My latest read was "The End of Religion" by Bruxy Cavey. He is the teaching pastor at The Meeting House in Hamilton, which is affiliated with the Brethren in Christ denomination.
Using just 117 pages, Cavey makes some great points. Here are some of them:
1. Over the ages, religion has been the cause of many deaths and wars. Islam is violent, but Christianity is itself guilty of the Crusades and more!
2. Jesus did not come to give us religion (rules, regulations and rituals). He offers relationship.
3. If we truly want to be fundamentalist, we would follow Jesus' lead and show a lot more grace/mercy to others.
4. God does not call us to accept a set of doctrines. He requires a belief/faith/trust in Him. This is an interesting point. How important is doctrine? I know we as evangelicals stress doctrines such as the Trinity, etc.
5. It should be love not law motivating us to follow Christ.
6. Jesus had a lot to say to the 'religious leaders' of his day. They thought they knew it all, but were way off on some things. Their beliefs were oft incomplete or totally wrong.
There were a couple times in the book Cavey got quite liberal in his comments. But nothing that made me put the book down.
I recommend this book to Christians and seekers alike. It will give you a new perspective on religious institutions and the person of Jesus.
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Yet another Gaither video performer has died. Roger Bennett, former pianist for the Cathedrals, and most recently of Legacy Five passed away a couple days ago. He was 48 and leaves behind a wife and kids. He had battled leukemia. This leaves Scott Fowler and Ernie Haase as the only living members of the last Cathedrals lineup! For more info on Bennett see singingnews.com