The Marketing Of Christianity

I am not emphasizing excuses why not to feed the masses. I am emphasizing valid reasons to pray. When Jesus told Peter to "feed my sheep" He was not simply talking about food. My point is that by following Jesus you imitate all that Jesus did. How often do we see Jesus praying?

Again, that is not what the Bible says. Have you ever read the Bible?

Have you?Consider this:

quote:

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Question: "Why did Jesus tell Peter to 'feed my sheep' in John 21?"

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Answer: Jesus gave Peter a three-fold command to feed my sheep in John 21:15-17. Each time Jesus said, Feed my sheep, it was in response to Peter’s three-fold declaration of love for Jesus. The setting was one of the last of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances to His disciples on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus prepared a breakfast of fish and bread for them, and then commissioned Peter with the task of feeding His sheep and tending His lambs.

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The three commands, although often translated the same way, are subtly different. The first time Jesus says it, the Greek means literally pasture (tend) the lambs (v. 15). The Greek word for pasture is in the present tense, denoting a continual action of tending, feeding and caring for animals. Believers are referred to as sheep throughout Scripture. For he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care (Psalm 95:7). Jesus is both our Good Shepherd (John 10:11) and the Door of the sheepfold (John 10:9). By describing His people as lambs, He is emphasizing their nature as immature and vulnerable and in need of tending and care.

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The second time, the literal meaning is tend My sheep (v. 16). In this exchange, Jesus was emphasizing tending the sheep in a supervisory capacity, not only feeding but ruling over them. This expresses the full scope of pastoral oversight, both in Peter’s future and in all those who would follow him in pastoral ministry. Peter follows Jesus’ example and repeats this same Greek word poimaino in his first pastoral letter to the elders of the churches of Asia Minor: Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers (1 Peter 5:2).

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The third time, the literal translation is pasture (tend) the sheep (v. 17). Here Jesus combines the different Greek words to make clear the job of the shepherd of the flock of God. They are to tend, care for, and provide spiritual food for God’s people, from the youngest lambs to the full-grown sheep, in continual action to nourish and care for their souls, bringing them into the fullness of spiritual maturity. The totality of the task set before Peter, and all shepherds, is made clear by Jesus’ three-fold command and the words He chooses.

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Edited by Phat, : No reason given.

Many, many, many times.A Jesus did not say Pete, feed them platitudes and dogma.

Lets try the OT: What makes you think that Jesus only thought of natural food?

In case you were unaware Deuteronomy has little to do with Jesus and in fact Jesus also specifically repudiated much that was required in the Old Testament. The issue is not about what Deuteronomy says but rather what Jesus is alleged to have said.

see message 198

What apologists say has little to do with what Jesus said.

I consider myself responsible for how I use the time, whoever "owns" it. Of course. It's a little disturbing that you would even ask.Remember Matthew 25? I think it's been mentioned at EvC before. Jesus said we'll all be judged for feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the prisoners, etc. - not praying for them. Praying when you should be doing comes dangerously close to mouthing, "Lord! Lord!" Better re-think that analogy. You're advocating turning customers away while you have a staff meeting. You're pretending to "strengthen yourself" while you're defeating your own purpose.

All I'm saying--again-and yes we have gone over this before-is that a Christian is called to do more than to simply be a worker bee that feeds and clothes people. Anybody can do that. We do that. My point is that we are called to do more than that.Our purpose is more than just providing physical needs..Edited by Phat, : No reason given.

What is this more that is more than comforting the sorrowful, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, clothing the naked?

How does one comfort the sorrowful? People who have lost loved ones due to death? People who are themselves about to die. I firmly believe that we are called to offer them a Blessed Hope. To be Jesus Christ to them. To offer hope beyond this life as well as hope in this life. If you simply tell them that Jesus is not alive, you may be factually correct in that we do not know, but you are not representing Christianity well at all. The evidence tells us that Jesus is no longer alive and that His death was not as important as some Christians suggest. This is wrong.As for feeding the hungry, I again emphasize that merely giving a man a paper bag from the food bank will not do much for them spiritually--apart from making them physically full for the moment. Jesus expected us to provide spiritual nourishment as well as physical nourishment.healing the sick is so much more than ER. Healing the sick is more than band-aids, Chicken soup, and Proper medicine. There is a mental/spiritual component here as well.I will give you that clothing the naked is fairly straight forward. Symbolically, however, I would assert that clothing them with righteousness is an added dimension.You might call it recruiting...and may disagree with the practice, as most good Jews do. I would argue, however, that knowing Jesus is good for everybody on the planet.What do people think about once they have met you? Do they see an old man that is honest yet cusses and makes jokes about getting laid? Do they see an old Eisenhower Republican who is well versed in logic and critical thinking? Do they see a good scholar who was too arrogant for college? A lover of pens? A contrarian who hangs out at EvC and outposts all of us?This same argument can be used at me. What do people see when they read my posts?When we comfort the sorrowful, feed the hungry, heal(or tend to) the sick,and clothe the naked WHOM do we represent? Edited by Phat, : No reason given.

Well Phat, you can feed them, hand them tissues, help them handle the day to day issues that such events entail, most of all shut up and listen to them and throw away all the platitudes. If they want something else they will ask for it. Again, that is not what Jesus said according to the stories. What people think of me, if they think of me at all which is unlikely, is irrelevant. The goal is not to collect friends or likes or emojis. Knowing Jesus is one of those empty bumper sticker catch phrases used in marketing to avoid honesty and difficult questions. Hopefully we represent love and concern and empathy; GOD perhaps, but not Jesus or Muhammad or Buddha or Ganesha or Turtle. We represent help and support. And I would say that clothing them with righteousness is a worthless joke and a con game.

Sorry to butt in. I just wanted to add that I agree, but also in that there was no awareness that they had done those things for/to Jesus. They simply did them because that's where there hearts were, and not because they were thinking about some future benefit from God.

And in fact the goats were just the opposite, those who HAD done for Jesus, his followers, his disciples.The message is that GOD and Jesus really don't need any help, it is humans and animals and plants and the environment we are charged to do for.