I do know that Jesus wasn’t a homo, or black, or a communist or a pedo. I do know he He was dead set against the virtue signalling poseurs of the day. There are very few people I’d trust to lecture me on God’s word and intent… and this clot headed cankle blossom isn’t one of them.
It’s curious, yesterday the wife and I were chatting and I noticed how many churches were getting pozzed and ended up closing as a result. The press gleefully reports declining numbers and closures too. But the wife caught me unawares - she asked if I had noticed all the new little churches opening up? I thought about and was shocked. There are tiny churches popping up all over the place, now that I thought about it. It’s the damnedest thing… they’re little tiny affairs, tucked in between the big box stores in strip malls, or in office buildings or the old declining shopping malls. They might serve a crowd of maybe a couple dozen, seldom more than 50. The wife thinks that when the queers and SJWs infiltrate and pozz the church - the Christians abandon it and establish smaller ones out of the way where they can do their thing without getting hassled by govt, perverts, Karen, and other cultural fascists. Maybe the closure of those big powerful mega churches is a good thing, ultimately?
Have a great Sunday y’all. Thanks for stopping in.
I think your wife is on to something.
ReplyDeleteHarvard, which used to be a pretty good school, recently appointed an Atheist as their chaplain. It is worth noting that Harvard was originally founded as a seminary.
Those who consider themselves our superiors not only left the rails, they went over the cliff.
Church-goers did not abandon the faith. Rather, the established (religion) abandoned it and church-goers chose to not follow them.
Glen, this is precisely the model of the early Church: small, local bodies living in community with each other and the Gospel.
ReplyDeleteTo the Twitter commentary - I disagree that there is no outlet, though perhaps not on the radio. The philosophies espoused are now in virtually every major denomination and, it appears, coming soon to the Catholic Church. So reflective, in fact, that people are leaving those Churches because they are exactly like the society around them (you and I have discussed this more than once).
Christ said Hell would not prevail against his Church - just not any particular Church.
A real world ongoing model is the Underground Church in China. The Mainline Churches - really all religions - are going under due to need of the Church to conform to the government (and, to be fair, the government now actively is acting against all religions). But the Underground Church is thriving, actually preaching the Gospel.
The next logical step will be when these small churches become not tied to commercial buildings or real estate but meet together in the homes of each other or in larger private buildings. The Church was never a building.
Do you listen to christian radio, TB? I admit I do not, for the most part. The wife does on her little Rav and I am not hearing one single solitary thing that is bad or evil or hateful. There's plenty I disagree with but that is a difference of opinion.
ReplyDeleteThe church has gone off the rails before during its history and it seems to self correct - after enough blood has been spilled getting the charlatans and grifters out.
I am now firmly convinced we are at a historical junction where we need to do a housecleaning of biblical proportions, if you will pardon my pun. Our church is a mess as are all the other institutions... and the same sort of people keep cropping up when you follow the money and sort out the details.
Glen, I used to much more - not that I do not drive more than 20 minutes at one time, I have pretty much stopped listening because there is nothing worse that starting and stopping a program in the middle. And of course, there are fewer preachers I would listen too. But yes, disagreement about opinions, nothing evil or hateful.
DeleteThe Reformation, if one wishes to think of that way, was a self-correction (except if you are Roman Catholic, of course). The Great Awakening was another.
And yes, the same sorts of people -or at least philosophies - keep showing up.
What would such a temple cleansing look like? Perhaps a lot like what you suggest at the top: people leaving "established" religion for the Church and all of the defunding and selling of properties that will entail. It will be interesting to see what happens when the mainline powers that be and The National Council of Churches lose control of the narrative.
Toirdhealbheach Beucail (whomever that might be - with a moniker like that I'm surprised his teeth haven't done his tongue a mischief) is quite correct. The Church refers to a group of people; not to a building.
ReplyDeleteStart looking for a new Church and you'll get more than one surprise along the way. I've been through it, and it ain't easy. The Church I'd like to attend is quite a distance from my home, and the timing is poor - services could be held a bit earlier. But I think I'm going to have to get back to it.
People leave a church for various reasons, but it's usually the sermon. I remember one pastor I had for some years who was great at everything except writing a sermon. If he'd delegated that to one of the elders, he'd have been as close to perfect as you could get.
While it's sad to see a Church fold up, the people may be needed somewhere else - so they scatter. Me, I want a non-denominational Christian Church that is elder led, and features teaching sermons for the adult believer and a choir.
Latest Bill Maher HBO program had Ralph Reed as a guest. Maher had stated that this past year, church attendance had dropped immensely. I guess he never took into account that COVID pretty much cut down any church attendance, even stopping congregations from sitting in their own car in the parking lot and listening to the service by radio.
ReplyDeleteThat was incredibly petty - authority did not want ANYONE getting together, even when separated.