Sometimes when I read Old Testament law or the New Testament early church teachings/letters… I am amazed at *what* needed to be addressed. My thought is… “Really? Did people really need to be told not to do THAT?” LOL. I can usually realize the parallels to our society, even if the descriptions are vastly different. Sin is sin, and it all comes from the same place. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that someone felt the need to write an article to discourage Christians from forwarding libel as though it is Gospel.

The thing that possibly disturbs me the most is an assertion of our “rights” to justification for our often times poor behavior. “I am only defending my rights to blahblahblah”. We have a prominent pro-life group dancing on a slippery slope right now. They have a video contest up on YouTube calling for viewers to send in own videos of “burning in hell” effigies of several prominent politicians! Whether it is their right to send a message in this manner or not, this group who has an otherwise righteous mission has denigrated themselves and their message. Just because we have the freedom to do something doesn’t mean we should. We have a higher set of standards. Do we want to be justified, or do we want to be sanctified?

This post was mentioned on Twitter by therevr: Associated Baptist Press – Fear Not: What does virtual rumor-mongering say about Christians?: http://wp.me/p1ria-9Z...

It is a thornier issue to try to think of love, and hence the nature of God, absent the universe, i.e., the nature of God prior to or apart from what has come into existence. One might even suggest that attempting such thought would put one in danger of the very denial of the essential connectedness already referred to, and as such a logical impossibility leading to self-contradiction. Indeed, since from our point of view it is when existence comes into being that the possibility of the knowledge of God emerges, such thinking would necessarily be speculative, and if possible at all, would need to be approached with both humility and rigor.

My boss’ father, a Christian man and very much an evangelist, was in our service department and in the company of a half a dozen ‘unchurched’ folks, when someone brought up the president. What came out of this Godly man’s mouth blew one of my co-worker’s minds; to the point she came to me later to repeat the conversation because I wasn’t witness to it. He evidentially refered to the president by the “N” word several times. My caucasian female co-worker took offense to this personally (she was actually hurting) because of how this Godly father figure could switch to vitriol and be so vulgar over nothing more than a difference in political opinion! As she was trying to work the “why” of why this word hurt her, we figured out that it wasn’t the word, it was WHO was saying it and the hateful emotion behind its use. It is sad to me that he lost his witness with this young woman. It also concerns me that any sincere act of faith from this point on is falsified if he tries to justify this due to his dissatisfaction with the president. We should be concerned about what we say (especially in the company of others) when we read Matthew 12: 33″Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” **Ouch.** There is no justifying this kind of demonstration even if you have been led to believe your actions will speak louder than your words. I think all of us should do a “heart check” when we get ‘verbal diahhrea’ or voice our discontent with more class. I know I feel convicted.

Welcome to visit my Site.
Allan Svensson, Sweden
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/INDEX.HTM

The Bridegroom comes, Come out to meet him. Matt. 25:6.
From where shall we go out? We shall go out of the great
Babylon, the great whore. Rev. Chapter 17 and 18. This
command of the Lord in Rev. 18:4 is now highly topical.

Never before we have been so nearly Jesus’ coming as we
are now, but how are God’s people prepared? How is the
unity in the faith? Sorry, very bad! God’s people are more
divided now than ever before. Instead of following what
the Bible teaches about the Assembly of God, they have
followed Satan’s false assembly doctrine. They believe
that the Assembly of God is constituted of church systems
and many religious organizations.

Most Christians have not yet begun to prepare for Jesus’
coming. They can speak and write that Jesus shall come,
and about the signs of the time, yet they do not make any
preparation to meet Jesus. How can we make a preparation?
To make preparation and be ready for Jesus’ coming, God’s
people must get the knowledge of the Assembly of God.

All God’s people must in the first hand begin to study what
the Bible teaches about the Assembly of God. What we
need now before the restoration of the Assembly of God,
it is humility before God’s word and a forgivable disposition
to each other.

The Assembly of God is no Pentecostal church. Please,
consider what this expression “the Assembly of God” in the
reality implies. The Assembly of God must be the same as
the Greek word “ekklesia”, and the Body of Christ. 1 Cor.
12:12-31. Then it is easy to understand that this has nothing
to do with the Pentecostal Movement. Pentecostal churches
have existed about 100 years, but the Assembly of God has
ever existed since Jesus baptized his first disciples by the
Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gave them the new life in Christ
so that they became born anew. Then the Assembly of God
was born.

The Bridegroom comes, Come out to meet him
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/CRY.HTM

Evil spirits in the churches
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/SPIRITS.HTM

The great Apostasy
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/MESSAGE.HTM#Apostasy

The exodus of God’s people from Babylon the great
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/CRISIS.HTM#exodus

KJV, “the best English Bible” but not perfect
http://www.algonet.se/~allan-sv/KING.HTM

Interesting question and thank you for asking it! This topic is fascinating to me. While I’m a big advocate for the “wall of separation” between church and state here in the U.S. I have to admit it’s in no small part because the American church–at least, the American church that is politically engaged–tends to be Taliban-like in its repressiveness. If the liberal American church were as prominent in the culture as Focus on the Family, I have to wonder if I might feel differently.

That said, I was really struck by my trip to Scandinavia last summer. Norway, by example, is extemely secular, there is gay marriage on the books, abortion is legal, etc. etc. And yet, the Lutheran Church was, until about 5 years ago (?? I’d need to look it up), the official church of Norway. That meant that everyone born in Norway was automatically born a Lutheran. If you wanted your children to be Jewish, Muslim, Souther Baptist or nothing at all, you had to petition the government.

I don’t think we in America can even comprehend what it means to have an “official state religion.” The idea that the government would even have an interest in what religion you are is completely alien to Americans.

Furthermore, the Norwegian government still (or at least, they did until recently) appointed church bishops and other church officials. AND gave the church money.