Disqus - Latest Comments for BibleDude

Re: [the africa diaries] day seven: wrapping up business in kenya

BibleDude — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:34:58 -0000

The African sky was amazing, and being there in that moment looking at it made me think a lot about the eternal impact of what I was doing. It certainly has developed a hunger in me to do more, not only around the world, but even in my own backyard (under the Sarasota sky)...

That is a HILARIOUS story about the lion cub! I would have been laughing my butt off! (I can say butt on a Christian blog, right?) LOL! Thanks for sharing that story!

Re: keeping china in perspective

BibleDude — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:18:18 -0000

This report was written by Christina Kuo Graham who's ministry is in China, but I would love to hear other perspectives! I do know that from experiences that I've had in Africa, I can better relate to the idea of jumping in technology from the 45LP to the DVD overnight. This is an interesting jump in technology, and it creates a different type of environment and learning curve.

Please feel free to report back on your experiences! I'd love to hear more!

Re: [highcallingblogs.com] the secret ingredient

BibleDude — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:12:35 -0000

I think to get the intent of this, you really should read the entire post at the link to highcallingblogs.com. This is just a short exceprt from the opening of the post. But your point is well taken...

However, I will say that during these prayer walks, our intent was not to strike up conversations with people, but to be on the streets of our city and pray. While we were doing so, this was merely an observation about the individualism that exists in our culture today. And that is not something that is unique to this prayer walk.

If you read the full article, then you'll also see that I make the observation that it seems to be the same way inside the church, and propose ideas that would be the solution to this problem (such as being intentional about talking with people...)

Re: [jesus, the middle eastern storyteller] chapter 1: jesus’ storytelling world

BibleDude — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:21:53 -0000

dude... this is just such an important thing for the church to get a hold of! sharpening our thinking is what is needed so badly! so i agree with you jesse... great minds dude...

angela... i also appreciate how you laid this post out, particularly how you focused on the idea of creating 'vivid word pictures'. the author of the book (gary burge) does do a great job with this, and i agree that getting some good context like this around the biblical text does just that...

good stuff!

Re: [jesus, the middle eastern storyteller] introduction

BibleDude — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:52:19 -0000

This issue of biblical illiteracy is (I believe) one of the biggest problems in the church today. What makes it worse is that sometimes non-Christians know the Word better than Christians.

I really appreciate your thoughts and perspective here, and I agree that the call to return to helping people understand the Word for themselves is one of the keys to returning to that glory!

I am also looking forward to this project! I look forward to hearing your thoughts as we dive in!

Re: [the naked gospel] introduction

BibleDude — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:50:36 -0000

This is one of the best ways to approach the study fo something like this! I appreciate the desire to dig deep and discover the truth! This book has been a great study for me as well. There is some stuff that I am actually still on the fence with, but one thing that I certainly take away from all of this is the idea that Jesus came so that we could experience freedom, not bondage. And that is probably one of the most powerful truths of Christianity! I'm glad that you are discovering it as well!

Re: the apostle paul in arabia

BibleDude — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:53:56 -0000

Hmmm... This is an interesting question! I'd have to dig a little bit about that one. I don't believe that the Bible names a specific location in Arabia.

However, the fact that you mention Mt. Sanai being in Arabia is another issue. What is referred to today as Mt. Sanai and the Sanai Peninsula is (and was at that time) in Afrcia as a part of Egypt, not Arabia. There are some who believe that the real Mt. Sanai is actually in Arabia, and that could be a spot that Paul would have wanted to visit as he studied the Word in light of his new revelation of Christ.

I have nothing to back that up right now, but it does make sense to me... I'll have to research it a bit more to be sure.

Re: Another Has Been Added Into The Kingdom…

BibleDude — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:28:18 -0000

I am the happiest uncle ever!

Re: [the naked gospel] part 2: religion is a headache

BibleDude — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:11:49 -0000

You make a great point!

This is exactly what this whole conversation is about! You stated, "To say God abolished all 600 plus commands and started from scratch in the New Covenant simply isn't biblical!"

Paul, repeatedly taught that Christians are no longer under the law. When the OT Law is mentioned, it is in the context of being something that convicts the unbeliever of their sin.

Our churches often preach that we are no longer under the law, but then we still teach about all of the things that Christians must do. And I think that is the point of this book... it is the idea that Christianity does not come with a list of requirements that people must live up to, In my opinion, if it did, then we would ALL be in some serious trouble!

The author of the book that we are working through here just commented on the next post in this series, and I think that his comment may further clarify his position in relation to the points that you make here...
http://bibledude.net/2009/09/the-naked-gospel-p...

Thanks for being a part of the conversation! I think that this is an important one to have!

Re: [the naked gospel] part 3: crossing the line

BibleDude — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:58:25 -0000

This is a great perspective on OT Law... I think what I see is people holding onto some of the OT Laws (particularly the moral ones as opposed to the ritual ones) as almost a security blanket. I think that part of the fear is if we don't have some sort of moral structure, then we would have chaos.

But I don't believe that is the case. I'm glad that you pointed out the idea that if there is any sort of NT 'Law' then it would be 'love God, love others'. I believe that is what God's heart is, and that is what the Holy Spirit inside of us encourages us to do.

I also know that we need to be very careful not to get into a performance mentality where we say to ourselves... "I spent an hour in the Word today... love God, check. I hello to someone in the hallway at work today... love others, check." That is a dangerous place to be when we start trying to measure our holiness like that!

I appreciate you dropping by Andrew! It's always great to see the author of the book jumping into a discussion like this!

Re: [the naked gospel] introduction

donfperkins — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:23:09 -0000

Dude, Dean,

Not that there's anything wrong with that. 2 Cor. 13:5 says "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?"

It reminds me of what singer Keith Green used to say about authenticity: "Just going to church doesnt make you a christian any more than going to McDonald's makes you a hamburger."

As members of the body of Christ, Paul reminds us that we should question ourselves with one goal in mind: to see whether we are in the faith. After all, if it was a problem for the Corinthians, it is probably an issue today. Through Paul's writings, we see that he went to great lengths to seperate himself from false doctrine, forget what is behind and focus on "Christ Jesus and Him Crucified."

As with anything else, this book has the potential to make us think; to examine ourselves, as you have pointed out. If anyone chooses to be offended or hurt by it, that's unfortunate, but they have chosen according to what's in their hearts. So I pray that the hearts of readers and indeed all who name the name of Christ would be stirred to self examination by this book.

Don F Perkins

http://ShizukaMura.blogspot.com

Re: [the naked gospel] part 1: obsessive-Christianity disorder

BibleDude — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:11:16 -0000

Great point! Like the Pharisees, we often focus on the wrong things...

Re: [the naked gospel] introduction

BibleDude — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:58:38 -0000

Amen! I couldn't agree more with your statement, "Challenging traditional thinking gives us a chance to weigh our beliefs..."

There are things in this book that I'm still not sure what to think about (neither agree nor disagree), but it has done an amazing job of making some great points that I cannot ignore! Great read so far!

Re: [the naked gospel] part 1: obsessive-Christianity disorder

BibleDude — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:03:31 -0000

Amen! And that is exactly what this book is about! "Jesus plus nothing" is a statement that our relationship with the Father should not bear all of the junk and conditions and everything else that Christians put on it.

It's good to see you drop by again Nick! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Re: [the naked gospel] part 1: obsessive-Christianity disorder

BibleDude — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:00:10 -0000

I agree that this part of the book did a great job in helping people get some perspective that they could relate to. As I've read through the book I've found myself thinking back to this perspective that Farley laid out early in relation to points that he's made later in the book. I think that it has helped to bring some of the ideas into focus.

I loved the quiz! It is on the book's website as well...
http://www.thenakedgospel.com/the-quiz

That really illustrated why this is important stuff for Christians to be talking about!

Re: [the naked gospel] introduction

BibleDude — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:52:40 -0000

These are some great points! I appreciate your follow-up, and agree that some folks may get defensive reading some of this book. I believe that it is good for Christians to have their thinking challenged every once in a while. Even if one doesn't agree completely, it still forces them to better understand (and defend) what it is that they do believe.

Thank you @urbanminister! I appreciate you being a part of this conversation!

Re: [ministry spotlight] hpc midnight outreach

BibleDude — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:01:54 -0000

I think that it is great that you are considering this type of ministry in your area! I'll make sure that Carole gets in touch with you!

Re: [the naked gospel] introduction

twitter-25323610 — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:30:00 -0000

As I wrote, I would not describe it as chapter-by-chapter assault on the church either, but some people do. As far as worship and praise go, some Christians expect every mention of God to be unquestioned and can become quite defensive. I just wanted to point out that if a reader is looking for bible verses and feel good, prosperity writing they won't find it in this book. I personally like the ideas.

Thanks bibledude, keep up the great writing!

urbanminister
http://twitter.com/urbanminister

Re: [the naked gospel] introduction

BibleDude — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:26:54 -0000

The one thing that I really appreciate about this book is that it makes you think... AND that he uses solid interpretation practices. As we work through this project, I'm not asking people to agree with the author, but I do ask people to let this discussion make them think.

I think that in this book, Andrew Farley seems to be giving us the straight truth, and not conjuring up something for the sake of making people (or himself) feel good. The Truth brings freedom, and that's what the Truth in this book does...

I encourage you to follow along with this project over the next week or so and get into this discussion!

Re: [the naked gospel] introduction

BibleDude — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 12:49:00 -0000

I love it when the author of the book comments like this! I think that what you just shared is an important perspective that people should have when reading through the book and/or this blog project!

Like I pointed out... It has certainly challenged my thinking, and I believe that is a very good thing that we all need to have happen every once in a while. Great book dude! I'm hoping that this blog project gets LOTS of discussion going around what you've written!

Re: [the naked gospel] introduction

BibleDude — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 12:46:48 -0000

Re: [the naked gospel] introduction

BibleDude — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 12:12:04 -0000

I don't think that this book is intended to be a chapter-by-chapter assult on the church, but it does challenge 'traditional' Christian thinking, and I think that is a good thing.

As far as worship and praise is concerned, this is not a book that is really about that anyway. BUT I certainly can see how getting some of Farley's points in this book might lead one to a greater intimacy with God.... which is worship!

I appreciate you stopping by Dean! I look forward to hearing what you think as others post their thoughts here on each chapter of the book!

Re: [picture testimony] challenge

BibleDude — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 20:45:39 -0000

Definitely looking forward some of the entries for this! Putting a visual to the testimony could be really powerful!

Re: [the idea camp] closing session

BibleDude — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:22:05 -0000

@laundrylove (aka Greg Russinger) was awesome! I'd love to bottle some of his creativity and passion to impact the world! This recap captured some key thoughts, but barely scratches the surface of what he shared.

Let me know if you want to write up a little more about some of the stuff that you guys have worked on... I'd love to feature it in my [ministry spotlight] series! There's a free book in it for whoever submits something...

Re: live blogging @theideacamp conference

BibleDude — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 10:40:30 -0000

Thanks Paul! I'm really enjoying the conference and putting together these posts! Great stuff!