The name Kevin does not appear in scripture but here I am using it. I drive a car to church that is not biblical. We have Sunday School- nope not biblical. My friends church plays an organ not biblical. I cannot find pews in the bible anyway. The order of church services- you guessed it- not in the bible. The lack of power and reliance many churches have on tradition- yep not biblical.
What most people may not realize is that the early churches not only had different doctrines they also had different cannon or scriptures they held sacred.
We must be careful not to swallow a camel while we strain at a gnat. Let every man be judged of his own Master.
Like I said Bo, I dont know if these theologies are correct or not, that is the exact reason why I am researching them. The things you stated above rarely influence belief about Jesus Christ. I am sure the early church people had names, they rode to church in chariots or on horse back, I am sure they played musical instruments when they worshiped, I am sure they sat on something, I am sure somebody looked after their children when they where at church etc etc etc.
I dont want to get into this old argument of what is biblical and what is not, but we should be very careful and use as much discernment as we can when it comes to theologies that challenge biblical belief.
We cannot throw the bible out every time somebody claims that God is doing something new, we need to test what they are saying against scripture, especially when it relates to who Jesus Christ is.
Sometimes teachings which are based in truth become false teachings because the people who recieved them initially misunderstood them or have deliberately changed them to give highlite to their own ministries.
Like I have said numerous times that this subject is controversial, but I think we should take the time and examine these theologies and see firstly where did they originate from, what do they teach and imply and very importantly where do they lead in terms of what Christ taught.
If I may also interject- the doctrines of Christ and His Church were new and radical and many religious people could not accept them. Let the Holy Spirit give us discernment that we do not miss a move of God.
If you are implying that I am religious in nature because I test everything I see and hear against the word of God, then I forgive you brother. There is a difference between doing things with biblical principle and doing things out of religious conformity. I have never said that these new theologies are incorrect, I have only said that we should examine them more closely!
Actually the teachings of Christ where not new and radical, they where based solidly on what the prophets etc wrote about Christ. They prophesied that He would do these things. The religious people where blinded by pride and could not see Jesus in the scriptures, Jesus accused them of this a few times. Jesus taught about loving God and loving your fellow man, things which the old testament where full of. Jesus did many radical miracles, which the OT is full of as well.
Let us never forget that Jesus is God! The whole of the OT leads up to Him, the Gospels teach us about what He said and did, the rest of the NT teaches us how to apply what He said and did.
I do not want to sit and argue about side issues, I have to much respect for you Bo. What I would like to do is to take each one of these new teachings and and strip them down to where they started, what they imply and how do they support or contradict scripture. At the moment I have too little information on them, there is a lot of hype about them but very little real information about them.
The devil is the father of all lies, and in this day and age we need to discern what is truth and what is a lie. Yes God has given us the Holy Spirit to warn us, but God also made us logical human beings who have brains and can work through things logically.
Forgive me if I have caused any offence or anger, it is not my intention. I have a passion for Jesus and the truth He paid so dearly for! Sometimes in forums like this it is difficult to express what we really want to express and people only take the portions they feel they can relate to and sometimes argue about.
Your brother in Christ.