Religion Archives - Page 9 of 10

Evangelizing the Religiously Hardened

June 22, 2010 by EnnisP 2 Comments

Jesus Breaks Sabbath Law
John 5

Jesus was not a religionist!

His spiritual devotions never involved habitual ceremony. He prescribed no rituals and there was nothing routine with His words or actions. Some responded to Him angrily, none yawned.

Any rituals He may have followed are not recorded for us. If anything, Jesus was religiously unpredictable.

He traveled to Jerusalem on many occasions but not once are we told He offered any sacrifices. He did, on the very odd occasion, tell someone to offer an appropriate sacrifice (Matthew 8:4) but we have no record of Him blessing those ceremonies with His presence.

Many of the things Jesus did and much of what He said was religiously disruptive: cleansing the Temple (once in John 2, a second time in Matthew 21*), claiming to be Messiah in the synagogue of Nazareth (Luke 4) and healing on the Sabbath (John 5).

The people about whom He spoke His harshest words, the Pharisees, were excessively religious (Matthew 23).

It was the ultra religious who were the most instrumental in his execution (Mark 15:1-15).

Jesus rarely encouraged anyone to be religious. He spoke of disciples as sacrificial not ritualistic.

Jesus evangelized the religiously hardened and did so by being religiously agitating.

I wouldn’t say that Jesus was anti-religion but I would say that He had no tolerance for religious nonsense. [Read more…] about Evangelizing the Religiously Hardened

“Jesus Manifesto” by Sweet and Viola

June 16, 2010 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Have you ever wondered why there are so many different Christian religions? Have you ever tried to put a finger on the differences and, if so, could you explain the what and why of each one? Do you find the many different types of theologies and the endless versions of each confusing?

If these questions leave you scratching your head join the crowd.

I doubt anyone is brave enough to suggest they have all the answers and since “religion” is not static the answers are always changing anyway. The more time Christian history consumes the more varieties there are that develop.

If these questions plague you like they do so many others then “Jesus Manifesto” is the book you need to read next. [Read more…] about “Jesus Manifesto” by Sweet and Viola

Mercy One Person to Another

November 10, 2009 by EnnisP 3 Comments

Maintaining Relationships
Without Mercy
Is Like Washing A Car
With A Dry Cloth

It is no surprise that Jesus mentions mercy in the Sermon on the Mount. Of all the characteristics attributed to God mercy predominates.

God was merciful to:

Adam and Eve when they ate the forbidden fruit.
To Cain when he murdered his brother Abel.
To Abraham when he lied about his wife Sara, not once but twice.
To Joseph when he was in prison through no fault of his own.
To the Israelites when He delivered them from Egyptian slavery.
To David when he committed both adultery and murder.

And there are many statements in the Bible which declare mercy to be one of God’s most outstanding qualities. It certainly is the one that most defines His relationship to humanity. [Read more…] about Mercy One Person to Another

GO? To Church

September 14, 2009 by EnnisP 4 Comments

I visited a new church recently and was bored out of my mind. The most predominant sensation was stifling oppression. The second was embarrassment, for them.

The song leader apologized for being tired. I wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t said anything. They had no musicians but insisted on singing anyway. The choruses weren’t bad but if I were new to church and hadn’t known them, would have felt even more out of place.

The pastor was a better than average speaker but he said absolutely nothing new and none of it was relevant. There was no practical use for anything he said and there was nothing stimulating in the way it was presented. The only “do” point was attend church and he made the point by criticizing the cyclists he passed on his way to the service. Obviously, they couldn’t cycle without missing church. I guess it never occurred to him that service times are not God breathed and could therefore be changed.

The most interesting thing in the entire message was a joke about a preacher and a taxi driver both of whom went to heaven. The taxi guy was heavily rewarded and the preacher got nothing. The reason? When the preacher spoke people slept. When the taxi guy drove people prayed!” Sadly, that pretty much epitomized the service.

For those who live elsewhere, the largest percentage of taxi drivers in South African are black and known for excessively dangerous driving. So the comment was more of an racist point than a spiritual one.

[Read more…] about GO? To Church

Blinded by Religion

June 8, 2009 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Religion Is Nice
Born Again Is Imperative

Most people think that religion can make a person better morally and bring them closer to God but that idea is far from true. In fact, James said people who live a religious life and brag about it (bridle not their tongues) are delusional (James, chapter 1 verse 26). According to James, a religious life is useful but not for moral improvement.

Take, for example, some of the religious regulations in the Old Testament and there were many. Diet, food preparation, sewer management, dress code, work-rest cycle (time management), charitable practices, financial management, personal hygiene and medical procedures were all included in the religious code. When James mentioned religion this is what he was referring to. [Read more…] about Blinded by Religion