tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:04:13 +0000http://www.cfc-net.org/paulblog.htmPaul ReidBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-3182895034584328864Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:48:00 +00002008-04-28T21:42:02.530+01:00Yes 'Ianhimself' it is possible to be agnostic on a flat earth [I actually believe it's roundish] but surely you are being disingenuous. Can you be agnostic on the Virgin Birth or Resurrection? You know the one; "something doesn't have to be true in order for there to be truth in it." If you become what you believe, what do you become if you believe nothing but imaginary stories about a man http://www.cfc-net.org/2008/01/flat-earthers.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-9012342065545581050Tue, 08 Jan 2008 15:48:00 +00002008-01-08T16:08:59.249ZThe reason the reliability of Scripture is so important is this; 1 If, for instance the Virgin Birth did not actually happen, then what other parts of the story are also incorrect. Maybe Jesus wasn't sinless after all, just a very good man. How do you discern what is true and what is not? You end up with a great story about a man but you don't know fact from fiction. 2 Possibly more important[http://www.cfc-net.org/2008/01/it-really-does-matter.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-7569244635693336665Thu, 20 Dec 2007 12:30:00 +00002007-12-20T12:34:06.447ZThere is a world of difference between some people experimenting with new models of church and those who deny the Virgin Birth and the Resurrection. One can be healthy and reach more people with the good news. The other is a sure fire way to send people to Hell. It is old news and will never bring life.http://www.cfc-net.org/2007/12/yer-having-laugh.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-1364922274785361388Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:35:00 +00002007-12-17T12:46:56.518ZBut DSE you just don't get do you? Yes our life is about and centered on a man; Christ Jesus. But where did you get the initial information from? If the basis of your faith is not centered on the scriptures then you are free to recreate your own Jesus. I'm not suggesting you have, just that if there are bits you don't like for instance Substitutionary Atonement then just cut it out. You may http://www.cfc-net.org/2007/12/emerging-theology.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-6297553874011502932Fri, 14 Dec 2007 15:10:00 +00002007-12-14T15:19:15.895ZEmergent church is indeed a slippery fish! Mark Driscoll is a fundie but some would still class him as emergent church. The issue at stake is scripture. Ultimately how you come to it or approach it determines your response to it. Many of McClarens opinions are just that; his opinions. And some seem to put as much weight on them as scripture. Big mistake. It is God's word and I accept that byhttp://www.cfc-net.org/2007/12/emergent-theology.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-5343795032542675451Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:26:00 +00002007-12-13T14:42:51.723ZI suppose the church must always evolve into more approprate expressions so as to reach new emerging cultures. I did this twenty seven years ago. We left what we had known and tried something new. It now looks like what CFC is now but we hadn't a clue about that then. So I can't really complain when someone tries something new to reach people who are not being reached by what exists. Church http://www.cfc-net.org/2007/12/emergent-church.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-420210563685665095Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:05:00 +00002007-12-12T10:12:21.632ZIs the attempt to rob scripture of it's power to make the truth more palliative to those who do not believe? If so you may get a few who intellectually feel better about the bible but the consequence is that they are themselves robbed of the reality of what it can do for their lives. You rob them of hope for life in Christ and deny them the chance of salvation. This stuff is from Hell itself.http://www.cfc-net.org/2007/12/but-why.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-1229347303724531989Tue, 11 Dec 2007 10:13:00 +00002007-12-11T10:25:15.703ZI'm still on about so called "Progressive Christianity." Often the worst attacks are the most subtle. They tend to center on the veracity of scripture. But if you go down that line everything is up for grabs. What about this one; "the gospels aren't true but there must be truth in them for people to make up such wonderful stories about Jesus. He must have been a special man." Yes He was buthttp://www.cfc-net.org/2007/12/load-of-junk.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-6928935210293512730Mon, 10 Dec 2007 18:00:00 +00002007-12-10T18:20:02.557ZAs early as the middle of the first century false doctrines plagued the Church. Particularly in his letters to Timothy, Paul warned the church against those who have a form of godliness but denying the power. They diminished the gospel records by calling into question the miracles, the Virgin Birth, the Resurrection and the Divinity of Christ. It sounds cool; "something doesn't have to be true http://www.cfc-net.org/2007/12/it-was-heresy-then-and-it-still-is.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-4585776643961849832Tue, 06 Nov 2007 13:57:00 +00002007-11-06T14:03:23.624ZI have had to regulate the comments on my blog because of the porn spam. Sorry! When David Wilkerson [Run Baby Run] gave a prophetic word years ago about pornography being beamed into every home in the USA most thought he was delusional. How could that happen we thought? But our God knew about the new technology that was coming and warned us about the Internet. It pays to listen to genuine http://www.cfc-net.org/2007/11/had-to-do-it.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-4973478917647494601Mon, 05 Nov 2007 11:54:00 +00002007-11-05T12:09:57.893ZYou will notice a huge number of comments to my recent blogs. I was in the USA when I started getting them and was delighted at the positive comments. However on closer examination I have found that they are "blog spam." That is they are computer generated and are sent with a link to a site selling viagra and advertising porn. Help! What do I do to stop this? I don't even get paid by them and I http://www.cfc-net.org/2007/11/viagra-and-porn.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-5772521756422682535Mon, 24 Sep 2007 12:57:00 +00002007-09-24T14:23:43.683+01:00It happens to us all I suppose. Getting older that is. I did a baby dedication yesterday morning. When I started doing them I was often younger than the parents. Then I was more often older than the parents. Then I was dedicating children whose parents I had married or even dedicated the parents when they were children. It had to happen one day. I was dedicating a baby, Sam, and I was older than http://www.cfc-net.org/2007/09/there-is-first-time-for-everything.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-6261662407852081768Tue, 28 Aug 2007 21:21:00 +00002007-08-28T22:24:40.876+01:00Hey dse try http://www.anabaptists.org/history/howwegot.htmlhttp://www.cfc-net.org/2007/08/how-we-got-bible.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-8619949000058507304Tue, 28 Aug 2007 08:54:00 +00002007-08-28T10:27:37.564+01:00Just read Andrew Keen's blog and excerpt from his book "the cult of the amateur." In it he argues that the Internet and blogging enable anyone to express their views which are accepted as gospel truth uncritically. In other words we are quickly coming to a place where things which are published are not checked out and therefore massive distortions are picked up and believed my masses of people. [http://www.cfc-net.org/2007/08/curse-of-blogging.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-1606375274810692499Fri, 10 Aug 2007 12:11:00 +00002007-08-28T10:22:17.240+01:00This is a direct lift from an article by Philip Orr who wrote this for the Center for Contemporar y Christianity in Ireland. I suspect he's referring to Churches like CFC but then he's probably never been. But I still think it's challenging for us all. What do you think? Christianity with medium fries? 'Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God http://www.cfc-net.org/2007/08/christianity-with-medium-fries.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-3453414118927418650Tue, 07 Aug 2007 08:46:00 +00002007-08-07T11:46:42.993+01:00I heard a sermon on how little we really need to make us disciples of Christ. I know what the preacher was getting at but I think he was confused. It seems to me that to talk about reducing Christianity to make life less cumbersome for for us is good and bad. Good if we are talking about salvation. The only thing we need is faith in Christ. I met an old woman in the wilds of Kenya who had been http://www.cfc-net.org/2007/08/irrreducible-minimums.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-2066175526886004754Wed, 01 Aug 2007 09:01:00 +00002007-08-01T10:09:54.302+01:00Cows could be doing more to harm the environment than four-wheel-drive cars. Methane emissions from cattle account for a quarter of the gas in our air and researchers are trying to find a new way to feed cattle which leads to less belching. [I'm serious] Michael Abberton of the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research said that the average dairy cow belches out about 100-200 litres of http://www.cfc-net.org/2007/08/i-knew-i-was-right.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-4277924371794418274Fri, 27 Jul 2007 15:49:00 +00002007-07-27T17:04:22.904+01:00There are many aids to reading the Bible but my friend Gary adapted one he found. It is basically a "through the Bible in year guide." You read selected passages every day and it takes you through the Bible in a year, covering the Gospels twice. There are pages for you to make notes and it systematically takes you through the Bible in bite size chunks. He published it and sold it for cost. But http://www.cfc-net.org/2007/07/help-is-at-hand.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-5401690872207045031Wed, 25 Jul 2007 13:21:00 +00002007-07-25T14:35:18.560+01:00Thanks Alan- very helpful comments. The research I quoted was from Dr.Peter Brierley who is Executive Director of Christian Research Ltd. It was published in shortened form in a recent copy of Christian Marketplace-a christian magazine. As a preacher I seem to be endlessly preparing talks or sermons as they used to be called. I really enjoy it and it is the air I breathe. But reading the Biblehttp://www.cfc-net.org/2007/07/get-into-habit.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-2181151409018944165Tue, 24 Jul 2007 09:49:00 +00002007-07-24T11:05:02.897+01:00Before you try to get more people to read the Bible you have to explain to them why read it? 1 It is the only totally reliable information we have about God. It is God's revelation of Himself and His dealings with humankind. Yes I know we can see God everywhere but why take a bucket to the well to get water when you can have it pipped into the kitchen? 2 Through reading it we get an accurate http://www.cfc-net.org/2007/07/why-read-it.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-2265127709610307506Mon, 23 Jul 2007 10:53:00 +00002007-07-23T12:13:48.100+01:00that people who profess Christianity in the UK are reading their Bibles on a regular basis. Just read some interesting research that says only 27% of churchgoers read their Bible every week! The research was confined to England. Is it just me or is that weird in light of what we profess to believe. The most avid Bible readers are those in the New Churches, Independent Churches[largely Brethren http://www.cfc-net.org/2007/07/we-are-fooling-ourselves-if-we-think.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-6303032386578191574Sat, 23 Jun 2007 12:11:00 +00002007-06-23T13:27:36.982+01:00Activist is missing my point. I commended Lydia Playfoot for her decision not to have sex before her marriage. It was the decision to take this to court that I questioned. It's a jewellery issue not a moral one! I think it trivialises Christianity. However I don't think wearing a ring to proclaim your chastity will have any more effect in preventing pre marital sex than not wearing one. http://www.cfc-net.org/2007/06/silver-ring-thing-cont.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-784139056753943570Fri, 22 Jun 2007 18:38:00 +00002007-06-22T19:51:23.464+01:00I see there is a court case by a young girl and her Pastor father over the wearing of a silver ring. It's a ring worn by those who have pledged themselves to chastity before marriage. It's an American movement and has been to Belfast. Her school have forbidden her from wearing it as it contravenes their no jewelery rule. She claims it is a contravention of her rights to express her http://www.cfc-net.org/2007/06/silver-ring-thing.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-6518024468930672386Sun, 03 Jun 2007 17:23:00 +00002007-06-03T18:40:36.735+01:00Back to porridge. While I think the primary goal of the church is to witness to the grace of God and not to beat people up, I applaud Cardinal O'Brien for his sermon. I refuse to be neutral on the issues of the day as I think there is a vital principal here. If the church has to do anything it has to speak up for those who have no voice. The people to whom abortion matters most [the unborn http://www.cfc-net.org/2007/06/hooray-for-cardinal.htmlPaul Reidtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17921107.post-8019763263792706543Wed, 11 Apr 2007 10:09:00 +00002007-04-11T11:33:30.518+01:00 Last Sunday I celebrated 20 years in "paid full time ministry." The Church did a presentation and Priscilla and I got a standing ovation at all three services. We were overwhelmed at the response and our own reaction was tearful! It's been a fantastic 20 years and I get up every morning getting paid for what I always wanted to do. There must be few things in life as satisfying as getting to livehttp://www.cfc-net.org/2007/04/happy-birthday.htmlPaul Reid