___________________
Freeman Dyson , a respected physicist, once wrote,
“I am a practicing Christian but not a believing one."
Freeman Dyson
Freeman John Dyson is a British-born American theoretical physicist and mathematician, famous for his work in quantum electrodynamics, solid-state physics, astronomy and nuclear engineering.
A practicing Christian but not a believing one is a good description (in my opinion) of a good many professed Christians living in the United States in the twenty-first century. I base that statement on personal observation of the Christians I have known and currently know, some of them having been known intimately... by me.
The majority of Americans (73%) identify themselves as Christians and about 20% have no religious affiliation.
What is a Christian, anyway?
According to certain respected theologians, a Christian is a human being who believes:
- There is only one God (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6, 8; John 17:3; 1 Corinthians 8:5-6; Galatians 4:8-9).
- God is three in one or a Trinity (Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; John 14:16-17; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Acts 2:32-33, John 10:30,17:11, 21; 1 Peter 1:2).
- God is omniscient or "knows all things" (Acts 15:18; 1 John 3:20).
- God is omnipotent or "all powerful" (Psalm 115:3; Revelation 19:6).
- God is omnipresent or "present everywhere" (Jeremiah 23:23, 24; Psalm 139).
- God is sovereign (Zechariah 9:14; 1 Timothy 6:15-16).
- God is holy (1 Peter 1:15).
- God is just or "righteous" (Psalm 19:9, 116:5, 145:17; Jeremiah 12:1).
- God is love (1 John 4:8).
- God is true (Romans 3:4; John 14:6).
- God is spirit (John 4:24).
- God is the creator of everything that exists (Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 44:24).
- God is infinite and eternal. He has always been God (Psalm 90:2; Genesis 21:33; Acts 17:24).
And, above all, a Christian is one who believes that the book known as The Holy Bible is the actual Word Of God.
A human being who proclaims he or she is a practicing Christian, yet does not truly believe in the Christian doctrine and does not follow those Christian precepts listed above, is not a Christian at all, but is a hypocrite.
To me, that is undeniable.
And this means then that 73% of Americans are hypocrites.
Once again -- I affirm that I am not an atheist.
_____
WORD FOR TODAY
hypocrite
noun
- a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion
- a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings
_____
_____
BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Born Dec. 14, 1935
Died: July 2, 1991
Lee Ann Remick was an American film and television actress. Among her best-known films are Anatomy of a Murder (1959), Days of Wine and Roses (1962), and The Omen (1976).
Born Dec. 14, 1908
Died: Oct 28, 1996
Morey Amsterdam was an American television actor and comedian, best known for the role of Buddy Sorrell on The Dick Van Dyke Show in the early 1960s.
Born Dec 14, 1946
Age: 65 years old
Anna Marie "Patty" Duke is an American actress of stage, film, and television. First becoming famous as a child star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16, and later starring in her eponymous sitcom for three years, she progressed to more mature roles upon playing Neely O'Hara in the 1967 film Valley of the Dolls. She was later elected president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1985 to 1988.
Duke's first major starring role was playing Helen Keller (with Anne Bancroft as Annie Sullivan) in the Broadway play The Miracle Worker, which ran for nearly two years (October, 1959 – July, 1961). The play was subsequently made into a 1962 film, for which Duke received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 1963, Duke was given her own series, titled The Patty Duke Show.
Born Dec. 14, 1896
Died: Sept 27, 1993
General James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle was an American aviation pioneer. Doolittle served as an officer in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War. He earned the Medal of Honor for his valor and leadership as commander of the Doolittle Raid while a lieutenant colonel.
Doolittle was one of the most famous pilots during the inter-war period. In September 1922, he made the first of many pioneering flights, flying a de Havilland DH-4 – which was equipped with early navigational instruments – in the first cross-country flight, from Pablo Beach (renamed Jacksonville Beach), Florida, to Rockwell Field, San Diego, California, in 21 hours and 19 minutes, making only one refueling stop at Kelly Field. The U.S. Army awarded him the Distinguished Flying Cross.
__________
We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first, rock 'n' roll or Christianity.
--John Lennon
No comments:
Post a Comment