CWR Blog
Christianity Without The Religion BLOG hosted by Brad Jersak.
Election – Fever Pitched Anxieties – Greg Albrecht
These must be the last days. Politicians are running hither and yon, desperately trying to say things that will influence followers and persuade the persuade-able. Listening to the hand-wringing anxiety and the fever-pitched appeals I was reminded “your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
“I’m from the government and I am here to help you” has come to be accepted as one of the great lies of our time. As we live through the last days of October the rhetoric is hot and ...
CWR Video – Children of God
In this CWR Video, Brad reflects on what it means to be Children of God.
https://vimeo.com/1011054977
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Reflections Along the Jesus Way
November 2, 2024 - Quote for the Day:
“God is not forever engaged in making sure that you and I get what’s coming to us. God is not consumed with making sure we pay all the penalties we deserve – his primary motive is love – his primary care for you and me is his relentless and never-ending love.”
Christianity Without the Religion magazine, April 2022
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Past Political Memories – Coffee and Confusion – Ken Williams
Ray Paquet, Howard Killough, and I left our Treasure Island Naval base in dress blues to attend a Barry Goldwater rally on the Fisherman's Warf. A large crowd gathered to heckle Goldwater. He was the media created maniac that would start WWIII if elected as President of the United States. T.V. screens displayed his stern face superimposed on a hydrogen bomb explosion and Dr. Strangelove was playing in theaters.
Ray, Howard, and I figured this was an attempt to frighten us into voting for LBJ. We were there to support Goldwater and took turns holding one of us upon ...
Our Biggest Problem
What's our biggest problem as Christians...is it religion? Is it legalism? Is it a lack of knowledge of the Bible? Is it too little obedience? You may be surprised.
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0266.mp3
Empty Your Pockets – by Greg Albrecht
Friend and Partner Letter for November 2024:
Erma Bombeck (1927-1996) was a beloved American writer. Her humor, in newspaper columns and 15 books, was flavored with inspiration and wisdom. She concluded a newspaper column published on March 10, 1987 with these insights (my emphasis in bold):
“I always had a dream that when I am asked to give an accounting of my life to a higher court, it will go like this: ‘So, empty your pockets. What have you got left of your life? Any dreams that were unfulfilled? Any unused talent that we gave you when you were born that ...
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
October 31, 2024 - Quote for the Day:
“I offer Revelation Revolution 1) as a Christ-centered remedy to the sensationalism of prophetic teaching and 2) from a compelling sense of duty in an attempt to spare others the inevitable loss of faith in God that is invariably left behind in the wake of such flawed and failed teaching. I am grieved to see that the same old broken-beyond-repair methodology of prophetic teaching continues to tease and allure millions into its destructive clutches.”
Originally published in:
Revelation Revolution
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Is It Possible to OD on Grace?
Religion and legalism are uncomfortable with God's grace, claiming that the grace of God encourages people to sin. But can we have too much grace -- is it possible to overdose on grace?
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0265.mp3
What is a Real Christian?
What do true Christians say and do -- what are they like? How righteous does a Christian have to be? Would you identify a real Christian mostly by what they don't do -- by actions and habits they avoid?
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0261.mp3
Beyond Either/Or Theological Meltdowns – Brad Jersak
Question:
Confusion, confusion. Please help! I am part of a weekly Bible study of various denominations who have been meeting weekly for decades. But the things we're discussing now are tearing us apart. None of us are of the opinion that our 'good deeds' get us to heaven. We know the 'work' was done on the cross. But some believe salvation is a free gift for all even if one doesn't choose to accept it or even want it, and others feel that salvation is a free gift but has to be accepted and acknowledged, thus giving us free will to choose heaven or hell. Which is ...
Two Halves of November – Ed Dunn
This Month at PTM - November 2024
Watch a short video and the message on "Two Halves of November" by Ed Dunn as he updates us on the latest from Christianity Without the Religion and Plain Truth Ministries.
https://vimeo.com/1022599363
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
October 29, 2024 - Quote for the Day:
“There are those, as you know, who say that the Jews deserved the Holocaust. I absolutely reject that insane notion. There are also those who say that billions of people will be slow roasted, for all eternity, tortured in hell, condemned by God because they didn’t measure up to his standards. I absolutely reject that notion as the epitome of un-grace. Preachers fulminate about those who will get eternal torture (what they deserve) because they weren’t baptized with the right amount of water at the right age by the ...
Counting the Cost
The Bible admonishes us to count the cost before we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, but once we've done that, we're to stop counting. What do we stop counting? For one, how good we are, but listen as Greg discusses other things the Bible teaches we no longer count.
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0254.mp3
4 Ways to be Successful in Religion
This tongue-in-cheek program suggests four things you can do to be successful in religion (as opposed to authentic Christianity). These four strategies are prominent in our religious world today. See if they don't ring a disturbingly familiar bell with you.
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0252.mp3
Are You a Believer? – by Greg Albrecht
Many Christians use the word believer as a short definition of their way of life and as a way of separating their practices and teachings from non-believers. Without further qualification, the term believer can be just one more in a long list of clichés and "in-house" terminology. After all, a believer might describe someone who believes in UFOs and aliens from outer space. A believer might describe someone who actually believes in the ghosts and goblins of Halloween. So the term believer begs for further definition, doesn't it? Belief in what or who? The answer may ...
CWR Video – “Our Calling” – by Ed Dunn
Short video on our Christian calling by Ed Dunn.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/100961552
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Politicizing the Gospel – Part #3 by Greg Albrecht
In PART 1 of “POLITICIZING THE GOSPEL” we considered the last 100 years of warfare and the way in which politics and religion often intermingle.
In PART 2 of “POLITICIZING THE GOSPEL” we specifically examined ways in which politics and religion are intermarried, particularly in the United States.
In this third and last installment, PART 3 OF “POLITICIZING THE GOSPEL” we will examine five stages in which religious violence can grow, while comparing it with the parallels to political violence.
In the wake of recent internal ...
Reflections Along the Jesus Way
October 26, 2024 - Quote for the Day:
“Many people are terrified of a God of wrath, the God they believe is just waiting for the opportunity to ‘take them out’ and ‘teach them a lesson.’ That ‘god’ is not the one, true God. That is the same ‘god’ humans believed in long before Jesus – a pagan god who is angry, vengeful, and delights in seeing people ‘get what’s coming to them.’ God has been and is horribly misunderstood. When Christ-less religion continues to proclaim that misunderstanding, it causes enormous grief. The one true God is ...
Finding a Perfect Church Pt 2 – If You Find It, Don’t Join
Greg talks in today's program about the visible and the invisible church. Just what are those? In this program important to every Christian, Greg talks about some of the hallmarks of a healthy church and gives some guidelines for finding one.
https://www.ptm.org/mp3/FreeDwnld/PTR0387.mp3