly, they don’t really know about the Holy Spirit either.  And while I say not surprisingly, it’s very sad.  If the theology is messed up, so are we.

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Receive the Holy Spirit

The problem of “Receive the Holy Spirit”

And with that he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit.   This verse is from John 20:22.  Yes – John’s Gospel.  This is one of those verses that just makes you want to ask, “What is going on here?  Didn’t that happen later?  Wasn’t that in Acts?  On Pentecost?” 

Let’s start someplace unexpected.  In the middle.  At the very beginning of the book of Acts, written by Luke.

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Before the rooster crows, but was it once or twice?

So which one is it?  Was Jesus telling Peter the rooster was going to crow once, or twice?  Does it matter?

Well, yes it does matter.  You don’t want to give someone a “free pass” to say there’s a discrepancy between the Gospels, and therefore there is an error in the Bible.  There should be at least an attempt to see why this apparent discrepancy might exist. 

However, first and foremost we need to see if it’s really even different.  Conclusions are no better than the assumptions upon which they’re based.  So, we really cannot just assume the verses disagree without verifying it.

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