The 16th Chapter of the John comes to mind most frequently when we think of Jesus giving us the Holy Spirit. Here it is: John 16:12-15 NIV “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will … Continue reading The Holy Spirit – Part 2 Jesus’ words
Having just finished up an extensive set of posts on Quakers, the Holy Spirit is on my mind. So I am now going to concentrate on what the Gospels and book of Acts say about the Holy Spirit. This is going to be a seven part post so please bear with me. I find myself tackling tough theological issues lately. I will try to get … Continue reading The Holy Spirit – Part 1
My wife and I watched a DVR copy of the recent TV movie entitled “Amish Grace” last night. This is the movie about the man who shot ten girls in an Amish school house a few years back and then took his own life. Six of the girls died. The main theme of the movie was about forgiveness and not letting hate overpower you. The … Continue reading If God is Love Where Does Hate Come From?
The last post I attempted to report the basic differences between the two major views of the Bible. This time I am going get a little artsy and make a meager attempt to try to compare these views to the concept of the “Bread of Life”. The Literal and Inerrant View see the Bible as a completed loaf of bread coming directly from God. There … Continue reading The Bible is like….
Given the recent blog discussions between myself and a person who takes the literal inerrant view of the Bible I want to spend a few minutes on that subject. There are basically two views on how to interpret Biblical text: Literal and Inerrant Approach – People who espouse this view believe that absolutely every word in the Bible is written by God through human authors. … Continue reading Biblical Views…
Although the overwhelming majority of comments that come into this blog are words of encouragement some say I am too critical of current church establishments and are therefore actually doing harm to the Body of Christ. In some ways I take pride in those type of comments. They are telling me that I am doing what I intend to do and that is to make … Continue reading Some Say…
This is going to be one of my “ranting” posts so be hereby warned! I try not to do them often but…. Some say institutional maintenance has become the prime work of the “church”. As a whole we Christians spend anywhere from 80% to 100% of our collections maintaining our buildings and paying our staff. The rest is either saved for a “rainy day” or … Continue reading Institutional Maintenance?
There are a significant portion, perhaps as much at 15%, of the world’s Christians who believe in the concept of Sola Scriptura. That is that the Bible alone is all they need to understand and relate to God and that it is literally and absolutely totally true in every aspect. Although he personally did not believe in biblical inerrancy the ones who currently follow the teaching … Continue reading It’s in the memo…
I thought the last post was going to be the end of this round on Quakers but thanks to eriu49’s comments on my previous post I came across the following at http://firstfriendswhittier.org I think I can say I agree with every item on this list. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> You Might Be a Quaker if: You think listening is at least as important as talking. You think justice means more … Continue reading You Might Be a Quaker…
The following is actually a comment attached to my April 5 concluding post on Quakerism. I think it is important enough to pull it out and include it as a separate post. Thanks eriu49 for sending it. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I am very interested in your thoughts about Quakerism. I have been attending Meeting since 1995 and find it meets my needs very well. I found a piece … Continue reading Quakers and the Sacraments…
Ok now on to some of the few things where I feel Quakers beliefs fall a little short . The core of Quakerism is as solid a foundation as I think I have ever come across in Christianity. But, much of it seems to eroded especially during the period between 1800 and 1900. I’m sure there are many meetings that still stick to the core … Continue reading Study of Quakers (Part 12)- Some Personal Thoughts (con’t)
One this day let’s celebrate our risen Savior and starting tomorrow concentrate on living our lives as He taught us. Continue reading A Joyous Easter to Everyone
After this fairly thorough study of Quakers I am ready to summarize my personal thoughts on Quakers and their beliefs and practices. First of all I must say that I am very much attuned to most Quaker beliefs. I think that Quakers really understand what Christ taught on how to live our lives. Not only do they believe it but they practice it in their … Continue reading Study of Quakers (Part 11) – Some Personal Thoughts
RJ's Corner 