Archive for category Christian Evangelism
What Does That Christian Fish Symbol Mean?
The Christian fish symbol, known as the Ichthus dates back to as early as the first and second century A.D. The symbol is not just a sticker that people put on their bumpers or a charm on a necklace, it has a much deeper meaning and is very significant to both early Christians and the Christians of today.
Ichthus, also spelled ichthys is the Greek word for fish. The spelling in Greek is IXOYE for Iota, Chi, Theta, Upsilon, and Sigma which mean Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.
At the time the Ichthus first started being used, the cross was not used as a Christian symbol. The fish became a natural religious symbol to be used by Christians as fish was a common food of the day and fish was often used by Jesus in His ministry.
Some Biblical examples of Jesus using or referring to fish:
* Matthew 12:40 “…Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”
* Matthew 14:17 “And they said to Him, ‘We have here only fives loaves and two fish.”
* Mark 1:17 “Come after Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
* Luke 5:6 “And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.”
* Luke 24:42 “So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.”
* John 21:6 “And He said to them, ‘Cast the Net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.”
Tags: christian evangelism, internet evangelismRelated posts
Daddy, Why Does the Preacher Talk So Funny?
When it comes to fundamentalist preachers, there is nothing quite like the way they choose to express themselves from the pulpit. What they say, in and of itself, can be quite amazing. Such as the recent flap with Mrs. Benny Hinn, tryng her darndest to give a ranting good sermon for the masses and making a complete fool out of herself. In the typical breathless rant of evangelical showmanship, she told the audience what they needed was “a Holy Ghost enema, right up their butts.” Honest, that was what she said and she repeated it. She then went on to tell the audience not to be “butt kissers.” Having realized that she probably had crossed a few too many lines, she tried to recover by saying that people like her just have that kind of humor but was too late and the tape spread around the world, and not in a good way. She then went into a pacing frenzy back and forth until she broke her shoe and told the audience they didn’t need shoes anyway, they needed to put on combat boots for Jesus. I guess this got her out of the shoe breakage embarassment. The end came merciful when she fell flat on her face, on stage, and everyone started clapping as if this was of God and the perfect ending to a perfect sermon. It was pathetic and the scary part is that not one person in the audience got up and said “I’m out of here.” They loved it.
The fact is that nothing she said in the “sermon” was helpful. Nothing she said was correct and practically nothing she said was anythng but an attempt to appear inspiring and ending up being absolutely foolish. Poor Mr. Hinn was so angry that the video was playing around the world, he threatened those who showed it, from what I understand. I don’t blame him. What a time at the ‘ol breakfast table next day that must have been!
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Christian Growth Demands Change
A recent medical study reveals just how difficult change is for people. Roughly 600,000 people have heart bypasses a year in America. These people are told after their bypasses that they must change their lifestyle. The heart bypass is a temporary fix. They must change their diet. They must quit smoking and drinking. They must exercise and reduce stress.
In essence, the doctors say, “Change or die.”
You would think that a near-death experience would forever grab the attention of the patients. You would think they would vote for change. You would think the argument for change is so compelling that the patients would make the appropriate lifestyle alterations. Sadly that is not the case.
Ninety percent of the heart patients do not change. They remain the same, living the status quo. Study after study indicates that two years after heart surgery, the patients have not altered their behavior. Instead of making changes for life, they choose death.y would rather die.
Tags: christian evangelism, internet evangelism