Church purpose versus church growth

The Fruit of Righteousness and the Fruit of the Spirit

Ian Johnson December 8, 2022 3 Comments

When Jesus says that he has chosen us to bear fruit that will last, the fruit he has in mind is the fruit of the Spirit–that is, the work the Holy Spirit does within us as we yield to him to make us like Christ. It is not our work, our “fruits,” at all–it is all his work.

Changed treatment of each other, Complex unity, Compulsory Christianity, Emotions, forgiveness and mercy, God is Love, God's Existence and Nature, God's purpose for us, Human Rationality, patience, Repentance, Restoration of God's Image, Restoration of our Relationships, Salvation, To be in his image, To bear fruit, To live in unity

bearing fruit, Fruit of the Spirit, fruitbearing, God's work, Holy Spirit

Top-Down or Bottom-Up Repentance? The Shift Toward Mass “Evangelism” and Group “Conversions”

Ian Johnson November 4, 2022 0 Comments

Introduction to the historic process by which the Early Church, a collection of outcasts bound together by a personal relationship with Jesus, within a few centuries became the chief bastion of worldly power and order held together by legally enforced adherence to a creed.

Church purpose versus church growth, Compulsory Christianity, Divisions in the Church, Jesus the Son, Mass Conversion, Mass Evangelism, Peril of Seeking Numbers, Peril of Seeking Power, Peril of Seeking Respectability, Salvation, Social control and statecraft, Son of Man, Trinity

alliances, authority, Christian history, Christianity, Church unity, Greek philosophy, Jesus, mass conversion, mass evangelism, order, paganism, power, the Faith

Anger

Ian Johnson October 12, 2022 0 Comments

I write this post to myself. I was once a very angry man. But I believed I now had anger under control. More recently, I’m not so sure. Manipulative people and manipulative institutions both deliberately goad the anger of those they want to control–anger is a great motivator. The media, celebrities, politicians, organizations and advertisers do the same thing. Other people, though, habitually but unconsciously manipulate by continually rehearsing their angry reveries for others to hear, wishing either to bring their hearers into their angry world or to intimidate by fear of what they might do in anger. And I am weak to all of these ploys. So I present the following study, which consists only of quotations from Scripture about human anger, its causes and antidote.

Changed treatment of each other, Conversation with others, Desire to have our own way, Divisions in the Church, Emotions, Forgive as we forgive, forgiveness and mercy, Forgiveness and Unforgiveness, Free will, God is Love, God's purpose for us, His Children, Human Rationality, Injustice and Lawsuits, Language and Speech, patience, Repentance, Restoration of God's Image, Restoration of our Relationships, Salvation, To be his ambassadors, To live in unity

anger, angry, arguments, bitterness, contention, Death and life are in the power of the tongue, discord, gossip, lies, Love, lying, mercy, peace, reconcile, reconciliation, root of bitterness, strife, temper, tongue, whispering, wrath

Foundational Repentance and Falling Away, Hebrews 6:1-6

Ian Johnson September 10, 2022 3 Comments

Hebrews 6:1-6 has nothing to do with losing our salvation through sinful acts. Instead, it teaches that we must repent from our rebellion and from our own dead works as a way of becoming acceptable to God. Further, when we do sometimes fall back into relying on our own works, we cannot repent of this in our own power. God must provide both the initiative and the power.

Confession and Repentance, forgiveness and mercy, Free will, God is Love, God's Existence and Nature, God's purpose for us, Losing salvation, Pride in accomplishments as our own, refusal to repent, Repentance, Repentance versus Remorse, Replacing Relationship with Morality, Salvation, self-serving worship, Sin, Sins versus sin, What is sin?

character flaws, dead works, failure, faith, falling away, God's initiative, losing salvation, not of faith, our works, repentance, sin, sins, weakness, works

“Spiritually Traumatized” Areas Hypothesis

Ian Johnson August 28, 2022 1 Comment

States the hypothesis that one of the drivers of historical change is repeated spiritual trauma affecting conquered or subjugated cultural groups in some specific areas of the world where movements often start.

A God who Speaks, Authority Contests, Church purpose versus church growth, Divisions in the Church, Ethnic Division, God Never Stopped Speaking, Heresy, Merit, Peril of Seeking Power, Religious violence and persecution, Salvation, Social control and statecraft, Wars as consequences

conquest, cultural denigration, elite, folk belief, folk culture, folk religion, God speaks, hierarchy, oppression, persecution, priesthood, ruling elite, spiritual trauma, spiritually traumatized, spiritually traumatized area

A Few Comments on the Overall Process

Ian Johnson August 21, 2022 0 Comments

Most of the currents of modern Western history can ultimately be traced to the well-meaning decisions of Christian leaders in the early centuries to seek political sponsorship. This led to the inversion of the Gospel message, forced exile of “heretics,” the rise of Islam through the influence of exiled “heretics,” and most of the subsequent upheavals in the Western world.

A God who Speaks, Authority Contests, Changed treatment of each other, Compulsory Christianity, Desire to have our own way, Disrespecting poor believers, Divisions in the Church, Ethnic Division, God Never Stopped Speaking, God Speaks to Us, Heresy, Islam and Christianity, Islam as a Consequence, Peril of Seeking Power, Peril of Seeking Respectability, Religious violence and persecution, Repentance, Salvation, Social control and statecraft, Through the church, Truth and Falsehood, Wars as consequences, What is sin?

Christendom, Christian politics, Christianity, Christianity and Islam, Christianity and politics, Divisions in the Church, heresy, heretical movements, History of Christianity

A Simple Summary of Church and Western History–Introduction

Ian Johnson August 15, 2022 1 Comment

An introduction to the process by which, in seeking the approval and sponsorship of those in political power, and the delusion of holy conquest, Christianity, as defined by its victorious leaders, has consistently denied the possibility of a living, individual friendship with God. First in a series.

A God who Speaks, Compulsory Christianity, God Acts by Speaking, God Never Stopped Speaking, God Speaks to Us, God's Voice, Peril of Seeking Power, Peril of Seeking Respectability, Social control and statecraft, Uncategorized

Church History, Friendship with God, History, History of Christianity, personal relationship, Western History

What I Believe–stated simply

Ian Johnson July 24, 2022 7 Comments

In this post, I give a short, one web page, summary of what I believe, in language as simple as I can manage. It gives only a quick, “big picture” of my understanding of God, my relationship to him, and my role on Earth. Comments are invited.

Church purpose versus church growth, Complex unity, Conversation with God, Divisions in the Church, Eternity, Free will, God Acts by Speaking, God is Love, God Never Stopped Speaking, God Speaks to Us, God was never our enemy, God's Existence and Nature, God's purpose for us, God's rationality, God's sovereignty, His Children, His Friends, Immanence, Islam as a Consequence, Language and Speech, Male and female, Merit, Omnipresence, Reconciliation, Refusing to hear, Regeneration, Rejecting God, Repentance, Restoration of God's Image, Salvation, Show us the Way of Truth, Sin, Sins versus sin, The Invisible God's Self-Existence, The Kingdom of the Heavens, The Problem of Evil, To be his ambassadors, To be in his image, To live in unity, Transcendence, Trinity, Ultimate reality, Unity, Wars as consequences, What is God's Word, What is sin?

Christian theology, Church, God, God speaks, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Life purpose, Son of God, Son of Man

Distinction Between “Sin” (Singular) and “Sins” (Plural)–Part 4–The Epistles of James and Peter

Ian Johnson June 20, 2022 0 Comments

The Scriptures generally draw a qualitative distinction between “sin,” in the singular, and “sins,” in the plural. “Sin” is our inward attitude of rebellion against God. “Sins” are bad actions. This post gives a series of examples from James and First and Second Peter.

Desire to have our own way, Forgetting God, God's purpose for us, Greed, Knowing good and evil, Refusing to hear, self-serving worship, Sins versus sin, Trusting sight over God's words, What is sin?

1 Peter, 2 Peter, actions, attitudes, James, sin vs sins, temptation, test, testing

Distinction Between “Sin” (Singular) and “Sins” (Plural) — Part 2

Ian Johnson May 12, 2022 1 Comment

The Scriptures generally draw a qualitative distinction between “sin,” in the singular, and “sins,” in the plural. “Sin” is our inward attitude of rebellion against God. “Sins” are bad actions. This post gives a series of examples from John and the shorter Pauline Epistles.

Confession and Repentance, Confession of Sin, Discipline or Correction, God was never our enemy, God's purpose for us, God's rationality, Is forgiveness of sins the focus of salvation?, Peril of Seeking Respectability, Reconciliation, Regeneration, Repentance, Repentance in community, Restoration of God's Image, Restoration of our Relationships, Salvation, The Problem of Evil, To be his ambassadors, To live in unity

disbeleif, faith, God, heart attitude, leadership, rebellion, sin, sins, unbelief, way of life, wrong acts

The Fruit of Righteousness and the Fruit of the Spirit

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Top-Down or Bottom-Up Repentance? The Shift Toward Mass “Evangelism” and Group “Conversions”

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Anger

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Foundational Repentance and Falling Away, Hebrews 6:1-6

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“Spiritually Traumatized” Areas Hypothesis

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A Few Comments on the Overall Process

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A Simple Summary of Church and Western History–Introduction

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What I Believe–stated simply

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Distinction Between “Sin” (Singular) and “Sins” (Plural)–Part 4–The Epistles of James and Peter

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Distinction Between “Sin” (Singular) and “Sins” (Plural) — Part 2

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Church purpose versus church growth

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