Rules & Creeds

What is the number one reason church's and religion in general are divided today? Difference of opinion regarding creed (beliefs). We all interpret the bible differently. Some of us read it literally and take it for what it was when it was written. Others pull verse by verse and think it is a rule to be followed. There are extremes in either direction.

There is so much separation among God's people because we can't agree to disagree and come together - God wants us to be unified! We all have one thing in common, and it is the IMPORTANT thing - our belief in Christ.

I came across a denominational group - the Disciples of Christ. They set an awesome example. For modern disciples the one essential is the acceptance of Jesus Christ as our savior and obedience to serve him. There is no requirement to give assent to any other statement of belief or creed. Nor is there any "official" interpretation of the Bible. WOW! You mean we can really just come together unified through our simple and sole  belief in Christ our savior? And not have doctrine and creed shoved down our throats? Who-da-thunk it?

 I think all church's should follow this example. What does God want? What is he really after? Our hearts, our belief in him! Our love for him and for one another. If we could set aside our differences, the man-made religion, doctrine, and creed... we all have one common goal to get to heaven, and we all love Christ!

God doesn't want us to be divided by religion, creed, race, gender, sexual orientation, *insert difference here.* He want us to be unified in his name.

Now I beg you, brothers, through the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been reported to me concerning you, my brothers, by those who are from Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," "I follow Apollos," "I follow Cephas," and, "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul? (1 Cor. 1:10-13)

What, then, do Christians actually believe in? What is the basis of Christian faith? Is it the Church, Tradition, or the Bible? Answer: It is neither the Church nor Tradition nor the Bible:

• Even the Protestant Christian does not believe in the Bible, but in the one to whom the Bible bears witness.
• Even the Orthodox Christian does not believe in Tradition, but in the one whom Tradition hands down.
• Even the Catholic Christian does not believe in the Church, but in the one whom the Church proclaims.

Remember... Do not put your faith in man - man will fail you! Put your faith and trust in God alone. When no one else is true, he'll still be loving you...

Black teen mother not allowed to be valedictorian

Kymberly Wimberley is a black teen mom who earned the highest GPA in her class in McGehee High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. But she wasn't allowed to be valedictorian. 

The school's administrators were afraid of a "big mess" if was Kymberly was recognized as the top of her class, according to a lawsuit filed this month -- so the school appointed a white student with a lower GPA to be "co-valedictorian."

A Change.org member named Bee Lavender, once a teen mom herself who's now a successful writer, thought the school's treatment of Kymberly was "categorically unfair." According to Bee, "Kymberly earned the right to be sole valedictorian of her school." So she started a petition on Change.org to demand Kymberly's school recognize her for having the highest GPA. 

Add your name to the Change.org petition to tell the McGehee School District to recognize Kymberly as the sole valedictorian. If enough people speak out about this outrage, Kymberly can get the recognition she deserves.

Teen parents are routinely discriminated against and face significant institutional barriers to education. While teen mothers are often expected to fail, Kymberly Wimberley defied both the odds and the stereotypes. 

She went back to school a few short weeks after having a child, and worked hard to achieve high grades in advanced placement classes. Without faltering or failing, she achieved higher scores than any of her classmates.

Unfortunately, Kymberly's case is not an isolated incident. She alleges the school had a pattern of academic discrimination against other black students, including discouraging them from taking advanced courses. She just filed a lawsuit against her school asking for recognition, and your voice can help push the school to do the right thing for Kymberly.

McGehee High School can set the record straight. Please sign the Change.org petition demanding the school recognize Kymberly as the sole valedictorian of her class. 

http://www.change.org/

petitions/mcgehee-school-

district-arkansas-give-the-valedictorian-title-to-the-student-with-the-highest-gpa

Thanks for being a change-maker.

Walking in God's Love

A big thanks to "An Eye for Redemption" for helping me find the words to express what has been on my heart for a while...

You said it best Kansas Bob - "I am convinced that Jesus was all about showing us love in a way that man had not seen before. Possibly when, like Jesus, we are moved by compassion for others we will step outside of our comfort zone ... and walk in His love rather than our rules"

God-like loving! He loves us so much that he sent his son to die for us on the cross so that we may be saved by grace! Is that not truly awesome? God wants us to follow Christ - and lead by his example. People should look at us and see God through our daily lives - our actions - our love.

1 John 3:20-25

New King James Version (NKJV)

²⁰ For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. ²¹ Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. ²² And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. ²³ And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us^[a] commandment.

Getting Back Into my Study... Today: Genesis 19

So I've been slacking on my study again... but I'm starting back. I've started off with topics that usually cause a heated discussion, or "the issues" because they are so prominently debated today - and I want to see for myself what the Bible really says on these topics. In the end I hope to make it through all scripture.

Today I continue my study on the scriptures utilized to by religious doctrine to condemn homosexuality. I started with I Corinthians 6:9-10 here... today I want to look at the story of Sodom and Gomorrah - Genesis 19 is one of the most commonly cited of the half-dozen anti-homosexual "clobber" passages in the Bible.

From: http://www.religioustolerance.org/hombibg191.htm

 

Unfortunately, the real names of Sodom and Gomorrah were not preserved. Sodom was derived from the Hebrew word "S'dom," which means "burnt." Gomorrah is derived from the Hebrew word "'Amorah," which means "a ruined heap." These appear to be place names which were assigned after their destruction and were not their original names.

Genesis 19 is totally unrelated to consensual same-sex sexual behavior. It is obvious that Lot wanted to protect the angels from the city mob. The people of Sodom, having recently been under attack by foreigners, might have been worried that the angels were really military spies. The mob might have wanted to humiliate the strangers with homosexual rape which is as abhorrent as heterosexual rape. The male-on-male rape that the angels were threatened was not a act of romatic attachment or lust; it was a common method of humiliating men in that era. Lot indicated in Genesis 19:7 that whatever the mob intended to do to the angels, it was "wicked."

	D. Bartlett: "Many of the Bible's stories don't mean what they seem on their face. Many mainstream scholars say it [the Genesis passage] is about hospitality and how to deal with the messengers of God. If it does refer to homosexual behavior, it's homosexual rape. They don't just want to lie down with them voluntarily; they want to rape the angels."
	R Kimelman: "In the Mideast then, once a man has entered into your home, your responsibility to his protection is your primary moral obligation, even if it's at the expense of your own daughters. The Bible is recording a story; it is not mandating behavior."
	J.K. Nelson: "If you read it literally, in its English translation, without considering its context, one could say the Bible condemns homosexual activities. When we look at the Bible and try to draw moral rules for living, but we take it out of the context of the time when they were written, we do them a great injustice."

Awesome Question!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

How Do You Interpret Scripture & Approach The Bible?

How do you interpret the Bible? Do you take an analytical approach to the text? Do you take a holistic approach to the text? Do you take a literal approach to scripture? Do you just see scripture as something to prove your opinions or views on different topics? Is it important how people approach the Bible? Is everything in the Bible to be taken literally? Why or why not? Is there danger in using scripture to prove points of a opinions? Why or why not? Is there more than one way to approach scripture? How do you approach the text? How should we?

What do you think?

Share your thoughts.

posted by preacherman @ 9:40:00 AM

I thought this was an awesome question... personally, here is my answer, and part of it stems from last night's bible study class:

Awesome question. I try to take a literal approach to the bible (in order to avoid twisting & misinterpretation of the text). When I study I do a comparative study - I have the Access Study Bible (NRSV), my KVJ, and I have a free download version of a interlinear greek/hewbrew bible. I'm just beginning my study... I try to follow this outline for an unbias study: http://overcomingdarkness.com/unbias-bible-study/.

I don't know if scripture should be used to prove our opinions. Christianity is just a religion, created by man, divided many times over... the Bible was penned by man, I do not think it is without error 100%. The ONLY version that may be the actual inspiration of God is the original hewbrew & greek texts... but even that is speculation (in my opinion.)

What I take from my faith and from the Bible is this: We should live our lives as morally as we can and follow Christ's example. We should show God's love - not judgment and condemnation. We shouldn't focus so much on fixing other people's lives, but instead fixing/working on our own lives. LEAD BY EXAMPLE.

Take Care of God's Temple

We know the devil will do whatever it takes to discourage us from doing what pleases God. So if you get someplace and are faced with difficulty and maybe even some less than welcoming words, remember that you must be in the right place to do God's work, because the devil is trying to get you to leave. I've dealt with this a lot - instead of finding encouragement, I've found discouragement in places that I didn't expect it. But we are all human, and even our camp and church is run by humans! The devil uses whatever he can to try and pull us away from God's will...

Hi! I'm Sarah. I'm 5'4" and 99 lbs... I just joined the exercise group at church. What could I possibly have to lose at an exercise group? Nothing, but I have a lot to gain! *I'm so punny...*

We should always take care of God's temple. Our body is the literal, physical temple of the holy spirit. Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. John 2: 19-21

 My poor temple may look healthy, but it is falling apart! I've been very out of shape since the birth of my children. Sure the baby weight just fell off, but the muscle and strength didn't instantly return. I have to build it back. People always ask why I worry so much about eating healthy or want to exercise (like a skinny person doing this is just wrong...) I know heavy people don't like being stereotyped, and well neither do I. I have every right to want to be healthy. Just because I can go eat literally anything and not gain a pound doesn't make it any more healthy for me to constantly eat McDonald's, fried foods, greasy foods, etc all the time.

People get just as much crap these days for being skinny, as other people do for not. I've dealt with crap all my life for being a toothpick. But you know what, God made me. He made you. He made us all who we are! SO THANK HIM FOR IT. And take care of what he gave you!

Our Underappreciated Savior

Matt 26:67 Then they spat in His face and struck Him with their fists; and some ^[f]slapped Him in the face,^(C)

"We all face bitter experiences... it is actually a blessing to be under-appreciated - Jesus was the most under appreciated Savior but those who had open hearts saw Him for who he is and this is a growing experience, as frustrating as it might be. God will vindicate you if you just leave it in His hands and soak in His presence as much as you can, and the bitterness will be replaced with His hand-print. "

This was a wonderful response I got from a fellow sister in my Christian Mom's forum. It was a great reminder that the work of a disciple is never easy. We will face trials, and hurts. We will be spat on and slapped in the face. 

Discouragement is the devil's best weapon. He is out to destroy us and to make us grow weary...

Galatians 6:9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 

2 Thessalonians 3:13 But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.

I do not know what is to happen next, but I do know that God will guide us and that if we are patient, he will show us the way.