Results 1 - 8 of 8
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | When did the catholic church go wrong? | Bible general Archive 1 | Hank | 25922 | ||
Ed, those findings you cited on the state of the churches in our country are interesting but more than that, they are downright disburbing. And I have no reason to question their accuracy. I fear they are sadly true...... But, you know, the trend CAN be reversed. There is no excuse for a church to become exclusive and clanish and treat visitors as imposters. There is no excuse for waving any denominational flag as if it were the symbol of the only church that held the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Most of the mortal wounds that are being struck on churches are self-inflicted...... But a church doesn't have to commit suicide. There is another option. Let me tell you about one that is alive and well. I know of a church in the downtown area of a moderate-size city. It is not clanish. It welcomes all visitors warmly. It preaches and teaches the Bible. It places no premium on man's mere opinions about God and His word. It exalts Christ, not denominationalism, although it is a member of the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. It is vibrant. It is alive. It is large and continues to show steady growth...... I know these things to be true about it, because it is the church that my wife and I are members of. We rejoice and are glad always to enter this house of the Lord. --Hank | ||||||
2 | When did the catholic church go wrong? | Bible general Archive 1 | Reformer Joe | 25930 | ||
I wonder how many of those churches with less than 75 members are rural churches. In Texas and Oklahoma (and I would assume Arkansas, too) I have seen good churches in the middle of nowhere with twelve people on the membership rolls. Also, I would like to see more data on these closing churches. Churches do not always close for bad reasons. Sometimes two small congregations will merge. Sometimes the community changes in such a way as to cause the membership to dwindle. Demographics changes can also lead to church membership decline as well. So can persecution (e.g Jerusalem A.D. 70) It is interesting to read the first few chapters of Revelation and know that those churches do not exist anymore. And yet the invisible church triumphant that the saints of God belong to does and has always existed since God first established it, and God will preserve it until the return of His Son. The manifestation of the church in the world is a fluid thing, non-static in its geography and intensity. I am glad your church is so worthy of the praise you give it Hank. I too am blessed to be in a congregation where the supremacy of the Triune God and Scripture can be found in every nook and cranny of that building, its teaching and worship. We certainly have our traditions, but we pay careful heed to the words of Christ to the Pharisees: "And He answered and said to them, "Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?" --Matthew 15:3 (see also Mark 7) --Joe! |
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3 | When did the catholic church go wrong? | Bible general Archive 1 | Hank | 25985 | ||
There are possibly any number of reasons why smaller churches are closing their doors, but it seems to me that two of them could be classified as major. The first is the fact that some denominations, especially those who have been tagged as 'mainline' churches -- e.g., Presbyterian, Methodist, and Episcopalian, to name three -- have over the last several years steadily decreased in numbers, both in membership and church buildings...... The second is the relatively new organism known as the 'mega church.' As the large discount houses gradually snuffed out most of the 'mom and pop' stores, so the mega churches have dramatically impacted the small neighborhood church. As the mom and pop stores could not compete with the attractive menu being presented by the hugh discount centers, so the small neighborhood church could not compete with the dazzling variety of programs being offered by the large regional churches..... The automobile (at least two in virtually every garage) has made it possible for both the super store and the mega church to flourish..... These are but two of who knows how many reasons for the sweeping changes we have seen in church attendance, or lack of it, in the last 50 years or so. But, Joe, as you say, God continues to draw people into the fold. --Hank | ||||||
4 | When did the catholic church go wrong? | Bible general Archive 1 | CDBJ | 25994 | ||
Hank I liked your analogy, it shows you are thinking. It is my opinion that churches grow now days because believers are being feed. I quit going to a particular church years ago because they always had the same thing on the menu, salvation. I needed more meat in my diet once I was saved and starting to grow. I would look a fright, physically, if all I could get to eat were baby food. The problem now days, is that some of those big old denomination don't even offer baby food anymore, if you get my drift. CDBJ | ||||||
5 | When did the catholic church go wrong? | Bible general Archive 1 | Hank | 25996 | ||
I do get your "drift", CDBJ, loud and clear. It's sad. Some churches don't serve much on their menu but goody-goody desserts. The theme song might as well be, "Come join us. It'll make you feel good all over. We have fun and fellowship and sports and quilting parties -- and the food is always simply delicious." At a "church" my wife and attended some years ago, I once counted the number of Sundays on which the word "Jesus" was never spoken from the pulpit. As I recall, the number rose to the double digits before the man who was mis-named the pastor slipped up and mentioned the name of Jesus. I'm happy to say we no longer attend that organization. --Hank | ||||||
6 | When did the catholic church go wrong? | Bible general Archive 1 | CDBJ | 26162 | ||
I'll be honest with you I am not even much into singing anymore. I know singing conveys praise but it hurts my throat when it's more then one song. I sure like turning pages in the Bible though on the pastors lead when following a point of doctrin. Someone said that you can usually till if a church is heading in the right direction or is on the right track without even going inside; just see how many of it's members are carrying Bibles in with them! That is a pretty good indication that they Word of God is being taught. CDBJ | ||||||
7 | When did the catholic church go wrong? | Bible general Archive 1 | Hank | 26165 | ||
CDBJ, I hadn't really thought about your idea of watching for how many members of a church carried Bibles with them, but I do believe you're right. In the church that my wife and I formerly attended for years, virtually no one carried a Bible. It was for all intents a dead church...... In the church we attend now (a large church) I believe that if you took the Bibles that were carried in, stacked them on a table and counted them, you would know almost exactly how many people attended the service on any given Sunday. And it is a live, active, vibrant church. You make a good point. The Bibles being carried in are a leading indicator of what one is likely to find inside. Could we say that going to church without a Bible is like going on a picnic without a basket full of food? --Hank | ||||||
8 | When did the catholic church go wrong? | Bible general Archive 1 | CDBJ | 26168 | ||
In essence that is what Christ said, Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. There is food for the body and food for the spirit. It is the assimilation of God's Word that causes us to grow spiritually. CDBJ |
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