christianity

Chris Knight's avatar

A short while after finishing my review of Kingdom Come (thank heaven that’s the last we’ll ever see of Left Behind… hopefully) I found out about another book that was coming out around the same time. This one also dealt with Pre-Tribulation Rapture theology, but with a twist: it’s story was about what happens when Christians obsess about the Rapture to the point of ignoring the work that God has provided to occupy ourselves with until He does come. That alone would have piqued my interest. That the book’s page on Amazon described it as a “quirky apocalyptic gangster novel” only fueled my desire to know more. And that this was a Christian satire novel that was – gasp! – said to be uproariously funny settled it in my mind: I absolutely had to read Tribulation House by Chris Well.

It wasn’t until two days ago that I found a ...

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There is going to be a forum for presidential candidates in Des Moines on June 30th sponsored by Iowans for Tax Relief, and a group called Iowa Christian Alliance. And most of the Republican candidates will be present. Except for Ron Paul. Why?

Here’s the word from the Ron Paul campaign blog:

Ron Paul Excluded in Iowa

Iowans for Tax Relief and Iowa Christian Alliance will host a presidential candidates forum on Saturday, June 30th in Des Moines. Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Sam Brownback, Jim Gilmore, Mike Huckabee, Tommy Thompson, and Tom Tancredo will participate.

Ron Paul, however, will not participate. Why? Because he wasn’t invited.

We heard about this forum from numerous supporters in Iowa who asked why Dr. Paul was not going to participate. Those supporters assumed that Dr. Paul was invited.

The campaign office had not received an invitation so we called this morning; thinking

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Chris Knight's avatar

I’ve never understood why most churches in this country put an American flag in the sanctuary, practically on par with the cross. As if the apostle Paul had the believers in Corinth prop up a Roman standard emblazoned with S.P.Q.R. in the corner of their meeting place.

A flag is a symbol of temporal power and authority. It has no place in a house of worship… unless what the flag symbolizes IS a focus of worship.

And if it is, then there is a problem.

Jesus called His followers the “salt of the earth”. Only a little salt will preserve the meat. But if the salt loses its saltiness, as Jesus said, then it is worthless. And it does nothing. The meat will deteriorate.

That’s what Christianity in America has become: it’s lost its salt. Because too many of those who boast of Judeo-Christian morals don’t realize the damage they ...

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You might have heard about the Creation Museum that opened this week in Kentucky. It is a natural history museum that has made the Bible’s account of a literal six-day creation the foundation of everything that is on exhibit.

It seems to be a huge hit, because ever since it opened the Creation Museum has enjoyed capacity crowds. It’s also attracted the usual gang of professional secularists: people who get too much of their jollies from deriding those who believe God made everything as “backward-thinking yokels”.

I’m making mention of this, because I think that the Creation Museum and the “controversy” about it (which seems too manufactured by the mainstream press) epitomizes everything that’s wrong with the “Evolution versus Creationism” debate… and especially how too many Christians get embroiled in this for the very worst of reasons.

Yes, I do believe God created the universe. No, I won’t be ...

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Chris Knight's avatar
You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan, You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God’s grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists.

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan
89%

Neo orthodox
75%

Reformed Evangelical
68%

Charismatic/Pentecostal
61%

Emergent/Postmodern
54%

Fundamentalist
46%

Classical Liberal
36%

Modern Liberal
25%

Roman Catholic
21%

What’s your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com

I was fully expecting to rank as an Emergent/Postmodern more than anything else. But my personal theology is a strange melange of independent Methodism, much teaching from Stanley Hauerwas, C.S. Lewis and lots of personal experience. What’s my denomination anyway? Does it even matter anymore? I’m ...

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Breaking news now. Was found in his office “unresponsive” and rushed to the hospital. In just the past few minutes it’s coming out more or less verified that Falwell has indeed died.

I know that I’ve written a lot on this blog about how I disagreed with a many things that Falwell did. The biggest problem I had with him was that he put too much an emphasis on gaining political power. That said, I have to add here that my prayers are definitely with his family today....

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Chris Knight's avatar

Two stories – both from here in North Carolina – that caught my attention this morning, that illustrate the frustration that I have so often with some who profess to share my faith in Christ…

The first has to do with Good News Independent Baptist Church in Raleigh: its pastor has placed this sign out in front of the church. I could say something about the horrible grammar and spelling (“Christain”?) but that’s not the point. What is troubling is that Rev. Gary Murrell is being a very poor witness for Christ in doing this. Does he seriously believe that this sign is going to convince any Muslim to give up his or her religion and embrace Christianity? Because he’s gravely mistaken if he does. We are supposed to be convincing people of Christ with our love toward them, and not militant hostility. When Murrell does this, he’s really ...

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Maybe I’m seeing too much in this, but when I first looked at this photo from this week’s Lost episode “The Man Behind the Curtain”, something immediately jumped out at me. It’s the scene where Locke and Ben are on the creek bank before setting out to see Jacob.

Do you see it too?

Look at the reflection in the water. I don’t know if this was intended or not (I’m guessing probably not) but the branch that’s seen behind Locke’s reflected head… it looks just like the horizontal beam of a Roman cross. Here’s that portion of the image flipped upside-down…

Taking the straight branch into account, Locke’s head is in much the same position as you see Christ’s head in quite a few depictions of the crucifiction.

Now think about that very last scene from last week’s episode “The Brig” and what Locke was carrying on his back....

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Today is the observance of Good Friday in most Christian traditions.

Ever since first hearing about this in 1992, I’ve been fascinated with this ritual that is done every year by some Christians in the Philippines:

Wilson Bondoc, 19, a bicycle cab driver, is nailed to a wooden cross during a Good Friday crucifixion re-enactment in Lourdes Northwest Village in Pampanga province, north of Manila, April 6, 2007. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco (PHILIPPINES) Original link

Men are nailed to a cross during a re-enactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the village of Cutud, about 80 km (50 miles) north of Manila, April 6, 2007. More than a dozen Filipinos were nailed to crosses and scores more whipped their backs into a bloody pulp on Friday in a gory ritual to mark the death of Jesus Christ. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (PHILIPPINES) Original link

Men flagellate themselves before a re-enactment of the crucifixion
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James Dobson is saying that possible presidential candidate Fred Thompson is not a Christian:

Focus on the Family founder James Dobson appeared to throw cold water on a possible presidential bid by former Sen. Fred Thompson while praising former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is also weighing a presidential run, in a phone interview Tuesday.

“Everyone knows he’s conservative and has come out strongly for the things that the pro-family movement stands for,” Dobson said of Thompson. “[But] I don’t think he’s a Christian; at least that’s my impression,” Dobson added, saying that such an impression would make it difficult for Thompson to connect with the Republican Party’s conservative Christian base and win the GOP nomination.

Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Thompson, took issue with Dobson’s characterization of the former Tennessee senator. “Thompson is indeed a Christian,” he said. “He was baptized into the Church of Christ.”

In a

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