The Cross & Icon blog

Initial post

Welcome to The Cross & Icon blog.

We hope that you will find the discussions here interesting and informative.

It is our hope that a spirit of Christian love can be recognized by all who partisipate as well as those that just sit on the sideline and watch.

There are no rules other than the above and it is our hope that there will not have to be any.

After you have looked around here please take some time and look at the parent domains to this blog.

They are:

The Wood Cross

and

The Icon Site

Thanks for visiting and come back soon.

Warren Bensinger

December 02 2008 | Christian | No Comments »

What in the Bible do you find issue with, besides the things that take faith to believe?

Besides things such as the many miracles recorded (both OT and NT), what do you find issue with in the Bible? Can you point out specific Scripture and why?

The hate, intolerance, and killing come to mind.

July 03 2009 | Bible | 15 Comments »

Why is there a perception that the more Orthodox a religion is, the less involved women are?

If you are Orthodox, of any religious background, what is your view?

I guess I qualify, if Theravada Buddhism could be considered orthodox… I think it is just the modern mindset that traditional roles of women are subordinate and oppressive, when they really are not. Each served a vital role in the survival of the family unit and the community. In fact, anthropologists are now calling first man "gatherer hunters" instead of "hunter gatherers" because it was actually the gathering of food by women that kept people fed. The food acquired by hunting expended about the same amount of calories gained by the hunt, so the ratio was 1:1. Gathering on the other hand, took significantly less calories to do than it collected in food. From there, the role of women evolved as agriculture and industry found their ways into man’s life. These roles also adapted to religious beliefs and practices.

July 03 2009 | 7 | 5 Comments »

By American Protestant Christian doctrine, would the development and use of youth drugs be good or bad?

If medical drugs or treatments could rejuvenate you, give you more than the Bible’s "three score and ten" years of life, what would Christian views on the procedures be?

Would a healthy, active lifespan of up to, say 150 years, be a sin, putting off the time when you "meet Jesus"? An abomination? Would the doctors who performed any such procedure be considered to be "tampering with the works of God"?

Or would it be considered just an extension of medicine, like a hernia operation or blood pressure pills?
I cant believe no real answers. This stinks.
I cant believe no real answers. This stinks.

I have asked a similar question re: organ transplants…and been met with a deafening silence from the Fundies.

Which I take to mean they’d jump at it…even though it is pioneered and carried out by evil science types who believe in evolution.lol

But the few believers who responded actually had the gall to say that they saw no link between medical science and the "bad scientists"…and that God had given doctors the power to save lives…I guess he’s busy these days starting culture wars and needed to outsource the miracles!!
roflmfao!!

July 03 2009 | Christian | 3 Comments »

Can anyone attempt to convert me to Christianity without quoting the bible?

Basing all your arguments on one book is rather silly.
Any instances where Christianity helped mankind, any proof things said in the Bible happened, why it is better than other religions, etc.

Many Christians base all arguments on one book because according to that book everything in the book is true. It seems ridiculous to a non-Christian and when you think about it, it is. But Christianity is a faith-based religion - rather, it’s not even a religion. Many Christians consider it a "relationship" with God. One man who converted himself to Christianity, Lee Strobel, wrote "The Case for Christ." He set out to disprove the Bible but in the end, proved his own theory wrong and help put facts behind what the Bible claims. I highly recommend you read a summary or actually read it if you want facts rather than Bible quotes. In a paraphrase of what my friend said… Christianity is better than other religions because it takes the work out of being religious. Rather than trying to meet expectations and fulfill requirements to get to "God," Jesus acts as a middle man and carries us to God if we simply ask for him to do so. So really, Christianity is the best religion because it is the easiest. You don’t have to try to be a good person. You just have to ask for Jesus’ help in getting to God and/or heaven.

Hope that helps and/or that you read it all, haha.

July 01 2009 | Bible | 14 Comments »

What is an Evangelical Christian? and What does the term Evangelical Christian mean?

Maybe you guys can help my friend on I work this out. He says that the term Evangelical Christian is a station such as pastor or missionary in protestant churches. I have always thought the term Evangelical Christian had something to do with someone denomination. (Like saying someone is a fundamentalist)

So What does the term Evangelical Christian mean?
Thanks

Is Evangelical there title in their church or is it a denomination.

Evangelical Christian means a Christian who believes in sharing their faith (evangelism.) Christ commanded us to witness to others.

July 01 2009 | Christian | 8 Comments »

What Books of the Bible are the best for beginners/new Christians to read?

I am an agnostic and I recently decided to start reading the Bible, just because. I'm really loving it so far (I'm reading NLT).

What are the best Books of the Bible for new Christians or beginners to Bible study? Which ones sort of "sum up" the stories or teachings in a concise and readable fashion? Which are the most important ones for understanding the message of the Bible? What would you say are the "best of" the Old and New Testaments? Any special recommendations?

How do you usually read a book? Start at the beginning, and finish at the end. This is why so many people have such a hard time understanding the Bible, they abandon all of what they learned about reading in school.

1) Read the Bible from beginning to end, just like you learned how to do with other books in school.

2) Takes notes so that you can identify the literary elements of the Bible, such as the plot, the inciting force, the conflict, the climax, and the resolution, just like you learned how to do with other books in school.

There are no "best books". The Bible is a bunch of different books, but they're arranged so that they give an historical account of God's interaction with the Israelites. There are a couple books that are basically repeats of each other, but other than that you can't skip books or you will be missing parts of the story. If you're really trying to understand what the Bible says, then read the whole thing. Shortcuts are for traveling, not for studying.

June 29 2009 | Bible | 16 Comments »

Why is it that many of the Catholic priests are either gays or pedophile and protestant pastors are playboys?

There is this pesky perennial allegations that the priests are fond of the younger boys very few are interested in the opposite sex where as the protestant pastors are either playboys or prone to committing adulterous acts which is contrary to both Biblical or Catholic dogma.

Sexual abuse by Christian clergy is a problem of huge proportions. The only thing good about this problem is that is that it is exposed and many churches and denominations besides the Catholic Church are acknowledging their problem and discussing and implementing strategies to overcome the problem.

There have been over eight hundred priests removed because of allegations and/or suspicion of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Studies have shown that the statistics are 1.5% to 4% of priests have been involved in some kind of sexual abuse. There have been only two Protestant groups who have done studies that I know of, which are the Southern Baptists and the Church of Christ. Among Baptist clergy the figure is about 14% and among the clergy in the Church of Christ it is higher but has not been released publicly. Most groups are afraid of studies and it appears that around 15% may be average among all Christian groups. One thing that is very clear is that no Christian group is handling this problem very well and most are in denial and involved in various degrees of cover-up. One of the instances I am aware of is the Church of God denomination in Cleveland, Tennessee who had a bishop arrested for child sexual abuse (22 counts, if I recall correctly) and almost immediately, all references of him were removed in their website and the church denied even knowing him. One must also keep in mind that until fairly recently the psychiatric community believed that pedophiles could be treated and cured. Many churches including the Catholic Church treated the clergy and trusted the psychiatrists when they said they were cured and would not abuse again. It is also interesting that in studies among other professions with contact with children, such as teachers, that the statistics are similar. I am encouraged that the Catholic Church has a zero tolerance policy for these abuses and is working to eliminate practicing homosexual priests from active clergy and identifying problem candidates at the seminary level.

I have given this issue a lot of thought since the statistics have started to come out as to why there are great differences in the statistics between Catholic clergy and Protestant clergy. I really do not think the celibacy issue has anything to do with the lower statistics for Catholics. I believe I have a unique insight being a convert to Catholicism and having worked for years in a Catholic seminary among Jesuits. My thoughts are that the difference in statistics is the result of the different views of Catholics and or Protestants towards their clergy. Excuse my hyperbole, which I use here for emphasis, but Protestant clergy are more autonomous and are looked at by their congregations as morally superior, not that they shouldn’t be but many are not, and many are revered as a pope to that congregation. They are placed on a pedestal that few of us, if any, deserve. This makes them vulnerable to temptation which comes from those that perceive the clergy as a power figure and are tempted by this perception. Many Protestant clergy fall to this snare of Satan. The Catholic priest does not have the same situation. Congregations know of the sinfulness of their priest who confesses regularly to their congregations that they sin in thought, word and deed lest there be any doubt of our sinful nature. This has a dual effect, the priest remains humble as a result of his confession and the congregation does not place the priest on a pedestal as happens in Protestant congregations.

In Christ
Fr. Joseph

June 29 2009 | Protestant | 10 Comments »

Why the Catholic cross is different from the Orthodox cross?

On the Catholic cross the crossing beam is on the uper part,conversely on the Orthodox croos the crossing beam is right on the middle.Why??

THE KATHOLIKOSIS OUR GREEK WORD ( GR> MEANING UNVIERSAL ) LOOK IT UP IN DICITIOARY INTERNATIONAL ONE
AND WE ARE THE FIRST KATHOLIKOS ( UNVERSAL ( CHURCH OF THE BIBLE) GREEK SEPTUAGINT

http://www.ecmarsh.com/lxx/

AND GREEK NEW FIRST TESTAMENT OF THE WORLD
http://www.greeknewtestament.com/

MEANT FOR ALL THE WORLD.. THERE IS NO JEW OR GREEK AMONG YOU.. GAL.3.28
WE ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST.

IS THE ONE YOU DESRIBE THE ONE THAT JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED ON .. (
http://www.gotquestions.org/gossip-Bible.html

RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CROSS AND SLAVONIC CROSSES HAVE THREE BARS TO REPRESENT ..

THE SIGN HUNG ON CROSS ( KING OF THE JEWS IN HEBREW < GREEK AND ARAMAIC ( SORRY RC NOT IN LATIN)

THE SECOND BAR FOR THE HANDS ..

THE THRIRD BAR IS FOR ( THE STABBING BY THE GUARD WHEN BLOOD AND WATER FLOWED FROM THE WOUNDS OF CHRISTJohn 19:34 (New International Version)
34Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+19:34

THUS THE THREE BARS..

THE GREEK CROSS..USES THE ORDINARY BAR..

I USE BOTH .. A GREEK RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN
( MOM WAS RUSSIAN)

THERE ARE MANY TYPES OF CROSSES..

GO GOOGLE SEACH .. HERE IS ONE LINK
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?link=answer&qid=20090624074743AAhxu5T&u=o&update=update&prev_ans_page=1

IC XC NIKA.. JESUS CHRIST CONQUERS ( DEATH)

KYRIE ELEISON.. LORD HAVE MERCY FOR ALL

HERE ARE A NUMBER OF CROSSES. RE GREEK CROSS ( OF MANY FAITHS AND KINDS)
http://www.answers.com/topic/greek-cross

June 29 2009 | 7 | 2 Comments »

Is there a Bible story where what is initially seen as a detriment to spiritual growth turns out to be a help?

I am specifically looking for situations and examples where something challenging occurs that seems, at first, to doom a person spiritually. However, as it turns out, that challenge turns out to be a blessing in disguise, and, due in large part to the challenge, a higher spiritual plain is reached. Hoping for examples from the Bible or from other famous Christians.

Just look at the story of Joseph in Genesis. I've always felt that someone in his situation would have had every excuse to rebel against everything he had been taught — but this was a young lad who remained true to his God in circumstances where he was on his own, without any fellowship at all, sticking to his faith and refusing to throw it all in. And what was the result? Prison! But ironically prison proved to be the means by which God brought him to the attention of Pharaoh and his saving of the people of Egypt, with God's help, led to the saving of his own people.

June 27 2009 | Bible | 3 Comments »