The Bible's Difficult Passages

In the past, how have you approached Bible passages that seemed problematic?  Did you ignore them?  Did you try to justify them?  In what ways did your approach to such passages shape your overall faith?

After hearing Alan's sermon (you can watch video of it after Sunday evening), in what ways will your approach to difficult Bible passages change?  Or how might these passages shape your faith in the future?

Reply to this post and share your thoughts.

Religion, Wars and Violence

It's no secret that many wars have been fought in the name of religion.  It is one element of "Religion Gone Bad" that Alan discussed last week.  It is something that causes some to reject Christianity or religion all together.
How did today's sermon help you to know how to respond when people raise this objection to religion or Christianity?  What will you take to heart from this sermon?

How to help in Haiti - Presbyterian Disaster Assistance

No doubt, many of you are watching the news for updates on the disaster relief efforts going on in Haiti.  If you are wondering what you can do to help, visit www.pcusa.org/pda/.  Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) is one of the organizations supported by the One Great Hour of Sharing collections that generally take place during Lent.  Thanks to that support, PDA is often able to be among the first responders around the world.

Right now, the best way to help PDA and other relief organizations (Red Cross, etc) is with financial contributions.  Good cash flow helps to purchase equipment and supplies in the immediate aftermath.

What makes PDA unique among other relief organizations?  One thing is that they are able to offer the spiritual nurture and care people need not only in the midst of immediate trauma, but over the long haul in the recovery process.  PDA also is able to give longterm commitment to the recovery efforts in situations like Haiti's recent earthquake or the Gulf Coast.

Don't forget that there is power in prayer!  For those who are searching for words to pray, a wonderful prayer posted online at www.pcusa.org that you can use to get started.

When Religion Goes Bad

It seems that sometimes Christians can do more than any other group to damage the reputation of Christianity as a religion. In his message on Sunday, Alan spoke about 'religion gone bad' as one of the prime objections to religion as a whole that are being raised by today's atheists.

Throughout history, significant and profound wrongs have been done in the name of God and religion. While that's not true of all 'religious' people, those who are guilty of such atrocities get the most press, and are most remembered when it comes to evaluating any particular religion, or even religion itself.

Could this be one reason that so many people today feel the need to make a distinction between being 'spiritual' and being 'religious'?

Perhaps this is why so many non-religious people seem to shut down or grow uncomfortable when church, faith, and religion come up in conversation.

People learn about the God of Christianity by observing how Christians live. If they experience Christians as narrow minded and judgmental, aren't they justified in assuming that the same is true of our God? Unfortunately, that is an accurate description of how many Christians view God. Toward the end of his message Alan challenged us to think about our own faith and what characteristics of God are evident in our own lives.

So who is the God you worship? What is the character of that God? How does your own understanding of who God is set you free? Or how does it cause you to struggle with the very idea of being 'religious'?

Click on the "comments" link below to share your thoughts.

Engaging our Critics

On Sunday I began a new sermon series called Engaging Our Critics: A Dialogue with Atheism. Over the last few years there have been a number of books condemning religious faith on the bestseller’s list. The series is intended to be a Christian response to Atheism’s challenges. I shared a list of some the most influential books. They are:

• Sam Harris: The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation
• Daniel Dennett: Breaking the Spell
• Richard Dawkins: The God Delusion
• Christopher Hitchens: God Is Not Great

On Sunday I talked about the relationship between faith and science. The church has not always been open to the latest findings of science. Some of the most significant challenges have been to the work of Galileo and Copernicus and, of course, Charles Darwin.

One of the common ways that religious people have set ourselves up for these conflicts is by using God as the explanation for all of the things we don’t understand about the natural world around us. This practice is called “God of the gaps”. When human understanding advances and ‘God” is not needed to explain something, it seems to believers, like God is being rejected and reduced. The problem is poor theology and science and lazy bible scholarship. God is not just a concept to be used to fill in the gaps.

Every generation must encounter the best human thought and knowledge and reflect deeply about who we are and how we can best articulate our understanding and relationship with God, each, other, and the created world.