How Do You Understand the Bible?

Posted on by

The Bible is still the best selling book worldwide and is studied daily by both Christians and non-Christians. Theologians study for years and years and still feel that they have not gotten to the bottom of exactly what the Bible is and what it means to the world today. The fact that the book can be taken any way you wish it to be taken, there are never a shortage of Bible study topics being discussed all over the world. 

Some read the Bible and take it as a literal guidebook and the word of God. Other’s take it as metaphor and as a story telling tool. There really is no common ground between those two schools of thought. Literalists believe everything to be true, from Genesis to Adam and Eve to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As stated above, some take it as a story telling tool. The fact that much of what is written in the Bible is very similar to Greek and Roman mythology that was spread around by word of mouth for centuries before the supposed existence of Jesus.

There are different schools of thought on how to define the Bible, how it is relevant today and what it is actually trying to tell us. People dedicate their whole lives to the study and understanding of the Bible whether they believe it to be the truth or not. There are shelves and shelves of books about Biblical prophecies and about Jesus Christ; most of them have completely different takes on the subject. So in the meantime, people continue to come up with more and more Bible study topics. 

The Bible will probably never be one thing to every person, how a person understands the Bible is largely based on what they have been taught either at school or in church.

Fontanini Angel Figurines are Beautiful Religous Art

Posted on by

fontanini Angel Figurine
FONTANINI ANGEL FIGURINE
There may be debates about many religious topics. But there is no debate about the beauty of Fontanini angel figurines. If you love traditional religious art, because you find it both inspiring and comforting, then you’ll love including a Fontanini angel figurine in your home decor.

Fontanini angels are designed in the classical style that you’d expect to see in Italian churches and parks. They are truly miniature sculptures. While many of the angel figurines are stand alone pieces, many are intended to be part of a Fontanini creche. If you love celebrating the true meaning of Christmas, you’ll love including a Fontanini crech in it.

Many of my friends are angel collectors. They have an ongoing debate among themselves about just what is an angel. Some of them truly believe that angels are messengers set by God to give us guidance and actual physical assistance. Other friends hold that angels are just very special people who walk this earth – just like you and me – who do God’s work.

It doesn’t matter which side of this argument these angel collectors take, they all love to decorate their home with angels. In addition to angelic beauty they also find their presence an every day inspiration. For these very reasons you might want to add angel figurines to your figurine collection.

Modern Or Traditional: Which Music Should Be Used In Church

Posted on by

The subject of music in the church has been a controversial point of discussion within Christian circles for many years. Many within the community hold to traditional views on church music, utilizing only songs and hymns that have been passed down from previous generations, most of which lean towards classical styles. On the other hand, modern Christian music has adopted almost every musical style in the contemporary setting, and churches holding to this view argue that today’s generation prefers its own music, even in religious settings.

It has been pointed out by many music and religion experts that despite all the theological and spiritual arguments that have been repeatedly raised by both sides on the issue, the issue of musical style or genre in itself is not even addressed in the Scriptures. Much of the debate about music to be used in the church actually stems from personal preferences and prejudices rather than any solid theological points.

A healthy practice espoused by many today is the blending of both traditional and contemporary Christian music. Many of the older generation prefer the music that they grew up with, while the younger generations respond more to music they listen to now. Finding a way to combine both elements into church life and service will expose people to the value and spiritual truths that can be gleaned from both the old and the new songs of the faith. After all, there is no reason to reject either the old songs or the new music that continue to encapsulate the Christian experience.

Among many church attenders, what matters more than the style and genre used by the church music team is the excellence and skill. The instrumentalists, singers, and other members of the music group should continually hone their craft and be involved in activities for developing their skills for performing. Workshops, conferences, joint activities with other similar groups, and continuing education such as piano instruction, drum lessons, or the best guitar lessons online can all contribute to a better output for the church musicians.

Not All Faith Healers Are Frauds

Posted on by

In the modern world that we live in it can be hard to comprehend the idea of faith healing, after all we live in a world where everything can be weighed and measured. Yet other cultures still use these gifts with out thought, it is part of their everyday lives. They are bought up with this knowledge, they do not have to go seeking the right person out, they have no concerns that the person who is going to heal them might be a fraud.

That is how we tend to look at faith healers, as a charlatan perhaps. It is very sad that it is only when we really have a call for these healers that we find them, and it is only when we see the results first hand that we actually believe in them and their gift to heal.

Even if it is hard to explain, it does not mean it is not true. On the contrary if they are not true healers then how do you explain what happens when a whole room full of people are affected in such a way. It is not fair to tell believers that it is all in their head, that they simply get carried away in the moment.

 

 

The Crusades

Posted on by

The Crusades (from 1095 to 1272) were a series of military expeditions undertaken by Western European Christians to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims. In 1095 at the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II urged Christians to go to war to save the Holy Sepulcher, which had been despoiled by the Seljuk Turks who controlled Jerusalem.

He promised that the journey would count as full penance. From crosses distributed at the meeting the name Crusade evolved. Peter the Hermit and others spread the message throughout Europe.

Peasants Crusade (1095-96). Even before the first sanctioned crusade could get underway, several thousand French peasants that had set out toward Jerusalem had sacked Belgrade. German peasants turned to attacking Jews and had to be dispersed by the king of Hungary. When the remnants of these two groups reached Constantinople they were quickly shipped across to Jerusalem and easily defeated by the Turks.

First Crusade (1096-99). An organized army under Bishop Ademar and Count Raymond IV of Toulouse captured Nicea (1097) , Antioch (1098) , and, finally, Jerusalem (1 099). Godfrey of Bouillon was elected the first ruler of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Second Crusade (1147-49). Preached by Bernard of Clairvaux after the fall of Edessa (1144) to the Turks, it failed in its goal of capturing Damascus.

Third Crusade (1189-91). It followed the fall of Jerusalem (1187) to Salad in. Richard I of England was able to work out a truce with Saladin that allowed Christian access to the Holy Sepulcher.

Fourth Crusade (1202-04). It never reached the Holy Land. Instead it fought with the Venetians against Hungary and in 1204 sacked Constantinople, over throwing the Byzantine Empire and establishing the Latin Empire of Constantinople.

Children’s Crusade (1212). Led by a French peasant boy, Stephen of Cloyes, thousands of children embarked from Marseilles and other ports only to be sold into slavery or to die of hunger or disease.

Fifth Crusade (1218-21). It struck at Egypt with little success.

Sixth Crusade (1228-29). The only nonmilitary Crusade, it was led by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. He was able to negotiate a truce with the Muslims that restored some Christian control.

Seventh (1248-50) and Eighth (1270) Crusades. Both led by Louis IX of France with little success. The Eighth was called off when Louis died in Tunisia.

Ninth Crusade (1271-72). Led by Prince Edward (later Edward I) of England, little was accomplished.

The last Latin Kingdom (city state) in the Near East, Acre, fell to the Muslims in 1291.

Religion and Geography

Posted on by

Religion and its effects concern the geographer in many ways. Simplest and most obvious are those elements which have visibly altered the face of the landscape, such as religious architecture. The significance man accords religion is shown by the number, size and beauty of his churches, mosques and temples. The ziggurats of Mesopotamia, the similar stepped pyramids of Guatemala and tombs such as the Egyptian pyramids and the Taj Mahal add to the evidence for this.

Religious ideas have prompted the very birth of cities, such as Angor Thorn (Ang Thong) in Thailand. Similarly in medieval Europe the church was often the germinal point of the city. The influence of religion is also apparent in many European countries’ preservation of the original ecclesiastical divisions of land, such as the parish. Religion is thus firmly stamped on the land. The geographer must also be aware of the way in which religion has motivated people, causing changes in distributions and activities.

Proselytizing activities spread various religions, bringing to the converts new ways of life. Flight from persecution has motivated the migration of peoples; thus the Pilgrim Fathers and the Amish sailed to North America and the Mormons moved from New York State to the virgin territory of Utah.

The effects of religion on the political geography of the world have at times been startling. While the British occupied India the whole subcontinent was divided into many native states and large tracts of directly governed territory. All the political boundaries were strategic, to make for easy control.

When the British withdrew, the country immediately split into two parts according to the distribution of its two main religions, Hinduism and Islam. Pakistan was the creation of Islam. Religious feeling were so strong that thousands were killed during partition and millions became refugees when they fled from the country in which they had become a minority. In other cases, as in Northern Ireland, religious differences provide the pretext for conflicts between rival socioeconomic groups, and denominational labels are adopted by rival parties in essentially political disputes.