The saddest thing is that liberals have no sense of the certainty of salvation. They fear they may do something that will cause them to lose their salvation - that's if they are saved.
Arah In your opinion, where/on what are an athiests morals based? You say they are for the good of the community. But why is it good for a community to do good for the weak - surely they weaken the community.
People talk to their neighbours about things that are important to them. If this is not happening I would be inclined to look at the preaching and teaching they are getting. If good teaching is occurring, is it being bathed in prayer? It's not about programmes it's about a relationship with God and other Christians. Get the people reading the Bible.
I believe we've drifted from the truth by using many of the modern translations. Check these in KJV and several other modern Bibles. Then look at the original Greek Examine Galations 2: 16-21 Philippians 3: 9 NB "the faith of Christ" It was given to us at justification. It becomes ours to exercise and strengthen. The dead do not have this faith unless it is given to them.
HBJC is a mission attempting to spread the gospel many of the unreached by radio. They have several transmitters worldwide and are currently enlarging their transmitters in NW Australia. When finished it'll transmit into 60%+ of the worlds population mainly Moslems, Hindus and Buddhists. The programs are put together in as many of the languages as they can find suitable speakers. Look it up on the web. This may be one way you can help spread the Word.
I was encouraged to read the ESV study bible sold out on its first print. I hope it was a large print run. Hopefully more people will seek it out rather than that dangerous Scoffield study bible which so many people seem to use without being aware that it is peddling dispensationalism.
I just popped back in here . hidemi williges you are wrong. I know a Chinese fellow who studied the Bible in English classes at Beijing University. It was the set text. He became a Christian and suddenly the stories started to make sense. Also Bibles are published in China these days. Not enough though. It is the house churches that are in trouble with the authorities as they are not official.
I've been told that in China all students of English have two text books. One of them is the Bible {AV of course}. I know of one Chinese fellow who became a christian and since then has enjoyed reading those stories with new meaning. If the bible can be used in this way in an antichristian culture why is it so difficult to see its use in a country based on christian culture.
The psalms are not the only songs recorded in scripture. Is it OK to sing any of those? Well if you are going to sing you need music. Are the psalms recorded by the "Sons of Korah" acceptable? Why don't you use instruments in your church?
When you proponents of psalms only, sing the psalms are they as written in the Hebrew? Do you as many I know change the words and metre to fit modern western music ideas of music? Rarely it seems, do psalms only people sing them as written. What music do you use? Has anyone got copies of the music as sung by the the Israelites over 2000 years ago. A modern group "Sons of Korah" sing the psalms to modern music they have written. Is that acceptable to you? How do you deal with all the songs recorded in scripture that are not psalms? A lot of questions I know, but I can't see the logic behind those who say they sing only the psalms. Do they confine this new law only to the "worship" hour on Sunday or does it apply to all singing, or all worship throughout the week?
Great Sermon! But the point is, it is not a psalm. It is a song written after the pattern of the psalms and has some of the ideas from the psalms, but it is not one of the psalms. Many of our hymns and gospel songs follow these same criteria. Very few people seem to sing the actual psalms as written. They rearrange them to fit our notions of musical metre. They even alter the words to fit. [See the response by Dr. Prutow]
One problem that has surfaced, is from a school teacher I know. He needed to access some legit sites on drug and alcohol abuse and some sites on alternative lifestyles to obtain facts and figures and handout materials. They were all blocked.