can you spot a real Christian?

In America--as, I suppose, in most other so-called "Western" societies, it can be a little challenging to discern who is, and who is not, a real Christian.  Just because someone may be modestly dressed--or happens to be wearing a cross necklace (as in the above image), should not be taken as a sign that he or she is a Christian.  But you might be surprised to learn just how far a lot of people are willing to go, to be immodestly dressed, but who still want to call themselves "Christians".  (Some images in this blog post are "edgy", but not pornographic.)

idolatry in the churches

Do you recognize the man in the above picture, that is to say, who he is supposed to represent?  Here's a hint: the thing he's swinging above his head is meant to be a whip.  No, it's not Indiana Jones.  And, no, he's not racing horses down the throughway of a Moroccan bazaar.  Here's another hint: he's swinging his whip AT PEOPLE--in the vestibule of a large, Middle Eastern church....

children of the Great Revival

1950s

2015

(least offensive image I could find)

I have seriously studied Revival for the past decade or so.  Yet, until I juxtaposed the two images, above, it never occurred to me that the people celebrating 'gay pride', in the bottom photo, are the children and grandchildren of those (shown in the top photo) who experienced one the greatest periods of Revival in history.  So I asked myself, How did a nation of churchgoers--many of whom experienced the Great Revival of the early 20th century, produce a generation of devils?  How did American culture degenerate so rapidly in the span of merely a couple of generations?

remodel, replace - or remove? (part I)

It sometimes happens that buildings become so dilapidated that they can no longer be renovated, but they must be entirely replaced or at least removed.  Through indifference - resulting in neglect and compromise, such buildings have been gradually surrendered to the relentless processes of decay.  Inexorably in every such case, rottenness penetrates beyond the facade and proceeds to eat away at the very core of a building's structural members.  At some point, reconstruction is no longer feasible, and what once was a serviceable building becomes not merely an eye-sore but henceforth it is an impediment to every possible use of the land it occupies.  So it appears, to me, to be the case with the Church - in America, at least.