Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths

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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
Other faiths and ideologies to be discussed in
this series will include Cultural
Christianity Agnostics/Humanists Wicca
Universalism New Age/Hindu Judaism Jehovahs
Witness Mormonism Buddhism Islam
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths

• Today, we will explore
• Wicca
• Universalism

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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
We must be prayerful in sharing the gospelwe
MUST NOT depend on our own strength, but on the
power of the Holy Spirit I am not ashamed of
the gospel for it is the power of salvation
Rom 116 But you will receive power when the
Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my
witnesses Acts 18
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths

• Essentials
• We have all done wrong in Gods eyesRom323
• This wrong doing separates us from God
  foreverRom 623
• God sent His Son Jesus to take our punishmentRom
  58

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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths

• Essentials
• Turn away from doing wrong as a way of lifeActs
  238
• Confess with your mouth Jesus is Lordbelieve in
  your heart that God raised him from the dead, you
  will be saved. Rom 109

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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
The main thing to remember in sharing your
faith in the power of the Holy Spirit, you have
to SHARE the plan of salvation
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there is no other name under heaven given to
men by which we must be saved. Acts 412
I am the way, the truth and the life. No man
comes to the Father, but by me. John 146
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
If they reject the message, do not stop being
their friend or loving them
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths

• Wicca

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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
Wicca is one of the fastest growing cultic
movements not only in North America, but also in
Western North Carolina especially among teenage
girls. In North America, there are somewhere
between 250,000 and 5 million adherents!
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
In Asheville area, there are over 300 known
adherents to Wicca and brag of having several
covens however, these are very vocal in their
practice and occasionally makes the news
headlines
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Please show up at Asheville City Hall on August 2
at 7 PM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASELocal Witches to
Publicly Spell to Save Asheville's Magnolia Tree
Asheville, NC Spiritual activist group Coven
Oldenwilde has issued an open call for area
Nature-lovers, Pagans, and Wiccans to join them
in publicly casting magic spells to stop a
developer from destroying the majestic Magnolia
tree in front of City Hall. (from Asheville
Citizen Times, July 28, 2007)
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• Major Wicca beliefs
• practices rituals that revolve around the cycles
  of nature and magick
• Spells and hexes
• Divination using astrology, numerology, palm
  reading, tarot cards

Taken from 4truth.net January 26, 2009
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• Wicca beliefs
• Do not believe in Satan, (claims he was invented
  by the early church)
• Belief in male and female deities
• Blends beliefs from New Age such as animism,
  pantheism, polytheism

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Animism belief that everything, even inanimate
objects, wind rain, even rocks, have a soul or
spirit. Pantheism belief that everything is
divinedeity as one with naturehumans are also
divine. Polytheism belief that there is more
than one god.
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Prudence Jones, a pagan writer, says they are
polytheistic, recognizing a plurality of divine
beings at some point, they no longer have
control over the forces which they call upon, but
rather, they themselves ends up being controlled
by them!
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The Christian response to this is to first
acknowledge that Wicca and other practices of the
occult are wicked and demonic demons are REAL
and should NOT be UNDERESTIMATED
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Even though the Wiccans claim not to believe in
Satan, the real power behind their practices is
Satan himselfwe need to be aware of this as REAL
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Ephesians 612, 14-17 says, For our struggle is
not against flesh and blood, but against the
rulers, against the authorities, against the
powers of this dark world and against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms
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• Therefore put on the full armor of God
• Belt of truth
• Breastplate of righteousness
• Shoes of the gospel
• Shield of faith
• Helmet of salvation
• Word of God, the sword of the Spirit

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They practice divination and sorcery and sold
themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord,
provoking him to anger. 2 Kings 1717
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So how should a Christian respond? We need to
understand and respect where those who practice
Wicca are coming from (this does not mean we
need to agree with them!)
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they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and
worshipped and served the creature rather than
the Creator. Romans 115
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
Once again, many that go into Wicca have been
treated badly early on in church history are
Wiccans treated any better by the church today?
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
Prior to speaking with Wiccans concerning the
gospel PRAYERFULLY ask for wisdom in approaching
Wiccans with the gospelask the Holy Spirit to
soften their hearts to accept the gospel message.
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
How do we reach Wiccans with the gospel? Talk
with things they may knowone resource suggests
using Chronicles of Narnia to start
discussions Do not be so quick to tell them of
their lostness and the coming wrath of Godas
true as this is, this may close future
opportunities in sharing the gospel message with
them
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths

• Ask, Do you consider yourself spiritual? (Be
  prepared for the answer!)
• Tell me about your spirituality
• (Dont forget to really listen!)
• Can I tell you about my spirituality?

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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
Share Psalm 83-4 with them When I consider
your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon
and the stars, which you have set in place, what
is man that you are mindful of him, the son of
man that you care for him?
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
Share your personal testimony. Make it NO
longer than 2 minutes!!
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
Remember, we cannot debate them to Christ!
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
Most are hostile to Christianity, especially
efforts to evangelize to themask questions to
make connections dont be argumentative.
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
Above all, again, rely on the power of the Holy
Spirit to guide you and to change the heart of
the person you are speaking Remember, God is in
the business of miraclestrust Him
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths

• Universalism

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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths

• Membership in the Unitarian Universalist gt
  200,000 people, (67 are women, with a large
  section of both male and female being gay)
• Started around 250AD by Arius, who taught Jesus
  was created rather than being eternal and equal
  to the Father.
• Have become really liberal in the 20th Century
  abandoning any claim to biblical authority and
  even debated the very existence of God.

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Quoting from the www.uua.org website, Unitarian
Universalism defines themselves as A caring,
open-minded religion that encourages you to seek
your own spiritual path. Our Faith draws on many
religious traditions, welcoming people with
different beliefs.
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(cont.) We are united by shared values, not by
creed or dogma. Our congregations are places
where people gather to nurture their spirits and
put their faith into action by helping to make
our communitiesand the worlda better place.
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(It) is a liberal religion that encompasses many
faith traditions Christians, Jews, Buddhists,
Hindus, Pagans, Atheists, Agnostics, Humanists,
and others Unitarian Universalists are free to
search for truth on many paths.
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To quote the Rev. Marta Flanagan, "We uphold the
free search for truth. We will not be bound by a
statement of belief... Although we uphold shared
principles, (we) have varied beliefs about
everything from scripture to rituals to God.
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• Evangelical Christianity is exclusive at its
  coreJesus Christ is the only Savior there is NO
  salvation apart from Jesus.
• However, there are two main thoughts of
  Universalism
• Inclusivism
• Pluralism

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• Inclusivism
• Agree that you must be in Jesus, (afterall he
  died for all), but if people all over the world
  are doing the best they can in their condition
  and labored in their faith then God will let them
  in heaven.
• Pluralism
• Believe Jesus is not at all necessary for
  salvation and that other gods are legitimate for
  salvation too.

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These are growing concerns in our country Do
you really believe that the sincere Muslim, Hindu
or Buddhist will not be in heaven? Bailey
Smith, past President of SBC said that God does
not hear the prayer of a Jew, (outside of
Christ)received lots of critical press for that
remark Vatican II in 1965, the belief statement
of Roman Catholicism opened the door to
inclusivism worldwide
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
The philosophy of Universalism occurs not only in
this organization, but also is RAMPANT among many
mainline denominations today!!
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
Leaders in the Universalist movementicons such
as
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
When popular icons such as these say reckless
things regarding the universality of salvation,
many people will unfortunately gravitate to what
they are saying
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
USA Today reports Most American religious
believers, including most Christians, say eternal
life is not exclusively for those who accept
Christthis includes an overall majority who
attend church regularly also said many religions
can lead to eternal life.
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
USA Today reports Al Mohler, President of SBTS
says, We are in an age when we want to tell
everyone they are doing just fine. Its
extremely uncomfortable to turn to someone and
say, You will go to hell unless you come to a
saving knowledge of Jesus
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
USA Today reports Jimmy Carter stated once again
his belief that there is salvation outside of
faith in Christ, suggesting openly that all
persons will be saved
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
We have to remember that the Bible is very clear
that not all persons will be saved Enter by the
narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is
easy that leads to destruction, and those who
enter by it are many. Matthew 713
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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
Prominent Unitarians include John Adams,
Thomas Jefferson, Louisa May Alcott, Adlai
Stevenson, Paul Newman, Carl Sandburg
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• Witnessing to Universalists
• Be sure of your own faith and the Bible. Stay
  Prayerful and let the Holy Spirit give you
  discernment.
• Inquire about their faith and beliefse.g. Who
  is Jesus Christ in your opinion? LISTEN!
• Stay focused on the essentials
• Do not argue

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• Witnessing to Universalists
• Share your personal testimony regarding your
  life changing event of salvation. (Keep it
  under 2 minutes!)
• Share the plan of salvation.
• Offer them material such as Lewis Mere
  Christianity, McDowells More than a Carpenter

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Sharing Our Faith with those of other faiths
The main answer to the problem of evil is the
person of Jesus... Moral evil finds its remedy in
the perfect obedience of the life of Jesus and
His death on behalf of those who believe in Him
for the payment of sin. (Job 421-6)