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Published by Jeff, on September 9th, 2008 in .Popularity: unranked [?]
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…trying to become more like Jesus.
According to one personality test,
I am an ENTHUSIAST
(The Busy, Fun-Loving Type: Spontaneous, Versatile, Acquisitive, and Scattered)
I know that some people are especially interested in the bigger details of faith, so I decided to post here my full “Doctrinal Statement.” This is the first post in this series, and it reflects the “short form” of my Doctrinal Statement. If you wish to download my entire Doctrinal Statement in either short form or its more detailed version, I will have those links posted soon.
What’s wrong with premarital sex?
One of the questions I get a lot is the question about sexual morality as it relates to the Bible, and it’s one I have thought a lot about as well considering that I do quite a bit of marital counseling and also considering that I’m a guy and I think about these issues myself!
Of course, the biggest question about sexual morality is whether the Bible actually prohibits premarital sex, and if it does prohibit it, why?
I’m going to try to answer that question simply from three angles: What does the Bible teach about sex? What effect does sex have on people? Where should the limits be drawn (i.e. what is the Biblical definition of “sex”)?
What does the Bible teach about sex?
There are many passages in the Bible regarding sexuality and sexual behavior.
My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.—Psalm 62:7
I was reading Psalm 62 this morning for my quiet time, and this verse popped out to me. Reading it sparked a little “wow” moment somewhere inside me.
Every year at this time, I begin to think critically about the resurrection of Jesus. Yeah, you heard me right. I said, “critically“.
In the church I pastor, ReCOMMITMENT is something we do once a year in terms of church services, but it certainly shouldn’t be so in terms of our spiritual lives. The Bible is clear that the spiritual life is not one that can be lived on the basis of one commitment made many years in the past. Of course, the Bible teaches that once a person has come to faith in Jesus, that person will be forever in the grip of the saving grace of God regardless of future behavior.
In the living room of my in-laws’ home I watched an episode of Law and Order that I haven’t seen before, and it bothered me quite a bit.
The victim was a young man who had tried unsuccessfully to “recover” from homosexuality through the counseling and support of a religious group called Regenesis. One of the supporters of the organization was a local doctor who had been promoting research that homosexuality was a reversible condition.
I was disturbed to see this video from Barack Obama talking about his intentions regarding the abortion issue…
I learned about this video from http://theologica.blogspot.com/2008/08/obama-and-freedom-of-choice-act.
I believe in God because the universe needs a creator.
The first reason I have for my own belief in God is that the universe needs a creator.
WARNING: I have a degree in philosophy and some of the concepts I use for my belief in God require the use of some technical terms.
If you like to talk to tomatoes. If a squash can make you smile. If you like to waltz with potatoes up and down the produce aisle, then you need to talk to my son.
This week at my Life Group, we looked at the clearest teaching in the Bible regarding the rapture, and I’ve become even more convicted about one particular position. This post is intended to guide you through the same study we considered this week and to give an inside track on what I’m currently thinking about the matter.
What is the Rapture?
Before I talk about anything else, I should probably define what I mean by the rapture and why I want to talk about it now.
Do you have a spam problem on this website; I also am a blogger, and I was curious about your situation; many of us have created some nice procedures and we are looking to trade strategies with others, why not shoot me an email if interested.
Débutez et progressez facilement à la guitare, cours de guitare pros réalisés par un guitariste expériementé auteur de nombreuses méthodes pédagogiques. Des cours de guitare complets et progressifs avec vidéos pour rendre l'aprpentissage encore plus facile et ludique. Vous allez découvrir pas à pas les fondements du jeu à la guitare, à placer les différentes notes de musiques aux différents enrroits du manche de votre guitare, vous allez également apprendre les accords majeurs et mineurs à la guitare. Des cours de guitare réalisés par un véritable guitariste pour les guitaristes qui veulentaprpendre sérieusement et réellement la guitare dans els meilleures conditions. Une méthode pédagogique guitare complète ludique et terriblement efficace pour jouer rapidement vos morceaux de musique favoris, seul(e) ou en groupe.
Débutez et progressez facilement à la guitare, cours de guitare pros réalisés par un guitariste expériementé auteur de nombreuses méthodes pour étudier la guitare. Des cours de guitare complets et progressifs avec vidéos pour rendre l'aprpentissage encore plus facile et ludique. Vous allez découvrir pas à pas les bases de la guitare, à positionner les différentes notes de musiques aux différents enrroits du manche de votre guitare, vous allez également apprendre les accords majeurs et mineurs à la guitare. Des exercices de guitare réalisés par un véritable guitariste pour les guitaristes qui veulentaprpendre sérieusement et réellement la guitare dans els meilleures conditions. Une méthode guitare complète ludique et terriblement efficace pour jouer rapidement vos morceaux de musique favoris, seul(e) ou en groupe.
Thanks for the comments Morris.
I'd like to understand what you are saying a little better. Specifically, I want to know why you think my proposed solution doesn't make sense "outside the confines of a Western Evangelical Christian life."
My proposed solution has nothing to do with religious convictions but with a conviction that the problem of abortion starts as a problem with men not being able to control themselves. This isn't about religion. It's about the pragmatic consideration that the oppression of women is solved by men treating them properly. If every man kept his pants on, abortion wouldn't be a women's rights issue.
Your second claim about legislating morality is one that I understand and one that I agree with to a point. I don't believe we should "legislate religion" but legislating morality is what we do all the time. The government has said that murder is not just wrong but also illegal. Therefore, laws and morality have always gone hand in hand. Immoral laws should be eliminated. Moral laws should be enacted.
So what role should the church have in all this? Well, first of all, I want to agree with you that the past history of religion has not always been one of moral uprightness. There have been many atrocities perpetrated in history and evil people have used many excuses for their evil. It just so happens that religion has been used as an excuse far too often. Nevertheless, you can't blame religion as the cause of the evil unless there is something inherent to the faith that is taught which requires people to perpetrate that evil.
For example, the teaching of Jesus is that we should love our enemies, that we should show people grace and forgiveness, that we should proclaim good news to the broken-hearted. However, people who claim to follow Jesus have attacked religious enemies, have offered judgment, have proclaimed legalism, and have put a burden on the broken. Religious people were doing the same things in Jesus' day, and he railed against them repeatedly.
All I'm trying to say is that just because people claiming to be followers of Jesus have done stupid and evil things, you can't blame all followers of Jesus nor the church into which they are organized. It would be unjustified prejudice to negatively categorize an entire group of people based on the unfortunate acts of some members of that group.
Therefore, I do believe the church has something to say about current societal issues because the church was the first agency in history to promote the cause of women (see Paul's teaching on how husbands should treat their wives), the first in history to promote the welfare of children (Jesus, Peter, and Paul all taught the value of children), and the first agency in history to promote universal forgiveness and love for all.
My question, motivated by my faith and also by my concern for the pragmatic realities of life, is this: How can we ensure the welfare of every life--born, unborn, poor, rich, male, female, black, white, urban, suburban, rural?
In the case of women's rights and the rights of the unborn, I believe the answer lies partially in men being responsible, honorable, and respectful men.

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