http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/protestant-religion/ en-us Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:03:16 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2051113/posts The Church: The Self-effacing Saint For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. --Philippians 2:20,21 In this day when shimmering personalities carry on the Lord's work after the methods of the entertainment world it is refreshing to associate for a moment even in the pages of a book with a sincere and humble man who keeps his own personality out of sight and places the emphasis upon the inworking of God. It is our belief that the evangelical movement will continue to... Literature Ministries International http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2051113/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:03:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2051108/posts     Holy Anointing by Henry Morris III, D.Min. "But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." (1 John 2:20)The word "unction" in our text is translated "anointing" the other two times it is used (1 John 2:27). That term, and a companion word, are used only seven times in the New Testament, but all refer to the same essential concept often spoken of in the Old Testament.Both things (tabernacle, temple, vessels, offerings) and people (priests, Levites, kings, ambassadors) were "anointed"--often ceremoniously--to identify them as consecrated or honored for a special service or... Intstitute for Creation Research http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2051108/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:55:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050635/posts And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. (John 12:32 KJV) Countless modern churchmen and theologians easily declare that Jesus failed in his mission because, they say, He did not do everything he set out to do. From the failed God of Sun Myung Moon to the dumbed down God of the Open Theists, many seem to be attempting to avoid dealing with a God who says what He will do and does what He says. To make matters even worse, church members have listened to an easy to believe, convenient,... Grace Sermons http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050635/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:15:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050558/posts The Church: The Striped Candy Technique And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. --Acts 2:42 Without Biblical authority, or any other right under the sun, carnal religious leaders have introduced a host of attractions that serve no purpose except to provide entertainment for the retarded saints. It is now common practice in most evangelical churches to offer the people, especially the young people, a maximum of entertainment and a minimum of serious instruction. It is scarcely possible in most places to get anyone to attend a meeting where the... Literature Ministries International http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050558/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:15:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050551/posts What are the things Christians want most in life? According to a recent national survey by the Ventura County-based Barna Group, “it depends upon what type of Christian you ask.” Catholics, in particular, show marked differences from Protestants in what they want most in life. The survey was based on telephone interviews Barna conducted in May with a random sample of 1003 Americans from across the U.S., ages 18 and older. Sampling error was plus or minus 3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. According to the July 21 Barna Report, Barna researchers divided respondents according to various criteria.... California Catholic Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050551/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:03:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050518/posts     The Dayspring from on High by Henry Morris, Ph.D. "Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us." (Luke 1:78)This is an unusual, but beautiful, name of the coming Savior given Him by Zacharias when he was "filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied" (Luke 1:67). In that same prophecy, Zacharias also called that coming one "the Highest" and "the Lord" who would "give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins" (vv. 76-77). Just six months later, Jesus was born.The Greek word here translated "dayspring"... Intstitute for Creation Research http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050518/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:03:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050477/posts Indulgences, which give Catholics time off Purgatory for good behaviour, are making a comeback under Pope Benedict XVI. In the past year, the Vatican has granted them for World Youth Day, the 150th anniversary of the Virgin Mary's apparition at Lourdes and, most recently, the 2,000th anniversary of St. Paul's birth. The renewed enthusiasm for the controversial practice is being felt here. Ottawa's archbishop, Terrence Prendergast, is encouraging area Catholics to celebrate St. Paul by going for the indulgences; going so far as to issue a press release recently spelling out how to get one. People don't need to apply... The Ottawa Citizen http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050477/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:04:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050466/posts The doctrine of justification by faith alone does not imply that you are justified before God because you managed to work up enough faith in and by yourself to believe in Christ, which is impossible in the first place. Rather, the doctrine contrasts faith against works, emphasizing that we are justified by God through faith apart from works. This faith is itself not a work — that is, not a work of man, but a work of God in man. Faith is a gift of God purchased by Christ for all those whom God has chosen for salvation. It is... Reformation Study Center http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050466/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:40:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050334/posts The Bishop of Rochester Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, one of just two bishops in the Church of England to boycott the Lambeth Conference entirely, insisted today that he is being true to biblical authority. Explaining a decision that he admits has been painful for a man who sought refuge in Britain from persecution, and who has been at the heart of the two previous convocations at Canterbury – first as Coordinator in 1988 and then as a Member of the Steering Committee in 1998 - he said it was a matter of ‘conscience and logic’. He said that ‘persistent false teaching’... Lapido Media http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050334/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:48:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050290/posts History's humongous wheel turns and turns and turns again. Over time, mud and sludge accumulate on even the sprucest institutions. Take the 500-year-old Anglican family of churches, Christianity's third-largest, after Rome and Eastern Orthodoxy. With Anglicanism's biggest family event under way - the every-10-years gathering of bishops and archbishops in England - what the world sees, accurately or not, is a family in moral and spiritual disarray. --snip--For all that, Anglicanism's public troubles proceed from the takeover of Western Anglicanism by theological activists whose purpose is the remolding of Christianity into something less like the old-time religion than like the... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050290/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:38:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050064/posts    Just over four hundred years ago, in late October, a young Augustinian monk, professor of theology and pastor in Whittenburg, Germany, in the fire of his zeal for Christian truth, nailed 95 thesis to the door of the Castle Church.  He had left the study of law and entered the priesthood, seeking to be justified before God.  His name was Martin Luther.  As a result of studying the Scriptures, he discovered biblical truths that had long been covered and obscured by the ritual and rubble of Rome.  One of the great truths then restored to the Church was... Grace Sermons http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050064/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:23:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050015/posts LAMBETH CONFERENCE 2008MISSION, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EVANGELISATION Cardinal Ivan DiasPrefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, Rome “This is indeed the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps 118:24). At the very outset, I want to thank His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury for his kind invitation to address this august Conference. I sincerely appreciate your warm welcome, which echoes the words of the psalmist: “How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Ps 133:1). CHRIST’S MANDATE TO EVANGELISE The theme of this... Rorate Coeli http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2050015/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:57:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049994/posts I appeared Monday on the Riz Khan show on Al-Jazeera with Richard Dawkins, and guess what? We had a civilized three-way dialog. No one erupted into Hitler-type yells. The Gestapo didn't show up, nor the Inquisition police, to drag Richard Dawkins from the studio. Host Riz Khan interviewed me for the first half of the show on the compatibility of Darwinism and religion, and on the issue of how to teach evolution in the schools. Then Khan interviewed Dawkins for the second half, mainly on why he encounters resistance to evolution and also why he rejects arguments for God as... AOL News Bloggers http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049994/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:19:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049901/posts The Church: Different From the World Therefore "Come out from among them and be separate," says the Lord. "Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you." --2 Corinthians 6:17 The church's mightiest influence is felt when she is different from the world in which she lives. Her power lies in her being different, rises with the degree in which she differs and sinks as the difference diminishes. This is so fully and clearly taught in the Scriptures and so well illustrated in Church history that it is hard to see how we can miss it. But miss... Literature Ministries International http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049901/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:06:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049900/posts     A Special Son by Henry Morris, Ph.D. "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." (Matthew 1:1)These opening words of the New Testament identify this "book of the generation |literally 'genesis'| of Jesus Christ" as telling of the wonderful fulfillment of the promise to both Abraham and David of a very special Son.To Abraham, God had promised: "because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: . . . in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou... Intstitute for Creation Research http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049900/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:55:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049677/posts A Statement from the Virginia Annual Council of the United Methodist Church July 11, 2008 On June 27, 2008, the Circuit Court of Fairfax County declared constitutional—as applied to the case before it—a Virginia statute which gives ownership of church property to breakaway congregations of a church denomination, which for years had held the property in trust for the purpose of worship within the denomination, according to denominational doctrine. The statute, known as the “Division Statute,” was enacted by the Virginia legislature only a few years after the end of the Civil War, and was used then as a vehicle... The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049677/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:35:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049529/posts July 2008 In view of the present tensions and divisions within the Anglican Communion, and out of deep concern for the unity of the Church, we consider it important to express clearly the position of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan (ECS) concerning human sexuality. We believe that God created humankind in his own image; male and female he created them for the continuation of humankind on earth. Women and men were created as God’s agents and stewards on earth We believe that human sexuality is God’s gift to human beings which is rightly ordered only when expressed within the... Anglican Mainstream http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049529/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:41:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049527/posts It's about a hundred degrees and getting hotter in the Big Top at Lambeth but the £1 million black hole in the budget at the Lambeth Conference means they can't afford air conditioning. Expect fainting bishops to be ferried out by ambulances any moment now, if they don't start shooting each other first. The press conference this morning was a farce. Communications officers declined to comment on who is here for reasons of 'security' but declined to say what the 'security' issues were. Apparently there are some Nigerian bishops at the conference but we are not allowed to know who... Times Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049527/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:38:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049371/posts The Church: The Old Cross and the New Cross But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. --Galatians 6:14 The old cross slew men; the new cross entertains them. The old cross condemned; the new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh; the new cross encourages it. The old cross brought tears and blood; the new cross brings laughter. The flesh, smiling and confident, preaches and sings about the cross; before that cross it bows... Literature Ministries International http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049371/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:47:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049363/posts     The Unknown Creator by Henry Morris, Ph.D. "He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not." (John 1:10)This verse is surely one of the saddest, most poignant verses in all the Word of God. In the Lord Jesus Christ, our Creator/Redeemer, "we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28). The atoms of our bodies are sustained by Him (Colossians 1:17), yet multitudes ignore Him, ridicule Him, and take His name in vain. What presumption! What foolishness!Once He even entered visibly into the world He had created... INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049363/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:38:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049150/posts A leading Anglican bishop has condemned conservatives as "demonic" for using his church as a punch bag. The Bishop of Washington, the Right Rev John Chane, a leading liberal in the Episcopal Church in the United States, accused conservatives of leading the church in a "dangerous" direction. *** "I think it's really very, very dangerous and I think it's demonic ... the Episcopal Church has been demonised. It has been a punching bag and I'm sick of being a punching bag as a Bishop and I'm sick of my church, my province being a punching bag. Times Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2049150/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:52:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2048968/posts America was Methodist, once upon a time-Methodist, or Baptist, or Presbyterian, or Congregationalist, or Episcopalian. A little light Unitarianism on one side, a lot of stern Calvinism on the other, and the Easter Parade running right down the middle: our annual Spring epiphany, crowned in bright new bonnets. The average American these days would have ­trouble recalling the dogmas that once defined all the jarring sects, but their names remain at least half alive: a kind of verbal remembrance of the nation's religious history, a taste on the tongue of native speakers. Think, for instance, of the old Anabaptist congregations-how... Virtue Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2048968/posts#comment Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:44:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2048755/posts The Church: Higher Expectations Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily. --Colossians 1:28,29 The treacherous enemy facing the church of Jesus Christ today is the dictatorship of the routine, when the routine becomes "lord" in the life of the church. Programs are organized and the prevailing conditions are accepted as normal. Anyone can predict next Sunday's service and what will happen. This seems to be the most deadly... Literature Ministries International http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2048755/posts#comment Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:39:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2048575/posts It is often asserted by Roman Catholic apologists that Protestants must rely on their tradition in order to know which books ought to be included in the Biblical Canon. The argument says that since there is no “inspired table of contents” for the Bible, then we are forced into relying upon tradition to dictate which books belong in the Bible, and which books do not. It was the church of Rome, these apologists alledge, which determined the canon at the Councils of Hippo (393 A.D.) and Carthage (397 A.D.), and it is only due to this, that Protestants know which... Christian Truth.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2048575/posts#comment Mon, 21 Jul 2008 01:06:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2048559/posts Mark Gilbert is the Sydneyanglicans.net correspondent at World Youth Day. This week, the Sydney Anglican minister shares his extraordinary story of what happened to him following the 1986 Papal visit to Sydney. Being Catholic was always very important to me: it was my identity, my culture. Growing up, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t feel I had a relationship with God, though I was never sure exactly where I stood. I knew God through religious activities: going to Mass, receiving the Sacraments and having spiritual experiences like retreats. If I’d just been away on a retreat I’d... sydneyanglicans.net http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2048559/posts#comment Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:09:54 GMT