Religion Information

Spirituality from the Hebrew Bible: 10 Major Themes

The major themes of the Hebrew Bible (also known as the Old Testament) surely include God, man, sin, righteousness, grace, covenant, law, atonement, and holiness. A final theme we will examine is the Messiah. Nearly everyone would agree that these ten themes are among the most important. Let's take a closer look at each one.

Heroes & Villains in the Quest for Spirituality: 100 Significant Characters of the Hebrew Bible

A Worship Leader is a Spiritual Leader

This article is for worship leaders. And as such, I believe it needs to focus on leadership skills. It is my intent to do this from a Biblical perspective. The only prerequisite for leadership is you must have somebody follow you. I can be just one person or thousands. The definition is still the same - A leader must have someone following them.

Reading the Bible

A friend of mine had asked my thoughts on how one should go about reading the Bible. I would first read the New Testament in its entirety in order to keep in the "flow" of it. After that - I would then start with the Old Testament - starting from the very beginning. It?s long. I don?t know how much you can read at a time.

Prayer Secret #1 - Your Relationship with God

This, in my opinion, is the #1 "secret" for getting your prayers answered by God the Father. Here is the Scripture verse that completely captures this principle.

Accountability and Such Nonsense

From the late 1970's through the 1980's, my wife and I were members of an authoritarian Bible cult. Not only were we members, but we were full time, unpaid leaders. We were not supported financially in any way for our contribution, yet required to do full time service and pay our tithes for opportunities to minister within the system. We were trustingly blind to how the system was only interested in using us for the betterment of itself. That was our responsibility to see. We finally have.

Me and My Big Mouth!

During World War II the government realized that the majority of citizen-soldiers had no idea on how to conduct themselves to prevent inadvertent disclosure of important information to the enemy. Central to maintaining national security was the Office of War Information Drive to limit talk about the war in both public and private arenas of American life. Silence meant security.

What is God? Does Proof Exist?

Apology:

What Is Perfect Love?

Today, sitting in my pink armchair, reading about how a world-famous medium was able to communicate with the spirit world and our physical world and end the grief of those who had been left behind, I became even more aware of how love is the central theme of the universe itself. This was what the departed passed on to those who remained on earth. Their major regret was that they had not loved or expressed their love when they were alive.

Books of the Living and Dead

Revelation 20:12 makes a powerful claim: ?And I saw the dead, great and small alike, standing before the throne. Books were opened, and then another book was opened, [called] the book of the living. The dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.?

Heretical Chinese House Churches

One of the more insightful warnings Christians can receive bears on relationships with other Christians. It goes something like this: Do you want to ignore what other Christians say and do? That?s like giving your charitable donations to donkeys and reindeer.

Undoing a Catholic and an Orthodox Christian Feud

There?s an anecdote about twins still in their mother?s womb. They argued about who should come out first. One of the embryos complained ?I?m the most beautiful; I should be born first.?

Getting Your Money Out of Israel: The Presbyterian Church (USA) Recipe

Recently, the Presbyterian Church (USA) beat a drum for justice. This brave denomination took the first steps toward removing its monies from companies that profit from the Israeli theft of Palestinian land.

Keep on Singing

The prisoners of Sing Sing, one of the most repressive, oppressive and dehumanizing penal institutions ever erected on the grounds of New York, were prohibited from singing during their incareration. The authorities felt that it would contribute to prison disturbance and ultimately, chaotic discord.

6 Keys to Successfully Screening Church Staff and Volunteers

Whether you are in the process of formulating a screening policy for your congregation, or already have a screening program in place, here are some tips to help you with your efforts to protect your church family.

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Smile! God Loves You!
There is a greater sin than not obeying Jesus; it is the sin of not believing that he loves you.

Gods 4 Avenues to Reach the Lost During the Tribulation
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Freedom of Religion
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A Common Sense Approach to Religious Freedom
Down through the centuries and all over the world, the battle for religious freedom has been a bitter one. The United States has been no exception. Although most of those who founded this country came here seeking religious freedom, it has been a source of contention from the beginning and remains so today. There are fanatics on both sides of this issue. On one side, we have those who think their religious freedom is being violated if they are not allowed to force their religion down everyone else's throat. One the other side, we have those who believe it's their inalienable right to never be exposed to any element of religious life. Both extremes are wrong. Government should be neither hostile to any religion nor an enforcer of it. Instead, those who possess common sense should be capable of assenting to a happy medium.

About The Spiritual World of Madonna
Pop singer Madonna came this week to Tel Aviv to take part in a congress of Kabbala studies. According to press releases, she is going to stay in Israel until Sunday night and will have on the last day of her visit, the opportunity to visit the graves of Jewish Tzaddikim (righteous holy people) near Safed, a small town in northern Israel.

War in Heaven
This next event, a war in heaven, will not be able to be seen with the naked eye by the people still left on the earth as the 7 year Tribulation starts to unfold. What happens in this next incredible event is that Satan and his angels are cast out of "heaven" and cast down onto the earth by St. Michael and his army of angels. There will literally be a war in the "heavens" between God's angels and the Devil and his fallen angels.

Human Evolution Timeline: Bible Quote and Science
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Meaning and Marketing - The Will
You are now inside one of the top theological schools in the world and you are sitting in Dr. John Hobbs' Class on Theology with first year Freshman students. The seminary is reformed, protestant, Christian and is located in the south of the USA.

Fruit-Bearing Christians
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The subject of this document is so unpleasing to the 21st century American Christian, I believe that by writing it, I will step across a threshold of "Main stream evangelical Christian", to a "radical", a "dissenter", "out there" and even "lost" in the eyes of some folks who read these words. So be it.

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Fundamental Church Failures
Every great human movement toward freedom, whether commercial, political or religious or a combination thereof, begins with the determination of concerned men and women to make life better by resolving recurring human problems. The Renaissance and the Age of Reason occurred through the efforts of talented people to end the brutal political, financial and religious abuses common within Medieval Europe. The Protestant Reformation and the revival of a personal redemptive relationship with God occurred because people rebelled against a corrupt Catholic hierarchy that was using the Spanish Inquisition to maintain their dominance over society and burning thousands of reformers alive in the name of God. Even the American Revolution of 1776 and the Mexican Revolution of 1917, erupted along fault lines between thoughtful people and a ruthless aristocracy that controlled virtually all the wealth. And while the new nation wasn't perfect, we spent the next two centuries getting more and more things right in the service of a more equitable society. That desire to serve people is collapsing now for one major reason.

Truth, Justice and the American Way to Boil a Frog
Using a good tool over and over doesn't make it any less valuable it only proves its usefulness. That said; let's review the old boiling frog story one more time. A frog accidentally jumps into a pan of water recently placed on the stove. He is comfy and does not try to jump out of the pan. As the water starts to heat up he just enjoys the warmth and as frogs are able to do, he changes the temperature of his blood to match the water temperature. (Don't try this at home, it only works for frogs) With every increase in temperature the frog adjusts and goes on with his lovely little bath. Just as the water reaches the boiling point he goes to make one final temperature adjustment only to discover that he can't. Nature has not provided him with this ability. The result is obviously, death.

Theology, Hollywood Style
After years of watching TV shows and movies, I think I have finally gotten a grasp on Hollywood's theology and it's not a pretty picture (pun intended). It should come as no surprise to anyone that Hollywood's theology is vastly different from that of the average American. After all, Hollywood's morals and values are not representative of Middle America, so why should its theology be any different? Hollywood's theology is comprised of three basic tenets.

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The Pope Hates Potter ? Both of Them
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