Newsline Feb 01

First, I hope you are feeling better.

In your Newsline article you struck a nerve:

We are told the reason why we should not neglect to meet together and that is we are to consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. Does our assembly do that? I say it does not. I see no place in the New Testament where it says the purpose of the assembly on the first day of the week is to worship. Paul told the church in Rome they were to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—which was their true and proper worship.

 

While a church should ensure that its services (did the first Christians attend "services?")  are reasonably organized, it is not biblical for a church service to be so structured that it prevents participation and freedom. I see no place in the New Testament that supports our style of preaching. It appears people asked Jesus questions as they did Paul and possibly others. As I have mentioned before you have no idea who agrees with you and who does not. That means you have no idea if you have successfully explained your reasons or if you have not.  While in the past you have said Christians need the church it is apparent you have not been convincing in your arguments. 

The idea that a Christian can unenthusiastically sing a few songs, listen to rote prayers, inattentively listen to a sermon, eat the smallest piece of bread they can find and drink a minimal amount of juice, and reluctantly give an offering – and thereby fulfill his/her role in the church – is completely unbiblical. The church is intended to be a place of healthy fellowship, active participation, and mutual edification.  

The Bible clearly shows that God’s Word is to be taught. One problem is that churches fall into the trap of one man being the sole teacher. The lack of opportunities for others to teach and/or the lack of willingness to teach can be a problem. One of the goals of the church is to make disciples, not pew-warmers. Churches should be encouraging and training individuals to teach. 

 

There is no “house of the Lord” today. Making such a statement today encourages people to think of the building as sacred.  For the first few hundred years church buildings were very rare. It was not until Constantine and succeeding Roman Emperors made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire that Christians began to build temples.  The Bible neither encourages nor discourages the idea of Christians meeting in buildings that are specifically designed for corporate worship.  I see nothing in the New Testament that justifies pilfering the collection intended for the poor saints in Jerusalem to buy buildings, pay preachers etc. Considering we claim to follow commands, examples and “necessary inferences” we do take license. We may disagree when it comes to kitchens and pianos but we agree that we all like our buildings.

 

I like your disturbing statistics. When I read those statistics years ago I was surprised. Up to that point I had thought the mother had more influence than the father and I was wrong.

 

And as I have mentioned before church to this congregation is 5 lectures a week looking at the back of the head of the people in front of them and that is not how it should be. Look at our classes. Nothing is expected of the “students” and nothing is what we get.  I love it when the teacher says, “time is up are there any questions or comments.” I call that a joke.  

 

I see no reason to believe attendance will change without other changes occurring first.

 

 

 

John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN



Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Blogs: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/
         http://alumcave.blogspot.com/

 

“Everything happens for a reason and that reason is usually physics."

Knowing Why We Believe

An article in the recent House to House mentions that the Bible does not present a defense of the existence of a Supreme Being but assumes men will know God is and gives Psalm 14:1 as well as several other verses as support.

 

I understand how nature is evidence of the existence of a Creator. To the unbeliever the Bible is not evidence and they view the Bible much like Christians view the Koran and the way Atheists view both Bible and Koran. If it is reasonable to believe there is a creator based on what is seen what similarly points folks to Jesus? One of the reasons the church loses its youth may be that neither they nor their teachers know why they believe what they believe.

 

For most of us acceptance of a truth depends on our perception of the person telling us that truth. If we trust the person we accept if we do not we reject. Truth has little to do with which we choose. 

John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN



Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Blogs: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/
         http://alumcave.blogspot.com/

 

“Having spent considerable time with good people, I can understand why Jesus liked to be with tax collectors and reprobate sinners."

Mark Twain

Get Off the President's Back

The way our government works is the President has very little authority but a lot of influence. Pres Obama has done nothing that Congress did not allow. Checks and balances provide that Congress can stop the president from doing anything. They can pass laws vetoing his Executive Orders. They can override any of his vetoes. People who do not like Obamacare should be mad at the Republicans. They thought that by no participating they could stop Obamacare. They were wrong. Now they can vote to eliminate Obamacare but they will have to replace it with MitchOconnelcare. The best thing coming out of the SOTU was his challenge to both parties to work together, argue, fight but not demonize the opposition.

Are Homosexual Relationships Mentioned in the Bible?

 

It is sometimes said that the friendship between David and Jonathan was an example of a homosexual relationship. The relationships between Ruth and Naomi and between Jesus and John ("the disciple Jesus loved")are also mentioned.

 

In modern Western culture we associate touching, kissing and the word "love" with a sexual relationship. But that was not the case in Biblical era culture. Most Bible scholars say these relationships were no more than close friendships. That is especially clear in the case of Jesus and John - the word translated as "loved" was the Greek word agape, which means kindness and respect rather than romantic or sexual love.

 

There is no mention of same-sex marriages or partnerships in the Bible, either for or against.

 

Some Christians are strongly opposed to legalizing what they view as sinful behavior and a perversion of God's plan for marriage and distinct gender roles. Other Christians view equal civil rights for gays and lesbians as a requirement of Bible teachings that we must act with kindness and respect for all people and avoid judging the moral choices others make.

 

The only mentions of qualifications for clergy are in 1st Timothy and homosexuality is not mentioned there. All of us, including clergy, are imperfect and sinners in our own ways. The question seems to be whether homosexuality should disqualify a person from ministry while other sins (e.g., evil thoughts, greed, deceit, envy, arrogance and folly do not disqualify a person. There are obviously different opinions.

 

We need to leave the decision who gets to heaven to God. The bible teaches that we should not condemn other people or presume to know who will or will not be saved. We are all sinners in our own ways, and none of us can claim to be worthy of heaven on our own merit. We all must depend on God's love, mercy and forgiveness for our salvation.

 

Sexual Orientation is not a Sin

There is a tendency to confuse homosexual tendencies and feelings with acts of homosexual intercourse because the English word "homosexuality" is often used to describe both.

However, regardless of how we interpret the Bible's teachings about homosexual acts, it is important to note that the Bible does not condemn people for being sexually attracted to persons of the same sex. It is sexual intercourse between persons of the same sex that is prohibited by Bible teachings.

A boy or girl who discovers homosexual feelings should realize that, like other interests and feelings, it may be only a passing phase that will fade away in time. Meanwhile, he or she should avoid becoming obsessed with the feelings or indulging in any kind of sexual activity.

A homosexual Christian man or woman is presented with great challenges, and great strength is often achieved by learning to deal with great challenges. Many live without the restrictions imposed by traditional marriage and family duties.

Congregational Autonomy

On the subject of congregational autonomy: The other night you mentioned congregations having female ministers. Hiring females to work with the girls of the congregation makes a lot of sense to me. Besides there is no biblical support for congregations hiring staff the way churches do today. Can we find the concept, in the Bible, of contracting with a man to speak to the congregation twice on Sunday, to teach one or two classes each week, publish a bulletin, visit the sick, speak at funerals, marry the members, all while being on call 24x7?

 

In the first century congregations were independent, in some sense, self-ruling.

 

Today the Church of Christ practices “church autonomy” as long as those other congregations do the same things the same way they do.

 

The real question is why do we care what other congregations do? Instead of being distracted by what others are doing we should concentrate on what we do.

 

The Church of Christ has experienced 60 years of uninvolved parents, unsupervised Youth Ministers, Youth Rallies with mixed messages, preachers riding roughshod over local leadership and unqualified and Bible-illiterate Elders.

 

We are confident we have the Sunday "worship" correct. We say we rely on commands, examples, and "necessary inferences" but it is curious how much we do without any of those.

 

The problem is that the "Traditional" is not working. Churches are fading away. We hear about the lack of young men wanting to "fill the pulpit." Has anyone considered these young men do not want to run a local congregation? Maybe they want to preach the Gospel to the unsaved. Research shows that within 2 hours no one remembers what the sermon was about.

 

The Gospel doesn't change but we must take it to people in ways different than they did during the Restoration Movement or even during New Testament times. The difficulty will be the traditional churches won't like it.

I believe I have addressed the three areas on which comments were made the other night with which I disagreed. I will now leave you alone. I realize what I think is not important but since I have to listen to people say things with which I disagree it is only fair to return the privilege. I also realize you may not be reading this but that is OK because once I detect that I disagree I do not pay that much attention. 

 

John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN



Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Blogs: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/
         http://alumcave.blogspot.com/

 

“Having spent considerable time with good people, I can understand why Jesus liked to be with tax collectors and reprobate sinners."

Mark Twain

Eunuchs

On the topic of Gay folks: In the ancient world eunuchs were associated with homosexuality. Luke tells his friend that a self-avowed eunuch was welcomed in to the early church without any concerns about his sexual orientation. He was welcomed on the same basis as other people – his faith in Jesus Christ.

Not just anyone was permitted to serve as a eunuch. Given their intimate access to the women of the household, they had to be men who had a reputation for being disinterested in women as objects of sexual attraction.

It was not always possible to find someone like this but eunuchs were not all straight men who were castrated. Jesus recognized that there were eunuchs born that way, eunuchs who had been made eunuchs by others and those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The born that way apparently included males who from childhood seemed incapable of or disinterested in sexual intercourse with women.

History tells us that Darius III and later Alexander the Great had a eunuch lover, Bagoas.

When the Ethiopian introduced himself to Philip as a eunuch, Philip would have  known he was dealing with a man who was part of a class commonly associated with homosexual desire.

Like gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people today, eunuchs were the sexual outcasts of Jewish religious society. The eunuch was persona non grata both socially and religiously.

Philip, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, asked the eunuch if he understood what he was reading. The eunuch told Philip he couldn’t unless someone guided him.  Philip started where the Eunuch was reading and told him the good news of Jesus. When they came to some water the eunuch asked Philip if anything prohibited him from being baptized. Philip’s answer should be astonishing to anyone who still holds a prejudice against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender believers “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”

Philip did not say, “Since you’re a eunuch and you may desire men; can you promise me you’ll never have a sexual relationship with a man?” Instead Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” We have no way of knowing whether the Ethiopian eunuch was in fact gay. But we do know he was part of a class of people commonly associated with homosexuality and that this fact was completely irrelevant to whether he could become a Christian.

This story illustrates that what matters is how we relate to Jesus; a point which many modern Christians refuse to apply consistently. Scripture is not what keeps them from accepting gays and lesbians as brothers and sisters; prejudice does. If there were some scriptural basis for excluding the Ethiopian eunuch because of the real possibility he was homosexual, Philip would have known it.

Changes with our Understanding

On the topic of women: explaining their conclusions on the role of women in worship the elders of Highland Church of Christ in Abilene, TX say “Our experiences over these several years led to certain results, which proved to be very important. At every step of this study, we bathed our study, our discussions, and our 'daily life in prayer before God. We came to understand the various backgrounds, insights and inner feelings of a wide diversity of people in race, age and gender. We slowly grew in love closer to God and to one another as we tried to understand many issues in life, not just the function of women in public worship. We received improved perceptions of the meaning and application of scripture and of contemporary thought and life. This has confirmed our former studies about the religious issues mentioned above, and inspires us to approach new issues for the church in the future.” Emphasis added.

Prayer often confirms what we already believe as it did with the Highland elders.

One of the reasons the church loses a large number of its youth may be that when their beliefs are challenged by folks who believe differently they find the bible does not support what they have been taught.

 

 

John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN



Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Blogs: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/
         http://alumcave.blogspot.com/

 

“Having spent considerable time with good people, I can understand why Jesus liked to be with tax collectors and reprobate sinners."

Mark Twain

Wondering About Adam and Eve and Eternal Life

Ask just about anyone, and they will say that Adam and Eve were thrown out of the garden as punishment for their disobedience.

"Then the LORD God said, "See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever" – therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life." (Genesis 3:22-24).

Adam and Eve are not cast out of the garden for disobedience, but rather because God is worried that they will live forever. The account suggests that no atoning sacrifice from Jesus is necessary for us to have eternal life; instead, just a bite from the tree of life. Finally, it does make one wonder where the garden is today. If God could have just gotten rid of it, why bother to set up the cherubim and a flaming sword at the entrance?

Understanding Changes

The Civil War occurred in an era when modern psychiatric terms and understanding did not yet exist. Men who exhibited what today would be termed war-related anxieties were thought to have character flaws or underlying physical problems. Constricted breath and palpitations---a condition called “soldiers heart” or “irritable heart” ---was blamed on exertion or knapsack straps drawn too tightly across soldiers’ chests. Asylum records show one frequently listed “cause” of mental breakdown was “masturbation.”

 

Enlistments typically lasted three years. Conditions contributed to what Civil War doctors called "nostalgia," a centuries-old term for despair and homesickness so severe that soldiers became listless and emaciated and sometimes died. Military and medical officials recognized nostalgia as a serious "camp disease," but generally blamed it on "feeble will," "moral turpitude" and inactivity in camp. Few sufferers were discharged or granted furloughs, and the recommended treatment was drilling and shaming of "nostalgic"  soldiers---or better yet, "the excitement of an active campaign," meaning combat.

Understanding Changes

The Civil War occurred in an era when modern psychiatric terms and understanding did not yet exist. Men who exhibited what today would be termed war-related anxieties were thought to have character flaws or underlying physical problems. Constricted breath and palpitations---a condition called “soldiers heart” or “irritable heart” ---was blamed on exertion or knapsack straps drawn too tightly across soldiers’ chests. Asylum records show one frequently listed “cause” of mental breakdown was “masturbation.”

Should We Reconsider

I don’t expect to change anyone’s thinking. I do expect if the church continues as is, it will become irrelevant.

 

Scientists say chemical reactions create electric circuits which cause various areas of the brain to send messages to the body etc. Do our actions originate in our brain or does the soul in some fashion influence the brain?

 

Consider people infected with the rabies virus. Invisibly small changes inside the brain cause massive changes to behavior. Should the individual be punished for failing to exercise his free-will not to bite?

 

In 1966 Charles Whitman killed thirteen and wounded thirty-three. Following his death his brain was examined and a tumor abut the diameter of a nickel was discovered and was believed by some to have been the cause of his actions. Was he responsible for failing to use his free will to make better choices?

 

In 2002, a 40-year old male school teacher began to view child pornography websites, and solicit prostitutes at massage parlors, activities which there are no accounts of him having done in the past. The man's wife turned him into the police.

 

The evening before his prison sentencing, he took himself to a hospital, complaining that he had a massive headache and would "rape his landlady." An MRI revealed an egg-sized brain tumor located in the area of the brain. Once the tumor was removed, his sex-obsession disappeared. Should he be punished for failing to use his free will to make better choices?

 

Frontotemporal dementia causes parts of the brain to degenerate causing patients to lose the ability to control the hidden impulses. Patients find a variety ways to violate social norms: shoplifting in front of store managers, removing their clothes in public, running stop signs, breaking out in song at inappropriate times, eating food scraps found in public trash cans, or being physically aggressive or sexually transgressive. Should these people be punished for failing to use their free will to make better decisions?

 

When Parkinson’s patients were given a certain drug some of them turned into pathological gamblers, became involved with compulsive eating, alcohol consumption and hypersexuality. Should these people be punished for failing to use their free will to make better decisions?

 

Christians believe salvation is only for those who freely choose Jesus as their savior and choose to follow his instructions.

 

If you are right these things happened to the people in these examples because God did not “bless” them. He allowed things to happen to them which he knew would negatively affect their free will. All while keeping others safe, healthy, well-fed, financially secure with good jobs.  Based on what I hear it is their own fault for not asking enough or not having enough people asking for them.

Science vs Religion

I don't expect to change anyone's thinking. I give attention to science because no matter the subject there are thousands of scientists trying to disprove what other scientists assert. If Einstein’s or Darwin’s theories can be proven wrong careers will be guaranteed where as Christians pride themselves on keeping a narrow focus seldom questioning what they believe.

 

"God said it! I believe it! And that settles it!"

 

What that means is "I read somewhere in the Bible that God said it. I believe it, even if other Scriptures contradict it. I believe it, even if others understand differently. I believe it, even if my experience calls it into question. I believe it, because I was taught it as a child, And, since believing it won't cause me the pain of change, that settles it!"

 

Jesus said, "You have heard it said, 'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth ..." Where had they heard that said? In the Bible, when the Lord said to Moses, "If anyone injures his neighbor whatever he had done must be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth." God said it, they believed it, and that settled it for everyone but Jesus. Countering God's very words, Jesus said, "But I tell you ... if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also."

 

Jesus challenged blind dedication to the written word. This has never been popular.

 

Can we honor men and women in the bible and ignore their example?  They trusted their experiences with God more than the words that preceded them. Can we ignore their obedience to the voice of God telling them something new?

 

What?

Christians believe God is a loving AND if we do not do exactly as he likes he will torture us for eternity. Is that  love or what?

Re: Ask and It Will Be Given to You.....

I will differ with your understanding. The words are more along the line of “by Jesus’ authority:” similar to “stop in the name of the law.” The police are not operating under their own authority but under the authority of the law.  Adding “in Jesus’ name” at the end of a prayer is intended to ensure God will grant what is asked for. This is essentially treating the words “in Jesus’ name” as a magic formula. This is absolutely unbiblical.

 

The parable of the friend at midnight and the woman pleading before the judge describes a God I do not like. Attribute those characteristics to me. You have fallen in the river better yet your grandchild has fallen into the river. You ask me to help. I tell you to ask me again but ask more fervently which you do and I tell you to get a group of people and have them ask me and on and on and I do nothing to help. What would you think of me and you will understand what I think of a God who acts like that.

 

It is not a matter of common ground it is more along the line of understanding and recognizing reality. I know what the bible says and I find it does not happen the way I am told it does.

 

John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN



Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Blogs: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/
         http://alumcave.blogspot.com/

 

“Having spent considerable time with good people, I can understand why Jesus liked to be with tax collectors and reprobate sinners."

Mark Twain

On Sat, Dec 27, 2014 at 8:47 PM, <abehel@ix.netcom.com> wrote:

John,

I always regard you highly and respect your thoughts, even when we disagree.  As I understand the meaning of "in my name" it is the
same as saying "as He wills", or according to His will.  I do not believe in blank checks. I believe every good gift comes from God, most of
the time without our asking.  The parable of the friend at midnight and the woman pleading before the judge suggest (to me) that God wants
us to ask and keep on asking.  Also, "Ask and you will receive" means (in Gr.), "keep on asking".  What are we to ask for if God is only
going to give us what He wants to give.

Perhaps sometime we could sit down together and open our Bibles and look at all the passages that address this subject and see if
we might find a common ground.  Right now I need to spend some time preparing for tomorrow...been battling a 24 hour bug and just
started feeling normal a few hours ago.

Hope you have a good night.  Thanks for your thoughts.

Al

-----Original Message-----
From: John Jenkins
Sent: Dec 27, 2014 8:18 PM
To: abehel@ix.netcom.com
Subject: Ask and It Will Be Given to You.....

Hi Al,

As you have said I think differently than you do but when verses are abused I have to respond. Christians live in a world of their own imagination.

 

God never responds to our desires and needs. When you were talking to Dottie and me several months ago in the lobby you gave an example of God answering your prayers that happened when one of your children was an infant. I have friends who use examples of things that happened 40-years ago. If God answered prayers what happened to yesterday or 20-minutes ago.

 

Jesus tells us, “Ask, and it will be given to you…”(Matthew 7:7 . If you are right and Jesus was talking to us today I have to doubt anything Jesus said because from what I see he doesn’t.

 

You use that $30,000 example a lot. Hasn’t God done something a little more verifiable, recent or a larger amount? Your friend was a nice guy.  Remember Jesus' story about the woman and the two coins? She gave from her want while your friend gave from his surplus. Don't you have an example of an old lady giving a dollar when you knew she couldn't afford to give the dollar? If we are following Jesus' pattern I would expect more of them than those like your friend.

 

Again Jesus said, “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; if you ask anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13, 14). The condition He places upon God’s gifts is that we ask in His name. Christians believe including the phrase “in Jesus Name” satisfies that condition (which it does not) and I have never heard anyone correct them. For some reason Jesus never answers and no one blinks an eye. Those prayers might fit the gentiles who like to hear themselves talk.

Prayers where there can be no ambiguity are never answered and to me it is mind boggling for folks to say otherwise in light of what can be seen. People say I do not have faith. I am not talking about my prayers because I do not ask nor expect anything from God. I am talking about those rote and repetitive prayers I hear every week. God never answers and saying he does not change reality though it appears to satisfy the flock. Apparently God handles sprained ankles, pneumonia and cancers detected early but turrets, autism, Downs syndrome, amputations, cancers detected late have God’s number or of course he just chooses to not get involved. 

One day folks discover what they have been taught their entire life is not true and it throws them a curve. In Vacation Bible School Mark told the kids that God will always rescue them if they remain faithful. One day they will discover that is not true and look elsewhere for truth. 

 

John Jenkins
865-803-8179865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Blogs: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/
         http://alumcave.blogspot.com

 

“Having spent considerable time with good people, I can understand why Jesus liked to be with tax collectors and reprobate sinners."

Mark Twain

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Ask and It Will Be Given to You.....

Hi Al,

As you have said I think differently than you do but when verses are abused I have to respond. Christians live in a world of their own imagination.

 

God never responds to our desires and needs. When you were talking to Dottie and me several months ago in the lobby you gave an example of God answering your prayers that happened when one of your children was an infant. I have friends who use examples of things that happened 40-years ago. If God answered prayers what happened to yesterday or 20-minutes ago.

 

Jesus tells us, “Ask, and it will be given to you…”(Matthew 7:7 . If you are right and Jesus was talking to us today I have to doubt anything Jesus said because from what I see he doesn’t.

 

You use that $30,000 example a lot. Hasn’t God done something a little more verifiable, recent or a larger amount? Your friend was a nice guy.  Remember Jesus' story about the woman and the two coins? She gave from her want while your friend gave from his surplus. Don't you have an example of an old lady giving a dollar when you knew she couldn't afford to give the dollar? If we are following Jesus' pattern I would expect more of them than those like your friend.

 

Again Jesus said, “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; if you ask anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13, 14). The condition He places upon God’s gifts is that we ask in His name. Christians believe including the phrase “in Jesus Name” satisfies that condition (which it does not) and I have never heard anyone correct them. For some reason Jesus never answers and no one blinks an eye. Those prayers might fit the gentiles who like to hear themselves talk.

Prayers where there can be no ambiguity are never answered and to me it is mind boggling for folks to say otherwise in light of what can be seen. People say I do not have faith. I am not talking about my prayers because I do not ask nor expect anything from God. I am talking about those rote and repetitive prayers I hear every week. God never answers and saying he does not change reality though it appears to satisfy the flock. Apparently God handles sprained ankles, pneumonia and cancers detected early but turrets, autism, Downs syndrome, amputations, cancers detected late have God’s number or of course he just chooses to not get involved. 

One day folks discover what they have been taught their entire life is not true and it throws them a curve. In Vacation Bible School Mark told the kids that God will always rescue them if they remain faithful. One day they will discover that is not true and look elsewhere for truth. 

 

John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN

Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Blogs: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/
         http://alumcave.blogspot.com

 

“Having spent considerable time with good people, I can understand why Jesus liked to be with tax collectors and reprobate sinners."

Mark Twain

Does the Church of Christ Live Up to the Starbucks' standard?

In his book How Starbucks Saved My Life, Michael Gill, wrote about the first time he cleaned the restroom.

 

One afternoon, he had just finished “detailing” the bathroom, and it was sparkling. He saw an old African-American man who was clearly a homeless person heading for the bathroom. Michael intercepted him and explained the restroom was closed for cleaning---a lie he made up because he was afraid of the mess he might make.

 

The store manager overheard him. She took him aside and told him never to refuse the bathroom to anyone. Michael explained that the old guy wasn’t a customer. She told him he might not be a customer, but everyone who walks in the door is a Guest and that is what makes Starbucks different from any other place in the city.

 

For some reason, perhaps because he had just worked hard to clean up the filth, he argued with her. He told her it is not Starbuck’s job to provide toilets for the homeless.

 

She told him that in any Starbucks, Starbucks is welcoming and to not refuse that toilet to anyone especially someone who really needs some welcoming and not another person putting them down.

 

Does the Church of Christ live up to the Starbucks standard?

Bible Ancient View

Writers of the Bible assumed the earth was flat, was made by God in relatively, recent history (about 4,000 years before Jesus) just as it looks now, and that it is a fixed point in the cosmos over which the sun actually rises and sets. While most Christians don’t have a problem in reconciling this biblical view with science there are groups that do not seem convinced. There is in fact a Flat Earth Society, and one well-known group continues to advocate for a six-thousand-year-old earth where humans and dinosaurs coexisted. Others contend that the universe only looks old, that God created the cosmos with “apparent age.” These specific positions are problematic---scientifically and theologically. These other views rooted in precommittment to read the Bible literally at virtually every point despite evidence to the contrary, avoid engaging science by reinterpreting it to conform to that conviction. To the contrary, it is clear that, from a scientific point of vie, the Bible does not always describe physical reality accurately; it simply speaks in an ancient idiom, as one might expect ancient people to do. It is God’s Word, but is has an ancient view of the natural world, not a modern one.

Belief

To: abehel@ix.netcom.com
Subject: Belief

I've intended to send this for a while but Dollywood continued to call. Today the Rampage is shutdown and I am not working. Something broke that fixing requires the channel be drained.  When drained the water somehow finds its way into a stream requiring Dollywood to control the flow so the urine (human and fowl), and associated  "purification" chemicals not pollute the stream. When they refill they have to notify Pigeon Forge of their intentions. Dollywood does not want it filled when guests are in the park; if it affects PF I can only imagine what it does to DW.

 

A few weeks ago the Supreme Court decided to not consider various state bans on same-sex-marriage allowing same-sex-marriage to proceed, at least in those states and for a while. During the report they showed two men kissing…. on the lips which brought to mind that you told me you thought homosexuality is a choice. I have asked a number of men what could influence them to choose to kiss another man and want to run their hands all over his body. I told them the question was rhetorical, because I did not want to know their answer. I cannot imagine anything permitting me to make such a choice so in my ignorance I believe the root cause of homosexuality must be something else.

 

Then we have the question of why do we believe anything?

 

When children who are ten, twelve, fourteen years-old are baptized are they capable of understanding what they are doing or are they just responding to someone they trust? For that matter do adults just respond to someone they trust? Faith is not enough. Who does not have "…confidence in what they hope for and assurance about what they do not see." in something? Consider people in "the" denominations, Muslims, Hindus etc all have "faith" as we have faith even atheists have confidence in something and hope for something.

 

Isn't it odd that what someone called "The Christian Age" is the first time since Creation that God does not interface directly with his creation? I realize many believe God answers their requests but factual evidence calls that belief into question. We are expected to believe without evidence of any type. We are not even allowed the Gideon test. I am told testing God is sin; relying upon God is testing God thus is sin; and that God helps those who help themselves. Our belief is based on our perception of the person telling us which is, in turn, based on their perception of the person telling them which is … you get the picture.

 

At some point shouldn't belief rely on fact, on knowledge? Are we the first of all creation expected to take somebody's word? God had been speaking directly but now…not a peep.

 

Studies have shown we are more likely to believe that a statement is true if we have heard it before---whether or not it is actually true: "illusion-of-truth effect." Subjects rated the validity of plausible sentences every two weeks. Without letting on, the experimenters snuck in some repeat sentences (both true and false ones) across the testing sessions. And they found a clear result: if subjects had heard a sentence in previous weeks, they were more likely to now rate it as true, even if they swore they had never heard it before. This is the case even when the experimenter tells the subjects that the sentences they are about to hear are false: despite this, mere exposure to an idea is enough to boost its believability upon later contact. The illusion-of-truth effect highlights the potential danger for people who are repeatedly exposed to the same religious edicts or political slogans.

Maybe we need to examine our "certainty."

Passenger Pigeon

As you look at the attendance in the assemblies "of the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God" consider the passenger pigeon, once the most abundant bird in North America. 

 

One flock in 1866 in southern Ontario was described as being 1 mi wide and 300 mi long, took 14 hours to pass, and held in excess of 3.5 billion birds. A slow decline between about 1800 and 1870 was followed by a catastrophic decline between 1870 and 1890 and extinction early in the 20th century.

 

One of C.J. Garner's favorite expressions was, "as the Sunday School goes, so goes the congregation." He thought the congregation that goes all out for its educational program, encouraging every member to attend, and providing the proper incentive, motivation and training for its teachers will be the congregation that will look forward to healthy growth. Now imagine GSMCOC 2024.