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Computerized Christians? Get Ready for the New Church!Isaiah 43;19 declares: "Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Praying Church or Playing Church?The western church is seen by the world as anything BUT Christian. We are making no one jealous for what we claim we've found in Christ. Independent and proud of it, our only chance is of winning this "holy war" is to declare our DEPENDENCE upon God. See, our problem is not our weak leaders or our demoralization. It's not Hollywood or Harry Potter. War in HeavenThis next event, a war in heaven, will not be able to be seen with the naked eye by the people still left on the earth as the 7 year Tribulation starts to unfold. What happens in this next incredible event is that Satan and his angels are cast out of "heaven" and cast down onto the earth by St. Michael and his army of angels. There will literally be a war in the "heavens" between God's angels and the Devil and his fallen angels. Signs and SymbolsIn the year 2005, the American Constitution has put into law that the Ten Commandments cannot be displayed legally unless there is a historic theme to the display. I say what a joke. Heads I Win, Tails You LoseIn a time when public scrutiny is becoming tighter and more pervasive businesses have learned that they need to be on guard more than ever to ensure they are operating by ethical standards. Though not often mentioned in this discussion, I believe it is especially true of Christian organizations in whom trust is placed by donors. The old adage "heads I win, tails you lose" has a particular bite on this that says ouch. That's not the way it's supposed to be. Is Buddhism A Religion?Buddhism is a teaching which has spread worldwide absorbing the culture of each country it arrived in, which has resulted in many expressions of Buddhism. Each strand, no matter how varied in nature and practice, holds a common emphasis on the impermanence of human life. The worldwide spread of Buddhism means that it is now practiced by over three hundred million people worldwide, and thus, is generally considered to be a world religion. However, its authenticity as a religion has often come under scrutiny by intellectuals in the Western world. To explore whether Buddhism can in fact be counted as a religion we must acknowledge that the main problems arise when looking for a definition of what a religion is. Either, definitions have proved too narrow excluding many belief systems which people believe are religious, or they become too broad which means that any structure can be counted. When applying varying definitions of religion to Buddhism we come up with some very contradictory answers; some which say that Buddhism is simply a philosophy or teaching, whilst others will prove that it is in fact, a religion in practice. Africa; The Forgotten Land of The Catholic ChurchAfrican Nations upset at the selection of the new Pope, Benedict XVI; they wanted a Black Pope. Instead they got another 'white man'. Some Black Americans are saying this just proves "whitey" still runs the world and continues to economically enslave the Africans and African Americans. One young black man we interviewed, Tyrone Williams, said "They all in it t'getter, come on, is obvious." Tyrone is considering converting to Islam; "There is no place for a black man in the Catholic Church." Helping Others - What Did Jesus Say?Helping others was something Jesus did on a dailybasis. He was constantly approached by people, but Healways found time to stop what He was doing to helpthose in need. This is a lesson we must learn if wewant to be anything like Jesus, our savior. Accountability and Such NonsenseFrom the late 1970's through the 1980's, my wife and I were members of an authoritarian Bible cult. Not only were we members, but we were full time, unpaid leaders. We were not supported financially in any way for our contribution, yet required to do full time service and pay our tithes for opportunities to minister within the system. We were trustingly blind to how the system was only interested in using us for the betterment of itself. That was our responsibility to see. We finally have. A Common Sense Approach to Religious FreedomDown through the centuries and all over the world, the battle for religious freedom has been a bitter one. The United States has been no exception. Although most of those who founded this country came here seeking religious freedom, it has been a source of contention from the beginning and remains so today. There are fanatics on both sides of this issue. On one side, we have those who think their religious freedom is being violated if they are not allowed to force their religion down everyone else's throat. One the other side, we have those who believe it's their inalienable right to never be exposed to any element of religious life. Both extremes are wrong. Government should be neither hostile to any religion nor an enforcer of it. Instead, those who possess common sense should be capable of assenting to a happy medium. |
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