2 Corinthians 8:14: January 2012

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

HuffPo: Why Evangelicals Hate Jesus

"Hate" in a figurative, highly inflamatory-to-get-page-views sense, of course:

It is perhaps one of the strangest, most dumb-founding ironies in contemporary American culture. Evangelical Christians, who most fiercely proclaim to have a personal relationship with Christ, who most confidently declare their belief that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, who go to church on a regular basis, pray daily, listen to Christian music, and place God and His Only Begotten Son at the center of their lives, are simultaneously the very people most likely to reject his teachings and despise his radical message.

This is a article I would highly reccomend reading, if anything for the phraseology "Terminator Jesus." Instant classic. The article finishes thusly:

Of course, conservative Americans have every right to support corporate greed, militarism, gun possession, and the death penalty, and to oppose welfare, food stamps, health care for those in need, etc. -- it is just strange and contradictory when they claim these positions as somehow "Christian." They aren't.

An author after my own heart.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Forgiveness as an Excuse

One of Newt's former wives will reveal on ABC's Nightline tonight that he wanted an "open" marriage. (See the story at Huff Po) The response from the GOP field? "Eh, God'll forgive him." The hypocricy is sickening. The party of family values and traditional marriage accepts a man who has not only been married three times but, as it's now revealed, wanted to sleep around during the second?

It is quite clear that those claiming to vote their "values" and "morals" have neither. Their goal is not to legislate the Christian faith, nor is it to ensure a just nation founded on Biblical precepts. It is about voting for what they believe to be their faith. That is, voting for the comfortable charade they put on as a faith; voting for the golden calf they've named Jesus.

Christianity is about charity, real forgiveness, and doing what's best for society as a whole. The GOP embodies none of that. Rather, it embodies a mere blasphemous charade of those tenets, wearing them as a mask to obtain the support of willing dupes who'd rather believe a lie than embrace the truth. The fact that they're prepared to accept Newt Gingrich as their president, despite his blatant disregard for the beliefs they claim to hold, is ample evidence of such.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Preaching Today

FYI - I'll be preaching at Centerville Baptist Fellowship, meeting at the Lakeview Elementary Cafeteria, at 10am today, and at Hope Baptist Fellowship, meeting at the Corydon bowling alley, at 1pm. Feel free to stop in!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

It Was Bound to Happen

Wednesday nights, Denise and I host a Bible study at our home. Toward the end of last week's, the topic of conversation turned to politics; specifically, who our new state representatives would be following the upcoming district realignments. A few names were brought up, and I mentioned how I had met all the individuals in question and found them to be warm individuals. One participant asked where I had been to meet three of our elected officials. I replied I that I had met them at "last month's meeting," referring to the Democratic central planning committee meeting held each month.
"You're a member of the planning committee?" They asked.
"I attend the meetings," I answered.
"Well I've never seen you there." They responded with an odd look on their face. Here it comes, I thought.
"I go to the meetings...."
"Republican?"
"Nope..." I smiled. The room fell silent as the proverbial pin dropped. Then the question was asked.
"How can you be a Christian and a Democrat?"
This a question I'm not unaccustomed to, nor am I unprepared for it. I laughed, and gave my standard "there's more to politics than gay marriage and abortion" response. Given that we host a Southern Baptist Bible study, it was a response that took many by surprise. It led to a quite spirited debate about the purpose of government and our elected leaders. All in all it went as good as could be expected, with some even agreeing on some very left-of-center views, such as the need for a living wage standard.

Amen

The only possible reason I can see for God telling all these people to run for office is so we can see how hypocritical and ignorant they are.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Freedom works both ways...

Here's one that'll make ya think.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

John Hagee: Praying for War

This... this is a doozy. Praying for war. Where does one even begin? One verse comes to mind right away, Matthew 5:9. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." Another relavant, perhaps moreso, verse is 1 Tim 2:1-2: "I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." Does what "Pastor" Hagee preaches sound a think like what Paul writes to Timothy? Does it sound like an exhortation to pray for our leaders to be quiet and peaceful?

Sadly, John Hagee is focused on one thing: The return of Christ, or at least his vision of how it will occur. Mr. Hagee seems to constantly fantasize about the action-hero Jesus who comes to earth with an assault rifle and abs of steel; a Messiah with an attitude, as it where. A savior who doesn't come to save the sinner, rather one who comes to grip his followers in a manly hug while bidding "hasta la vista" to the chaff he throws in the fire.

Massive, all-out war in the middle east is the fantasy of doomsday evangelicals such as Hagee. The only way Christ can return is if there's a massive bloodbath in Israel which (for some reason) involves Russia, America, and a modern-day Roman empire, which is increasingly thought to be the EU. We can only have peace on earth with Christ our lord if the blood of innocents fills the streets of Jerusalem. Make sense? Of course it doesn't - but that's Evangelical pre-trib rapture theory for you. Scripture and logic be damned, we want a war to usher in our hunky savior and we'll pray on cable TV until it happens.

Thought on Matthew 5:43-48: Godly perfection is treating everyone, sinner and saved alike, as equal.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Tebowing...

Found on the Interwebz:

If Tim Tebow thanks God for every great performance, does that mean he can blame God when he sucks?

It's a valid point, and one which touches upon why I get so irked by people who live with their faith on their sleeve. When you go around telling people that God is the reason for everything great in your life (which he may very well be, I will ardantly admit) you leave yourself open to giving the impression that he's also to blame when things go wrong.

"Look at me!" you say. "God loves me because I won a football game!" That's all good and well, but what about when you loose? Does God still love you? If he loves you so much, why didn't the Broncos win every game you played? Of course we all know that God loves us no matter what, win or lose. But when we're so emphatic about Christ, especially when we're successful, we leave ourselves and others open to wondering if God doesn't love us when the hard times hit. My advice? Worship in your own quiet way, to yourself.

God and Glenn Beck dislike Obama

I should have read more of that last article before posting. Check this out:

“Your country will be torn apart by internal stress. A house divided cannot stand. Your president holds a radical view of the direction of your country which is at odds with the majority, expect chaos and paralysis. Your President holds a view which is at odds with the majority. It’s a radical view of the future of the country, so that’s why we’re having this division.”
“This is a spiritual battle, which can only be won by overwhelming prayer. The future of the world is at stake because if America falls, there’s no longer a strong champion of freedom and a champion of the oppressed of the world. There must be an urgent call to prayer. The Lord said, a time of maximum stress and peril, greater than at any time since the CBN ministry began. This country will begin disintegrating.”
He goes on to say, “He is saying you will have worse stress than before. So I’m saying, ‘God, let me give you some suggestions and you tell me if any of them is right, pick one,’” Robertson explained. “I said, ‘Is it an EMP blast? No that isn’t it. Is it a cosmic or solar or radiation blast? No. Is it Mayan galaxy alignment? No. Is it Iranian or North Korean nuclear threat? No. Is it an earthquake or a volcano? No. Is it a massive power failure? No.’”
“What is it? It’s an economic collapse. This is not my judgment, they are bringing it upon themselves.’”

It's amazing how close "God" sounds like Glenn Beck and GOP talking points. Also, why would "God" describe Barack Obama as "your president," when the Bible itself states that all leaders are chosen by God? God gives us our leaders, so wouldn't that make Obama... God's fault?

Beware of False Prophets?

Pat Robertson has apparently been informed by the almighty Himself who the next president shall be. The kicker? Ol' Pat doesn't want to say who this president will be. I'm sure there's a number of reasons; first and foremost the fact that God didn't tell Pat who the next President will be. I can safely say this, since Pat has had numerous incorrect predictions in the past. That and, well, I don't buy the whole divine knowledge thing. In fact, it's one of the main reasons I have such a hard time accepting evangelical Christianity. People like Rick Perry, Michele Bachman, and all the rest claiming that God himself told them to run for president... it's infuriating.

Matthew 7:15, NIV: "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."

How many times has Pat Robertson made false predictions? How many asinine things has he spewed in the past few years? Quite a few, assuredly. From the Hatian earthquake being the result of centuries-old voodoo practice to Katrina being the end-result of homosexuality, this man has run the gammut of idiotic utterances.

2 Corinthians 8:14