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Reformation of the church

Posted by Dyfed on Monday, February 6, 2012 In : Pagan influences 



As they embarked on their quest to find where many of our church practices have originated, Viola and Barna speak for many when they say in Pagan Christianity that they ‘ardently want their relationship with the Lord to be their top priority in life. They are tired of the institutions, denominations, and routines getting in the way of a resonant connection with Him’. If you’re mumbling to yourself right now, ‘That’s exactly how I feel’; then welcome on the journey. You are most de...

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Faith in a person not a book

Posted by Dyfed on Friday, February 3, 2012 In : Bible 


What role does the Bible play in defining what a Christian is? Do we need to ‘believe the word of God’ before we can claim to be Christian? In certain quarters today you would think so. The Bible as the literal word of God to us has to be accepted. Any wavering on this and you would soon be condemned as being on dangerous ground.

But this has not been the case throughout church history. One German church historian noted the shift that happened during the first and second centuries C.E.:

Abo...
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Eusebius and Nicea

Posted by Dyfed on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 In : Post-Christendom 



It takes a brave theologian to open-up Nicea. It was at the council held there in 325 C.E. that the church decided to define the divine nature of Jesus of Nazareth. This definition has been accepted as orthodoxy in the world-wide church ever since – though many minority groups have questioned it. In his chapter on how the historian Eusebius of Caesarea managed to infect the church with imperial values Roger Mitchell takes a critical look at Nicea, suggesting that the defence of God’s hier...

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The Bible and Science

Posted by Dyfed on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 In : Bible 



Bishops, sex and science: a combination that was quite controversial last week as ever. At stake is the dignity of a section of our society and the livelihood of one psychotherapist. The story behind the headlines involves a journalist pretending to seek counselling to 'deal with his homosexual tendencies'. The psychotherapist – working in private practice – agrees as she is a Christian who believes a gay man can be cured of his homosexuality. The journalist breaks the story and the psych...

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Pagan Christianity

Posted by Dyfed on Monday, January 30, 2012 In : Pagan influences 



Pagan Christianity. The title says it all, does it not? And if you had any doubts about the contents of Frank Viola and George Barna’s book then their sub-title makes it even clearer – Exploring the roots of our church practices. Their central theme is that practices not ordained by God in Jesus have entered church life; practices first devised by pagans and introduced into the church and over the centuries have become the accepted way of doing things.

Church practices

Viola and Barna are i...

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Posts on my Tumblr site willI now appear here. Tumblr's ability to post by text and email will help me blog even when away from my desk!

Some thoughts following my visit to Occupy London.

October 27th 2011

Ok so there’s plenty to disagree with but this is such a good song.

October 12th 2011
There are so many draining things we can focus on during the day: how we appear to others, how much others do or don’t respect us, how we can get people to do what we want. But once we become aware of the negative impact of these areas of focus, we can get clear on - even excited about - who we really want to be … We can shift our focus toward qualities like mercy, gentleness, courage, and the many others that bring true joy in our lives and in the lives of others.

Sasha Silverman and Malcom Smith

via MinEmergent

October 5th 2011
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