I seem to not be seeing a url.

Matt Farina
Geeks and God Co-Host
www.innovatingtomorrow.net
www.mattfarina.com

http://www.singingfalls.com/pilgrimage/index.html

Interesting testimony. It reminds me a little bit of Mike MacIntosh's testimony (http://www3.calvarychapel.com/library/smith-chuck/...). You're the first person I've met that was part of EC Prophet's movement.

As an apologist, my biggest lament is that many churches rely on subjective spiritual feelings more than objective truth. In Acts, Peter preached to the people the basic message, "Jesus died and rose from the dead - you KNOW this, now based on that: believe in Him."

Christianity is like marriage, you might not always feel "in love" but it's not simply an emotional commitment, but a conscious and purposeful dedication.

One of my professors, Norm Geisler, is fond of saying, "Plato and Immanuel Kant have affected your lives, as Christians, more than Jesus Christ" and the more philosophy I study, the more profound that statement is. There are so many things that have been incorporated into the church over the centuries that aren't biblical.

However, that being said, as Christians we need to distinguish between essential and non-essential doctrines. In essential doctrines we cannot bend or compromise, but in non-essential doctrines we can give liberty. We might not agree, but we can at least declare our disagreement and acknowledge that we belong to the one body of Christ.

At one point I learned that Christmas had a pagan origin, but today I recognize that no matter the origin, Christmas is today affiliated with the birth of Jesus (thus all the attacks on Christmas which come up in December). So I celebrate CHRISTmas. You can even declare "Happy Holy Day" which might get some eyebrows. ;)

The point is, like Paul, to use any means necessary to share the gospel.

"To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings."