Does the Gospel need to be made relevant to todays culture?
374918
God can do a whole lot more than we can if we trust him and let HIM lay out the battle plan. Want to know the best way to get in sync with HIS plan to save the world? Here are some tips:  \nPraise - I tell God all the ways he is so good\nWaiting - I just close my eyes and be silent in his presence\nConfession - Acknowledge before God that you have failed in some areas of your life and ask for help with those areas.\nPetition - I ask him for good things and needs in my life\nThanksgiving - I thank him for all of the good things he has done for me\nAsk - Ask him specific questions you have about your life\nScripture Prayer - Asking for specific things from the Bible\nForgiveness - I think about the people that have affected me negatively and tell Him that I forgive them and ask Him to help them not to do those things again.\nIntercession - I pray for people I know that have needs.\n\nIf you practice these things and keep an obedient willing heart, watch the victory and souls unfold right in front of you!!!!
24199
yes I definitely think you should bring your Bible to school. It's our job as Christians to share the Gospel to those we are around, so yes, you should share your beliefs. When you get criticized for it, just pray for God to give you strength. He will help you through it.
461589
As the society drifts further from its Judeo-Christian moorings, it loses its reason to care about real literacy.  The shift is from the word (or more appropriately, the proposition) to the multimedia "image," which can include words (as a soundbite) but is predominantly visual and always aimed at emotive, rather than mental, impact.  With a vast educational establishment, it has taken a while for spelling and grammar to become affected, but they have been.  Absent another Great Awakening, look for it to become worse instead of better, and look for the church and the synagogue to once again become repositories of print culture (and therefore, Western civilization).\nWhy the connection with Judeo-Christianity?  The adherents of propositionally revealed religion have been the custodians and promoters of literacy wherever they went.  The history of the modern literacy movement *is,* to a large extent, the history of what Christians have done.  Even today, virtually the only people willing to help reduce an unwritten language to writing and teach a people group to read their own language are Christian missionaries.
625948
Christians believe that God inspired the writers of the Gospels.\n\nWere the Beatitudes taught on a mount or on a plain or both? It doesn't really matter. What matters is the message in the Beatitudes about how to be happy (or blessed).\n\nThe Gospels were written either by actual disciples of Christ or people who knew the disciples. These were stories that were shared every Sunday during the breaking of the bread (Mass). All Christians knew the stories and would have raised a cry if the writers got it wrong. \n\nThis is a much better oral tradition than the Old Testament which was passed along orally for over a thousand years.\n\nAnother sign of accuracy kept over the last 200 years is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls that when compared to modern Scriptures show very little discrepancy.\n\nWith love in Christ.
460563
With anyone on a spiritual quest, anything that will allow them to think and consider the implications of the death of Jesus is a good thing.  It is a provocative movie.\n\nBut, I think it is generally overrated.  I don't think it's very biblically accurate.  The whole thing with Mary cleaning up the blood of Jesus, the demons with Judas at the end, the sparrow flying over Jesus before he dies, the part where Jesus falls while being carried and getting hung up in his chains, all of these were distractions.  I think the gospel is compelling enough without these distractions.\n\nIf you're ready to divide the "extra-biblical" content in the movie, it would be a good discussion starter.  If not who knows what the result will be.
428839
Why not listen to it today?  Or is today's "Revelations" just not important enough?
1130826
In an odd way, sweet_shy is right.  Sure, there are translation errors and parts of it may have been added or deleted, but it's still God's work.  It was divinely inspired; the only part that really matters is the message, and do you really think that he would let his message be corrupted?  The rest is just fluff to make it readable.  Now having read the New Testament, I find that what I read is entirely in line with my knowledge of God.  I think the message comes through just fine and there are no errors in it despite whatever stages the actual text has gone through.
195434
Each Gospel was writen by a diferent person into a diferent reality, they are no chronological and don't tell the same things to people. Each one show a diferent angle of this person called Jesus to other people. They were writen also in diferent times (The gospel of John is the latest, writen about 100 years after Jesus' death). So, Mark and Luke, didn't considered important tell that part to the people they have writen for
423159
I agree with Silent Fire.  Well, at least on the bit about including ALL the available gospels and not just the ones that the church decided were "good enough to print."  Personally, I'm all for anything that shakes up the power-base of the church.  \n\nSeing how Aubrey is frightened by this gospel, outlook is good on it rattling a few floorboards!\n\nIf Jesus came back today, you'd see a huge repeat of the "My Father's house/vs/Den of Thieves" debacle.  The only thing more currupt than politics is religion.
496806
Jesus rebuked this sort of behavior in Revelation 2:1-7, Matthew 20:25-28, and John 18:36. I agree with you. \n\nIf we really want people to act like Christians, then we should preach the Gospel to them. Protests and votes are not going to change people's hearts, which Jesus said is the reason that we all sin, not the laws around us (Matthew 15:11,15-20). But the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). \n\nFor example, if all Americans were Christians, then it would not matter that abortion is legal, the abortion clinics would go out of business for lack of business. They only have a market because we are focusing on the wrong battle (Ephesians 6:12-17).
173165
I say sure, why not!  You will of course never get that widely accepted, but for your personal spiritual life, you can use those.  In the early days of Christianity, different communities had different writings that they held sacred.  It was not until quite late that our modern-day canon was chosen and then enforced.  And when that canon was chosen, it was chosen by what were considered "Orthodox" Christians, but who is to say that just because they styled themselves "Orthodox" that they represented the true, or only version of Christianity?  There may indeed be much of value in the Gnostic Gospels, and there is no need to get rid of the Canonical Gospels in order to benefit from them, in my opinion.
46360
Can't say. It changes daily. But I'm glad there is a broad spectrum on which to share the gospel.
180362
This is a logical fallacy, appeal to novelty, that states that because something is newer it is better.  There is nothing, per se, wrong with following customs that are centuries old just because they are old.  It's just as wrong as the "Give me that old time religion" argument, which states that because it was good enough for Paul and Silas, it's good enough for "me".  That's an appeal to tradition.  People should follow what actually works, regardless of when it was developed.  I guess this isn't really an answer to the question, though.
133658
Only Jesus is worthy to decide that. Christianity is more action than words. Jesus said talk is cheap. He stated that people will know we are believers by our love. So will He !
572244
No, speak boldly YEA or NAY.\n\nPut on the whole gospel armour of God. Always have your shield of faith Jesus Christ. Always wield the sword which is the Word of God.
98762
We're not selling anything. But lots of evangelists and churches make it look like we're marketing Jesus. We're not trying to make the gospel appealing and palitable to sinners either (but again, too many churches do that). The gospel is an ultimatum, not fire insurance.\n\nI really like the way the Reformers evangelized; confrontationally and leaving the results to God. And I would NEVER use an "altar call" like so many evangelists do. When I compare today's evangelism with that of Jesus, I see huge differences - not just in the METHODS used, but in the MESSAGE!\n\nI will make my case by comparing Jesus' evangelistic message with the usual evangelistic message of today's modern evangelists.\n \nLook at the story of the "rich young ruler" as it is found in Luke 18:18-27 (quoted below from the New American Standard Bible):\n \n"And a certain ruler questioned Him and said, 'Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' And Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.' And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth.' And when Jesus heard this, He said to him, 'One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.' But when he had heard these things he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. And Jesus looked at him and said, 'How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.' And they who heard it said, "Who then can be saved?' But He said, 'The things impossible with men are possible with God.' "\n \nIt's quite surprising to see Jesus' example, especially when we compare it with how the same scenario would surely have played out in our own time, if a wealthy young ruler asked the same question of a typical modern evangelist. \n \nJesus begins His reply with a rebuke, then goes into a dissertation of the Ten Commandments of all things, then lays out an impossible demand as a condition of receiving eternal life, then He let the fish get away! What's the matter with Him? Doesn't He even know how to lead a soul to Himself? Why didn't He offer Himself as personal savior? Isn't it surprising to see Jesus handle this tender soul seemly so roughly?\n \nSuppose such a candidate had approached the modern evangelist. We know from this passage in Luke and from the other accounts of this story that this young questioner was wealthy and had gained none of his wealth through fraud or theft. We know that he was an influential leader, and that Jesus felt a conscious love for the man as they talked (Mark 10:21), yet let him walk away without knowing Him as savior. But such a candidate, coming publicly to ask "What should I do to inherit eternal life" would have been a fine trophy because of his influence in the community. Surely he could be used to bring many more into the kingdom! \n \n"Well," the modern evangelist might explain, "we're all sinners (nobody's perfect y'know), and we can never be good enough to earn entrance into heaven..." He would whip out his Bible, show the questioner the usual verses and ask the usual questions: Do you believe that you are a sinner? Do you believe Christ died for sinners? Will you accept Him now as personal Lord and savior? Pray this prayer after me..."\n \nThe same candidate that Jesus interviewed would certainly have answered appropriately to the questions and earnestly, sincerely prayed the Sinner's prayer to accept Christ as personal savior. He would have been assured that if he was sincere and really meant that pr
430309
Humanity has yet to fully recover from the Christian movement. While the Bible does contain a lot of good messages for people to care for one another, other parts of it are a bunch of garbage. I mean think about it, assuming God exists, why would he only grant "authority" to some administration centered in the Vatican? It's A Scam. We don't need fancy stories or mundane, repetetive procedures every Sunday. We need love and respect for one another.