Tell Me Why… Not So Rhetorical Questions About NCU, Christianity, and Life (Continued)

From a Christian stand point, do you think there is ever a time outside of marriage where sex is okay? For instance, is there such thing as a marriage type relationship? Okay for instance. Lets say two people have been dating for like 3 years and are either engaged or about to be engaged. They are only holding off on marriage because of money issues or long distance issues. They are 99% sure they are going to get married but just don’t see it happening in the immediate future. What about that? Marriage these days isn’t even all that reliable. Christians make it seem that marital sexual intercourse is totally safe and secure and that the bond between two people sworn to each other for life is such a better environment for sex. What about the fact that 50% of marriages end in divorce? Or the fact that that number is dropping because more people than ever before are choosing not to get married.

Here’s one more thing. I’m a male in my early twenties.  Which is 2-4 years past my sexual peak. Average age of marriage is closing in on 30. So my faith is asking me to bench myself until I’m almost 12 years over the hill? That’s like telling Lebron James to wait until he’s 30 to play professional basketball. We should be able to make a deal, lemme play now and I’ll take a few years off to make up for it when I’m like 70.

Will sex outside of marriage always be frowned upon?

This may be opening Pandora’s Box but what the hay. Speaking in tongues has gotten way out of control. I am not a biblical scholar, and I never did Junior Bible Quiz. But on the day of Pentecost, wasn’t everyone speaking in other languages? Not just mumbo jumbo they were making up on the spot. And believe me when I say I have heard dozens of missionaries tell stories about themselves speaking in tongues and communicating in perfect dialect with some foreign people group. And I myself got “Baptized By The Holy Spirit” at Snow Camp. But really, the crazy bag lady at the CYL is speaking in her own language half the time, does that mean she is full of the Holy Spirit…? I know the idea of Tongues of Fire, and a Holy Language has biblical roots, but I think it has been blown way out of proportion.

Is the contemporary interpretation of Speaking in Tongues really that vital to a Christian’s life?

/discuss

Schroeder “The Great Decoder” Bernstein

"Trask Worship Center" To Be Renamed "Center For Trask Worship"

THE CHAPEL, MINNEAPOLIS, MN – In an effort to indicate North Central is not only a Christ-Centered but also a Springfield-Centered University, officials have announced a new name for the main assembly building. This multi-million dollar campus centerpiece originally titled “The Trask Word and Worship Center,” will now be called “The Center For Trask Worship.” This announcement has reportedly been in the works ever since Thomas Trask stepped down as General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God last summer. Theories abound as to why the change has occurred now, but many believe the name is a statement of allegiance to a more traditional approach to the church.

“We toyed around with a few ideas,” one anonymous building committee member told reporters. “‘The Center For Worshipping God With The Initial Physical Evidence of Speaking In Tongues’ was a contender for a while; so was ‘The Chapel of Traditional Pentecostal Worship and None Of That Scary Emerging Business.’ Frankly, the only reason ‘Revival Or Bust, Center For Attacking The Gates of Hell’ didn’t pass was because ‘The Center For Trask Worship’ was easier to put together using the words from the old sign.”

The name change has received mixed reviews from students, faculty, and alumni alike. Some have criticized the name change for being a “step backwards into tradition” while others have commended the renaming and the focus it seems to connotate as a “return to traditional values.”

“The debate about method, paradigms, and the structure of church in the 21st century continues to crawl along in the American Assemblies of God, and such a change is a bold statement by an AG University,” said one source close to those responsible for the decision. “One wonders if such drastic statements in this direction (or any other for that matter) is wise when trying to encourage honest discussion regarding these issues.”

While “The Center For Trask Worship” may indeed be an important statement for those who have an interest in the outcome of that debate, students who still attend the building daily for their chapel attendance requirement expect little change. All reports indicate chapel will remain going an average of 10 minutes over time and require you to act like you care about school sports. – WOODWARD

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