Heard the other day that the reason the devil doesn't oppose these feel good churches is because they are doing nothing to threaten his cause. They continue to flourish and most of the folks are merrily on their way to Hell.
Shame on these pastors.
Not true. We know who the Democrats are and what they stand for.
Mack Lyon, the broadcaster preacher in the program, "In Search of the Lord's Way", had a series of programs on this very subject during 2000 or so.
The transcripts of his series are regrettably off-line. You can obtain a pamphlet copy of those sermons on this subject, however. Surf on over to http://searchtv.org/ and drop the good folks on his staff an email. Ask them for a copy of the booklet, "Holy and Reverend is His Name."
I've worn out a copy of it, and handed out some copies to "holy roller" types. Pity they tend not to pay attention to it.
Oh, yes, no charge for the pamphlet, either. Quoting directly from the website: "It is our FIRM policy to make no solicitations for money or to sell anything on the air. We are funded by local churches of Christ who sponsor the broadcast in their areas."
Have a nice day.
Do many services ...
This handwringing about what some churches are doing always amazes me. What are there, maybe a million churches in the country? Two million? I guess "some" or "many" could apply to the frequency of just about any vice one cares to mention.
How about this: Don't worry about what "some" or "many" churches are doing, worry about your own church.
I can't help thinking about the histrionics when 5 churches last year decided not to have service on Christmas day, while the other 1,999,995 churches had service as normal. You'd have thought the world was about to end.
Has the Sunday morning worship in some churches become an exclusively predictable feel-good entertainment experience?
what happens in "some churches" is by no means representative of Christianity in a country as diverse as the United States. No two chuches are identical, even if they are in the same organization or are the same size.
Do many services begin with good music
Should they begin with bad music?
and a brief feel-good scripture passage
Most churches that do Scripture readings follow a lectionary. Those aren't "feel-good."
followed with a honey-coated three point feel-good fluff sermon, catered by the preacher, that is totally devoid of the anti-God issues that we face in our lives, community and nation as a body of Bible believing Christians?
Impossible to define. "Devoid of the anti-God issues" may indeed mean (and probably does) that the preacher simply doesn't adddress the writer's pet causes. Furthermore, there is nothing wrong with eloquence nor "three-point" sermons. Structure and eloquence should be valued, not belittled.
If Americans respected God today, as they should, they wouldnt distance themselves from Gods word.
And they do this how?
They wouldnt be using their tax dollars to pay teachers to indoctrinate their children into Darwins atheistic evolution rather then God as Creator.
So now it comes to brass tacks - the writer's pet issue is evolution. Never mind that Darwin has nothing to say for or against atheism, but only predicts that life changes over time - a fact that has been quantifiably observed. There are no small number of Christians - including the late John Paul II - who saw no contradiction between Christianity and evolution. St. Augustine forcefully argued that the creation narratives in Gen. 1-2 were allegorical, not literal. Who are you, and who am I, if St. Augustine couldn't figure this all out, to presume that we have our stuff all together? Arrogance.
Many Christians fail to understand or recognize the new disrespect towards their religious beliefs by vocal atheistic groups. As we stare directly into the sinister eyes of the face of evil, which fully intends to totally destroy our faith, our Godly values and the Godly traditional soul of our nation...
Oh, please. It's neither new nor especially sinister. Atheism is no more strident nor threatening than it ever was. Nor is atheism our biggest threat as Christians - secular post-modernism is.
we do not owe this darkness any civility.
Oh, really?
6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
- Col. 4:6
And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.
- 2Ti. 2:24-25
Satan is quickening, expanding and politicizing his agenda in order to melt down his manifest godless ideology into his new godless culture for his new godless nation....
Blame Satan for everything. Right.
I couldn't help but notice that his rant here is filled with conservative political opinions and compeletly devoid of any scripture references.
Just an observation.
Hey, we all die, it's just matter of time. There are many ways to go to Hell and only One way to Heaven. Where will your mail be forwarded?