NowTHINK!AboutIt

Avoiding Hackneyed...Making Sense

Everyone Needs Repentance, Even Christians

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Changing your mind changes everything.

To Encourage Repentance
You Must Be
Intellectually Clear
And
Emotionally Disarming

I recently made the comment that America needs to repent.

It was a very familiar setting. I and several family members were sitting around the dinner table enjoying a shared meal and the conversation gravitated toward philosophical ideas and that’s when I made my comment.

I don’t remember the entire conversation leading up to my comment but, no, we weren’t discussing any specific political issues or personalities. We’ve had those discussions but find it best these days to stick to peripheral ideas. It creates less friction, and that’s where we were at that moment.

And, instead of challenging my comment, one person at the table asked, “What do we need to repent of?”

It was a fair question, asked in the spirit of genuine enquiry.

My comment, of course, wasn’t original. Others have made similar remarks, but the reasons one person believes we need to repent don’t always agree with another’s.

In fact, when someone makes that remark, what they usually mean is America needs to think like me.

So, again, it’s a fair question.

It’s also true that what is meant by repentance, how it’s defined and how it works, can vary widely from one person to another so the question got my gears turning.

Repentance Is Not Coercion

We usually think of repentance as changing our ways, getting rid of bad traits. We repent of things like smoking or drugs or foul language or lying or stealing or drunkenness or any one of a number of other bad habits. It’s usually a corrective response to something you do addictively, and those who wish others to repent make statements that are aimed directly at those habits and are designed to shame more than enlighten.

Why do you talk like that? Why do you eat so much? Why don’t you wear something different? How can that music be good for you?

That’s not a great strategy, but we want people to repent so badly that we resort to anything we think might do the trick, even shaming. [Read more…] about Everyone Needs Repentance, Even Christians

What Is The Meaning Of Baptism

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Baptism expresses the commitment to becoming a better, more capable, more informed Christian.

Baptism Is Symbolic and Ceremonial
Not Mystical

Baptism is usually thought of as a Christian rite but many different non-Christian religions have initiatory practices that resemble baptism: Mandaeism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Shintoism and even Judaism offer rites involving water that are similar to Christian baptism.

This post, however is focused on Christian baptism and in it we’ll answer questions like:

  • Is baptism necessary for salvation? In other words, will I only go to heaven if I have been baptized?
  • If so, which baptism is the right one?
  • If baptism isn’t necessary to get to heaven, why bother getting baptized?

The last question is the primary point of this post.

Popular Christian Meanings For Baptism

As the above questions indicate, Christian baptism is understood in very different ways:

  • Some Christian denominations do believe baptism is essential for salvation. In other words, if you’re not baptized, you’re not saved. Catholics, Church of Christ, and even Mormons are known for this belief (although Mormons aren’t Christian). And they are proprietary about it. Each religion refuses to accept baptisms from other religious groups.
  • Others believe baptism is only a public statement of commitment to Christian living. In infant baptism, the parents are committing to raising their child according to Christian principles. Adults who get baptized are committing to living by those principles. In both cases, baptism is looking forward to life yet to come.
  • Some will baptized only believers, meaning any person of any age who is capable of confessing their faith in Christ is a candidate and the event looks backward and forward. It celebrates the rebirth that occurred at salvation and anticipates the new life in the future. Believers know they have been changed and expect to be different. Baptism expresses a commitment to that expectation. It is a celebration expressing praise for the experience of salvation and hope for the future.

Why We Talk About Baptism

The importance of baptism is proven by two significant observations.

One, it featured so prominently at the beginning of the New Testament that it became a nickname for the first preacher, John the Baptist (a phrase used no less than fifteen times in the Gospels).

John baptized hundreds and he preached what became known as the baptism of repentance (Mark 1:4). What that means is baptism came after repentance, not before.

Although Jesus baptized no one personally, under His leadership, the disciples continued this tradition (John 4:2).

Second, and most importantly, after Jesus rose from the dead and before He ascended into heaven, He clearly commanded His disciples to evangelize everywhere and baptize those who believed. Jesus’ instructions clearly state:

Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. (Matthew 28:19)

All of that is to say we can’t be dismissive about this important issue. We need to understand it as best we can and apply to our ministries. [Read more…] about What Is The Meaning Of Baptism

Why It’s Impossible To Invoke Old Testament Law In The Modern Era

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Perfection, which is impossible to achieve, is static. There is no end to the depths of wrong.

Old Testament Laws Changed Society
But Did Nothing
To Change Basic Human Nature

Before we start, a few preliminary facts are in order.

  • The term Old Testament law refers to the legal codes specifically mentioned in the books Exodus through Deuteronomy.
  • According to Jewish scholarship, there are a total of 613 laws.
  • The Ten Commandments provide the legal framework and every Old Testament law can be categorized under one of these ten.
  • The Ten Commandments were focused on two areas, both of which were relationships: the relationship we have with God (four commandments) and the relationship we have with humans (six commandments). The fact that these laws were relationship driven was confirmed by Jesus in His discussion about the two great commandments (love God, love your neighbor – Matthew 22:34-40).
  • All 613 laws, in one way or another, targeted abuse. We aren’t to abuse our relationship to God and we aren’t to abuse our relationship to family, friends and neighbors. Even neglecting mold in one’s house, which had nothing to do with the ceremonial service, endangered the lives of others, a type of abuse (Leviticus 14:33-53).
  • When specific Old Testament laws were applied in individual cases, the outcome was the equivalent of case law. The intent of case law remained the same, reduce abuse.

Now to the discussion. [Read more…] about Why It’s Impossible To Invoke Old Testament Law In The Modern Era

14 Thoughts On Gay And Trans Issues

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Even if you don't believe the Bible, it's still an ancient document that sheds light on the past.

No One Fits The Pattern
Of God’s Original Design

When people argue over gay and transgender issues, the arguments are often taken from two different sources: The Bible and science.

Between the two, Bible arguments are the ones that vary the most and those differences come from the way people view it.

  • Some don’t believe the Bible at all and dismiss it entirely.
  • Some accept the Bible as significant and take a vigorous approach to interpretation.
  • Others take the Bible so fanatically, every word is taken literally, no interpretive effort required. This third type is usually referred to as Fundamentalist.

Those who don’t believe the Bible usually avoid any conversations involving the Bible. But there is a very important idea that non-believers need to consider.

The Bible is an ancient document, and we study ancient documents to understand how cultures of the past handled social, cultural issues.

And since the Bible factors largely in discussions about moral and even political issues today, it is imperative that everyone join the discussion, not so much to bash the Bible but to understand the what and why of Bible content.

So even if you don’t believe the Bible, it’s important to be mindful of what it says.

That’s reason for any person, even non-believers, to engage the discussion.

But whatever the case, there’s no question that the biggest problem is interpretation. The Bible is a book. It conveys a message, but what the Bible literally states is not always what the Bible intends to teach and everyone believes that even when they say they don’t.

The answer to this dilemma is for everyone to consider relevant cultural and historical issues for the time period in which laws were given before trying to apply those laws. That is the interpretive process and it should be exercised every time we approach any passage in the Bible. [Read more…] about 14 Thoughts On Gay And Trans Issues

6 Proofs The New Testament Kingdom Is Not A Theocracy

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If no theocracy has ever succeeded in the past, why do we think it wil work out well now?

We Have No Idea
When The Kingdom Is Coming
And We Haven’t Been Commissioned
To Make It Happen

Key ideas explored in this article are:

  • The problematic nature of democracies.
  • The internal nature of the Kingdom.
  • Choice vs compulsion and the failure of human middlemen.
  • And the agreement between biblical principles and democracy.

One form of Old Testament government, studied curiously by Christians and surprisingly entertained in recent times, is a Theocracy.

In simple terms, the word means the rule of God. Sounds intriguing but that definition is rather slim. It provides no detail and in practice has proven to be nightmarish depending on the parties forming such a government.

The idea provokes many questions.

Who will lead in a theocracy? What religious activities will it require? What prohibitions will it enact?

Those are just a few of the questions and the answers could and probably would change depending on who is in office. Religious rules can be quite obsessive and any new Pharaoh could change the rules at will based on how he or she perceives God.

If the JW’s win out, we won’t be allowed blood transfusions. If the Catholics win out, we won’t be allowed birth control.

Remember, a theocracy is a state, a religious state, governed by the rule of God. Because God is the understood Ruler, but cannot be seen, the leader’s connection to God is presumed and legislation, about which questions wouldn’t be allowed, neither needs nor requires consensus.
[Read more…] about 6 Proofs The New Testament Kingdom Is Not A Theocracy