Every Day Bible » Religious

A Change in Heart on Church & State?

Happy — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 03:45:00 +0000

From the latest Tennessee Blue Book:

Tennessee State Constitution

ARTICLE IX

Disqualifications.

Section 1. Whereas ministers of the Gospel are by their profession, dedicated

to God and the care of souls, and ought not to be diverted from the great

duties of their functions; therefore, no minister of the Gospel, or priest of any

denomination whatever, shall be eligible to a seat in either House of the Legislature.

Section 2. No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards

and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil department of this

state.

Section 3. Any person who shall, after the adoption of this Constitution,

fight a duel, or knowingly be the bearer of a challenge to fight a duel, or send or

accept a challenge for that purpose, or be an aider or abettor in fighting a duel,

shall be deprived of the right to hold any office of honor or profit in this state,

and shall be punished otherwise, in such manner as the Legislature may prescribe.

I’ll leave the commentary up to you. Quite a difference in the perception of the value of ministry and the importance of a belief in the Lord and His plan on ethics and decision-making, isn’t it?

Dirty Laundry?

Happy — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 06:17:17 +0000

I hate to air it, but sometimes you still just have to say something about it. I was at a congregation a few months ago. After the morning services, we had a fellowship meal. During that meal, we celebrated the birthday of one of the members. I happened to have my digital camera on me, so we took a picture of this dear lady and her husband. After I shot the image, she inspected the picture and suggested that I must have a particularly good camera to take “such a good picture of her.” I replied, “It’s not the camera, ma’am, I had good material to work with!”

Her response: “Why thank you! That was a very political answer. You’ll make a fine preacher someday!”

I didn’t exactly know how to respond to her comment. I believe she meant it as a sincere compliment. I wasn’t aware that passing the credit for a good photograph from the instrument to the candidate was a political process, and I really wasn’t aware that politics make or break preachers.

Now, this is not intended to bash preaching, religion, etc. etc. These same problems exist in all arenas of life. Shucks, I’m not even going to complain about this attitude. (The lady’s husband is a preacher, by the way). My question, and the only reason I’m posting this, is what will I do to fix this problem?

Victory

Happy — Sat, 21 May 2005 02:11:20 +0000

All in all, several hours have been lost to this battle. In the end, victory was rediculously easy. But nobody has to know that. I finally figured out how to add a new speaker to the GWFS page on CrieveHall.org! So be on the lookout, there should be new content in the near future. I know you probably didn’t really care about that, but it was fun to type anyway… So deal with it!

And I go to New Zealand in a little over a week. Yeee-haw!

Roby Campaign Update

Happy — Mon, 18 Apr 2005 00:43:37 +0000

Saturday was a great day for the campaign. The weather was absolutely perfect, and everyone came ready and excited for the work. We had almost 150 fliers ready to hand out. We covered all of our planned territory and even more before we ran out. People as a whole were very friendly and warm to us. None of the animals seemed to wish us harm, either!

The bonfire also was wonderful. Our crew showed up in force and we had a great time cooking hot dogs and marshmallows. The message from Brother Brown was excellent as was the singing. Thanks for your prayers and concerns.

This week: Open Bible Study nights. Tuesday-Thursday 7:00-8:30 PM.

Young People and Religion

Happy — Thu, 14 Apr 2005 17:30:26 +0000

This AP Survey was very interesting to me. A good sign? Perhaps. A good opportunity? Definitely.

Check out the accompanying graphic. Note especially the numbers about conflict between science and religion.

Roby campaign update: Tonight- paint the baptistry. Hopefully we won’t be killed by noxious fumes. Saturday: door knocking time!!

Jesus is coming soon?

Happy — Wed, 06 Apr 2005 17:33:29 +0000

Besides the facts that I’m 1) dating someone 2) running semi-regularly 3) being on time/early to U.S. Presidents class more often than not…etc. etc.

According to a Princeton Survey Group/Newsweek Poll on December 4, 2004, 1000 were surveyed to see if they think Jesus will come back in their lifetime… 29% say yes, 50% say no, and 21% are not sure.

Interesting.

“From Jesus to Christ”

Happy — Tue, 22 Mar 2005 06:19:34 +0000

Newsweek: “From Jesus to Christ”

When I last read this site, a quarter million people had voted. 83% of them believe that Jesus did indeed come out of the grave. (Awkward wording, I know. I just can’t remember if that should have been “did rise” or “did raise” or something else!)

I wondered at first if that number was high or low. Sure it wasn’t a scientific survey…but with the way things look in America, it’s hard to believe that 83% would believe in the idea that Jesus lives.

But maybe it has something to do with the title. “From Jesus to Christ” was discussing [with a rather strong anti-Christian sentiment at times] how people came to believe that this man named Jesus really was the Christ. Without that resurrection, Christianity is meaningless (1 Corinthians 15)

Maybe there’s a lesson in that for those of us who believe. See, most of us believe in Jesus the man, like a historical figure. Sure, we believe in His deity and reality. Do we recognize just how real He was and is, though? That He is Jesus, the Christ? God’s very own annointed king…and all that entails. Maybe that’s the reason for Paul’s emphasis on the reality of Jesus in 1 Corinthians 15 and in 1 John 1:1-3. Maybe He knew we’d begin to forget that this isn’t just a story from the pages of history. His life is the book that binds those pages together–a book that’s plot has been completed. We’re just working on writing in the details.

Hmm. Sounds like something good to think about before bed. Goodnight!