“Probably after Vietnam and Watergate, there was an increasing distrust of institutions, so that Jesus was still in, but the institutional church was no longer an attraction. So, I think that the dropping of the denominational label is to become more generic, less of a threat, less of a reminder of negative stereotypes if you've walked away from church.” IfsThinkingStillsJesusChurchNegativeInstitutionsThreatAttractionLabelsVietnamStereotypeDistrustRemindersDroppingGenericWatergateNegative Stereotypes Author:Eddie Gibbs
“Christianity is no mere scheme of doctrine or of ethical practice, but is instead a kind of miracle, a power out of nature and above, descending into it; a historically supernatural movement on the world, that is visibly entered into it, and organized to be an institution in the person of Jesus Christ.” WorldKindPersonsJesusChristChristianityPracticeMovementJesus ChristMiracleInstitutionsMereDoctrineOrganizedEthicalSchemesDescending Book:The Character of Jesus Source: The Character of Jesus
“But we are learning from the teaching and example of Jesus that life itself is a religion, that nothing is more sacred than a human being, that the end of all right institutions, whether the home or the church or an educational establishment, or a government, is the development of the human soul.” HumansSoulEndsHomeGovernmentJesusChurchHuman BeingsTeachingExampleDevelopmentInstitutionsSacredEducationalEstablishmentHuman Soul Book:The Speeches of Anna Howard Shaw Source: The Speeches of Anna Howard Shaw
“The true Church is not an institution to be kept apart from the world because the world "is common and unclean," but a vital heart of truth and love, beating with the life of Jesus, and sending abroad its sanctifying pulsations until nothing shall be common and unclean.” WorldHeartJesusChurchLove IsCommonAnd LoveInstitutionsTruth And Love Author:Edwin Hubbel Chapin
“I've heard plenty of Christians try to answer the why question by going back to the what. "You have to believe because Jesus is the Son of God." But that's answering the why with more what. Increasingly we live in a time in which you can't avoid the why question. Just giving the what (for example, a vivid gospel presentation) worked in the days when the cultural institutions created an environment in which Christianity just felt true or at least honorable. But in a post-Christendom society, in the marketplace of ideas, you have to explain why this is true, or people will just dismiss it.” PeopleGivingTryingBelieveIdeasChristianJesusFeltAnswersChristianityEnvironmentHeardExampleSonInstitutionsPlentyPostsHonorableVividMarketplacePresentationChristendom Author:Timothy Keller