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Christianity [OT] The Word became flesh and dwelt among us

Chaplain

Member
"We've all been shocked by the rapid developments regarding the Coronavirus. As we do our best to navigate these uncertain times together, we invite you to join others for a special talk by Dr. Timothy Keller on how we can find “Peace in Times of Suffering and Uncertainty."" (3/19/20)

 

lock2k

Banned
I didn't find any topic like this but I wanted to ask... I was raised catholic but never really had faith. Has corona changed thd faith of anyone here? To me, it has just reinforced that we are on our own. But I would enjoy reading a different perspective and your opinions on this.
 

Shaqazooloo

Member
Interesting takes...

I dont think this evolves God at all. I mean it's a result of people eating an animal that shouldn't be eaten isn't it? Not sure how God enters the picture in that...
 

StormCell

Member
Interesting takes...

I dont think this evolves God at all. I mean it's a result of people eating an animal that shouldn't be eaten isn't it? Not sure how God enters the picture in that...

How did the bat become something that shouldn't be eaten?

I'm not one who goes around stating that God is doing stuff because of humans, and I also don't claim anything is beyond God's involvement. As programmers, are we not somehow involved in all the states of the software we wrote?

I also try not to think too hard on the meaning of events like this one. Even the apostles made faulty assumptions about people's sufferings.
 

Bolivar687

Banned
I didn't find any topic like this but I wanted to ask... I was raised catholic but never really had faith. Has corona changed thd faith of anyone here? To me, it has just reinforced that we are on our own. But I would enjoy reading a different perspective and your opinions on this.

We wouldn't really have free will if we lived in a childproof world where mommy steps in to save the day every time we mess up. It is just to have suffering in a world where people so regularly and willingly choose to abuse that free will to sin, both against eachother and against God.

Even if this wasn't a bioweapon developed in the lab down the street from that wet market, the Chinese government covered this up on the international stage, contributing to its transnational spread. They are paying the wages of being an atheist police state, and the rest of the world is now paying the cost of depending so heavily on such a disordered totalitarian regime for our economic purposes. I don't see it as a coincidence that senior government leaders in Iran have been contracting and dying of this.
 

Chaplain

Member
New Resources:

Video: Charles, Ferguson, and Parsons: Pastoral Care in Times of Crisis
Questions: 1. What are some words of comfort with which we can fight fear and anxiety? (2:23) 2. How are you praying right now through the crisis surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19)? (11:50) 3. How should Christians respond to times of suffering? (13:58) 4. As many church services and gatherings have been canceled during this health crisis, what are your churches doing to continue in worship and fellowship? (19:20) 5. How can Christians continue to minister to one another when large gatherings present a health risk? (30:23) 6. How can Christians live as lights in the midst of this dark moment? (35:42)
Video: Coronavirus - How will it change the church and the world?
In a special edition of the show, recorded from home, Justin looks at the present Coronavirus crisis, how the pandemic will change global society and how the church can respond. He chats with Reasons To Believe virologist AJ Roberts, church and culture theologian Mark Sayers and introduces a special guest for the first time… his wife Rev Lucy Brierley.
Coronavirus Will Change the World Permanently. Here’s How.
A crisis on this scale can reorder society in dramatic ways, for better or worse. Here are 34 big thinkers’ predictions for what’s to come.
Video: Ravi Zacharias: True Love in a Time of Crisis
This week, in the first of a new series entitled “The Saturday Session” featuring our speakers from across the globe, Ravi Zacharias shines the light of love eternal and personal on the darkness that abounds. In this talk, Ravi lays out his four pillars upon which we can build a life of strength in truth at this time. A time when we must “live with the eternal in perspective” and reflect on how we each can make this world a better place
Video: John MacArthur: The Gospel, the Church, and This Present Crisis
How can Christians unite to serve our neighbors in time of need? In this conversation with Ligonier’s President, Chris Larson, Dr. John MacArthur examines the remarkable opportunity set before the church today to be a witness to the grace of God in a corrupted world.
Theological Reflections on the Pandemic
Disease and death have indelibly marked the human experience east of Eden. In the beginning, there were no rogue parasites or harmful germs—everything was “very good” (Gen. 1:31). Then everything changed when sin entered the world and “death through sin,” and creation itself “was subjected to futility” (Rom. 5:12; 8:20). Though the Old Testament (OT) does not explicate this point, the realities of sickness and disease accompany the “thorns and thistles” of creation’s curse and humanity’s “dust . . . to dust” sentence. Without sin, human beings would experience neither death nor illness, which serves as “death’s prelude.”
Video: If God, Why the Coronavirus? …And Your Other Tough Questions about Faith
Tune in for a livestreamed Q&A from the Zacharias Institute on Friday, March 20, at 7:00 p.m. EDT. In this time of fear and uncertainty amidst the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), we invite you to join us for Q&A with three RZIM speakers: award-winning lawyer Abdu Murray and Drs. Vince Vitale and Jo Vitale.
A Prayer of Lament over the Coronavirus Pandemic
As we witness the deep suffering of humankind around the world due to the coronavirus, we call out to God in a prayer of lament.
Video: A D'var Torah by Rabbi Sacks on Vayakhel-Pekudei in the age of the coronavirus pandemic
As synagogues around the world close their doors due to the coronavirus, here is a D'var Torah from Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks on the parshiyot of Vayakhel-Pekudei. Wishing everyone around the world a Shabbat shalom.
 

Chaplain

Member
I would like to hear some opinions on the following video that discusses the world economy and SovereignSky. SovereignSky is "the Planet’s first space-based superfast blockchain powering the new “Free World Currency” designed to re-distribute the world’s wealth ... [its] mission is to “Provide and Protect Our Children, Save and Preserve Our Wildlife, and Aim to Eradicate Extreme Global Poverty by 2032” - Timothy E. Burke, Co-founder SovereignSky." (https://sovereignsky.com/index.php)

 
I was reading through the gospel of John. Even though I've read the verses before, I thought it was odd that of all the things to point out about Jesus in the early chapters (when other gospels spent their early chapters going over geneology, Jesus's birth, etc) John decided to highlight how Jesus knew the hearts of men. (John 2: 24-25).

Then after pondering on it a bit I realized this was not just an anecdote about one of Jesus' character traits but also an affirmation of his divinity. 1 Sam 16:7 and 1 Kings 8:39 mention how only God knows the hearts of men, and there are plenty of verses in Proverbs and Psalms mentioning how God holds the hearts of kings in his hand like channels of water.

Nothing profound, I suppose, but another example of how the Word is a living and active thing.
 

Chaplain

Member
A helpful short video for today:

“Take Five is our request for five minutes of your day to turn interruptions into illustrations through the words of a different RZIM speaker each week. The first in this new series features RZIM President Michael Ramsden exploring the ancient rites of the Christian calendar to capture timeless truths for our modern moments.” (3/23/20)

 

Liljagare

Member
I am simply going to wish, and hope that everyone who has died from this virus, in their last moments, managed to find peace. I cannot imagine the horror of drowning in your own fluids, slowly, and being aware of it.

I hope they all remember their happy moments.

I think the biggest problem I have with muslims, and christians, is that they really believe that people will go to their hells,if they don't believe, imagine now if you have a nurse, with that belief. Or a doctor. You are slowly dying in your own liquids, and you ask for a nurse to attend, who is a christian, or a muslim.





The afterlife will without a doubt, have a special place for you, if you do not comfort a person that is dying, no matter what gods you follow. Christiany and Islam both damn people who do not listen to the hermit in the cave.
 

Sandyman

Neo Member
I am actually a Christian myself. Was since high school after talking to a friend I hadn’t seen at that point since elementary school. The idea of divine providence has helped me let loose a little and not be as tight.

oh an for people wanting a defense on Christianity from a logical point of view, you can't beat the classics. Read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.
 
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StormCell

Member
I am simply going to wish, and hope that everyone who has died from this virus, in their last moments, managed to find peace. I cannot imagine the horror of drowning in your own fluids, slowly, and being aware of it.

I hope they all remember their happy moments.

I think the biggest problem I have with muslims, and christians, is that they really believe that people will go to their hells,if they don't believe, imagine now if you have a nurse, with that belief. Or a doctor. You are slowly dying in your own liquids, and you ask for a nurse to attend, who is a christian, or a muslim.






The afterlife will without a doubt, have a special place for you, if you do not comfort a person that is dying, no matter what gods you follow. Christiany and Islam both damn people who do not listen to the hermit in the cave.

I find this puzzling for a couple of reasons. Are you expecting a Christian nurse to deny a dying non-believer comfort? I get the impression that many have repented and come to know Jesus while on their death bed.

As for hell: even though most think of it as the fiery place, I think of it in its simplest terms: eternal separation from God. For one who does not believe in any god, doesn't eternal separation from God sound more appropriate? God doesn't force anyone to live with Him eternally, which would really sound like hell for the atheist.

Lastly: Just because there's a group (or maybe a couple of groups) of people who walk around thinking that you're probably headed for eternal separation from something you don't think exists, it doesn't mean that they think you are of low worth or street trash. It's the opposite... you are worth saving if possible. The way I have looked at it in my own life is that I don't expect hardly anyone to see things the way I do or to believe just like me. In fact, it's often that my friends have huge struggles with God and/or the Bible, or, and especially this, church. They all know that their friend StormCell believes that all that is between them and God and to be worked out between them and God. I don't even force the Bible into their personal conflict because there was a time when I didn't even have a Bible but I had God and that was plenty to start with.
 

Chaplain

Member
New resources:



"In this livestream, Dr. William Lane Craig and Dr. Alex Malpass discuss Dr. Craig's philosophical arguments in defense of the second premise of the Kalam Cosmological Argument (that the universe began to exist)." (3/24/20)



"...RZIM President Michael Ramsden explores an oft-overlooked Biblical festival for wisdom on how to maintain a sense of identity when cut off from our roots." (3/24/20)



"Skeptics are a feature of human community, not a bug. Skeptics are a part of the process of finding truth. If you have a community of knowledge you will have skeptics. In this time some knowledge of that the Bible calls "the Day of the LORD" is helpful. It always comes, we are seldom ready for it. It comes to all of us, alone or together." (3/24/20)



"The answers people give to this question totally depend on their worldview and their definition of "God". This is my "sermonized" answer to the question. Monday I'll put out a longer, fuller version. This week's lectionary text is John 9 where Jesus' disciples ask "who sinned" to case a man to be born blind. Him or his parents? Jesus' answer might not satisfy you." (3/23/20)
 
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Chaplain

Member
"In a podcast special recorded from his home in Oxford where he is self-isolating with his wife Maggie, Tom talks to Justin about the Coronavirus pandemic. They cover: How Christians can maintain spiritual health during isolation, the pastoral implications for churches now and in the future, and why God created a world where disease and sickness exist." (3/25/20)

 

teezzy

Banned
I was raised Catholic, but became an insufferable edge lord Atheist in my teens. These days I take comfort in Buddhist teachings, but dont follow any religion strictly because that seems silly to me. I find peace in the evanescent qualities of existence and the idea of everything being connected.

As a result, I've come to view the concepts of Heaven and Hell as being more metaphorical than anything else. Live a good and earnest life, and good things will come your way; live a mean and nasty life, and ultimately you'll get yours in the end. Kinda like karma in a sense.

What do I know though.
 

Chaplain

Member
New resources:

Video: Truth in a Time of Crisis | Ravi Zacharias
This week, in the second episode of this new series featuring our speakers from across the globe, Ravi Zacharias turns his focus from love to truth as he opens up Scripture and how it guides us to be compassionate stewards of truth, with purity and with integrity. In Paul’s words, as quoted by Ravi, we set “forth the truth plainly, we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
Video: Hungry For Hope (Resurrecting Hope Series) by Daniel Gilman
"A gunman stormed Parliament Hill on Oct 22, 2014. Instantly, we were on lockdown. My colleague and I were moved to a room with no windows. There in the darkness we remained in silence with so many unknowns" Join Daniel Gilman as he shares the lessons he learned in the dark that day, and offers a message of hope.
A World in Search of an Ending
When we’re suffering under the illusion of human self-sufficiency, the Christian vision of the end of human history often seems ominous. “Lord, please wait until I’ve died quietly in my sleep before you return.” Recognizing the spiritual immaturity of such prayers does little to quell their emotional power. However, when we gain a clearer perspective of what life in a fallen world actually looks like; when it becomes impossible to hide in our myriad distractions; when our convenient lifestyles are disrupted, we gain a picture that’s truly apocalyptic in the sense that it reveals our world from the standpoint of eternity.
COVID Calamity: When the Cure is Worse than the Disease
The appearance and spread of COVID-19 is understandably disturbing and, for the elderly who are weakened by advanced age or pre-existing conditions, potentially as tragic in outcome as other similar seasonal viruses – that much is clear. The novelty of this particular strain means that uncertainty abounds and concurrently, widespread misinformation. Wild figures of disease (often undistinguished scientifically from infections) and ‘COVID 19 related’ deaths (equally ambiguous language) are being bandied about over the airwaves that differ so widely as to be almost meaningless for the general public who tend, by osmosis, to ingest a daily diet of media hysteria and sound bites.
Pandemics and Public Worship Throughout History (Calvin Institute)
As the pandemic COVID-19 brings isolation and unprecedented challenges to congregations around the world, it can be of great comfort to reflect and learn about how Christian churches have responded to epidemics and pandemics throughout history.
Dare to Feel Forgiven
Many of us, if we are honest, do have trouble feeling forgiven. We are sincere-hearted Christians. We want to follow Christ. We have enjoyed profound experiences of God. But we continue to find ourselves faltering in the Christian life — dismayed at the frequency of our boredom with God, resentment toward others, critical spirit toward our church, or seasons of despair and emptiness. Or perhaps we simply find an undefinable cloud of nonspecific guilt hanging over us.
Podcast: Ep. 110 The Truth About Coronavirus w/ Dr. Dan Eichenberger
First of all, apologies for the late episode. We ran into some issues with the recording but we managed to find some backups. In this episode, Tim and I talk to Dr. Dan Eichenberger, a man who has actually treated patients with coronavirus. We discuss what the disease is along with the country’s reaction to it. If you didn’t know anything about coronavirus (like me), you’ll learn a lot in this episode. We also talk about how, as a doctor, one can show Christ through their work. Dr. Eichenberger gives us some great examples.
Video/Audio: Unbelievable? An evening with NT Wright live in London
Justin recently hosted An Evening with Tom Wright at Westminster Chapel in London (pre-Coronavirus restrictions!). In this podcast special Tom delivers a talk on ‘Jesus, Paul and the Question of God’ and then sits down with Justin to answer audience questions.
 
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Chaplain

Member
well this pretty much proves that god as a thing is bullshit

I think life is not as simple as you claim it is.

"How could an all-loving God allow suffering? If God all-powerful, why is there evil in the world? What is the Truth? Join Oxford professor John Lennox and the founding publisher of Skeptic Magazine Michael Shermer at The Veritas Forum at Pepperdine 2013."

 

mcz117chief

Member
I think life is not as simple as you claim it is.

"How could an all-loving God allow suffering? If God all-powerful, why is there evil in the world? What is the Truth? Join Oxford professor John Lennox and the founding publisher of Skeptic Magazine Michael Shermer at The Veritas Forum at Pepperdine 2013."


The one thing that bugs me about this topic is that it has been thoroughly examined from all possible angles during the past 3000 years and yet you still got people using it as an anti-God argument. It is one of the easiest topics to explain in Theology of practically any religion.
 

Tesseract

Banned
Man, what a powerful video and really nailed it why MGS 4 is such a fantastic game and Logan such a memorable movie.
giphy.gif
 

Chaplain

Member
New resources:

From death to life: How God delivered me from coronavirus
Premier Christianity's deputy editor Megan Cornwell had an unexpected encounter with God during her battle with Covid-19
“Set Me Free”: Lecrae’s Music Video Inspires Hope Amid Coronavirus
Lecrae’s “Set Me Free” is an artistic extension and expression of what he sees as an opportunity to not only set himself free but to also liberate others from the vices of self-serving attitudes that consume our culture.
C S Lewis and the war against coronavirus
In his sermon Lewis warns us of three dangers in terms of our attitudes when we are faced with this kind of war. The first enemy is excitement: that feeling when we are so caught up in the moment of the current crisis that we can think of nothing else. When the bushfires here in Australia were at their height, every day I checked my bushfire app to see how many there were and what was happening. Now I have a coronavirus app – so I can check the spread of the virus all over the world. It is all too easy to get caught up in something so that nothing else gets into your heart and mind.
Coping with coronavirus disappointments: Five lessons from Dietrich Bonhoeffer
With the rise to power of Hitler in 1933, Bonhoeffer's fairy tale took a dangerous turn, transforming into a spy thriller. His opposition to National Socialism began early, when Bonhoeffer gave a radio broadcast on the dangers of charismatic leadership. It was abruptly ended by government censure. For the next ten years, Bonhoeffer worked for the good of his nation, eventually operating as a double agent. Employed by the Abwehr, a division of German Intelligence, Bonhoeffer used his contacts outside of Germany to support the insurgency. A man of impeccable integrity, Bonhoeffer also functioned as the conscience of the conspirators, commending their moral courage and bolstering their resolve.
Coronavirus, Bonhoeffer and 'divine interruption'
Bonhoeffer would have seen this pandemic as an opportunity to reorder our priorities, says Will van der Hart
Denying conscience – the Canadian experiment
The Canadian experiment in euthanasia and the erosion of freedom of conscience was only possible because the CMA stood back and adopted a neutral position. Which is why it is encouraging that the Royal College of General Practitioner has recently decided not to take a neutral stance on assisted suicide and that yesterday, the Royal College of Physicians has clarified its position, saying clearly that it ‘does not support a change in the law to permit assisted dying at the present time’. Our hope is that the British Medical Association when it finally gets to decide its position, will also not adopt one of neutrality.
 

Chaplain

Member
New resources:

How Would Jesus Respond to COVID-19? 5 Encouragements
I won’t pretend to know exactly what Jesus would do. After all, and quite obviously, there is no talk of the coronavirus in the Bible! Yet the four Gospels offer enough stories and teachings of Jesus for us to have a good idea of how he would encourage others to respond in our present moment.
Doubting God in Times of Crisis
It’s easy to say Jesus is good when things are going well; it’s another thing entirely to say he is good when we are ill, when we’ve lost our jobs, when we’ve lost a loved one, or when it seems like our world is falling apart. Is Jesus who he says he is?
Leverage Your Loneliness
The loneliness epidemic has been growing for some time now—could ‘social distancing’ push our culture’s loneliness epidemic into a pandemic?
Video: Where to Find God During COVID-19 | John Lennox | Gospelbound
"What, then, can Christians say to an anxious world? Can we solve this problem? Lennox doesn’t go that far. He writes that “a Christian is not so much a person who has solved the problem of pain, suffering and the coronavirus, but one who has come to love and trust a God who has himself suffered.” Our discussion touches on God’s providence and how we can determine the purpose and nature of his judgments, as well as the differences between natural and moral evil. Listen in on Gospelbound as Lennox and I discuss the God who wears the crown and why we can love and trust him."
Video: God and the Coronavirus (4/2/20)
This teaching is from our series of Topical Teachings with Skip Heitzig from Calvary Church.
Video: Is God against our freedom? | Andy Bannister
"Isn't Christianity limiting and restrictive? Isn't God against my freedom?" In this very Scottish themed episode of SHORT ANSWERS, Solas Director Andy Bannister asks whether people who raise this objection have possibly misunderstood something incredibly important about the very nature of freedom.
Video: What Does the Bible Say About the Moment You Die?
In this episode of TGC Q&A, H. B. Charles and Ligon Duncan discuss what the Bible teaches about the moment believers die.
Video: Jesus challenges culture's understanding of Christianity | Dr. Jo Vitale | TAKE FIVE | RZIM
This week, Dr. Jo Vitale is looking at 5 key questions Jesus asked within the Scriptures. Today, we're talking about a question that reveals Jesus' character and challenges culture's understanding of Christianity.
Video: Exploring Jesus' difficult questions | Dr. Jo Vitale | TAKE FIVE | RZIM
For day four, Dr. Jo Vitale explores the question that came from Jesus’ lips that "gets her every time"–a question that shows Jesus as wounded and vulnerable–and she asks, "What does that question mean to us today?"
Video: EP04: Hope thru Science (4/2/20)
What is the current science behind the coronavirus? Are viruses intelligently designed? Why would God do this? How does science point to God and give us hope?
 

#Phonepunk#

Banned
these are world changing times and it is in these times that we look to a the rock solid foundations of our lives. the market has failed us, science (until there is a freely available vaccine) has failed us, the government has failed us. yes they are all trying as hard as they can, some more than others. yet, still, there will be great suffering.

yet in who have we been able to find solace? who has always been there, slavishly, in obedience to the corporate market that profits unjustly from their labor, in spite of personal health, literally giving us our daily bread. it has been in the working class service and retail workers of the world, who are deemed essential, quite officially, by government across the planet.

a life or death crisis quickly, by necessity, reveals what is real and what is bullshit. we are in a 2020 Revelation, the great billionaire industries miraculously silenced, and quite voluntarily. it is not the high and mighty celebrities and talk show hosts and movie heroes that are essential. it is the working class. they are there every day, selling you coffee, your lunch, driving your bus, or train, ringing up and bagging hundreds of pounds of groceries and home goods. IMO the production and delivery of food is one of, if not the highest, moral quality of a society. access to good food and water more than anything helps us ease suffering.

these things are not glamorous or shiny, they are sustenance, they feed us, satisfy our base needs. this is one of the arguments for God and Creation, that He has gifted us with a uniquely anthropomorphically-tuned cosmological existence. the planet we are on and were born from are tuned to our very needs. our material bodies must continuously consume in order to live, and God has provided us with this garden planet wherein all our needs met, with proper (intelligent?) distribution through proper proportions. air is the most needed thing for a human body to input. a person without air will die very quickly. thus oxygen is the most plentiful thing in the world, more or less everywhere you go. next in importance is water, which makes up 71% of the planet. it's in the ground, it's in the ocean, it's falling out of the sky. he took care of that need too. next in importance is food. you can see how this all works. essential things are plentiful. (or at least this is the Godly state)

interestingly, you can look at that from the other angle, at things which we consume that are NOT essential. shiny gems and gold and precious minerals are very rare things, found not very easily on the Earth. they are not entirely useful either. they do not provide any lasting value to life. they are pretty to look at, but that is only when you are looking at them, so it is a temporal experience. the essential things, they provide sustenance, they feed the soul, they give life. in these trying times it is a good idea to take stock of what is truly important to our lives.
 
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mcz117chief

Member
interestingly, you can look at that from the other angle, at things which we consume that are NOT essential. shiny gems and gold and precious minerals are very rare things, found not very easily on the Earth. they are not entirely useful either. they do not provide any lasting value to life. they are pretty to look at, but that is only when you are looking at them, so it is a temporal experience. the essential things, they provide sustenance, they feed the soul, they give life. in these trying times it is a good idea to take stock of what is truly important to our lives.
Gold is very useful, it is a fantastic conductor and makes electronics more efficient, things like medical equipment, computers and all kinds of electronic tools use gold wiring. That is why the planet got hit by that massive meteor which wiped out the dinosaurs, it was filled with gold. God knew we would need it (lots of gold is from space). Just a little poke but I totally get your meaning and enjoyed reading your post.
 

Chaplain

Member
MP3 Download link: Lockdown special feat. Nicky Gumbel, Megan Cornwell, Andrew Wilson, Esther O Reilly, Will van der Hart and NT Wright

"Justin speaks to Christians leaders, thinkers and theologians from lockdown in the UK and USA with a variety of responses to Coronavirus. Nicky Gumbel of the Alpha Course looks for the good coming ou of the storm, Megan Cornwell relates her Covid-19 experience, Andrew Wilson gives a theological response, Esther O’Reilly talks about economic vs human costs, Will van der Hart shares mental health tips and Tom Wright explains how Christian have historically responded to crisis." (4/3/20)
 

Teslerum

Member
MP3 Download link: Lockdown special feat. Nicky Gumbel, Megan Cornwell, Andrew Wilson, Esther O Reilly, Will van der Hart and NT Wright

"Justin speaks to Christians leaders, thinkers and theologians from lockdown in the UK and USA with a variety of responses to Coronavirus. Nicky Gumbel of the Alpha Course looks for the good coming ou of the storm, Megan Cornwell relates her Covid-19 experience, Andrew Wilson gives a theological response, Esther O’Reilly talks about economic vs human costs, Will van der Hart shares mental health tips and Tom Wright explains how Christian have historically responded to crisis." (4/3/20)

This was very interesting. Thank you.
 

Chaplain

Member
New resources

12-page PDF: "What Does The Bible Teach About Pestilence, Plagues, and Global Pandemics?" by Joel C. Rosenberg (March 2020)
“Plagues are a way that God seeks to get our attention about our finitude and mortality as well as how we are giving attention to God,” notes Dr. Darrell Bock, theologian and professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. “They are an opportunity for reflection about how we live and a reminder we are not gods ourselves.”
Poll Results: Coronavirus Pandemic Is a Wake Up Call: Exclusive Joshua Fund Poll
"...we have commissioned an exclusive national poll to better understand how Americans—non-Christians as well as followers of Jesus—view the crisis and whether it is altering their spiritual habits and interest in the Bible and prophecy. Part of a larger national poll of 1,000 “likely” American voters, the poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.1% at a 95% confidence interval ... A stunning 44.3% of poll respondents said they believe the coronavirus and resulting economic meltdown is a “wake up call for us to turn back to faith in God,” signs of “coming judgment,” or both."
Video: A pandemic leaves a traumatized man in isolation searching for meaning
Starring actor David Gyasi (Interstellar, TROY: Fall of a City), and filmed in the peaks of the Swiss and Italian Alps, ‘Living Things’ explores a not so far off world in which a pandemic, released during a climate disaster, kills off the majority of life. Elijah is (perhaps the only one) immune to this virus and finds himself alone as a child. The only hope he has of seeing other people is the mysterious ‘beacon’; but after getting lost in a storm trying to reach it, he resigns himself to a life in isolation.
Surprised by Hopelessness: A Response to N. T. Wright
This week I read N. T. Wright’s article with this stunning headline: “Christianity Offers No Answers About the Coronavirus. It’s Not Supposed To.” Wright argues that the Bible offers no ultimate answers to this virus and the profound suffering it has caused worldwide. He says that seeking rational explanations for such evil and suffering is a “knee-jerk reaction” that’s effectively barking up the wrong tree. Rather than trying to locate ultimate meaning in answers about what God is doing in all this, we should follow the psalmists in hopeless lament. Yes, hopeless. Wright quotes T. S. Eliot: “The only advice is to wait without hope, because we’d be hoping for the wrong thing.”
Holy Week: Palm Sunday: March 29, AD 33
In the brief video above, New Testament professors Doug Moo (of Wheaton College Graduate School) and Andreas Köstenberger (of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) provide some background and context for this day.
Podcast: The Voice of the Martyrs - BURKINA FASO: Persecution Rising (4/4/20)
Burkina Faso is not a country we’ve previously discussed on VOM Radio. But in the past 18 months the country has seen repeated jihadi attacks on churches, pastors and other Christian targets. Sean Paton, VOM’s Africa regional director, explains the increase of persecution in Burkina Faso, including government changes and the rise of groups linked with Al Qaeda, ISIS and other Islamist factions. He’ll describe how VOM monitors persecution and makes the decision to ramp up our work in a particular country to equip and encourage Christians undergoing persecution—some for the first time. He’ll also share about other African countries where persecution is increasing.
 
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mcz117chief

Member
You are on fire, bro.

edit: the last one is pretty interesting and begs a question. Should Christians be afraid of self defense or not? I personally don't have a problem with self defense but some always go for the "turn the other cheek" rhetoric. How do you view it? Ever during the first centuries AD many Christian theologians said that prayers is good but won't stop a thrusting blade, so obviously we have to be able to defend ourselves lest we be wiped out.
 
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Chaplain

Member
the last one is pretty interesting and begs a question. Should Christians be afraid of self-defense or not? I personally don't have a problem with self-defense but some always go for the "turn the other cheek" rhetoric. How do you view it? Ever during the first centuries AD many Christian theologians said that prayers is good but won't stop a thrusting blade, so obviously we have to be able to defend ourselves lest we be wiped out.

I think we need to draw a line in the sand when it comes to issues of retribution. Jesus declares, when it comes to personal retribution, we are to love our enemies (Matthew 5:38-42). In the matters of civil retribution, police and governments are God’s servants to punish those who do wrong (Romans 13:1-5). Justice must be enforced and served in order to protect the innocent from willful evildoers. Without God’s instruments, as philosopher Edmund Burke wrote, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Therefore, for personal relationships, love is the supreme ethic. God’s love in us surpasses self-centered happiness (Utilitarianism) and goes above rulemaking ethics (Deontology). This is modeled in the midwives who protected Jewish babies by lying to Pharaoh’s military who were in charge of enforcing genocide. Love superseded God’s law regarding lying (also seen when Jesus’ disciples ate on the Sabbath), because protecting human life is the embodiment of God’s highest ethic: agape love.
 

Bolivar687

Banned
Is church really needed if god is in nature?

Nature is God's creation, it is not God.

Even before Isaac and Jacob, God had priests to mediate between himself and mankind (Melchizedek in Genesis 14). The Torah has an entire book dedicated to the priesthood, the sacrificial cult, the office of the high priest, and the tabernacle (Leviticus). No one, not even the anointed king, can usurp the priestly functions in temple worship (2 Chronicles 26:16-20). Jesus Christ in turn created a consecrated priesthood with the authority and discretion to forgive sins (John 20:23). We know from Paul that Holy Communion in the Eucharist was the central event in the lives of the very first Christians (1 Corinthians 11).

God likes and wants our liturgical worship, and we need his sacraments for the reparation of sins.
 
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SLoWMoTIoN

Unconfirmed Member
Nature is God's creation, it is not God.
If god is everything how is he not nature itself?


Even before Isaac and Jacob, God had priests to mediate between himself and mankind (Melchizedek in Genesis 14)
Yahweh went by different names then did he not? Before the other gods were shunned? I'm sure there were other temples and priests that spoke (his) name. I'm wondering when this belief (obviously it came from man) came to fruition. The idea of god himself being inside a single place of worship seems so small to me.
 

Ornlu

Banned
Is church really needed if god is in nature?

If you have no alternative, no. You can certainly worship God alone.

If god is everything how is he not nature itself?

I think that belief is called Pantheism. I don't know of any Christian denominations that hold such beliefs. (That everything is God)

Yahweh went by different names then did he not? Before the other gods were shunned? I'm sure there were other temples and priests that spoke (his) name. I'm wondering when this belief (obviously it came from man) came to fruition. The idea of god himself being inside a single place of worship seems so small to me.

I'm confused by your question. By other names do you mean Elohim and Adonai? If so, Elohim means "God", and Adonai means "my master". Yahweh is understood to be the actual name of God. Also, the idea of there being multiple gods that existed, but were later shunned is not upheld in Christianity. Rather the belief is that other gods that were worshiped were false.
 
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SLoWMoTIoN

Unconfirmed Member
If you have no alternative, no. You can certainly worship God alone.
Is it ever implied he is not beside us? Or you anyway. How is one truly alone? While i know some of the history of various religions, what people actually believe/or are taught is something I do not know. Or over time, forgot.

I think that belief is called Pantheism. I don't know of any Christian denominations that hold such beliefs. (That everything is God)
Is it? I could have sworn a priest once said something similar. Thanks for clarifying.
Also, the idea of there being multiple gods that existed, but were later shunned is not upheld in Christianity.
That is the origin of Christianity though. Or better yet all Judeo religions.

Rather the belief is that other gods that were worshiped were false.
I'm confusing the origins of Christianity to actual beliefs.
 

Bolivar687

Banned
If god is everything how is he not nature itself?

What differentiates Christianity from the natural religions is that we do not conflate the creator with his creations. God is the author and rightful ruler (the Lord) of creation but he is not creation itself, as He exists apart from it and would still exist on His own even if He never created it.

The idea of god himself being inside a single place of worship seems so small to me.

Solomon himself acknowledged when he dedicated the Temple that no single place, not even Heaven itself, can contain God (1 Kings 8:27). Rather, the Temple was the centralized place of worship for all of Israel and expressly for all humanity (1 Kings 8:41-43).

That is the origin of Christianity though. Or better yet all Judeo religions.

From the very beginning of the Old Testament, the deities of the natural religions are said to be artifacts of human creation. The opening lines of the Genesis creation story denote that the forces of nature are creations and are not deities unto themselves. In Exodus, the seven plagues against the Egyptians correlate to seven of the gods in their pantheon, in ascending order, to prove that they do not exist. It culminates with the Pharaoh himself, as the killing of the first born contrasts his own failure to kill the first born of the Israelites at the beginning of the book, showing that the the emperor, or the state, is not in fact divine, as the great nations of the ancient world almost invariably believed (and some might argue many in democracies do today). In the first book of Kings, when Elijah confronts the priests of Baal, the man-made deity throughout the Old Testament, he does so by showing that Baal does not exist at all. The common refrain throughout the Old Testament is that the man-made idols have eyes but do not see, ears but cannot hear, and that those who worship them become like them.
 

Chaplain

Member
"NIH director and BioLogos founder Francis Collins ('discovered the genes associated with a number of diseases and led the Human Genome Project') will join us to answer questions about COVID-19, and more!"" (4/6/20)



"I have often been drawn to this biblical text over the years for Palm Sunday because the events indeed did take place on a Sunday and Jesus was greeted with happy song and palm branches. But in light of the present situation with the entire world suffering the spread of the coronavirus, I want to look at it through the lens of suffering: our own suffering, Jesus’ personal suffering, and the future suffering predicted. In so doing I think we will see Jesus in a very different light." (4/6/20)



Article: How much is a life worth? Human dignity in the time of COVID (4/6/20)

"As hospitals run desperately low on life-saving medical equipment, questions about “quality of life” are no longer the stuff of college ethics scenarios. They are now made frighteningly tangible, forcing doctors and nurses to make heart-wrenching decisions about who will receive care. But what does this mean when certain classes of people are deemed to have lower “quality of life” by virtue of a disability like Down’s Syndrome? Bioethicist Charles Camosy warned presciently in the New York Post that such demographics could slip to the bottom of the totem pole even if all else were equal. Fortunately, there appear to be legal safeguards against this in New York itself, but Camosy’s worry is being borne out in states like Alabama, where new guidelines say those with severe learning disabilities or dementia “may be poor candidates for ventilator support” ... We also see this cultural devaluing of life manifest in subtler ways, as when people speculate out loud that older victims of the virus “might have died this year anyway.” The unspoken implication is that their lives matter less merely because they have lived more life than we have. As Dr. Yoram Hazony wrote in a forceful Twitter rebuttal, this is the language of an ungrateful generation. “You forget,” he writes, “that we’re all going to die soon anyway.””

 
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