If you’re wearing a mask, you’re doing it wrong. Last night violence erupted on the Berkley UC campus as students, teachers and others protested a speech to be delivered by the editor of Breitbart news. According to the speaker, Milo Yiannopoulos, during the event setup the hall was breeched by masked people with weapons. His security detail got him out safely, but outside rocks were thrown and carts were burned. The most violent perpetrators wore masks, which begs the question, when you are covering your face before going out isn’t it clear that what you are about to do is wrong?
In Bible college, I remember fondly debating the issue of Dispensationalism. Many believed it, some denied it, and the discussions were often long and heated. Looking back I laugh and shake my head, as the issue is only a useful way to understand God’s working in history and has absolutely no impact on how we live or minister in Jesus’ name. Or does it? Thinking through issue I now think that it should have an impact on at least some Christians, namely Pastors. Before we get to that, however, we should answer one important question: What is Dispensationalism?
President Elect Donald Trump has selected six professed Christians to play a role in his inauguration. This is part two in our three-part series where we tell you what we know about them.
Yesterday we determined that because our actions flow from our beliefs, and beliefs are formed by thoughts, that thinking-biblically was of the highest priority. This does not diminish the importance of behaving biblically, however. It is through our actions that we prove what we believe. Jesus said, “You will recognize them by their fruit” (Matthew 7.16). In context, Jesus is telling the disciples how to recognize dangerous people who try to influence the people of God. The point being made is that we need to do more than listen to what people profess, we need to pay attention to what they do.
I am certain many of our readers will be interested in hearing if they should see the latest “faith-based film” Silence, in select theaters now. I imagine some will know all they need to when they learn that this was directed and produced by Martin Scorsese, the man behind The Last Temptation of Christ, a movie that depicted Jesus having sex with Mary Magdalene. Scorsese, a self-professed Roman Catholic, now brings a film that puts the idea of “faith” under the bright glaring lamp of interrogation. There are two primary questions that demand an answer in this nearly three-hour motion picture.
An online friend of mine, a Christian woman, has a website where people may ask her questions. One user asked if she had a boyfriend; answered “yes”. Later, another user asked if she were “living in sin.” She gave an interesting answer, “Isn’t everybody?” She did not mean that she was living with her boyfriend, instead she was reminding her audience that no one is without sin. We all – and by all I’m including even the redeemed – we all sin every day, whether by commission or omission. It is why Jesus warns us to judge ourselves before judging others.
President Elect Donald Trump has selected six professed Christians to play a role in his inauguration. This is the final installment in our three-part series where we tell you what we know about the team. We hope you’ll be watching the inauguration tomorrow and check back here for our analysis.
What do we mean by “think biblically”? Or perhaps a better place to begin is, what is it we are reading when we attempt to read the Bible? No doubt most will answer, as we’ve been trained, with “words”. A Christian may even answer, “God’s words”. Neither answer is correct. Word’s on a page communicate nothing unless they adhere to rules of language, and even then the purpose may be obscured. No, what we read when we come to any literature are thoughts. In the case of the Bible, we are reading God’s thoughts. To “think biblically” then is to “think God’s thoughts”.
Many apologies to our regular readers, this is the article that should have appeared last Thursday, but due to illness I was unable to finish it in time for publication. I’m on the rebound now, so without further ado… How should the role of pastor change when viewed as a type of patriarchal father or even a king? The pastor is the last office of leadership before the return of Jesus; should that impact the way a congregation responds to their pastor? So there are two issues, what is the role of the pastor and how should a congregation respond as a result?
President Elect Donald Trump has selected six professed Christians to play a role in his inauguration. In this three-part series, we’ll tell you what we know about them.
When I was in high school I attended a Christian conference here in Denver. I don’t remember exactly how many students attended but the number was in the thousands. The news media showed up and we thought that finally a positive, Christian event was going to get the press it deserved. That night, watching the evening news, I was sorely disappointed. The news anchor didn’t even mention it was a Christian conference, only how many pizzas it took to feed all the attendees. I learned then to never trust the mainstream media.
Yesterday we concluded that “fear” is behind many of our failures of faith. We mentioned some personal fears, like losing one’s job, and larger fears like government intrusion, and these are only the tip of the iceberg. How are we expected to praise the name of Jesus before a world suffering racial violence, coping with terrorist attacks and increasing confusion over sexuality and gender? The Bible does provide relevant direction for all the issues we face, yet it seems the world is less and less interested. How do we make them curious about all God and his word have to offer?