Paus die verandering wil

Deze paus lijkt veel te willen veranderen zegt Andrea Riccard

“Het zou hem tekort doen als je dat zou reduceren tot enkele structurele hervormingen. De raad van acht kardinalen moet niet alleen de curiehervorming doorvoeren, hij moet ook raadgeven bij het bestuur van de wereldkerk. De echte nieuwigheid is een paus die niet ‘vaticanocentrisch’ denkt. Hij komt van het andere eind van de wereld, en is een paus van de periferie, die gelooft in de waarde van de kerk in de periferie. Voor hem moeten de paus en de curie niet in het centrum staan, maar ten dienste staan van de grote periferiën. De echte knoop is dan de communio tussen Rome en de wereldkerk.”

“Voorts heeft de curie wat van haar pluimen gelaten. Het niveau van het personeel is niet meer wat het ooit geweest is. In het interview met de journalisten op terugweg van Rio de Janeiro zei de paus voorts dat de curiemedewerkers ‘oude stijl’ bijna niet meer bestaan:

diegenen die stil, gedegen en toegewijd hun werk deden op de achtergrond.”

“De paus heeft de hofhouding de lepra van het pausdom genoemd. Sommigen vinden dat een onverantwoorde uitspraak. Maar ik denk niet dat de paus onverantwoordelijk is: hij heeft de eerste zes maanden getoond dat hij beslist is en toch voorzichtig. Hij heeft een rangorde gerespecteerd: eerst spreken tot het volk over God en het evangelie. En de mensen staan aan zijn kant: dat hebben we gezien in Rio, dat zien we hier alle dagen in Rome.”  

Strange Fire conference 2013

Behind (should we say, in front of?) each megachurch lies a charismatic leader. Those leaders may tend to be experience-driven,

Cover via Amazon

pursuing personal power, victory, and prophecy while placing a low value on doctrinal and theological training. They tend to appeal to their personal experiences for proof that a particular belief is true, or practice is valid. They crave ecstatic experiences, the miraculous, new revelations, and physical healing, and generally believe that these are all available to those who have enough faith. Since they prefer immediate experiences over life-long biblical learning and growth, they can be easily persuaded to believe whatever a convincing personality tells them. In other words, they are easily deceived. And according to MacArthur, they often are.

John MacArthur, a well-known and theologically-conservative author and pastor of Grace Community Church in southern California, has been called one of the 25 most influential pastors of the past 25 years. Last week, at MacArthur’s Strange Fire conference, and in his forthcoming book by the same title, he took the charismatic movement head-on to publicly challenge its biblical and theological basis.

According to the Strange Fire Conference website, the broader church has been too silent for too long, ignoring the charismatic elephant in the sanctuary:

For the last hundred years, the charismatic movement has been offering a strange fire of sorts to the third Person of the Godhead—the Holy Spirit. And evangelical churches have chosen to be silent or indifferent on the matter. This hasn’t served the church or the Spirit of the church with honor.

Strange Fire is a Truth Matters conference, sponsored by Grace to You, that wants to set forth what the Bible really says about the Holy Spirit, and how that squares with the charismatic movement.
In the conference they addressed (according to them) in a biblical, straightforward manner what many today see as a peripheral issue.

We do know that our view of the Holy Spirit influences your relationship with God, our personal holiness, and our commitment to the church and evangelism.when we would not believe in the Power of God we would be nothing.

Grace Community Church offers two, duplicate worship services on Sunday mornings (8:30 and 10:30 a.m.) each approximately 90 minutes long. During the service the visitors are given a visitor packet and an invitation to return to the Courtyard Center, where they can enjoy refreshments, learn more about Grace Church, and receive a free book from the pastor.
During each worship service, several adult fellowship groups meet across the campus. These groups emphasize fellowship and solid teaching as they seek to equip believers for Christian living on a practical level.

At the conference they gave the word to 10 speakers.

Of those speakers John MacArthur created nearly an earthquake in the charismatic and Pentecostal movement. As the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, and the Bible teacher with Grace to You he has written dozens of best-selling books, including The MacArthur Study Bible, The Gospel According to Jesus, and The MacArthur New Testament Commentary series. He is also the president of The Master’s College and Seminary.

MacArthur’s publicly challenged Charismatic beliefs and practices. The numbers, the popularity, the Christian television, and the money are in the hands of the Charismatic ministries so it could be called a dangerous action making that some people would react heavenly because they would have felt as stepped on their toes. Therefore this conference gets also the attention of the renewed sited "Stepping Toes".

Pastors are often the centre of attention whether the church is large or small. People look up at them. They consider them leaders to follow. When they are chosen to lead the church spiritually and function as God’s spokesperson to the flock, they are given a significant degree of authority. The success of the church is in part attributed to the skill of the senior minister.
Though when there is a great show man he can bring in a lot of visitors, not because he is telling Biblical truth but he can put up a nice show and entertain the people well.

The Pentecostals are very good in putting up shows, bringing services with interesting features, so called healings or miracles, nice musical entertainment with vivid songs and people clapping, singing and dancing, plus strange moments of people speaking in tongues.

Last weekend John MacArthur wanted to make clear why Charismatic beliefs and practices are harming the Church, despite their rampant spread. He wanted to show the public their errors ranging from oddities and novelties to outright heresies as defined by the early church counsels. All of these result – to a lesser or greater degree – in spiritual damage to churches and Christians.

Dispensationalist pastor John MacArthur’s Strange Fire conference this week, where polemics and mischaracterizations have held sway. the popularity of MacArthur may be found in the theology of preaching premillenial rapture for Christians who felt that God had betrayed them by taking their “property” away from them, losing their livelihoods and family members in the process. John MacArthur speaking at his megachurch does not mind to provide a defense for the enslavement of African Americans on American shores.

In his new book Strange Fire, the pastor claims that the work of the Holy Spirit actually represents “the explosive growth of a false church, as dangerous as any cult or heresy that has ever assaulted Christianity,” and he calls for a “collective war” against these alleged “pervasive abuses on the Spirit of God.”

Pastor MacArthur argues,

 “The ‘Holy Spirit’ found in the vast majority of charismatic teaching and practice bears no resemblance to the true Spirit of God as revealed in Scripture,” even accusing the modern charismatic movement of “attributing the work of the devil to the Holy Spirit.”

He even thinks that those who call the public to speak in tongues and get 'firy' with the Holy Spirit in them are called together by leaders of the movement which is from "Satan". The are:

"false teachers, marching to the beat of their own illicit desires, gladly propagat[ing] his errors. They are spiritual swindlers, con men, crooks, and charlatans.”

You can imagine this saying  went down the wrong way. It did not get down very well by his own movement and got criticised by other mega church leaders who also often call on the Spirit of blessings and material welfare .

MacArthur claims,

 “In recent history, no other movement has done more to damage the cause of the gospel, to distort the truth, and to smother the articulation of sound doctrine,”

When he looks at the previous years and see what happened in the protestant Charismatic movement he finds that the

“charismatic theology has made no contribution to true biblical theology or interpretation; rather, it represents a deviant mutation of truth.”

Pastor MacArthur points to some of the shameful, inexcusable scandals that have taken place among charismatic leaders.

He contends that the Charismatic movement is a culturally-bound, culturally-driven and seeker-driven church movement that depreciates and diminishes the glorious way the Holy Spirit worked in the foundation of the church.

"If the gifts practiced in today's Charismatic church are equivalent to those described in the New Testament, then those original gifts were nothing special,"

 he said, adding that it degrades the true gifts God gave to the first century church.

Pastor Steven J. Lawson, the senior pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama and the author of numerous books, including Pillars of Grace, Foundations of Grace, The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards, and The Expository Genius of John Calvin, claims the fundamental problem with charismatics is their lack of serious engagement with the Word.

While many in the church continue to abandon the Christian faith it does not mean that the continues growing Charismatic and Pentecostal churches are the true ones or the only ones which offer the church a legitimate growth mechanism.

In a world full of relativism, decadence, strife and apathy, John MacArthur, his followers and his contestants should focus on preaching the Word: Christ crucified, resurrected and coming back again.

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You can find the article concerning the debate about this conference: Divisive pastors and Strange Fire conference

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Find additional reading:

1. John MacArthur Responds to Critics Who Believe His Strange Fire Conference Is Divisive, Unloving
2. Mark Driscoll ‘Crashes’ John MacArthur’s Strange Fire Conference? (PHOTOS)Mark Driscoll ‘Crashes’ John MacArthur’s Strange Fire Conference? (Ppotos)
3. Mark Driscoll vs John MacArthur: Battle of the Self-Promoting Calvinists
4. Speaking in Tongues—A Growing Phenomenon
5. Tongues, Speaking in
6. Speaking in tongues
7. Meaning of “speaking in tongues”
8. Speaking in Tongues—Is It From God?
9. Speaking in Tongues—Is It From God? — Watchtower Online …
10. Is Speaking in Tongues an Evidence of True Worship?
11. Is the Gift of Tongues Part of True Christianity
12. Some one or something to fear #6 Faith in the Most High
13. The Spirit of God imparts love,inspires hope, and gives liberty
14. Not enlightened by God’s Spirit
15. Why hasn’t anything been inspired recently? Revelation was the last inspired book and it was a long time ago. Why aren’t there any more?
16. Pope Francis I on the Holy Spirit
17. Louise Weiss building and towers after Ziggurat Babel
18. Not all Christians are followers of a Greco-Roman culture
19. Christianity is a love affair
20. Bringing Good News into the world
21. The task given to us to love each other

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Related articles

• Mark Driscoll to Crash John MacArthur's Strange Fire Conference?
• Strange Fire Conference: John MacArthur, "Reformed Theology is not a Haven for False Teachers"
• God Bless John MacArthur for standing for the truth!
• The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in John MacArthur's Opening Address
• Samuel Rodriguez Takes on Strange Fire: Tells John MacArthur he Needs to 'Focus on Preaching the Word'
• Lessons Learned at Strange Fire
• John MacArthur vs. Mark Driscoll: Megachurch pastors clash over charismatic theology
• Strange Fire Conference: John MacArthur's Opening Address
• 'Strange Fire:' Addressing the Dangerous yet Popular Teaching of Charismatic Leaders
• John MacArthur Responds to "Strange Fire" Conference Critics

Christadelphian Auxiliary Lecturing Society in changed times

It has been many years since the Christadelphian Auxiliary Lecturing Society (CALS or ALS) was set up to help the Brethren and Sisters of the UK preach the good news of the kingdom of God. As you may know it's current structure includes a Management committee (Mancom) coordinating and financing preaching throughout the UK and a number of branches (preaching areas) with their own committees coordinating and financing preaching in their own areas in the UK, see the ALS diary for more details.

While it is still the firm desire of the CALS to continue to support preaching in the UK, times have changed enormously since the CALS was established, attitudes have changed towards religion, the UK is a very different place culturally and the advancements of technology mean that the production of leaflets and preaching resources that used to be beyond the capabilities of most Brethren and Sisters and Ecclesias can often be done on a personal computer.

Christadelphian Hall in Bath/England (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Therefore we the CALS are considering how we can best serve the UK Brotherhood in the future and Want Your Input, to this end we have put together the below survey and very much want you and as many Brethren and Sisters to complete it, so please fill in the survey and pass on this message.

Click on the following link for the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/X36MHJR

May God be with you and may He continue to bless us with the freedom to preach His word.

Until He Comes.

Your Brother In Christ

Steve Harris

On behalf of the CALS Management Committee

Halloween custom of the nations

Kalah Lillquist

Halloween is a custom of the nations.

God Himself calls such things abominations, practices that He hates. If we strip away its façade of revelry and feasting, it is idolatrous false worship, honouring spirit beings that are not God. In addition, God never tells us to celebrate this day or in any way to honour the spirits of the dead.

November-Coming-Fire (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Notice that He warns us not to be "ensnared to follow" the practices of the nations. A snare is a trap designed to catch an unwary animal. The trap itself is hidden, but what is visible is a kind of lure, an attractive trick designed to fool the prey into entering the trap. Once it takes the bait, the gate comes down, a hook comes out, or a spring slams closed on a limb, and the prey is trapped.

God is alerting us to the fact that heathen or ungodly practices — customs, ways of worship, traditions, celebrations— usually have characteristics that appeal to our human nature. They are the lures. We can become caught up in them before we are aware of it. God advises us to watch out for the hidden dangers, the appealing entrapments, that are designed into these holidays.

Many cultures have a form of Halloween in their tradition. It seems that most of this world's peoples desire to celebrate the dead. The holidays or feasts may vary from place to place, falling on different days and following different customs. The common denominator is that they all honor or remember the dead or unseen spirits.

Mexico has its "Day of the Dead" in which participants give out candies in the shape of skeletons and visit graveyards to commune with the dead by leaving them food. In Japan, they honor their ancestors with various celebrations. Certain African tribes set aside days to honor the unseen spirits, warding off the evil ones and placating the good. German, Scandinavian, Spanish, Italian, and many other cultures have a Halloween-type holiday.

In English-speaking countries, Halloween derives primarily from the Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced "sow-in"). Samhain, held on the three days around November 1, was a kind of New Year's celebration and harvest festival all rolled up into one.
The Celts believed that these three days were special because of the transition from the old year to the new. They felt that during this time the boundary between the physical and spiritual worlds relaxed or lifted, allowing spirits to cross over more easily. This idea, of course, terrifies superstitious people—that departed spirits could walk among us, especially those who died in the past year as it was thought these spirits desired to return to the mortal realm. For this reason, they believed they had to appease the spirits to make them go into the spirit world and stay there.
The Celts did this by putting out food and treats so that, when these spirits came floating by their houses, they would pass on. They thought that, if they did not appease the spirits, they would play tricks or put curses on them. Whole villages would unite to drive away the evil spirits, ensuring that the upcoming year would be good. Others among them would hold séances or conduct other kinds of divination by incantation, potion, or trance to contact dead ancestors in hope of receiving guidance and inspiration.

An interesting aspect of this transition time—the three days of Samhain—is that it was considered to be "no time," a time unto itself. Thus, it became a tradition that the order and the rules by which people lived were held in abeyance during them.
All laws went unenforced. The social order was turned upside-down—the fool became king, and the king became the fool. Men dressed as women and vice-versa. People took on different personas, dressing in disguise and acting the part. No work was done during this period of total abandon, for it was a time for revelry, drinking, eating, making and taking dares, and breaking the law. In a word, it was chaos.

Then Roman Catholicism arrived on the scene and "converted" the pagans. It also decreed a day to honor departed saints:

Halloween!! (Photo credit: cafeconlecheporfavor)

May 13, All Saints' Day. The priests instructed the "converted" pagans to keep All Saints' Day, but they continued to celebrate Samhain because it was so much more fun than attending church to pray for the hallowed saints of yesteryear.
To keep them in the fold, in AD 835 Pope Gregory IV officially authorized moving All Saints' Day to November 1 to coincide with Samhain. He allowed the pagan "Christians" to keep their old customs as long as they put a gloss of Christianity on them. Thus, they kept Samhain in the name of Christ to honor the departed saints.

Like Samhain, All Saints' Day began the evening before, which was called All Hallows' Eve, All Saints' Eve, or Halloween. Since then, Halloween has evolved into its present form, in which nothing remotely Christian remains. It is known for all its pre-Christian Celtic practices—particularly the recognition of the spirit world in the form of fairies, witches, ogres, goblins, demons, ghouls, vampires, etc.

Today, "trick-or-treating" is the most recognized of Halloween activities, and it is simply a form of extortion. Children, whether they know it or not, are acting as the spirits who will play a trick or put a curse on the one who does not pay up in food or treats. Divination and séances are also commonly held on October 31. Hooliganism — tricks resulting in vandalism —  often reaches its high point on Halloween. For many years, Detroit was the scene of "hell night," in which rampaging young people trashed large areas of the city, setting fires, smashing cars and windows, looting, and generally creating havoc.
The Celtic feast of Samhain still survives in Halloween. It has simply reverted to our ancestors' Celtic practice.

What can Halloween hurt?

Romans 10:1-3:

Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.

Is the deception so strong that they cannot see it? Interestingly, a commentator writes that "they being ignorant of" (verse 3) could be translated into "for they ignoring," which puts a different sense on Paul's thought. When one is ignorant, he just does not know. Perhaps knowledge was withheld from him. On the other hand, when one ignores knowledge, it is readily available, but he turns his back on it.
A self-deceived person is ignoring truth rather than ignorant of it, and if that indeed is Paul's emphasis, it makes this Halloween question much more serious. It means that people are accountable for what they are doing, and therefore, they will pay more for it than if they acted in ignorance.

Deuteronomy 12:29-32

"When the Lord thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land.
Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God: for every abomination to the Lord, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it."

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• What is HALLOWEEN?
• Why We Trick-Or-Treat
• A Brief History of Halloween
• The story behind Halloween - Myths and Legends
• New Age Wednesday x Samhain Edition
• Why We Trick-Or-Treat
• halloween -mystery, magic and superstition
• Why We Celebrate Halloween

Pulpit reserved for the pastor

In the church-buildings we still find today with lesser attendants than some years ago the pulpit was and is still reserved for the pastor.

The Christian Flag displayed next to the pulpit on the chancel of a church sanctuary. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many Christians consider the pulpit a sacred space for someone who recognized the sacred duty. This place on a raised platform, usually surrounded by a barrier, set up in churches as the appointed place for preaching, leading in prayer, etc., is looke on by many as a holy sanctuary where nothing but the truth is been told. The church members would not dare to question those things which were said there.

Men of the cloth can find their honoured place where everybody looks at them as their teacher and guide in this world full of difficulties.

Those men of faith have now found their own soap on television in the United states of America.
"The Preachers of L.A." represents the distilled toxicity of Christianity combined with a money-obsessed generation of American preachers. Even to sympathizers, the show seems to reaffirm all the negative stereotypes about greedy prosperity preachers more interested in bling than the Bible.
Since large church pastors are on television and prominently featured in media, many think that’s what the church experience should reflect. In their eyes, Jesus would have failed miserably as a pastor (He had only 12—or 11 if you exclude Judas—faithful “members” of His ragtag band). 

People expect to hear from the pulpit how they can have a better life. By the teaching of those standing on that holy platform and their example, they showed a generation of believers how they could use their faith to change their circumstances.They wanted to have their flock to believe that faith could heal bodies, multiply finances, restore families and bring a taste of heaven down to Earth.

In the previous years the examples of many 'men of God' (mainly Catholic priests and bishops) did give the world a totally different picture than the Master Teacher Jesus would have loved to see, and presented them with something they would not like to happen to their children.

Though the pastor or priest was and is still seen by many Christians as God's mouthpiece. Many also expect from him that he will bring a message that is to deliver the people of God from bondage and sin. Recognizing this, the preacher's accompanying humility-laden approach to sermonizing would cause others to grow deeper in their faith. As John Wesley puts it, the preacher's duty was to "catch on fire" so "others will love to come and watch you burn."

John C. Richards Jr. asks

Have we doused the fire in the Black church? Have we grabbed our extinguishers labeled "prosperity," "tradition," and "justice," and forgotten about the Gospel? Do we just run across the pulpit as a shortcut to our next destination? Have preachers forgotten about that sacred space?

Let us be honest and recognise that today there are so many faithful men and women of God who are faithful to god His Word. For them it is not the word of a human being that should be the most important word. That pulpit where  many look at should not be that sacred space.

The television may make a caricature of ministry in the American church, but without the history of tradition and the equivocating vague and duplicitous religious language the holy books would not have reached so many. In time many modern believers have had to change the way they think about their holy books. Today all interested in religion can find many websites discussing all sorts of beliefs. The language used over there by some is not always nice but should give a good idea where the better people could be or where it is wrong to spend time and to follow the insulting words of those calling themselves preacher, pastor, prophet or man of god.

In the world of Christendom there are even persons who say:

Unless you’re a Young Earth Creationist Christian you have to accept these days that the Bible is not the inerrant word of God. At best it’s a human interpretation of the revelations it is supposed to contain.

Those interpretations made that many thoughts crossed each other. We can not ignore that some modern theists have almost squirrelled God away out of critical reach, making their Christianity virtually atheistic Humanism – which then raises the question of what they actually have faith in, and why they continue to put such store in a book like the Bible.

For a long time the Christian church world has gone far away from the Word of God. They seemed to have lost the way that recaptures the heart of the Gospel and can help fan the flame some have tried to extinguish by making other stuff the main thing.

We should get back to the basics and remember that Jesus was not standing in front of a mega church, standing on a pulpit presenting his own ideas. As a real man of God he enjoyed being with ordinary folks, talking with them as a friend, not as a higher being. for Jesus it was not his Word nor his will that was important. Ha wanted the will of his Father to be done. He also wanted that as many people as possible could find the way to his Father, the Only One God. to get them there, Jesus used the Holy Scriptures, the Torah, which was the Law for the people to follow.

By Jesus and his apostles the Word of God and the Good News or the Gospel was always center.

John C. Richards Jr writes:

Today also all other church-related matters should be submitted to the supremacy of the Gospel. This removes the man-glory of the prosperity gospel and replaces it with God-centered preaching that says we were created for His glory. This removes the racist-worn stains of bitterness and hatred and moves us toward reconciliation. The Gospel bridges the generational gap and finds us all at the foot of the Cross. That’s the third way. Not every pastor wants to be famous. There are those who want to make Jesus’ name famous. Not every pastor waters down the Gospel for the sake of political affiliation. There are those who care more deeply about people’s souls than what they check on a ballot. And this third way, this Gospel way, has burned incessantly for centuries. And although I lament, I’m encouraged by the grace-fueled flame flickering in the darkness. And I echo John’s words in Revelation: Come, Lord Jesus.

Today, we have so many people that believe differently and preach different things behind pulpits.We should look carefully at them and see how they behave and if they live according to their preaching. We also should check what is first on their lips and where their own heart lies. That pulpit in the church like many know it is not thé place where we should hear the Word resounding. From everywhere around us we should hear the call to come to know Jesus and to come to know his Father, the Divine Creator.

Every person who believes in the offer Christ took on himself for the sins of so many, should follow his teachings and should go out in the world, making every possible place a 'pulpit' a 'platform' for the spreading of the Gospel. And that person presenting the Word of God should do it with love for everybody around him, believer, non-believer and other-believer.

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Faith antithesis of rationality

03.365 (02.08.2009) Faith (Photo credit: hannahclark)

People may find it not important how 'the belief' is first acquired.

Many Christians may be persuaded by arguments of some theological writers or some popular figures like C. S. Lewis, or in certain circles much spoken off people like William Lane Craig, or Alvin Plantinga.

The problem for someone first persuaded by these conjurers of religious apologetics arises when they become so convinced that they stop using reason and turn to faith as the final arbiter of what they believe.

Some people may go one way, than an other way and never become sure what to believe or having always doubts. Others may be strongly convinced of certain believes and would like to see others to take over their believes, but this more because than they can be confirmed in their believes.

In the world of so called religious people e can find many sorts adhering many denominations. Sceptics would say that once a person does resort to faith the reasoning capacity becomes limited, because faith is always supposed to override, surmount, be better than reason. Many religions rely on the fact that they have something to offer to the people living in this world. Some religions offer their followers a better life in an other stadium, be it returning again on this earth under an other form or be it going to live in a place called heaven.

You could call 'Faith' the antithesis of rationality, because it demands a believe in things we rationally can't declare. Faith is what you use when you want to believe something, or are otherwise driven to hold a belief. For some faith is the position to be in or the action to undertake when there is no reason or evidence to support the belief. And faith can result in belief in spite of counter evidence and reason. This makes it very difficult to get people to see certain things which could be otherwise than they assume.

Many would argue that there is no logical reason for supposing anything exists that we cannot experience directly or test for in some way. As human beings we can look around us and question the existence of all those things we can see, hear and feel. We can not escape being an element in space which has to undergo certain actions in this world. Some happenings we may steer, but others are totally out of our control. By all those things which happen around us we ask many questions. Several people may form good ideas and bring plausible solutions. By those who offer others their ideas, there are some who really want to impose their thinking to others without objection. Many Christian religious people do not want to allow arguments to come their way. Others evoke protest.

By the 41,000 denominations of Christianity in the world, only a few are known by the general public, and most people do assume that the bigger denominations are the only ones which are right. some like the Roman Catholic Church say that because they are the biggest denomination in Christendom this is also a proof that they are the only right Universal Church  of God. In the West it is Catholic tradition which formed the tradition of the people, which is often a mixture of heathen traditions with church teachings. Many people are proud of their Western roots of Judeo Christian values.

But by those who call themselves Christians, what should mean "Followers of Christ Jesus" the respect for other Christians does not show real brotherhood and often makes you even wonder if they are following the same Master Teacher. When we look at forums or look at the reactions on blogs we do find that there’s no shortage of mudslinging across the ideological divides of religion.

When you hear such persons who call them self saved by the Saviour you would think they will be pleased to live according to the teachings of that person and follow him in his ways. When that person in the early years of this common era  spoke about the way how to behave, you would think his followers would follow that advice this wise man gave. Jesus of Nazareth presented  a way of life. He gave us the study of action with respect to the good for humans, which is happiness. So you would think that once people got to study those teachings and came to understand them, they would follow those directions of ethics. You would think those people their eyes would be opened and that they would accept that all people were made in the image of God, so should all have elements of that God in them. You would also think they would become respectful for all those, who are allowed by the creator God to be here on this earth.

Why is it then that so many who call themselves Christian fight against other Christians, and call each other names, children's ears would better not hear?

Would they not prefer to live in a peaceful world? Would they not do everything to get all different people to live together in the best circumstances? Would they not want to become a more excellent, happier human being?

Please do find out more about it in:

1. Caricaturing and disapproving sceptics, religious critics and figured out ethics
2.  Catholicism, Anabaptism and Crisis of Christianity
3. Morality, values and Developing right choices
4. Are religious and secular ethicists climbing the same mountain
5. Being religious has benefits even in this life
6. History of Christianity  
7. Christianity is a love affair

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• Preparing for a future with a mixed-faith education
• Lara Buchak replies: faith can be rational
• Sensus Divinitatis: Nagel Defends Plantinga Against Grayling
• The Faith of Science
• Why Honest Faith Requires Honest Doubt