I took the title of this post today from the seventh paragraph in the article. I am reminded of what Jesus stated in following Bible verse:
Mat 16:18
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Once again, what man has meant for evil - is being turned towards good.
I will be back later today for more commentary about this incident, but the following article - A Tale of Two Churches caught my eye and I wanted to share it with readers here.
[Note: Perhaps the author of the article was using hyperbole, but the fact is that the church was not "burned to the ground." Apparently, some rooms at the front of the church were badly damaged and need to be repaired (estimated to be one million dollars worth of damage).]
Excerpt:
A Tale Of Two Churches
By Doug Patton
December 16, 2008
This is a tale of two American churches. One is in a major city. The other is in a small town. One preaches hatred of America and its institutions. The other preaches love and patriotism. One is infected with a toxic dogma known as Black Liberation Theology. The other espouses the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One was just firebombed. Guess which one.
Barack Obama spent twenty years sitting in the pews of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, listening to some of the foulest teaching ever to come from the mouth of a "preacher." That preacher was a poison-tongued demagogue named Jeremiah Wright, who has spewed racist lies and hateful conspiracies from his pulpit during his entire career.
Meanwhile, in Wasilla, Alaska, an evangelical church, attended by Gov. Sarah Palin and her family, teaches the true meaning of Christ's message to His church and to a fallen world.
On Friday, Dec. 12, the Wasilla Bible Church was firebombed. Authorities said the fire started at the main entrance of the church and that they are investigating the blaze as arson. They estimated the damage at $1 million. No one was injured, although a small group, which included children, was inside at the time.
The Wasilla congregation gathered for their services at a local middle school the Sunday following the fire. The statements of the members and their pastors, as reported by the Associated Press, are telling:
Patsy Inks said the news initially shocked and frustrated her. But by Sunday, she was feeling blessed, she said at the school, where worshippers lingered over a potluck dinner for a church family leaving Alaska. "This tragedy has brought us all together," Inks said, her eyes tearing up.
The congregation realizes the church is more than the building, said John Doak, associate pastor at Wasilla Bible Church. "The definition of the church is the body of Christ, made up of God's people," Doak said. "The church is still there. We are the church."
Continue reading.
HT: GOP USA
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6 comments:
Much of what is occuring from day-to-day reminds me of one of the books from the 'Left Behind' series. Nicolai.
In this book, we see only a handful of people being capable of witnessing acts and remembering them. What is occuring today is we witness certain unchristian acts and some see nothing wrong with them (One of my former Pastors from the Nazarene Church saw nothing wrong with Jeremiah Wright's statements). Then, those who are living as Christians and are folling the Lord entirely get bombed. Is it because we see clearly? The reporter in Nicolai was not suspected as knowing anything. But had he allowed anyone to know, he would have been persecuted.
Maybe this is why the church is silent. They are afraid to come under persecution.
Jim,
During our comment conversations, we are both coming up with various adjectives to describe what is happening to pastors, teachers, evangelists and the congregation in the church and why so many are silent about moral issues.
I think that each description that we have shared is correct. I think that the fear of persecution can be included.
Your comment about "seeing clearly" reminded me of a post I did a while back. The post dealt with the Problems of Uncertainty and Apathy about Truth.
Do you agree that this is what it boils down to? If people are unsure of their faith, the Bible, its inerrancy, salvation, the cross and resurrection of Christ etc., then do you think that maybe they have apathy about absolute truth and therefore, want to ignore it in their lives?
I have read many times that people - even some Christians - do not believe that there is such a thing as "absolute truth."
I think that the following quote from John MacArthur speaks volumes about it:
Many self-styled evangelicals today are openly questioning whether such a thing as truth even exists. Others suppose that even if truth does exist, we can’t be sure what it is, so it can’t really matter much. The twin problems of uncertainty and apathy about the truth are epidemic, even among some of the evangelical movement’s most popular authors and spokespersons. Some flatly refuse to stand for anything because they have decided that even Scripture isn’t really clear enough to argue about. Except for the massive scale on which such thinking has attained popularity today, and the way it is seeping into the church, such ideas themselves are really nothing new or particularly shocking. It is exactly the same attitude with which Pilate summarily dismissed Christ: “What is truth?” (John 18:38)
- John MacArthur
It is sad to have to admit that pastors and evangelists like John MacArthur - who stick to the absolute truth of Scripture - are rare today. Such a terrible shame.
I watched the comparison video's.
Listening to Olsteen just reminded me of an appeaser. The Catholic fella is consistant with what I have always felt about Catholics, they can speak with a fork tongue. Billy Graham can get a pass because, he was asked specifically about Mormons and Jehova's Witnesses. That is different than Jews and Muslims.
These two are examples of people who can not say what they believe because they are not convinced. They are examples of a fraud; people who have gone to seminary to study and know everything they need to know without knowing why they need to know it.
In my other blog, Love One Another I feel I have chased down the core message of the Bible. I say I understand why we were created. I say exactly what is required from the law, and how Jesus is the Christ. I discuss how he fulfilled the Law of the Old Testament and became a sacrifice to atone for sin. Faith in Jesus' work and resurrection allows the believer an accounting of His righteousness to whomever will accept that He did fulfill the Law and is the only acceptable sacrifice for atonement.
And then, I identify the one and only Law a believer in Christ must Keep. Can you tell me what that is? Not a test, I just don't want to patronize you by laying the Gospel out to someone who knows it as well as I do. So, I am leaving a blank.
"Narrow is the path, and few who enter there in".
In a nut shell, it is difficult for me to sumarize what "Truth" is. I have written seven chapters to my Love One Another blog to say what my opinion of faith is. And, you know what? I believe I am correct and everyone else is wrong.
EASY WAY TO MAKE SURE OBAMA NEVER GETS INAUGURATED (READ CAREFULLY):–
Since the Supreme Court has now prevented itself from acknowledging the question of whether Barack H. Obama is or is not an Article II “natural born citizen” based on the Kenyan/British citizenship of Barack Obama’s father at the time of his birth (irrespective of whether Barack Obama is deemed a “citizen” born in Hawaii or otherwise) as a prerequisite to qualifying to serve as President of the United States under the Constitution — the Court having done so three times and counting, first before the Nov 4 general election and twice before the Dec 15 vote of the College of Electors — it would seem appropriate, if not necessary, for all Executive Branch departments and agencies to secure advance formal advice from the United States Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel as to how to respond to expected inquiries from federal employees who are pledged to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States” as to whether they are governed by laws, regulations, orders and directives issued under Mr. Obama during such periods that said employees, by the weight of existing legal authority and prior to a decision by the Supreme Court, believe in good faith that Mr. Obama is not an Article II “natural born citizen”.
Great comments, C!
If this had happened to Obama's church, it might actually be getting a lot more MSM exposure.
Good points, Christine. Any other church, let alone it it was Biden's or Obama's, would be getting major coverage.
Where is all the "hate crimes" talk?
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