The online Telegraph for 19th November reports that "religious people are better neighbours than their non-religious counterparts. By this they mean they are more likely to volunteer to help out those less fortunate than themselves, as well as give to charity."
The statistics are quite overwhelming. It seems religion promotes community and community awareness promotes social responsibility. In the biblical gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John, Jesus uses again and again the term 'Kingdom' to describe what he is inaugurating. Interestingly the word 'church' is only rarely on his lips. Jesus was more interested in the lifestyle of God's community; his Kingdom, than in the gathering of people in worship at set times. It is not that the bible says church is not important, it clearly is, but community lifestyle; the LIFE of discipleship is far more important than simply focusing on where and when we meet on a Sunday. It is this community that gives rise to the statistics that we see referred to in the on-line Telegraph. To be fair, the article is referring to all religion, not simply Christianity. But I would argue that scripture teaches us that such community is seen at its best where Christ is found at its centre.
The on-line Telegraph heads its article with the line: "Religious people are much nicer than atheists". I always think' nice' is such a bland and insipid word. For example 'nice' hardly sums up the character of the Christian Pakistani mother Asia Bibi who has just been been sentenced to death for being a Christian!
At my church I am constantly overwhelmed by the generosity of both finances and time that the church family give to various activities and projects. Even the recession has not dented their passion to sacrificially give. Nice people? It goes beyond that. Church is not simply a gathering of religious people. The true church is the place where Christ incarnationally dwells in the lives and activities of his people. Nice? I find 'awesome' a more appropriate phrase.
The statistics are quite overwhelming. It seems religion promotes community and community awareness promotes social responsibility. In the biblical gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John, Jesus uses again and again the term 'Kingdom' to describe what he is inaugurating. Interestingly the word 'church' is only rarely on his lips. Jesus was more interested in the lifestyle of God's community; his Kingdom, than in the gathering of people in worship at set times. It is not that the bible says church is not important, it clearly is, but community lifestyle; the LIFE of discipleship is far more important than simply focusing on where and when we meet on a Sunday. It is this community that gives rise to the statistics that we see referred to in the on-line Telegraph. To be fair, the article is referring to all religion, not simply Christianity. But I would argue that scripture teaches us that such community is seen at its best where Christ is found at its centre.
The on-line Telegraph heads its article with the line: "Religious people are much nicer than atheists". I always think' nice' is such a bland and insipid word. For example 'nice' hardly sums up the character of the Christian Pakistani mother Asia Bibi who has just been been sentenced to death for being a Christian!
At my church I am constantly overwhelmed by the generosity of both finances and time that the church family give to various activities and projects. Even the recession has not dented their passion to sacrificially give. Nice people? It goes beyond that. Church is not simply a gathering of religious people. The true church is the place where Christ incarnationally dwells in the lives and activities of his people. Nice? I find 'awesome' a more appropriate phrase.
