Sophisticated Theology

Maybe we spend too much time trying to figure it all out and be perfect ... theologically.

Another thing to be critical of ... or ... involved in.

The 100 Year Prophesy

The 100 Year Prophesy: "In 1910 William Seymour prophesied that in 100 years there would be an outpouring of God's Spirit and His Shekinah Glory that will be greater and more far reaching than what was experienced at Azusa. 2010 is the year prophesied about and we are about 1000 days away."
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BHT wonders if this prophecy's fulfillment is somewhat overdue or have we simply not accepted that the prophesy has and is being fulfilled? This Azusa street prophesy by Charles Parham (there is some disagreement as to the prophet) occurred sometime in 1906. So 2006 would be the presumptive date. The Toronto Blessing started in 1994, the Brownsville/Pensacola Outpouring in 1995 and now the Lakeland Outpouring in 2008. We are all good at missing and misinterpreting things of God, people's attitude toward Jesus when he walked the earth comes to mind.

Maybe we should take a closer look at these "outpourings" (even if someone does bark like a dog or laughs hysterically now and then). I must say I am more drawn to the revivals of old where strangers came from miles around and repented and accepted Jesus. I ran across this reminder of Charles Spurgeon:

A woman accepted Christ as her savior and Lord from reading a single sermon page of Charles Spurgeon’s that was wrapped around her butter. Another person working high in the rafters of the church accepted Christ as Spurgeon was testing the acoustics with a single gospel sentence.

Gimme that ole time religion!

But if these "outpourings" are of God, I don't want to be a critic! On the other hand there are sufficient supernatural occurrences from the other side in our world to encourage heightened diligence and discernment. Then there is that whole end times deception of the elect thing. Being on our spiritual toes is good. The Florida people are not doing this in the dark or in secret. It is being blasted all over the world by internet. See and hear for yourself and decide if God is on the move.

If you need material from the skeptics a Google search will overwhelm you. Here is an example. The decision may not be easy. There is mention by the "skeptics" of a Bently stated association with the teachings of William Branham. Many "prophets" and "apostles" today claim adherence to the William Branham teachings. We must decide if those teachings are correct.

There is a passage of scripture that bewilders me.

Matthew 7:22-23 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)

22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Who are these people? How could they have thought they were following Jesus and been so wrong?

So while we are making up our mind, the old fashioned personal walk with God, ie trusting, studying, praying, forgiving, helping ... that kind of walk ... never goes out of style (with God at least).

We All Worship The Same God

K-House Current Events: Walid Shoebat
from 66/40 Radio Broadcast by Koinonia House
July 25, 2008 - Walid Shoebat - www.khouse.org

Listen Here

So which side is God on? What about those irritating Israelis?

Listen Here

Where do we go from here?
Joel Rosenberg
Listen Here 1
Listen Here 2

Follow along in Ezekiel 38.

BHT has listened to Chuck Missler's teachings for many years. If you have never heard Mr. Missler saunter over to www.khouse.org. You are in for a major treat.

Many of Chuck's teachings can be downloaded free from Fire Fighters for Christ here, and on esnips here.

C.S Lewis - "Mere Christianity" on Youtube

BHT loves "Mere Christianity" and is ecstatic finding it available for easy listening on line.

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxJwSIIqQrU

You can listen to 11 parts on Youtube. Better yet download the entire audio from the Apollos site. http://www.apollos.ws/blog/mere-christianity-audio-book.html

C.S. Lewis - "Lord, Liar, or Lunatic" - Mere Christianity

Compass Direct News : IRAN - EX-MUSLIMS DETAINED FOR ‘APOSTASY’

Compass Direct News : IRAN - EX-MUSLIMS DETAINED FOR ‘APOSTASY’: "IRAN: EX-MUSLIMS DETAINED FOR ‘APOSTASY’
Police interrogate converts to Christianity about faith, political activity.

ISTANBUL, July 9 (Compass Direct News) – Iranian authorities have detained two converts to Christianity in the southern city of Shiraz for eight weeks on suspicion of “apostasy,” or leaving Islam. In Iran, apostasy is a crime that can be punishable by death.

Mahmood Matin, 52, and Arash Bandari, 44, remain imprisoned in a secret police detention center known by its address, Sepah Street 100, located in the center of Shiraz since their arrest on May 15 (previously reported as May 13).

A draft penal code under discussion in Iran’s parliament this month may make the death penalty obligatory for those who leave Islam or use the Internet to encourage others to do so."
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BHT was crusing the Baltic and met many fine people among the 3000+ travelers on board. It seems all have political opinions and are not afraid to express them. I usually travel in Christian circles so hearing Jews, Hindus and Atheists express their attitudes toward Islam was interesting. All these people come from "tolerant" positions and teachings. They superimpose this tolerance on Islam, feeling that man is basically good and therefore tolerant inherently. Christians contrarily believe man is fallen and needs redemption and is anything but tolerant in persuasion. Well, Jews sort of believe this as well but finding a practicing Jew is difficult. The ones I meet fall more into the Agnostic realm.

I ran into one opinionated and arogant Brit who pontificated ad nausium on his familiarity of the Koran and how peaceful (and I suppose tolerant) was Islam. So I decided to do a little Koran reading upon my return. Section 9 of the Koran is very revealing but I am not done with the entire entire book. And when we view issues like the ones in the above post, hardly rare, thier actions are lining up with their words.

I wonder if the average Muslim reads his own book? Or are they like average Christians and know very little of the actual text of their most sacred writings. It could be an eye opener for both parties.

Future Tripping and the Presence of Joy (Peace)

Future Tripping and the Presence of Joy (Peace): "Future Tripping and the Presence of Joy (Peace)"

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BHT
The Shack author's blog has a great little article on peace and joy in the face of future planning. Very well written. We have talked about the mystery of being close to God in times of distress, times when we feel out of control, when things are not going the way we planned. I've been in times of distress and been far away from God also. So distress, disaster, discomfort only reveals the path to God. Arriving close to God is not automatic. We still have to walk the path of acceptance. Maybe that beautiful path God built to Himself is more distinctly visible when all the roads we have built are seen in their true light, full of pot holes and cracks and leading nowhere.

It always irritated me when people tagged "Lord willing" onto future statements. I've started adding it myself. Not to sound pious but "Lord willing" feels more descriptive of reality. "I will do this thing tomorrow ... Lord willing." It all sounds terribly weak in our culture of achievement, un-American almost.

Many of us Christians identify with Abraham, Moses, Paul ... not as much with their faith in God but in the great things these great men achieved. Then we live our lives in frustration in our own paultry achievements. Lately I identify more with the demoniac of Gadara:

"As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."

We don't all defeat the Kings of Sodom, part the Red Sea or evangelize the world. Some of us just stay home and tell the story to the locals.

Sun-like Stars May Have Low Probability of Forming Planets

Sun-like Stars May Have Low Probability of Forming Planets
Written by Nancy Atkinson

The Orion Nebula shines brilliantly, as it is packed with over 1,000 young stars in a region just a few light-years wide. With all those stars, there's probably the potential for thousands of planets to one day form from the dust and gas surrounding these stars, right? Actually, according to a new study, fewer than 10 percent of stars in the Orion Nebula have enough surrounding dust to make a planet the size of Jupiter. And that doesn't bode well for the planet-forming abilities of most stars, at least in forming planets the size of Jupiter or larger. 'We think that most stars in the galaxy are formed in dense, Orion-like regions, so this implies that systems like ours may be the exception rather than the rule,' said Joshua Eisner lead author of the study from the University of California Berkeley. This finding is also consistent with the results of current planet searches, which are finding that only about 6 percent of stars surveyed have planets the size of Jupiter or larger."
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BHT doesn't mean to be on a kick of some kind but we see a trend developing.

Amazon.com: Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe: Peter Ward, Donald Brownlee: Books

Amazon.com: Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe: Peter Ward, Donald Brownlee: Books: "Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe (Paperback)"
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BHT has not read this but it appears a couple of scientists with no religious act to grind have some skepticism about life spreading randomly across the universe. So "billions and billions" of stars may not be as determinant in panspermia as Carl Sagan would suggest. Either way we are cool with it, theologically speaking.

Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly

Doc. 11297
8 June 2007

The dangers of creationism in education

Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly: "Draft resolution"

1. "The Parliamentary Assembly is worried about the possible ill-effects of the spread of creationist theories within our education systems and about the consequences for our democracies. If we are not careful, creationism could become a threat to human rights, which are a key concern of the Council of Europe."

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BHT finds intresting that the EU sees creationism as a grave threat to the state. Reading this resolution is just plain creepy. We suggest you read the entire resolution for full effect.

English schoolboys get detention for refusing to pray to Allah as part of their schoolwork

English schoolboys get detention for refusing to pray to Allah as part of their schoolwork Two schoolboys were allegedly disciplined after refusing to kneel down and “pray to Allah” during a religious education lesson. A spokesman for Cheshire County Council said ‘Educating children in the beliefs of different faiths is part of Cheshire’s diversity curriculum’" -- Read the whole thing ... cultural diversity training!

Dominionism

Brushing up on Dominionism is healthy for today's Christians.
Tom Horn interview on PID Radio
http://rnnradio.com/2006/10/14-1 Horn starts about half way through.
http://rnnradio.com/2006/10/14-2 Fast forward some to get to interview.
http://rnnradio.com/2006/10/14=3

Many Christians are hearing God giving clarity on how His children should approach political attitudes. More of us are seeing (again) the futility of taking over the political (world) system. So I guess when Jesus said His kingdom is not of this world He really meant it.

We in the USA fall easy prey to a Dominionism theology because of our history. Didn't God lead the pilgrims to our shores to escape the oppressive state churches of Europe? Didn't God have a glorious plan to set up the perfect society, one lead by God Himself in the new land? At least some pilgrims believed this. Many Christians even now feel that God may have personally led our revolution (slight overstatement).

Just saying this out loud creeps me out. What Biblical reference supports this type of thinking? What scriptural pattern models this behavior?