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If the Apostles Came Back in Our Time...

Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by Gershom, Sep 8, 2011.

  1. Gershom

    Gershom Active Member

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    What would they see? Printed Bibles, satellite, digital media, TV preachers begging money, church bank accounts, tithers suffering, division, denominations, programs, bulletins, audiences... on and on.

    Would they be impressed?
     
  2. InTheLight

    InTheLight Well-Known Member
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    I've thought about this a lot. I think they would be overwhelmed by the scale and scope of humanity. The huge population and the almost entire exploration and inhabitation of earth. Man having explored the moon.

    They would have to be impressed by the widespread dissemination of the Gospel, but I wonder how they would react to the widespread disparate doctrines, traditions, and practices. I bet they would immediately want to read the Bible from cover to cover.

    I'd like to think they would be shocked at the depravity of society in general, but would they? There were some disgusting practices and morals in their day. They might be surprised at the demise of the old Greek and Roman polytheistic religions and the rise of Islam.
     
  3. Baptist Believer

    Baptist Believer Well-Known Member
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    They would probably be impressed with the technology, but not with human nature. Human nature and corruption is the same as always.

    They would be very much at home with the sinful state of society, although they might have difficulty immediately understanding our culture and philosophical/societal milieu, but they would get up to speed fairly quickly.
     
  4. Amy.G

    Amy.G New Member

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    They could settle the bible version debate. :smilewinkgrin:
     
  5. Baptist Believer

    Baptist Believer Well-Known Member
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    There were things widely accepted in their society (sexual rites at pagan temples, pederasty, the denigration of women, slavery, etc.) that are not tolerated by Western society.

    Human nature is essentially unchanged, although the varied expressions of that corruption changes with the centuries.
     
  6. Baptist Believer

    Baptist Believer Well-Known Member
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    They would just bust out their 1611 KJV and shame all of the modern version lovers. :tongue3:
     
  7. JesusFan

    JesusFan Well-Known Member

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    YES!
    IF good enough for peter and paul, good enough for me!
     
  8. Gershom

    Gershom Active Member

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    :laugh: Good one
     
  9. ktn4eg

    ktn4eg New Member

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    But would it be with Scofield's notes or Thompson Chain References?

    Would there be Strong's numberings over each word?

    Would it be with or without the Apocrypha?

    Would it be printed in Gothic fonts?

    And we cannot forget about the (1) Pictures of Jesus; (2) Maps; and. most important of all, (3) Would it include the Book of Concordance?
     
  10. DHK

    DHK <b>Moderator</b>

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    They would find a church in line with the doctrine they taught--an IFB church.
     
  11. sag38

    sag38 Active Member

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    DHK, I think that would depend on which brand of IFB church they went too. Some would be in line. Others that preach KJVO as doctrine, insist on women wearing dresses, etc., are not in line with the doctrine they taught.
     
  12. preachinjesus

    preachinjesus Well-Known Member
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    Far more Christians than they ever imagined possible. The immense influence of Christianity across the globe.

    Oh and a round world.

    Shocked would be a better word.:thumbs:
     
  13. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
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    I agree and that IFB church would be affiliated with the SBC!!! :thumbs:


    Sometimes I wonder if they would be concerned with us majoring on the minors. I realize that we might have some differences - but how important are they compared to sharing the gospel with the lost.
    For example - my good friend Old Regular Baptist does not believe in paid clergy. I believe that a church should strive to have a fully supported pastor. Now we might debate that - even on a Biblical basis - but the bottom line is that neither one of us would believe that "doctrine" (or practice) would keep us from getting into Heaven. We would both agree that we need to preach the Gospel of Christ to the unsaved - and exhort the truths of the Bible to the saved.

    Salty
     
  14. DHK

    DHK <b>Moderator</b>

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    If it is an IFB church it wouldn't be affiliated with the SBC. That is a contradiction if I ever heard one.
     
  15. JesusFan

    JesusFan Well-Known Member

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    Strange, as BOTH of those groups are in the ONE Body of Christ, the Church of Christ, the "real one"

    Since the Lord brought all Christians together in ONE BODY, why break it asunder?
     
  16. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
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    There are many fundamental Baptist churches in the SBC, and each one is independent! - Thus IFB!!!!

    But I am curious as to why you chose that statement to comment on. I thought my dissertation on "majoring on the minors" was much more important.
     
    #16 Salty, Sep 8, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 8, 2011
  17. Baptist Believer

    Baptist Believer Well-Known Member
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    I sincerely doubt that the apostles believed in a flat world.

    The ancient peoples were very good observers of nature and knew that the earth was at least curved since they could see ships approach the shore where the masts were the first thing to be sighted until the entire ship appeared above the waves. In the same way, when the disciples left the shore in their boats, they lost sight of the shore but could only see the higher elevations (mountains, etc.) when they were in the middle of the Sea of Galilee.

    In the third century B.C., the Greeks even computed a fairly close estimate of the diameter of the Earth, as well as a number of other calculations regarding the tilt of the axis of the earth, etc. With Israel in the crossroads of all of the major scientific, philosophical, and theological cultures of that age, there was very little human knowledge that couldn't be known in Israel.

    Furthermore, in Matthew 24 where Jesus is talking about the coming destruction where there are people in the fields working (presumably in the daytime) as well as people asleep in bed (presumably nighttime) indicates that Jesus understood (as well as His audience) that the world was round. If Jesus was teaching it, His disciples certainly knew it too.

    I think the idea that the apostles didn't know the world was round was assumed by people who also assumed that the early followers of Jesus was ignorant and superstitious men and women who were easily led astray, [sarcasm]so unlike the modern 19th century liberal theologians who knew better.[/sarcasm]

    I'm not accusing you of anything preach, because I was regularly fed that same perspective in seminary and from the pulpit for many years, not realizing that it was just modern Western arrogance that assumes we are smarter and wiser than our ancestors.
     
  18. JesusFan

    JesusFan Well-Known Member

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    Well, can we even build one of the Pyraminds with "modern technology?"
     
  19. Robert Snow

    Robert Snow New Member

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    And finally convince everyone of our wrong interpretation of Scripture, that is except for freeatlast. He would tell them they are wrong! (just kidding freeatlast.)
     
  20. preachinjesus

    preachinjesus Well-Known Member
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    Oh, I don't know...but I was just being ironic. :)

    You know it got me thinking (between meetings this afternoon) that if the apostles did come back and visited our church services one of their first questions might be: Where did the Torah/Bible go?

    (i.e. we rarely hear consistent preaching from the OT and since the NT wasn't completed until most of them had their lives taken they might not recognize why were are preaching from that annoyingly smart former Jew named Paulus)
     
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