What is our reasonable service? Is it merely supporting the programs that are available at our church? Is it simply giving 10% of our wealth? What is it, truly?
1. Supporting our church programs - a genuine necessity, to be certain. What is a reasonable amount of participation?
2. Tithe - do we give on our net or our gross earnings? Or, do I give based on the extra entitlements that I receive that are uniquely military in nature? Is it appropriate to give ten percent of our take home pay and ten percent of the income tax return? I realize that wars have been fought over lesser arguments, so I'm not trying to start a controversy. I'm just trying to understand what my reasonable service is.
3. Should we devote most of our "donated" time to our church or should we try to be salt and light to our community by volunteering at secular venues that don't run counter to the mores and values that Christians should espouse? One could easily make a case for both, I suppose.
These are just some of my struggles as of late. Feedback welcome but not mandatory.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
The Layman's Guide to the Whole Bible
Has anyone out there (in cyber-land) felt like they weren't getting the complete story? Feeling that, maybe, they were being given a shovelful of denominational junk? What does the Bible say about everything? Does the Bible support the Roman Catholic view that the Church and her traditions take precedence over the Word? Does the Bible support speaking in tongues as the primary evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit, as the Pentecostals believe? Do you have free-will or is your salvation at the whim of God?
I would love to find a religious text that takes a verse-by-verse look at every single word that is written, translates it according to it's actual meaning, and then compares the result to the King James Version and a modern version of the Bible (such as the World English Bible). I would also like to see this from someone who doesn't try to interpret the words according to their creedal dogma. Someone who doesn't hold a Ph.d or D.Min degree. Someone who uses the resources that are freely available to everyone, documents the resources used, and keeps the process completely transparent.
Since I have not found that text nor have I found someone who is willing to do so, I believe that I will have to step up to the plate and do it myself. To that end, I will first have to come up with a Statement of Belief. I think that I will take the Niceane Creed as the basis for my Statement of Belief. It seems to be the least tainted by doctrine and dogma. Of course, I will acknowledge that before it was put to paper there was a lot of jockeying for position of view points and thus does have some doctrinal and dogmatic baggage. I just feel that it is less strenuous baggage to drag behind me than a lot of other creeds and view points. I will also need to figure out which resources are best used. I don't want to use original texts that are not considered accurate or acceptable for use as a foundation. Of course, I will need to do a lot research into which ones are the best and for what reasons. That will go a long way toward producing a text that is accurate and useful. We will have to see.
Cheers
I would love to find a religious text that takes a verse-by-verse look at every single word that is written, translates it according to it's actual meaning, and then compares the result to the King James Version and a modern version of the Bible (such as the World English Bible). I would also like to see this from someone who doesn't try to interpret the words according to their creedal dogma. Someone who doesn't hold a Ph.d or D.Min degree. Someone who uses the resources that are freely available to everyone, documents the resources used, and keeps the process completely transparent.
Since I have not found that text nor have I found someone who is willing to do so, I believe that I will have to step up to the plate and do it myself. To that end, I will first have to come up with a Statement of Belief. I think that I will take the Niceane Creed as the basis for my Statement of Belief. It seems to be the least tainted by doctrine and dogma. Of course, I will acknowledge that before it was put to paper there was a lot of jockeying for position of view points and thus does have some doctrinal and dogmatic baggage. I just feel that it is less strenuous baggage to drag behind me than a lot of other creeds and view points. I will also need to figure out which resources are best used. I don't want to use original texts that are not considered accurate or acceptable for use as a foundation. Of course, I will need to do a lot research into which ones are the best and for what reasons. That will go a long way toward producing a text that is accurate and useful. We will have to see.
Cheers
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