Re: [Idea-Central] Christianity and "churchanity"

#1 · August 18, 2000, 1:41 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on August 18, 2000, 1:41 pm
Posted by: Healing <Healing@...>

It is about time too....the church and the kingdom of God are so far apart
as to be almost unrecognisable.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Glen Stewart" <tz8cy5@flt.acr.gmeds.com>
To: "Idea Central" <idea-central@welovegod.org>
Sent: Friday, August 18, 2000 6:05 PM
Subject: [Idea-Central] Christianity and "churchanity"

This article "highlights the stark difference between Christianity and
"churchanity""

The following by Tom White is taken from the April 2000 issue of The
Voice of the Martyrs. It seems to me that it is both a word to alert,
as well as to encourage believers that times are changing and the time
of the end is more an end of the time of, as White says, "No more free
rides" for contemporary believers.

"During my lifetime, from 1947 until now, most Christians in America
have had no trouble getting a partially free ride. We were accepted as
being a benefit to society. Now our easy acceptance is turning to
rejection and even open animosity. Our ride is over. We are thrown out
on the street looking bewildered. Rubbing our wounded egos we get up
from the asphalt and want back in the car. We appeal to the courts. We
search every legal avenue to restore our "right" to cruise without
insult or opposition on the world's freeway.
"What's down the road for us, around the next curve? The February 5
issue of the Dallas Morning News published a religious feature story
entitled "Toward a Firmer Foundation"---a foundation for Hindus,
Muslims, Jews, and other non-Christians living in America. One subtitle
was "Non-Christians Sense Need To Steel Themselves Against
Proselytizing." Why are the non-Christians organizing a defense?
"The courageous Southern Baptists in America published some
pamphlets for their own people, prayer guides with a gracious approach
urging believers to pray for non-Christians like those groups named
above. Naturally, the uproar from these other religions has been
formidable. But the "celebrity list" of evangelical Christian leaders
who sold their birthright and joined in denouncing the Southern Baptists
is tragic. These cowards now stand at our city gates, ready to help
stone today's apostle Pauls for a witness which threatens the "doctrinal
respectability" of other religions.
"The unbelievers in Thessalonica were upset at Paul's intrusion and
formed an angry mob against him. Paul shook them out of their secure
path to hell. They angrily stated, "These who have turned the world
upside down have come here too" (Acts 17:6).
"Paul did not believe that being "religiously correct" at the
expense of the gospel was the way to win a golden key to a city. He
knew that time was too precious for bootlicking. Souls were going to
hell. Where he walked, lives were changed. Paul did win his keys of
honor. They were keys to prison, then the key to heaven.
"If a few years from now, we face a heavy court fine for infringing
upon another person's religious rights, what will we do? Will we stay
wealthy and healthy and operate only within our own church, or will we
dare to obey the Great Commission and rescue others from hell?
Christians in Malaysia and other nations face this dilemma daily. Many
of them do not evangelize at all among other religions because it is
forbidden by man's law.
"We worry about who will become our next Supreme Court Justices and
other leaders. I believe we should be concerned. But our motivation
should not be that of wanting a costless Christianity or a free ride
"guaranteed." What are we doing with the freedom we now have?
"Most of the Christians we work with in the l0/40 window of
persecuted nations do not know the names of the members of their Supreme
Court, if they have one. They know that there is only one court that is
truly Supreme. They are too busy evangelizing for the other Justice who
sits on a higher Throne. He has purchased for them with the blood of
Jesus a passage, a pilgrimage to eternity.
"In our short national history, we are getting thrown out of the
"Christians are popular" car. So what? At least half a dozen times
Jesus declared that we would be hated. Welcome to normal Christianity.
If you are fearful after being thrown out of the car, and worry that
your ride of acceptance is over, stand up and brush yourself off. Take
His hand. Jesus is ready to walk with you."

--
To unsubscribe, send ANY message to <idea-central-unsubscribe@welovegod.org>

Posted by: Healing <Healing@...>

It is about time too....the church and the kingdom of God are so far apart
as to be almost unrecognisable.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Glen Stewart" <tz8cy5@flt.acr.gmeds.com>
To: "Idea Central" <idea-central@welovegod.org>
Sent: Friday, August 18, 2000 6:05 PM
Subject: [Idea-Central] Christianity and "churchanity"

This article "highlights the stark difference between Christianity and
"churchanity""

The following by Tom White is taken from the April 2000 issue of The
Voice of the Martyrs. It seems to me that it is both a word to alert,
as well as to encourage believers that times are changing and the time
of the end is more an end of the time of, as White says, "No more free
rides" for contemporary believers.

"During my lifetime, from 1947 until now, most Christians in America
have had no trouble getting a partially free ride. We were accepted as
being a benefit to society. Now our easy acceptance is turning to
rejection and even open animosity. Our ride is over. We are thrown out
on the street looking bewildered. Rubbing our wounded egos we get up
from the asphalt and want back in the car. We appeal to the courts. We
search every legal avenue to restore our "right" to cruise without
insult or opposition on the world's freeway.
"What's down the road for us, around the next curve? The February 5
issue of the Dallas Morning News published a religious feature story
entitled "Toward a Firmer Foundation"---a foundation for Hindus,
Muslims, Jews, and other non-Christians living in America. One subtitle
was "Non-Christians Sense Need To Steel Themselves Against
Proselytizing." Why are the non-Christians organizing a defense?
"The courageous Southern Baptists in America published some
pamphlets for their own people, prayer guides with a gracious approach
urging believers to pray for non-Christians like those groups named
above. Naturally, the uproar from these other religions has been
formidable. But the "celebrity list" of evangelical Christian leaders
who sold their birthright and joined in denouncing the Southern Baptists
is tragic. These cowards now stand at our city gates, ready to help
stone today's apostle Pauls for a witness which threatens the "doctrinal
respectability" of other religions.
"The unbelievers in Thessalonica were upset at Paul's intrusion and
formed an angry mob against him. Paul shook them out of their secure
path to hell. They angrily stated, "These who have turned the world
upside down have come here too" (Acts 17:6).
"Paul did not believe that being "religiously correct" at the
expense of the gospel was the way to win a golden key to a city. He
knew that time was too precious for bootlicking. Souls were going to
hell. Where he walked, lives were changed. Paul did win his keys of
honor. They were keys to prison, then the key to heaven.
"If a few years from now, we face a heavy court fine for infringing
upon another person's religious rights, what will we do? Will we stay
wealthy and healthy and operate only within our own church, or will we
dare to obey the Great Commission and rescue others from hell?
Christians in Malaysia and other nations face this dilemma daily. Many
of them do not evangelize at all among other religions because it is
forbidden by man's law.
"We worry about who will become our next Supreme Court Justices and
other leaders. I believe we should be concerned. But our motivation
should not be that of wanting a costless Christianity or a free ride
"guaranteed." What are we doing with the freedom we now have?
"Most of the Christians we work with in the l0/40 window of
persecuted nations do not know the names of the members of their Supreme
Court, if they have one. They know that there is only one court that is
truly Supreme. They are too busy evangelizing for the other Justice who
sits on a higher Throne. He has purchased for them with the blood of
Jesus a passage, a pilgrimage to eternity.
"In our short national history, we are getting thrown out of the
"Christians are popular" car. So what? At least half a dozen times
Jesus declared that we would be hated. Welcome to normal Christianity.
If you are fearful after being thrown out of the car, and worry that
your ride of acceptance is over, stand up and brush yourself off. Take
His hand. Jesus is ready to walk with you."

--
To unsubscribe, send ANY message to <idea-central-unsubscribe@welovegod.org>