Steven Carr

http://www.michaelspencer.us/archive...06/000066.html

An interesting article on how non-believers are baffled by Christian sermons

Barcode

Yeah I don't understand the stuff about "accepting Jesus" either - am I supposed to experience an emotional epiphany? What exactly happens when you decide to accept Jesus?

Puck

Looks like someone just put their foot on the non-believer path.

I've been in a church twice in my life, not including funerals. The writers explanation of how I see it isn't how I saw it all. I never got so close to believing as to wonder about something said. Mostly I struggled with not standing up and screaming, 'how can you all be so fucking ignorant?'.

Hearing preachers just makes me angry. I don't have questions, I have statements. Compared to alot of folks here, I know very little about the bible, but what little I know about christianity, seems like a whole lot more than they know. I get the urge to shove the preacher aside and tell the whole bunch of them, 'do you know this? are you aware of that?'. Most of all, I'd like to ask them 'is the god in the new test. the same god in the old test.?' /rant

Sorry. touched a tender spot.

jdlongmire

...I understand, but I also think that Christ spoke with His particular audience in mind and approached His messages that way...the presupposition is that ALL sermons should be accessable to ALL spiritual levels of folk... not as easy as you think...judging is, though...from both sides...the Gospel IS baffling...



...baffle is a funny word...

jafosei

Very good article. Thanks for the link.

I think the ability to see other points of view is a very important one, but most people never really give it the effort it requires. It's difficult, and I think the article's author did an excellent job.

Yahzi

Those of us who understand history well enough to understand what Christ's audience would be thinking are still baffled by the Bible. In fact, Christ's audience often admits to being baffled. One suspects that if all audiences are baffled, it's not the audience's fault, but the material's.

A baffle is an obstruction placed in the way, usually applied to water or airflow but also traffic, etc. In this case, the word seems utterly appropriate.

Why did God place obstructions on his message? Especially since the consequences of not getting his message are so high...

Zeda

Good article-- the only thing worse than some of the sermons I have heard, has been the Christians who sit there and say, "Praise God" and "Amen", through the whole service. They literally make my skin crawl. Sometimes I think if someone stuck a page in the Bible that said, "The serpent in the Garden was really an alien from outerspace, who wanted to seperate humans from there divine maker." I would hear a chorus of Amens in the background. Why dont so many people question anything there ministers say?

I was just reading about a cult in Mass. where a woman starved her baby to death, because she was told that one of the people in the church had a vision that she was not supposed to feed it. It took 51 days for the poor baby to die. People like that scare me.

Yet when I was a Christian, I couldnt understand how anyone could read the Bible or hear a sermon and not "get it". And now that I am agnostic, I dont understand how they can believe what they do.

jdlongmire

...even the difficult parables had common practical application...

Let you with ears, hear, etc...the obstruction is our understanding of the message, but you knew I was going to say that, didn't you?

I just think pronouncing it sounds funny...baffle...baffle...baffle...

JEST2ASK

Waffle Waffle Pancake

A rose by another name etc etc etc .....

DaMan121

kjdkjsfjjdsklfjkblargjkdflskjejd fje;slfj;le e;lfk;ld... got all of that No? Well its your fault then.

Reminds me of waffle..... now Im hungry...

Edit: Damn, my waffle joke got ruined, nm.