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Organized Religion
14 posts
The Facade of Virtue
In today's society, it's not uncommon to encounter individuals who present themselves as paragons of virtue, justice, and equity. However, beneath the surface, their actions and behaviors often reveal a different story.The consequences of hypocrisy, eye-service, and pretense can be far-reaching and damaging. Anyone who engages in these behaviors risks losing the trust and respect of others, which in turn damages their reputation and compromises their integrity. Moreover, these behaviors can also lead to feelings of guilt, shame, and anxiety, which can negatively impact mental and emotional well-being.
Redeeming Love – A Conversation with Francine Rivers
I am an avid reader. When I was growing up, books were my solitude, and I devoured every…
A Critique of Oyedepo’s Approach to Solving the Problem of Vocation, Work, and Faith in the African Context
This work critiques David Oyedepo’s charismatic approach to solving the problems of vocation, work, and faith in the African context. It is not in any way to undermine the great work and sacrifice that Oyedepo has made over the years in contributing to the progress of Africa as a whole. Since the inception of Oyedepo’s public ministry in 1981, his ministry's input has produced remarkable achievements that are truly commendable. Still, there is a need to upend other theological shortfalls undermining his bogus contribution to the body of Christ.
Resolving the Problem of the Original Sin Using the Work of Augustine and Calvin as a Guide.
According to the biblical narrative, the problem of sin historically goes back to the primeval era of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. If one reflects on the Bible carefully, the sin of Adam to a curious and critical mind like Augustine and, subsequently, Calvin, far outweighs the metaphoric representation of the mere eating of a fruit. From time immemorial, no one has decoded the nature of the fruit that Adam and Eve ate or the name of the fruit. Some familiar artistic paintings we have around tried to depict the fruit as an apple, but we know that cannot be true! It is mere guesswork because, according to the biblical description of the Garden of Eden, apple trees may not survive in such a location due to climatic conditions if the location is precisely the same as the place in our present physical world.Our continued frustration is that today, nobody knows what the fruit looks like or whether we still have similar fruit in the world among the range of edible fruits around the globe. At best, we may receive comfort in the hope that the fruit is perhaps a figurative expression of a mystery that no one accurately records in its full details. Unfortunately, the only traceable leftover from this classic Edenic garden drama is the weight of condemnation and the generational consequences manifested in perpetuity.
Saint Augustine on Sin
The sin of Adam in the narrative of the Bible, to a critical mind like Augustine, far outweighs the symbolic representation of eating fruit. The weight of condemnation and the generational consequence that it manifests in perpetuity always leaves one wondering what exactly could have been the nature of Adam's sin. The Bible records sin as eating the fruit of both knowledge of good and evil. To a critical mind, the problem is not so obvious but symbolic, for the nature of the fruit is a situation where there is a simultaneous possession of both sudden awareness of right and evil, which is paradoxical to a critical mind.
The Paradox of the god of Gold and a Theological-Ethical Analysis of the Song of Solomon
What else could be more important than money? What in life should a man genuinely hold in high esteem besides love for money? This is one of the obvious questions that comes to mind in the narrative Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. The narrative is about the insatiable quest of a young man called Milkman, about thirty-two years old, who embarked on a compulsive search for gold, which, according to him, he believes everybody needs, but not as much as him. Unfortunately, his father, Macon Dead, first established this unguarded passion for gold in his consciousness.
Macon Dead was under the spell of excessive accumulation and a strong appetite for materialism that negatively impaired his familial relationship with his wife, Ruth, and his sister, Pilate.
From the Relics of the First Century Church – A Conversation with Frank Viola
Frank Viola, through his book "Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity," has been able to raise vital issues that confront the traditional Church as we know it and the challenge of continued reliance on the framework of such a "model" of churches within contemporary society. Frank argues that a revolution is upon us regarding the non-viability of the present model of church structure. He observes that the answer to this problem is not to reform or renew as many have tried to do, but to completely overhaul the whole system by adopting the organic approach: "that is relational in its functioning; scriptural in its form; Christ-centered in its operation; Trinitarian in its shape; communitarian in its lifestyle; non-elitist in its attitude; and nonsectarian in its expression."
Frank is saddened that the Church of Jesus Christ has regressed rather than progressed from her earliest practices of organic church formation as expressed in the New Testament. More than anything else, he singled out the clergy system practiced by many of the institutional churches as the sole culprit for the malfunctioning of the church system.
The Pursuit of Ecstatic and Eternal Happiness
Happiness has been a subject exposed to an age-long contemplation among philosophers. The most profound definition of it was from Aristotle, who described it as a state of eudaimonia - the state of the total well-being of a man. When thought about comprehensively, eudaimonia encapsulates a flourishing life and a form of true and transcendent Happiness. Therefore, in a sense, I can define Happiness as having a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment, which results from putting your best into a task with positive results or rewards to show for it. Most people are pretty familiar with this in their conceptual understanding of Happiness.
How Would Christianity Look Like 100 Years from Now? – A Conversation with Phyllis Tickle
The Great Emergence, as I understand the science of it and the attendant theory of change from the…
The Rise of Pentecostalism and its Influence on the Socio-Political Context in South Korea
Introduction The historical account of the success of Christianity in South Korea defiles the normal missionary activities of…