Yearly Archives: 2013

THE LIMITS OF PATRIOTISM

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QUESTION: I am becoming more and more pessimistic about the way things are going here in the United States. With ruinous economic policies, increasing governmental intrusion and control, and Supreme Court decisions supporting immoral behavior, I’m not sure what to do. I want to be a loyal American citizen and a Christian. Does this allow or require me to be in rebellion against my government? Should I continue to pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States? Should I stand when the national anthem is played? ANSWER: Such ambiguous feelings are nothing new. Christians have been asking these questions … Continue reading →

The Holy Spirit and Acts 8

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QUESTION: As Philip evangelized the Samaritans, many believed and were baptized (Acts 8:12). But verses 15-17 seem to say that the converts did not receive the Holy Spirit at their baptism, but rather when apostles from Jerusalem came and laid hands on them. Other texts also separate the receiving of the Spirit from baptism (e.g., Acts 10:44-48). How can we explain this, especially in light of Acts 2:38? ANSWER: All Zwinglians—those who separate baptism from salvation—love to call attention to such data from the book of Acts. They believe that the data show that there is no appointed connection between … Continue reading →

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS IN JAMES 5:13-20

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QUESTION: How do you reconcile James 5:13-20 with your explanation of 1 John 1:9? You have said that the latter does not mean that confession of a Christian’s specific sins is a condition for their being forgiven. But James 5:14-16 seems to say that confession of sins and prayer are necessary for forgiveness. How do you explain this? ANSWER: In this passage James says (5:14) that a Christian who is sick should call for the elders, and that the elders should come and pray for the sick person’s healing, while applying oil to that person for medicinal purposes, as in … Continue reading →

Video of Jack on Gender Roles

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Extras! Recently Jack had three post on Gender roles/women in the church. GALATIANS 3:28 AND GENDER ROLES Posted on May 11, 2013 by Jack Cottrell MAY WOMEN PREACH IF THE ELDERS AUTHORIZE IT? Posted on May 10, 2013 by Jack Cottrell HOW FEMINISM INVADED THE CHURCH Posted on May 8, 2013 by Jack Cottrell Here is a video on the same topic: Bluegrass Bible Conference 2012 The World’s View vs the Word’s View: Gender Roles in the Home and Church by Jack Cottrell Video is 1 hour long.  

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GALATIANS 3:28 AND GENDER ROLES

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Sincere Christians have serious differences regarding the role of women in church leadership. The egalitarian (or feminist) approach begins with the assumption that God’s original creation purpose was for gender to be irrelevant with respect to leadership roles in both the home and the church. One effect of Adam’s sin was to replace this equality with a hierarchical relationship where only men may exercise authority and where women must be in roles of submission. This is considered to be a part of the curse imposed upon the human race in Genesis 3. One counter-effect of the work of Christ, however, … Continue reading →

MAY WOMEN PREACH IF THE ELDERS AUTHORIZE IT?

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It seems that more and more folks in the Restoration Movement (and elsewhere) are finding themselves comfortable with “women preachers,” or women teaching Christian doctrine to Christian men. An example (one among many) is the recent article in Christian Standard by Brian Mavis, “Women Preaching” (April 2013, pp. 53-54). Two Christian college professors of preaching are quoted as defending the practice. A professor from Ozark Christian College says the key issue is the difference between the act of preaching, and the role of preacher. The act of preaching (he says) is just proclaiming and teaching the gospel, but the role … Continue reading →

HOW FEMINISM INVADED THE CHURCH

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I first took serious notice of how feminism (also called egalitarianism) was invading the church in the later 1980s. For the next five years I devoted most of my research and writing to this subject. After a couple of years of concentrated research I concluded that the biggest problem in this area was in the area of hermeneutics. In a nutshell, I was convinced that feminist conclusions could be drawn from the Bible only by ignoring the basic rules of hermeneutics when interpreting the key gender passages. In 1990 I began to write my analysis of the feminist phenomenon. My … Continue reading →

APPLAUDING AND ABETTING EVIL

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Almost everyone will have heard by now of the recent announcement by Jason Collins, an otherwise unheralded pro basketball player, that he is “gay” (i.e., homosexual). This has made him famous; he has become the darling of the media. Many have noted the contrast between the way the media have treated Tim Tebow and the way they are treating Collins. One political cartoon has Tebow saying, “I’m a Christian,” and the media guy responding, “Keep it to yourself.” Then the cartoon has Collins saying, “I’m gay,” and the media guy gushing, “My hero!” This whole tawdry episode has reminded me … Continue reading →

CAN ONE BE “SPIRITUALLY ALIVE” WITHOUT BAPTISM? (PART TWO)

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CAN ONE BE “SPIRITUALLY ALIVE” WITHOUT BAPTISM? (PART TWO) by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 8:49am In part one we began discussing this question: If baptism results in death to sin and rebirth to new spiritual life, then (1) why do some unimmersed people seem to exhibit this new life and new lifestyle; and (2) why do some immersed believers not do a very good job of living a committed life? The “new lifestyle” that follows conversion is what we usually call “sanctification,” or the lifelong process of becoming more and more holy as God is … Continue reading →