Discuss the two people view

After reading the lecture notes for this week’s unit, I believe that there are many challenges that the church will face in the next several years. It is important to note that people are experiencing these challenges today. Some of these challenges that stook out to me include “The Genesis Debate,” which describes God creating the earth in a literal seven days or whether Genesis is supposed to be interpreted in some other way. Another challenge that stood out to me is “The Millennium Debate,” which is the theories revolving around the second coming of Christ and the end of the world. Lastly, the one challenge that is highly in debate today is “The women in ministry debate.” This debate resonantes to my opinions because I come from a Catholic background. In Catholic churches, women are not allowed to preach at church. I believe that God does call and gift women to serve as preachers in the church, and I hope that this tradition will change in the future.

Furthermore, I believe that there may be more denominations that will arise in the future. The church has experienced a growth of different denominations throughout history. They have encountered many ways of how to approach various ideas and I believe that the church is well prepared to confront new challenges in the future. There are many controversial issues that exist within politics and the church today. For instance, many people may think in a conservative way or a liberal way. With the guidance and strength from God, I believe that the church will be led in the right direction. For instance, in the Evangelical Movement, the early Protestants believed that grace comes directly from the gospel. On the other hand, the Catholic believed that grace comes through the sacraments. These different attributes describe how there are different doctrinal definitions according to each denomination.

In my opinion, the church will be able to confront these challenges with Scripture, faith in God, and a support system. Scripture is crucial here because the Scriptures contain dominion in the matters of how Christians live out their lives. Additionally, Scripture is inspired by God and is a source of authority for Christians. Faith in God enables people to trust God with their hearts and minds. Instead of encountering situations with their own mind, they are able to ask God for his guidance. Lastly, a support system from loved ones is necessary because this allows people to be encouraged and motivated to speak out for what they believe in.

I think that one  of the biggest challenges the church faces today is the influx of information provided by the Internet. The Internet is a revolutionary tool that empowers individuals with information that they would never have had access too without the Internet. As a Computer Information Systems major, my job and my life are living and breathing that connection between people. As helpful as the internet has been to the church, it can also be extremely powerful in bringing down the message of the Church. Information is free but the credibility behind the information is never guaranteed. People can say whatever they want behind a screen and it’s impossible to tell who is the truth. People call themselves Christians but then say things that Jesus wouldn’t want in the name of God. It leads to misinformation and makes it hard for people to truly understand what Christians believe and what we stand for. I’ve heard and experienced horror stories of people who turn people away from God by what they say online. For some people, their first and only experience with a Christian will be online and how that person acts is everything. To me, it seems that most people don’t have a good impression of Christians online. Always preaching fire and brimstone and always telling people how to live their lives. That’s not what Jesus would have wanted, but its impossible to tell true Christians from those who preach moral superiority into the void of the Internet.

I think that the biggest lesson that the Church can learn from its past is that it’s followers will always be prosecuted against. Today, it can be hard to remember that some people will never agree with us and will persecute us for our faith. It won’t be as strong as it was in the New Testament, but it definitely exists. The word Christian often labels a person for having certain political stances. This can cause us to come into conflict with others for no reason other than calling ourselves Christian.  Being a Christian was never said to be easy. In fact, most of the time Jesus described the walk with Him as an extremely difficult task. The world preaches acceptance of everyone today, but somehow Christians are an exception to this rule. Some people think they are morally superior to Christians and unfortunately we are unable to change their minds sometimes. All we can do is explain what we believe in and why we believe it. That conversation can lead to a productive discussion about faith and morals rather than arguing about who is right and who is wrong for believing in what you do.