I and my family just finished watching "The Bible", the miniseries recently aired on television (we watched it on the recently released DVD).
Excellent movie. Good acting, in my non-professional opinion. Plenty of good drama and violence to even keep the teenagers interested. I can honestly say...it moved me. It really moved me. To watch my Savior endure so much abuse but still be willing to lay down his life and suffer on the cross for every one of his abusers...and for you and me, the wretched sinners that we are. "Lord have mercy upon us!"
I thought the producers/directors walked a fine tightrope so that Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, orthodox Protestants (including Lutherans), and evangelicals could all approve of and enjoy the film. There are frequent scenes with Mary, the Mother of God, to satisfy Catholics and Eastern Catholics. There is no explicit evangelical language of "accepting Christ into your heart" but there was definitely an evangelical bias.
In the scene involving Christ's conversation with Nicodemus, the word "water" is never mentioned. To quote: "You must be re-born of the Spirit." In the scene involving the Last Supper, Jesus says "This is my body. This is my blood...do this in remembrance of me." There is no mention of "this is my blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins." And of course, Christ was fully immersed in his baptism...evangelicals would have shut off their televisions if Christ had been portrayed as being baptized in any other manner, but the portrayal of an immersion does not offend Lutherans and Catholics.
However...after Christ's resurrection, things take an "orthodox/catholic" turn. The disciple Stephen, before he is stoned to death, calls on the people to be baptized "for the forgiveness of sins". Saul of Tarsus, later the Apostle Paul, is baptized by pouring, and later still the Apostle Peter baptizes Cornelius and his household "for the forgiveness of sins" without any mention of "accepting Christ into your heart" first. Interestingly, Cornelius is "half-immersed"---only his head and upper body go under the water. And a child of the household is baptized...he appears to be seven or eight years old...but is he old enough to have reached the "Age of Accountability"???...
But still...I really liked the film and would encourage all Christians to watch it. If you have Jewish friends, encourage them to watch it to see an excellent presentation of the history of the Jewish people.
What do I take away from this film: "Dear Lord and Savior, make me more humble, more of a servant, give me more love and compassion for non-believers, even those who revile me for my faith, and help me to love and serve my fellow Christian brothers and sisters...help me to be more...like YOU!" Amen.
Slideshow
Friday, May 24, 2013
"Oh, be careful little mouth what you say..."
Do you remember this song from Sunday School?
"Oh, be careful little hands what you do. Oh, be careful little hands what you do. For the Father up above is looking down in love. Oh, be careful little hands what you do.
Oh, be careful little eyes what you see...
Oh, be careful little mouth what you say. Oh, be careful little mouth what you say. For the Father up above is looking down in love. Oh, be careful little mouth what you say."
Not only is God the Father watching what we do, see, and say, but so is the entire un-believing world, especially when we use the internet. Do the comments that YOU post on the internet reflect Jesus Christ?
I am very troubled about many comments posted by Lutheran Christians on several LCMS bloggers' websites that do not reflect the spirit of Christ. These, many times, hateful comments should not be tolerated. The pastors or Christian laypersons who own these blog sites should warn these commenters to change their attitude and comments or be banned from the website/blog.
LCMS pastors who engage in knock-down, drag-out arguments on the internet, in front of the entire world, over such silly issues as the "unfair" practice of the LCMS charging pastors for copies of the Small Catechism and other matters, are an embarrassment to the LCMS and to the Body of Christ universal. Stop airing LCMS dirty laundry in front of the entire internet!
Hateful comments about gays, liberals, President Obama, and Muslims should also not be tolerated. One recent comment by an LCMS pastor and Church official was along the lines of "Let's blow his head off". Would Jesus Christ ever talk in that manner?
Let's all be careful what our "little" mouths say on the internet. If not, the owners of the Christian websites/blogs need to muzzle some "big" mouths!
"Oh, be careful little hands what you do. Oh, be careful little hands what you do. For the Father up above is looking down in love. Oh, be careful little hands what you do.
Oh, be careful little eyes what you see...
Oh, be careful little mouth what you say. Oh, be careful little mouth what you say. For the Father up above is looking down in love. Oh, be careful little mouth what you say."
Not only is God the Father watching what we do, see, and say, but so is the entire un-believing world, especially when we use the internet. Do the comments that YOU post on the internet reflect Jesus Christ?
I am very troubled about many comments posted by Lutheran Christians on several LCMS bloggers' websites that do not reflect the spirit of Christ. These, many times, hateful comments should not be tolerated. The pastors or Christian laypersons who own these blog sites should warn these commenters to change their attitude and comments or be banned from the website/blog.
LCMS pastors who engage in knock-down, drag-out arguments on the internet, in front of the entire world, over such silly issues as the "unfair" practice of the LCMS charging pastors for copies of the Small Catechism and other matters, are an embarrassment to the LCMS and to the Body of Christ universal. Stop airing LCMS dirty laundry in front of the entire internet!
Hateful comments about gays, liberals, President Obama, and Muslims should also not be tolerated. One recent comment by an LCMS pastor and Church official was along the lines of "Let's blow his head off". Would Jesus Christ ever talk in that manner?
Let's all be careful what our "little" mouths say on the internet. If not, the owners of the Christian websites/blogs need to muzzle some "big" mouths!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Pray that Baptists and evangelicals will convert to Lutheranism
Today I am launching a paid on-line advertising campaign to reach out to Baptists and evangelicals with the true Gospel of the Christian Faith: salvation is 100% an act of God. The sinner does not assist or cooperate with God by making a Baptist/evangelical "decision to accept Christ into his heart".
Baptists and evangelicals are some of the best students of the Bible. Unfortunately they have forgotten to take into account one important factor in interpreting what the Bible says: what did the early Christians believe that it says? What did the Early Church Fathers, many of them disciples of the Apostles or disciples of the disciples of the Apostles, believe that the Bible says.
You cannot simply look at a document and depend on what you believe the grammar and sentence structure would mean in today's language without taking into consideration the culture and traditions of the people at the time the document was written. Look at this statement:
"All men are created equal."
The correct grammatical interpretation of that statement is that ALL men...black/white/Asian/Native American...are created equal and should have equal rights. Any sixth grader can tell you that is not what the Founding Fathers meant when they wrote that statement in the US Bill of Rights over 200 years ago.
Baptists and evangelical leaders for the last 500 years have convinced their followers that it is not necessary, in fact it is sinful and grave error, to look to the writings of the early Christians to help understand the Bible. Pray that Baptists and evangelicals will finally see the folly of this bad advice and will take off their blindfolds. Pray that Baptists and evangelicals will return to the doctrines of the Faith that have existed in Christ's Church for almost 2,000 years, the Church against which Christ stated emphatically the gates of Hell would not prevail. How did the Church of Christ disappear for almost 1,500 years until the Ana-Baptists and Baptists "re-discovered" the true Gospel of Salvation, the true Doctrine of Baptism, and the true Doctrine of the Lord's Supper in the sixteenth century in Switzerland, England and Holland?
Pray that our Baptist and evangelical brothers and sisters will see the folly of what their leaders have taught them. God's true plan of salvation has always existed in the Church. Would God really allow his Gospel die out for so long until the Baptists re-discovered it? The very idea calls into question the veracity of our Christian Faith and our Lord. If the Christian Faith died out for 1,500 years, as the Baptist's claim, then Jesus Christ was a fake and a liar!
True Baptistic believers were hiding out in caves for 1,500 years??
Don't buy into this false teaching either! There is zero evidence of Baptistic believers hiding out in caves for 1,500 years! The simple truth is this: NO ONE on planet earth believed the Baptist doctrines of symbolic Baptism, symbolic Lord's Supper, or the idea that a sinner is saved by making a free-will decision to accept Christ into his heart, for approximately the first 800 years after Christ! Baptist and evangelical doctrines on these issues are new teachings. And according to the Bible, new teachings are false teachings!
Dear Baptist and evangelical brothers and sisters in Christ: You are following false teachings. Please read through this blog to learn more about Lutheranism and the true doctrines of the Christian Faith. The true Gospel of the free gift of salvation has always been with the Church, just as Christ promised, even in the darkest hours of the corruption and abuse of the Church in Rome. God never let his Gospel "die out", even when his Church was plagued with false teachings and corruption. Martin Luther did not re-discover the Gospel. He did not re-discover the true Plan of Salvation as if it had been lost for 1,500 years, and neither did the Baptists. The true Gospel has always been present with Christ's Church. To state that it disappeared or was lost is an insult to Christ.
Martin Luther tried to bring the Church back to the teachings of the early Church Fathers, the early Christians. Nothing more, nothing less. He tried to strip away the new false teachings of the bishops of Rome (popes), especially the false teaching that once God gives us the free gift of salvation, then we must do good works to keep it! The Lutheran Church is the ancient Christian Church as founded by the Apostles. The writings of the Early Church Fathers support this position.
Another good source on Lutheranism is "The Lutheran Difference" by Concordia Publishing House. Lutheranism holds the true Christian doctrines and practice of our 2,000 year old Faith.
We are praying for you, brothers and sisters!
Baptists and evangelicals are some of the best students of the Bible. Unfortunately they have forgotten to take into account one important factor in interpreting what the Bible says: what did the early Christians believe that it says? What did the Early Church Fathers, many of them disciples of the Apostles or disciples of the disciples of the Apostles, believe that the Bible says.
You cannot simply look at a document and depend on what you believe the grammar and sentence structure would mean in today's language without taking into consideration the culture and traditions of the people at the time the document was written. Look at this statement:
"All men are created equal."
The correct grammatical interpretation of that statement is that ALL men...black/white/Asian/Native American...are created equal and should have equal rights. Any sixth grader can tell you that is not what the Founding Fathers meant when they wrote that statement in the US Bill of Rights over 200 years ago.
Baptists and evangelical leaders for the last 500 years have convinced their followers that it is not necessary, in fact it is sinful and grave error, to look to the writings of the early Christians to help understand the Bible. Pray that Baptists and evangelicals will finally see the folly of this bad advice and will take off their blindfolds. Pray that Baptists and evangelicals will return to the doctrines of the Faith that have existed in Christ's Church for almost 2,000 years, the Church against which Christ stated emphatically the gates of Hell would not prevail. How did the Church of Christ disappear for almost 1,500 years until the Ana-Baptists and Baptists "re-discovered" the true Gospel of Salvation, the true Doctrine of Baptism, and the true Doctrine of the Lord's Supper in the sixteenth century in Switzerland, England and Holland?
Pray that our Baptist and evangelical brothers and sisters will see the folly of what their leaders have taught them. God's true plan of salvation has always existed in the Church. Would God really allow his Gospel die out for so long until the Baptists re-discovered it? The very idea calls into question the veracity of our Christian Faith and our Lord. If the Christian Faith died out for 1,500 years, as the Baptist's claim, then Jesus Christ was a fake and a liar!
True Baptistic believers were hiding out in caves for 1,500 years??
Don't buy into this false teaching either! There is zero evidence of Baptistic believers hiding out in caves for 1,500 years! The simple truth is this: NO ONE on planet earth believed the Baptist doctrines of symbolic Baptism, symbolic Lord's Supper, or the idea that a sinner is saved by making a free-will decision to accept Christ into his heart, for approximately the first 800 years after Christ! Baptist and evangelical doctrines on these issues are new teachings. And according to the Bible, new teachings are false teachings!
Dear Baptist and evangelical brothers and sisters in Christ: You are following false teachings. Please read through this blog to learn more about Lutheranism and the true doctrines of the Christian Faith. The true Gospel of the free gift of salvation has always been with the Church, just as Christ promised, even in the darkest hours of the corruption and abuse of the Church in Rome. God never let his Gospel "die out", even when his Church was plagued with false teachings and corruption. Martin Luther did not re-discover the Gospel. He did not re-discover the true Plan of Salvation as if it had been lost for 1,500 years, and neither did the Baptists. The true Gospel has always been present with Christ's Church. To state that it disappeared or was lost is an insult to Christ.
Martin Luther tried to bring the Church back to the teachings of the early Church Fathers, the early Christians. Nothing more, nothing less. He tried to strip away the new false teachings of the bishops of Rome (popes), especially the false teaching that once God gives us the free gift of salvation, then we must do good works to keep it! The Lutheran Church is the ancient Christian Church as founded by the Apostles. The writings of the Early Church Fathers support this position.
Another good source on Lutheranism is "The Lutheran Difference" by Concordia Publishing House. Lutheranism holds the true Christian doctrines and practice of our 2,000 year old Faith.
We are praying for you, brothers and sisters!
Monday, May 20, 2013
Colossians 2:11-12 Baptist interpretation
Colossians 2:11-12
In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in symbolic baptism when you prayed the Sinner's Prayer and asked Christ into your heart, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
Why can't Baptists and evangelicals just believe the plain, simple reading of Scripture without correcting and contorting God's Holy Word?
In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in symbolic baptism when you prayed the Sinner's Prayer and asked Christ into your heart, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
Why can't Baptists and evangelicals just believe the plain, simple reading of Scripture without correcting and contorting God's Holy Word?
Titus 3:5 Baptist interpretation
Titus 3:5
He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the spiritual washing of regeneration that we receive when make make a decision for Christ and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
Why can't Baptists and evangelicals just believe the plain, simple reading of Scripture without correcting and contorting God's Holy Word?
He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the spiritual washing of regeneration that we receive when make make a decision for Christ and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
Why can't Baptists and evangelicals just believe the plain, simple reading of Scripture without correcting and contorting God's Holy Word?
I Corinthians 10:16 Baptist interpretation
1 Corinthians 10:16
16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a symbolic participation in the symbolic blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a symbolic participation in the symbolic body of Christ?
Why can't Baptists and evangelicals just believe the plain, simple reading of Scripture without correcting and contorting God's Holy Word?
Why can't Baptists and evangelicals just believe the plain, simple reading of Scripture without correcting and contorting God's Holy Word?
I Corinthians 11:27 Baptist interpretation
I Corinthians 11:27
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the symbolic body and symbolic blood of the Lord.
Why can't Baptists and evangelicals just believe the plain, simple reading of Scripture without correcting and contorting God's Holy Word?
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the symbolic body and symbolic blood of the Lord.
Why can't Baptists and evangelicals just believe the plain, simple reading of Scripture without correcting and contorting God's Holy Word?
Matthew 26:26-28 Baptist interpretation
Matthew 26:26-28
26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my symbolic body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my symbolic blood of the[a] covenant, which is symbolically poured out as a picture of the shedding of my blood on the cross which will be shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Why can't Baptists and evangelicals just believe the plain, simple reading of Scripture without correcting and contorting God's Holy Word?
Why can't Baptists and evangelicals just believe the plain, simple reading of Scripture without correcting and contorting God's Holy Word?
Mark 14:22-25 Baptist interpretation
Mark 14:22-25
22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my symbolic body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my symbolic blood of the[a] covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Why can't Baptists and evangelicals just believe the plain, simple reading of Scripture without correcting and contorting God's Holy Word?
Why can't Baptists and evangelicals just believe the plain, simple reading of Scripture without correcting and contorting God's Holy Word?
I Corinthians 11:24 Baptist interpretation
1 Corinthians 11:24
And when he had given thanks, he brake [it], and said, Take, eat: this is my symbolic body, which is symbolically broken for you: this do in symbolic remembrance of me in an ordinance that you will refer to as the Lord's Supper.
Why can't Baptists and evangelicals just believe the plain, simple reading of Scripture without correcting and contorting God's Holy Word?
And when he had given thanks, he brake [it], and said, Take, eat: this is my symbolic body, which is symbolically broken for you: this do in symbolic remembrance of me in an ordinance that you will refer to as the Lord's Supper.
Why can't Baptists and evangelicals just believe the plain, simple reading of Scripture without correcting and contorting God's Holy Word?
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