Hello! I am Ryan (Miztermusik) for those of you who don't know. Ash needed some help so I decided I'd jump in for help I guess. She seems to be doing a very good job on her own!
Let's get started. I'm a simple guy, in a simple world, created by awesome God. Sure, there is lots of stuff it could do without, such as the taint of sin and whatnot, but even that is for God's greater purpose. I go to a First Baptist Church. Do I believe everything the church teaches? No. I believe everything the Bible teaches. Simple as that!
The whole denominational issue is just silly to me. It seems like there is prejudice against other churches who don't believe the same as you do. Now, I'm not saying all churches are like this. There are many churches who welcome all Christian believers, no matter what religion. One thought that goes through my mind though is, did Jesus intend for his children to split off in so many different groups?
As for other churches, I think they get so caught up in tradition that Jesus no longer matters as much as their tradition. They get caught up in the whole schedule and praising him to where it's no longer true worship but just something you do. They talk about God so much, but their lives do not say that they are a Christian. They are far from God. They sometimes even ignore what God commands of his children! There is a passage of Scripture where Jesus basically tells off the Pharisees who got onto them about eating with "unclean hands".
Mark 7: 5-9
So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with 'unclean' hands?" He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
" 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men. You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."
And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!
That's some pretty awesome stuff, but it can also be very convicting. Those are just some of my thoughts. this could also tie into how the church is dying and growing cold. There is also a really good sermon about the fake Christianity today that you should watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuabITeO4l8
It's an hour long, so brace yourself!
4 comments:
Hey Ryan! I'm glad you're posting. I liked a lot of what you said--it's so frustrating when those who claim they are Christians aren't living it out in their daily lives. But, I question what you say about denominations. I really don't think Jesus would have any problem with all the different denominations. Why would He? Are denominations a sign of disunity? Of course not. Think of it this way: many people have many different theologies, right? We all don't agree with each other fully. So which would cause more disunity, a church with hundreds of people who all disagree on their theology, or a church with people who are close in enough in their theology that they can focus on worshiping God and drawing closer to Him. Let's have a specific example. Many Christians are split on the topic of baptism. Some hold to believer's baptism. Some hold to infant baptism. Some hold to immersion as the proper form. Some hold to sprinkling or pouring as the proper form. If there were no denominations, and no official church doctrine, then what happens when someone wants to baptize their child, but half the congregation objects? Sounds like a recipe for disunity, doesn't it? However, I do find it sad when there is prejudice between Christians over theology. There doesn't need to be. I firmly believe the church can be extremely strong when unified, yet diverse in it's teaching and broad in its denominations. Wow, this post is long. Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Yay! This is why I wanted more Authors. I loved to see young people trying to hash stuff out and even disagree. It's so good for us!
Great post Ryan! I agree it is difficult, but I also agree with Nathan. What would it be if we were all together?
The "what if Jesus" thing is not a belief. Just something I ponder.
Ah I see. That's great. I love to hear pondering. It made me think too. Thanks for posting it, very thought provoking.
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