One way that Christians expressed this holy ingratitude was in their refusal to kill for the state. This refusal struck the Romans as hugely ungrateful. Christians benefited as Roman citizens. Yet they refuse to participate in the fighting that created and maintained all those benefits. Non-violent Christians in their refusal to participate in the Roman military were non-patriotic slackers and free-riders.
In short, the pacifism of the early Christians was experienced as shockingly ungrateful.
Why Opposing Same-Sex Marriage Seems Anti-Gospel
At this point, to many, opposing same sex marriage feels like opposing the gospel. In our culture the good news of Jesus is that God primarily exists to make me happy. God has a wonderful and prosperous plan for my life, every thing He does is aimed at accomplishing this goal.
When this “gospel” confronts homosexuality it is powerless.
Will Christians Be Secretly Raptured?
Ultimately we must assess doctrine not on the narrative of church history, but on the text of Scripture. That fact that the secret rapture, and dispensationalism, are the new kids on the eschatological block doesn’t necessarily mean they are false. Previous generations could have misinterpreted their Bibles. As Protestants we hold Scripture, not church tradition, to be authoritative.
But the secret rapture faces biblical challenges as well. There are no biblical texts that explicitly teach it or anything like a two-stage coming of Jesus. Passages that supposedly describe the secret rapture could just as easily be read as referring to the glorious second coming, and in fact have been read that way throughout the church’s history.
Border Crossing: Common Words Work Against the Multiethnic Message
Rather than explaining, I guide them inductively to consider what it might mean. What principles and practices might a border-crossing church embrace, and what evidence might scripture offer to guide such commitments? What missional and spiritual benefits could accompany border crossing? What challenges? How does the human condition affect it? Who is exempt?
The 10 Rules You Need to Communicate Effectively
- Simplicity: Use Small Words
- Brevity: Use Short Sentences
- Credibility Is As Important As Philosophy
- Consistency Matters
- Novelty: Offer Something New
- Sound and Texture Matter
- Speak Aspirationally
- Visualize
- Ask a Question
- Provide Context and Explain Relevance
Presentation Skills Considered Harmful
I’ve written and presented so much about focusing on different details of your presentation, these paragraphs smacked me so hard I almost regenerated. Inadvertently (and occasionally purposefully), I’ve advocated the idea that your presentation is about you.
But it’s not.
It’s about your audience.
Multitasking Damages Your Brain And Career, New Studies Suggest
If you’re prone to multitasking, this is not a habit you’ll want to indulge—it clearly slows you down and decreases the quality of your work. Even if it doesn’t cause brain damage, allowing yourself to multitask will fuel any existing difficulties you have with concentration, organization, and attention to detail.
Schooler isn’t alone in his conclusion. In 2006, psychologist Ap Dijksterhuis at Radboud University in the Netherlands also found that people tasked with making a complex decision do better when they are allowed a brief period of distraction before deciding. He presented his study participants with a list of cars and their attributes, both positive and negative. Then he asked participants to assess the cars’ quality. One group had to think about the information they had learned for four minutes before making their assessments. The other group was asked to perform a “distractor task” during that four-minute interlude. The group that performed a “distractor task” demonstrated the best judgment.