At what point is it appropriate to leave your church? (video)
This question gets asked a lot. Here are two ways you might figure it out.
To those who fear they aren’t radical enough
‘Growing up as a teenager in the church, there were a lot of calls to step up and do something radical. Don’t be content with being ordinary. Be bold and take risks for God. Do something extreme and revolutionary. That’s how you grow your faith and glorify God in the best way possible. That message hasn’t changed much as I’ve grown older. I still hear it preached to the generation before me, but I also hear a differently crafted version for my generation as well.’
Bible Study Mistakes
Here is a roundup (with attached videos if you fancy watching them) of seven common bible study mistakes. Very helpful.
The Spider-Man Fallacy Fallacy
‘Christians claim that the New Testament gospels are historically reliable. One of the ways we defend that is to point out that the stories accord well with history and archeology — that is, the places where things happened really existed, the rulers named really ruled, and the practices described were what you’d find if you visited that place in that time. Many skeptics claim when we say that we’re committing what they call the Spider-Man fallacy. What is that, and are we guilty of it?’
Is baptism a requirement for church membership?
I co-sign this one: ‘The ongoing debate about whether baptism is required for church membership is directly related to the problem of infant baptism. Historically, it seems obvious that the matter would have never become an issue at all apart from this unbiblical practice. This factor alone has caused many well-meaning Christian leaders to entertain the idea of receiving unbaptized (though sprinkled) people into membership while they work out their personal convictions regarding baptism. It has also caused otherwise sound teachers to relegate baptism to a “Romans 14” issue (a matter that should be determined in the individual’s conscience because it is not directly commanded or forbidden) without the slightest exegetical justification for doing so. Baptism is directly commanded, and therefore cannot be a “Romans 14” issue. In this case, the presence of one error has persuaded many well-meaning Christians to commit another error.’
Did Hannah manipulate God?
A really helpful one this. It may look a little like she did. But if we look closely at the story, I think this one is right, that is not really what she is doing at all.
From the archive: The allure of whatever makes my life easier
‘We deem church difficult and hope, in some ways, the Lord will take it upon himself to make our life easier. But, as my mum used to say, what’s that got to do with the price of fish? Since when did Jesus say, come follow me and I will make your life easy and comfortable? Interestingly, when Jesus healed the lame man and told him to pick up his mat and walk, he was immediately accused of making the man work by the Pharisees. The man was now at work showing the glory of Christ. Like that, Jesus heals us so that we are able to work for him and only those who are not truly spiritual reckon that to be a problem.’