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How Churches Tempt People To Sin… And Why That’s Okay

In Church, People on February 22, 2010 at 8:09 am

by Elizabeth K

When television shows and advertising attracts viewers/listeners toward damaging behavior, we are not surprised. But when Christians display at least the same rate of adultery, substance abuse, money fraud and divorce as the non-religious, we may have to stop and wonder about some things.

Many religious analysts agree that forbidden fruit only entices people more, especially when the appeal remains largely hidden in order to maintain a favorable reputation among like-minded friends. Also, when sin is preached (against) week after week, listeners’ minds focus more often on wrong-doings, possibly creating a care for those things that otherwise would not exist.

Add to this the problem within churches of commonly looking down upon some sins while others are conveniently ignored, or overlooking sins that are not so easily evidenced by objective facts – such as an air of superiority, segregation, hatred or hypocrisy. By concentrating on some and overlooking others, there seems to be an automatic acceptance of certain sins.

Like any social group, what is acceptable and what is not, is established for all kinds of reasons.  But I think the primary reason for what is generally acceptable in Christian churches is based on certain Bible commandments such as, “Do not be unequally yoked” and “Do you not know that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit?”

What we fail to realize is that placing people under the law only produces the fruit of the law which, according to the Bible, is sin and death. God never meant for people to live under the law but to live according to a life of love (which fulfills all of the law and commandments.) Read the rest of this entry »

Is One Church Better Than Another? Or Do We Just Like To Think So?

In Church, Life, People on January 2, 2010 at 7:38 pm

by Elizabeth K

The Protestants believe they reformed the church gathering from its traditional roots enough to provide a more closely related biblical church.  But this protesting continues to branch off into further reforms throughout history.  Currently, there is a growing movement of house churches in Europe and America, that seeks to abandon many church traditions entirely, and some people are even going so far as to claim they are salvaging their faith by not attending church at all.

Is there one right way for the body of Christ to gather together?

If so, which one and why?

Should church divisions or groups of Believers be exclusive in their gatherings?

If not, how might they be more inclusive?

Could there be one  unique right way to gather together for every individual?

How important is the gathering together?

What does the Bible say or exemplify?

Is there a purpose for church divisions or it is a sign of something that has gone amiss?

What might be some other questions concerning the decision of which church to attend, if at all?

The Church System Is Not The Church

In Church on October 20, 2009 at 2:45 am

by Elizabeth K

I wonder if the Good Samaritan in Jesus’ parable asked himself questions such as, “Does this poor, hurting man belong to my church?” or “Could I be naively helping a homosexual?”  Actually, I’m pretty sure he didn’t ask any questions at all before helping the Jewish man that two other Jewish church workers had previously passed by, one of them by moving to the other side of the road.  Not only did God’s people hate a whole group of people, the Samaritans, but their religiosity kept them from even helping their own.

This is the part where people start accusing me of bashing the church.  They quote 1 Cor 3:17, “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.”  But they seem to forget the Scriptures that speak of Jesus tearing down with His own words the leaders that exalted a system over God.  And, although that old tabernacle was instituted by God, that system was never meant to be the church.

One of the experts in the law [of God] answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.” Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them. ~ Luke 11:45, 46

The church leaders had devoted their lives to studying God’s word and maintaining the ways of the temple according to biblical law.  Unfortunately they loved their way of worshiping God so much that they were unwilling to leave it in order to follow God’s messenger.  The religious leaders questioned Jesus’ credentials.  They wanted to know by what authority He spoke if He hadn’t gone to seminary, or if He was not on a church payroll.  They questioned the apostles in the same way after Christ’s ascension.  Their intention was to expose Jesus and His followers as false teachers (according to the ruling church pattern.) Read the rest of this entry »

Is President Obama More Of A Christian Than Many Church Leaders?

In Bible, Books, Church, Life, People, Politics on October 7, 2009 at 6:42 pm

by Elizabeth K   :)

According to the Bible, true religion is love for one another, and the evidence of this love plays out in caring for the poor, orphans, widows, sick, prisoners, and strangers.  It will not be the religious who enter heaven, but those who showed mercy to their fellow human beings and who, like the Good Samaritan, took care of those who were needy.  The Bible also says that by not helping the needy, we are actually oppressing them.

“Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.  “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.  ~ Malachi 3:8-10

Many a church teacher has used this verse to compel members to give financially to the church, but, who benefited from these tithes and offerings in Bible history?  Malachi 3:5 tells us that the tithe was instituted by God for the wage earner, the widow, the orphan and the alien.  Cheerful, free-will offerings in the New Testament church were also used for this ends.  God desired for his people to support church workers, single women (who have no financial support), children without fathers, and the immigrant.  And if we do not support them, one day Jesus will tell us to depart from Him, for He never knew us.  That’s a pretty serious warning.

Churches today rightfully use financial offerings to support the workers of the gospel, but many (not all) then fail to help the poor.  In fact, some churches pressure their members so much to give of their finances in order to make the church budget, that they create more poverty.  Where is this money from and for the poor designated?  Church overhead costs, or in other words, the money it takes to buy, maintain and expand a building and the church itself.  Basically, the money is going to the church instead of the poor. Read the rest of this entry »

The Antichrist Will Be A Church Leader, Not A President Or Any Other World Leader

In Bible, Church, Eschatology on September 17, 2009 at 6:41 am

by Elizabeth K

I have been called a heretic for pointing out Scriptures which are forthright in distinguishing Christ from God who is the Father, such as:

“For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him….”  ~ 1 Cor 8:5-6

There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.  ~ Ephesians 4:4-6

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God [God], and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”  ~ John 17:3

“For there is one God, AND one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” ~ 1 Timothy 2:5

But I am surprised that so many of the speculations among Christianity, (dispensational premillennialism to be specific) concerning end times are so readily embraced as true doctrine without Scriptural support.  There is an even wider amount of guessing of how these events and characters will play out through media such as The Left Behind book series as well as urban legends floating through email inboxes such as this one found on Snopes:

“According to the book of Revelations the anti-christ is:  The anti-christ will be a man, in his 40’s, of MUSLIM descent, who will deceive the nations with persuasive language, and have a MASSIVE Christ-like appeal….  the prophecy says that people will flock to him and he will promise false hope and world peace, and when he is in power, will destory everything.  Is it Obama?” Read the rest of this entry »

10 Detrimental Differences Between Church In The Bible And Church Today

In Bible, Church on September 11, 2009 at 2:04 am

by Elizabeth K

The fallacy of the post-biblical trinity doctrine is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to differences between Bible teaching and church teaching.  But I realized that Christians will not be able to hear or understand these differences as long as organized religion possesses so much control over our beliefs.  It is generally considered unsafe by many Christians to begin studying outside of the confines of the long-standing traditions held by Christian churches everywhere, and there is hardly a motive to do so anyway.  Our churches today make us feel comfortable and superior in such large, long-standing  groups.

So, my goal for this post and future posts is to begin to tear down this unhealthy dependency on the overly powerful, self-claimed mediator between God and man, the church institution.  Many will see this as rebellion against Believers, and therefore against Christ Himself, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Here are ten significant proofs that the church in the Bible, the body of Christ… is NOT the church institution and that there are significant differences between the two.  And, therefore, my tearing down of this unworthy stronghold has nothing to do with tearing down my precious fellow Believers. It is solely intended to free us all from a strangled faith that we have to come accept as reality and which causes us to think that our Christianity is just fine when, in fact, our faith overall is fruitless and far from what God intended for us as individuals and as a body. Read the rest of this entry »

Truth Vs. Tradition

In Bible, Church on September 5, 2009 at 6:51 am

by Elizabeth K

Here are some questions to get us thinking outside of the church institutional box, along with attempts at some answers.

1.  Should we distinguish ourselves from other church denominations, for example, by calling ourselves “Lutherans, Protestants, Wesleyans, Calvinists, Anglicans or Roman Catholics”?

Is Christ divided?  The Bible says there is only one body of Christ (Eph 4:4) and Paul specifically warned against church divisions in 1 Cor 3.   “For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.  So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” (v 4-7)

2.  Are titles such as “Pastor” and “Reverend” used for church elders in the Bible?

We are never told to give titles to men, especially “Reverend”, a term used only once in the Bible and for God.  (Psalm 111:9)

3.  Did the first century church celebrate the Lord’s supper through the ritualistic ceremony of communion that churches do today? Read the rest of this entry »

Can we Preach the Gospel without Hell?

In Bible, Church, God, Gospel, Hell, Jesus on September 4, 2009 at 6:14 am

By Marc

Most Gospel presentations today will begin with, or at least include, the idea of Hell whether explicitly or implicitly. The strategy of good “old-fashioned” Gospel preaching requires that the preacher first convict the audience of Sin and then offer Jesus as the solution. The conviction is accomplished by highlighting the fact that all humans do sin and attempting to show that a perfect God must punish these offenses (perhaps infinitely). John Piper (The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World) says:

Because God is holy, we are sinful, justice is beautiful, and God will not be mocked, we must contend for the conscious, eternal torments of hell and invite everyone to avoid its clutches by turning from sin to Jesus, who speaks of hell more than anyone in Scripture. (p 139)
…
If you strip that [hell] away from Jesus, he’s a local guy. He’s just no big deal. (p161)

Even preaching which focuses on God and His Holiness, will eventually come around to Man’s sinful state and will often fail simply because the Conviction was not convincing – the challenge to produce a problem (guilt) and a need (forgiveness) which post-modern people do not, of themselves see is often too great for our preachers. Certainly any mention of Hell is bound to have a critical audience thinking: “What kind of God sends folk to hell for not believing?”. Read the rest of this entry »

Is Protestant Christianity Biblical and Faithful To Jesus?

In Bible, Church, God, Gospel, Jesus, Life, People, Theology on August 24, 2009 at 8:47 am

by Marc

The question is provocative but important and needs continually asking as we are called to first be self-critical before we critique others. We must ask ourselves: What is a true Christian according to Jesus will as taught in the Bible? We could answer this question by asking an even more risky one: what would happen if all the people who stopped being Christians nevertheless continued being disciples of Jesus? Is that possible? Well, it is clear that there are such people, who have rejected key doctrines, yet nevertheless live more like Jesus than much of the Church is doing.

The fact is the world would be a better place if most people lived as Jesus taught and lived than if most people were simply good Believers. Whereas the Christian Faith has been reduced to belief in certain creeds and doctrines, Discipleship is submission to Jesus as a teacher and master, a life led His Way. What began as “The Way” has become “The Faith”. What began as a walk became a teaching. At times, the Protestant Church borders on Gnosticism (saving knowledge) and yet we wonder why it’s in decline. Read the rest of this entry »

The Stages Of Church Going

In Church on August 5, 2009 at 10:02 pm

by Elizabeth K

Dan Kimball made a (valiant) attempt to describe ten stages that a Christian might typically experience concerning church attending in his blog called Reality Church.  The list of stages is thought-provoking (I’ve been thinking about it for days) and the post has received much feedback since it was written four years ago.

The stages are described in simple terms such as one’s excitement for church in stage one, ministry burn out in stage four, and disillusionment in stage five.  He includes specific examples, some quite humorous, which really are generalizations as he explains at the end of the article.

Along with the commenters and other bloggers who reference the post, I found myself relating to many of the stages, although I have yet to try attending a house church as a means of emulating the early church (as much as possible in this day and age.)  To me, the institutionalized church, which began after the fourth century and continues strong today, seems to characterize even those gatherings of believers whose goal is to steer away from it.

As much as some of us would like, we just can’t seem to understand church apart from the institution.  This is due in part because it is so ingrained into the western way of life, as evidenced by the fact that there is a church on nearly every street corner in some parts of the world.  Emerging churches will dare to do church a little different than the rest, only to resort to a routine liturgy.  Even house churches can fall to the same temptations as larger churches, by conforming to their own group distinctives, and  over-emphasizing the serving/obeying/following of the leadership while never questioning its leading. Read the rest of this entry »

Christianity in China

In Church, Gospel, People, Politics, Uncategorized on June 23, 2009 at 11:44 am

We get a great deal of mixed signals in the West concerning Christian persecution in China. I decided to ask my good friend Ashton who lives there, how he experiences life as a Jesus-follower in the East and what he knows about the religious freedom China offers.

Christianity in China

By Ashton Fourie

Let me start by setting the basic scene. The Roman Catholic church and three Protestant Church denominations, or maybe one denomination that sort of has 3 flavours, translated roughly as the 3 Self Church, or the 3 Self Churches, are allowed to operate in China, but their doctrine is government controlled.

Then there is the so-called underground church, which seems to be made up of groups of people all over the place meeting at houses, in buildings, offices, under bridges – you name it. Violent persecution in our area seems to be non-existent. Lecturers had been asked to leave universities for being too outspoken before – but it is our understanding that they were actively and openly evangelising and running Christian meetings on campus. On the other hand, the Dean of English in our school teaches a subject called “Stories of the Bible” where she just tells Bible stories as part of a programme to “familiarise the kids with Western culture,” and she seems to get away with it. Another friend of mine who is an assistant professor, teaches Biblical studies from the perspective of the impact the Bible has had on Western culture and the English language. This seems to be perfectly acceptable. According to this same professor, the government interference in church doctrine is minimal. They monitor for any teaching that would seek to slander the Communist Party. The gospel with all its attached truth in the way that Jesus presented it, which is a spiritual, and not a political message, is acceptable, and preached. Read the rest of this entry »

I Don’t Think God Meant For Christians To Be So Rigid

In Church, Gospel, People on May 25, 2009 at 5:08 pm

by Elizabeth K

Not only do many Believers seem to have high standards for becoming and remaining a Christian, but churches seem to each have their own set of requirements.  These fluctuate and range between logical, biblical and extra-biblical – such as (unofficial) dress codes, acceptable terminology, social conduct within a church sanctuary, or church membership rules.  Depending on which church history era one resides, it may or may not be okay to drink alcohol, smoke cigars and swear as a Christian.

Bible memorization, ministry involvement and tithing are highly encouraged and, since “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” sins are not socially acceptable.  Actually, there are some sins which seem to be openly rebuked, usually sexual sins, while others are rarely confronted.  Arrogance (in the name of confidence and authority), legalism (often seen as righteousness) and unhealthy living (in the form of caffeine and refined sugar pastries to promote “fellowship”) are examples of very awkward, and rarely beneficial, situations for those who dare to confront their clergy.

Usually for the sake of accountability, a concept not found in the Bible in certain terms,  and because of specific scriptures, church attendance is mandatory in the minds of most Christians.  One who discontinues to show up on Sunday mornings for three months or longer is often seen as anathema. Read the rest of this entry »

The Hole in our Gospel

In Church, Gospel, Jesus, People on May 15, 2009 at 6:11 pm

by Marc

Ever since I heard Tim Keller explain that the root of all problems is failure to believe the Gospel I’ve been fascinated by discovering just what exactly “The Gospel” is and how it is the “power of salvation”. What fact could there possibly be which, when believed, saves and totally transforms a person? Part of my discovery came from listening to N.T. Wright argue persuasively that the Gospel is, quote, “Jesus is Lord” and that most of what we consider to be Good News is a consequence of this.

In the evangelical world the Gospel is taken to be the radical and indeed life-transforming truth that we are justified by faith alone apart from works. Implicitly or explicitly we are told, works are bad because they insult the work Jesus did. I’ve discussed why I disagree with this view in Which Gospel and my realisation is that this is a shrunken, individualised and subjective good news which encourages passiveness and occludes the royal announcement of Jesus’ Kingship which is for the whole world to hear.

The Gospel is indeed Good News and not Good Advice but Jesus said “go and make disciples of all nations… and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you“. Read this, the sermon on the mount and Matt 25 and tremble oh ye “christian” – myself included. Indeed the “work of God is to believe in the one he sent” but this entails and does not preclude works as we’ve been taught to read Paul since Luther.

Read the rest of this entry »

Is It Imperative For Christians To Attend Church?

In Church on May 8, 2009 at 8:10 pm

by Elizabeth K

The answer is “no” in my opinion, but allow me to explain.  The Bible, that good and holy book, tells Christians to go to church (Hebrews 10:24, 25) and it contains some very helpful verses regarding our assemblying together.   For example, there are certain character requirements for elders and deacons.  In the first century, each church in different cities/towns were to have appointed elders.

The Lord’s supper and baptism are to be practiced, God’s truth is to be taught, the gospel taken to the four corners of the earth, and the saints are to exercise their gifts in minstering to one another.  There are also Scriptures concerning church discipline.  A Christian would be very wise to be a part of a group of believers within their local community, and should  do so, but all of this does not necessarily have anything to do with the institutionalized church today.

Just as learning can take place apart from going to school, so can one be a Christian apart from attending church.  Contrary to common belief, church is not Christianity, nor does it equate with salvation or spiritual growth.  Not only is it possible to submit ourselves to a higher earthly authority, to sit under biblical teaching and to minster to and be ministered by other saints apart from attending church, I highly recommend it. Read the rest of this entry »

A Woman’s Role in Ministry

In Bible, Church, God, Jesus, Life on May 4, 2009 at 5:52 pm

The question of a woman’s role in the church is one which can be very controversial. Almost all churches nowadays openly acknowledge an equality in terms of the worth of a person (it was not always so) but most traditional evangelical churches remain convinced that Paul’s letters, seen more or less as a clear and complete guideline for how churches should operate, discriminated or, to put it more politely, prescribe different roles for different genders. In practice this means: no women as elders and no women preachers.

These two limitations (leadership and teaching) are based mainly on such shockers as “women should remain silent in the churches” (1 Cor 14) and “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.” (1 Tim 2). For many these 2 passages are sufficient to forbid women being pastors or elders.

1 Cor 14 is not as straightforward as one would imagine at first glance because Paul clearly does allow, even encourage women to speak in the congregation (1 Cor 11) where he provides guidelines for prophecy. This provides room for debate as to how 1 Cor 14 is to be limited in scope and application.

Read the rest of this entry »

A Simple Answer To The Christian Culture Dilemma

In Church, Gospel on April 30, 2009 at 4:23 am

by Elizabeth K

The latest buzz in the church world, at least in the conversations of the emerging church is the issue of Christians relating to contemporary culture.  The diagnosis has been proposed:  we are not reaching the world in the way that Christ taught and exemplified.

Why is this?  My unprofessional theories are 1) We justify our attitude of “To hell with Non-christians”  2) We don’t want to get too close to them because they are so dangerously contagious or 3) We’re right and they’re wrong.  End of discussion.

In my opinion, the modern-day church, throughout history, is the one that has always been dangerously contagious.  We draw our air of superiority from our numbers, traditions, beliefs… our own little culture.  And well, this is just a turn off to the outsider.

This isn’t true for every Christian who attends church but we do have a fairly poor reputation as a group.

The answer seems simple enough to me and it’s one that we all know so well:  Love.  All of the Bible’s commandments really hang on only two.  Love God and love others. Read the rest of this entry »

Can We Engage Western Society and Remain True?

In Church, Gospel, Life on April 21, 2009 at 11:34 am

By Marc

Let’s face it, the Church is not really making headlines nowadays. Sure, the Pope gets a fair hearing and evangelical Christians pop up in debates over Evolution in the classroom but Christians are manifestly not shaping society. It seems we are merely running a kind of irrelevant, amusing, subculture. Church attendance is declining in western society and Christianity is generally seen in a negative light, something the modern world has largely, and thankfully, shed as it became enlightened and tolerant.

On the surface, much seems to be going on. Firstly, within the Church, there is a kind of resurgence (not to be confused with theresurgence.com) in issues of faith, theology and apologetics. Indeed there is quite a buzz in terms of books published, blog articles and debates between atheists and Christians. Secondly, in secular western media, conspiracy theories, alternative Gospels are still all the rage, or at least well impregnated in popular consciousness: we cannot know the real Jesus and the version we see on the latest Fox TV special is as historical as any other. Read the rest of this entry »

The Emerging Church – Led By God and/or Problematic?

In Church on February 21, 2009 at 12:08 am

by Elizabeth K

I was thinking about reading Timothy Stoner’s new book The God Who Smokes:  Scandalous Meditation On Faith, so I did some research.  I have to say that the title is certainly catchy, especially when paired with the author’s last name.  Initially, I only wanted to know the subject of the book and was happily surprised that it concerned the emerging church since this movement has been plaguing my thoughts recently (among many, many other issues of course).

Tim Stoner chose the book’s title because he believes it represents both the goodness and severity, or anger, of God.  “The column of smoke was grace in the wilderness—shade and direction. The smoke on Mt. Sinai was a mercy that protected the Israelites from the blinding brilliance of God’s glory.”

While the author appreciates certain aspects of the emerging church movement, he has also distanced himself from emergent theology for certain reasons.  He provides valuable critique in the book as well as in an interview with Trevin Wax where he states examples of false choices made within the movement. Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s See, What Can We Argue About Now? How About Church Membership?

In Church on February 19, 2009 at 7:27 am

by Elizabeth K

During a six hour carpool ride for a ski/snowboard trip last weekend, I couldn’t help but bring up controversial issues for the makings of a lively conversation.  This not only caused me to forget the long hours in a car, but I could happily express my love for a debate, and I learned some things as well.  We covered such topics as:  Should homosexuals be welcomed to regularly attend church?  Can church programs distract us from real Christianity?  And, what about church membership?

When speaking about church membership, I am alluding to the formal process of a public commitment of affiliation to a certain church in a manner that varies according to the custom of that particular congregation.  Although there are no Scriptures that pertain to church membership (as we know it today), many Christians believe that it allows biblical principles such as submission to ordained leadership, fellowship, ministry, accountability, church discipline and participation in church ordinances to take place. Read the rest of this entry »

No Salvation Apart From Works

In Bible, Church, Gospel, Jesus, Theology on February 11, 2009 at 8:13 pm

by Marc

We often hear that salvation, Christian-style, is apart from works. This is however a muddling of terms. The Bible, in particular, Paul’s writings actually teaches that justification is by faith apart from works of Torah [1].

For Paul, justification is God declaring a person a covenant member wile salvation is the ultimate rescue from evil. They are not the same thing and Paul does not interchange the terms (see e.g. Rom 10:10).

I think it’s equally clear that works of Torah (circumcision, food laws etc.) were marginalised if not done away with in the New Testament because the gentiles were coming in and ethnic markers were dissolving. But surely good works were raised higher than ever by Jesus and his successors! Why then do we still equate the two and assume salvation is apart from good works?
Read the rest of this entry »

Is There A One True Visible Church?

In Church on February 9, 2009 at 11:59 pm

by Elizabeth K

Have you ever studied a subject so much that you became more confused and frustrated at the end of your research than you were at the beginning? This was the result of my ongoing questioning concerning which church or denomination is the one that was founded by Christ, the God-man that I profess to follow.

But I really like the way this guy right here, named John Halton answers the question of the one true church. The Bible is unmistakable when it explains the body of Christ as an invisible entity, and yet Ecclesia is a visible church. The book of Acts describes the first church and it was certainly observable with the human eye. The author of Hebrew’s command to not forsake the “assembling” of ourselves together is also overtly a literal gathering. Read the rest of this entry »

Is The Evangelical Church Losing Its Influence?

In Church on February 5, 2009 at 5:52 pm

by Elizabeth K

Christine Wicker thinks so, according to  her book, The Fall of the Evangelical Nation:  The Surprising Crisis Inside The Church, and she uses solid statistics to prove it.  Through media coverage, American evangelicals which make up at best 3.7% of the population appear to be much stronger than they are because they seem to fully represent American Christian ideals. Read the rest of this entry »