How Darkness Shrouds Christianity

[DaveC519]

Originally Posted by NotforSale

I do spend quite a bit of time in the wilderness, but not 40 days. Unfortunately, I'm a slave to the "System", so I try my best to make the most of my free time. I also live in the Northwest, where solitude is almost at my back door. I cycle (ride bicycles), averaging over 5000 miles a year, and most of that riding is alone. I use this time to try and reconnect with the basics of life.

I actually did "unplug" for 40 days about 7 months ago: no t.v. (including news), no internet (except for business email), listened to only worship music, and doubled my prayer time daily. It's hard to put into words the new dimension of peace that I experienced during this time, and the deeper communion with the Lord. And I'm a person who prays and studies the Word every day. But just eliminating all the "noise" in my life made such a difference! I'm currently preparing to do this again.

[Esther]

Originally Posted by DaveC519

I actually did "unplug" for 40 days about 7 months ago: no t.v. (including news), no internet (except for business email), listened to only worship music, and doubled my prayer time daily. It's hard to put into words the new dimension of peace that I experienced during this time, and the deeper communion with the Lord. And I'm a person who prays and studies the Word every day. But just eliminating all the "noise" in my life made such a difference! I'm currently preparing to do this again.

[votivesoul]

When I was in college several years ago, I worked for the Center for Students with Disabilities. One day, in the office, I was speaking with my supervisor, and the conversation turned to God.

Not having a Bible with me, we used her PC and I taught her a Bible study on the Gospel using www.biblegateway.com.

She attended church with me that night and we baptized her in the name of Jesus Christ. She received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and God did a deep healing upon her heart. It was beautiful.

Also during college, I made a friend with a Japanese student, who then reached out to me because she had a friend back in Japan who was studying the Bible, but because of the nature of Japan's religious culture (or lack thereof, especially when it comes to Christianity), she didn't have many people to fellowship or study with. So I began teaching her a Bible study through email. She eventually came to the US and we had a chance to meet.

Prior to that, i.e. before college, when I had first become a Christian, I was witnessing to people on a non-religious message board. I made a friend who lived half the country away. One day, a couple of years later, he reached out to me, depressed, lonely, needing God. I evangelized him through email. The Holy Spirit descended on him as he read one of my emails, and he began attending an Apostolic church, and was immersed in the name of Jesus Christ.

The point of the story? Technology does not have to be a distraction that causes a Christian to fall into darkness. It is a tool, like any other, that can be used for the glory of God.

Should people walk away from it time to time? Yes, if their inner man is in needed of renewing, spending time with the Lord is the only thing that will satisfy. But it does not mean that the Christian faith as a whole, i.e. "Christianity", is "shrouded in darkness" simply because many people in this country (or other parts of the developed world) are lost in a malaise of techno-burnout.

The truth is Christianity is alive and well and is a light to the world, and is flourishing all over the globe. The current greatest revivals are happening in parts of the world where no technological advances exist, where no telecommunications infrastructure has been implemented. Explosive revivals all through out the poorest communities of the world, without in-door plumbing or safe drinking water, let alone smart phones, are happening as we speak.

Estimates of hundreds of millions of people in the world have been baptized in the Holy Spirit of God, to the point that Pentecostalism is giving Catholicism a run for its money in traditionally Catholic strongholds (Central and South America, especially).

Where then is the darkness? Is it not in obvious, weak generalizations and un-informed presumptions made against an entire, worldwide, world dominant faith?

[NotforSale]

Originally Posted by votivesoul

When I was in college several years ago, I worked for the Center for Students with Disabilities. One day, in the office, I was speaking with my supervisor, and the conversation turned to God.

Not having a Bible with me, we used her PC and I taught her a Bible study on the Gospel using www.biblegateway.com.

She attended church with me that night and we baptized her in the name of Jesus Christ. She received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and God did a deep healing upon her heart. It was beautiful.

Also during college, I made a friend with a Japanese student, who then reached out to me because she had a friend back in Japan who was studying the Bible, but because of the nature of Japan's religious culture (or lack thereof, especially when it comes to Christianity), she didn't have many people to fellowship or study with. So I began teaching her a Bible study through email. She eventually came to the US and we had a chance to meet.

Prior to that, i.e. before college, when I had first become a Christian, I was witnessing to people on a non-religious message board. I made a friend who lived half the country away. One day, a couple of years later, he reached out to me, depressed, lonely, needing God. I evangelized him through email. The Holy Spirit descended on him as he read one of my emails, and he began attending an Apostolic church, and was immersed in the name of Jesus Christ.

The point of the story? Technology does not have to be a distraction that causes a Christian to fall into darkness. It is a tool, like any other, that can be used for the glory of God.

Should people walk away from it time to time? Yes, if their inner man is in needed of renewing, spending time with the Lord is the only thing that will satisfy. But it does not mean that the Christian faith as a whole, i.e. "Christianity", is "shrouded in darkness" simply because many people in this country (or other parts of the developed world) are lost in a malaise of techno-burnout.

The truth is Christianity is alive and well and is a light to the world, and is flourishing all over the globe. The current greatest revivals are happening in parts of the world where no technological advances exist, where no telecommunications infrastructure has been implemented. Explosive revivals all through out the poorest communities of the world, without in-door plumbing or safe drinking water, let alone smart phones, are happening as we speak.

Estimates of hundreds of millions of people in the world have been baptized in the Holy Spirit of God, to the point that Pentecostalism is giving Catholicism a run for its money in traditionally Catholic strongholds (Central and South America, especially).

Where then is the darkness? Is it not in obvious, weak generalizations and un-informed presumptions made against an entire, worldwide, world dominant faith?

Your post is the typical one that attempts to support technology and other modern forms of reaching out to people, but there are so many holes in your statement.

These people you reached out too; where are they today? Was the impact strong enough to sustain them for life? Just like Evangelists do, they say how many were "Baptized and Filled", but that's about it.

VS, I pastored for 20 years, building a Home Missions work from the ground up, and have been in the Apostolic Movement for 36 years, and the young people today are struggling in massive ways. There is another Thread on this forum right now, dealing with newly licensed ministers, finding that many do not currently teach any Bible Studies, yet they still are approved.

I recently spoke with a pastor who is trying to retire. The Church is paid for, there is a parsonage, and he was reaching out to find someone to take the Church. He would receive phone calls, but as soon as he told them that there was limited income, that was the end of it.

Like I said, you say much about people VS, but where is the commitment? Where is the "Follow Up"? Where is the depth and the real ability to accept sacrifice? It's been lost in a World of "Instant Gratification", where people can't put their IPhone down and find peace in the silence, and where they must face themselves in truth.

[NotforSale]

Originally Posted by DaveC519

I actually did "unplug" for 40 days about 7 months ago: no t.v. (including news), no internet (except for business email), listened to only worship music, and doubled my prayer time daily. It's hard to put into words the new dimension of peace that I experienced during this time, and the deeper communion with the Lord. And I'm a person who prays and studies the Word every day. But just eliminating all the "noise" in my life made such a difference! I'm currently preparing to do this again.

When we cut off the million voices trying to suppress our own, individual thoughts, the positive impact can be life changing.

So many people today don't even know who they are, and how can you love your neighbor if you don't love yourself?

[votivesoul]

NFS,

I am not disagreeing with any of the content of your posts, per se.

But look again at the title of your post versus your content. They don't match up. I know there is a techno-addiction in this country, even among saints. It IS sad and it IS negatively affecting the people of God.

This does NOT, however, mean, that Christianity, i.e. a global religious movement with close to 2,000,000,000 constituents or over 1/4 the population of the entire planet is "shrouded in darkness" just because some small percentage of that 2 billion (mostly in the USA) are constantly distracted by the noise they allow into their lives.

Jesus warned His people a long time ago against the cares of the life choking the Word right out of someone. But He didn't disparage an entire religious group of His own followers and claim that all people everywhere who call upon His name are "shrouded in darkness" just because they don't go out into the wilderness on a regular basis to disconnect.

The title of your post is the issue. It is just another semi-veiled assault upon the faith you admit to quitting. Instead, you could have titled the post something like "The dangers of technology", or "How constant technological noise interferes with spiritual disciplines" or some other such thing, and posted identical content, and all would have been well.

But nope, you had to jump all over Christianity as a whole. So my point about reaching out to people through technology was to show how the very thing you say shrouds Christianity in darkness can be used as a tool by a child of light to bring the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ to someone who otherwise really was shrouded in the darkness of their own sins.

So the onus is on you, through the content of your posts, to prove the thesis of your title. You have not done that at all.

[KeptByTheWord]

NFS,

If you are trying to say that the darkness that shrouds Christianity in part has to do with technology, I would disagree. Technology has only been around for the last 50 years or so;yet, there has never really been a time in the past 2000 years where Christianity has not been without darkness and conflict. The true kingdom of Christ has always suffered violence, and has been submerged in one conflict or another. Jesus told us it would be that way. The reason is because Jesus brought a kingdom that is not of this world, and there will always be conflict between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world.

So... I on one hand agree that technology is A problem, but it is not the WHOLE problem, as your initial post seems to imply.

I agree with your premise that unplugging from technology can bring about a tremendous difference and change in one's relationship with the Lord. Information overload in our society today is causing a wide range of problems, not just with one's spiritual relationship with the Lord, but with natural physical relationships too.

But the underlying problem remains that Christianity will always be involved in a conflict of some sort, just because following Christ as a true disciple will bring conflict with the world we live in, and that is the plain and simple truth of the matter.

[Reader]

The title of your post is the issue. It is just another semi-veiled assault upon the faith you admit to quitting. Instead, you could have titled the post something like "The dangers of technology", or "How constant technological noise interferes with spiritual disciplines" or some other such thing, and posted identical content, and all would have been well.

[NotforSale]

Originally Posted by votivesoul

NFS,

I am not disagreeing with any of the content of your posts, per se.

But look again at the title of your post versus your content. They don't match up. I know there is a techno-addiction in this country, even among saints. It IS sad and it IS negatively affecting the people of God.

This does NOT, however, mean, that Christianity, i.e. a global religious movement with close to 2,000,000,000 constituents or over 1/4 the population of the entire planet is "shrouded in darkness" just because some small percentage of that 2 billion (mostly in the USA) are constantly distracted by the noise they allow into their lives.

Jesus warned His people a long time ago against the cares of the life choking the Word right out of someone. But He didn't disparage an entire religious group of His own followers and claim that all people everywhere who call upon His name are "shrouded in darkness" just because they don't go out into the wilderness on a regular basis to disconnect.

The title of your post is the issue. It is just another semi-veiled assault upon the faith you admit to quitting. Instead, you could have titled the post something like "The dangers of technology", or "How constant technological noise interferes with spiritual disciplines" or some other such thing, and posted identical content, and all would have been well.

But nope, you had to jump all over Christianity as a whole. So my point about reaching out to people through technology was to show how the very thing you say shrouds Christianity in darkness can be used as a tool by a child of light to bring the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ to someone who otherwise really was shrouded in the darkness of their own sins.

So the onus is on you, through the content of your posts, to prove the thesis of your title. You have not done that at all.

Christianity as a whole? Uh, let me get this straight, you believe that 2 Billion people on Earth are Christians, or are Apostolic (Saved according to your Faith)? Sounds like you may be in Darkness, unless, you no longer adhere to the dogmas of being "Saved" via, One God (No Trinity), etc.

[NotforSale]

Originally Posted by KeptByTheWord

NFS,

If you are trying to say that the darkness that shrouds Christianity in part has to do with technology, I would disagree. Technology has only been around for the last 50 years or so;yet, there has never really been a time in the past 2000 years where Christianity has not been without darkness and conflict. The true kingdom of Christ has always suffered violence, and has been submerged in one conflict or another. Jesus told us it would be that way. The reason is because Jesus brought a kingdom that is not of this world, and there will always be conflict between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world.

So... I on one hand agree that technology is A problem, but it is not the WHOLE problem, as your initial post seems to imply.

I agree with your premise that unplugging from technology can bring about a tremendous difference and change in one's relationship with the Lord. Information overload in our society today is causing a wide range of problems, not just with one's spiritual relationship with the Lord, but with natural physical relationships too.

But the underlying problem remains that Christianity will always be involved in a conflict of some sort, just because following Christ as a true disciple will bring conflict with the world we live in, and that is the plain and simple truth of the matter.

I never said that Technology is the WHOLE problem.

I also addressed the problem of people not being able to cope with the Natural environment around them, which is a major difference from those of the past who had no choice, but to face the woes and blessings of Creation.

Drive instead of walking. Starting a fire instead of pushing a button. Flushing a toilet instead of digging a hole. Eating meat you've never slaughtered.

Many people today also don't know how to spend quality time, alone.