Thursday, November 29, 2007

The Golden Compass and Atheists

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/december/12.36.html#related

I don't understand how you can say the world is just physical (atheist view) and say there are absolutes (such as the virtues mentioned in this article) at the same time. If the world is only physical, we live pointless existences and there are no absolute morals or virtues. In which case the main belief would focus on survival of fittest, doing what you want, and believing what you want. This would be a chaotic world. In this sort of world, only society determines what's right and wrong. What then, makes society right?

Sunday, November 25, 2007

What's your form of worship?

http://www.sacchurch.org/action-steps/sacred_pathways.htm

Harmony -Based on your responses to the Sacred Pathways Assessment, your temperament favors a Naturalist approach to worship.

Intellectual

23

Contemplative

21

Enthusiast

18

Caregiver

19

Activist

13

Ascetic

24

Traditionalist

14

Sensate

17

Naturalist

28

The information contained in this online assessment has been borrowed from the following book:"Sacred Pathways" by Gary L. Thomas© Copyright Zondervan Publishing, 2002click here to purchase this and other books by Gary Thomas, from Amazon.com
Summary of spiritual temperaments:
Intellectual - Loving God with the Mind:These Christians live in the world of concepts. They may feel closest to God when they first understand something new about Him.

Contemplative - Loving God through Adoration:These Christians seek to love God with the purest, deepest, and brightest love imaginable. They want nothing more than some privacy and quiet to gaze upon the face of their heavenly Lover and give all of themselves to God.

Enthusiast - Loving God with Mystery & Celebration:Excitement and mystery in worship is the spiritual lifeblood of enthusiasts. They are inspired by joyful celebration; cheerleaders for God and the Christian life. They don't want to just know concepts, but to experience them, to feel them, and to be moved by them. They like to let go and experience God on the precipice of excitement and awe.

Caregiver - Loving God by Loving Others:Caregivers serve God by serving others. They often claim to see Christ in the poor and needy, and their faith is built up by interacting with other people. Caring for others recharges a caregiver's batteries.

Activist - Loving God Through Confrontation:These Christians define worship as standing against evil and calling sinners to repentance. They are energized more by interaction with others, even in conflict, than by being alone or in small groups. Activists are spiritually nourished through the battle.

Ascetic - Loving God in Solitude and Simplicity:Ascetics want nothing more than to be left alone in prayer. Let there be nothing to distract them--no pictures, no loud music--and leave them alone to pray in silence and simplicity.

Traditionalist - Loving God Through Ritual and Symbol:Traditionalists are fed by what are often termed the historic dimensions of faith: rituals, symbols, sacraments, and sacrifice. They tend to have a disciplined life of faith and have a need for ritual and structure.

Sensate - Loving God with the Senses:Sensate Christians want to be lost in the awe, beauty, and splendor of God. They are drawn particularly to the liturgical, the majestic, the grand. They want to be filled with sights, sounds, and smells that overwhelm them. The five senses are God's most effective inroad to their hearts.

Naturalist - Loving God Out of Doors:The naturalist seeks to leave the formal architecture and the padded pews to enter an entirely new "cathedral", a place that God himself has built: the out-of-doors.