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Posted April 29, 2009 by Clethass

Letter-writer 'hijacked' words in Bible to 'fuel hatred' for Obama <o:p></o:p>

It's one thing to display hatred for President Obama. It's quite another to hijack five words from the Holy Bible to fuel that hatred, raise a nation to the level of idol and promote a narrow political agenda (letter, P.K. Fitzgerald, "President is endangering America by failing to support Israel," April 19). <o:p></o:p>

One could pick their favorite five words from the Bible to support any political agenda, but to do so is an abuse of the inspired word of God. <o:p></o:p>

Scripture is intended to be a revelation of why we exist on this earth and how we should relate to our God while we are here. God as revealed in the Old Testament gives us - all of us - a sense of identity with Him, a sense of belonging to Him. As revealed through Christ's presence on earth, His teaching, passion, crucifixion and resurrection, the New Testament God is one of reconciliation to the concepts of faith, hope and love as well as a sense of oneness with each other. Indeed, Jesus taught that all the laws and commandments should be replaced with two simple ones: love God and love your neighbor. <o:p></o:p>

God is not a Jew or a Gentile. He is not a Republican or a Democrat. He is not a Conservative or a Liberal. The Bible is not a political document. It is a statement about God's relationship to humanity- all mankind, not just to one race or to one religion. ...<o:p></o:p>

Our God is the God of Abraham, who is ancestor to the three predominant monotheistic faiths - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. We all worship the same God! So to imply, using only five words of scripture, that God is only the God of the Jews is not only bad theology, it's dangerous theology. The claim that God is the possession of one race of people or one political ideology has started some huge calamities of human misery throughout history, including the attempted destruction of the early Christian community, three ill-fated Christian crusades and the present day political use of the Islamic faith in attempts to stop the westernization of the Middle East.<o:p></o:p>

To use the inspired word of God to display our personal hatreds and promote narrow political agendas is an abuse of the power of the revelation of that word. The only cause promoted by the body of work we know as the Holy Bible is one of reconciliation of mankind to the one true God, the building of a community of believers and redemption for our natural sinfulness.<o:p></o:p>

Sonny McDowell newstimes.augusta.com April 29, 2009 <o:p></o:p>

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We must not be unfriendly to any one because of ignorance, neither must we reject the immature or turn away from the sick but administer the remedy for each human need until all are united in the providence of God. Therefore it is evident that the essential foundations of the divine religions are unity and love. If religion be productive of discord among mankind it is a destroyer and not divine for religion implies unity and binding together and not separation. Mere knowledge of principles is not sufficient. We all know and admit that justice is good but there is need of volition and action to carry out and manifest it. For example, we might think it good to build a church but simply thinking of it as a good thing will not help its erection. The ways and means must be provided; we must will to build it and then proceed with the construction. All of us know that international peace is good, that it is conducive to human welfare and the glory of man but volition and action are necessary before it can be established. Action is the essential. Inasmuch as this century is a century of light, capacity for action is assured to mankind. Necessarily the divine principles will be spread among men until the time of action arrives. Surely this has been so and truly the time and conditions are ripe for action now. All men know that verily war is the destroyer of human foundations and in every country of the world this is admitted and apparent. I find the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States of America</st1:place></st1:country-region> an exceedingly progressive nation, the government just, the people in a state of readiness and the principle of equality established to an extraordinary degree. Therefore it is my hope that inasmuch as the standard of international peace must be upraised it may be upraised upon this continent, for this nation is more deserving and has greater capacity for such an initial step than any other. If other nations should attempt to do this the motive will be misunderstood. <o:p></o:p>

(Abdu'l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p. 26)<o:p></o:p>

Tags: Providence, Religion, Unity, Love, Mankind, Knowledge, Peace, Glory, Light, Abdul-B

ONE WORD: GOD

Posted April 26, 2009 by Clethass

Young Christian Leader Makes Case for 'Unfashionable' Churches <o:p></o:p>

When Pastor Tullian Tchividjian was tapped to become the next senior minister of the historic Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Ft. Lauderdale</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Fla.</st1:state></st1:place>, a number of media reports noted obvious differences between him and the megachurchs founding pastor, the late Dr. D. James Kennedy.<o:p></o:p>

Tchividjian ғcuts a far different image, noted a reporter for The Associated Press.<o:p></o:p>

ԓHis hair is spiky, his beard sometimes scruffy, his skin tan, the reporter added.<o:p></o:p>

Being only 36, Tchividjian may look like the typical trendy and modern pastor of today who would try to make his church more relevant and more appealing to draw the unchurched.<o:p></o:p>

But he is among those Christian leaders who believe that main problem churches face is not that they are culturally out of touch, but that they are theologically out of tune.<o:p></o:p>

ԓWe need to remember that God has established his church as an alternative society, not to compete with or copy this world, but to offer a refreshing alternative to it, Tchividjian writes in his recently released book, Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World by Being Different.<o:p></o:p>

ԓWhen we forget this, we inadvertently communicate to our culture that we have nothing unique to offer, nothing deeply spiritual or profoundly transforming. Tragically, this leaves many in our world looking elsewhere for the difference they crave, he adds.<o:p></o:p>

For Tchividjian, whose grandfather is the renowned Rev. Billy Graham, what drew him back to church after years of chasing the things of the world was his encounter at the age of 21 with the ԓradical difference he had been longing for.<o:p></o:p>

ԓI was a seeker being reached, not by a man-centered, trendy show, but by a God-centered, transcendent atmosphere, he recalls.<o:p></o:p>

And Jacksonville-born preacher is convinced that serious seekers today arenԒt looking for something appealing and trendy.<o:p></o:p>

TheyӒre looking for something deeper than whats currently in fashion,Ҕ Tchividjian insists.<o:p></o:p>

Through Unfashionable, the south <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Florida</st1:place></st1:state> pastor makes the case for Christians to make a difference in this world by being different from the world. He explains what it means to be out of style in the culture, to pattern ideas, beliefs, methods, and tastes in alignment with Gods ways and not the worldҒs.<o:p></o:p>

He also makes a passionate plea for Christians to stop trying so hard to be cool, to fit in, and instead be courageous enough to be different.<o:p></o:p>

Truthfulness, not trendiness is what new generations are thirsting for,Ӕ Tchividjian writes. They want to know there are people out there with their sights set on a different world.Ӕ<o:p></o:p>

According to a study by the Barna Group in late 2007, the most common elements that young people said they sought from church were "to worship or make a connection with God" (45 percent described this as very important) and "to better understand what I believe" (42 percent). About one-third of teens said they wanted "to spend time with close friends" (34 percent), "to get encouraged or inspired" (34 percent), or "to volunteer to help others" (30 percent).<o:p></o:p>

Tchividjian hopes to mobilize a generation of God-saturated missionaries who will live against the world for the worldӔ and not be seduced by coolӔ or whats fashionable.<o:p></o:p>

To date, TchividjianҒs new book has received praise from prominent Christian leaders including Mark Batterson, lead pastor of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">National</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Community</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Church</st1:placetype></st1:place>; Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship; Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research; and Kevin DeYoung, pastor of University Reformed Church.<o:p></o:p>

Eric Young, Christian Post Reporter Apr. 23 2009<o:p></o:p>

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Truthfulness is the foundation of all the virtues of the world of humanity. Without truthfulness, progress and success in all of the worlds of God are impossible for a soul. When this holy attribute is established in man, all the divine qualities will also become realized.<o:p></o:p>

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(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 384)<o:p></o:p>

Tags: Truthfulness, Virtue, World, Humanity, Progress, Soul, Man, Quality, Baha, Abdul-B