NowTHINK!AboutIt

SiteGround – A Great Hosting Option

April 29, 2014 by EnnisP 1 Comment

SiteGround Is Breaking
Support Records

For years I hosted with HostGator and they were great up until recently. Down town started to increase and support was difficult to connect with.

The last straw was waiting 45 minutes for a chat and almost an hour for a phone connection.

I began looking around for a replacement host and discovered one I think will be good for at least another five years, SiteGround.

They received positive mention from Chris Lema, a WordPress guru of sorts. WP Site Care did several tests over a number of months which convinced them to move their accounts over to SiteGround.

That convinced me too, so I moved. What I’ve found so far is: [Read more…] about SiteGround – A Great Hosting Option

3 Last Supper Truths We Never Mention

April 23, 2014 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Meal time was Facebook for most of human history.

The Lord’s Supper
Nourishes Relationships Too

The Lord’s Supper is usually mentioned and often observed during the Easter season and there is good reason for that. It acknowledges elements of the resurrection story, the shed blood and broken body of Jesus which are important to remember. It makes sense.

The observance is patterned somewhat after the Last supper Jesus enjoyed before His arrest and trial. You could say it was His last moment of sanity before everything fell apart. His last quiet time before the storm.

Our church always observes the Lord’s Supper during Easter but not the stripped down version. We try to create a meal-like atmosphere. Not a full blown meal but as close as we can get to a meal during a service.

It was during a meal that Jesus instituted the symbolism of wine-to-blood and bread-to-body so there is nothing in a meal that diminishes that truth. In fact, the history of meal-time adds richness to the idea.

Unfortunately, the sense of “meal” is no longer the foundation for this memorial and the names we give it don’t help much either – communion, holy communion, Eucharist, sacrament, ordinance. In keeping with the overly religious names we give it, the observance has become more like a ceremony than a meal. And, as with all ceremonies of the religious type, it is more restrictive than affirming.

It isn’t uncommon for humans to turn meal time joy into an exhibition of decorum but religion has taken that trend a step further. Participants must be members of the church and morally upright. The observance is so heavily draped in restriction that celebration is only a shadow if it is there at all.

For some, the meal is a confessional. For others, it is a type of mystical cleansing but there are at least three good reasons to rethink our approach. [Read more…] about 3 Last Supper Truths We Never Mention

8 More Questions To Prove Salvation Can’t Be Lost

April 16, 2014 by EnnisP 4 Comments

Clarify The Question
Before You Answer

I’ve had many discussions about eternal security and the conversations often migrate to “what-if” questions, the philosophical nuggets that get thrown in after all the verses have been dissected without reaching a resolution.

Eternal Security is, again, the topic here and I mention it because the “what-ifs” unwittingly open the door to some very interesting questions:

Here’s how it works.

A debate is started about Eternal security, which is the teaching that says once a person is saved they can never be lost. Only God’s actions can void it and according to Him, His love is unconditional. It works even when we don’t (Romans 8:38).

[do_widget id=media_image-4]

And that is where the “what-if” arguments are introduced. [Read more…] about 8 More Questions To Prove Salvation Can’t Be Lost

8 Proofs Bible Interpretation Is A Philosophical Exercise

April 8, 2014 by EnnisP Leave a Comment

Dogma Tells Us
What To Do
Philosophy Tells Us Why

I frequently take a philosophical approach to the Bible. I wasn’t taught to do this, it just came naturally, but it isn’t thought of as the right approach so some take offense.

Hand slaps aren’t unusual.

I’ve been called both liberal and unbelieving but there are many reasons why philosophy can be very useful in Bible interpretation. I’ve listed several below.

And I’m philosophical about it.

Change Is Inevitable

After a philosophical discussion of sorts, one person told me, “you’ve changed,” as if change is the hallmark of heresy but I’m not sure that’s a valid accusation. Even religion has a long history of change.

There was a time when church folks didn’t have music in church because their “belief” system didn’t allow it. It was only after long heated discussions that a quiet hymn was allowed to be sung at the close of a service. Since then, many more musical changes have followed, as you may have noticed.

[do_widget id=media_image-4]

The point, of course, is that little change was arrived at philosophically because there is no direct statement in the Bible to solve the argument. No “Thou shalt have or not have music in church” could be found. The eventual answer was arrived at using logical arguments – the philosophical method.

And there is good reason to continue honing our philosophical skills. Change is the norm. It is to be expected. It is so universal Bob Dylan wrote a famous song about it.

The truth is only a perfect understanding or perfect perspective doesn’t need to change and God is the only one who can claim those qualities. [Read more…] about 8 Proofs Bible Interpretation Is A Philosophical Exercise

Eternal Security: We Have Two Natures

March 10, 2014 by EnnisP 5 Comments

God Has The Power
To Save Us
And Keep Us Saved

Just to be clear “Eternal Security” is a teaching that says:

Once a person is saved they can never lose their salvation. Or in other words, there is no sin they can commit that will cancel out God’s saving grace.

Or to say it more succinctly: Once saved, always saved.

Some people believe eternal security and some people don’t. I am one that does.

But when you promote this idea one of the first objections involves “what-if” questions. “What if a person does this or that terrible thing?” The assumption is there must be a point beyond which either God’s ability or willingness to save ends. For example:

What if a person commits serial murder, e.g., Ted Bundy?
What if a person commits genocide, mass murder – e.g., Hitler?
What if a person traffics in slavery?

It’s hard to argue against such emotionally charged questions. A salvation that can endure such egregious sins sounds too good to be true. Makes one indignant. Not only that, it runs counter to human experience, seems a bit too “pie in the sky-ish” to accept and those who disagree, or have serious insecurities about it, struggle to find a place to fit in.

No Pat Answers

Admittedly, the questions are good ones and there are no pat answers. I nor anyone else can give you a quick hit that resolves the issue just like that. [Read more…] about Eternal Security: We Have Two Natures