Do you hand out booklets with full texts of Bible readings? Do you offer pew Bibles? Do people bring their own Bibles?Which denomination of the Baptist Church do you affiliate with?
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Maybe a few verses grouped together from gospels then psalms to Acts. Does everyone receive a copy of the verses they have to read during the service?
Maybe a few verses grouped together from gospels then psalms to Acts. Does everyone receive a copy of the verses they have to read during the service?
termasuk terjemahan dan juzuk. di mana ia dicetak dan di mana anda mendapatkannya?bagaimana pula dengan rakan-rakan dan saudara-mara anda?
I'm not a religious person but I have to make this statement. Regardless, religious beliefs will always exist in various forms.In reality, atheism is impossible.Islam , Marxism and neoliberalism will be the only faiths besides Christianity capable of dominating the world.
Let's talk about the difference between Christianity and Islam. The Bible is ethically superior to the Quran in several key areas, particularly when emphasizing the New Testament's teachings on love, forgiveness, and individual conscience, contrasted with the Quran's integration of martial, legal, and supremacist elements.Both scriptures reflect their eras, but the Bible's ethical arc, especially post-Jesus, bends more toward universal human dignity and non-coercion.
Bible (New Testament): Jesus teaches radical pacifism and love: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44); "turn the other cheek" (Matthew 5:39); forgive as God forgives. The Good Samaritan parable elevates outsiders. Romans 12:20 echoes feeding enemies. This underpins later Christian emphasis on universal human dignity
Quran: No equivalent command to love enemies. Verses emphasize fighting unbelievers (e.g., Quran 9:5 "kill the polytheists wherever you find them"; 9:29 fight those who do not believe until they pay jizya in submission; 3:151 cast terror into hearts of disbelievers). Peaceful Meccan verses exist, but later Medinan ones (abrogating earlier) prioritize combat and dominance. Mercy is for believers; harshness for outsiders.
Bible: Old Testament has conquest narratives and harsh laws (e.g., Deuteronomy), but these are historical/theocratic for ancient Israel. New Testament shifts to spiritual kingdom ("render unto Caesar," no holy war mandate). Jesus rebukes violence (e.g., Peter’s sword). Christianity’s ethical core enabled later pacifist strains and just war theory with restraints.
Quran: Explicitly endorses jihad for faith expansion/defense, with rules but also rewards for fighters (e.g., 4:74, 9:111). Muhammad as prophet-warrior models this. Classical interpretations support offensive elements. No clear separation of faith and coercive power.
Bible: Regulates slavery (common in ancient world) but moves toward manumission and equality ("neither slave nor free" in Christ, Galatians 3:28). New Testament encourages kindness; Philemon urges freeing a slave. Christianity’s principles fueled abolitionism (Wilberforce, etc.), despite historical failures.
Quran/Hadith: Permits and regulates slavery, including sexual use of "those whom your right hands possess" (Quran 4:24, 23:5-6). Muhammad owned slaves.
Bible: Patriarchal context, but NT elevates women (Jesus’ interactions, mutual submission in marriage Ephesians 5, Galatians 3:28 equality in Christ). Mary as exemplar; women in early church
Quran: Men as "maintainers" (4:34, including permission to "beat" disobedient wives lightly in traditional readings); unequal inheritance (women half); testimony weighting; polygyny for men. Captive women as concubines permitted.
Let's talk about the difference between Christianity and Marxism.Christianity is better than atheist Marxism on metrics of human dignity, ethical foundations, historical outcomes, and long-term flourishing—though neither is flawless, and "better" depends on priorities like individual liberty versus collective equality. Christianity (especially its New Testament core) offers a transcendent basis for universal human value, forgiveness, and ordered liberty. Atheist Marxism, rooted in historical materialism, class warfare, and state power, has a track record of utopian promises leading to authoritarian coercion and mass suffering.
Christianity: Humans bear the image of God, granting inherent dignity to all individuals regardless of class, race, or utility. Ethics emphasize personal repentance, grace, forgiveness ("love your enemies," Golden Rule), stewardship of property, and voluntary charity. Sin is internal (heart-level), addressed through transformation, not just external structures. This supports natural rights, conscience, and limits on state power ("render unto Caesar").
Atheist Marxism: Materialist reductionism—humans as economic units defined by class. Morality is relative, a tool of the ruling class (bourgeois vs. proletariat). No transcendent ethics; "the ends justify the means" for revolution. Private property seen as theft; religion as "opium of the people." Class struggle replaces sin/redemption, leading to dehumanization of "enemies of the people."
Christianity: Realistic about sin's persistence in every heart. Solutions: inner renewal, rule of law, separation of powers, and voluntary institutions (church, family, markets under ethics). No earthly utopia; hope is eschatological.
Marxism: Humans as blank slates shaped by material conditions. Evil = capitalism/private property. Solution: seize means of production, dictatorship of the proletariat → classless utopia. Ignores incentives, corruption, and power's corrupting nature.
Let's talk about why Christianity is better than neoliberalism.
1.Human Nature and Anthropology
Christianity starts with humans made in God's image , inherently dignified yet fallen and prone to sin. This produces realism: institutions must constrain power (original sin applies to CEOs and bureaucrats alike), while grace and virtue enable cooperation beyond self-interest. Neoliberal models often rest on Homo economicus—rational, utility-maximizing individuals. This works well for price signals and innovation but fails to predict (or remedy) family breakdown, opioid crises, declining birth rates, or status-seeking consumerism in high-GDP societies. Empirical patterns in wealthy liberal societies—rising loneliness, mental health issues despite material abundance—suggest markets allocate goods efficiently but do not automatically cultivate character or belonging.
2.Meaning, Teleology, and Limits
Christianity offers transcendent purpose: love of God and neighbor, eternal horizon, self-sacrifice modeled by the Cross. Suffering has meaning; the poor and weak have intrinsic claims. Neoliberalism excels at expanding choice and reducing absolute poverty. Yet it tends toward immanence: life as consumption, status, and preference satisfaction. Critics note resulting "deaths of despair," hollowed institutions, and elite capture where "meritocracy" becomes hereditary advantage plus cultural signaling. GDP growth does not measure whether lives feel worth living.
3.Community and Social Bonds
Christian teaching prioritizes the family, local church, and corporal works of mercy (feed the hungry, clothe the naked). Historical fruit includes the invention of the hospital, university, and much of the Western welfare impulse (even secular versions). Neoliberal emphasis on labor mobility, creative destruction, and global arbitrage can erode thick communities—family formation delays, lower trust, declining civic participation in high-mobility areas. Markets are powerful at coordination but poor at transmitting non-market values (parenting, liturgy, long-term stewardship). Christianity's universalism ("neither Jew nor Greek") coexists with particular loves; pure neoliberal logic can treat people as interchangeable units.
4.Moral Framework
Christianity posits objective goods rooted in revelation and natural law—humility, chastity, generosity—not reducible to willingness-to-pay. Neoliberalism is agnostic on ends: if consumers demand it and rights are respected, markets supply (pornography, payday loans, surrogate motherhood markets). This procedural neutrality produces dynamism but can normalize vice when profitable. Christianity's account of sin explains why unfettered choice often fails to deliver flourishing; neoliberalism's optimism about preferences assumes away akrasia (weakness of will) and preference formation by advertising/culture.
I hope the West can reverse the decline of Christianity and ensure that the next generation truly understands the meaning of the Bible. Otherwise, the future of humanity will be terrifying.
Including translations and portions as well.
How many do your friends and relatives have?
Where did you get them?
If you search online Wikipedia will immediately tell you that the Bible is the most printed book of all time. But that might be because of the United Bible society tracts Bible distribution across the world and across centuries whereas the printing of the Quran is decentralized. There are so many Muslim countries and the state owned Medina printing plant of Saudi Arabia alone print 30 million copies of complete Qurans annually. There are hundreds of Qurans publishers in every Muslim country. For example in 2019 the state owned printing press in Indonesia printed 200,000 qurans but the unregistered publishers printed 20 million Qurans that same year. And now the Indonesian government has announced to increase the state owned output to 36 million so the total figures will be 60 million copies annually. On the other hand the amount of Bibles distributed around the world annually doesn't exceed 100 million. As a Christian I'm just very worried that the Bible isn't the most printed book anymore. I don't know what will happen if we count portions of Scriptures but it's still very likely that Quran portions will exceed Bible portions because Christian countries are becoming less and less religious.
Including translations and portions etc ?
How many Qurans were distributed last year and how does this figure compare to the Bible?
How is this figure compared with the Quran and the little red book?
I checked the list of churches that are openly both Christian and universalist and can only find around 10 congregations scattered mostly in the United States. There are lots of UU churches with millions of believers but they aren't Christians. On the other hand the catholic church has over 1 billion followers. Why is the movement so niche with zero prevalence in most of the countries?
How many copies are being distributed each year? Does every single Muslim have at least one copy of the Quran at home? Which place are most of the qurans being printed?
If everyone can be saved regardless of their religious beliefs then should we still be motivated to become missionaries and convert people who haven't had access to the Bible? In the context of decreasing Christian population do you think it's necessary to increase the amount of believers from 2.3 billion to 3,4,5 billion?