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Subject: Worldview is key to understanding Author: tim [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 12:49:35 11/07/04 Sun Did i mention how pleased I am to have my sister and her family now contributing to this forum? For all who visit, I'd like to welcome you to weigh in on issues brought up here and to not be afraid to add your own two cents. As the forum monitor, I will only delete personal attacks or hostile responses that I deem as unseemly. People will not be deleted for having differences, or even expressing heated challenges to my own views, although, I'm only human and it is my forum. From 9/11 to 11/2, there is certainly a boatload of issues to talk about. The challenge for the days and months ahead will be how to best respond to the differing worldviews, without losing ones cool. To quote an old proverb on my wall at work, "Those who fly into a rage, always have a bad landing." And, "A soft answer, turneth away wrath." Prov. 15:1. I think it's important for Conservatives to know what "Religous Liberals believe" and vice versa. The Church of Bush, or Jesusland, as it's referenced to at boysweekend.com, seems to me, to be the culmination of polarized philosophies, which has risen from the ashes of the "Clinton Fiasco." Conservative Christians would be wise to study their Bibles, their history books, or maybe even listen to the Pope. Our Country cannot be rescued from its moral decline by a Moral Majority that puts their hope in a political party, or a regime change in Babylon, to fix all our problems. Our problems can't be fixed by force. Constantine tried that and Christianity spread, but so did the seeds of protest. We may gain something at home and abroad for a while with battles won, but I'm afraid the cause of Christ may lose ground.. I firmly believe that 9/11, the distress call of our age, was a warning from God specifically for the Church in America. I believe, not quite as firmly, it depends on the day and my mood, but mostly that George W. Bush was ordained by God to be the one to respond to this warning, and did. On 9/2 he was once again ordained, by God, to be our leader. It remains to be seen whether he will be a leader like Saul, the predecessor to David, who was thrown out because of his pride and jealousy, or a leader that will be revered in years to come, like President Johnson who led us through some of the worst seasons of Vietnam. I've said it before here, I believe the answer to what happened on that fateful September morning, is clearly spelled out for us by II Chronicles, when The Lord appeared to King Solomon and said, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then, will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." The terrorists, were the messengers that delivered the warning that God is really pissed off at the Church, the Bible calls us the "bride of Christ." For those that seek to understand what the heck is going on, this is how a whole lot of Christians think. This is how I think. God is trying to tell us something. I'm not sure that we are interpreting it right, but I know he's testing us. He loves us too much to let us destroy ourselves. He's giving us a chance to do the right thing. To understand the Christian Worldview, you have to balance the sermon on the mount, with Jesus' words from Matthew 10: 34, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." His message was clear that we will not see peace on earth until He comes again. The anti-christ will provide the answer to the world that there is somehow another way to solve our problems, a political way, a regime change that will fix things. The stage is being set for the final showdown between good and evil. We are priviliged, or cursed to be a part of this at this time. I am hoping to be on the side that wins in the end. I think it matters what we do, what we say, what we think. But God has written the final chapter and He's in charge of time and space and the environment. It is both exciting and scary, but if we are on the guestlist, we can talk to the boss about the details when we get to the wedding feast. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

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[> Subject: Re: Worldview is key to understanding Author: tim [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 14:33:40 11/07/04 Sun just forget about everything you've learned here and BE THERE! [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> Subject: Re: Worldview is key to understanding Author: tim [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 12:55:18 10/15/08 Wed I thought today's devotional went along well with these thoughts on understanding a Christian worldview, especially in light of the upcoming election: THE HEART OF A KING "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will." "Think about that for a moment! God has reserved the right to override the will of a nation's leader; if need be, to see that His people are governed according to His will. What's more, God will hear the prayer of any government leader. Even if he's the worst reprobate in the whole world. He heard the prayer of old King Nebuchadnezzar. Believe me, that means He'll listen to any leader! You see, Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon. He was an ungodly ruler of an ungodly nation. However, he'd taken captives from the land of Judah. He had some of God's people under his authority. So, God began to deal with him. Again and again, God warned him, 'Nebuchadnessar; you're going to lose your mind if you don't straighten up.' And sure enough, he went just as crazy as could be. He stayed that way for years too. Then one day he cried out to God and God heard him. Despite his status as a heathen king of a heathen nation, God intervened repeatedly in Nebuchadnezzar's life and heard him when he finally cried out for help. Why? Because he had God's people under his control! That same principle still holds true today. If we'll open the way through prayer, God will deal with our leaders! If we will humble ourselves in unity and pray, God can change the injustice and corruption that exist in our country or any country for that matter. He'll change the hearts of everyone from the White House on down to make sure His children are governed justly. Make it a point to pray for our leaders today! Scripture reading: Daniel 4:1-37 - from 'Faith to Faith' a daily devotional by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland - October 15th. [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> Subject: Re: Worldview is key to understanding Author: tim [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 10:49:12 11/15/08 Sat and Cal Thomas' post election 2008 piece seems appropriate to insert here as well: Thomas column: Religious Right, rest in peace By Cal Thomas • November 6, 2008 When Barack Obama takes the oath of office on Jan. 20, he will do so in the 30th anniversary year of the founding of the so-called Religious Right. Born in 1979 and midwifed by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, the Religious Right was a reincarnation of previous religious-social movements that sought moral improvement through legislation and court rulings. Those earlier movements -- from abolition (successful) to Prohibition (unsuccessful) -- had mixed results. Social movements that relied mainly on political power to enforce a conservative moral code weren't anywhere near as successful as those that focused on changing hearts. The four religious revivals, from the First Great Awakening in the 1730s and 1740s to the Fourth Great Awakening in the late 1960s and early '70s, which touched America and instantly transformed millions of Americans (and American culture as a result), are testimony to that. Thirty years of trying to use government to stop abortion, preserve opposite-sex marriage, improve television and movie content and transform culture into the conservative Evangelical image has failed. The question now becomes: should conservative Christians redouble their efforts, contributing more millions to radio and TV preachers and activists, or would they be wise to try something else? I opt for trying something else. Too many conservative Evangelicals have put too much faith in the power of government to transform culture. The futility inherent in such misplaced faith can be demonstrated by asking these activists a simple question: Does the secular left, when it holds power, persuade conservatives to live by their standards? Of course they do not. Why, then, would conservative Evangelicals expect people who do not share their worldview and view of God to accept their beliefs when they control government? Too many conservative Evangelicals mistake political power for influence. Politicians who struggle with imposing a moral code on themselves are unlikely to succeed in their attempts to impose it on others. What is the answer, then, for conservative Evangelicals who are rightly concerned about the corrosion of culture, the indifference to the value of human life and the living arrangements of same- and opposite-sex couples? The answer depends on the response to another question: Do conservative Evangelicals want to feel good, or do they want to adopt a strategy that actually produces results? Clearly partisan politics have not achieved their objectives. Do they think they can succeed by committing themselves to 30 more years of the same? If results are what conservative Evangelicals want, they already have a model. It is contained in the life and commands of Jesus of Nazareth. Suppose millions of conservative Evangelicals engaged in an old and proven type of radical behavior. Suppose they followed the admonition of Jesus to "love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit those in prison and care for widows and orphans," not as ends, as so many liberals do by using government, but as a means of demonstrating God's love for the whole person in order that people might seek Him? Such a strategy could be more "transformational" than electing a new president, even the first president of color. But in order to succeed, such a strategy would not be led by charismatic figures, who would raise lots of money, be interviewed on Sunday talk shows, author books and make gobs of money. Scripture teaches that God's power (if that is what conservative Evangelicals want and not their puny attempts at grabbing earthly power) is made perfect in weakness. He speaks of the tiny mustard seed, the seemingly worthless widow's mite, of taking the last place at the table and the humbling of one's self, the washing of feet and similar acts and attitudes; the still, small voice. How did conservative Evangelicals miss this and instead settle for a lesser power, which in reality is no power at all? When did they settle for an inferior "kingdom"? Evangelicals are at a junction. They can take the path that will lead them to more futility and ineffective attempts to reform culture through government, or they can embrace the far more powerful methods outlined by the One they claim to follow. By following His example, they will decrease, but He will increase. They will get no credit, but they will see results. If conservative Evangelicals choose obscurity and seek to glorify God, they will get much of what they hope for, but can never achieve, in and through politics. Write to Cal Thomas at Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, N.Y. 14207, or e-mail him at tmseditors@tribune.com. [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> Subject: Re: Worldview is key to understanding Author: webchuck [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 21:13:28 01/28/09 Wed bump [ Post a Reply to This Message ]