BIBLE TOPICS

Christian Fads

The Pharisees obeyed the oral law; we have the spiritual disciplines. When Christian culture reacts against the world's culture, things can get interesting.

Day One: Spiritual Disciplines
Discipline is defined as "training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior." Discipline is not part of the sin nature, but it is a natural component of the Christian life. In fact, almost nothing of any significance in our lives is ever accomplished without it...
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Day Two: The Olympics
The Olympics represent the pinnacle of athleticism, training, and competitiveness, going all the way back to ancient times. The apostle Paul used illustrations from the world of athletics in several of his letters...
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For more, see "God as coach"

Day Three: WWJD
"What would Jesus do?" is a popular religious expression on bracelets, necklaces, and T-shirts with the initials WWJD. The idea behind WWJD is that to know how to do the right thing, we simply ask ourselves, "What would Jesus do?"...
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Day Four: Jesus Freak
The term Jesus freak was originally used to demean or insult Christians involved with the Jesus Movement in the 1960s and 1970s. It was primarily directed towards "Bible thumpers" and those who were especially aggressive in their evangelistic efforts...
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Day Five: Radical
The word radical as applied to human behavior can be either positive or negative, depending upon one's viewpoint. For the purposes of this article, we will define radical as "one expressing strict adherence to a worldview that is at extreme odds with the cultural norm"...
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Day Six: Asceticism and Monasticism
Asceticism and monasticism are two religious disciplines designed to de-emphasize the pleasures of the world so the practitioner can concentrate on the spiritual life. Both asceticism and monasticism have been adopted by worshipers of various faiths...
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Image Credit: Kevin Spencer; "WWJD?"; Creative Commons