Showing posts with label behaviour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label behaviour. Show all posts

Saturday 31 August 2013

Being religious has benefits even in this life

Kenneth Gilmore
Kenneth Gilmore27 augustus 14:37
We've heard the claim 'religion poisons everything' ad nauseum. Turns out that being religious has benefits even in this life. Via David Bailey at Science Meets Religion:

A 1999 study, which involved a nine-year follow-up analysis of 21,000 American adults, found that religious attendance of at least once per week resulted in seven additional years of life expectancy. What’s more, this effect mostly remained in place even after adjusting for various social factors and health behaviors [Hummer1999].

A 1997 study of 5286 weekly church attendees in Alameda County, California found that these persons were 25% less likely to die than infrequent church attendees. These results were attributed in part to better health practices, expanded social involvement, exercising more, and remaining married longer [Strawbridge1997].

In a 1998 study of 1931 elderly adults (55 years and older), weekly church attendees experienced the lowest rates of mortality in the study group, while non-attendees experienced the highest rates. This study also showed that volunteer work in addition to church attendance contributed to even longer life expectancy [Oman1998].

A 1999 study of 4000 seniors (64 years and older) found that the death hazard was 46% lower for frequent church attendees, compared with infrequent church attendees. As noted in other studies, frequent church attendees were physically healthier, had better social support, and displayed a set of healthier lifestyle behaviors [Koenig1999].
English: Ogden Utah Temple of The Church of Je...
Ogden Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A 2004 study comparing Utah residents who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) with those who are not LDS confirmed, not surprisingly, that the LDS members had much lower rates of tobacco, alcohol and drug usage than the non-LDS group, since these substances are strongly discouraged by the Church. The study found that life expectancy was 77.3 years for LDS males versus 70.0 years for non-LDS males, and 82.2 years for LDS females versus 76.4 for non-LDS females. Interestingly, however, the study noted that differences in rates of tobacco use explains only about 1.5 years of the 7.3 year gap for males, and only 1.2 years of the 5.8 year gap for females. The author suggests that this additional gap may be due to better overall physical health, better social support and other lifestyle practices [Merrill2004].

In an April 2013 New York Times column, Stanford scholar Tanya M. Luhrmann summarized some of these results, and then added her own observations. In evangelical churches she has studied as an anthropologist, she found that people really do look out for one another, showing up with dinner when friends are sick, or simply talking with them when they are unhappy. They are relatively more generous, often in private contributions, when others are in need. She mentioned that when one member of an evangelical group cried at needing a $1500 dental procedure, yet had no money, her friends, many of whom were students with very limited funds, covered the cost by anonymous donations [Luhrmann2013].

Source: http://www.sciencemeetsreligion.org/blog/2013/04/are-there-benefits-to-religious-belief-and-participation/

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Thursday 6 May 2010

Not liking your Christians

"I do like your Christ, I do not like your Christians.
Your Christians are so unlike your Christ!"
Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)


And he has reason to say that. If more Christians would do what Jesus told them to do, and how God wants them to behave and handle, there would be less problems in the world.




Dutch version: Niet houden van dat soort Christenen


Mohandas Gandhi gave rise to a whole new gener...
Mohandas Gandhi gave rise to a whole new generation of nationalists, and a whole new form of revolution. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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2013 update:
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Monday 16 November 2009

Think before you speak


“Speaking is silver, but silence is gold.”
- General saying

"When I want to speak let me think first. Is it true?
Is it kind? Is it necessary? If not let it be unsaid."
- Maltbie D. Babcock

”He who permits himself to tell a lie once,
finds it much easier to do it a second and third time,
till at length it becomes habitual; he tells lies without attending to it,
and truths without the world's believing him.
  This falsehood of the tongue leads”
-- Thomas Jefferson

"Finally, whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -
think about such things."
Philippians 4:8

God, let my eyes always be focused on the right things.
Let me
be of good behaviour among the Gentiles
and always speak the truth, in a peaceful and loving manner.

Dutch version / Nederlandse versie > Eerst denken dan praten
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2013 update:
Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale: (1805) [c...
Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale: (1805) [cropped] (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Sunday 14 June 2009

A Living Faith #10: Our manner of Life #2


Our Manner of Life

 
Having explored in some measure a broad overview of some of the attributes of character that disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ must develop if they are to truly be his disciples, it is time to draw our thoughts towards a conclusion. Jesus in his prayer as recorded in John 17 has this to say:

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3 

This sums up the crux of the matter. The whole purpose of life is not to have existence for the sake of living, but rather that the created order of things fulfils the purpose of its creation. The purpose of Yahweh was not that we should have life merely to exist, but that we, as created beings, give Him pleasure by reflecting His Divine Glory. Yahweh has graciously extended His love toward you and me; He has invited us to be part of His great divine family. Because of our response by accepting baptism and becoming ‘in Christ’ we have been adopted into that divine household. Adoption has brought many joys, many privileges, many hopes, but also an immense responsibility. 

The wise man wrote:

“Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come... .. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:1, 13-14

Now is the time of opportunity. Now is the time to seek Yahweh. Now is the time to keep His commandments. The commandments govern and guide all aspects of daily life and continuing the line of thought about personalising those commandments some areas to examine could be:

         My place in the Body of Christ and my Ecclesia.
         My private and public worship.
         My relationships with my brethren and sisters. What is true fellowship?
         My relationships within my work and with other people in general.
         My character and behaviour

All things are open to the sight of Him who created us, it is easy to deceive oneself but Yahweh sees all, our every thought and action is known to Him. He knows our frame, He knows our sorrows and joys, our motives are laid bare before Him. Our love may be feeble and faith frail, yet mercy triumphs over judgement (James 2:13).  If we truly love the Lord our God, if we have a living and active faith holding fast to that which so good, then with David we rejoice:

“O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.” Psalm 139:1-4

Surely with such lofty thoughts in mind our hearts are filled with awe and indeed David continues:

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it. (v6)

Thus we are brought to realise our own imperfection and limitations. It is not within man to guide his own footsteps, nor within us to foresee the path must we take. Yahweh knows what is best for each of His children; His goal is not our present comfort, but our eternal welfare. All present joys and sorrows are transitory and ephemeral, only having meaning within the context of Yahweh’s plan and purpose with His creation. 

How great a love has the Lord our God and Father bestowed upon us that we should be His children (1John 3:1). Is your love for Him such that with David the heartfelt response comes:

“Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.” Psalm 119:97

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!” Psalm 139:17

Only a living and active faith will look deep inside the inner person and know the honest answer.

  Andy Peel

Next:  ‘My place in the Body of Christ and my Ecclesia’.

Saturday 30 May 2009

Relying on the Love of God

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.



Thoughts
    We can be sure that God loves us. He wants us to live in and be blessed by his love. That love is more than just the grace that reaches us when we are saved. God's love extends through us. His love is redemptive in our loving behavior to others. His presence is seen in our loving attitudes and deeds. God wants his love to be shared by us to others. In this way, his love blesses us when we receive it and also when we share it!

Prayer
    Father in heaven, I rely on your love. I cannot imagine my life without it; I would be completely lost -- literally and eternally. However, I know you love me Father. I am confident about my future, full of joy in this moment, and standing on tiptoe until your love is fully realized. In Jesus' name I thank you. Amen.

- After Phil Ware
Dutch version / Nederlandse versie > Rekenend op de liefde Gods
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 2013 update:

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Thursday 16 April 2009

The Ecclesia

The Ecclesia

"Christadelphians adopt these principles by common consent in seeking to preserve their faith and way of life in each of their congregations (often called ecclesias ­ a word carried through from the Greek of the New Testament and meaning an assembly).

The community is held together by the common consent of each congregation to the agreed fundamentals of belief and practice as found in the Scriptures. The Christadelphian community has no superintending body, no hierarchy or supra-authority other than the Word of God and the overlordship of Christ. By these means Christadelphians order their affairs in submission to God and His Son. Christadelphians believe that their arrangements are as nearly in accord with first century Christianity as they can achieve.
The community has its own blemishes and has not been able to avoid schism over the years. Happily considerable healing of this has occurred in recent times.

Scripture teaches that preservation of unity is to be striven for and the tendency to fragmentation to be deplored. But unity must be upon sound principles. For this reason, ecumenism as a means of bringing together fundamentally different groups does not find favour with Christadelphians. In any case, our points of difference often make us unacceptable to others.

The weekly breaking of bread service in Christadelphian meetings is the centre of their expression of fellowship in Christ.
Members regularly assemble in this way and meet in other Christadelphian ecclesias when they are on holiday or visiting in other places or other lands. The fellowship thus expressed is
remarkably alive and there is a real family bond among Christadelphians wherever they go.

It is possible for the exclusiveness of the breaking of bread service to be regarded as unfriendly by non-Christadelphians, particularly those who like to have an open fellowship. As the reader will have gathered from what has gone before, Christadelphians base their fellowship on a common faith and a common way of life. We are heartily glad to welcome new members by belief and baptism, but we do not extend our breaking of bread service to any one who might care to come along irrespective of his belief or behaviour. We regard this as fundamental to our existence. Fellowship is not simply friendship.
It is sharing all that is precious in the truest sense. We believe that to be worth preserving."

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Brother Harry Tennant
Fellowship
The Christadelphians - What they Believe and Preach

Thursday 11 December 2008

Unconditional love

Jesse Dean Robertson senior writes on multiply.: One hears a lot these days about 'Unconditional Love'. The dictionary defines unconditional as 'absolute, with no conditions or reservations'. Thus, to love unconditionally is to love with no restrictions, no qualifications, no 'I love you... but...'. Do you love yourself and others unconditionally? Do you love and approve of yourself and others even when a 'foul-up' occurs or when a behaviour is not one you judge 'right'? Have you achieved that ideal state of being, even once in a while? To love yourself and others no matter what the situation is.

continue reading > Loving_Unconditionally... and find that
 the first steps towards Unconditional love include patience, understanding, and acceptance of what is. To create a world for yourself where unconditional love abounds, you can also hold the thought that the world is a friendly place. As thought is creative, you will indeed attract to yourself a friendly world. Your attitude will bring out the best in people. You will be a factor in inspiring others to opt for their highest thought. It is sometimes difficult to love unconditionally when some person or situation has 'pushed your button', so to speak. You have a choice as to how to react. You can get angry, you can pout, you can pretend that nothing is happening (ignore the person and event), or perhaps, a better way to handle it is to deal with the situation or person in a non-attached way. Taking care of what needs to be done, responding with patience and understanding, and moving on.

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Unconditional love has to do with always coming from a loving, giving, and responsive viewpoint, recognizing the value and worth of yourself and others, and thereby producing a state of pleasure. Unconditional love is the highest truth and is not afraid to tell it.
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unconditional love means giving people the space to make their own choices, their own mis-takes, their own successes.