Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church

David Kinnaman headed a five-year project of which the research is included in a new book by Kinnaman titled You Lost Me: Why Young Christians are Leaving Church and Rethinking Church.

No single reason dominated the break-up between church and young adults. Instead, a variety of reasons emerged. Overall, the research uncovered six significant themes why nearly three out of every five young Christians (59%) disconnect either permanently or for an extended period of time from church life after age 15.

The impression we have is that many churches are in a way a closed group and not so friendly to new comers or people they do not know. Often they are also not keen to give full answers to people who have questions about faith and who have difficulties about the interpretation of certain Bible verses.
36% of the respondents felt they could not ask their most pressing life questions in church. In a related theme of how churches struggle to help young adults who feel marginalized, about one out of every six young adults with a Christian background said their faith “does not help with depression or other emotional problems” they experience (18%).

1. Churches seem overprotective.
2. Teens’ and twentysomethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow.
3. Churches come across as antagonistic to science.
4. Young Christians’ church experiences related to sexuality are often simplistic, judgmental.
5. They wrestle with the exclusive nature of Christianity.
6. The church feels unfriendly to those who doubt.    

 Read more:
Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church

Christadelphian Heritage College denied to continue their years 7, 8 and 9 classes

Despite the setback of being denied, by the Christadelphian Heritage College Melbourne in The Basin, to continue their years 7, 8 and 9 classes for next year the Christadelphian Heritage College Melbourne in The Basin the school would work towards starting its senior college again in the future.

"We're very enthusiastic about our numbers in the primary school for next year,'' chairman Jack Lawson said.

"We're a small school but we offer a more personalised teaching experience and we have a beautiful environment that surrounds our school.''

The school was founded in 2010 and teaches students from prep to grade six.

Food parcels in Esselen Park and Tembisa

Liezl Viljoen and P2P presented parcel of dry foods and a parcel of fruit and vegetables to the GoGo's (Granma's and Granpa's) in Esselen Park and Tembisa.

In many regions we are looking at festive seasons, so for this occasion a small gift was included in the parcels.


Find some photo's and more information:

102 years of Age

Blueprint for Ancient Egypt

SEPE (Survey and Excavation Projects in Egypt), directed by Dr. Gregory Mumford, is based at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. It is funded by the National Science Foundation, National Geographic, NASA, and private donors. The objectives of this project are broad, but include
(1) an examination of the relations between Egypt and her neighbours, concentrating on the East Delta and Sinai,
(2) the excavation, analysis, and reconstruction of all aspects of the Late Period settlement of Tell Tebilla (East Delta), and
(3) investigating the more neglected aspects of Egypt's exploitation of and interaction with South Sinai.

Tell Tebilla is situated in the East Delta. Work on this site began with a summer reconnaissance trip in 1999, and has continued through December 1999, the summers of 2000, 2001 and 2003.
 
For more than a year, Parcak and her team scanned giant swaths of Egypt with a combination of NASA and commercial satellites, using techniques they had developed on a smaller scale and previously employed in regions in the South Sinai, East Delta and Middle Egypt. “The thing that was new for me was that I had never before been able to apply the technology over a broad area and test it on different environments and sites,” Parcak explained. “We scaled up our methodology across Egypt.”

Satellites orbiting 400 miles above earth have revealed numerous hidden ancient sites across Egypt, including 17 pyramids, 1,000 tombs and 3,100 settlements, the BBC reported in May. 

The contours of ancient Egyptian homes and other buildings appear in infrared imagery because they were constructed from mud brick, a dense material that stands out from surrounding soil. As a result, the satellite images showed both known archaeological sites that have been studied and excavated for decades and other ancient treasures ostensibly buried deep beneath the sand. 


Continue reading: Satellite Images Provide Blueprint for Ancient Egypt

Related:

Archaeology and the Bible researcher 1/4

Archaeology and the Bible researcher 2/4

Archaeology and the Bible researcher 3/4

Archaeology and the Bible researcher 4/4

 

 

 

A New Jerusalem

Many Christians view the New Jerusalem as a current reality, that the New Jerusalem is the consummation of the Body of Christ, the Church and that Christians already take part in membership of both the heavenly Jerusalem and the earthly Church in a kind of dual citizenship.

The term New Jerusalem occurs twice in the New Testament, in verses 3:12 and 21:2 of the Book of Revelation. A large portion of the final two chapters of Revelation deals with John of Patmos’ vision of the New Jerusalem. He describes the New Jerusalem as “‘the bride, the wife of the Lamb’”, where the river of the Water of Life flows (22:1).

After John witnesses the new heaven and a new earth “that no longer has any sea”, an angel takes him “in the Spirit” to a vantage point on “a great and high mountain” to see the New Jerusalem’s descent. The enormous city comes out of heaven down to the New Earth. John’s elaborate description of the New Jerusalem retains many features of the Garden of Eden and the paradise garden, such as rivers, a square shape, a wall, and the Tree of Life.

 Read more about Revelations and the New Jerusalem:

1. Alchemy Geometry in the New World
2. The Song of The Lamb #1 Visions, symbols and suggested meanings
3.  The Song of The Lamb #2 Sevens
4. The Song of The Lamb #3 Daniel and Revelation 

 

Who are the honest ones?

Do Christians have to be honest and are they more honest than others? Do you feel that you are working in the right way, having the right ethics about social and work attitude,?
Are you concerned how you treat others and how honest you and others are?
Do you really care about the ethics of the people in the many professions? Does it truly matter to us whether they are honest?

Former attorney, political comedian and frequent commentator on various TV networks including CNN, Dean Obeidallah is left with a few burning questions and writes: "If we actually did care about the moral fitness of Congress, why would we re-elect them to the tune of 91% in 2012? If honesty truly meant something to us, wouldn't we have voted out at least half of them? Even 25%? But no, when given a chance last month to vote out Congress, we sent home only 9% of those up for re-election.".

As the American Congress remains involved in protracted negotiations over the pending "fiscal cliff" that could disrupt the nation's economy if not addressed by Jan. 1, one in 10 Americans rate the honesty and ethical standards of its members as very high or high. This puts the lawmaking body second lowest on a list of 22 professions measured -- higher only than car salespeople.

Topping the list of professions we find most ethical were nurses, followed by pharmacists and doctors. Dentists came in lower, but I doubt that dentists are truly less honorable than M.D.s; it's just that dentists seem to enjoy causing us so much pain that this may be our way of paying them back.


Read also:

We're the ones who are unethical

Kerstboomversiering en vruchtbaarheidsritus

De 37ste paus van de Rooms-katholieke Kerk, Damasus I (Guimarães, ca. 305 - Rome, 11 december 384), vond het niet zo erg dat zoals bij de vereringsdiensten van de Montanisten beelden werden gebruikt. De godmoeder Cybele met daarmee gepaard gaande leeuwen, bekroond met een polos en een tympanon vast houdend. Van Nicaea in Bithynië (Istanboel Archeologisch Museum).

De vroegere priester in de dienst van de Frygische godin Cybele, Montan of Montanus, bracht de Magna Mater(Moedergodin of Grote Moeder) naar voor in de kerkgemeenschap.Ook de castratie en feestelijkheden onder de dennenboom brachten een nieuw symbool in de kerk, welk nu bij het kerstgebeuren zelfs een centrale plaats krijgt toegewezen in de huiskamer. Die symbolen van vruchtbaarheid begonnen in de 4° eeuw een belangrijker rol te spelen en vonden van uit de heidense gebruiken hun weg in de Katholieke Kerk.
  Vaak gebruikte afbeelding van Isis als de Moedergodin met Horus, haar zoontje, op schoot. Musée du Louvre

Zoals de godin Cybele in een tempel op de Palatijn geplaatst werd kon men nu Maria, de moeder van Jezus, zoals de vruchtbaarheidsgodin Isis op een altaarstuk of verhoog vooraan in de gebedsruimte plaatsen. De oude gebruiken van Hellas, Etrurië en elders werden naar de tijd vorderde weer opgenomen onder diegenen die zich aansloten bij de geestelijken die zich uitgaven als uitverkorenen en dienstheren van God en Christus Jezus. Zoals anathemata bij tempels werden geplaatst vond men alom meer geen bezwaar om deze ook bij de christelijke huizen te patsen. Zoals sommige typen wijgeschenken aan de tempel konden worden opgehangen, begon men ook voorwerpen te wijden en deze in de gemeenschapshuizen op te hangen. Dit gebruik nam op sommige plekken zelfs zulke vormen aan, dat men genoodzaakt was de geschenken te verwijderen. De verwerper van het arianisme, zoon van een Spaanse priester, Antonius genaamd, en een zekere Laurentia, hield van het wereldse en zal de sobere gebedshuizen zonder veel franjes denkelijk te koel gevonden hebben. Voor hem mochten die ontmoetingsplaatsen gerust meer versierselen hebben. Terwijl in de vroeg christelijke kerk elke gelovige de dienst op maakte, vonden al snel enkele machtliefhebbers dat het diegene toebehoorde met de meeste macht en verbondenheid met de zelfde denkers. Naast de versiering van kerken, moesten de uitvoerders van de dienst nu weer verschillend zijn van de andere gelovigen en duidelijk herkenbaar anders zijn. Daarom bracht de paus Damasus I de versierselen in opgang en stimuleerde hij het verfraaien van liturgische handelingen. Damasus zijn pontificaat kenmerkte zich vooral door een versterking van de pauselijke macht, en de zoektocht naar een theologisch argument voor deze macht. Dat vond hij onder andere in Mattheus 16:18, waar staat:

"En ik zeg U dit: Gij zijt Petrus, de steenrots, en op deze steenrots zal ik mijn Kerk bouwen."

Nu nog gebruikt de Katholieke Kerk die zinsnede om zich te beroepen op het alleenrecht van het zeggingschap over de kerkgemeenschap. In de laatste jaren van zijn pausschap werd Damasus geassisteerd door Sint-Hiëronymus, die hij aanzette tot het maken van de Vulgaat, de Bijbelvertaling in het volkslatijn van zijn tijd.

Lees meer over de machtsverhoudingen in de eerste kerk, Montanisten e.a.:

1. Politiek en macht eerste prioriteit #1
2. Politiek en macht eerste prioriteit #2 Arianisme, Nestorianisme en Monofysitisme 
3. Politiek en macht eerste prioriteit # 3 Verhoging van Maria en de Heilige Geest 
4. Jesus begotten Son of God #1 Christmas and Christians
5.  Jesus begotten Son of God #2 Christmas and pagan rites
6. Bijgeloof en feesten
7. Een Groots Geschenk om te herinneren
8. Achtergrond Christelijk Kerstfeest
9.  Niet gebonden door labels maar vrij in Christus 
10. Religious Practices around the world
11. Worship and worshipping

Hall Chairs needed

Does any ecclesia have 20+ surplus quality chairs it is willing to pass on to us?

Ware Ecclesia in Hertfordshire is presently refurbishing its hall. We were proposing to buy new chairs but wondered whether another ecclesia had a surplus they might like to sell on to us ? We need 20 minimum for our own use, and 10 more if possible.

Chairs need to be with cushion fabric seats and ideally be stackable. A mix of chairs with and without arms would be ideal, in a neutral colour.

At the same time, we expect to have c 30 chairs available for passing on elsewhere if required. These are brown metal framed with varnished light wood seats and backs, and are stackable.

We can arrange collection from anywhere in the UK.

Please contact 

gordon.dawes@talk21.com 

with any offers.

With love in the Lord

Gordon Dawes

Good news of great joy to all people

Horley ecclesia will be having a carol service "Good news of great joy to all people" on Saturday 22 December at 6.00pm (God willing), to which friends and neighbours and, of course, our brothers and sisters are warmly invited. It will be at their usual hall: Hookwood Memorial Hall, Withey Meadows, Hookwood, Horley, Surrey RH6 OAZ. 

Their regular Sunday family service at 10.00 will not take place on Sunday 23 December, but we will have our memorial service as usual at 11.30 that day.

Israel responds to the Palestinians UN status upgrade

On Friday 30th of November, after the United Nations voted overwhelmingly to upgrade the status of the Palestinians to a "non-member observer state", Israel responded by announcing it was authorising plans to be drawn up for 3,000 new settler homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem - in an area called "E1".

Listen in MP3 Format 

>Israel Responds to the UN Vote: Controversy on the Mountains of Israel

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With the war in Israel and Gaza dominating our news this week, the CALS have created a special page on their website intended for interested friends to explain the significance of the troubles. It can be accessed via the home page at http://www.thechristadelphians.org.uk or directly via http://www.thechristadelphians.org.uk/events_02.htm