A_Secular_Christian

A Secular Christian Ladyv January 8, 2011 I listen to this gospel radio station in the mornings and this guy comes on about the same time every morning telling jokes and he says this at the end of his time “it’s ok to be secular for two minutes”. After listen to him one morning, I started thinking on the word secular and would it really be ok to be secular for two minutes. I’m very serious when it comes down to the word of God and sometimes saints can be hard on themselves. So I ask, is it ok to have boyfriend and girlfriends, joke, drink in moderation, and get into politics, IRS, or even party when you are a Christian' Will they make it into the kingdom; will they get everything that God has promised to those who believe' Can Christians make it into the kingdom of God by being secular' Jesus warned us not to be of the world. The "world" is in opposition to Christ and Christ is in opposition to the world. Those who become friends with the world become enemies of God (Bible) James 4:4).Many Christians do not live by the bible but yet they say they are Christians. The bible tells us things of what to do and not to do and if the bible says one thing and we do another I think that we make up our own religious. Secularism is defined as "worldly spirit, views, or the like; especially a system of doctrines and practices that disregards or rejects any form of religious faith and worship." Like any counterfeit, the best way to recognize the secular is to be familiar with the sacred. That is why dedication to God's word is so important. The Christian church focuses on being fed out of God's word and seeks to align itself with what it says. The secular church allows the ways of the world to seep into the beliefs and practices of the Christian church thereby diluting the truth. If we find something in the church that is contrary to scripture but is taught in the secular world, then that church has become, in part, secularized. The more we find from the world in the church, the more that church is secularized. Here are a few examples of what is being taught in a secularized church: Teaching that the Bible is not inspired and inerrant. When the authority of God's word is lost, then man-made doctrines creep in. The authority and inspiration of scripture is the anchor that keeps the church from drifting into error. Using books instead of the Bible in Bible study. Is okay to use books that assist in Bible study, but the Bible should be the central source of spiritual truth, not books about the Bible. If Bible studies are using guidebooks more than the Bible itself, then the Bible have been moved to a secondary position. If Christians are having trouble understanding God's word, then the pastor (or Bible study leader) needs to teach them how to find its truths so they can check all things in Teaching that there is no absolute right and wrong. Most secular Christians think that there is no absolute right or wrong in people life’s but that is not true. The bible gives instructions plain and clear that you should follow to know right from wrong. We often hear, "It is true if it is true for you." The Bible tells us that there are moral absolutes independent of what we think is right. Exodus 20:1-17 is a list of the Ten Commandments which are moral absolutes. The Bible teaches us there is absolute right and wrong. Without moral absolutes, no one can say anything is right or wrong. Going to church as a social habit. Most secular Christians go to church just to say they went to church and have made it a habit. Some say “well let me go to church because that is what I do on Tuesdays” Church is not a social club where politically correct ideas are tried and tested. It is not a place we go to voice our opinions so that others can hear our wisdom. It is the place where we go to learn, to be corrected, to grow, and to encounter God who is not made after our own image. Some people have lost God in the church and rather have conversations, events, conferences and social gatherings instead of going to church for the right purpose. Allowing IRS to take over church. How can you find out if your church has had a secular takeover' Ask about the paperwork that has been filed. Is the Church incorporated with the State' Does the church have a 501(c) (3) relationship with the IRS' If the answer is "yes," then Jesus Christ has been overthrown as the head of that "church." By law, the State attorney General is its head. JAMES MADISON PLAYED A CENTRAL ROLE IN the American context in the formulation of what we have come to think of as the separation of church and state, though that is not a phrase Madison himself used. Madison's role begins in the course of a political controversy that took place in the mid-1780s in Virginia. In this dispute in Virginia about what state funding for religion would look like (a very complex and interesting dispute), which was fought village by village, town by town, then ultimately in the state legislature, Madison produced a document called the "Memorial and Remonstrance" (1973). It drew heavily on Locke's conception of these two spheres to argue that the government had no authority whatsoever within the religious sphere. Throughout, Madison used an argument from religion's perspective: that religion itself had nothing to say about how the ordinary secular government should operate because it had nothing to do with affairs not necessary for salvation. Being a Christian, you are not part of the world anymore. You have died and been set free from the world. You are no longer under its rules and regulations (Colossians 2:20-22). I do not think there is such a thing as being a secular Christian you cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). You are either with Christ or you’re not and once you come to Christ and give him your heart you are now in Christ and Christ is your all and all. Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us, meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: . . . And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:12, 13, 18). References Christianity vs. Humanism Comparison Chart Retrieved December 23, 2010 from www.aboundingjoy.com/humanism_chart.htm Christianity vs. Secular Humanism Retrieved December 23, 2010 from www.fightingsecularhumanism.com/ Madison, James. "Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Arguments." The Papers of James Madison. Vol. 3. Eds. Robert Rutland and William Rachal. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, (1973- 1785) Retrieved January 9, 2011 from GCU Library Online Database The Secular Christian Retrieved December 23, 2010 from www.secular.embassyofheaven.com/churchstate/secularchristia... What are signs that a church is becoming secular' | Christian Retrieved December 23, 2010 from www.carm.org/christianity/-christian-church/what-are-si...