Blog 11

To my friends who have no idea who Jesus is, He is the almighty God that came to earth in the form of a man. He has the power and at times, the wisdom of God, but also carries the characteristics of man (excluding sin). Jesus walked on water and brought the dead to life, he felt pain and suffering as well as hunger and temptation.

Because he is God, he is worthy to be worshiped, because he was a man, he is the perfect example of how we should live. He is the king of the heavens, angels bow at the sound of his voice, yet he chose to serve as a man, with all the filth and depravity we have made for ourselves. He did this because he loves us and sees worth in us like no one else can.

Blog 9

In the book of James, a vivid picture is painted of wealth and poverty. Through the eyes of James, the poor are all inherently righteous, and the wealthy are inherently evil. I do not agree with this viewpoint, I believe that the poor need to be taken care of, and that wealth does not define where you stand with God. Money, like many other things, can easily come in between us and Jesus. Jesus told his followers to sell all they had and follow him. I believe this to a degree, but I also believe that God blesses with prosperity so that we can bless others

Blog 8

In my church, we have a senior pastor, who oversees the other pastors, but above our senior pastor, we have church elders who make the defining decisions for the church. I believe this is similar to the biblical description of how the church should be structured. Paul writes that the church should be overseen by deacons or elders, wise men of God who would act in the best interest of God, the church, and it's people.

Church shopping (Blog 10)

If I visited a church that taught something I disagreed with, the first thing I would do is analyse what the disagreement was. I would then ask myself questions like "why do I disagree with this view?" "Why do I believe in my current view?" "Which view does scripture support more?" After asking these questions, I am able to make an educated decision on whether or not it's worth creating an argument or leaving the church.

Most disagreements are born out of different people viewing parts of the Bible as essential and non-essential. This can lead to church splits and bitter feelings towards one another. We should all be able to go to a church that affirms our beliefs and encourages us to pursue them.