Tag: truth

Orthodox Fallacy

Are we sure Christianity has “gotten it right” in all its core faith essentials? What about those historical pagan practices now embedded within church culture? This short message may shock a few and is certain to make many uncomfortable, but doesn’t Jesus want us to make those necessary course corrections?

I share this video by way of a deep and lingering concern that we sometimes allow apathy and disregard to prevail when it comes to the accuracy of what we believe and celebrate. Have we not simply taken convenient shortcuts on truth? It’s not that we’ve intended to pave a path other than what the scriptures reveal, but our adherence to long-held traditions can easily veil and limit the truth of Christ. Oh that the reformation of 500 years ago had moved us further out of darkness and deeper into the truth!

Some churches develop their core essentials from a mix including the Bible, their tradition and their unique “apostle” or “prophet” (either living or long deceased). Others denominations give equal equity to the Bible as well as tradition. And yet others testify to adhering to the Bible and the Bible alone; that is, no prophets, apostles or popes, and no tradition that exists outside of the Biblical narrative!

The assertion in this video is really quite confronting as it claims that Christian orthodoxy has lapsed in its ability in basic mathematics. Jesus was dead in the grave for three days and three nights. No more and no less. And this then creates a problem for traditionalists and theologians alike.

As a sincere apologist, let us know whether you think it’s time for an honest rethink, some theological honesty followed by some significant recalibration?

John Classic
By John Classic

Grace and Truth

Take a 30 minute sermon shared about a month ago which focussed on the two great characteristics of Jesus: “Grace and Truth”, and later present it as an eleven minute sermonette. And then, if that’s not enough, distill it even further to just four minutes!

 

Trust you’re blessed with this shorter version but by no means any less important.

By John Klassek

Why I wrote my book

Occasionally I am asked the reasons why I wrote “Hope of the Resurrection”. Others enquire in particular about the nuances of the second resurrection.

The scriptures are quite clear about those who reject Christ, in Jesus’ day and in ours. (I had originally intended, with the editing of the 3rd edition, to write an entire chapter about hell, but decided that there was already sufficient in the book about this subject. Besides, an entire chapter on hell somewhat detracts from the overall “hope” value).

bookcover2014I trust that my book “Hope of the Resurrection” does not make any claims or implications that can be construed as un-Biblical. I do not believe in second-chance theology. Thanks for the opportunity to clarify this. Perhaps in a future edition and printing, I will continue to further develop any passages that may not be as clear as they ought. Thanks for your grace in this.

We can take some comfort in Paul’s statement that, “we only know in part and therefore preach in part” [my paraphrase]. (1 Corinthians 13:9)

With regard to any possible hope outcome in the second resurrection, I like the dichotomy of “near-certainty versus mere possibility”. Many of us are somewhere between the two. On the other end of the spectrum, however, are those who believe in total annihilation of all at the second resurrection, regardless of whether they’ve ever heard the truth or not. This view is somewhat hard to reconcile with the Biblical text that discusses righteous judgment. (John 5:30) It is also hard to reconcile with a loving, merciful God who paid in total the sins of this world.

Thus, I believe there can be a range of “peripheral” understandings of what many regard as somewhat “unclear”. This is where our patience and grace ought to come to the fore. Please note that I always refrain from preaching about these “peripheral” things from the pulpit – knowing that in the fullness of time we’ll all understand!

I felt inspired to write “Hope of the Resurrection” after visiting several Christian bookstores, and seeing numerous titles, such as “To Heaven and Back”, “Ninety Minutes in Heaven”, and “Heaven is for Real”. Conspicuous by its absence, I found that there were no equal books that discussed the resurrection hope in Christ. (I have since discovered NT Wright’s book “Surprised by Hope” that also emphasises a Biblical resurrection hope). But, largely, books on Heaven vastly outnumber those on Resurrection.

My book’s original intended audience was simply for the “man on the street” – folk who may have casually heard about God, and who may be seeking answers following the loss of a loved one. The book has already been read by many thousands of people since it was first published in 2010, and I am delighted to constantly receive very positive responses from people whose lives have been significantly helped.

johnklassek2014b

John Klassek