Thank you! Our family is quite divided over politics. We were raised to love Christ and believe 100% in the Bible. For 10 years now there have been fights that result in screaming matches, tears and hurt feelings. I chose to walk away from that and ended up not speaking to some of my siblings for years. The death of our mother last year caused me to realize that it is so important to maintain a relationship with my siblings and their spouses. I began by reaching out with “how are you” texts and phone calls. I avoid political discussions at all costs. My heart aches for the ones who have chosen a different path. I will cast my votes in November and continue to pray daily that God, the only one who can, will open the eyes and ears of those who just choose to worship a man.
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, not just Christian but born again which means having the holy Spirit guide me towards holiness not perfection however..The church has lost its purpose on this planet. We were commanded to be the salt & light, to be standing boldly against tyranny, evil abuse, not to be sitting in a pew week after week singing kumbaya. Voting for people who have power & authrity over a nation & who are following "the enemy" , well I feel is where we are right now. If the churches would Boldly expose evil ie trans,homosexual marriage, abortion even up to birth I would see their relevance & they would be a united force to be reconned with. Thank you for letting me share my opinion.
Hey Melanie, welcome. Nice to see a "neighbor" adding your thoughts. We moved to Sun City AZ more than 20 years ago and have never looked back. Interesting to note, our community is only 7 miles long and 3 miles wide, but there are 31 churches. Del Webb's people realized as we got closer to the end, religion became more important.
A friend and fellow SC historian often lament when will closing churches here becomes a thing. We know the data shows us the drop-off in attendance at churches is somewhere around 50% (or less). The immediate question is "why?"
Is it the involvement in politics? Pedophiles as priests? Super churches with the pastors and their 6 and 7 figure salaries and grandiose life styles? Or, are people just tired of the hypocrisy that covers many of the above sins? It's hard for me to even understand what it means to be religious these days.
By the way, you threw me with this one; "eschatological." Dang, i had to look up the meaning. Always fun to be challenged to increase my limited vocabulary.
Again welcome and thanks for giving the boys a break. Always great to add a female touch and insight.
I'm told that, in my struggle to reconnect to the Christian faith that I'm not supposed to look at professing Christians. But, as Kathy Stricchiola mentioned in her comment, followers of Christ are commanded to be salt and light, yet what I see in the vast majority of "Christians" reminds me of a quote I've heard, "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." I struggle to see evidence in the lives of the Christians I know that they possess something because of their faith that I lack. I have peace in my life throughout all my trials. I just don't attribute that peace to some personal relationship with a deity.
The stark divisions that have plagued the Christian faith evident by numerous denominations and theologies has always been evident, but Trump has showed that there is no hard truth on which the Christian faith stands. I remember how Bill Clinton was persecuted for his indiscretions by the very same people who embrace and defend Trump, though his transgressions appear to far outweigh those of Clinton. I've made this observation here before and I'll say it again, Jesus told us his kingdom was not of this world and I can't help but think that Satan has led Evangelical Republicans to the top of the mountain and they have forsaken the cause of Christ for power and for glory."
What is God's opinion on the 2024 presidential election? My guess is that one of his priorities is the People of Israel who are now fighting wars with Iranian proxies on their northern, eastern and western borders. That suggests to me that he favors the Zionist candidate, which is clearly not Kamala Harris.
Israel's problem is Netanyahu, Ben Gvir, Smotrich, and the rest of the far-right. Bibi had the opportunity to make alliance with Israel's neighbors to replace Hamas in Gaza - but refused to do so because he wants to hold on to power - 'cause that's the only way for him to avoid trial/stay out of prison.
Few of Israel’s leaders were perfect, not even King David or King Solomon, let alone King Herod. But does that break God’s covenant with the people of Israel?
Thank you! Our family is quite divided over politics. We were raised to love Christ and believe 100% in the Bible. For 10 years now there have been fights that result in screaming matches, tears and hurt feelings. I chose to walk away from that and ended up not speaking to some of my siblings for years. The death of our mother last year caused me to realize that it is so important to maintain a relationship with my siblings and their spouses. I began by reaching out with “how are you” texts and phone calls. I avoid political discussions at all costs. My heart aches for the ones who have chosen a different path. I will cast my votes in November and continue to pray daily that God, the only one who can, will open the eyes and ears of those who just choose to worship a man.
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, not just Christian but born again which means having the holy Spirit guide me towards holiness not perfection however..The church has lost its purpose on this planet. We were commanded to be the salt & light, to be standing boldly against tyranny, evil abuse, not to be sitting in a pew week after week singing kumbaya. Voting for people who have power & authrity over a nation & who are following "the enemy" , well I feel is where we are right now. If the churches would Boldly expose evil ie trans,homosexual marriage, abortion even up to birth I would see their relevance & they would be a united force to be reconned with. Thank you for letting me share my opinion.
Hey Melanie, welcome. Nice to see a "neighbor" adding your thoughts. We moved to Sun City AZ more than 20 years ago and have never looked back. Interesting to note, our community is only 7 miles long and 3 miles wide, but there are 31 churches. Del Webb's people realized as we got closer to the end, religion became more important.
A friend and fellow SC historian often lament when will closing churches here becomes a thing. We know the data shows us the drop-off in attendance at churches is somewhere around 50% (or less). The immediate question is "why?"
Is it the involvement in politics? Pedophiles as priests? Super churches with the pastors and their 6 and 7 figure salaries and grandiose life styles? Or, are people just tired of the hypocrisy that covers many of the above sins? It's hard for me to even understand what it means to be religious these days.
By the way, you threw me with this one; "eschatological." Dang, i had to look up the meaning. Always fun to be challenged to increase my limited vocabulary.
Again welcome and thanks for giving the boys a break. Always great to add a female touch and insight.
Hi neighbor. That word was originally a paragraph. Brevity is a virtue! Thank you for the kind words.
I'm told that, in my struggle to reconnect to the Christian faith that I'm not supposed to look at professing Christians. But, as Kathy Stricchiola mentioned in her comment, followers of Christ are commanded to be salt and light, yet what I see in the vast majority of "Christians" reminds me of a quote I've heard, "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." I struggle to see evidence in the lives of the Christians I know that they possess something because of their faith that I lack. I have peace in my life throughout all my trials. I just don't attribute that peace to some personal relationship with a deity.
The stark divisions that have plagued the Christian faith evident by numerous denominations and theologies has always been evident, but Trump has showed that there is no hard truth on which the Christian faith stands. I remember how Bill Clinton was persecuted for his indiscretions by the very same people who embrace and defend Trump, though his transgressions appear to far outweigh those of Clinton. I've made this observation here before and I'll say it again, Jesus told us his kingdom was not of this world and I can't help but think that Satan has led Evangelical Republicans to the top of the mountain and they have forsaken the cause of Christ for power and for glory."
What is God's opinion on the 2024 presidential election? My guess is that one of his priorities is the People of Israel who are now fighting wars with Iranian proxies on their northern, eastern and western borders. That suggests to me that he favors the Zionist candidate, which is clearly not Kamala Harris.
Israel's problem is Netanyahu, Ben Gvir, Smotrich, and the rest of the far-right. Bibi had the opportunity to make alliance with Israel's neighbors to replace Hamas in Gaza - but refused to do so because he wants to hold on to power - 'cause that's the only way for him to avoid trial/stay out of prison.
Few of Israel’s leaders were perfect, not even King David or King Solomon, let alone King Herod. But does that break God’s covenant with the people of Israel?
Let us just say there's a good "be careful what you wish for" lesson related to kings and the Jewish people.