Feel free to post whatever you want to get off your chest.
I. I am somewhere beyond frustrated by the 3 Charismatic Christians in my Western Religions Class....
1. When asked what the purpose of the Holy Spirit is in the Trinity, talk about Speaking in tongues.
2. When asked what intergenerational traditions are in Christianity, talk about speaking in tongues.
3. When asked about Unifying Hallmarks of Christianity, talk about speaking in tongues.
4. When asked about the Moral Imperatives are for Christians, talked about Worship Experience and Speaking in Tongues and 2 week missions trips to Mexico.
II. And then I watched the Ken Ham & Bill Nye "Debate"
1. It was like one guy giving an okay Sermon, with Lots Post-Hoc Rationalization and Metaphors.
2. And the other guy, talking emotionally and enthusiastically about the wonders of Science.
3. Worst Debate format ever.
4. Whoever came in with whatever view, simply had their view validated.
5. Each person simply was addressing their own audience.
III. Perhaps I have been in my own circles for so long, or I have been deliberately ignorant of a trend occurring but, there is a creeping superstition that is infiltrating Christianity. At first I had just attributed it to Facebook like & share stuff that old women post and repost for the emotions and feelings that it conjures. It is assumed that these feel good stories get passed around, and go unchecked through thousands and thousands of people's pages.
It makes me feel like Thunderf00t.
Because, you see, I've encountered this sort of Emotionalism. That is, Christians, who use their Emotions as verification of whether or not something is true or false. "I know this is true, because I can feeeeeeeeeeel it."
Now I've heard this line of Reasoning before, from Mormon Missionaries, who claim that when you read the book of Mormon, you should feel a "Burning in the Bosom" which is verification of the book's truth.
Then I did some research, and I discovered that there is like 20 kids recently who have "Gone to Heaven" and come back, with all kinds of conflicting and inconsistent tales. Some get book deals, others get TV and Radio time. And then churches and authorities are simply silent about it, meanwhile people are believe it because it sounds good or it feels right.
With all of these things, I am left wondering if what I believe even makes me a Christian. When I read stuff from Irenaeus, Origen, Polycarp, Justin Martyr, and Tertullian, I see that the struggles our faith is facing is not new. The debates we are having, the appeals to reason over emotions, the perversions of the society we live in, ALL OF IT, is not new.
However with Snowballing popularity, and a complete lack of checks in place to "curb the enthusiasm" I see this superstitious parasite riding Christianity into the ground.
TL;DR : I feel like my faith is being hijacked.
I. I am somewhere beyond frustrated by the 3 Charismatic Christians in my Western Religions Class....
1. When asked what the purpose of the Holy Spirit is in the Trinity, talk about Speaking in tongues.
2. When asked what intergenerational traditions are in Christianity, talk about speaking in tongues.
3. When asked about Unifying Hallmarks of Christianity, talk about speaking in tongues.
4. When asked about the Moral Imperatives are for Christians, talked about Worship Experience and Speaking in Tongues and 2 week missions trips to Mexico.
II. And then I watched the Ken Ham & Bill Nye "Debate"
1. It was like one guy giving an okay Sermon, with Lots Post-Hoc Rationalization and Metaphors.
2. And the other guy, talking emotionally and enthusiastically about the wonders of Science.
3. Worst Debate format ever.
4. Whoever came in with whatever view, simply had their view validated.
5. Each person simply was addressing their own audience.
III. Perhaps I have been in my own circles for so long, or I have been deliberately ignorant of a trend occurring but, there is a creeping superstition that is infiltrating Christianity. At first I had just attributed it to Facebook like & share stuff that old women post and repost for the emotions and feelings that it conjures. It is assumed that these feel good stories get passed around, and go unchecked through thousands and thousands of people's pages.
It makes me feel like Thunderf00t.
Because, you see, I've encountered this sort of Emotionalism. That is, Christians, who use their Emotions as verification of whether or not something is true or false. "I know this is true, because I can feeeeeeeeeeel it."
Now I've heard this line of Reasoning before, from Mormon Missionaries, who claim that when you read the book of Mormon, you should feel a "Burning in the Bosom" which is verification of the book's truth.
Then I did some research, and I discovered that there is like 20 kids recently who have "Gone to Heaven" and come back, with all kinds of conflicting and inconsistent tales. Some get book deals, others get TV and Radio time. And then churches and authorities are simply silent about it, meanwhile people are believe it because it sounds good or it feels right.
With all of these things, I am left wondering if what I believe even makes me a Christian. When I read stuff from Irenaeus, Origen, Polycarp, Justin Martyr, and Tertullian, I see that the struggles our faith is facing is not new. The debates we are having, the appeals to reason over emotions, the perversions of the society we live in, ALL OF IT, is not new.
However with Snowballing popularity, and a complete lack of checks in place to "curb the enthusiasm" I see this superstitious parasite riding Christianity into the ground.
TL;DR : I feel like my faith is being hijacked.