So the bottom line is that sometimes, conflict is necessary. But with Jesus’ life as an example, with His teachings to go by, and from what Paul and others wrote, most of the time conflict probably isn’t necessary. Especially when it’s between Christians.
Don’t settle for less, #08: Don’t avoid all conflict More
She doesn’t know what to do. She doesn’t really want to have an abortion. But doesn’t know what else to do, because the Christians are screaming at her to not have the abortion. But then if she has the baby, she also knows those many of those same Christians have, under the name of their political party, made it pretty much impossible for her to support the child. And, few of them will offer any kind of help.
Tell me. Who all sinned in that scenario?
Is abortion the only pro-life issue? More
Beer, biscuits and butter – is that settling for less? Some people will ask, “less than what?” Others will just say, “I’m fine with that.” How about you? Is that enough to make you happy? Keep you happy? Or do you want more? A whole lot more?
It seems weird – a site about religion talking about beer, biscuits, butter and bourbon. Relax, I’m not going to get into the evils of drinking and eating unhealthy food.
No, we need to consider something Jesus said. Something we probably just assume means we can eat whatever we want. But Jesus points out a whole new category of things that we should have been watching out for all along. But probably didn’t. Check it out.
Beer, biscuits and butter – is that settling for less? More
Trump Announces New Religious Freedom Initiatives. And Evangelical leaders cheer. But let’s be honest. Exactly what do those religious freedom initiatives accomplish? Oh yeah – businesses are going to be involved too. Huh? “Freedom of religion and belief can contribute to a rich pluralism that is itself associated with economic growth.” Again – Huh? And since the announcement was at the United Nations, they chimed in as well. “The UN secretary-general António Guterres, seated to Trump’s right, thanked the President for his focus on religious freedom and praised the recent efforts of Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Ahmed al-Tayyib, to promote religious peace and fraternity. He announced two new UN initiatives to support religious freedom—a strategy against hate speech and an action plan to protect houses of worship.” One more time – Huh?
I’m sorry but, is that what religion is really about? Pluralism, a condition or system in which two or more states, groups, principles, sources of authority, etc., coexist? Really? Contributing to economic growth? Really? Religious fraternity? Really?
Any Christian should be asking, what happened to salvation?
Trump’s New Religious Freedom Initiatives – what do they mean? More
Which god provides salvation for us? Different people have different “gods” or deities. Even those who claim to have no “god” have one – maybe they view themselves as “the deity” of their own world. From there, we should recognize that outside of people who believe this life is “all there is” – we want something from our deity. One of those things we want from our “god” is “salvation” – we want that “god” to save us from something.
Which god provides salvation for us? More
Truth + Half-Truth = Half-Lie = Lie. It’s a progression. We start with the truth. Add in something that’s not quite true. Now it’s a half-truth. But it’s really half-lie. And the conclusion we reach with that half-lie is almost certainly an outright lie. The big question is, are we willing to acknowledge that? Maybe even, are we capable of acknowledging that? Or are we so conditioned to even the half-lie that we think even something with the tiniest piece of truth must really be true?
Truth + Half-Truth = Half-Lie = Lie More
Blessed are those who mourn. Oh yeah. That’s a message we all want to hear. Especially when it’s translated as “happy are those who are unhappy”. But remember, this is Jesus. Everything’s either upside down or backwards. After all, Jesus is the one who said, Mt 20:16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” So what else should we expect?
Blessed are those who mourn More
Honestly, those are the reasons we celebrate. Not just because a cute cuddly baby was born. But because that cute cuddly baby was God in human form, who came here to suffer and die for us.
And look what we’ve done with that day. That season. We commit even more sins in our attempt to celebrate His birth. We force people to say things. We have need to have bigger and better displays than our neighbors, because of our pride. We give good gifts, because we want people to like us, even if we don’t think twice about them the rest of the year. And on – and on.
Why does Christmas matter? More
I doubt that a huge number of people today would refer to Christianity as counter-cultural. In fact, being in what’s called a post-Christian era, more people are likely to view Christianity as the old way – much like young people don’t use email, Facebook, and countless other “old” technologies.
The question is – why not? Christianity should be very much a counter-culture. The fact that it isn’t, I believe, is more related to how Christianity is practiced than it is to what Christianity is really about. I’m talking about the Christianity of Jesus – not the Christianity of man. Not the European model, where people are more into following The Force, as in Star Wars, or being a “none”. And not the Christianity of America, where the so-called prosperity Gospel seems to have more followers than anything close to what Jesus actually spoke about.
So as you read this, think about Jesus’ words in that counter-culture way. Maybe it’s not what you’re used to hearing. But they are, after all, His words. They aren’t the watered down or misinformed words that are spoken or written about by people who don’t even follow Jesus’ teaching themselves. Think the “yeast of the Pharisees” here.
The Sermon On The Mount – Introduction More
Think about things like that when you can. Remember that the corporations are made up of people. At the top. And at the bottom. And really, the church is also made up of people. So when it comes to the question of religion and Wall Street pay – the simple truth is that we – people – are on both sides of that question.
What does religion have to do with Wall Street pay? More
