CommenTerry

We Place Too Much Importance on Pastors

Whenever someone asks me about the new pastor at my church, I just shrug my shoulders and say, "Who cares?" Of course, most people are taken aback by such a response. Nothing against any pastor, but I believe Christianity is all about Christ and none about the pastor. In fact, if I were a pastor, I would make sure my name did not appear on the church marquee, stationery, or anything written material referencing my church.

The Great Parental Copout

It's the great parental copout. That's what I call it when parents decide to let their children make their own decisions about whether to attend church and receive religious instruction. Those parents wouldn't think of letting their children decide whether to go to school. Why, their kids would probably decide not to and grow up ignorant. Similarly, when given this decision about religion, most kids will decide against attending church and will grow up completely secular-minded.

A Challenge to Catholic-Haters

There seem to be a lot of right-wing fundamentalist nuts these days who like to bash the Catholic Church. One example is Pastor John Hagee, who often refers to the Catholic Church as the “Great Whore.” However, at the same, these guys will tout the divine inspiration and inerrancy of the entire Bible, including the New Testament. However, they can’t have it both ways.

Circa 400 A.D., the same Catholic Church that these fundamentalists like to disparage determined by a vote which books would be included in the New Testament. Its 27 books were selected from more than a hundred possible choices, including those books that make up the Dead Sea Scrolls. Yes, it was the Catholic Church that judged which writings were divinely inspired (and therefore included in the New Testament) and those which were not (and therefore left out).

Here are some questions that Catholic-Haters need to answer: If the Catholic Church is such an apostate, then who or what gave it the authority to piece together the New Testament? If the Catholic Church is indeed the Great Whore, then why should we trust its decisions about which books to include in and exclude from the New Testament? If we as Protestants have the truth on our side, should we not re-look at all the prospective divine writings from the first century and determine for ourselves which are divinely inspired and which are not?

Why All the Church Hopping?

It has recently been reported in the media that more and more people are switching from one church to another or one religion to another. This is contrary to the behavior of previous generations of Americans, who generally stuck with the church or religion of their upbringing. So, what’s the reason for all the church hopping (or church shopping) nowadays?

I believe this is happening because too many people are coming to church with the wrong attitude. The purpose of the Church is to praise, honor, and worship God and to advance His Kingdom on earth. It does not exist to make us feel good or give us some kind of high. Those who believe it does will never be satisfied very long with any church they attend. People have obviously become so self-centered these days that they even view the Church as something to manipulate for their personal gratification. On the contrary, we are to conform to what God’s Word demands – and not try to make it conform to our pre-conceived belief systems.

To paraphrase Jack Kennedy, Christians should not ask what the Church can do for them; they should ask what they can do for the Church. If Christians keep their eyes on a fixed point (i.e., the Word of God), they will not be influenced by what’s popular or trendy, or even their own feelings, for that matter. I will stick with my church even if everyone else forsakes it. I refuse to look around and see what everyone else is doing and let it influence me.

Remember Why We Celebrate Christmas

In the Old Testament days, God seemed distant, mysterious, and even unpredictable at times. Even His prophets wondered what He was really like. Back then, it was impossible to really know God.

Fortunately, all of that mystery was finally put to bed when Jesus came to earth to reveal God's true nature in human form. Today, we joyfully celebrate that advent, as we do each year on this date. Now, it's possible for anyone to know God through a personal relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ. 

Always remember that Christ is the reason for the season. Without Him, even the best of us are hopeless wretches. Besides, when you take Christ out of Christmas, all you have left is the "mas."

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Did You Create Your God?

It constantly amazes me that there are people out there who do not believe the Holy Bible (or any other holy book for that matter) but still claim to believe in God. Many of them will say the Bible was written by man and is therefore not trustworthy. While God did not physically write the Bible with His own hands, he inspired His servants, who were men (and women), to write it. If you are one of those who believes in God but not in the Bible, please answer the following questions: What is your basis for believing in God at all? How do you know He even exists? What is your proof? Is it some kind of trendy touchy-feely New Age kind of gut feeling?

The truth is, of course, that the one true God is unchanging and not subject to human whims. He reveals Himself in His Word (the Holy Bible) and nowhere else other than in the hearts of those who have accepted His Son as their Savior. If you want to know Him, you must read and trust His Word. Once you separate God from His Word, you have no god at all. All that’s left is some nebulous figment of human imagination that can be molded into any kind of being that seems reasonable and logical to the individual. That’s why you’ll often hear people make statements like, “My God is too loving and inclusive to judge anyone for [fill-in-their-favorite-sin].” If God could be formed into an image of our own choosing, we (humans) would become the master and God would become the servant.

Why I Am a Christian

I've often been asked how a person like myself, who stresses logic and reason, could be a Christian. I have a very simple answer to that question. To me, matters of faith are completely separate from matters of logic and reason. There are many things that cannot be answered or explained with logic and reason; things such as the origin of all life, why we were created, and the afterlife. If something can be explained with logic, I trust logic; for those others things, I have no choice but to look to my faith.

You Either Take It Literally or You Don't

Curiously, many of my fundamentalist friends, who claim they believe the Bible literally from cover to cover, will try to explain away certain passages that don't agree with their theology. That's nothing but intellectual and religious dishonesty. Either you believe the Bible literally from cover to cover or you don't. If you don't, then don't say you do.

In addition, those who would say that the biblical writers "didn't really mean" exactly what they wrote in some passages are creating a theological imbroglio for themselves. In other words, if those writers didn't really mean what they apparently said about some things, how can we be sure they really meant what they said about sin, salvation, heaven, hell, and other weighty matters?

The End Has Been Coming for Quite a While Now

I think it's safe to ignore the so-called "end times" predictions being circulated by many pastors and authors these days. Many of these works such as the "Left Behind" series are very popular and make for very intriguing reading.

However, I'd take it all with a grain of salt. The people who make predictions like this have, throughout the centuries, been like broken clocks. They make so many predictions that many of them are bound to come true. Then, when they do, these people will claim "prophecy fulfillment", ignoring all of their incorrect predictions, which are far more numerous.

The truth is that only God knows what the future holds and doesn't want us wasting our time trying to outguess Him. Our duty as Christians is to live obedient lives, put our trust in God, and leave the future to Him.

How Does God Forgive?

Many of my fellow Christians believe that God forgives -- but only when one is sincerely sorry for his or her transgressions and subsequently asks for forgiveness. Now, that kind of thinking sounds biblical and I know this doctrine is continually preached from pulpits all across the U.S. and the world. But is it accurate?

I used to believe it was, but now I'm not so sure. I began to question this belief after I started to seriously analyze something else the Bible teaches about forgiveness. Jesus said that we (humans) are to forgive each other, period. When someone wrongs us, we are to forgive them -- no questions asked. Jesus said nothing about waiting for them to express any kind of sorrow for what they did or to ask us for our forgiveness. 

Now, if we, as humans, are expected to forgive each other in this kind of unconditional fashion, should we expect any less from God? Is God a do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do kind of Being? Are we expected to be more forgiving than Him? If anyone or anything could out-forgive Him, how could He remain God?  We should think carefully before trying to place limits on God's forgiveness.