The Lord’s Prayer serves as a model for Christian prayer. While some denominations recite it verbatim, others use it as an example. Either way, the prayer instructs us to pray for things to be on earth as they are in heaven. We want earth to be a mirror of what heaven is and a place where there is no pain or suffering. Heaven on earth is a concept that isn’t as widely agreed upon as you might expect. The eschatology... Read more
If you were to ask an Evangelical about the Social Gospel, you may get a few different responses. Funny enough, I had a weekend full of Evangelicals. With the celebration of Easter came explanations of why we celebrate the holiday anyways. Conservative Evangelical Christians tend to look at the Gospel and Theology as right or wrong. Let me put it another way – their interpretation of the Bible and the good news of God is the right way. You shouldn’t look for anything... Read more
What’s The Difference? My parents are both ex-Roman Catholic and now Born Again Christians. Mom and Dad went to a Conservative Evangelical church when they first converted. Well – it might not have identified itself that way, but that was the theology. I grew up in that church as it moved further Fundamentalist. It was a church that took pride in the fact that the walls were white and the glass not stained. This church rebelled against the ornate frills... Read more
“You have heard that is has been said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and shall hate your enemy’ – Whereas I telly ou, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; In this way you become sons of your Father in the heavens, for he makes his sun rise on the wicked and the good, and sends rain upon the just and the unjust.” -Matt. 5:43-45 (The New Testament: A Translation, Hart) A Love For Enemies Christianity... Read more
American Christianity has been working since the beginning of the country to bring about a Christian nation. However, the definition of what a Christian nation actually is has changed throughout the centuries. I have touched on the history of the Church and my opinion on what Christianity has to say about the Constitution here. The idea of a Christian nation has been in flux since 1620, when Plymouth Colony’s ‘Bible Commonwealth’ was formed to be a ‘city upon a hill’.... Read more
Nation Creation The American Revolution was the growing pains of the colonies looking for freedom from England. We all know the story, but what comes up the most is the seemingly Christian language in the Declaration of Independence. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”. It sounds Christian on its face, given... Read more
One of the most important things to the Fundamentalist church is dogma. It’s kind of where the name comes from. Since R.A. Torrey’s The Fundamentals published throughout the early 1900’s, the focus has been on theology. I am often surprised by the origin and context of the different theological positions that White Conservative Evangelical and Fundamentalist Church has adopted, but digging into the Council of Nicea definitely posed a couple questions. Just Another Church Sermon I was visiting a church... Read more
A Science Lesson? On March 9, 1931, German physicist Ernest Ruska is credited with building the first electron microscope. This came after almost a decade of scientists working around the electromagnetic spectrum. Ruska received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986 for his work in the space of electron magnification and the development of the electron microscope. Fortunately enough for me (and you), I’m not writing about physics or science. Instead, I’m writing how we as the Church in America... Read more
What Is Justice? “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” – Micah 6:8 The book of Micah is a rebuke against Israel before the Northern kingdom was captured by Assyria, between 740 – 686 BCE. God tells Micah to prophesy to Israel because “they devised wickedness and were scheming evil on their beds, and at daybreak... Read more
Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” – Mark 9:23-24 This is one of my favorite stories in the New Testament and one that I identify the most with. Jesus is with his disciples, traveling to teach and to heal. People of the day knew who Jesus was and had heard stories about... Read more
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