tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post54180432739509481..comments2024-03-29T04:31:15.219-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: The most persecuted religion. . .Pastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-6237025262288652592012-12-11T09:50:29.253-06:002012-12-11T09:50:29.253-06:00Self-persecuted? To the point where they can say t...Self-persecuted? To the point where they can say that such comes from without?Mr. Mcgranorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12851136550476241757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-78277176820531888642012-12-11T08:12:50.891-06:002012-12-11T08:12:50.891-06:00Was this a complaint or was this merely the happy ...Was this a complaint or was this merely the happy acknowledgement of that which Christians have known for sometime... far from being a majority which can throw its weight around, orthodox Christianity is daily being persecuted, pressured, and put down by the world around us. We rejoice not in the persecution itself but in the reward for enduring it. Such reward and, in part the rejoicing, awaits the coming of Christ and the new kingdom.<br /><br />Jesus does not say the persecution is good but that the reward is greater than the cost of discipleship and faithfulness. We anticipate the day when we shall jump for joy and in the midst of our tests and trials we are found faithful. We jump up and down when finally we hear the words now promised: Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of Your Master.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-31464100612693608012012-12-10T11:19:58.681-06:002012-12-10T11:19:58.681-06:00Luke 6:22 "Blessed are you when people hate y...Luke 6:22 "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.<br /><br />Why do I not see all that much jumping?<br /><br />Peace and Joy!<br />George A. Marquart<br />12Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-87713493202921364272012-12-09T21:28:55.790-06:002012-12-09T21:28:55.790-06:00You wrote: "To put it in practical terms, Ch...You wrote: "To put it in practical terms, Christianity in America is like the Platte River in Nebraska -- a mile wide but only a foot deep. Christianity in Europe is like a river that runs very deep but is not very wide at all."<br /><br />Wasn't it Chris Rosborough who said that Evangelicalism is a mile wide and 1/4 inch deep? Regrettably, the non-denominational seeker-churches form a lasting negative impression of Christianity in the public mind. In the USA, the Evangelical landscape is dominated by snake oil salesmen.<br /><br />Sadly, whenever most non-Lutherans think about the LCMS, they automatically think that the LCMS is either a branch of the ELCA, or it is a damaged variant of Roman Catholicism.<br /><br />Europeans enjoy a much higher living standard than in the USA. The people are not as quick to turn to God when things go badly for them. Church workers were traditionally paid by the government, but I understand this is becoming less the case. Apathy dominates. Perhaps the threat of Islam will wake them all up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-61133739513397870472012-12-09T16:46:14.229-06:002012-12-09T16:46:14.229-06:001. What passes as the "church" in Ameri...1. What passes as the "church" in America is in no way equal to the Church.<br /><br />2. I am not travelled in Europe. However, the European Christians with whom I have had contact are far deeper.<br /><br />3. The church in America knows no history but the foundations of their own particular denomination (generally).<br /><br />4. The same principle from Proverbs about training children could possibly apply to cultures.<br /><br />5. The fullness or emptiness of a church building in no way indicates the depth of the spirituality of it's congregants.<br /><br />The history we do not know cannot affect us at all.Janis Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02947508427040251166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-15751085586067322902012-12-09T16:00:30.890-06:002012-12-09T16:00:30.890-06:00Traveling got several weeks in NE Germany in the s...Traveling got several weeks in NE Germany in the summer of 2011, we worshipped in various churches. No, they were not full, but there was always a significant congregation. In a small neighborhood church in Hamburg there were about 35 or 40 in attendance -- what you might also find in many older neighborhood churches in this country -- although this church probably served a parish of several thousand. At the Kaiser Wilhelm Church in Berlin there was a sizable crowd, although I suspect many of them were visitors like us. Somehow, though, I do suspect that there is still real faith among many, but real agnosticism too. It is just different than America and hard to explain -- but surely not as clear-cut as we pious Americans sometimes assume.<br />Pastor Jim Wagnernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-72350677898702952752012-12-09T15:23:16.034-06:002012-12-09T15:23:16.034-06:00Africa will have to send missionaries to Europe to...Africa will have to send missionaries to Europe to re-evangelize Europe.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-61047472933646103412012-12-09T11:32:32.957-06:002012-12-09T11:32:32.957-06:00My limited observations have been that living Chri...My limited observations have been that living Christianity in Europe is almost impossible to find. I did see vast evidence of what once was there, but it was all ruins or empty buildings. I attended Drie Konigs Kirke in Saxenhausen (spelling may be off, it has been a long time), across the river from Mainz, and there were about a dozen in attendance in a building that could easily hold 500.<br /><br />Fr. D+Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com