A “Red Cell” is a military term that is used to describe a small group of people who work on a plan for the enemy in order to test the friendly plan and to allow a reaction capability when our military units run simulations and exercises. It could be as simple as two people describing what the enemy would most likely do once our forces take an action. It could be as complicated as a large group inputting data, troop movements, and decisions into a computer simulation. What it does is to add a thinking element against a friendly force’s plans and insert unanticipated circumstances into exercises- in short, making our units stronger, more effective, and able to adjust to the complexity of real warfare much better.
A “Red Cell” in religious terms would be much the same as it is in military terms. Imagine Satan as an enemy that acts through surrogates- associates who try to get you to cheat, “friends” who encourage you to lie, secularists who articulate their worldview much better than we do. In order to better defeat these surrogates, we must hone our beliefs into a strong weapon, able to make mincemeat out of any attack on our belief system. A believer should not only know what is in scripture, but he or she must understand how “the enemy” can attack those verses. We must stay one step ahead of the opposition, or risk the loss of parts of our team to stronger-sounding ideas.
Our faith is strong as it is backed up by the Word and hundreds of years of practice and belief. But we must anticipate the actions of those who would destroy or slowly erode what we believe. I propose the establishment of a First Pres of Leavenworth “Red Cell” and encourage all who wish for a deeper understanding of our faith to read the monthly posts, think about them, research and have discussions in order to better counter the ideas, and ultimately come away with perhaps a stronger grasp of why we believe what we believe.
The motto of our Red Cell will be, “To Question All Assumptions”, with the idea being that if we don’t, we won’t be prepared when others do. I invite all to join “The Red Cell” of First Pres.
Welcome to The Red Cell!
If this is your first visit here, please take a moment to peruse the posts and comments. Try to see things from the vantage point of someone who does not know God.
The "Red Cell Thoughts" are not to be taken as a position of this blog- they are meant to stir thought. Please feel free to post other thoughts, questions, and possible answers. All posts are anonymous, but feel free to provide your name if you so desire. The Red Cell facilitators reserve the right to edit comments that are rude or offensive. Having said that, a little bit of offensiveness may be allowed- because if we offend no-one, then we might not be working hard enough! Remember, the Christian religion was founded on questioning the prevailing wisdom of the day and the Protestant Reformation continued that tradition. Don't be afraid to question all your assumptions.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
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Do you mind if I do a little proofreading as I go along because that (spelling and grammar) is always the first thing I look at when I peruse something? It's just my background in journalism coming out I guess. Anyway, when I hear the phrase "red cell", I automatically think of red blood cells and that reminds me of the blood Jesus shed on the cross on behalf of sinners past, present and future. That unselfish act and the resurrection of the Christ set Christianity apart from all other religions as far as I'm concerned. For if God had not raised Jesus from the dead, as Paul reminds us, then our hope is in vain. More later - the River Rat.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, with regard to the proofreading, on the first line in the third paragraph of your post, you don't need a hyphen between the word "backed" and the word "up". Now you would need a hyphen if you were talking about, say, a backed-up drain in someone's home. You know, I think there is a spiritual application here somewhere because if we fill our brains with too much worldly garbage and never go to church, read the Bible or discuss the scriptures with fellow believers, then there's a pretty good chance that our brains will back up at some point and overflow with sewage. Not a pretty picture. More later - the River Rat.
ReplyDeleteProofread away! If you actually want to edit, then I'll have to make you an honorary moderator. Send me an email (gmartinrtt1@gmail.com) if interested and we'll set that up. As I'm not the best grammar-atician, I won't personally be too worried about perfect grammar.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good thought on the blood. I know some religions believe the communion wine actually turns into His blood- any thoughts on that?
I have heard the idea that Jesus dying on the Cross is what sets Christianity apart. Coming from a non-believer's point of view, however, I am wondering why that is important. I get that it is because of the idea that works don't get you into Heaven- only Jesus does, but, again, from a non-believer's point of view, why should he/she believe that over anything else? What makes works so bad and Jesus so good as a principle?
Your point is well taken. It is very difficult to put myself in the position of a non-believer, but I will try. In light of the standards of proof that we use today in our court system, no, we cannot prove one way or another that Jesus rose from the grave or that He even lived in the first place because we are merely relying on the writings of people who lived many, many years ago and are no longer around to be questioned. However, it should be noted that these people were apparently willing to die awful deaths for what they had witnessed first hand and subsequently believed in, and as Paul later observed, people generally aren't likely to willingly die for something they really aren't so sure about. This is the ultimate test - what are we willing to die for? Of course, we've had a lot of people who were willing to die for Hitler, and we had 900 some people who were willing to die for Jim Jones back in the late '70s. People are easily led astray, history has shown us, and they will be led astray yet again. Faith in something can be a collective experience, but ultimately it has to become a personal experience, for both believers and would-be believers. Even so, I would like to believe that my faith, when accompanied by works, could be enough to win over a non-believer at some point. James tells us that faith without works is dead, and I believe that Jesus wants us to engage in good works because He tells us that we will be known by the fruits we produce. Yes, non-believers also engage in doing works, but I maintain that simply by doing so they are displaying a faith in something. Otherwise, they are just doing works to stay busy. Believers and non-believers alike have faith in something, It's just a matter of what. - the River Rat.
ReplyDeleteThose are good points, but like you say- other not-so-great movements' followers give their lives for their cause too. Some Baptists have told me that the Bible IS undeniable truth and if you question whether it is the truth then you are a "denier" of the Truth (with a capital "T"), as if you should just accept it and move on.
ReplyDeleteI guess what I am looking for is the underlying principle of Jesus and Grace. It seems to me that if there is an underlying principle(s) to those concepts of the Christian faith that could be universally viewed as worthy-enough principles to reject other religions and accept the Christian one, then that would be something that I think an unbeliever might be able to grasp a hold of.
For instance, let's say that a very important principle we can agree on is "modesty" or "humbleness" and the assumption is that in the "Afterlife"- God (or, for an unbeliever: "the Universe") would value those characteristics over, say, "pride". If this is true, then the Christian concept of "Grace" would take more precedence over a concept that stresses "works" for acceptance into "Heaven" (or, for the unbeliever: a higher form of existence in the "Afterlife"). Of course, if we can't agree on that assumption- then it would be moot- we'd have to come up with some characteristics that make sense to us that would be useful or valued to God in the Afterlife and tie them to "Grace", in my opinion.
I thought this recent letter to Billy Graham and his response to it were worth sharing because he addresses this notion that all roads somehow lead to Heaven. One can be very sincere and at the same time very wrong, he maintains. Now there are those who believe that everyone, including atheists, will end up in Heaven, but that's based on the belief first of all that there is an after-life, and second that Whoever or Whatever is in charge of that after-life will demonstrate grace toward those who did not believe in Him/Her/It.
ReplyDeleteDear Billy Graham: I don't think it makes any difference what religion you follow, as long as you sincerely believe in some spiritual power higher than yourself. In my opinion, all religions end up in the same place. They just take different paths to get there. -S.R.
Dear S.R.: Let me ask you a question: Do you apply this idea or principle to any other part of life? In other words, do you think it really doesn't make any difference how you act, as long as you are sincere? For example, if the doctor writes you a prescription, do you tell him that you aren't going to bother getting it filled because it doesn't make any difference which medicine you take, as long as you're sincere? I seriously doubt it. Or do you avoid warning your children about the dangers of traffic, because you think it won't make any difference what they do? No, of course not. Life constantly confronts us with decisions, and every one has a wrong way and a right way. The same is true with God, and one reason is because God himself has given us the right way. Only one thing separates us from God, and that is our sin. But Jesus Christ came into the world to make our forgiveness possible, and he did this by becoming the final and complete sacrifice for our sins. When we trust Christ and open our hearts to him, God forgives us and gives us salvation as a free gift. The Bible says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Don't be deceived, but receive God's gift by committing your life to Christ today. - the River Rat.