Tom Ogren

Old World Protestant and Beyond Tom Ogren

A number of us have been raised in this nation and, to some existent, in the churches that this nation has fostered. Each church has its story to tell that we have traditionally come to accept in the stories handed down as we listened. Much of the knowledge that we have accepted concerning this nation of churches is, for the most part, presumptuous; meaning, we know some of what constitutes the truth, but a lot of what we have acquired to be reliable history of our church has been preempted by what is considered more acceptable version of what's considered to be true of the church. When this happens in the church, it also spills over in the knowledge of what formed our nation. The Bible is a precise biography of God's church and its history, giving each of us a view of God's church and those that desired to be a part of that church by faith and those that sought it on their own terms. The examples are many, as we read through these pages that spell out to us the sad ending of those that thought that their way was something that God should accept, seeming sufficient in the eyes of each beholder. In the reading of God's Word are examples of faithfulness along with what some considered faith but was lacking in one meaningful way, love to God as their creator while manifesting love to man. This was missing. Something that each of us in our fallen state easily loses sight of. This we do naturally, but what comes naturally to us is not the kingdom that Jesus came to establish when coming to this earth and His church. The short essays that are contained in these pages are to broaden our knowledge of Bible content, while it portrays the life story of those that struggled in one way or another to be, by faith, recipients of that Spirit that reflects the love that Jesus submitted to while selflessly going to the cross. Leaving us His example of what true love will do for those they love, in the name of Jesus.