tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post3746814371291589778..comments2024-03-27T15:47:46.091-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: What culture is left for Christianity to address?Pastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-76487079500554141292016-06-03T11:07:44.793-05:002016-06-03T11:07:44.793-05:00There's only a hell-spawned culture remaining ...There's only a hell-spawned culture remaining in the fifth-column leftist media, as reported in the <i>NewsBusters</i> article, "<a href="http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/culture/katie-yoder/2016/06/02/nets-cover-gorilla-death-6x-more-mass-christian-beheading" rel="nofollow">Nets Cover Gorilla Death 6x More Than ISIS Christian Beheading</a>."Carl Vehsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00348831096001668813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-6613656606265127412016-06-03T08:04:01.750-05:002016-06-03T08:04:01.750-05:00There is a more recent post by Carl Trueman that i...There is a more recent post by Carl Trueman that is very helpful in understanding Rod Dreher's work-in-progress Benedict Option. Dreher is making some valuable contributions that are well worth reading and contemplating.<br /><br />Eating Locusts Will Be (Benedict) Optional | Carl R. Trueman | First Things<br />http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2016/06/eating-locusts-will-be-benedict-optionalAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-79438502376348948192016-06-02T09:52:58.373-05:002016-06-02T09:52:58.373-05:00Lutheran Larker, indeed you are correct. Rome did ...Lutheran Larker, indeed you are correct. Rome did not have the Gospel, and it was an unreached pagan culture, as opposed to societies which were later aware of the Gospel but rejected it. We see that happening in our own land as well. Remember when Jesus quoted Isaiah, "This people draw near me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."John Joseph Flanaganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06596324816480709495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-26282335334993910252016-06-02T09:17:51.492-05:002016-06-02T09:17:51.492-05:00John, you wrote: The kingdoms in which the Apostle...John, you wrote: The kingdoms in which the Apostles evangelized, and were martyred, were as bad as today's anti-Christian and pagan societies. I am not sure that this is true. Rome had never heard the Gospel before and so there was an entrance for the Gospel among many -- if only for curiosity sake. Today those who reject the Gospel do not reject what they do not know, but what they think they know. They are rejecting not unknown but that which they know and do not believe is credible or reasonable or just. Thus such folks are harder for the Gospel to gain a hearing because they have no curiosity. They believe they have heard it and they are rejecting it. Even the claim that they have not heard the Gospel rightly does not carry much weight with the new pagans.Lutheran Lurkernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-84625953304886045702016-06-02T08:48:50.240-05:002016-06-02T08:48:50.240-05:00Yet another example of the U.S. swirling down the ...Yet another example of the U.S. swirling down the cultural toilet is the June 1, 2016, statement in Elkhart, IN, by the Floater-in-Chief, on forcing school restrooms and locker rooms be open for use by both sexes based on claims of gender identity:<br /><br />"I have profound respect for everybody's religious beliefs on this. But if you're at a public school, the question is, how do we just make sure that, uh, children are treated with kindness. That's all. And you know, my reading of scripture tells me that that golden rule is pretty high up there in terms of my Christian belief."<br /><br />Excerpted from the "<a href="http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/transcript-pbs-newshour-town-hall-from-lerner-theatre/article_6507508a-2858-11e6-a089-3b08bb800867.html" rel="nofollow">Transcript: PBS NewsHour Town Hall from Lerner Theatre</a>."Carl Vehsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00348831096001668813noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-64209373288588818332016-06-02T08:11:03.467-05:002016-06-02T08:11:03.467-05:00The kingdoms in which the Apostles evangelized, an...The kingdoms in which the Apostles evangelized, and were martyred, were as bad as today's anti-Christian and pagan societies. The reality is that even "worldly" kingdoms cannot resist the Gospel, nor can they prevent God from calling His elect. If this were not so, we would not be reading news that Christianity, despite opposition, repression, stigma, and active persecution, is actually taking a foothold in communist countries like China and Vietnam, in Muslim cultures like Saudi Arabia and Iran, and in many other areas. Hebrews 11 tells us the true numbers are often small, but since it is God's work, He will see it prosper. Of course, the decadent West, where Christianity flourished, has declined in the number of believers, having embraced a secularized humanistic philosophy. We in America are seeing Christianity under assault, and even if the sheer numbers of the faithful are reduced, God will draw from this pagan wasteland those whom He has elected. We must keep our own faith in Him strong, despite the depressing trends we see around us. Each of us must attend to our own household even as the fires rage about us.John Joseph Flanaganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06596324816480709495noreply@blogger.com