tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post4925537914627825939..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: TestimonyAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-45259983381325020192011-04-07T15:31:53.353-04:002011-04-07T15:31:53.353-04:00"I don’t pretend to have my own act together ..."I don’t pretend to have my own act together and be settled in “sound” Christian doctrine (heck, I get less certain and more wishy-washy with each passing year), but come on people, I’m hearing shades of Zen Buddhism mixed with Quakerism and a pinch of Health & Wealth in your life’s testimony."<br /><br />Maybe try a confessional LCMS church. For one thing the pastors have a four year theological seminary education in addition to their undergraduate degree and can distinguish between the Law and the Gospel. Plenty of churches have barely trained pastors. <br /><br />LCMS is a lot like Orthodox except the service is only about an hour and you don't have stand.<br /><br /> Pop American Christianity is kind of geared for the average dude. If are more of a thinker, it gets on your nerves. Church shopping is miserable. <br /><br />Shop for doctrine first.<br /><br />Fun (but serious) doctrine podcast.<br /><br />http://www.tabletalkradio.org/content/podcasts<br /><br />Current events and doctrine podcast.<br /><br />http://issuesetc.org/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-52463007990206091922011-04-07T15:04:53.565-04:002011-04-07T15:04:53.565-04:00Yeah, the testimony thing runs rampant in denoms t...Yeah, the testimony thing runs rampant in denoms that don't use a rite of confession and absolution. I understand some need to verbally confess to another human being, but it is like these folks are stuck and need to hear the pastor say, "I forgive you." These, uh, extroverted folks could perhaps do themselves and the rest of the congregation a bit of good by going to confession.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-36959472198570319942011-04-06T11:36:55.250-04:002011-04-06T11:36:55.250-04:00"I often leave such services more discouraged..."I often leave such services more discouraged than uplifted."<br /><br />Visit an Eastern Orthodox church. (I used to be an atheist.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-8243402860196636172011-04-06T08:04:02.912-04:002011-04-06T08:04:02.912-04:00Reminds me of the first time I attended church wit...Reminds me of the first time I attended church with my in-laws. I was raised Catholic, but had "lapsed" in my attendance on Sundays. They were "Free-Will" Baptists, which was quite a shock to my ritual-oriented expectations!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-49101997134945527872011-04-02T20:05:27.087-04:002011-04-02T20:05:27.087-04:00Over the years it seemed whenever we picked a Sund...Over the years it seemed whenever we picked a Sunday to visit a new church, oh no, it's testimony Sunday! Dear Lord, your sense of humor is too much. It didn’t help that we typically knew just a few people at that church, none of whom stood up to give their testimonies. No, because these presenters were complete strangers to us, I always struggled to identify with them and be charitable when they hemmed and hawed and repeated themselves countless times. I admit to having a short dose of patience when listening to long-winded folks. I guess the Yankee in me is always silently thinking, “Get on with it, I don’t really need the How The West Was Won Cinerama version – the short subject version will do just fine – please!<br /><br />But my petty annoyances’ aside, truth be told, what makes we squirm at a lot of well-meaning testimonies given by truly nice people, is the extreme range of Christian doctrine that I often hear at these events. I don’t pretend to have my own act together and be settled in “sound” Christian doctrine (heck, I get less certain and more wishy-washy with each passing year), but come on people, I’m hearing shades of Zen Buddhism mixed with Quakerism and a pinch of Health & Wealth in your life’s testimony. As Car Talk radio hosts Click and Clack will say, “Geeze, doesn’t anyone screen these calls?” I often leave such services more discouraged than uplifted.Sponge-headed ScienceManhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12914014641719908195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-3172541296689079522011-04-02T18:48:51.763-04:002011-04-02T18:48:51.763-04:00Laughed out loud at the description of Jonathan as...Laughed out loud at the description of Jonathan asking to go back to the most interesting church ever! It's like when they discover that the Bible contains the only sex and violence Mom and Dad are going to let them read about for a while, and they become suddenly devout and always have their noses in the Good Book. But when you ask them what they were reading, they are vague, and blush...Retrieverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09036341287285545932noreply@blogger.com