Tag Archives: Jesus

Jesus is…

Posted by Caleb Coy on

Sunday night during a Bible study with some saints in Blacksburg, we discussed the nature of the kingdoms of the world and the kingdom of God in accordance with a theme one of our ministry leaders, Frank Sullivan, has been carrying us forward on: The Real Jesus.  On this night he brought up four things about Jesus we teach in particular that we must confront both the world and ourselves with:

  1. Jesus is God
  2. Jesus allowed people to choose to follow him by responding to testimony.
  3. Jesus is a man (not that he is still walking the earth, but that he came in the flesh and that experience is in his “memory” today and he lives in his saints, who themselves live in fleshly bodies, today)
  4. Jesus came to show us God.
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Gleanings from Clement of Corinth

Posted by Caleb Coy on

The Letter of Clement to the Christians in Corinth is probably the earliest Christian writing we have outside of the Gospel canon.  The letter mainly dealt with a scandal in which shepherds (aka elders, bishops, presbyters) had been tossed out by a younger generation without good reason.  It’s a well-known letter to Christians today, but it gives us a great insight into early Christian history and culture.  Here are some gleanings from the letter:
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Jesus Loves You & Pure Religion Too: A Response to Jeff Bethke

Posted by Caleb Coy on

Around this time year ago I was one of many people who grew interested in a thoughtful and poignant video poem posted by Jeff Bethke, and responded to the discussion in like fashion with a video poem.

Here is Bethke’s poem, “Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus”

Here is the video poem I posted in response, “Jesus Loves You (and Pure Religion Too)”

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If Hitler was a Christian, I’m the Queen of England

Posted by Caleb Coy on

Occasionally you’ll bump into someone who is convinced that the Holocaust was a result of Christianity.

Now, I could dismiss this and laugh it off (no pearls before the swine). But then you would never know if it was true, and if you were searching for reasons to abandon your Christian belief then my reaction would seem cowardly. So let us discuss the matter.

Was Adolf Hitler a Christian? And, if so, is Christianity to blame for the Holocaust?
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_Blue Like Jazz_: the Book, the Film, the Thoughts

Posted by Caleb Coy on

“I used to not like God because God didn’t resolve. But that was before any of this happened…Jazz is like life because it doesn’t resolve. But what if we’re not alone? What if all these stars are notes on a page of music swirling in the blue like jazz?”

I came across Donald Miller as a group at my church were studying his memoir, and then as my brother introduced me to him.  Donald Miller’s memoir of reflective essays, Blue Like Jazz: Non-Religious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality, is a book that is refreshingly honest, complexly painful, and creatively provocative.  It successfully reaches both Christians and non-Christians as an audience.
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10 (New Year’s) Resolutions for Responding to Violent Tragedy

Posted by Caleb Coy on

After a tragedy, sometimes people ask “where was God in this?”  Sometimes I want to ask “where is God in your response?” and, more importantly, “what kind of God is in your response?”

Can we agree to a verbal armistice? Let’s pretend that bad memes and misuse of statistics are like using nerve gas and Agent Orange.  Be the bigger one and stop using it, demonstrating that not-using-it-ness to those who disagree with you.  Come on, I know you can do it.
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The War on Christmas is Getting Worrrssssssse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Caleb Coy on

THE WAR ON CHRISTMAS IS GETTING WORSE AND WORSE!!!

This year, the war on Christmas is getting so bad,

In the interest of shopping for Christmas because the nation couldn’t wait to begin, Black Friday was moved back to Thursday, taking over Thanksgiving!

The war on Christmas is getting so bad,

A Christmas Story and hundreds of other TV Christmas specials will be playing on several major and minor channels!

The war on Christmas is getting so bad,

they’re placing a gigantic huge Christmas tree in the middle of Times Square, New York!

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Electing Faithfulness Part 7: Consult Your Doctor—The Health Care Issue

Posted by Caleb Coy on

[back to part 6: Abortion]

“Consult Your Doctor”
or
“Big Bandaids and What To Do with Them”
or
“Man, do we have to talk about healthcare again?”

When the new Health Care bill was passed this past summer, I offered thoughts on that that you can view at the post: Big Bandaid.  Rather than revisit the entire post, I’ll recap some of the major points:

The teachings of the Christ are for us to take care of the poor and needy, and this combined with his miraculous healings stresses the importance of looking after the medical wellness of others (among the other things the miracles did, of course).  The examples of giving and caring shown by Christ and his followers in the New Testament demonstrate that the optimum way to do this is by individuals and communities actively caring for the “orphans and widows,” those society neglects.
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