Author: Herb Drake
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Separation of Church and State
While house church theology and the American political left may disagree on a long list of issues, they are in lock step on the question of the separation of church and state–but for completely different reasons. One might look at separation in a number of ways. We Christians are told that we must separate from…
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Home Church Confessions
One can’t understand the history of the home church without understanding the confessions that they wrote to guide their lives. A great many of these have survived, each containing a detailed statement of faith that almost always references the Bible to justify each statement. Confessions differ from creeds in purpose and format. Creeds are a…
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The Living Room
So wrote Danish philosopher/theologian Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) even before he started his series of essays against the Institutionial Church of his day that came to be called his “Attack on Christindom.”. Excerpts from some of those essays appear below. Regarding Establishment Christianity The human race in the course of time has taken the liberty of softening…
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To Bind, to Loose
If you’ve studied Matthew’s gospel long enough, you will have encountered the words “bind””and “loose.” You may have wondered what was meant. In fact, it was not until relatively recently that scholars have found its origin is from rabbinical writings to indicate whether a behavior will be prohibited (bound) or permitted (loosed). Since Matthew’s is…
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Sermon on the Mount vs. Modern Culture
There are some red letter verses in the Bible that can’t be properly interpreted without knowing a little bit about the culture of the first century. As a result, these three verses have entered our language to mean almost the opposite of what Jesus was teaching. . Verse in Matthew Chapter 5 Modern Use What…
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House Church and the Will of God
What do you think has the highest priority in the Church? Learning and obeying the will of God? Or being entertained with music and preaching? Let’s say that a group of Christians, whether large or small, needs to make a decision. The House Church’s gathered people have direct access to the Lord, who, we are…