Tuesday, June 29, 2010

I'll keep this in mind

I saw these ads. I must say I'm skeptical. I'll keep this information in mind as I continue looking at Islam.
My favorite was Muhammad the defender of women's right. Really? Women seem to be oppressed in Islam to me. But I am willing to be wrong and keep an open mind as the investigation continues.

Sunday, June 06, 2010

The building doesn't make the Church

"Qu'une église soit transformée en une salle communale, une salle de concert, où est le problème?...Mais ce n'est pas le bâtiment qui fait la présence spirituelle." p151

Sarkozy is right. It doesn't matter if the church building is also a concert hall or a community center as well as a church. What difference does it make? "It's not the building that makes the spiritual presence."

I figure many of the mega churches of today will be community centers and multi purpose buildings of tomorrow. Building a single purpose church building today is a poor means of spending money. When churches begin to grow, starting a building program could be the worst thing for the health of the congregation. The focus becomes raising money for the building. Everything centers around the building. The building. The building. The building.

Then, you have churches with decline in attendees. You have a big building with few people to maintain the upkeep of THE BUILDING. I'm not against buildings as some are today. I'm against church revolving around a building.

Saturday, June 05, 2010

"Islam is a French religion"

"...le creuset républicain n'est pas que chrétien ou juif. L'islam est une religion française,..."p131.

Finally finished up Sarkozy's book on religion and the republic. Here are some thoughts I found as I finished up.

This statement caught my attention. And I think it may be why he said it. Islam is a French religion. What Islam could not do at Poitiers, it now does freely throughout the Republic. It has a presence.

What are the implications of Islam being a French religion? I think it's an acknowledgment of the decline of Christianity through apathy and the spiritual void left by the such rejection. As I understand it, Islam is not growing mainly through converts. It's growing mainly through immigration. The French are still non religious. They just have another faith in their "melting pot."

But if Islam can adapt itself to France, crossing over from a Middle Eastern religion to a European religion, it can conquer the world.

So, why not interact with Muslims as true followers of Christ as they move in next door? What better way to bring the Gospel to the Muslim world than by interacting with them as they settle in our communities in Europe and North and South America.