Everyone loves doing Powerpoint presentations these days, and so if anyone needs some graphs to represent your argument, the following three come highly recommended.
A little “former cofC” humor grabbed from here.
Category Archives: Misc
Make Sure to Watch for Chris Knight Sunday Night
For those of you in the WGSR viewing area, Chris Knight is supposed to be on Sunday night at 8:00 for 25 minutes. Charles Roark has apparently offered Chris 25 minutes to give his position regarding Johnny Robertson and their recent encounter outside the WGSR studios. Knowing Chris from his blog, I would bet he’s got something interesting up his sleeve! Let’s all watch and support him.
Dress to Impress
Chris Knight, over at theknightshift.blogspot.com, reports that Johnny spent some time on Sunday night’s broadcast talking about how important it is for people to “dress nice” for church.
I recently read this great story dealing with that issue in the CofC:
“One Sunday morning the congregation of a hyper-conservative Church of Christ had a stir. A man came in just minutes before the service was to begin and he was dressed horribly, was stinking, had on old boots, torn overalls, a dirty flannel shirt, and a dusty cowboy hat. The congregation was aghast! Many quickly sent notes to the minister about this concern.
At the end of the services the minister greeted the humbly dressed man and asked him if he enjoyed the service. The man exclaimed that he enjoyed it very much. The minister asked the man to consider possibly dressing differently, and taking a shower. He told him to pray to Jesus about how he would have him dress if he should return again.
The next week the man returned. He was dressed the same and once again the congregation was disturbed. At the end of the service the minister greeted the man again and asked him what he had been told by Jesus concerning his how to dress for church. The man exclaimed. “I spoke with Jesus about this, but Jesus said he didn’t know how I should dress for “this church” because He has never been here.
“Found here.
And to be fair, this story could be told for any denomination, not just the Church of Christ denomination. (I use that word purposefully, btw.)
Man-Made Doctrines in the Hard-Line Church of Christ
This came from a discussion going on elsewhere, but I thought they brought up great points. Typically, the hard-liners claim that denominations are wrong because they use man-made doctrines. But, what doctrines do the hard-liners follow that are manmade – personal interpretations? This is a list that several commenters came up with:
1. the Bible commands us to take the Lord’s Supper every Sunday morning. Those who do not do so are not following the Lord’s command
2. It is a sin to drink alcohol
3. “Church of Christ” is the best name for the church
4. The “Church of Christ” of today existed before the American Restoration movement
5. It is a sin to dance
6. If a divorced person is remarried, and the prior marriage ended for a reason other than sexual sin, he must divorce his current wife to be allowed in the Church – God hates divorce, so we must create two divorces
7. all other denominations are wrong in their interpretion of the Bible
8. It is wrong to have a choir in worship service
9. It is wrong to use instruments in a worship service
10. one must have mental awareness that they are being baptized for their remission of sins at the time of baptism
11. baptism is by emersion only
12. it is wrong to use congregational money to support orphan’s homes and CoC colleges (this does not apply to all CoCs)
13. the COC is not a denomination
14. all first century churches were identical in form and practice
15. God commands us to conform to the 1st century church
16. They were talking about grape juice in the bible not literal alcoholic wine.
17. It is sinful to clap during singing.
18. Women can not stand at the table to pass out the Lords Supper but they can do it sitting down passing it left to right.
19. There is absolutely nothing about the bread or fruit of the vine being placed on a table in front of the auditorium (sanctuary)(Nothing wrong with it, buts its a man-made tradition.)
20. There legally is a certain pattern to follow in worship.
21. The thief on the cross did not have to be baptized because he was under the Old Convenant.
22. You can only be called a preacher, a minister or an evangelist. Calling a preacher a pastor or a reverend is WRONG!
23. God allows songbooks and song leaders as necessary expedients, even though they are not authorized by scriptures.
24. Attempting to authorize the use of musical instruments by quoting Old Testament scripture is wrong because we are not under the old law. However, the Lord’s doctrine of silence is clearly illustrated in the Old Testament stories of Noah, Nadab and Abihu, and Uzzah to disprove instrument worship!
25. The New Testament is littered with 1st century churches using spiritual gifts. These gifts have gone away. Anyone that views this differently is either dishonest or mislead.
26. Baptists believe you can do whatever you please due to the once saved always saved doctrine.
Thanks to DMH and JPManzi for giving this list over at topix.
Anyone have any other ideas for the list, or responses to them? I’ll even allow Shawn to post his responses, if he agrees to adhere to the blog standards, which he knows well.
23 Good Questions to Ask a CofC Fundamentalist
Over at http://www.topix.com, at a conversation going on between a few Church of Christ fundamentalists and a few other folks, we had a list of some Very Interesting Questions posted for our Church of Christ friends to answer. I put them here for your perusal, and invite you to put them on your list of questions to ask your own Church of Christ friends.
1) I was baptized at age 10 for the forgiveness of my sins (in a Church of Christ) what sins were I capable of committing at this point in my life? If I died before my baptism would I have gone to Hell?
2) Where does the age of accountability for proper baptism appear in the Bible? Please provide book, chapter, and verse
3) Is Matthew 28:19 proper baptismal instructions? Or did Jesus make an incomplete statement?
4) Would you consider keeping another man as a slave to be sin?(Please keep in mind 1 Timothy 6:1-2, Ephesians 6:5)
5) Is the apostle Paul accountable for his false teachings on “faith only” salvation in the books of Romans and Ephesians?
6) Would Paul be allowed to serve as an Elder in your Church? Jesus is called the “high priest” for the Jewish audience in the book of Hebrews. Doe he fit the criteria to be an elder of a congregation?
7) Is it better for a man not to marry? Would a preacher be more effective if he was not married? Should Paul’s thoughts on the subject be considered advice? inference? command?
8) Is the Bible silent on the following issues? song leaders, song books, choirs, paid preachers, church supported colleges, proper dress attire in a worship assembly, Wed. night assemblies, organs, communion being part of a worship service, clapping in a church service, indoor baptisms, sitting and standing in unison during a service, proper methods of baptisms, singing songs written by members of differing denominations, women singing in a church service (are they silent?), youth ministers, church secretaries, and church buildings?
9) If my eyes are causing me to sin should I gauge them out? Should this be taken literally? Why or why not? Is this instruction you would give another Christian?
10) How many times does the Book of James mention Baptism as a necessary work? Does it mention it at all? What is the main point of the Book of James?
11) How many times did Jesus address what proper worship in public assembly consists of?
12) Where in the Bible (please provide book, chapter, and verse) is the Lord’s Supper set to consist of grape juice and crackers that must be observed every Sunday morning.
13) Please provide book, chapter, verse that bans alcohol drinking as well as dancing.
14) Where does the idea of being “silent where the Bible is silent” appear in the Bible (please provide book, chapter, verse)
15) Is gluttony a sin? If so, is eating fast food a sin; or is overeating fast food a sin?
16) Was the original Lord’s Supper unscriptural occurring as a Passover dinner on a Thursday night?
17) I have never seen any Church today conform to the clear pattern of practice set in Acts 2:44-45. Why is this clear example ignored?
18) Why was Jesus baptized?
19) Did Jesus have any fears or doubts about his role? If he did would this make him “imperfect” or does it display his humanity?
20) Who did Jesus butt heads with the most? Why?
21) What does “infallible” mean to you? Please provide the book, chapter, verse that the Bible claims to be infallible.
22) Where did the Bible come from? Who decided what books it should consist of? Were the men that decided this Christians? Was God guiding them?
23) When did the church fall into apostasy? Has there been a time when the Church of Christ did not exist? Has there been a time when it was united?Thanks to “DMH” for the list of questions.
Jason Hairston’s Blog Finally Taken Offline
“Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.” 2 Corinthians 8:21
It’s taken Johnny Robertson and company several months to do, but Jason Hairston’s old blog has finally been taken offline. You can still see the link on the blogs of Johnny Robertson, Norm Fields and James Oldfield, but it now goes to a “website currently unavailable” page.
Are they finally acknowledging that Jason has stopped teaching their doctrine? They’ve tap danced around his leaving for such a long time, and we’ve talked about it here on this blog several times, and we’re still waiting for an explanation of what happened. I figure we’ll never get that. I still contend that Johnny owes the community an explanation for Jason’s leaving considering that he spent hours and hours preaching to us each week, but I can understand if Johnny wants to hush it up and pin it on Jason as some sort of failure on his part. After all, Johnny has an image to keep up with supporters like Shawn Paden!
Speaking of Shawn, if you go over and look at the website for Royse City Church of Christ you’ll see that Shawn still a very prominent link up to an article that Jason wrote about Baptists and the Church of Christ. But, according to sources close to Jason, he doesn’t believe what he taught when he wrote that article. And yet, Shawn keeps it up. Interesting! Not quite honest, but interesting nonetheless.
So, readers of this blog, because we don’t know what’s happened to Jason (thanks for nothing, Johnny), let’s all agree to be praying for him, that he would find true freedom in Christ, and that he wouldn’t forsake his First Love. (Rev 2:4)
And Jason, if you ever read this blog, know that we really are praying for you, friend!
Nathan
Potentially Good Debate Going On…
Well, just like Johnny and company had to go all the way to Los Angeles to find a good sparring partner, our friend Randy has had to go all the way to Texas, because Johnny Robertson, Norm Fields and James Oldfield refuse to grace our blogs with their presence. Why are they hiding in the shadows? (LOL)
A Church of Christ pastor (who supports the efforts of our three TV hosts) by the name of Shawn Paden is interacting with us over on Randy’s blog, and so I’d invite folks to wander on over there if you haven’t already and see what’s going on.
churchesofChrist.wordpress.com
Any thoughts on the recent programs, by the way?
Thinking of leaving one of our local Churches of Christ, but nobody to talk to?
We recently had some folks visit us from the website “Ex-Church of Christ“, and we are glad they’ve visited our little discussion page!
That website is a place for folks who left Churches of Christ (like the ones whose teachings we discuss here), where they come together to discuss their stories.
If you are thinking of leaving Johnny Robertson, Norm Fields’ or James Oldfield’s churches, but need some support, their website might be a good place for you to go.
Meanwhile, make sure to check back here later for a summary of our thoughts on tonight’s “What Does the Bible Say?” broadcast, featuring Mr. Johnny Robertson. Hopefully it won’t just be a repeat of one of the debate shows!
Will you Celebrate Christmas?
(pic from biblestorymurals.com or worshippingchristian.org)
It seems to me that the Church of Christ folks don’t celebrate Christmas (and this would be something that they WOULD agree on with Armando). I wonder if one of them might be willing to come on and discuss this, to tell what the morning of December 25 is like in their home? I have a feeling one of the men might discuss this on tonight’s broadcast – it would be timely – but I don’t have any inside information. Anyway, what is your (reader) view on celebrating Jesus’ birth on December 25, and the other Christmas traditions?
[Note to Armando: I know that you read this blog and post often. If you wouldn’t mind, before you write in and answer, could you give the Church of Christ folks a chance first?]
[Note to Johnny Robertson, Norm Fields and James Oldfield: I’m not trying to be taunting here, but aren’t you guys just the least bit disconcerted that an Apostolic from Los Angeles is willing to come here and discuss what he believes, but none of your folks are – and this blog is devoted to discussing what you teach?]
Viewers Debate Feedback
If you watched some or all of the recent debates between Armando DeLoa and Johnny Robertson, how did you think it went? Do you agree with my assessment, or did you feel differently? Do you want to see these men debate again? Let’s chat about it!
Answering the Church of Christ 