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Works
Rome Is the Place to Be In 2000
This December 24, the Pope will declare the beginning of the Year of Jubilee, and four special “Holy Doors” will be opened in Rome with the most important being in St. Peter’s Basilica. People from all over the world—an expected 30 million or more—will make a pilgrimage to Rome during 2000 seeking forgiveness of all past sins by walking through the doorways, which are opened only during Jubilee years. Many will travel thousands of miles, sacrificing time and money, in an effort to obtain eternal life. For these seekers, Rome is the place to be in 2000.
The Jubilee occurs every 25 years, but the dawn of a new millennium is bringing much more attention to this particular Year of Jubilee and will bring a greater number of pilgrims.
OM Indeed, Spring, 1999, p. 6
Survey
- 53% contend that if a person is good enough, or does enough good things for other people, they will earn their way into Heaven.
- One-third of all born again Christians (34%) accept this notion.
Barna Research Group, Ltd., Oxnard, CA
Forgiveness Is Unfair
I readily admit that forgiveness is unfair. Hinduism, with its doctrine of karma, provides a far more satisfying sense of fairness. Hindu scholars have calculated with mathematical precision how long it may take for one person’s justice to work itself out: for punishment to balance out all my wrongs in this life and future lives, 6,800,000 incarnations should suffice.
Phillip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace, Zondervan, 1977, p. 97
Amazing Grace
By instinct I feel I must do something in order to be accepted. Grace sounds a startling note of contradiction, of liberation, and every day I must pray anew for the ability to hear its message. Eugene Peterson draw a contrast between Augustine and Pelagius, two fourth-century theological opponents. Pelagius was urbane, courteous, convincing, and liked by everyone. Augustine squandered away his youth in immorality, had a strange relationship with his mother, and made many enemies. Yet Augustine started from God’s grace and got it right, whereas Pelagius started from human effort and got it wrong. Augustine passionately pursued God; Pelagius methodically worked to please God.
Peterson goes on to say that Christians tend to be Augustinian in theory but Pelagian in practice. They work obsessively to please other people and even God.
Phillip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace, Zondervan, 1997, p. 71
It’s Grace
During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religious had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death. The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room. “What’s the rumpus about? He asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.”
After some discussion, the conferees had to agree. The notion of God’s love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity. The Buddhist eight-fold path, the Hindu doctrine of karma, the Jewish covenant, and Muslim code of law—each of these offers a way to earn approval. Only Christianity dares to make God’s love unconditional.
Phillip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace, Zondervan, 1997, p. 45
Benjamin Franklin Settled on Thirteen Virtues
Benjamin Franklin settled on thirteen virtues, including:
- Silence: “Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation”
- Frugality: “Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; that is, waste nothing”
- Industry: “Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions”
- Tranquillity: “Be not disturbed at trifles or at accidents common or unavoidable”
He set up a book with a page for each virtue, lining a column in which to record “defects.” Choosing a different virtue to work on each week, he daily noted every mistake, starting over every 13 weeks in order to cycle through the list four times a year.
For many decades Franklin carried his little book with him, striving for a clean thirteen-week cycle. As he made progress, he found himself struggling with yet another defect. “There is perhaps no one of natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it. Struggle with it. Stifle it. Mortify it as much as one pleases. It is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself….even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.
Phillip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace, Zondervan, 1997, p. 35
Mohammed Ali
Though suffering from the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, Mohammed Ali still can joke about his illness. “It’s a blessing,” he says. “I always liked to chase the girls—Parkinson’s stops all that. Now I might have a chance to go to heaven.”
The former boxing champ sees his disease as creating another destiny for him as well. Ali’s travels now take him to charity benefits for organizations such as UNICEF, the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor, and Best Buddies, an organization for the mentally retarded. Wherever he is, he plunges in among the sick and the poor, offering himself up as vehicle for worldwide healing.
“With everything I do,” he says, “I ask myself, Will God accept this? One day you’ll wake up and it’ll be Judgment Day, so you need to do good deeds. I love going to hospitals. I love sick people. I don’t worry about disease.”
Reader’s Digest, quoted from William Plummer in People Weekly, August, 1997, p. 83
Ignorance on Core Christian Beliefs
The Barna Research Group recently surveyed 1,007 American adults and found that many born-again Christians exhibit surprisingly high levels of ignorance on the following core Christian beliefs:
- 80 percent of born-again Christians agree with the statement, “the Bible teaches that God helps those who help themselves.” The Bible does not make this claim.
- 49 percent of born-again believers accept the notion that Satan is not a living being, but a symbol of evil.
- Even though born-again Christians are those who believe they will go to heaven because they ‘have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus...,” 39 percent of the born-again segment also maintain that “if a person is generally good, or does enough good things for others during their life, they will earn a place in heaven.”
- 30 percent claim that “Jesus Christ was a great Teacher, but He did not come back to physical life after He was crucified.”
- 29 percent say “there are some crimes, sins or other things people might do which cannot be forgiven by God.”
- 26 percent disagree with the notion that they personally have “a responsibility to tell other people [their] religious beliefs.”
Source: EP News Service, quoted in New Man, July/August, 1996, p. 13
Mother Teresa
A Hindu professor at Creighton University Department of Business wrote,
“On this confused Earth, which is busy with materialistic goal-achieving, there was only one person closest to God: Mother Teresa. She cannot die. She simply merged with the Supreme Being....Her religion of service to the needy transcended any single religion. In fact, one might say that she followed the path of karma yoga (selfless action) for achieving union with God.”
John Cardinal O’Connor, reflecting more the Catholic mindset, said, “If she is not in heaven [bypassing purgatory?], then I am really terrified of dying, because of all she did.”
A one-line letter to the editor of a small-town newspaper had this to say: “If Mother Teresa doesn’t have a nonstop ticket to Heaven, no one does.” In other words, if she didn’t earn her way in, there’s no hope for the rest of us.
T. A. McMahon, “Death,” The Berean Call, November, 1997
Evidence of Salvation
The other day I came home from work to find a plate of peanut-butter snack bars on the kitchen counter. Accompanying the delectables was a note from my 12-year-old daughter Melissa to her grandparents. “Dear Grandma and Grandpa, I made these for you. Love, Melissa.” No one told her to do this. She didn’t have to. She just did it. But why? Was Melissa trying make sure that they loved her? Was she trying to win Brownie points (well, snack -bar points) with her grandparents? No she cooked up this little confectionery delight just to show her grandparents she loves them. It was evidence of their close relationship. She did it because she is their granddaughter, not to somehow earn the right to be their granddaughter.
That’s how it is with the good works we should do as followers of Jesus Christ. We don’t do good works so we can win a place in heaven. Rather, our good deeds show evidence of our salvation and faith in Christ. Jesus did all the work of providing salvation. But we still have to work. Why? Not to win His favor but to show our love. It’s an outpouring of a grateful heart. - JDB
Our Daily Bread, Sept 7, 1997
American Men Most Pagan
GLENDALE, CA (EP) - American men are among the world’s “most pagan,” according to pollster George Barna. A study reported in The Barna Report, his newsletter, found that the church has little or no influence on many American men.
About one in three American men claims to be a born-again Christian, but only 28 percent attend church on any given weekend. Other forms of religious activity—including Bible reading, Sunday school attendance, and giving time or money to a church—have all declined among American since 1991.
Barna also found that even men who claim to be Christians often hold unorthodox beliefs that are at odds with biblical Christianity. For instance, 28 percent deny that Jesus was physically raised from the dead, while 27 percent say He committed sins. Surprisingly, 55 percent of self-identified Christian men agreed that all people “experience the same outcome after death, regardless of their way into heaven.”
Barna found that less than half of Christian men believe that there are absolute moral truths (47 percent) or that the Bible and religion should be primary influences on moral thinking (40 percent).
To reverse this trend, Barna says churches must provide a male-friendly environment, including opportunities to interact with other men, practical Bible teaching, and real-world solutions to personal problems.
Source unknown
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