Idolatry of Chidren Part 2

Does the world you live in allow you to have everything you want? 

What did you witness on the days surrounding Christmas?   

Did your children and those you love...live in a momentary world where they got everything they wanted?  

It may be cute at 6 but what will that look like at 16?  26?  46?  

Did you feel guilty because you couldn't create that world?  

Don't - you are raising an adult, not a child.  

It Isn't Calvinism...It's The Adjectives!

I have been heard to say: "I don't have a problem with calvinism, per se, it's the adjectives." 

Below are some comments about two biblical topics where the power to understand or misunderstand could be found in the adjectives attached to the idea.   

I have reposted my good friend and scholar Michael Hanegan's comments below regarding TOTAL depravity and ORIGINAL sin.  Michael was responding to our churchwide curriculum study guides. 

In last week's take-home material (pg. 19) there was a marginal note labeled "Depravity" that delivered a presentation of what theologians call "original sin" and "total depravity". These are two ideas that are held in various traditions of the Christian faith but are by no means universal or uncontested. Typically, the Churches of Christ have outrightly rejected or modified these doctrines to be different than they are presented here. The following is just a couple of notes to help us think through the ideas presented in that brief summary.

Original Sin

This idea says that we have “inherited” Adam’s sin. That in this sense we are in fact sinful from the moment our life begins. (Psalm 51:5) The implication being that we all need salvation from the outset of our lives.

Total Depravity

This related idea expresses the conviction that “sin” is not only the primary bend of people, but that it is in fact the only possibility for people. People who are born in sin, not only sin by default, but they want to sin from birth.

These ideas have a long and complicated history in the larger Christian tradition. The reasons for these expressions and ideas is complex and diverse. The main points emphasizing in your class times about these two ideas might be as follows:

About Original Sin Scripture teaches that each person is responsible for their own sins. That guilt comes from their own actions, not the actions of those who have gone before them. While it is true that we all experience the consequences of Adam’s sin (death and the disruption of God’s creation) this does not mean that we also experience the guilt of Adam.

About Total Depravity While Scripture clearly teaches that humanity is marred by sin, and that no one is exempt from its consequences and influence (e.g., Romans 3:23), it appears to go beyond the testimony of Scripture that all people are unable to be and unwilling to be anything but totally depraved. In fact, in Romans 2, Paul’s admission that the Gentiles can be “a law unto themselves” without the revelation of God given to the Jews (the Law) would seem to contradict the idea of total depravity.

Let the conversation continue...

Worlds Collide

Today we imagined that there might be "shrines" built to other "gods" in our world.  Let's play that thought out a bit...

In addition to the temple of Yahweh, Solomon built shrines to other gods to accompany Yahweh.   In Ephesus, the Christians were challenged because their "way" might topple Artemis or displace the other deities accepted within the Roman Empire.  What might that look like today?

Our largest structures are entertainment venues, office towers, shopping centers, hospitals, and the like.  Why do we invest so much here? 

We sacrifice for education, housing, even to the extent of going into debt to do so. 
What does this say about the trust we have put in education, financial stability, living conditions?

Simply asking these questions would cause some Christians to question me.  That's fine.  I've been questioning myself. 

Do I really trust God?  Or do I trust God and my doctors and my education and my bank account to bring me security and salvation? 

God knew I would experience this struggle so he responded to the trouble, with Christmas!

The Trouble With Christmas

December Sundays At 10:30am

Quail Springs Church