#protestant christianity

[adventism-atheism-orthodoxy-me]

I saw this pop up and immediately thought of the Areopagus podcast, A Gospel Without Demons?, where the hosts discuss the vacuous nature of most Christian outreach efforts. How most of them are marketing. This also made me think about a recent post by Abbot Tryphon on his blog, regarding the differences between the two types of evangelism as they've manifested themselves within the American experience. And what true evangelism looks like within an Eastern Orthodox perspective.

But while I was reading this, it sounded to my ears like Project management, and marketing. It made me think of recent post by Fr. Freeman where he wrote about the futility of a Christian trying to manage their salvation. Salvation isn't a project that can be managed. This article directly tries to apply project management to evangelism. So now, rather then trying to share the individual Christ we each experience, we are trying create situations where an individual will be compelled or persuaded to believe a set of beliefs, dogmas, or practices that we've packaged up and called, "True Christianity" - which incidentally is different then the "true Christianity" marketed further down the street.

I would contrast that with the two back-to-back posts from Beyond the Bars / Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry (1) (2) detailing the nature of real evangelism as a genuine person to person encounter. Broken people ministering to each other under the blessing of the Holy Spirit. The Priest assigned is unsure of his role, as detailed in diary style entries. And make no mistake, the people he is ministering to are in prison - you don't get anymore broken than that. These people are at the literal fringe of society, some might argue fully removed. Yet, evangelism takes place. Lives are changed.

Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." He said to him, "You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live." But he, desiring to justify himself, asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus answered, "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he travelled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the host, and said to him, 'Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.' Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?" He said, "He who showed mercy on him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." -- Luke 10:25-37

Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy upon me, A sinner.

#Evangelism #Works righteousness #Marketing #Eastern Orthodox Christianity #Protestant Christianity

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

It’s nice that at no time in any of this do any of you ever feel the slightest bit self-conscious about what your god thinks of all these religions you keep inventing, nor beholden to knowing what it (supposedly) actually wants.

#christianity #christian denominations #denominations #catholic #catholic churcvh #eastern orthodox #protestantism #protestant christianity #anglican #adventist #baptist #presbyterian #pentecostal #methodist #man made god #god is man made #religion #religion is a mental illness

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

In what way is Jesus present with His church when Christians take the Lord’s Supper together? Today, watch as R.C. Sproul contrasts the major views held by Roman Catholics and Protestants.

#Ligonier Daily Video #Kingdom Feast #R.C. Sproul #Real Body and Blood? #Ligonier Ministries #Roman Catholicism #Protestant Christianity #ligonier.org

[chrysocomae]

2018 article on rise of Protestant Christianity in Ukraine since russia invaded in 2014

#ukraine #religious studies #protestant christianity #protestantism #russian invasion of ukraine #reference #ref

[lovedaughter]

I just found out about gnosticism 🤧 the protestant church is slowly losing me.

#gnosticism #protestant christianity #christianity #many paths but one truth #christ is the only way #gnosticism is pretty cool #knowledge of the heart #spirituality #anyone feel the same ? #am i the only one ? #viral #blog

[godsfavoritedumpsterfire]

“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”

-C.S. Lewis

#christian #christian blog #christian faith #christian living #christianity #god is love #jesus christ #christian encouragement #christian memes #christian quotes #christian meme #christian vibes #christian bible #chritianity #catholic #protestant #c s lewis #cs lewis #the chronicles of narnia #bible quote #quotes #he loves everyone so much fyi so it’s not just my flex it’s our flex bb #jesusisgod #jesusislord #faith in jesus #jesussaves #jesus is coming #jesus #christian doctrine #belief in jesus

[thehmn]

I’m not knowledgeable enough about the differences between American Protestantism and Nordic Protestantism to say anything deep or groundbreaking about it but hearing the way Americans talk about Protestantism makes it sound like an entirely different religion.

To be clear I’m not religious. The only thing that passed for a religious upbringing was my Religions class in high school. Like most Danes I don’t have any strong feelings about Christianity. It’s just there, Christmas is nice and we get days off from work around Easter.

But just the sentence “Protestant work ethic” as a way to explain why Americans are so overworked sounds kinda humorous to a simple Dane like me. Protestantism is the state religion in Denmark (Evangelical Lutheran to be precise) and we have the highest number of Protestants per capita in the world and yet Americans who move over here often comment on how lazy we are. We leave work early, we have an ungodly number of paid days off (most of them religious), all parents get paid maternity leave and we will break our bosses’ arms if they try to make us work paid overtime too many days in a row. I’m not saying that to brag, it’s just to illustrate what the “Protestant work ethic” looks like in the most Protestant country in the world.

This is super interesting and I need to dig deeper into why Protestantism turned out so differently in our countries.

#religion #christianity #protestant #protestant work ethic

[haddockhead9]

psalm 42:1-2

as a deer pants for flowing streams,

my soul pants for you O god,

My soul thirsts for god,

for the living god.

when shall i come and appear before god?

#just to clarify i’m not christian #i just think jesus was way cool #and also belos is like a mad protestant or something #toh fanart #toh #the owl house #owl house #emperor belos #belos #philip wittebane #caleb wittebane #hunter toh

[globalchristendom]

The tomb of a pastor's wife and stillborn child in a church in Hindelbank, Switzerland, 1751, depicting their resurrection.

#christians #protestants #germans #cemeteries #mourning practices #art #hindelbank #switzerland

[traumacatholic]

I've been seeing this more and more recently, so I'm curious what you all think about this.

Feel free to include in the tags why you voted a particular way.

#Christianity #Catholicism #Orthodox Christianity #Protestantism #Religion #I know 'other Christian denomination' would likely come under Protestant for a lot of people. But there's some people that don't identify #as Protestant despite not being Orthodox or Catholic #so it saves those arguments lol #If you're a Catechumen then vote for the denomination that you're converting to #If you're just considering Christianity but aren't sure on a denomination etc then vote 'Other'

[fictionadventurer]

Maybe the problem with Christian fiction is that it's non-denominational. People are just "Christian", with no effort put into showing what practicing that religion looks like for them specifically. No indication that there are other Christians who could have different beliefs. No wrestling with differing ideas and the struggle of how one should live out their Christian faith. And that makes it unrealistic and unrelatable.

#me reading any christian historical fiction set in england: why are none of these gentry anglican?? #they ARE all anglican and if they are not it is extremely plot and character relevant you can't just have them using evangelical buzzwords #but i'm also thinking of this because i started another charlotte yonge book #that is by far my favorite of the things of hers that i've read #because it has characters who have different upbringings and religious opinions #instead of just 'here's a bunch of high church anglicans judging people who don't live up to their victorian standard' #you have the very high church anglican rector whose wife is worldly but still a very good person #the girl raised in a very strict protestant family who is more scrupulous than the anglicans but is still recognized as a good person #you have people who are trying to work out the nuances of different issues #and that makes it so much more realistic and so much easier to integrate into the story #(the politics though are hilarious) #(most of the classics that survive are the ones that were 'ahead of their time' in politics) #(so it's equally fascinating and refreshing and a bit infuriating to see one that is very very of its time with regards to women's rights) #('why did this woman get up at the meeting and explain her very good ideas for rebuilding after the fire? she should have had a man do it') #(meanwhile i'm just screaming 'why on earth SHOULDN'T she???') #(it's almost enough to make a feminist of me)

[adventism-atheism-orthodoxy-me]

How do you know that it is true?

My daughter, when I tell her that I believe in God.

Now. She didn't expect a response. She is a feminist after all, and I am a Patriarchal male. A response wasn't even worth considering, let alone entertaining - no, scratch that - let alone even allowing to be aired.

Nevertheless what would I have said over a quiet table, or in a parlor where ideas were judged on their merit, and not upon the gender and emotional baggage of the participants?

That I don't know.

I mean, that I don't know, as in I don't have knowledge of God.

I have faith.

I have faith in a God that I have wrestled with and found to be GOOD. Good, as in a "Good God, that loves mankind". The same God that is proclaimed in most, if not every, Orthodox Vespers. I haven't attended many Liturgies - apostate as I am - so I couldn't speak to them.

But the God I worship isn't a simple God. He's not easy to anger, but that doesn't mean he can't be angered. He doesn't have the Pharisaical list of absolute rights and wrongs the Protestant God of Penal substitution has. Most importantly, his rules don't conflict with one another - pitting one group who follows one set of rules against another group who follows another set.

Do Protestants each worship the God of their desire, or are they merely distortions of the one...

I don't care.

Their god, or gods, are confusing, contradictory, at cross purposes to one another. They are angry or don't care, depending upon who you talk to. The whole matter is tedious.

My God is merely Good. Just Good. And he invites me to participate in his goodness. Do I need Orthodox praxis to participate in his goodness?

Some would say, "yes".

Yet, after a life of licentiousness, followed by years of repentance - outside of liturgy and confession, outside of ceremonial fasting, away from icons, St Mary of Egypt was recognized as a Saint.

This is not the normal path to acquiring the mind of Christ. There is a reason the Church offers the medicine it does. But to the Protestants out there, it is medicine. It is offered to help us participate with, and appreciate, the God we worship - to acquire his mind - it is not a "works based" righteousness.

So, back to my daughter.

Christianity is not about morality. If it were, the Stoics would be considered Christian, and they are not. It's about God. And the Icon of God, on Earth, was Christ.

Take what you will from this.

To understand Christ is to understand God, and to understand God is to understand Christ. It's not too complicated. God isn't looking for my damnation, he doesn't care about prescribed sets of rules. He Gave us the Spirit - the fruits thereof are what he wants from us. He wants us to acquire the mind of the Spirit - His Spirit.

At the end of the day - I don't worry about my "Salvation" anymore. I don't even care. I do not even think about it.

For he is a Good God, and he loves mankind.

Protestants use the, "Are you saved?" question for outreach. Everyone asking the question convincing themselves that if they answer, "yes", that this magical thinking will guarantee "Salvation".

Yet, their Salvations are as muddled as their gods, or as their distortion of the one true God.

Yes, Salvation is faith - as is mentioned in my 5th paragraph. Faith in the good God that I see dimly. Faith in the good God whose Christ came to this earth; and faith in the good God whose Spirit was promised, and with whose help I'm acquiring the ability - day-by-day - to see more clearly.

Seeing him with absolute clarity, however, I believe will take time.

But I think I'm on the path I need to be on.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy upon me, A Sinner.

#Basic Principles #Orthodox Christianity #Protestant Christianity

[decolonize-the-left]

I hope I never ever forget the 12 year old boy who didn't shed a tear when he picked up a pile flesh from the floor on Motaz's story. And how Motaz had to see it first.

There is no justification for any of this and I will never ever forget that.

There is nothing on earth that will ever justify anything that is happening to them or that we have to see it or how we have to teach our kids about another grown up failure and nothing will justify standing on its sidelines. Nothing justifies it now.

Palestine will be free in 2024. It will. Whether anyone likes it or not doesn't fucking matter. Palestinians have a right exist without horrors and war crimes being intentionally inflicted on them by a Zionist colonial occupation and so they will have it.

From the river to the sea Palestine will be free

Artist: Dalya Moumina, 'Rise Again'

#and that INLCUDES Muslim and Jewish and Christian Palestinians!! #free palestine #free Gaza #palestine #Gaza #gaza #Palestine #2024 #from the river to the sea palestine will be free #west bank #join the protests join history #al aqsa mosque #Al-Aqsa Mosque #end the occupation

[finalgirlsamwinchester]

guy who so desperately tries to find god. who wants to have faith in a higher authority to guide him out of the hole he's in. from the weight of guilt from simply existing, as the person he is. but every time he thinks he's answered his higher calling it turns out he's made the Morally Incorrect choice and his path to goodness and holiness was the road to the devil all along

#now trusting god will give you a way out? there's your real crime!!! #guy betrayed by the protestant promise of a direct connection with god. but is also somehow. joan of arc. #see he never achieves actual martyrdom tho bc he's not allowed to stay dead lmaooo #sam somehow the most unintentionally catholic AND protestant character of all time #dean the atheist who sees religious predestination as the curse it is from the get go. framed as the narrative's Real Moral Authority #but also in the process reifying patriarchal familial power n authority. very very important Value of the Church #i don't think it's that deep. the show's attempt at critiquing christianity. but the way it reinforces christian cultural values??? #'religious predestination and absolute faith in a higher authority...bad' #nice nice ok tell me more? #“so you should put your faith in family. in your patriarch (big brother)” #????????? #the thematic incoherence of it all. it's like the world's stupidest puzzle box to me. i can't leave it alone. #sam = maybe i can find god thru following my destined path. wait oh shit. #cas = maybe i can find god thru rebellion and seeking my own destiny. wait oh shit. #dean = god is fucking dead and me i also feel not so good #the “guy who so desperately wants to find god parallel” <- me coming out as a secret sastiel fan #both of them...finding god in de-[sniper on the roof kills me in one shot] #spn bible studies #j.txt

[tenderbittersweet]

Catholic guilt is a thing people joke about, but it’s so real and can be so painful to cope with, whether or not you’re still practicing. Combine that with America’s Protestant work ethic, and you’ve got quite a mess on your hands. So, for anyone who needs to hear this today:

It’s okay to rest.

It’s okay to nap.

It’s okay to go to bed early and wake up late.

It’s okay if you didn’t do chores today.

It’s okay if you half-assed your (home)work.

It’s okay if you were a little late sending our birthday, holiday, or thank-you cards.

It’s okay if you’re a little cringe.

It’s okay if you’re weird.

It’s okay if you mentally ill.

It’s okay if you’re disabled.

It’s okay if you’re queer.

It’s okay if you’re poor.

It’s okay if you’re struggling.

It’s okay if you don’t have a side hustle.

It’s okay if you maintain your hobbies as hobbies.

It’s okay if you don’t like your job or if you don’t like working at all.

It’s okay if you don’t want to conform to fit a mold that doesn’t fit you.

It’s okay if your goals and values don’t align with your parents’.

It’s okay if you don’t want kids.

It’s okay to be a pet or plant parent.

It’s okay if you have a found/chosen family.

It’s okay if you don’t speak to your relative(s).

It’s okay if you don’t speak to former friends.

It’s okay if you don’t believe in god(s).

It’s okay if you don’t believe in an afterlife.

It’s okay if you don’t want to celebrate the holiday(s).

It’s okay if you need to ask for help.

It's okay to not be okay.

It’s okay to want to be okay.

You deserve to be okay. ♥︎

#reminders #love #religion #christianity #religious trauma #catholicism #catholic guilt #protestantism #protestant work ethic #hustle culture #personal #op #100+ notes

[apenitentialprayer]

Bro

You're using Catholic iconography in both pictures

#Christianity #Catholicism #Protestant Reformation #Crucifixion #Jesus Christ #Sacred Heart #YouTube #iconography