I watched clips of this sermon, but I never really heard it in the more full state like this short but longer version. I am not religious, even though I do have a personal code of conduct, so I would hope one of the religious people that come here might comment on what he is saying. Is he correct? That seemed the way it was when I was a kid going to the SDA church. I once asked my benefactor if he wanted prayer in school, yes it was a controversy back then also with fundamentalist religious people trying to force their views on your child, he surprised me with saying no, he did not want prayers in school. He followed it up with. We have our beliefs, and I wouldn’t want someone who believed differently than we do to lead a prayer my children would be forced to pray with. They took prayer seriously. So I ask, what do you think? Hugs. Scottie
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no one can stop prayer in school…kids on test day all seem to pray. Getting picked for teams, they are praying again. BUT no one should have a school employee spout off a Christian (or any other prayer0 over a loudspeaker to the entire school. That is proselytizing and totally wrong!
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Hi Suze. True but at the time this was Vermont in the late 1970s and they were trying to mandate Christian prayers at the start of school. Along with the other things you mention. But I was surprised that such a highly religious man who paid for me and other kids to go to a church boarding school wouldn’t want to have Christian stuff in public schools. I respect his answer and once I saw the issue from the view of someone with a different religion I realized he was correct. Hugs. Scottie
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The Christianity grew up with was heavily influenced by SDA, we were “Not of This World”. Jesus is coming any day now there’s no point involving ourselves in worldly, in secular affairs when our time is better spent preparing for that. I posted it because it’s the first one I’ve seen that harkens back to that, the christians literally have no business doing the things they’re doing
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Hi Ten Bears. Yes the SDA churches and church school I attended had the same view. In fact one of my favorite church “rock” band Petra had a great song called Not Of This World. Posted below. Listening to it now. Even though I am not a believer I still enjoy the song. Hugs. Scottie
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I didn’t watch the vid at either blog, but from what I’ve read, I can say the church in which I grew up was adamantly opposed to organized or required school prayer, those who pray know how to do it without letting everybody else know about it. I’ve always been a they-might-take-my-body-but-they’ll-never-have-my-mind person, and I pray all the time. I keep thinking this might happen, even: https://youtu.be/OaIUkv-9HiE?si=361pUOoDlxYwkU9x . (It hasn’t.) I was taught, and feel it’s wrong to push beliefs onto others. The thing the right wing evangelicals have forgotten was that part of the reason behind the separation of church and state was to protect the church from governmental interference, every bit as much as the opposite when religion tries to govern.
Whew! That got long. Enjoy the video. I miss Phil Hartman.
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And a few minutes later, I feel I should add that I don’t pray that much, or about stupid stuff. Usually the big things.
And tornadoes.
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Hello Ali. I enjoyed the video, thanks for sending the link. It shows how so many pretend Christians are. Or I should say Christians that don’t really understand their religion.
As to the video I posted, I think you might want to watch it. The preacher is a bit too over the top for me, but he is in a big church. I am not used to a preacher moving all over the upper level because the church seating is so large. But his message is great even if delivered in a style I am not in favor of.
He was basically saying don’t fall for cult leaders, don’t fall for tRump using religion and the bible but keep your focus on heaven. Our world is there, not the place we are now. Our god doesn’t demand we vote for false prophets but instead prepare your self for heaven and a godly life. I loved it. Hugs. Scottie
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Sorry Ali for it posting twice. For some reason it did not post the notification I replied until I copied the first one and reposted it. Hugs. Scottie
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Hello Ali. I enjoyed the video, thanks for sending the link. It shows how so many pretend Christians are. Or I should say Christians that don’t really understand their religion.
As to the video I posted, I think you might want to watch it. The preacher is a bit too over the top for me, but he is in a big church. I am not used to a preacher moving all over the upper level because the church seating is so large. But his message is great even if delivered in a style I am not in favor of.
He was basically saying don’t fall for cult leaders, don’t fall for tRump using religion and the bible but keep your focus on heaven. Our world is there, not the place we are now. Our god doesn’t demand we vote for false prophets but instead prepare your self for heaven and a godly life. I loved it. Hugs. Scottie
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Free, compulsory, and secular education commenced in Aotearoa in 1877. It was secular from the outset at the insistence of the churches. They were all too aware of the possible consequences if one church gained favour with the state, and visa versa. In fact they seemed to be more aware of the potential dangers than the politicians of the day.
Perhaps its a difference in how we understand politics compared to the preacher in the video clip. Religion shouldn’t be concerned about preparing for the hereafter. It should be concerned about what’s happening in the here and now. Perhaps it is a “Christian thing” to provide relief for those fallen on hard times, but even more important, shouldn’t they be out to eliminate the causes of that suffering in the first place? That invariably will involve politics. Christians and other people of religion should not be aloof from the society they are part of.
Often times, as is currently the case here, political decisions cause an increase in hardship and suffering. Advocating for a change in those policies is politics. Our current government is hell bent on removing many gains in environmental protection, protection to the disadvantaged, minority rights etc, removing job protections, protection for home renters and more all in the name of economic freedom, and that’s just for starters, not to mention proposed tax reductions for high income earners. Opposing any of these is political, and as a consequence nearly all religious movements, apart from the few right wing evangelical fundamentalist Christian groups, are involved in politics one way or another. That is how it should be in my view. Every one and every social organisation, religious or not should be involved im making society a better place for all.
The religious body I belong to has been involved in politics throughout its history – from the opposition to tithing, preparation for war, integration of church and state, and support for gender equality in the 17th century to prison, health and education reforms, opposition to slavery, and unchecked capitalism in the 18th and 19th centuries to the suffrage movement, prostitution reform, and LGBTQIA+ rights in the 20th century – all highly political at the time, and some still so in the 21st century.
In this country, although they were bitterly divided over homosexual law reform in the 1980s, the churches have broadly supported reforms such as same sex marriage, decriminalisation of prostitution, and gender self identification.
As an aside, the layout of the church in the video is similar to how Baptist churches here are laid out – much wider than deep with seating on three sides of the raised pulpit area. However that style of preaching doesn’t go down well here, and would probably be seen only in a sermon at a “hell and brimstone” fundamentalist church.
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Hi Barry. Thank you for writing this comment. I learned a lot, and I admire the religious group you belonged to. It is very commendable what your church does for the community and others in need.
The way you talk about religion in politics is the direct opposite of how it works in the US. In the US the religions involved in politics / political office are some of the most mean stingy hateful of all people in office. In red states, they won’t even save a woman with a dead fetus inside her because of their mistaken idea of the bible. In their view a woman’s life means nothing but a fetus might be a future male issue or at least the offspring of a male. So to them the woman is simply a breeding vessel used for fun, but a future child has value.
In red states they claim to be pro-life and the republicans claim to be great Christians, yet they deny any funding for kids food programs including food programs paid for by the federal government yet administered by the states. They deny single mothers with children food assistance, poor people needing both food and medial help get neither, they just this year all red states refused to accept a program where the federal government gives a small amount of money to the families of poor kids so those kids get meals during the summer, and all almost every republican state with religious claiming people holding the state legislative positions refused free school meals for children because in their view no one should get a free meal or maybe a kid with parents able to pay might get a free meal. That is their idea of being Christians, make kids work for food or be denied it.
As for be kind to the stranger or refugee which Jesus himself was a child they instead vilify them all in the worst and most vile ways.
In those same red states, the religious state leaders are removing all workers protections for even child workers to get lunch breaks and increasing hours and the kinds of dangerous jobs kids can do because it either costs the business’s money or in their view the better thing makes profit. In the US profit for republican religious people is king even if it comes from child labor. It is horrifying what these people think their god is. Their Christian god is of the Old Testament, a god of vengeance, hate, strict obedience, fear, anger, all things they feel in them. The Jesus of the New Testament they ignore or claim he did not mean what the book says. They really don’t like or follow him.
In the small few years I was in our small SDA church they really did not have much community outreach except the school forced us kids once a month to go out and walk the local streets handing out brochures of the religion and we were supposed to try to convert but most of us just walked around trying not to get hassled because we were forced to dress in full suits with ties even in the summer heat. The church did have a full food pantry but that was only given to members. Fundraising was not for local poor needs, but always for missions and bibles to some foreign country at the time I knew nothing about.
That is the difference between our and yours. Thanks again. Best wishes. Scottie
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