Background of Faith

The Word of God in the Old Testament or Hebrew Writings as well as in the New Testament or Greek Messianic Writings speaks about people who had a faith or certain believe in a Higher Power, the Most High Maker Elohim Hashem Jehovah.

We can see or read that faith has something to do with having a belief in things which we are not sure of and of things we can not see. When there is faith present than this means that person is being sure of the things he or she hopes for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it. For those people having faith "Faith" is the reason they remember great people who lived in the past, like Enoch, Noah, Abraham who were all great people who died in faith and whose stories are told in the set apart or Holy Scriptures.

Those great people whose stories can be an example for us did things because they believed in them and believed in the One for Whom they did it. The Nazarene man Jeshua (Jesus Christ) also had such a strong believe in the One Whom sent him, that he was prepared to put his own will aside to do the Will of his heavenly Father, the Only One True God of Israel. He totally trusted his heavenly Father and asked us also to trust Him Who had sent him.

With our belief in Jesus we should trust in what Jesus told us and in what his heavenly Father has to offer us. Looking at figures as Sarah, King David, Isaiah, Jeremiah we can find reason enough to believe in their writings and find Zechariah and other prophets telling us about what we might expect in the near future, the Messiah bringing us a world of peace.

Looking at Scriptures we may find assurance that all the prophesies told in it which did not come true shall also come true as the other accomplished. We can live by hope that it shall not be not for nothing to live a sanctified life and to have put our hope on the yet unseen with the absolute conviction that there are realities we have never seen but may be sure of that they shall come true.

It was by faith that our forebears were approved. Through faith we understand that the universe was created by the Word of God; everything we now see was fashioned from that which is invisible.

Faith begins as hope and indeed is unseen; so many doubt that it is real. The bible gives all the answers we need to know and provides the proof that faith is a reality that can be trusted.

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Please read also Hebrews 11 and following articles

1. Devotees and spotters
2. Can you question the existence of God
3. Are there certain books essential to come to faith 
4. Looking to the East and the West for Truth
5. Israeli leaders delight in Europe’s cruelty toward refugees
6. Islam says it admires faith based on logic, what about the others
7. Honest-hearted people are losing faith in humanity and humanity losing faith in God
8. No insurmountable obstacles to come to know God
9. Challenging claim 2 Inspired by God 1 Simple words
10. Challenging claim 4 Inspired by God 3 Self-consistent Word of God
11. Miracles of revelation and of providence 1 Golden Thread and Revelation
12. Disobedient man and God’s promises
13. God’s forgotten Word 5 Lost Lawbook 4 The ‘Catholic’ church
14. Cognizance at the doorstep or at the internet socket
15. Daily Spiritual Food To prepare ourselves for the Kingdom of God
16. Knowing The Truth and Loving The Truth
17. Faith
18. God Will Lead 
19. The Right One to follow and to worship
20. Omniscient God opposite a not knowing Jesus
21. Meaning of Sacrifice
22. For The Love of Stuff
23. Matthew 6:1-34 – The Nazarene’s Commentary on Leviticus 19:18 Continued 2 Prayer and neighbour love
24. Matthew 8:5-13 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Servant of Army Officer Healed
25. Matthew 9:18-26 – What others say about Jesus knowing how to care for people
26. Redemption #7 Christ alive in the faithful
27. God has not destined us for wrath
28. Hope by faith and free gift
29. Memorizing wonderfully 3 Practical Tips for Memorizing Scripture
30. Leaving the Old World to find better pastures
31. Like grasshoppers
32. With all your heart
33. Establish your hearts blameless in holiness
34. When having found faith through the study of the Bible we do need to do works of faith
35. Do those who want to follow Christ to be Jews
36. The works we have to do according to James

Negative views of immigrants, Muslims and Jews

Both non-practicing and churchgoing Christians are more likely than the unaffiliated to hold negative views of immigrants, Muslims and Jews

The Pew Center survey, which was conducted following a surge of immigration to Europe from Muslim-majority countries, asked many questions about national identity, religious pluralism and immigration.

Most Western Europeans say they are willing to accept Muslims and Jews in their neighbourhoods and in their families, and most reject negative statements about these groups. And, on balance, more respondents say immigrants are honest and hardworking than say the opposite.

But a clear pattern emerges: Both church-attending and non-practicing Christians are more likely than religiously unaffiliated adults in Western Europe to voice anti-immigrant and anti-minority views.

For example, in the UK, 45% of church-attending Christians say Islam is fundamentally incompatible with British values and culture, as do roughly the same share of non-practicing Christians (47%). But among religiously unaffiliated adults, fewer (30%) say Islam is fundamentally incompatible with their country’s values. There is a similar pattern across the region on whether there should be restrictions on Muslim women’s dress, with Christians more likely than “nones” to say Muslim women should not be allowed to wear any religious clothing.

Views on relationship between government and religion

Views on relationship between government and religion

Results of the Pew research Center survey:

Generally speaking, Western Europeans do not look favourably on entanglements between their governments and religion. Indeed, the predominant view in all 15 countries surveyed is that religion should be kept separate from government policies (median of 60%), as opposed to the position that government policies should support religious values and beliefs in their country (36%).

Non-practicing Christians tend to say religion should be kept out of government policy. Still, substantial minorities (median of 35%) of non-practicing Christians think the government should support religious values and beliefs in their country – and they are much more likely than religiously unaffiliated adults to take this position. For example, in the United Kingdom, 40% of non-practicing Christians say the government should support religious values and beliefs, compared with 18% of “nones.”

In every country surveyed, church-attending Christians are much more likely than non-practicing Christians to favour government support for religious values. In Austria, for example, a majority (64%) of churchgoing Christians take this position, compared with 38% of non-practicing Christians.

The Pew survey also gauged views on religious institutions, asking whether respondents agree with three positive statements about churches and other religious organizations – that they “protect and strengthen morality in society,” “bring people together and strengthen community bonds,” and “play an important role in helping the poor and needy.”
Three similar questions asked whether they agree with negative assessments of religious institutions – that churches and other religious organizations “are too involved with politics,” “focus too much on rules,” and “are too concerned with money and power.”

Once again, there are marked differences of opinion on these questions among Western Europeans across categories of religious identity and practice. Throughout the region, non-practicing Christians are more likely than religiously unaffiliated adults to voice positive opinions of religious institutions. For example, in Germany, a majority of non-practicing Christians (62%) agree that churches and other religious organizations play an important role in helping the poor and needy, compared with fewer than half (41%) of “nones.”

Church-attending Christians hold especially positive opinions about the role of religious organizations in society. For example, nearly three-in-four churchgoing Christians in Belgium (73%), Germany (73%) and Italy (74%) agree that churches and other religious institutions play an important role in helping the poor and needy. (For more analysis of results on these questions, see Chapter 6.)

Non-practicing Christians widely believing in a god or higher power

Non-practicing Christians widely believe in God or another higher power

Of those who call themselves Christian the majority believe in the Trinity and not as such  as Pew count them as believers in God as described in the Bible. In the 27% who believe in God, the majority believe in a concept they were brought up with, some Catholics even not knowing that their church worships a Trinity, or do not know what it entails. Non-trinitarian Christians though still may be counted as the minority

Most non-practicing Christians in Europe believe in God. But their concept of God differs considerably from the way that churchgoing Christians tend to conceive of God. While most church-attending Christians say they believe in God “as described in the Bible,” non-practicing Christians are more apt to say that they do not believe in the biblical depiction of God, but that they believe in some other higher power or spiritual force in the universe.

For instance, in Catholic-majority Spain, only about one-in-five non-practicing Christians (21%) believe in God “as described in the Bible,” while six-in-ten say they believe in some other higher power or spiritual force.

Non-practicing Christians and “nones” also diverge sharply on this question; most unaffiliated people in Western Europe do not believe in God or a higher power or spiritual force of any kind. (See below for more details on belief in God among religiously unaffiliated adults.)

Similar patterns – in which Christians tend to hold spiritual beliefs while “nones” do not – prevail on a variety of other beliefs, such as the possibility of life after death and the notion that humans have souls apart from their physical bodies. Majorities of non-practicing Christians and church-attending Christians believe in these ideas. Most religiously unaffiliated adults, on the other hand, reject belief in an afterlife, and many do not believe they have a soul.

Indeed, many religiously unaffiliated adults eschew spirituality and religion entirely. Majorities agree with the statements, “There are no spiritual forces in the universe, only the laws of nature” and “Science makes religion unnecessary in my life.” These positions are held by smaller shares of church-attending Christians and non-practicing Christians, though in most countries roughly a quarter or more of non-practicing Christians say science makes religion unnecessary to them. (For a detailed statistical analysis combining multiple questions into scales of religious commitment and spirituality, see Chapters 3 and 5.)

Being Christian in Western Europe at the beginning of the 21st century #2

The figures you find in #1 raise some obvious questions:

•  What is the meaning of Christian identity in Western Europe today?
•  And how different are non-practicing Christians from religiously unaffiliated Europeans – many of whom also come from Christian backgrounds?

The Pew Research Center study – which involved more than 24,000 telephone  interviews with randomly selected adults, including nearly 12,000 non-practicing Christians – finds that Christian identity remains a meaningful marker in Western Europe, even among those who seldom go to church. It is not just a “nominal” identity devoid of practical importance. On the contrary, the religious, political and cultural views of non-practicing Christians often differ from those of church-attending Christians and religiously unaffiliated adults. For example:

• Although many non-practicing Christians say they do not believe in God “as described in the Bible,” they do tend to believe in some other higher power or spiritual force. By contrast, most church-attending Christians say they believe in the biblical depiction of God, though of most of them we do know they believe in the human doctrinal god, namely the trinity. And a clear majority of religiously unaffiliated adults do not believe in any type of higher power or spiritual force in the universe.
• Non-practicing Christians tend to express more positive than negative views toward churches and religious organizations, saying they serve society by helping the poor and bringing communities together. Their attitudes toward religious institutions are not quite as favourable as those of church-attending Christians, but they are more likely than religiously unaffiliated Europeans to say churches and other religious organizations contribute positively to society.
• Christian identity in Western Europe is associated with higher levels of negative sentiment toward immigrants and religious minorities. On balance, self-identified Christians – whether they attend church or not – are more likely than religiously unaffiliated people to express negative views of immigrants, as well as of Muslims and Jews.
• Non-practicing Christians are less likely than church-attending Christians to express nationalist views. Still, they are more likely than “nones” to say that their culture is superior to others and that it is necessary to have the country’s ancestry to share the national identity (e.g., one must have Spanish family background to be truly Spanish).
• The vast majority of non-practicing Christians, like the vast majority of the unaffiliated in Western Europe, favour legal abortion and same-sex marriage. Church-attending Christians are more conservative on these issues, though even among churchgoing Christians, there is substantial support – and in several countries, majority support – for legal abortion and same-sex marriage.
• Nearly all churchgoing Christians who are parents or guardians of minor children (those under 18) say they are raising those children in the Christian faith. Among non-practicing Christians, somewhat fewer – though still the overwhelming majority – say they are bringing up their children as Christians. By contrast, religiously unaffiliated parents generally are raising their children with no religion.

Religious identity and practice are not the only factors behind Europeans’ beliefs and opinions on these issues. For instance, highly educated Europeans are generally more accepting of immigrants and religious minorities, and religiously unaffiliated adults tend to have more years of schooling than non-practicing Christians. But even after statistical techniques are used to control for differences in education, age, gender and political ideology, the survey shows that churchgoing Christians, non-practicing Christians and unaffiliated Europeans express different religious, cultural and social attitudes. (See below in this overview and Chapter 1.)

These are among the key findings of a new Pew Research Center survey of 24,599 randomly selected adults across 15 countries in Western Europe. Interviews were conducted on mobile and landline telephones from April to August, 2017, in 12 languages. The survey examines not just traditional Christian religious beliefs and behaviours, opinions about the role of religious institutions in society, and views on national identity, immigrants and religious minorities, but also Europeans’ attitudes toward Eastern and New Age spiritual ideas and practices. And the second half of this Overview more closely examines the beliefs and other characteristics of the religiously unaffiliated population in the region.

While the vast majority of Western Europeans identify as either Christian or religiously unaffiliated, the survey also includes interviews with people of other (non-Christian) religions as well as with some who decline to answer questions about their religious identity. But, in most countries, the survey’s sample sizes do not allow for a detailed analysis of the attitudes of people in this group. Furthermore, this category is composed largely of Muslim respondents, and general population surveys may underrepresent Muslims and other small religious groups in Europe because these minority populations often are distributed differently throughout the country than is the general population; additionally, some members of these groups (especially recent immigrants) do not speak the national language well enough to participate in a survey. As a result, this report does not attempt to characterize the views of religious minorities such as Muslims, Jews, Buddhists or Hindus in Western Europe.

Being Christian in Western Europe at the beginning of the 21st century #1

Today we do find a lot of people, in our regions, who say they are Christian and with that mostly mean Roman Catholic, but nearly never go to worship services like mass.

The majority of Europe’s Christians are non-practicing, but they differ from religiously unaffiliated people in their views on God, attitudes toward Muslims and immigrants, and opinions about religion’s role in society.

Western Europe, where Protestant Christianity originated and Catholicism has been based for most of its history, has become one of the world’s most secular regions. Although the vast majority of adults say they were baptized, today many do not describe themselves as Christians. Some say they gradually drifted away from religion, stopped believing in religious teachings, or were alienated by scandals or church positions on social issues, according to a major new Pew Research Center survey of religious beliefs and practices in Western Europe.

Yet most adults surveyed still do consider themselves Christians, even if they seldom go to church. Indeed, the survey shows that non-practicing Christians (defined, for the purposes of this report, as people who identify as Christians, but attend church services no more than a few times per year) make up the biggest share of the population across the region. In every country except Italy, they are more numerous than church-attending Christians (those who go to religious services at least once a month). In the United Kingdom, for example, there are roughly three times as many non-practicing Christians (55%) as there are church-attending Christians (18%) defined this way.

Non-practicing Christians also outnumber the religiously unaffiliated population (people who identify as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular,” sometimes called the “nones”) in most of the countries surveyed.¹ And, even after a recent surge in immigration from the Middle East and North Africa, there are many more non-practicing Christians in Western Europe than people of all other religions combined (Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, etc.).

The 10% for Belgium is more 8%, where the Roman Catholic Churches are less filled and of the protestant churches the Pentecostals get most people in  their church-services. Where we can find most people going to a religious service is by the Islamic community where the garage mosques and official mosques may count on a very good attendance on Friday night.

Gelijk gelovenden

Het is algemeen geweten dat de meeste mensen graag iedereen over een zelfde kam scheren. Als men over een bepaalde bevolkingsgroep heeft wil iedereen er hetzelfde over denken, of beter gezegd, denkt iedereen dat zij het zelfde zijn.

‘Er is geen weldenkend mens dat gelooft dat twee miljard christenen allemaal hetzelfde geloven, en toch hoor je dat wel vaak over de 1,6 miljard moslims.

In het Westen zijn moslims zo in de minderheid dat het voor de meeste mensen moeilijk is om een onderscheid te maken tussen de islam van alledag en de extreme excessen. Het probleem bijvoorbeeld in Turkije is niet de islam, zoals veel mensen zeggen, het probleem is een dictatoriale en maniakale Erdogan. Niemand zal zeggen dat de Amerikaanse president transgenders wil weren uit het leger vanwege Jezus. Maar de islam wordt altijd gezien als bron voor politieke besluiten.’

zegt Reza Aslan die opgroeide als moslim in Iran, met zijn familie naar Amerika vluchtte en er  christen werd om zich vervolgens weer tot de islam te bekeren.

Lees meer:
Godsdienstwetenschapper: "Religie is geen keuze, geloof is een keuze"
Mensen zijn gewelddadig niet religies 

Internationale conferentie aan de Theologische Universiteit (TU) in Kampen.

Deze zomer kan het wie weet druk zijn in Kampen.

Die plaats zal in Augustus 30 2018, 10.00-21:00h en Augustus 31 2018, 9.00-16.00h deelnemers ontvangen om met verschillende wetenschappers na te denken over de vraag hoe je als christen of kerk tegen vorming kunt aankijken. Dat is vooral belangrijk met het oog op secularisatie. Door het delen van diverse inzichten hoopt men elkaar te kunnen aanscherpen. Tijdens de conferentie komt onder andere het denken van de filosoof James K. Smith aan bod.

Eén van de sprekers en voorzitter van de conferentie is Bram de Muynck, lector Christelijk leraarschap bij Driestar educatie en bijzonder hoogleraar aan de Theologische Universiteit Apeldoorn.  Hij geeft aan

“Als het gaat om het doorgeven van het christelijk geloof, richten we ons vaak op cognitieve middelen zoals prediking en catechisatie. Smith kiest voor een andere benadering, waarbij vooral praktische zaken van belang zijn. Denk bijvoorbeeld aan gewoonten als knielen tijdens het bidden of de biecht. Praktijken die we als protestanten hebben afgeleerd, maar in de begintijd van het christendom elementaire onderdelen waren. Smith stelt dat het geloof belichaamd moet worden, zodat christenen veel meer gaan ervaren wat ze belijden. Eigenlijk pleit hij voor minder woorden en meer daden.”

De bijzonder hoogleraar constateert dat naast de heel behoudsgezinden er christenen zijn die meer progressief zijn ingesteld en sneller geneigd zijn om hun geloofsbeleving aan te passen aan de tijdgeest.

 “De kerken van deze groep maken bijvoorbeeld gebruik van een beamer en zijn veel beter zichtbaar via sociale media. Men is veel meer bereid om ruimte te geven aan nieuwere omgangsmanieren van jongeren. Ook leeft onder hen de overtuiging dat de toekomst van de kerk met name te vinden is in kleine groepen, bijvoorbeeld in de woonkamer, in plaats van een geordende catechisatie. Een top down benadering wordt steeds onwenselijker gevonden.”

Vanuit Ds. Piet de Jong – voormalig predikant in Rotterdam-Delfshaven – zijn oogpunt  wordt er veel te veel gezanikt over secularisatie. Bram de Muynck begrijpt zijn reactie en zegt

 Daarbij moeten we de context niet uit het oog verliezen. In een Rotterdamse wijk waar veel mensen uit andere culturen leven en steeds minder kerkgangers zijn, kun je sneller onorthodoxe stappen nemen dan in de BibleBelt. Dat wordt door een geloofsgemeenschap dan sneller geaccepteerd. Zijn signaal – minder zeuren en het Evangelie verspreiden – ondersteun ik.

Dat neemt niet weg dat achter het feit dat er veel over secularisatie gesproken en geschreven wordt een oprechte zorg schuil gaat: wordt het Evangelie nog doorgegeven in onze samenleving? Dat is een logische reactie. Kerken doen er verstandig aan om niet in de valkuil te trappen door te denken dat laagdrempelige activiteiten dé oplossing zijn. Als traditionele kerk zou je moeten blijven doen waar je goed in bent: evangelieverkondiging, lofprijzing en het gemeenteleven. Cruciaal is volgens mij dat kerken zich positief blijven opstellen en wijzen op de eeuwigdurende trouw van God.”

Wie wil weten hoe men in bepaalde protestantse kerken met die secularisatie wil mee omgaan kan naar De conferentie Education, Formation and the Church die plaats vindt op 30 en 31 augustus in Kampen en wordt gehouden in het Engels. Hoofdsprekers zijn David Smith, Trevor Cooling, Ferdi Kruger, Bernd Wannenwetsch, Maarten Kater, Roel Kuiper, Bram de Muynck en Hans Schaeffer. Predikanten en kerkelijk werkers kunnen door deelname studiepunten verdienen. Klik hier voor meer informatie.

Conference: Education, Formation, and the Church

A two-day academic conference, organized by researchers connected to the Theological University Apeldoorn and the Theological University Kampen. 

In this conference, they will discuss the role education and formation have in churches, both from conceptual and empirical perspectives.

Changes in society bring uncertainty and anxiety in churches, schools and families. Certain Christian communities seek to restrain their members from perceived negative influences of the post-Christian age. They try to equip them to become virtuous disciples in modern society. However, research has demonstrated that measures that oppose secularization in churches lack considerable impact. To improve this impact it is essential to have a framework with a clear vision on formation.

In this Sumer conference, the peakers will discuss the role education and formation have in churches, both from conceptual and empirical perspectives.
Main speakers are David Smith, Trevor Cooling, Ferdi Kruger, Bernd Wannenwetsch, Maarten Kater, Roel Kuiper, Bram de Muynck and Hans Schaeffer. Short papers will be presented during the breakout sessions.

The conference will be held in English. 
Lunches (2x) and dinner (1x) are included. Hotel facilities and breakfast are not included in the conference fees.

We advise you to book lodging well in advance in the city center of Kampen, for example through booking.com. Visit the website of Theological University Kampen for directions.
The initiative for this conference is supported by partner institutions of Christian Higher Education in the Netherlands:

• Christian University of Applied Sciences Ede (CHE)
• Driestar Christian University
• Christian University VIAA

Predikings werk met goede moed steeds kunnen verwezenlijken

Met momenten kunnen wij ons zo nietig en weerloos vinden.
Wij beseffen wel dat Jezus de opdracht heeft gegeven om uit te gaan en te gaan prediken,
maar het kan zo moeilijk zijn om elke dag weer vernieuwde energie te vinden
om door te zetten
en ons predikingswerk met goede moed verder te zetten..

Maar wanneer de heilige Geest over jullie komt,
zullen jullie kracht ontvangen
en van mij getuigen in Jeruzalem,
in heel Judea en Samaria,
tot aan de uiteinden van de aarde.
(Handelingen 1 vers 8). 

Machtige God en Vader,
help mij een wandelende getuige te zijn onder mijn collega's.
Vul hun denken met uw kennis.
Maak hen uw wil voor hun leven bekend.
Overspoel hun ziel met uw vrede en vreugde.
Dank U voor hen, Vader.
Amen