Wondered?

Have you wondered how Christianity became what it is today, given how it started? It didn't start with the religious authorities. It didn't start with the people for whom life was easy. It didn't start with people who were nailing whatever purity system was being handed to them at the time. It started with rank fishermen and prostitutes and tax collectors — people for whom life wasn't easy. And yet that's whom Jesus chose to surround himself with. On the other hand we  avoid those types.

Paul said it is reasonable to believe God exists because of the creation. Apparently everything else has to be based on taking someone's word.

Folks have their reasons for believing whether Christian, Muslim, Hindu, atheist and it appears they take the word of someone they trust.

Many believe that too much education can cause one to lose their faith. What learning does is expose one to the fact others believe differently than they believe and folks see that as dangerous. Based on the reaction a few years ago members of the Church of Christ believe God will torture them in Hell for eternity if they take the communion in the wrong sequence. They believe that because someone they trust told them he will.  

 

Wes Craven, the movie director known for Scream, Nightmare on Elm Street and many other horror movies including a number of x-rated movies died today. He was born in 1939 and grew up in a strict Baptist family. When I heard about it I immediately thought of your issue concerning the youth.

 

He attended Wheaton College, an Evangelical Christian college in Illinois. He said it was while he was at Wheaton he began to rebel against his Christian upbringing.

 

He published a love story about a white woman and a black man and another story about a girl who was not married but was pregnant. The college president banned the magazine and denounced him from the pulpit (as you see neither action was effective).

 

He loved movies despite growing up without them in his life—a byproduct of being raised in a churchgoing family that believed, in his words, "they were the work of the devil." 

 

Your question concerning the the youth is one that Bob Keyser and I have discussed on occasion. When Jimmy Allen was President of Harding University he said between the 7th grade and graduation from college the church loses something like 70% maybe 80% of its youth. Adults are stunned when a good Christian boy or girl leaves the church. I told Bob it didn't surprise me, it was obvious, the church never had them. When the first opportunity came along they got as far away as they could. Bob calls them little atheists. I think he's right.  

 

Wes Craven is an example of an individual who while he was at home, went along with his parents and when he left to attend college, a Christian College at that, his parents and the church patted themselves on their proverbial backs for a great job well done. But alas they were wrong, as are we. Parents can make their children do what they want them to do, they cannot make them think the way they want them to think. That takes relationship and example.

John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN



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

"The good thing about science is it's true whether or not you believe in it."

Neil DeGrasse Tyson

 

Reference June Men's Meeting minutes: you reported the concept/problem of how to get younger age group involved and interested in Bible school and in church was introduced. Not sure what younger age group is being considered but a good number of older local members are likely targets also.

 

The purpose of this email is to suggest you consider the possibility that I am not the only one who does not believe what is taught.

 

All of my life, at least to this point, I have been taught that God answers prayers. I remember as a teenager observing it looked like the only way folks got off the prayer list was to die.

 

I remember asking God for help making decisions guidance etc and I remember never being aware of any responses. For over 40 years I have asked preachers, authors of articles, etc questions relating to things they had said or written and not receiving answers. I used to thank God for our inheritance and asked him to help Foster make sound business decisions. God did nothing, Foster went to prison, we went bankrupt and a 73-year-old grandmother is working at a minimum wage job instead of visiting her grandchildren.

 

During our time at GSMCOC I have noticed public prayers are never answered do not make sense or ask God to do something he has already done or cannot do. I used to ask people what specifically they expected God to do in response to their public prayer. I was told by a respected member of GSMCOC that he did not expect anything. When I asked why he prayed he said he is commanded to so he does. Is God weird or what? 

 

As a result of my experience and observations I have concluded God does not answer prayers and is not involved in our lives. When the opportunity for coincidence is eliminated prayers are never answered. Coincidence comes when prayers are spoken for a sick person and the sick person is medically treated for the sickness. If the person is healed it is impossible to know if God healed, the individual's immune system healed, or the treatment healed.

 

I believe historically as well as currently most of what is taught as Christianity is intended to keep the laity dependent on the clergy. First to get their attention you have to scare them and then comfort them that they will be OK if they listen to you and contribute financially..

 

When the Littleton's asked their grandson be removed from the prayer list Al announced the man will spend the rest of his life in a wheel chair and that "prayer works," whatever that means. Al's comments were an attempt to convince the congregation that God had done something he had not done but that Al had told them God would do. I doubt any prayers were for the man to live in a wheel chair. God did not answer any of those prayers.

 

The reason the younger age group are not involved and are not interested in Bible school and in church may be they do not believe what they hear. You have not convinced me but you have given me reason to doubt a lot of what is taught and God has given me reason to doubt. Paul said it is reasonable to believe God exists because of what we can see in nature. Everything else we believe because we take the word of someone we trust. When people advocate something to be true that is easily verified to not be true the people advocating lose credibility.  

 

When talking with the people you might be alert for indications they reason they are not involved is they just do not believe you or trust you.

John Jenkins
865-803-8179  cell
Gatlinburg, TN



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

"The good thing about science is it's true whether or not you believe in it."

Neil DeGrasse Tyson

Henry Ford

In 1914, Henry Ford made a big announcement that shocked the country. 

 

That morning, Ford would begin paying his employees $5.00 a day, over twice the average wage for automakers in 1914.

In addition, he was reducing the work day from 9 hours to 8 hours, a significant drop from the 60-hour work week that was the standard in American manufacturing.

Ford believed he was buying higher quality work from all his employees. "If the floor sweeper's heart is in his job he can save us five dollars a day by picking up small tools instead of sweeping them out."

Higher wages were necessary, Ford realized, to retain workers who could handle the pressure and the monotony of his assembly line.

In 1919, Ford raised his minimum wage again, this time to $6.00 a day. Ford said "The payment of five dollars a day for an eight-hour day was one of the finest cost-cutting moves we ever made, and the six-dollar-a-day wage is cheaper than the five.

In the aftermath of the stock market crash, he raised wages to $7.00 a day, hoping it would spark an economic recovery. But this time, it didn't work. The fault lay in business leaders who were "continually putting the profit motive over what he called the wage motive." "When business thought only of profit for the owners 'instead of providing goods for all,' then it frequently broke down."

Why is it Worship

On my first job in 1962 I had a grand-boss (my boss's boss) who would come in on Saturday mornings, and perform no work related activities. He would drink coffee, share doughnuts, he had brought, talk to folks, hang around until noon and leave. He did not know what to do on Saturdays until he came home from work. It was a habit. I believe the majority of those assembled on Sunday AM are there for the same reason with the additional perk, they like the people. Some are there because the clergy told them if they do not come that a loving God will burn them in Hell forever. They have to be there; to worship but most importantly to fill the collection plates.

 

Why do you believe the assembly is worship?

 

I will tell you why I do not believe it is worship. Paul told the church in Rome what worship is (it is not isolated to Sunday or to groups) and the writer of Hebrews tells us the purpose of the assembly (it is not worship). Nowhere are we commanded nor told nor is it suggested we worship. Jesus told the woman at the well his people would worship and that there would not be a specific place to worship. The clergy tell us the church building is the place where the clergy is. If no worship what would the clergy do?

 

We like examples and commands and my favorites those necessary inferences; where are they to support considering the assemblies worship?

 

The greatest perceived danger to many church leaders is the idea that their congregants begin to embrace questioning and free thought.

I believe most of what is taught as Christianity has as its primary purpose keeping laity dependent upon clergy. What better way than scaring the laity and telling them the Clergy will help them? Clergy tells the laity a loving God will torture his "very good creation" for eternity in Hell unless they do exactly what the Clergy tells them God commands.

Have you ever wondered why, while Christians, today hold dear the virgin birth of Jesus it was never mentioned by Paul, Peter, James the brother of Jesus or Jesus? Paul said it is reasonable to believe God exists by what can be seen. Apparently everything else depends on taking someone's word. When what Clergy claims to be true can be seen to be not true laity begins to doubt that which cannot be seen.

The greatest perceived danger to many church leaders is the idea that their congregants begin to embrace questioning and free thought.

In the 300's CE, Emperor Constantine and his newly formed Church leadership structure took actions to eradicate – by force when necessary – any Christian thought that did not conform to the creeds they had articulated. Free thought impacted their power and control, both physically and spiritually. That mentality remains today, thus Sunday morning is the most segregated day of the week as Christians assemble with those who think as they think. When everyone thinks alike, someone is not thinking.

If Clergy are to remain relevant they should not ignore Augustine of Hippo's advice.

"In matters that are so obscure and far beyond our vision, we find in Holy Scripture passages which can be interpreted in very different ways without prejudice to the faith we have received. In such cases, we should not rush in headlong and so firmly take our stand on one side that, if further progress in the search for truth justly undermines this position, we too fall with it. That would be to battle not for teaching of Holy Scripture but our own, wishing its teaching to conform to ours, whereas we ought to wish ours to conform to that of Sacred Scripture"

 

 

The Donald is Right

Which is more sad, a military being killed in his own country or American citizens sending their military to die to promote political goals? If you want to honor the military stop sending them to war.

On the other hand Donald Trump is right, we citizens have allowed our government to forget our military, Projects like Wounded Warriors are proof. When we send military to war we should raise taxes enough to pay as we go, and to take care of any problems the military has for the rest of their lives and we should provide a comfortable living for their families and education for their children. Maybe then we will stop trying to rule the world.