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Does Size Matter?

by Donald E. Hester on Sunday, 22 February 2009 Christianity 0 Comments

Coors Can I will keep this short.

Does the size of the Church matter. I know people who are very much opposed to mega-churches. Check out a recent cartoon on mega-churches.

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2009/02/ur_wisdom_megac.html

Is the size of the church the issue? Shouldn't the issue be whether or not the Holy Spirit working there?

If the Holy Spirit is working in a mega-church, who are we to oppose God?

It seems like complaining about the color of the pews. Is that what Christianity is about? Is it about the size of your church? Small, medium, large, would you like to super size it? If God is there, isn't that enough?

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Movie Review: Religulous

by Donald E. Hester on Wednesday, 18 February 2009 Movie Reviews 0 Comments

I recently watched Bill Maher’s movie ‘Religulous’. I was intrigued at the concept of the movie. Given it was a comedy I expected it to be completely irreverent. He has honest questions but he does not seek honest answers. He picks extreme examples and not mainstream examples. What does this movie promote:

Not having faith is a luxury according to Bill Maher.
According to Bill Maher, religion is detrimental to human society.
Religion is made up to answer tough questions.
He says he made fun of religious in his standup days.
He grew up Catholic and his mother was Jewish.
He thinks his father stopped going to Church because of catholic prohibition with birth control.
Brings up issues that are religion not relationship.
He shows extreme example of religious people whom even I have issues with.
He did not interview any serious mainstream Christians.
He thinks it is about faith without facts.
Would you expect that multiple eyewitness accounts would be different?
Compares Christians with extremist Muslim terrorist.
He admits Sodom and Gomorrah exist but that is it.
Exchange Ministries was an example and the pastor says no one is born s homosexual. I think everyone is born a sinner and thus has the potential to be gay.
He interviews people who think religion is about themselves.
Bill thinks anyone who thinks a miracle happen actually had something that was a coincidence.
He picks 3 founding fathers who were not Christians and showcases them as a reason why this nation is not founded Christian.
Picks on 10 commandments.
He thinks humanism would come to the same conclusion. See my other posts, I don’t think so.
He shows that Christians don’t agree on creation and evolution.
He interviews an amusement park actor about Christianity. (Is this a qualified opinion?)
Religion is a neurological disorder.
Religion diverts man to a destructive course.
Religion must die for humans to survive.
Religion keeps man in bondage.
Atheist should not be timid.

He had legitimate and fair questions. He did not have fair answers and he stacked the cards to show religion as an evil.

I would rate this movie 1 comedian out of 5.

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Christian Hypocrisy

by Donald E. Hester on Saturday, 31 January 2009 Apologetics 0 Comments

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"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." - DC Talk "What if I Stumble?"

1. Hypocrisy does not invalidate a truth claim. Atheists claim Christian hypocrisy is evidence against the existence of God. It is a fallacy to claim that a position is incorrect based upon the fact that the persons personal habits do not conform to the position. For example, if I claim that smoke is harmful for your health and I smoke you could claim that I am wrong. However, the truth of the claim that smoking is bad for your health is not predicated on adherence to the expected response.

Many Atheist do understand that the hypocrisy does not invalidate the truth claim. However, all the big Atheists use Christian hypocrisy parading it around in their book, articles, podcasts and blogs. It is the piñata they love to beat, and they never miss the opportunity. While I listened to debates Dan Barker, Richard Dawkins, Austin Dacey, Frank Zindler, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Brian Edwards, John Shook, Peter John and Sam Harris, they never failed to mention it.

2. Many Atheists hold humanistic position that man is generally good. (Never mind that fact they claim that all the evil in the world is evidence against God) Christian hypocrisy is evidence that people are sinners not saints. Christian hypocrisy proves people are not perfect as the Bible states. The Bible claims the opposite of the humanistic position that man is generally good. In fact, the Bible claims that man is sinful and left to himself will become more and more evil.

The Christian position is that once a person is saved they are not instantly perfect. There is a process of renewal, a metamorphosis, moving toward perfection. The process is called sanctification. Sanctification is the process whereby God through the Holy Spirit gently moves us in the right direction. In addition, total perfection is not obtained in this life. It is not until we die that we are glorified. Salvation, being saved, is a position not a practical experience of perfection. It naturally follows that Christians would not be perfect and given to hypocrisy.

Christian hypocrisy does not deny the existence of God or the truth of the Bible. It proves that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. Christians should not condone the hypocrisy, just understand it is a part of living in a fallen (imperfect) world.

"I despise my own behavior; this only serves to confirm my suspicions that I am still a man in need of a Savior." DC Talk "In The light"

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Does Size Matter?

Movie Review: Religulous

Christian Hypocrisy