Tag Archives: Truth

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I once was fatherless,
A stranger with no hope;
Your kindness wakened me,
Awakened me, from my sleep

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Your love it beckons deeply,
A call to come and die.
By grace now I will come
And take this life, take your life.

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Sin has lost it's power,
Death has lost it's sting.
From the grave you've risen
VICTORIOUSLY!

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Into marvelous light I'm running,
Out of darkness, out of shame.
By the cross you are the truth,
You are the life, you are the way

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My dead heart now is beating,
My deepest stains now clean.
Your breath fills up my lungs.
Now I'm free. now I'm free!

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Lift my hands and spin around,
See the light that i have found.
Oh the marvelous light
Marvelous light
Lift my hands and spin
See the light within...

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Oh, my...this has been around a while...I'll add some to the end of it.

1 John 3:1-3: "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."

Ephesians 1:5 ...he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—

Mark 10:15 "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

Our sermon on Sunday was on the passage in Mark and the person who spoke gave examples of what that might  mean.

Children are not by nature clean beings.  My daddy always says, "a boy is a noise with dirt on it."  On that day, when Jesus was speaking...nobody was clean.  They had traveled on the dusty roads and had been sitting in the hot sun all day.

When we come to the Father, we come to him as broken and messy children.  We may not have a clue where we're going, but like a child, the Father just picks us up and puts us where we should be.

We bring nothing with us.

Job 1:20 "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return.

We don't bring our works, our faith, our love.  All that we have, the Father has given.

 

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Discuss whether you see a way around exclusivism, pluralism, and inclusivism that might still keep integrity of each particular religion in place. Discuss how religious language might or might not play a role in your conclusion.

Exclusivism (the doctrine that only one religion is “true”) is the foundation of many religions.  If Scripture is correct, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”  Whatever a person believes passionately will come out of his or her mouth.  People who believe that their belief system has the only means to salvation; if they believe that souls depend on the truth of that system, that belief will be shared with others. They can fully respect the dignity of other people, and understand the depth of the beliefs of others; they want to share the truth so that all will come to salvation.  One can “witness” or “evangelize” by simply stating one’s belief, while allowing others to share their own beliefs in the same way.

Inclusivism may be compatible with exclusivism, in that (in Christianity, for example) inclusivism maintains that Jesus Christ is the only means of salvation, but salvation (through Christ) can be obtained without a specific belief in Christ for salvation, but through the “general revelation” of nature. People who embrace inclusivism have an understanding that people who have never heard the gospel of Christ, may (through general revelation) may come to a saving faith without ever hearing of Christ).

Pluralism maintains that all religions are equally valid and that any religion may bring a person to salvation.  This cannot be compatible with exclusivism (within a person) but may coincide with inclusivism.  Once cannot simultaneously believe that there is only one means of salvation and believe that there are many ways to salvation.

Within a group of people, discussions can take place that allow sharing and debates of beliefs.  These discussions can get passionate and even heated at times, and they depend on the ability of others to present their convictions and listen to other people and maintain respect and civility for the other people, even if they do not respect the other religion.  If respect and civility are not present, the “doctrine of ‘just shut up’” might come into play.

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