Brendon Naicker’s Post

What is Born Again Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and separately caused by the operation of the Holy Spirit, and it is not caused by baptism in water. It is a core doctrine of the denominations of the Anabaptist, Moravian, Methodist, Baptist, Plymouth https://lnkd.in/dD_3aMu4

I'm a professor at a Christian university who teaches several courses that intersect with spiritual formation. I also write periodically on this topic. I resonate with Trevin Wax in this essay, especially his argument that Generation Z is drawn to spiritual formation and closely related topics. I have seen this in my own students--both undergrads and graduate students--for the past decade or so. On the whole, I find it very encouraging--especially when spiritual formation is rooted in sound doctrine, closely tied to meaningful church involvement, and directed both "inward" toward spiritual maturity and "outward" toward missional faithfulness. https://lnkd.in/gkxt5dis

The birth of St John the Baptist can symbolize the first coming of Christ in the course of salvation history analogy. In the following article, it argues that the entire narrative of the pregnancies of Saint Elizabeth and mother mary, are an image of the entire divine plan as allegory, and it is amazing that everything correlates perfectly, not just in the theology of the events, but even in the particular numerical enumerations of the sub ages Toward this end, the birth of St John the Baptist, who is the ultimate culmination and precursor to the first coming of Christ, symbolizes that very first coming in Christ in the course of salvation history. This is also because, as it were, it takes 9 months for a pregnancy to last, and therefore it implies this since the St John the Baptist is born literally after 9 full months and it's right at the junction of the 10th month, The 10th month symbolizes the light of the first coming of Christ. Therefore, the first nine sub parts or a month, symbolize that nine subphases of Old Testament activity, must precede the coming of Christ. The 9 sub ages perfectly makes sense from theology. Here is the article that works them out In the following article, it argues that the entire narrative of the pregnancy is ends of Saint Elizabeth and mother mary, are an image of the entire divine plan as allegory, and it is amazing that everything correlates perfectly, not just in the theology of the events, but even in the particular numerical enumerations of the sub ages Toward this end, the birth of St John the Baptist, who is the ultimate culmination and precursor to the first coming of Christ, symbolizes that very first coming in Christ in the course of salvation history. This is also because, as it were, it takes 9 months for a pregnancy to last, and therefore it implies on this since the St John the Baptist is born literally after 9:00 full months and it's a precursor I mean at the junction of the 10th month, The 10th month symbolizes the light of the first coming of Christ. Therefore, the first nine sub parts or a month, symbolize that nine subfaces of Old Testament activity, must precede the coming of Christ. The 9 sub ages perfectly makes sense from theology. Here is the article that works them out https://lnkd.in/gXdDNWix

Testing the Categories that Scholars Use in Studying Early Christologies https://lnkd.in/e22D6Tvf

What is Born Again Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and separately caused by the operation of the Holy Spirit, and it is not caused by baptism in water. It is a core doctrine of the denominations of the Anabaptist, Moravian, Methodist, Baptist, Plymouth https://lnkd.in/eTkDJEuV #Articles

What is Born Again Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and separately caused by the operation of the Holy Spirit, and it is not caused by baptism in water. It is a core doctrine of the denominations of the Anabaptist, Moravian, Methodist, Baptist, Plymouth https://lnkd.in/eTkDJEuV #Articles

"Theological liberalism always comes later in the history of a movement, and it is normally associated with its decline. It is therefore a highly institutional manifestation of Christendom. As such it is deadly to apostolic forms of missional movement (The Forgotten Ways, pg. 283). In other words, both Christian nationalism and theological progressivism are based on Christendom assumptions of Church and are contradictory to the movemental forms we see in the New Testament. [...] My concern is that many Evangelicals worldwide believe they are engaging in contextualization, but instead, they are adopting an ecclesiology from the United States which is only a slight revision of the Christendom model. And as we witness the fraying end of America’s evangelical movement, it is important to be discerning of various ideologies lest they be imported into other contexts. If we fail to investigate our own theological assumptions, then we surrender the biblical narrative to various interests and agendas that do not put Jesus at the head of the Church."

ARE YOU BIBLICALLY ILLITERATE, And just don't realize it? (Please don't be offended - just read on) Article after article by various credible Christian sources, decry the crisis of Biblical illiteracy – within Christianity. News magazine, “Christianity Today”, calls it “An epidemic of Bible illiteracy”; A Biola University magazine calls it a crisis and says we are starving ourselves to death; a Gospel Coalition article call it spiritual malnourishment. Why is this considered a crisis? Take the remarks of world-renowned Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, for the best example. Dr. Peterson has said that the Bible is “way more than just true,” it's the bedrock of Western civilization. Peterson lamented that “the culture is dissolving” as he detailed his experience touring the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., and his reflections on society. Peterson has spoken more about Western civilization, characterizing “fundamental texts” as “the texts upon which most other texts depend.” He cited the work of William Shakespeare as one of several “texts that influenced more other texts” before identifying the Bible as the ultimate source of all “linguistic production.” “It isn’t that the Bible is true. It’s that the Bible is the precondition for the manifestation of truth, which makes it way more true than just true. It’s a whole different kind of truth. And I think this is not only literally the case. Factually, I think it can’t be any other way. It’s the only way we can solve the problem of perception.” THE ODD PART - Approximately 52 million “attend church” in one of the 300,000 plus churches in America, at least once a week each month, and most of these people go to church for some very good reasons. But, are they getting what they need, the way they need it? Please read on... https://lnkd.in/dHfi4Jet

Unlocking a global movement for singles! WEA Singles Initiative, led by Mark McLeod, is breaking new ground, addressing the needs of evangelical singles worldwide. From seminars on biblical theology in Sri Lanka to empowering events in the Philippines, we're fostering a paradigm that values and engages singles. Join the movement! https://lnkd.in/gr4p6Mt6 #WEASinglesInitiative #GlobalEmpowerment #SinglesUnite"

Christ in the Rubble. A Liturgy of Lament Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church Bethlehem, Saturday, December 23rd, 2023. We are angry… We are broken… This should have been a time of joy; instead, we are mourning. We are fearful. 20,000 killed. Thousands under the rubble still. Close to 9,000 children killed in the most brutal ways. Day after day after day. 1.9 million displaced! Hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed. Gaza as we know it no longer exists. This is an annihilation. A genocide. The world is watching; Churches are watching. Gazans are sending live images of their own execution. Maybe the world cares? But it goes on… We are asking, could this be our fate in Bethlehem? In Ramallah? In Jenin? Is this our destiny too? We are tormented by the silence of the world. Leaders of the so-called “free” lined up one after the other to give the green light for this genocide against a captive population. They gave the cover. Not only did they make sure to pay the bill in advance, they veiled the truth and context, providing political cover. And, yet another layer has been added: the theological cover with the Western Church stepping into the spotlight. The South African Church taught us the concept of “The state theology,” defined as “the theological justification of the status quo with its racism, capitalism and totalitarianism.” It does so by misusing theological concepts and biblical texts for its own political purposes. Here in Palestine, the Bible is weaponized against. Our very own sacred text. In our terminology in Palestine, we speak of the Empire. Here we confront the theology of the Empire. A disguise for superiority, supremacy, “chosenness,” and entitlement. It is sometimes given a nice cover using words like mission and evangelism, fulfillment of prophecy, and spreading freedom and liberty. The theology of the Empire becomes a powerful tool to mask oppression under the cloak of divine sanction. It divides people into “us” and “them.” It dehumanizes and demonizes. It speaks of land without people even when they know the land has people – and not just any people. It calls for emptying Gaza, just like it called the ethnic cleansing in 1948 “a divine miracle.” It calls for us Palestinians to go to Egypt, maybe Jordan, or why not just the sea? “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” they said of us. This is the theology of Empire. This war has confirmed to us that the world does not see us as equal. Maybe it is the color of our skin. Maybe it is because we are on the wrong side of the political equation. Even our kinship in Christ did not shield us. As they said, if it takes killing 100 Palestinians to get a single “Hamas militant” then so be it! We are not humans in their eyes. (But in God’s eyes… no one can tell us we are not!) Here is the full sermon 👇🏽#gaza #xmas https://lnkd.in/gdM-n96m