Posted on 06/28/2005 9:19:57 AM PDT by voletti
THIS week, for the fourth year in a row, President George Bush broke from affairs of state to address the Southern Baptist Convention. He promised the strict evangelical group, which has 16m members, that he would work hard to ban gay marriage and abortion, and that their “family values” were his values, too.
In the 1960s, many liberal Americans thought they had banned religion from the public square for good. Yet nowadays the president, the secretary of state and the House speaker accept the evangelical label. A packed prayer breakfast takes place every Thursday in Congress. And liberals regularly contend that one of America's two great parties is bent on creating a theocracy—backed by a solid core of somewhere between a quarter and a third of the population.
Why is the religious right as powerful as it is? The question puzzles even Americans. Their country, as a whole, is not getting more religious. The gap between it and European countries has increased, but largely because of Europe's growing godlessness. Most Americans say that religion is very important (60%) or fairly important (26%) in their lives, but Karlyn Bowman, a polling analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, points out that the figures were 75% and 20% in 1952.
What has changed is, first, the make-up of Protestant America and, second, the realignment of religious America's politics. The generally liberal mainline churches have declined, while harder outfits like the Southern Baptists have spurted forward. White evangelicals, who see the Bible as the literal truth (or darned close to it), now make up 26% of the population.
It is not just a matter of numbers but of confidence. Born-again Christians are no longer rural hicks; they are richer and better educated than the average American.
(Excerpt) Read more at economist.com ...
Thank God that heaven will not be populated with Southern Baptists...or Catholics, for that matter. It will be populated with Christians, people who put their faith in the divine person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
And without the Holy Spirit as our guide and teacher, any translation of the Bible is gibberish.
Can't think of too many, unless you're expecting that the majority of Evangelicals reject any alcohol use (not true in my opinion) or even moderate gambling (maybe true).
OTOH, no traditional Catholic can accept contraception, ever, period. Almost all Evangelicals do.
Fine by me. You quit with the ID crap, and I'll quit harping on religious displays on public property.
The New Testament is identical, but the emphasis is placed on different parts of the NT.
Catholic and Episcopal/Anglican influence is stressed primarily on the Gospel of Matthew, Protestant Christianity in large part, draws heavily from a different gospel (I think Mark) and it also has a heavy emphasis on the Letters of Paul and Pauline theology, which is not something that the aforementioned denominations do
The most basic Christian theological division is Matthaic v Pauline.
There is also the issue of Divorce
Last time I checked, the only denomination that does not sign off on divorce is in fact, Roman Catholicism.
And I recall Someone once saying, "He who is without sin may cast the first stone." I don't condone smoking, not even C.S. Lewis smoking. I suspect he even drank wine, or worse! But on the subject of one's eternal destiny, these are trivial matter, yes?
Excellent description of the New Birth (being born again). Thanks. Then the Christian has GOD inside. Then the Christian is not his own, but he is bought with the Blood of Christ, and he, believing this, must reflect the New Birth in every area of life, including his voting practices, political affiliations, public debate and discussion...EVERYTHING. If he does not, he GRIEVES the Holy Spirit who regenerated and washed him (Titus 3:5), and who indwells him. The Christian who understands the workings of God's Holy Spirit cannot side with the sloppy, worldly, carnal "Christianity" that is endemic in many churches and denominations, but he must come out and be separate, and practice purity of life in the spirit and in the body so that Christ may be lifted up and given preeminence.
I suspect that little voice in your head is Jesus. :-)
later pingout...
And what one puts in his body can be a stumbling block to the faith or the Biblical understanding of others. Does it bring glory to God? That is the standard.
I grew up in a fundamentalist Christian home and I can give you some examples from that time, but not necessarily today. First of all, gambling was considered a sin, my grandmother objected to even having ordinary playing cards in the house (we did have them, of course). My grandmother was the area president of the WCTU for twenty years, so you know how liquor was viewed. We had blue laws in PA at that time and even after they were lifted by the state, they were still in force in our house if my grandmother was visiting.
I don't think I've enjoyed a post more than yours since I can't remember when..
I could not have said it better myself!!
I fear I grieve the Holy Spirit much..but i am not perfect..just forgiven!!
God Bless you and praise God for the Blood of Christ!!! :)
Jesus drank wine
Heck, Jesus made wine.
Protestants DON'T use Alcohol, tobacco, nor gamble? News to me. The hardest drinking and biggest consumers of tobacco are in the Bible Belt. Jack Daniels? Where do you think that is distilled? Southern Comfort? Wild Turkey? Last time I checked these were wildly drunk in the heart of the Bible Belt. You mean Protestants don't go to casinos? That would mean all those casino boats in Mississippi will have to shut down for lack of patrons.
Bingo!
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