Results 181 - 200 of 495
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Results from: Notes Author: Aixen7z4 Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
181 | What do we believe? | Jude 1:3 | Aixen7z4 | 117279 | ||
My experience tells me you’re correct. Only a small percent of Christians read the Bible. Many say, “The Bible says” and do not know what it says exactly, or where. It is sad, and frustrating, to try to share with someone who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, and is not willing to listen. Sadder still is the issue of salvation. Pastors tell me that they think 60 to 80 percent of the people in church are unsaved. But what can we do about it? We should preach the Gospel, in the church, but for many reasons, we’re afraid or disinclined to do that. One must often fear to put forth scriptures, even in this place. One who has not taken the time to read your statement, mush less the scriptures, can come on to opine and to oppose. But I suppose that is the way it has been, as I remember Paul’s experience. Acts 18:5,6: “Paul devoted all his time to teaching the word of God. He assured the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah. But they opposed him and insulted him”. Come to think of it, they also opposed and insulted the Messiah. What percentage of the Christian church has ever read the entire Bible? A small one. A small one. He said, “Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?” (Mark 12:24). What percentage of the people are saved? A small one. There is no way to calculate, that I know of. The fact there are 4 different types of ground does not mean that each type gets an equal percentage. There are two ways, one narrow, one broad, and they are not equal in the numbers traveling them. The number of unsaved reading the Bible may be small because people who are not saved may not understand what they read. They may discontinue reading it, because they do not understand it (1 Corinthians 2:14). What can we do to change things? How can we encourage more people to be saved? To read the bible? To obey it? I was going to say that God knows, but I am thinking that not even God knows. What can he do, more than he has done? He has provided salvation, at tremendous cost. He has given us his Holy Spirit. He has given us his word. He has given us the privilege of sharing it. What more can he do? I believe it is incumbent on us to clarify in our own minds and clearly state what the Lord has given us to believe. We must not be satisfied to disagree. We must not be satisfied to believe what is right in our own eyes. We cannot repeat the error of doing what is right in our own eyes. We must think again, and read again before we speak. We must give a clear and unified message to the world. |
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182 | What do we believe? | Jude 1:3 | Aixen7z4 | 117268 | ||
Hello Sir: I was very much impressed. What a labor of love! It is obvious that you took some time and care to help in that situation, and I am glad to see that it was appreciated. And what a high caliber of discussion, the entire thread! Now I am challenged to think again. Perhaps a statement of what we believe can be simple and straightforward so as to be understood in every culture. I am challenged to review my own statement, which I will repeat here. But before I do, I will wonder aloud: Is it really necessary for a person to know what the words “sanctification” and “redemption” mean, before they come to Christ? The intellects and vocabularies of those who took part in that discussion (in 2001) are impressive, but that did not seem to facilitate a breakthrough at the university. Also, some people are simple and uneducated and cannot understand these words. Truth be told there are so many who can barely read. Should not the statement of our faith be made in such words as would be meaningful to them? I will not take the time now to think and answer my own question. I can only hope that someone with the charity of a charis will have a chance to answer. What if he did not talk to the Japanese about redemption or reconciliation? What if he simply said the following: This is what we believe. And to this we are committed. 1. God gave us this life, and he is ruler over us. 2. There are two important things he asks of us: - to love him and obey him. - to love and help each other. 3. Since we have failed in both of these areas, he asks us to admit it, and to accept his forgiveness. 4. He can forgive us because Christ died for our sins, he was buried, and he rose again. 5. When we repent and trust in him, he gives us a new life, and with it, a new opportunity to do the tasks in #2. We have a large Bible, with many technical terms. It also has many examples and explanations, and we may be learning from these throughout our lives. But is there not a simple message that our God is giving to the world? He is full of patience and he will tell us to avoid killing and stealing and prejudice and hatred and lust, but what he wants to tell us simply, is to love (Romans 13:9). It is perhaps true that anyone in any culture can understand that if he is willing to listen (look around, ponder, meditate, ask questions). But the point was made in that discussion, that we should be ready to answer questions. We should recognize, perhaps, that questions are a sign that a person is interested. They also indicate where they are in their search and what their next step might be. We should be careful, perhaps, that our preaching is geared to provide answers to their questions. If they have no questions for us, it may indicate they are not ready to hear from us. (Maybe our lifestyle does not prompt the questions). The suggestion is that we should have a simple statement of the faith. We should be able to summarize the message of the Bible. Then, or in the process, we should obey the word which says to “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear”. |
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183 | What do we believe? | Jude 1:3 | Aixen7z4 | 117154 | ||
What can one say about a church's document? This one probably serves very well to let everyone know where they stand on key points of doctrine. I am especially happy to see item #6 which spells out the requirements for salvation, which are: repentance and faith. This seems to be missing in some of the prominent creeds. Some of us may not agree that there is healing in the atonement (#8). We may understand Isaiah to be referring to the sickness of the soul and think that James is calling for the elders respond to a call and to visit and pray for the sick in the home or hospital. Even there they should be careful to minister to the spiritual needs. I hope it is not a major point, or important enough to sidetrack this discussion. The other points are very well made and supported with scripture. Again, I do not know that it is the privilege of an outsider to critique a document of a local church. But the presentation seemed to invite comment and I trust one can be forgiven for trespassing. I am imagining that one who is considering joining that church needs to indicate agreement with the statements in it. I wonder if one can be a member of that church while holding reservations on any one of the points. As for the church universal, if you will, which is the body of Christ, it is my understanding that each of us becomes a member of it at the time that we get saved. We are baptized by the Holy Spirit into that body. We would have repented of our sins and we would have placed our trust in Christ. We therefore believe all that he says, about himself, about us, about everything. It is probably true that we do not know or understand all that we believe. More and more is revealed to us as we read the word of God. But blessed is the person who can say now, "I know whom I have believed". |
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184 | What do we believe? | Jude 1:3 | Aixen7z4 | 117130 | ||
O, I don't know, kalos. Perheps you can tell why it was important to point out the role of Pontius Pilate. | ||||||
185 | What do we believe? | Jude 1:3 | Aixen7z4 | 117122 | ||
A great document! One can only imagine the amount of work that went into creating it and in obtaining agreement on the wording of it. This version is special because it includes those references. I counted 44 items and could only question two. One seems unnecessary (except perhaps for reasons of political correctness) and one is taken as a misconstruction of the reference. The rest seem to be solid Bible. One can understand why "The Nicean Creed is the most widely accepted and used brief statements of the Christian Faith". I understand that, it is said in liturgical churches every Sunday. "It is Common Ground to East Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Calvinists, and many other Christian groups. Many groups that do not have a tradition of using it in their services nevertheless are committed to the doctrines it teaches". It clearly serves a useful purpose in focusing on and clarifying many issues. |
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186 | What do we believe? | Jude 1:3 | Aixen7z4 | 117113 | ||
On the origin of the number 30000, see http://www.ntrmin.org/30000denominations.htm Whatever the number, it is clear that division in the church has run amok. There is also variation within a denomination, however it is defined, and discernable changes within a single church on the basic way that they do things. One is led to ask, “Is there anything to stop these people from doing whatever they want?” Maybe there is. On my journey today I found myself saying, “Thank God for the Bible“ and asking, “What would we do without it?” Without the Bible, I fear there would be even greater division, and there would really be chaos. I am not sure if the people had the Torah when Judges 17:6 was happening, but it is apparent that the book of the law was lost once. Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. And Shaphan read it before the king. And when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes “because”, he said, “our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written” (2 Kings 22). It is good that we have the book. And we all believe in the book. That there are so many differences in spite of the book is interesting because the book says there should be no schism in the body (1Corinthians 12:25). But again I would suggest that it is not up to us to say what we believe about the Bible, or what it is in the Bible that we believe. When we get saved we become a part of the church. It is the Bible, the prophets and the apostles, that should tell us what we believe. When we believe in Jesus, we believe in everything he says. This may seem a strange statement, but I hope we will give it some thought. |
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187 | What do we believe? | Jude 1:3 | Aixen7z4 | 117085 | ||
This discussion of creeds is interesting. We are doubtless aware that over the centuries many have been developed and they are still in the process of being refined, expanded, combined, etc. See http://www.creeds.net. I believe that these things have their uses, and they may be helpful in circumstances. The “Apostles Creed” has been widely accepted, but it is not certain to what extent it captures or summarizes all that we believe. What I was suggesting is that we search, to see what scriptural statements spell out our beliefs, as Peter’s did in John 6:69. In keeping with this idea, it has been suggested that some of the following scripture passages may have been used by the Lord’s people and repeated on certain occasions as statements of their beliefs. To the list I found I have added some of the ones that I think might also fit. I would like to look for more and make a list of all of them. Deut. 6:4: Hear O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD alone. 1 Kings. 18:39: "The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God." Matt. 16:16: "Christ (is) the Son of the living God." Matt. 28:19: (We are to) go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. John 1:49: (Jesus is) the Son of God! Jesus is the King of Israel! John 6:68-69: We have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God. Joh 11:27 Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. John 16:30 We believe that Jesus came forth from God. John 20:28: (Jesus is) "My Lord and my God!" Acts 8:36-37: "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God“. Acts 16:31: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." Rom 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 1 Cor. 8:6: For us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. 1 Cor. 15:3-7: Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. 2Co 5:1 If our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Phil. 2:6-11: Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 1Th 4:14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again, (and that) them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 1 Tim. 3:16: Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. Hebr. 6:1-2: The foundation is: repentance from dead works and of faith toward God. 1Jo 3:2 Now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1Jo 5:20 The Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. |
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188 | What if Jesus was born in 1971? | Matt 22:42 | Aixen7z4 | 115324 | ||
ischus, may God bless you. I respond here to your posts above and below. If we ever meet again, whether in person, in Cyberspace, or in heaven, I hope to greet you as my brother. We all offend in many ways, especially in word. I also ask and grant forgiveness. Until next time, I will be mindful of this and offer it for our consideration, finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. |
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189 | Who do you believe about Jesus? | Matt 22:42 | Aixen7z4 | 115319 | ||
Where are you, Kathy? Your answers were always courteous and soft and gentle. I trust you have not been discouraged. I trust you have not left. They say that I am paranoid, but we know what words can do. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof (KJV). The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love to talk will have to eat their own words (God’s Word). I sometimes think I am manic depressive, but I hope only those who are professionally qualified will venture to confirm it. One can be manic, seeing a site like this where the word of God is the topic of conversation. But then one is depressed to see that they only care to talk and cannot abide the thought that there is a need for practical application. One day I will return to suggest that we can practice agape, or even philadelphia here. But I will wait for a while. The harsh language and the readiness to throw insults makes this seem a dangerous place, where verbal abuse may be freely used in defense of the written word. One may even fall for the temptation to respond in kind in order to calm the tigers down. We know that they can be made to eat their words, those who respond so harshly. They can diagnose and disrespect and show contempt for people whom they do not know, understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. And one may feel the need to break the arrow. But there is not much point in that, bringing a battle to a stalemate. There is no special joy even in accepting their apologies. One still feels sad to see that these things happen. Those who study can see so much virtue in knowing the word and care so little about suggestions that we practice the word. That being said, one must acknowledge and rejoice in seeing a young brother putting Ephesians 4:26 into practice. We should perhaps always look for some application somewhere as we discuss. Take this present topic, and the question: “Who do you believe about Jesus--those who were closest to Him, or those who are two thousand years removed from the events?” What is the practical value in that? Much, I am sure. Those who testified 2000 years ago hoped that those who heard would believe. But what is our hope today? They tell me that the question: “How would we plan now to proclaim the Gospel: his death and burial and resurrection, the demand for repentance and his offer of forgiveness?” has “no value” and that the majority of the people on this forum “neither understand, nor grant significance” to a question like that. Yet Jesus said, “Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations”. We can talk about these things, it seems, but it is or no value or significance to suggest that we find ways to do them? It is written, and it behooves someone to preach repentance and remission of sins. And it behooves someone to remind us now and then. I understand, as I have been reminded many times, that this is a Bible Study forum. But do the participants think that study without application has some value? Surely they have read 1 Corinthians 8:1. As long as I have access, I will return from time to time to say, as Jesus said, “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them”. |
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190 | What if Jesus was born in 1971? | Matt 22:42 | Aixen7z4 | 115236 | ||
My dear young brother (Sorry, but I have been serving the Lord for twice as long as you've been born!) I just had to read your bio. Nothing that you submit to this forum will be without study or prayer, huh? Including that last one? I may be paranoid, my friend, but this is sad. I may be delusional as well, but there is a spirit on this forum striving against the Gospel. You will be encouraged by those who jeer, and will not allow a challenge to consider the living Christ to stand. I had thought that the movie The Passion of the Christ would facilitate this. But you would turn it into a farce. Bump it up to 3971, my friend, and sleep well. And may the Lord have mercy on us all. |
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191 | What if Jesus was born in 1971? | Matt 22:42 | Aixen7z4 | 115229 | ||
To get back to the original question: Can you imagine what would happen if Jesus were here in the flesh today, and about 33 years of age? If I may, I would suggest it would give rise to other questions. What kind of treatment would he get? And how would we record and explain and exploit and publicize the public beating? What would it be like if Jesus were here in the body in 2004? Would he not have been treated the same way? And how would we plan now to proclaim the Gospel: his death and burial and resurrection, the demand for repentance and his offer of forgiveness? |
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192 | What if Jesus was born in 1971? | Matt 22:42 | Aixen7z4 | 115228 | ||
Have at it, my friend. They said he had a devil. So what if you say I am paranoid? You are speaking to Ph.D. psychologist who gave up the secular practice for the Bible. Now, which spirit told you to tell me to go back? | ||||||
193 | What if Jesus was born in 1971? | Matt 22:42 | Aixen7z4 | 115220 | ||
My God! My God! What shall I do with these people who are so bold to disguise their ignorance of the Bible, and their hindering of the propagation of your Gospel, by making pompous forays into realms of rectification? They close their eyes and ears to available texts of clarification in order to rail at those who try to preach your word. What is their goal and purpose? And what shall I do in response to these attacks? You have said that “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when our obedience is fulfilled”. Does that mean that I should answer this man, and cast down the nonsense he is raising here, and cast aside this distraction from the message? I fully realize the possibility that, directly or indirectly, this man has the power to silence my voice on this forum. Indeed, his statement: “please, please confine your questions and comments to matters on which the Bible speaks” sounds like a threat, like some last warning ere they pull the plug. What shall I do? What did you do when you knew they would throw you out of their synagogue? You spoke up anyway, didn’t you? And so will I. They have done it before, objecting even to my linking to this site, with suggestions that I profit from it, that I use it to enhance my site, even stating that it is illegal. They jump and bend their bows now, whenever they see the name of Aixen. Nor do I mind it (Lord, you know) But I react to the fact that the message that I seek to bring, always about Jesus, is being his from view by all of this. It is being buried under personal attacks, and cast aside by squabbles among supposed brethren in Christ, that seem to bring him to an open shame. And they are squabbles based on careless ignorance. He says, “The Bible does not deal with hypotheticals”. And with such arrogance, such dogmatic self assurance! Not only did he fail to read the responses that were given to his compatriots who had said similar things, he did not even care to check his own response against the scriptures. Though he surely has concordances, he did not even check to see if the phrase “what if” is in the Bible. He might have looked up “suppose” or “peradventure”. He might have considered again the purpose of a parable. But he did not. What if he had checked? He might have found that Abraham used this phrase with you some half a dozen times, in hypothesizing about Sodom. He might have found that God himself used hypotheticals, as in Exodus 13:17. He will find that man for lack of knowledge often used hypotheticals until God revealed the facts, as in Numbers 23:3. He might have found Jesus using hypotheticals in Luke 15 to show what would happen if, and in Luke 14 to show what would happen if they did not. If this man were wise, and charitable, he might even suggest that the story about a woman having had seven wives (Matthew 22) was hypothetical. But why is he so upset about a hypothetical, a conjecture, that points us to the need that would exist if Jesus were alive today. What is the harm that he is seeking to avoid? But the fact is, as has been said, that Jesus is alive today. It does not matter when he was born, for he is the great I AM, the self-existent and eternal God. And men need to respond to him. Why are these folks so set on distracting from that message? He suggests it is equivalent to God living in Iceland or Moses having invented the Internet. With what self-righteous authority he says, “No one is spiritually fed by 'what if' speculations”. I suppose that people are “spiritually fed” from understanding where Cain got his wife, or the middle, shortest, longest this and that in the Bible, and other such topics filling his forum He says, “Let's not waste time with fantasy”. Now, whether or not we can find “what if” in the Bible, surely it is something else to fight against a device that lets a person know that Jesus is alive today, and that we face the need to respond to him today. That is the purpose of the “hypothetical”, which is in fact much more than that, and so much more than fantasy. But he did not care to look at that. Good Sir, if Jesus being alive today is fantasy, then do what’s in your heart. It does not matter if you take me off your forum. So go ahead and do your worst. If you do not take me off, I may be back again to draw attention to him and to remind your visitors of their need to respond to him. So do what you will. You would not have the power if God had not given it to you. |
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194 | What if Jesus was born in 1971? | Matt 22:42 | Aixen7z4 | 115154 | ||
Neither the qestion not the message is irrelevant. | ||||||
195 | What if Jesus was born in 1971? | Matt 22:42 | Aixen7z4 | 115152 | ||
Hi Kalos: Please vouschafe to read below and try to say something nice. |
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196 | What if Jesus was born in 1971? | Matt 22:42 | Aixen7z4 | 115151 | ||
For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction? But these responses are becoming quite predictable. The idea that no idea arising outside the brains of the fabulous four can have any purpose is beginning to sound suspicious. Repetitive, redundant, and suspicious. What if these responses are actually geared to block or discourage any ideas that they did not initiate or find it difficult to control? I submit to you, my friends, that the issue of Jesus Christ coming today is live. I suggest to you, besides, that it is the most important issue facing us. Far beyond the demonstration of our knowledge of Scripture, there is the issue of the way a person today responds to Christ. Jesus not only suffered and died. He rose again, and he lives today. He ever lives, and he waits for those who would come to God by him, today. He stands at the door and knocks, and he waits for those who would invite him in, today. If you tell us that this is an issue of idle speculation, you are doing us a great disservice. Please desist. And please do not reinterpret the question for me, that I have asked. I know what I asked and I know what the intention was. Those who view the movie, and those who talk about it have a live issue to deal with and it is this: What do you do with what you have seen? How do you respond to the living Christ? Jesus died some 2,000 years ago, but his death is an ever-present reality, and we must respond to it. Let us not treat it as history. Those who do would have missed the point. God has put the death of Christ back in our faces today so we can deal with it. As if it had just happened. Please let me say what I want to say, and let those who wish to respond to it do so. Please do us the favor of letting those of us who want to think so think that the question and the message is not irrelevant, but pressing and important. Surely you have noted that there is at least one person who thinks the question is not a matter of idle speculation. By the grace of God there will be others. Please do not try to nullify us with your depreciatory statements. |
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197 | When did the catholic church go wrong? | Bible general Archive 1 | Aixen7z4 | 115077 | ||
My Dear Brother: I do not have a question, or I would have asked it. Nor am I able to answer the three you asked. I will let my post stand as is. |
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198 | Thank the Catholics for "The Passion"? | 1 Cor 3:22 | Aixen7z4 | 115004 | ||
My Dear Friend: I understand your concern. There is money and merchandizing involved. Not only is the movie making a profit, but there are also the spin-offs. It seems that it had to happen. The Passion lapel pin -- 2.49. The Passion pocket coin -- 2.99. Crown of Thorns -- 44.95. His passion Tee (?) -- 14.97. A statue of the Christ under the cross -- 179.99 (Can't post dollar signs?) I confess I had difficulty in writing the last item. But they are here, in the catalogue I received today. Now it seems we must think of this. Is someone into profiteering on the sufferings of Christ? Is that really what the movie and the interest are all about? It seems that there are some who need these items as objects of devotion, and some are willing to sell them. This is fantastic. Somehow, it makes my heart sick. We had Nehushtan once (2 Kings 18:4) and I’m afraid it is still with us. It may be that we need a Hezekiah to arise again. But this encourages me to listen to some of our brethren who have advised this, to stay away from that movie. However, we can be grateful to those who have reawakened the subject and caused us to talk about it again. Let’s say that we can disregard the motives and look for the good in this (Philippians 1:18). The Gospel is being preached and we can rejoice in that. |
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199 | Thank the Catholics for "The Passion"? | 1 Cor 3:22 | Aixen7z4 | 114996 | ||
The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. I am disappointed only in myself this apparent inability to elicit a pleasant response from some of the members of the church. Nor do I expect that it will improve the situation to point out what we can all agree on, that Paul had no denominational affiliation. Paul called for unity, and cooperation, and love without dissimulation. Paul tried to foil the development of denominational affiliations when they first appeared at Corinth. But alas! Some do not listen, no matter how often an appeal is made. And now, in the midst of a web of denominationism, some of us need to be fed with milk, and not with meat: for we are not able to bear it. For we are yet carnal: for whereas there is among us envying, and strife, and divisions, are we not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, “I will be pleasant and pacific only to those who seem to project power; I will ascend the ramparts for all others”; while one so blithely proclaims, “I am Roman Catholic”; and another, “I am Episcopalian”; and another, “I am Lutheran”; are we not carnal? Often, we must accept each other as is, for it is difficult to change. Most of us will refuse, or see no need, to give up our denominational ties. So we will have to accept the fact. So we must make the best of it. So, we will compliment those who do good, and thank them for the for the good they do. Even if he is Roman Catholic, I will be glad that he has done “The Passion of the Christ”. I will rejoice in any such work when it is done, even if the doers have mixed motives of auto-therapy and money-making and anything else. Denominationism, while regrettable, cannot nullify the word of God. The influence of our group and the desire to please our group does not nullify the preaching of the Gospel. Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: The one preaches Christ out of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my lack of opportunity: But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel. What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. Besides, there is a certain something that the Catholics bring to their services that is unique and good. Thought I have tried to describe it elsewhere, I am not sure I have the words. It is the thing that causes them to use words such as “dolorous”, and “passion” more often than you will hear in other corners of the church. Nor is this simply a matter of words or a relic of the use of Latin. There is a certain appreciation for the need to dig deeply and to contemplate, I think. There may be something akin to this among the Plymouth Brethren. I will append it here because I have written it. In “Gospel Hall”s and “Gospel Chapel”s, there is weekly meeting that is usually characterized by quiet meditation, and seems to be devoted in its entirety to remembering the sufferings of Christ. This is often termed the main or central meeting of the assembly. The climax of the meeting is the Breaking of Bread, and the meeting itself is often called the Breaking of Bread meeting. The entire occasion is geared to remembering him, the fact that he died and the way he died, and to proclaim that death. Most of the hymns and prayers and the scriptures that are read aloud relate to the suffering and death of Christ, and sometimes to the resurrection. Someone returned from viewing the movie today and told me about it. She grew up among the Brethren. Most of the scenes reminded her of the Breaking of Bread meeting. When they were beating him she remembered the song “He Could Have Called Ten Thousand Angels” being sung in the meeting. As they went to Calvary, she recalled “Up Calvary’s Mountain” being sung. When he said, “It is accomplished”, she recalled “Done is the Work that Saves” being sung. She recalled scriptures and prayers that had been offered in the Breaking of Bread meeting. It is apparent that both the movie and the meeting can evoke strong emotions and set lasting memories. When one has found himself away from a Gospel Hall for whatever reason, he is often heard to say, “One thing I miss is the Breaking of Bread meeting”. It may be fair to say that there is a link between the sufferings of Christ and the “worship meeting” at a Gospel Hall. Yet none of them who worship there would not have made that movie. Many of them would refuse to attend, to darken the door of a movie theater. It had to take someone from the Catholic corner of the church, I think, to give us The Passion of the Christ. We should thank them in general and him in particular for it. Or maybe we should just thank the Lord who blesses us in spite of the sin of sectarianism. |
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200 | Thank the Catholics for "The Passion"? | 1 Cor 3:22 | Aixen7z4 | 114632 | ||
My dear friend, I thought I had answered your question above, at 2:51 pm. Some time ago I suggested that each denomination is making some unique and good contributions to the church at large. There are threads on this forum looking for these good things among the Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, etc. (See the bottom of this page). I have suggested that, in a sense, The Passion of the Christ was given to us by the Catholic church. If you question that, please see my note to Hank at 4:20 pm. If you disagree, then please disregard the point. I am suggesting that this movie is a good thing, coming from some segment of the modern church. There are some places where it is not accepted. I am still suggesting that we should look for the good in it. |
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