As the piece goes on, you can see thoughts of other philosophers as well. I believe the part that says ‘barbarity has taken place of gentleness’ is influenced by Thomas Hobbes because according to him humans were short, nasty and brutish. In other words, as humans it is our nature to act this way especially when it comes to accepting other religions. Later on in the paragraph Voltaire says ‘Observe what passes under your own eyes, and if you have a human heart, you will join your compassion to ours.’ This thought could be related to David Hume’s idea that we cannot judge others by our own standards because with different situation comes a shift in our morals. In this same section Voltaire begins to talk about how far religion can take you.
Our language was based on music and religion. We would sing about god, our saints, our virgin, and anything that was church related. When we would just get together and not rehearse we would usually talk about church and talk about the bible. Being in different communities makes you realize that almost any place you hang out in, everyone that is involved somehow makes the place where you hang out, a discourse community. The reason for this is because you may use a different language; eat different foods than you usually do when you are at some other place rather than the place you are at, at the moment.
That's why I preach my way through entire books of the Bible, dealing carefully with each verse and phrase--even though that occasionally means spending time in passages that don't readily lend themselves to anecdotal or motivational messages. I am grateful to the Lord for the way He has used this exposi- tory approach in our church and in the lives of our radio listeners. But now and then someone tells me frankly that my preaching needs to be less doctrinal and more practical. Practical application is vital. I don't want to minimize its importance.
For the longest time, sleep won out. I found my faith slipping and my want to learn more about Christ dwindling. It wasn’t until I met my fiancé that I started to go back to church. I found my way back to God and it was then that my own worldview was formed. It was that I had made the choice on my own to go to church and to read my Bible and to
Some people have to have faith to believe in God. Since we cannot see Him or touch Him, we have to have faith. As we grow older we began to question why do we believe in God. We start to think about all the wars, murders, and senseless acts that are committed and wonder if there is a God. Smith2 Then we see people praying to their God for many different reasons.
“The church is reconsidering and reconfiguring this vital expression of its relationship with God. As a result, we more than ever need to study worship in its biblical context. From Genesis chapter 1, through the offerings of Cain & Abel; the sacrificial worship in the tabernacle, and the themes and poetry of Psalms; the intercessory prayers of the prophets and the teachings of Jesus; right on to the charismatic worship of the book of Acts and Corinthians, and the heavenly worship in Revelation, we need to know biblical worship, because anything else will not be acceptable to God.” Chuck Smith Jr. “Depth & Breadth in our Worship” Worship Leader july/august 2003 A BASIC GIVEN “All our worship must flow from a pure___________”  Jesus in
“The nearness of the other people thawed my unbelievers heart” Henri says, and in saying this reveals how the community of the church compels Henri to believe in god. Nostalgia for church expresses itself more subtly and is exemplified in the style of the writing when it concerns itself with the church. Belonging is felt in the narrative in a similar manner as nostalgia although it is expressed more explicitly. Henri feels as if he belongs to part of the church when he walks “down the aisle where strangers [meet his] eyes as if [he] were their child” . Although Winterson has strong religious feelings, they oppose her personal
They believe that the church, guided by the Bible, is responsible to institute guidelines for how the members act in all areas of life. The Amish believe it is very important for Christians to be separate from the world, both inwardly and outwardly. This is reflected in their dress, worship, language and the use of technology. The Amish are commonly known as the ‘Plain People.” (Nolt, S. M. Para 2 (1992) Mennonites and Amish are two totally different cultures. The biggest difference is that the Mennonites use more technology than the Amish are allowed to use.
Believers practicing loving God with all their mind would be a witness to this world and even a way of reaching out in compassion and gentleness we have left behind by burying our arguments in our Bibles and not engaging the questions raised by the lost. Understanding where Evangelicals have fallen intellectually will help foster obedience to Christ’s command to love God with all of our mind. The major arguments held by critics Richard Hofstadter, George M. Marsden, and Alister McGrath, declare modern Evangelicalism anti-intellectual. Some of the main reasons for this are the average Evangelicals fear of defending their faith, the separation of the spiritual and secular, and the slothfulness Evangelicals have to
Critical Book Review – The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible Summary The Blue Parakeet is a very thought-provoking book about the approach we all take when reading the Bible. Scot McKnight is quick to point out something that we all do very naturally with the Bible, and if we aren’t careful, very recklessly: adopting and adapting when it comes to the application of the Bible to and in our lives. However, McKnight uses a much more direct phrase: picking and choosing. He points out that many Christians subscribe to the idea that “God said it, I believe it, so that settles it.” While that claim is one he observed in others and one that I’ve observed and heard from others (and even thought it at times in my own life), he notes a discrepancy between that view and what those who hold that view actually do. The reality, according to McKnight, is that we all pick and choose what to apply to our lives from our interaction with Scripture.