Volume 14 Issue 12
The “environment” is a hot topic today. Most people, whether Christian or not, agree that the environment is suffering and that we are not looking after it as we should. We urge citizens, corporations and governments to treat the environment with more care and respect.
According to Jesus, the amount of love that we, as Christians, show our neighbours must have no limitations. To defend this, one may look at two interchangeable concepts in the Bible: The first concept is the second greatest commandment, “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). The second concept is that of unlimited forgiveness; where Jesus states that a person should forgive his or her neighbour “not seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:22).
Missionary. What comes to mind when you hear the word? Jungle expeditions? Long ocean voyages? Becoming the “foreign devil”? Martyrdom? Whatever comes to mind, the North American church has created a stereotype that is far from the true philosophy of mission.
10. Cool bling! Especially if you’re of the liturgical variety: embossed breviaries, pocket bibles, rosaries, medals, and purity rings. Accessorizing is fun and aids in growing in holiness when you’re a Christian.
I remember cutting an article out of the Mars’ Hill a year or two ago, which discussed the spiritual diversity of our campus. In it, one of my wise evangelical friends quite innocently mentioned what he seemed to think were two opposites: Protestant “Charismaniac” and “Staunchly Liturgical” Catholic.
What is the church? It is certainly a daunting question, conjuring images of ancient European cathedrals and modern extravagant structures with crosses perched atop. That image has changed and evolved to the extent that today’s church is almost unrecognizable from a few hundred
years ago.
