Christianity and Hinduism Discovered

Article by Marissa Meme

Hinduism and Christianity are very different in their particular beliefs, but their fundamentals tend to be essentially the identical. That is, the stories, theories and methods to their goals might radically vary, but the objectives themselves, for example concepts associated with afterlife, heaven, and human amazing benefits, are as well. Spiritual flawlessness is found in Hinduism’s moksha and Christianity’s Heaven. Hinduism teaches Karma and Christianity holds Christ Christ’s teachings regarding goodness since means whereby humans may measure right and incorrect conduct. Hinduism as well as Christianity edify cleanings of the spirit, both along with great focus on water. Hinduism believes in the role of its many Gods in your life. It has 3 primary Gods, that some Hindus think act as one inch Brahman. “Most Hindus [...] keep that all gods and goddesses will be the Ultimate Truth or Complete Reality [...] called Brahman” (Clemmons). Christianity additionally believes becoming God in everyday life, and similarly, has only one The almighty, composed of 3 figures: Daddy, Son, as well as Holy Nature, to which all are referred, “God.” It is for these reasons to be elaborated here, that Christianity and Hinduism, despite superficial variation, are identical at their particular cores.

Hinduism is one of the earth’s oldest religions at around 3 500 years old, starting approximately One 500 BCE. The origins find back to the Indus Valley region (Jayaram). “Hinduism derived abundantly from the Indus People, the Vedic People, from Dravidian cultures, from folks religions and also from the international traditions associated with Mesopotamia, Greece, Arabic, China and central Russia” (Jayaram). Its highest awareness is in India, and the majority from the population regarding India will be Hindu. Followers of Hinduism, however, can be found worldwide, numbering an approximate total regarding 800 million. Furthermore, Hindu school of thought and books have become worldly influential extending its love to those who don’t follow the religious beliefs (White). Such is the wisdom behind them. Hindu scriptures do not come from a single guide; Hinduism rather has numerous sacred articles, all of which possess in some way led to its doctrines. The Vedas, the Puranas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata as well as the Manu Smriti are the most significant (White).

Christianity, known as such, began approximately Two 000 years back after the dying of Jesus, who taught about human values of Goodness, God’s unconditional love for just about all humans, and the perpetual will to forgive all repenting sinners using their wrongdoings. Christianity has become the greatest of planet religions with 2 million followers. Furthermore, of all beliefs, Christianity spans the best geographic area (Britannica). Christianity has many variations, sprouting from numerous differences in the views and spiritual interpretations of their followers. Orlando doctrines are produced almost within totality from interpretations of the bible, which was written by followers associated with Jesus after a period subsequent his loss of life, during the creation of the Chapel. Still today, many separations inside the church are present, but its basic principles about proper and wrong, good as well as evil, as well as necessary individual love for The almighty and each additional stand working.

Both Hinduism as well as Christianity have key beliefs within Heaven. “In Hinduism there are many and different concepts of heaven. Worshippers regarding Vishnu, the Preserver, for example, believe that they’ll go to a bliss in which there isn’t any suffering, worry, or death and that they can live in the glory regarding Vishnu’s eternal light” (Britannica). Christianity’s take a look at heaven is more uniform amongst its christians. It keeps that bliss is a place of peace and also salvation in which to dwell eternally with Christ, the Boy, God, the Father, and the Holy Spirit.

The particular core opinion of Hinduism is always that humans and many types of living creatures contain souls, which need to achieve spiritual perfection. If it is achieved, the soul once and for all enters the next step of existence, called moksha. This entry will be the purpose of dwelling. Reincarnation is the revival of a soul into a fresh Earthly existence. It occurs redundantly over remarkable numbers of many years, until moksha is actually achieved (White-colored). The concept of flawlessness, though elucidated in different ways in Hinduism, is comparable to Christianity’s beliefs a human heart and soul goes to bliss after attaining subjective excellence; not true perfection, as implied in Hinduism, due to the fact such only agreed to be possible by the Christian saviour, Jesus Christ. The cyclic loss of life and resurgence process in Christianity is a metaphoric as opposed to an actual one. In Hinduism, a soul is in fact dead and then reborn. Whilst, in Christianity, the soul, within the same bodily Earthly body experiences a series of deaths and births, as they say, within the life-span of that a single body just. The birth and death in Christianity are caused by sin as well as repentance. In sinning, the particular soul will be wounded, and a part of it drops dead. In repenting your sins, that lifeless part of the spirit is born-again even more powerful than just before. Hence, the whole process of achieving perfection in both Hinduism as well as Christianity is through failure and death, and resulting rebirth, in order to try again to achieve sufficient flawlessness for Bliss or moksha.

In Hinduism, “the law of karma says that every motion influences how the soul will be born in the next reincarnation. If a person life a good existence, the spirit will be created into a increased state, perhaps into the body of a brahmin. If a person leads an evil existence, the soul will be created into a reduce state, possibly into the physique of a worm” (White-colored). The conclusion, therefore, is that advantage yields incentive, and wicked yields fee. This is true in Christianity as well, although endorsement of punishment throughout the years, especially following Vatican II, has somewhat stopped. In Christianity, doers of fine find incentive in paradise, while doers associated with evil don’t. In both Christianity as well as Hinduism, blissful ends promote residing for the glory of Lord, and carrying out what is, simply by human and divine specifications, morally right. Furthermore, both religions advertise similar requirements of what this kind of righteousness is, focusing of communal values, caring one’s neighbours, and in have confidence in, obeying any time asked to follow, as with mother and father, respected friends, and Lord.

The root from the motives for rituals associated with cleansing your soul, in the Christianity and Hinduism, is purification coming from sin and also evil, in planning for the love of God. In both religions, drinking water is almost usually used. Inside Christianity, there are many samples of cleansing. Baptism can be a Christian sacrament relating to the use of h2o, which is possibly sprinkled on the head with the recipient, or into that she or she actually is fully or partially submerged (Britannica). There is holy water at every entrance inside Christian church buildings as well, to bless oneself with all the love of The almighty and be cleansed before coming into or leaving the Church. In Hinduism, cleansing plays an even more prominent function in everyday life. Worshippers cleanse themselves in communal baths before getting into temples to pray, and all Hindus shower several times each day to be certain they may be always thoroughly clean for respect of oneself and of Gods. Probably the most prominent example of Hindu cleansing, however, is the Ganges water, a “great river of the flatlands of north India [… From forever it has been the holy water of the Hindus” (Britannica). Hindu myth holds how the river has been poured down from bliss, and is right now a almost holy body, which usually holds the capacity to wash aside sins. Therefore both in religions, purifying plays any central function, in the attention of purifying the body thoughts and soul, in order to find God as such as well as in oneself.

Hinduism’s notion of Gods as a pressure in everyday life continues to be so important throughout the history which even numerous non-Hindus have come to significantly respect as well as admire the actual Gods, even though they do not worship all of them. Statues as well as paintings of numerous Hindu Gods, even outside India, tend to be dearly regarded as symbols of peace and also harmony for his or her cities, just in their own lifestyle. Hindu Gods are all symbolized in human being form, help save for Brahman, which has no form. Furthermore, many Hindu Gods have learned to Earth themselves. Such are known as avatars: “An avatar is the incarnation of a the almighty or goddess that has descended from your heavenly planet to eliminate the world of evil” (Clemmons). The actual role associated with Gods in Hinduism as facets of everyday activity has grown in order to such degree that Gods seem almost to be considered companions and friends. Many families select a specific The almighty, which makes up many of their particular beliefs as well as desires, as well as pray to that particular God using their home. Christianity’s belief of Gods is no less widespread, though perhaps far more delicate. Christians have confidence in an omniscient The almighty that permeates everyone and everything, each and every thought and also emotion on the planet, as a friend, as a information, and as a parent – to enjoy and to guide, to hold and also console, also to raise individuals who have fallen in life that they may live and adore again. It was exemplified together with Jesus’ descent to Earth, to get along with the men and women of failure that Lord created, to show them and to show them how to love. Every Christian bulk closes having a reminder which God lifestyles within every person and this, inside subtle truth, is the most primal Religious doctrine.

Religions are complex physiques of contradiction, difference and often fallacy, bringing about hatred and offended pride. This kind of is the consequence of the faiths and also dogmas, with evasive stories to mention a specific level and elucidate a specific goal to its fans, resulting in throwing out and also ignoring those people who are not recognized integrated, at the.g. through baptism, and those who usually do not follow or believe in the actual mere tales, regardless of their belief in the ends they will serve to express.

What is overlooked by all persons of most religions is the fact that in lack of edcuation and closed-mindedness, the particular doctrines have been lost in obsessions and also preoccupations with the stories that serve to convey them. Hinduism and Christianity, a couple of religions so distant within times and also places, as well as means of understanding the world, are usually yet identical in their lessons at their core. Almost all religions teach the same thing. “All beliefs,” within Mahatma Ghandi’s most brilliant words, “are true.Inch

The greatest debate against almost all religions is hypocritical arrogance. They proclaim God to be all-powerful and also all-knowing. But they then assume the role these people state that simply God can play. The people in charge of the actual Catholic faith (we.e. pope as well as clergy) for example, imply to understand sinner from saint, and practically decide who goes to heaven, and whom to hell. They condemn persons for their sins, and give penances therefor. And so they do not let non-believers with the religion in to the church, even for sacraments of matrimony, despite that everyone is children of God, and all are usually supposedly equivalent. Perhaps a few are just a lot more equal than the others.

My prejudices and also disdains were overwhelming to all religions, including, at times, my own. My own contempt endures, but now in various and enlightened form. It no longer is situated upon recognized inadequacies associated with religions I didn’t even believe, nor upon apparent weak points in finding goal or love or Lord. Such, almost all religions test and in these kinds of, all succeed. My tendency and far much deeper contempt now are in the direction of all individuals who compose the beliefs as such. Many, despite the profoundly demanding idea of open-mindedness of the religion, fail in most regards to think outside the range of their own religious beliefs to search for the truth a lot more objective compared to that merely appropriated by their predecessors.

It is in the ignorance of the existence of a higher fact than your that all battles are waged, that all lives are lost, understanding that all bad prevails.

I am a Catholic. I participate in Catholic community, head to Catholic church, and respect Catholic valuations and doctrines. But Catholicism is my personal means, not necessarily my finish. My truth is not one realized, or examine in books; it is one found and found in your life. Religion, aforementioned as such, is actually comprised within my belief not necessarily of contradicting, but complementing beliefs. Religion is a, and eternal. It is a entire body of knowledge, coming from Buddhism to Islam, from Judaism to Sikhism, coming from Christianity to Hinduism, by which all virtues and all truths are created. To seek hence the truth of just one religion is to disregard that of others and therefore disregard the complete and real truth.

Marissa Meme is an article writer for CatholicFavors.com where you can buy the finest in Christian related items such as Catholic gifts of the Holy Spirit, Thomas More crosses, Ave Maria rosary necklaces, and many other discount Catholic gifts.










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When Is a Church Not a Church?

Article by Thomas A. McLoughlin

According to the Associated Press, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is getting ready to abolish their celibacy requirements for its gay and lesbian clergy after decades of debate that have divided the denomination and split Protestants worldwide. The policy change has already been adopted at its national assembly last year but they need approval by the majority of their 173 presbyteries, or regional church bodies. The new policy will take effect July 10th, after all the presbyteries have voted. The deciding vote, expected Tuesday night, would come from the liberal Minneapolis-St. Paul presbytery.

According to Michael Adlee, a church elder and executive director of More Light Presbyterians, which advocates for gays and lesbians,

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Why Receive Christian Pre-Marital Counseling?

Article by Wilma Melendez

“Love is long suffering, and is kind; love has no envy, love is not boastful, love does not behave itself inappropriately, seeks not its own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil, rejoices not in injustice, but rejoices in the truth; love bears all things, believes everything, endures everything”(1 Corinthians 13:4-7).These beautiful words hold us to a high standard. That is why it has been said that before marriage one ought to open our eyes wide, but afterwards keep them half closed. In order to hold up this standard, so necessary for a marriage to work, we need to choose wisely. To decide if you are ready for marriage, you need to choose someone you can trust, because distrust erodes a relationship, and so does undeserved trust. You also need to know what your responsibilities to the marriage partner are so that you can evaluate yourself realistically. These two things can be done with the help of pre-marital therapy.Why do you need Christian pre-marital therapy? The quote above is from the Bible. The greatest book of love is the Bible. The book of Luke is considered by many to be the most beautiful book ever written. The book of Luke, as well as the gospels of Mathew, Mark, and John, tells how Jesus died to save us – the believers and now the church- from our sins. “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, giving himself up for it” (Ephesians 5:25). God is the expert, par excellence, on love.There is nothing wrong with going to a psychologist, a social worker, a professional counselor, or a psychiatrist for pre-marital and marital therapy. In fact I would encourage you because churches sometimes give only six sessions of pre-marital couple therapy, or group pre-marital therapy with non professional married couples as group leaders and this is barely just enough. Many couples who have received pre-marital therapy say that it helped them but that they wish they had received more therapy. There is so much need in the church for marital, family, addiction, and other kinds of counseling, that there is not enough pre-marital therapy. I would recommend supplementing the church’s pre-marital therapy with other pre-marital counseling.However, Christian pre-marital counseling adds a dimension that secular therapies do not usually have. For example, the Christian counselor advises couples not to have sex before marriage. In his book on dating, Boy Meets Girl, Pastor Joshua Harris explains how a manager of a hotel for honeymooners would run out of activities for the newly married to do. This was because the now bored couples had pre-marital sex. Whereas, Joshua and his wife, who did not have sex prior to marriage, hardly left their room!In the city where I live there is a saying among the non-believers. They say that marriage kills sex. But it is not marriage that kills sex, but pre-marital sex that kills marriage. I knew of one couple that lived together and had sex everyday before to marriage. After marriage, the wife confided, they had sex once a month. It is not worth it to ruin twenty five or more years of marital sex for one year or even less of pre-marital sex.If you are contemplating marriage and you are living together, you must move apart and stop having sex for a time until you get married under the guidance of the pastor or Christian counselor. Physical intimacy is like a battery. It becomes charged with non sexual activities and gives off energy with sex. Do not skip that pre-marriage charging time.When thinking about what pre-marital therapy is, people have different points of view. One woman tells how she was looking forward to marital therapy thirty years ago. “I thought that we would receive counseling courses about marital responsibility, but the entire time, the courses, which were called ‘marital counseling’, were about catechism.” She was disappointed as were many people in the course.Decades later, now divorced, she expects that marital counseling should be about what marriage is, what people expect it to be, and what it will really be like. Dr. Wayne Mack makes a point that partners differ in expectations and should not wait until marriage to discuss these differences.Dr. Nancy Alvarez, secular psychologist and sexologist says that some men want marriage with weekends off. That means they spend weekends drinking with their male friends as if they were single, instead of being with their wife. Obviously, that does not work out. Couples should also discuss why they are in love with one another. It has been observed that some people become happy when they hear why their betrothed wants to marry them, others become angry.It is certainly natural for a marital counselor to talk about spiritual intimacy. In the book, “The Five Love Needs of Men and Women”, Christian marital experts Dr. Gary and Barbara Rosberg explain how there are two kinds of intimacy in marriage, physical and spiritual. Differences in religion could lead to a lack of understanding and different values. But not everything is religion.Counselor Grisel L

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A health care whistle-blower and a call to Christian accountability

Article by Aaron Taylor

Wendell Potter worked for 15 years as the head of public relations for CIGNA, one of the largest health insurance companies in the U.S. Wendell’s job was to keep high profile complaints from becoming major news stories. So when policy -holders were denied care or were kicked out of the plan for getting sick, Wendell’s job was to make sure that the fewer the people who knew about it, the better. For years, Wendell convinced himself that working on behalf of his company’s shareholders over and against the health needs of actual human beings was the right thing to do.

All of this changed at a health exhibit in Wise, West Virginia. When Wendell assumed that he would see things like routine blood pressure checks, what he actually saw astounded him. Wendell saw the people that were being treated in animal stalls and on gurneys, and the “long, long lines of people waiting to get care.” That’s when he had his epiphany. Wendell suddenly realized, “There could have been people and probably were people that I had grown up with. They could have been people who grew up at the house down the road, in the house down the road from me. And that made it real to me.”

Wendell Potter is now one of the nation’s top whistle-blowers advocating for health care reform. Whether you agree with Wendell’s politics or not, there’s something about Wendell’s story that I think should serve as a lesson for Christians of all political persuasions. In Matthew 18:15-17, Jesus laid out a principle that, if applied correctly, could go a long way in correcting many of the problems associated with corporate greed.

“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”

As I reflect on Jesus’ words, I can’t help but to think of Wendell’s story. It took seeing real people for Wendell to realize that his line of work was harming people instead of helping them. I don’t know if Wendell Potter is a Christian, but let’s assume temporarily that he is a Christian and that all those years of covering up claims of health care abuse for the purpose of lining shareholders’ pockets, Wendell regularly attended a Christian church. Might it not have been appropriate for a Christian that had been unjustly denied care by Cigna to confront him on the basis of the Matthew 18 principle? And had Wendell refused to listen, might the next step not have been to bring two or three witnesses and then to talk with his pastor or the elders of the church? Had Wendell refused to listen at that point; then perhaps the pastor or the church elders could have chosen some form of church discipline, like excommunication or denying communion.

If such an approach seems far-fetched, it’s probably because of the gigantic gap between modern Christianity and New Testament Christianity. In New Testament times, Christians were admonished not to drag their fellow Christian to secular courts (I Corinthians 6:1-6). Moral disputes and reparations were supposed to be kept within the Church. Nowadays, most Christians are so accustomed to appealing directly to Caesar for justice that we virtually skip the process that Jesus and the Apostles laid out for dealing with sin in the Church.

I wonder how many American Christians are doing jobs similar to that of Wendell Potter, or any other number of jobs that work against the interests of the poor—be it here or a far away country—and haven’t given it a second thought? It’s to these Christians that I think the Matthew 18 principle could go a long way in helping them to repent. The issues then become less about politics and more about personal discipleship. The fewer the Christians there are participating in unjust corporate structures, the brighter the Church’s light will shine. May God raise up Matthew 18-type ministries everywhere!

Aaron D. Taylor is the author of “Alone with a Jihadist: A Biblical Response to Holy War” and the founder of Great Commission Society. To learn more about Aaron’s ministry and his new book, go to http://www.aarondtaylor.com Follow Aaron on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aarondtaylor. Aaron can be contacted at fromdeathtolife@gmail.com










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Mega Churches

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Christian mega churches costing multiple millions of dollars now number in the thousands throughout America. Why is this a concern?

There are currently more people unemployed in America than at any time in the past 25 years. Millions of families have lost their homes, and millions of senior citizens have seen their retirement funds reduced drastically. Moreover, the number of homeless and hungry Americans is rapidly increasing. At such a time as this, when there is so much need all around us, wouldn

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gays and christians clash adelaide

Article by Wadie Andrawisis

Top of Form 1Bottom of Form 1Adelaide Christian Street Church preached the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ today during the ‘gay pride’ march for equal marriage rights. The homosexuals and lesbians had organized a march to strut their sin down King William St, and the Christians of Street Church went out to appeal in love to them to repent of their sins and put their trust and surrender in Jesus Christ.The clash began at Victoria Square, where the Christian preachers began to declare the Gospel, and hold up banners with direct quotations from the Bible. Immediately, a large portion of the sitting crowd of gays aggressively began to push, harangue, curse and threaten the Christian preachers. Several tried to snatch violently the microphone of the key preacher, while others, including the disabled attempted to damage the preacher’s property by attacking their banners.One disabled woman in a wheelchair was clutching the Christian banner attempting to steal it, and the preachers held the banner tightly, resulting in the woman leaping out of her wheelchair in attempt to win a victory. She accused the preachers of pulling her out of her chair, which was a lie.As the march began, the Christian preachers led the way in protest, denouncing homosexuality and lesbianism as a crime against God for which those who practice will be damned and go to hell. The preachers also regularly quoted verses such as John 3:16 and Romans 5:8; “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,” and “God demonstrated His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”There were many media cameramen filming everything, which kept most of the violence of the gays at bay, as the marches are primarily organized to put pressure on the Gillard Government to legalize gay marriage, and in doing so they attempt to maintain a reasonable reputation, which today was evidently found to be flawed.When the march reached the steps of Parliament House, the preachers had already taken the stage and were still waving their Bible banners and preaching. The gays possessed a bullhorn, while the preachers possessed an amplifier. The Christians carried out appealing to the gays to repent and turn to the love of the truth in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which resulted in one preacher being punched, further property damaged, and even alcohol being poured on them.Anytime the Christians spoke, the gays vainly attempted to censor them of their right to speak by placing equal marriage posters in their faces. The preachers continued to declare the Word of God, and endure the violence of the gays in pleading with them to repent and believe, until the police showed up. No preacher was arrested, and police realized both sides had a right to share their view.After the police had initially removed two preachers, they then allowed them to continue sharing the Scriptures with the gays and now protecting them from any gay who would attempt to censor them. The Christian Street Church preachers stuck it out until everybody was gone, and some were interviewed by the media.One of the key propagators of equal marriage was a Uniting Church female minister, Sue Wickham, who demonstrated she did not understand the clear passages of Scripture which denounce homosexuality; Lev 19:22, Rom 1:26,27, and 1 Cor 6:9,10. Her argument was simply pragmatic; “My church wouldn’t be growing if God were not with us,” she said. She managed to avoid the preacher’s wisdom and Scriptural understanding by telling them to “grow up and get some education.” One of the preachers reminded her that as a Uniting Church minister, she was standing on the shoulders of Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational churchesof Australia’s history, and had she had attempted to candidate for the ministry in the days when such churches were flourishing and filled, she would have been not only refused but ex-communicated. Sue’s general argumentation was “God is love, and sin is separation from God’s love,” to which the preachers quoted 1 John 3:4 “She is transgression of God’s law.” Another preacher reminded her that the attribute of God which is most emphasized in Scripture is not His love, but rather, His Thrice Holiness. At thisshe walked away in shame.God was greatly glorified in the uplifting of His Name and Holy Standards in the contemporary city of churches today. As far as politics go, the preachers clearly remonstrated with the gays that “Adelaide will not bow to equal marriage rights; Australia will not bow to same-sex marriage.” One preacher went beyond quoting the Bible, to also stating that homosexuality is “simply un-natural, non-anthropological, and irrational.”Interestingly the gays chanted “evo-lu-tion,” to which preachers humorously commented, “Evolution is founded on the idea of survival of the fittest – and if that is true, then the gay community are the weakest link and will wipe their own kind out, because they’re not passing genes onto anyone.” Ironically, one Christian preacher observed that “gays depend upon a heterosexual intercourse to even have a child!” The gays were all well aware also that the red-cross, which is based in 50 countries, will not takethe blood of gays. Gays present were also aware of the un-natural nature of the practice of sodomy, which leads to an anal reconstruction.The Christian church will always stand against that which is destructive and an offense in God’s eyes. Homosexuality and lesbianism, along with even heterosexual pre-marital sex and adultery, and even lies, thievery and blasphemy, are all crimes against God, and crimes against humanity. The motivation of the Christian preachers was one of love for God and their neighbour, and equal marriage rights will not be tolerated by rational Australians.

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How Do I Find a Good Church?

Article by Kate J. Ward

“They [followers of Christ] were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42).One of the questions I am most frequently asked is, “How do I find a good church?” This question has taken on added significance in recent years because of the massive impact televangelism has had on our culture. In all too may cases, worship has been replaced with entertainment, and fellowship has been transformed into individualism. In view of these cultural developments, it is critical that Christians have a handle on the ingredients of a healthy well-balanced church.The first sign of a healthy, well-balanced church is a pastor who is committed to leading the community of faith in the worship of God through prayer, praise, and proclamation. Prayer is so inextricably woven into the fabric of worship that it would be unthinkable to have a church service without it. From the very inception of the early Christian church, prayer has been a primary means of worshiping God. Through prayer, we have the privilege of expressing adoration and thanksgiving to the One Who saved us, sanctifies us, and one day will glorify us. In fact, our Lord Himself set the pattern by teaching His disciples the Prayer of Jesus (Matthew 6:9-13).Praise is another key ingredient of worship. Scripture urges us to “speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:19). Singing psalms is a magnificent means for intercession, instruction, and the internalization of Scripture. In addition, the great hymns of the faith have stood the test of time and are rich in theological tradition and truth. Spiritual songs, in turn, communicate the freshness of our faith. Thus, it is crucial that we preserve both a respect for our spiritual heritage and a regard for contemporary compositions.Along with prayer and praise, proclamation is axiomatic to experiencing vibrant worship. Paul urged his protégé Timothy to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires” (2 Timothy 4:2-3). Church leaders must once again produce in their people a holy hunger for the Word of God; for it is through the proclamation of God’s Word that believers are edified, exhorted, encouraged, and equipped.Furthermore, a healthy, well-balanced church is evidenced through its oneness. Christ breaks the barriers of gender, race, and background and unites us as one under the banner of His love. Such oneness is tangibly manifested through community, confession, and contribution.Community is visible in baptism, which symbolizes our entrance into a body of believers who are one in Christ. It is a sign and a seal that we have been buried to our old life and raised to newness of life through His resurrection power. In like fashion, Holy Communion is an expression of oneness. As we all partake of the same elements, we partake of that which the elements symbolize – Christ, through Whom we are one. Our fellowship on earth, celebrated through communion, is a foretaste of the heavenly fellowship we will share when symbol gives way to substance.A further expression of our oneness in Christ is our common confession of faith – a core set of beliefs, which have been rightly referred to as “essential Christianity.” These beliefs, which have been codified in the creeds of the Christian church, form the basis of our unity as the body of Christ. The well-known maxim bears repeating: “In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, charity.”As with community and confession, we experience oneness through the contribution of our time, talent, and treasure. The question we should be asking is not “What can the church do for me?” but, “What can I do for the church?” The tragedy of modern Christianity is that when members of the body hurt, too often we relegate them to finding resources outside the walls of the church. That is precisely why the apostle Paul exhorts us to “share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality” (Romans 12:13).Finally, a healthy, well-balanced church is one that is committed to equipping believers to be effective witnesses to what they believe, why they believe, and Who they believe. In the Great Commission, Christ called believers not to make mere converts but to make disciples (Matthew 28:19). A disciple is a learner or follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, we must be prepared to communicate what we believe. In other words, we must be equipped to communicate the evangel (good news). If Christians do not know how to share their faith, they have never been through basic training. The gospel of Christ should become such a part of our vocabulary that presenting it becomes second nature.We also must be equipped to share why we believe what we believe. As Peter put it, we must “always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account [reason] for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence” (1 Peter 3:15). Too many today believe that the task of apologetics is the exclusive domain of scholars and theologians. Not so! The defense of the faith is not optional; it is basic training for every Christian . .In addition to being prepared to communicate the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of our faith, we must be empowered to communicate the Who of our faith. Virtually every theological heresy begins with a misconception of the nature of God. Thus, in a healthy well-balanced church, believers are equipped to communicate such glorious doctrines of the faith as the Trinity and the deity of Jesus Christ. It is crucial that we, like the early Christian church, come to understand more fully the Biblical concept of the priesthood of all believers. Clearly, it is not the pastor’s calling to do the work of ministry single-handedly. Rather, the pastor is called “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:12-13).In short, we know we have discovered a good church if God is worshiped in Spirit and in truth through prayer, praise and the proclamation of the Word; if the oneness we share in Christ is tangibly manifested through community, confession, and contribution; and if the church is equipping members as witnesses who can communicate what they believe, why they believe, and Who they believe.Worship, Oneness, and Witness equal WOW!

Kate Ward contributes Christian Living articles for Crosswalk.com Faith










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Christianity at a glance

Article by Chris Tianity

Christianity is one of the well known religions and is having million of followers of this faith. The core beliefs of Christianity are many as the Corinthians, the follower of this belief that Jesus died for their sins, was buried, resurrection, and thereby offer salvation to all who will receive him in faith. Another belief is that there is one God that exists in three persons the father, the son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit. Christian faith that all mankind created specifically have a relationship with God, but sin separate all men from God. Christianity teaches that in order to be saved and granted entrance in the heaven after death, that one must place entirely one’s faith that Christ died in our place and paid the price of our own sins, and rose again then we are saved and will surely enter into the heaven.

The bible reveals the essentials of Christian faith. These essentials are the deity of Christ, salvation by god’s grace and not by works, Salvation through Jesus Christ alone, the resurrection of Christ, the Gospel, monotheism and the Holy trinity. In Christianity church is a worship place and it is important for Christian to attend church so they can worship the God with other believers and can be taught God’s words for their spiritual growth. There are some appropriate reasons in which you can miss church without having guilt on you. These reasons include sporting events, illness, long journey problem etc.

The church is run through a proper church leadership. The work of the leader of the church is to accomplish the mission of the church. To understand the leadership of the church it is important to understand a mysterious fact about the church. The church is the body of Christ. Christ is a model of leadership. The leader of the church is responsible to maintain the laws of human behaviors, social laws, God’s common grace, prayer, witness and study.

The biblical study tells us that in Christianity marriage and family has a great emphasis and is consider as a long lasting relationship. Bible study shows many purposes of a marriage such as to create a stable home in which children can grow and thrive, protection from sexual immortality, to promote healthier society and to produce holiness in lives.

Christianity teaches peace and ways to spend a happier and peaceful life. The followers of Christianity do work for the preaching. They use different preaching tools. There are many Christian magazines that are frequently published for the preaching. In these magazines they clarify the sayings of bible in a very detailed way. Christianity today is one of the most abundant magazines which discuss many questions and entertain and discuss daily life problems.

Christianity Today, Christian magazines, church leadership, Christian ministry preaching tools, Christian world news, Christian history, Christian music, Bible study, marriage, family, Christian faith. For more information please visit: Christian faith










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Conservative Christian; is it an exercise in ignorance?

Article by Linda C Dipman

When I was a child I went to Sunday school and church and believed everything the pastor and Sunday school teachers said was true. As I matured in my faith I sought the truth through reading my Bible. When I was married I taught my own children who were growing up in the same church the very same things I learned. Am I a conservative Christian because I am choosing to follow the same path and hold onto the same traditions of my family? Or am I a conservative Christian because I haven’t had a reason to step out of my comfort zone and make up my own mind? The real question is when does a conservative Christian change their mind?In the early nineteen hundreds woman fought for equal rights with men.

The church taught that men were supreme and women were to be subordinate because the Bible stated that a woman was to be under a man’s authority. They were not allowed to be ministers. They were not allowed to vote and they were given less pay for the same jobs that men did. They looked to the conservative church people to stop the discrimination against women, but the church held fast to the Bible’s words and turned a blind eye to how woman were suffering when the men had complete control. So women took to the streets and held rallies to get society to change their opinion. Thus equal rights for women were established because the government listened to what they were going through and realized that their position had to change in order to prevent the cruel abuse of women. The conservative church followed only after many years.

During the nineteen sixties Martin Lutheran King walked the streets of Alabama and many other states demanding equal rights for black people. He was a minister from a segregated colored church. Colors were not given equal pay for the same jobs white people did. They were forced to eat separately from their white counterparts. They were humiliated and forced to give up their seats in buses to white people. They were not allowed to worship with the conservative Christian churches because the Bible plainly stated that it’s OK to treat people differently when they are descendants of slaves. It took Martin Lutheran King’s death and men of all races standing up against the injustices that the government listened and changed. Equal rights for African Americans were granted and only after many years did the church change their position concerning what the Bible said about some people being lesser human beings than others.

I wrote the book “I Want to Know My Future” believing that the conservative Christian church needs to be aware of how their teachings are persecuting homosexual families. I personally was deserted by my family, friends and church. I was jailed, injured and denied justice in the courts. My children were taken away from me and sole custody was given to their dad even though it was proven I was the better parent. All of this happened to me because conservative Christians refused to believe that God made homosexuals too. They are supposed to be examples of love and acceptance of people who are different instead they participated in persecuting me by teaching their conservative church members that it’s OK to hate and call homosexuals sinners.

Paul was a missionary to the Gentiles, but the first Jewish Christians believed that Jesus came to save Jews only. Paul had to meet with the apostles and elders to explain what was happening and how the gift of the Holy Spirit was being given to the Gentiles too. The leaders of the church listened to what Paul said and celebrated the news of Gentiles coming to God. But there was controversy because they were a newly established church and they needed to bring order to their newly founded Christian belief. Many wanted the Gentiles to obey the laws of Moses. But after many hours of debate they realized that this was not possible even for them. They concluded that faith in Jesus demanded that people be accepted by grace alone and God’s call. Galatians 3: 25-29, “Now that the time for faith is here, the Law is no longer in charge of us.It is through faith that all of you are God’s sons in union with Christ Jesus.

You were baptized into union with Christ, and now you are clothed, so to speak, with the life of Christ himself. (Holy Spirit) So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free men, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are the descendants of Abraham and will receive what God has promised.” Why does the conservative Christian church believe they can continue to hold onto the Laws of Moses? Paul wrote that there is no difference between people. Why do they continue to hold onto rules that affect the freedom of good people like homosexuals? Do they not trust that God is able to teach people through the Holy Spirit what is best for their own lives? He does not need man made rules. He is more than capable of teaching his chosen children.

Galatians 5:18-20, “If the Spirit leads you, then you are not subject to the Law.What human nature does is quite plain. It shows itself in immoral, filthy, and indecent actions; in worship of idols and witchcraft. People become enemies and they fight; they become jealous, angry, and ambitious. They separate into parties and groups;22&23, But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. There is no law against such things as these.” When I wrote “I Want to Know My Future”, I wrote it because God used the teachings of the Holy Spirit to free me from the harsh teachings of the conservative church.

The rules they follow condemn innocence people who are following the Holy Spirit’s will for their lives. Because of what the conservative church did to me God had to supernatural intervene in my behalf. He used miracles to save my family. God had to save me because the church would not.Maybe being a conservative Christian means you believe in the words written in the Bible because you have no ability to hear from the Holy Spirit. If this is true I will no longer be a conservative Christian. I will educate myself as to why homosexual families need the same rights as heterosexual families. I will listen to the voice of God. I will make up my own mind and I will not allow tradition to stop me from doing what is right.

Linda C Dipman author of I WANT TO KNOW MY FUTURE http://outskirtspress.com/iwanttoknowmyfuture presents I WANT TO KNOW MY FUTURE It will put you on the edge of your seat as you read each vivid detail. You will feel terror and experience love like nothing you have ever read before. Find out what happens when God fights for you! http://lovinghandsministry.com










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Finding a Christian Mate

Article by Pat Lavazza

Some people are really particular about finding a Christian mate to spend the rest of their lives with. Religion is an important part of their lives and they believe that the Bible does not want them to marry anyone belonging to any other religion. Christians believe that marrying someone who is not a Christian can cause problems in the home front. The Bible says: ‘Do not be yoked together with unbelievers’..2 Corinthians 6: 14. But how does a Christian make sure that he finds himself a Good Christian mate? It is not an easy job! But here’s how you can give it your best shot!

How to find a Christian mate:Attend all church services and classes organized by the church during the week or special festivals.

Carry a Bible with you everywhere you go and talk about your religion so that people know you as someone who is serious about the Christian faith.

Try to be a leader or helper in the church. Many young single people will also be helping out and you will get to meet them in this way.

There are usually Bible study sessions organized at churches. Try to attend these. It would be better if you try to attend the sessions at another church rather than your own. This way you can broaden your horizons.

Many churches organize trips to places of religious interest. Try to go for these. On such trips, you have better chances of meeting young singles.

Go to a Christian college or Christian educational center. Here you will meet people like you who share the same faith.

Ask your fellow Christians if they will go for a movie with you or to places of similar interests where you can all meet together and get to know each other better.

The christian church is particular about the faith being carried on properly by the people who get married. The Christian church wants its Christians to propagate the faith by marrying only other Christians. The christian life is centered on building their faith by taking part in church services and attending all church programs. Christians can also find suitable mates over the internet. There are many Christian dating sites online that are will increase your chances of finding a Christian mate. They unite with each other in God’s name and strengthen the Christian faith. This is the essence of Christian life.

The christian church is particular about the faith in christian life.










Series exploring the coming New World Order from a Biblical perspective. In this part, an introduction to some of the concepts we’re going to be covering. This nearly eleven-hour journey through history, the Bible, theology and occult thought is now available as a four DVD set here: www.theapologeticsgroup.com DONATIONS for future series and the expansion of the Fuel ministry can also be made via PayPal using the address ‘authenticfuel@gmail.com’ (vision outline available on the Facebook page). www.facebook.com/TheFuelProject
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