horsecamp said:
While Russia is correct about homosexuality being evil ..The united states is still more free to practice confessional Lutheran Christianity, at least for now.. who knows in the years to come though.
yes and no. Depends upon what you call freedom of worship.
One of the reasons so many Christians have left denominational Protestant churches is that those denominations have abandoned God and His Word. Not all at once, however, and not all in the same areas, but they are all marching toward secularization and away from the cross.
A few years ago a meeting of the Synod of the Lutheran Church voted to decide a new definition of the Bible. Instead of THE Word of God, the book is now A Word of God. In other words, they have declared dilution of the Holy Scripture to equate it with any other work of religious literature. Would Muslims do that with the Qur'an? You know the answer as well as I.
When the decision was made and the vote was taken a storm suddenly erupted and blew away portions of the roof of the meeting venue. I was sent a photo of the damage by a person who was there.
The Episcopal church abandoned God decades ago. When the Holy Spirit revival of the late 1960's and early 1970's swept over America the Episcopals were among the group who rejected the excitement out of hand. Instead of Holy Spirit they now have unholy social awareness, instead of Jesus Christ they have a whole series of bishops who emit heresy like radioactive plutonium. And the people, like blind and deaf sheep, continue to follow them into perdition. I know because I was part of the leadership at the time - and was invited to leave because I refused to yield my position that one must be saved and that Jesus is the only way to do it.
The Presbyterian Church held a vote similar to the Lutherans and disabled their interpretation of Holy Writ. Just like their Lutheran brethren they voted down the Holy inspiration of the Bible to that of common literature and just like the Lutherans their assembly venue was struck by a sudden storm. The storm killed power for a period of time leaving them in the dark - figuratively as well as literally. This news reached my ears from a man who was in attendance.
Methodism long ago abandoned sound Biblical teaching and instruction in favor of franchise-ism. I have met few communicants of the Methodist church who exercised even a moderate education in church history and Biblical teaching. They certainly don't believe one must be born again. Look at their national web site. They've "toned down" the necessity Jesus said was paramount.
I don't know where Baptists (really) stand on the position of Bible inerrancy, salvation, and eschatology. All I hear from them are constant nagging rants about the rapture or anti-Holy Spirit diatribes aimed at disrespecting Pentacostals rather than education, inspiration or salvation. Baptists have always been sincere about their faith. The problem is that I wonder if they know what that really means these days.
I don't know where the numerous Pentacostal denominations and independent churches are in these matters of the spirit. I suspect most are on point, spiritually speaking, but many have been caught up in mega-church isms wherein the development of real estate and expensive technical 'ministries' result in more secular jokes and jaded attitudes than souls won for Jesus. Matters of the wallet supersede matters of the spirit.
In other words, Protestantism is destroying itself either by abandoning God directly or by wandering away into the off road fields of heresy, financial attractions and worldly respect.
The Roman Catholic church has been in decline as well. In Europe, the Catholic church has become nearly extinct. While a new energetic pope has shown himself to be the darling of the global press, and while his appearances continue to attract the devout like a religious rock star, there is little evidence that the withering trend has halted or even slowed. The pope has to leave Europe to attract a crowd outside St. Peter's.
These matters should tell us something about the spiritual condition of Europe and America. Western Civilization, as it has been known for the last five hundred years or more, is dying. It's internal power has dwindled from a raging fire to a flickering pilot light. It's financial capacity, once the glittering gem in its crown, has passed away and all the west totters from one financial crisis to another while the whole world waits and watches for complete collapse. The only reason enemies of the west don't nudge it into an earlier event is that they don't yet know what would take its place. (The devil you know is better than the devil you don't know.) Militarily, the west has met its match in technical advances of Russia and China and already lost a muzzle to muzzle confrontation over Syria in the summer of 2013.
What's all this to do with freedom to practice Lutheranism or any other Christian creed? Our society now trusts in the eroding power of a once great civilization rather than the eternal bedrock of Jesus Christ. Our people have abandoned God's wisdom for their own and the kingship of the Almighty for their own corrupt leaders.
"A people who will not be ruled by God are destined to be ruled by tyrants."
- William Penn
If the reader is able to sit in the congregation of the saints and if he or she is comfortable that the gospel of the cross of Jesus Christ is being preached accurately and truthfully, then that person needs to be aware that they are in a very unique situation. Treasure it like fine gold and silver - for it is in danger of being lost from this land.
For forty years or more we have prayed wisdom for our leaders. They have now used that wisdom to betray us. Now we are asked to swallow fool's gold at the altar, lies in the sermons and tyranny from our own leaders.
Jesus said to be separate from these things. That's good advice, but where does one go instead?
and that's just me, hollering from the choir loft...
