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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths …

Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths …. Other faiths and ideologies to be discussed in this series will include… Cultural Christianity Agnostics/Humanists Wicca Universalism New Age/Hindu Judaism Jehovah’s Witness Mormonism Buddhism Islam.

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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths …

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  1. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… Other faiths and ideologies to be discussed in this series will include… Cultural Christianity Agnostics/Humanists Wicca Universalism New Age/Hindu Judaism Jehovah’s Witness Mormonism Buddhism Islam

  2. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… • Today, we will explore: • Wicca • Universalism

  3. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… We must be prayerful in sharing the gospel…we MUST NOT depend on our own strength, but on the power of the Holy Spirit… “I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of salvation…” Rom 1:16 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses…” Acts 1:8

  4. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… • Essentials: • We have all done wrong in God’s eyes…Rom3:23 • This wrong doing separates us from God forever…Rom 6:23 • God sent His Son Jesus to take our punishment…Rom 5:8

  5. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… • Essentials: • Turn away from doing wrong as a way of life…Acts 2:38 • Confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord…believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Rom 10:9

  6. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… The main thing to remember in sharing your faith… in the power of the Holy Spirit, you have to SHARE the plan of salvation…

  7. “…there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father, but by me.” John 14:6

  8. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… If they reject the message, do not stop being their friend or loving them…

  9. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… • Wicca

  10. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… Wicca is one of the fastest growing cultic movements not only in North America, but also in Western North Carolina; especially among teenage girls. In North America, there are somewhere between 250,000 and 5 million adherents!

  11. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… In Asheville area, there are over 300 known adherents to Wicca and brag of having several covens; however, these are very vocal in their practice and occasionally makes the news headlines…

  12. Please show up at Asheville City Hall on August 2 at 7 PM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASELocal Witches to Publicly Spell to Save Asheville's Magnolia Tree Asheville, NC — Spiritual activist group Coven Oldenwilde has issued an open call for area Nature-lovers, Pagans, and Wiccans to join them in publicly casting magic spells to stop a developer from destroying… the majestic Magnolia tree in front of City Hall. (from Asheville Citizen Times, July 28, 2007)

  13. Major Wicca beliefs: • practices rituals that revolve around the cycles of nature and “magick” • Spells and hexes • Divination using astrology, numerology, palm reading, tarot cards Taken from 4truth.net January 26, 2009

  14. Wicca beliefs: • Do not believe in Satan, (claims he was invented by the early church) • Belief in male and female deities • Blends beliefs from New Age such as animism, pantheism, polytheism

  15. Animism: belief that everything, even inanimate objects, wind rain, even rocks, have a soul or spirit. Pantheism: belief that everything is divine…deity as one with nature…humans are also divine. Polytheism: belief that there is more than one god.

  16. Prudence Jones, a pagan writer, says they are “…polytheistic, recognizing a plurality of divine beings…” …at some point, they no longer have control over the forces which they call upon, but rather, they themselves ends up being controlled by them!

  17. The Christian response to this is to first acknowledge that Wicca and other practices of the occult are wicked and demonic… …demons are REAL and should NOT be UNDERESTIMATED

  18. Even though the Wiccans claim not to believe in Satan, the real power behind their practices is Satan himself…we need to be aware of this as REAL

  19. Ephesians 6:12, 14-17 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms…

  20. Therefore put on the full armor of God… • Belt of truth • Breastplate of righteousness • Shoes of the gospel • Shield of faith • Helmet of salvation • Word of God, the sword of the Spirit”

  21. …They practice divination and sorcery and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, provoking him to anger.” 2 Kings 17:17

  22. So how should a Christian respond? We need to understand and respect where those who practice Wicca are coming from… (this does not mean we need to agree with them!)

  23. “…they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator. Romans 1:15

  24. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… Once again, many that go into Wicca have been treated badly early on in church history… …are Wiccans treated any better by the church today?

  25. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… Prior to speaking with Wiccans concerning the gospel… PRAYERFULLY ask for wisdom in approaching Wiccans with the gospel…ask the Holy Spirit to soften their hearts to accept the gospel message.

  26. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… How do we reach Wiccans with the gospel? Talk with things they may know…one resource suggests using “Chronicles of Narnia” to start discussions… Do not be so quick to tell them of their lostness and the coming wrath of God…as true as this is, this may close future opportunities in sharing the gospel message with them…

  27. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… • Ask, “Do you consider yourself spiritual?”(Be prepared for the answer!) • Tell me about your spirituality… • (Don’t forget to really listen!) • Can I tell you about my spirituality?

  28. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… Share Psalm 8:3-4 with them… “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?”

  29. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… Share your personal testimony. Make it NO longer than 2 minutes!!

  30. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… Remember, we cannot debate them to Christ!

  31. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… Most are hostile to Christianity, especially efforts to evangelize to them…ask questions to make connections; don’t be argumentative.

  32. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… Above all, again, rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to guide you and to change the heart of the person you are speaking… Remember, God is in the business of miracles…trust Him

  33. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… • Universalism

  34. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… • Membership in the Unitarian Universalist: > 200,000 people, (67% are women, with a large section of both male and female being gay) • Started around 250AD by Arius, who taught Jesus was created rather than being eternal and equal to the Father. • Have become really liberal in the 20th Century abandoning any claim to biblical authority and even debated the very existence of God.

  35. Quoting from the www.uua.org website, “Unitarian Universalism” defines themselves as: A caring, open-minded religion that encourages you to seek your own spiritual path. Our Faith draws on many religious traditions, welcoming people with different beliefs.

  36. (cont.) …We are united by shared values, not by creed or dogma. Our congregations are places where people gather to nurture their spirits and put their faith into action by helping to make our communities—and the world—a better place.

  37. (It) is a liberal religion that encompasses many faith traditions… Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Pagans, Atheists, Agnostics, Humanists, and others… Unitarian Universalists are free to search for truth on many paths.

  38. To quote the Rev. Marta Flanagan, "We uphold the free search for truth. We will not be bound by a statement of belief... Although we uphold shared principles, (we) have varied beliefs about everything from scripture to rituals to God.

  39. Evangelical Christianity is exclusive at its core…Jesus Christ is the only Savior; there is NO salvation apart from Jesus. • However, there are two main thoughts of Universalism: • Inclusivism • Pluralism

  40. Inclusivism: • Agree that you must be in Jesus, (afterall he died for all), but if people all over the world are doing the best they can in their condition and labored in their faith then God will let them in heaven. • Pluralism: • Believe Jesus is not at all necessary for salvation and that other gods are legitimate for salvation too.

  41. These are growing concerns in our country: “Do you really believe that the sincere Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist will not be in heaven?”: Bailey Smith, past President of SBC said that ‘God does not hear the prayer of a Jew,’ (outside of Christ)…received lots of critical press for that remark… Vatican II in 1965, the belief statement of Roman Catholicism opened the door to “inclusivism” worldwide

  42. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… The philosophy of Universalism occurs not only in this organization, but also is RAMPANT among many mainline denominations today!!

  43. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… Leaders in the Universalist “movement…icons such as…

  44. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… When popular icons such as these say reckless things regarding the universality of salvation, many people will unfortunately gravitate to what they are saying…

  45. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… USA Today reports… Most American religious believers, including most Christians, say eternal life is not exclusively for those who accept Christ…this includes an overall majority who attend church regularly also said many religions can lead to eternal life.

  46. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… USA Today reports… Al Mohler, President of SBTS says, “We are in an age when we want to tell everyone they are doing just fine. It’s extremely uncomfortable to turn to someone and say, ‘You will go to hell unless you come to a saving knowledge of Jesus…”

  47. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… USA Today reports… Jimmy Carter stated once again his belief that there is salvation outside of faith in Christ, …suggesting openly that all persons will be saved…

  48. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… We have to remember that the Bible is very clear that not all persons will be saved… “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.” Matthew 7:13

  49. Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths… Prominent “Unitarians” include: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Louisa May Alcott, Adlai Stevenson, Paul Newman, Carl Sandburg

  50. Witnessing to Universalists: • Be sure of your own faith and the Bible. Stay Prayerful and let the Holy Spirit give you discernment. • Inquire about their faith and beliefs…e.g. “Who is Jesus Christ in your opinion?” LISTEN! • Stay focused on the essentials • Do not argue

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