Contemporary Church?

This photo from our recent trip to Melbourne seemed to uncannily capture the present point along my spiritual "journey".

Post Church.

Balanced

In Yancey’s book "I was just wondering" he deals with the reality of suffering and the issue of “positive thinking” in the modern church.

He claims that the once “morbidly minded” (melancholy) evangelicals who were led by the likes of Wesley etc. competed with the “healthily minded” (overly optimistic) sects like Christian science - which (early last century) thrived in times of unprecedented prosperity.

(Interestingly, the influential Word-Of-Faith movement also has much of its roots in Christian Science as well as pentecostal revivalism).

These sects ‘met their waterloo’ when the reality of the depression and the World Wars hit - “a monstrous fact that exposed the flaws in their vision of the world and humanity”.

But what Yancey claims is that this “healthy mindedness” is now characteristic in the Christian church and he concludes his mini-thesis with the statement ”I hope and pray an even more ominous fact does not arise to smother the ‘healthy-mindedness’ that has swept evangelicalism in the last few decades”.

My personal view is that we do need to allow times for melancholy reflection and teaching “in the correct season” and with correct perspective - otherwise Yancey’s concern may be well placed.

Australia Day 2006

This may sound like a tremendous boast, but I think that we Aussies live in the best country in the World.

Today it will be the beach, a barbecue in the Park, the Beach, a barbecue at home - for something different. I will also head to the 'lookout' a converted water tower to watch the Austrlai Day fireworks. Thats what its all about.

I'm cutting a CD with my favourite Australian Songs:

1) Flame Trees - (Cold Chisel)
2) Cool Change - (Little River Band)
3) Better Days - (Pete Murray)
4) Down Under - (Men at Work)
5) Happy Birthday Helen - (Things of Stone and Wood)
6) Reckless - (Austlian Crawl)
7) Sounds Of Then (This is Australia) - (GANGGajang)
8) Making Gravy - (Paul Kelly)
9) Never Tear Us Apart (INXS)
10) Great South Land - (IceHouse)
11) Power and the Passion - Midnight Oil
12) Woking Class Man - (Jimmy Barnes)

Who knows...I may even add I Sitll Call Australia Home - (Peter Allen) as a hidden track.

Have a Great Australia Day...

(Let me know if you would like a copy Marisa).

Contradictions

Which of the thieves on the cross, reviled Jesus?
a) Both of them (Mt 27:44)
or
b) Only one of them (Lu 23:39-43)

What was Jesus offered to drink on the cross?
a) wine mixed with myrrh (Mk 15:23)
or
b) vinegar mixed with gall.( Mt 27:34)

How did Judas die?
a) He hung himself (Mt 27:5)
or
b) He fell & burst open. (Ac 1:18)

When did Jesus curse the fig tree?
a) After going to the temple (Mt 21:12-19)
or
b) Before going to the temple (Mk 11:15-21)

How many foremen and chief officials did Solomon have?
a) 3300 foremen and 550 chief officials (1Ki 5:16, 9:23)
or
b) 3600 foremen and 250 chief officials (2Ch 2:2,18, 8:10)

Where did King Josiah die?
a) Meggido (2Ki 23:29-30)
or
b) At Jerusalem (2Ch 35:23-24)

How old was Jehoiachin when he began to reign?
a) eight (2Ch 36:9)
or
b) eighteen (2Ki 24:8)

Who made the following prophecy?
“They took the thirty silver coins, the price of the one whose price had been set by the people of Israel, and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”
a) Jeremiah (Mt 27:9-10)
or
b) Zechariah (Zec 11:12-13)

Who bought potter's field?
a) Judas (Acts 1:18)
or
b) The chief priests (Matt 27:6-8)

via Nilmot

On Faith and Fancy

Placed a comment in a discussion regarding faith at signposts that I wanted to capture for my records here.

Kierengreen states “…. We may define faith, as a firm belief in something for which there is no evidence.

Kierentgreen what you write about is what I would term as being ‘Blind Faith’….and Blind Faith is not the faith of the sincere thinking Christian.

In coming to a conclusion and decision regarding my faith in Christ, I have based my decision on firstly being open, taking time to analyse the available evidence, using intuition and finally taking that leap of (educated) faith….

In the words of Jack Welch, Chemical Engineer, CEO GE (and non-Christian):

“In life there are no formulaic answers to many of life’s problems…because often there is no black-and-white answers…the (analysis) process gets you to a darker shade of grey”.

I believe analysis must fallow the ground and provide initial direction, then intuition will take you a little farther.

And then, finally, it is faith takes you the remainder of the distance

Nilmot

Nilmot now has his own Blog.

Welcome to the blogosphere Nilmot! He has started an interesting discussion on "Is the Bible Infallible".

Check-it-out.