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An essay on praise and worship
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Silencing the enemy is a very fitting title for this book. It is fitting because the author, Robert Gay, explains how God suppresses the devices of the adversary through the praise and worship of His people. Although the term “spiritual warfare” is not found in scripture, Paul expounds on the concept throughout the New Testament. He encourages the saints to “Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”. This scripture informs us that we are in a battle, a battle that has been raging since the beginning of time. It is not a battle that one can see with the naked eye. Nor is it a battle that is fought with natural weapons. It is a battle that is fought in the spirit world. Our methods of weaponry are not as the world uses. The arsenal God has supplied for us includes an array of artillery such as prayer, fasting, the Word of God and praise and worship. He eloquently points out that “God has given us weapons of praise that have power against principalities and the devil.” Who would believe that mere singing, shouting and clapping our hands could be used to overthrow an enemy. That’s the good part because all we are charged to do is sing praises to our God, He does the dirty work by thwarting the work of the adversary.
In His infinite wisdom, God ordained that “the weak things of the world would confound the mighty.” What may seem like foolishness to the natural man are the tools that God uses to accomplish His purpose in the Spiritual world. The writer explains that the mission God has given us is to destroy the works of the devil. We have that power when we raise our voices in song and praise to our God. In the Bible many wars were won by doing “foolish things”, King Jehosaphat...
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...and worship, especially when we are in the midst of a spiritual warfare. Satan wants to divert our attention away from God and onto ourselves. He has always been envious of the praise, adoration and honor and love that God receives from his church. Satan would rather that we sulk and pout instead of “forget about ourselves and concentrate on Him and worship Him”. I have found that this is one of the many the keys to gaining spiritual victory.
By “silencing the enemy” in our lives, we can remove strongholds that Satan has set up in our minds simply by singing the praises of God and walking in the spirit. As the writer wrote in the last half of his book it is time for the church to rise out of passivity and aggressively move out in the spirit “against the powers of hell”. It is time for Zion to awake out of it’s slumber and become the victorious church of God. .
... person, yet theirs remain unconquered. As we analyze Covington’s rhetoric, we can see the manifestation of an ethos that follows a strong ethic code, a powerful intellectual prowess, and a devoted righteousness towards the confusing, yet strong-willed worshipers of serpent handling. As Covington explains it, “There are moments when you stand on the brink of a new experience and understand that you have no choice about it. Either you walk into the experience or you turn away from it, but you know that no matter what you choose…there will be consequences” (2). For the followers of serpent handling, these experiences are always pursued. These consequences, such as broken windows, burning churches, murder allegations, or desperate pursuits of the Holy Ghost, all have laid the foundation for Covington’s argument, that no obstacle can conquer one’s religious devotion.
And while describing the fiery wrath of the “Angry God,” Edwards states, “The use of this awful subject may be for awakening unconverted persons in this congregation.” By focusing on this group of people, Edwards instills a sense of fear within the audience of “sinners.” 3) Edwards purpose in delivering this sermon was to inform “sinners” of the inevitable doom that He thus creates a sense of helplessness in his audience, and encourages them to submit to God and renew their faith in Christianity. His use of parallelism allows Edwards to exponentially build a sense of fear, and it is maintained throughout this sermon.
Society wants soldiers to believe that war is glorious. But it is not. Society wants soldiers to believe war is an adventure. But it is not. Society wants soldiers to believe that our enemy is the only enemy, that our cause is the only cause, that our people are the only people. But there are many enemies, many causes and many peoples. According to Paul, all these causes are equally ignoble, and none of these enemies are worthy of being slaughtered en masse. For Paul, as for many people, past, present, and future, war is simply unacceptable, and nothing can repair the damage it does.
Paul’s books symbolize the shadow of war that has been casted upon him through the horrid violence. Paul’s
Religion, by far, is one of the most dominant forces the human race has ever seen. It has influenced and continues to influence billions of people all over the world. It has driven some of the most beneficial cooperative humanitarian efforts and some of the most heinous acts of violence anybody can perpetuate on another human being. In his book, When Religion Becomes Evil, Dr. Charles Kimball explores the causes and slippery slopes that lead to these kinds of atrocious behaviors. Many of his points were incredibly well thought out and valid, but one repetitive phrase that Dr. Kimball used caught my attention: “authentic religion.” This one phrase contains so many troublesome presuppositions that it is impossible not to question.
By being one of God’s most illustrious angels, Satan proves his devotion towards God by serving him. He is so zealous that he desires to be God’s only second in command. Similarly, Satan’s dedication to God is like the Grand Inquisitor’s. The Grand Inquisitor served God as a follower and preacher of his word. “It’s long— eight centuries— since we have been on his side and not on Thine” (Dostoevsky, 238) The Grand Inquisitor, like the Church’s predecessors, followed God’s word and Jesus for a long time before they abandoned God an...
In Miguel A. De La Torre’s Liberation Theology for Armchair Theologians the subject of liberation theology was explored. De La Torre biblically expressed Liberation theology by using the main point of the poor being followers of God and God himself is the leader of the poor, who will not let them down. Besides De La Torre, using the underrepresented society as an example of how Liberation Theology works, he uses a world view which taps into different theologies such as Black Theology, U.S. Feminist Theologies, Hispanic Theologies and many more. Although De La Torre lists different theologies from different groups they all tie in together melting into the pot of Liberation Theology.
—. Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2013.
“…the primary response of God to the problem of evil. It states that the unification of the world with God’s plan for it will bring about the eventual conquest of suffering and evil, if not in this world, at least in the world to come.”
“A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.” Here is the classic English translation of the first two lines of Martin Luther's famous hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.“ Indeed, it is famous among Christians who unashamedly identify themselves with the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, which until today continually inspires them to appreciate their roots in the ancient paths (Jeremiah 6:16) of biblical Christianity over against that which is only built on man-made traditions.
In every society, there is a social ladder, and at the bottom of every ladder or totem pole is the poor. As I interpret Liberation Theology, is a belief system constructed for and around the poor, including the poor who were suffering within the Roman Catholic religion. If we take a look at the word liberation, it literally means the act of gaining (or trying to gain) rights for the oppressed (or poor) and poverty stricken. So Liberation Theology refers to the poor and the relationship they share with trying to find religious freedoms, rights, and social justice from those who oppose of them.
The devil is a supernatural being thought of by society and Christians as an entity of pure evil. Although there is no hard evidence proving the existence of the devil, there are certainly plenty of testimonials of people who have claimed to see Hell. So let’s hypothetically say that the devil is real. If this were the case, then that would mean that the horrifying testimonials are actually true, which may lead one to wonder why people even call themselves a Satanist to begin with. Contrary to what one might think, Satanists do not believe that the devil is something of pure evil, nor do they view him as an actual person. Satanists view the devil as an actual deity or force that is to be worshipped and given complete allegiance to. Surprisingly, people started claiming to have sold their souls to the devil before the existence of the first satanic church. Anton LaVay first established “The Church of Satan April 30th, 1966”, but this isn’t where the idea of selling ones souls came from (Barton 1). It wasn’t until the Christopher Marlow’s play, The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Dr. Faustus was performed that humanity was first introduced to the idea of selling their souls to the devil. Unfortunately, in the day and age we currently live in, many people interpret things in a very literal manner, which in turn can cause some of the horrifying, satanic events that we may hear about through the media. But in an attempt to assuage feelings of neglect, adolescents sometimes rebel and turn to faith as a source of comfort and stability when in essence a corrupt religion can become overpowering and controlling.
He knows that a faithful family is needed for the church to continue serving God. Satan knows that children are the present and the future of the church).
There has been a clash between secular thought and religion since its formation of societies in the classical age. Both have made an equal effect on the culture of each empire by influencing people to change their belief on the world. Major religions have made interactions, which affected some of their ideas for what they have become now. The major religions during the classical age are Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Daoism, and Zoroastrianism. These religions also have similarities and differences between each other in which it has involved them to what they've become. The major empires that have affected are Persia, India, China, Greece, and Rome. These empires' culture has influenced by religion to the extent where it has changed their lifestyle. Although secular thought has made a huge impact on the world, world religion has affected history since its reemergence of empires by exchanging culture of their ideas during the classical age.
... guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Whatever it is, God can help (“Bible”).