Some very Good responses so far....
Psalm 27:1, I Pmed You.
Knowledge 1922, I have a question, you stated:
Quote:
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Koss28: Christians do not just merely "intrepret the Bible" We follow and adhere to the Spirit. And there is no confusion in the Spirit
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I was wondering, could you elaborate on this a little bit more. I would wonder how you would reconcile scriptures talking about the authority of women in the church, the whole book of Revelation, and Paul and Peter's debate about the Jewish Law in Acts without "mere interpretation". Who's to say that the spirit is not revealing understanding (interpretation). ? Also, How do we account for so many doctrinal and denominational differences about the nature/purpose of the spiritual gifts, the predestination doctrine, and even the doctrine of salvation if we as Christians are interpreting the Bible differently, from the same "spirit"? Why would the same spirit give different interpretations to different people? And if He doesn't, which interpretation is the interpretation from the "Spirit" and how can we prove this?
And Now back to our topic....
I really liked the brother's testimony about what he does with his fraternal affiliation. It is similar to a response I gave to a Man who renounced Phi Beta Sigma for religious reasons. I never find anywhere in the Bible where we as Christians are charged to only associate with other Christians, and if you are not Christian, how can we reach you without building a relationship with you that will allow you to see the love of Christ "fleshed out" in your life unless we are at where you are at? This is why Jesus hung out with people whom the Jews thought were unseemly, because he wanted to show the Jews that we are all a universally fallen people, who all need God's redemption, which is for ALL, not some, but ALL. I think the most powerful ministers are those individuals who live Godly lives on the Job, at school, DURING THE FRATERNAL GATHERINGS, etc, and not necessarily Eddie Long or T.D. Jakes, who can only reach so many people. But if we as individual Christians just let our light shine so to speak where ever we are at, I think that is the most power ministry the body of Christ has.
Yes the fraternity is not a para-church org, championing the cause for Christ per se, but in its attempt to be the "school for the beter making of men", it brings up the notion of morality and righteousness, and therefore the possibility for questioning these ideals. And for that alone I see the possibilities for Alpha Phi Alpha to be limitless as far as developing true brotherhood.
Just my '06 sense worth.
Blackwatch!!!