Salvation by Chicken Wings and Napping

Last week, ABC's Nightline aired a debate on the existence of Satan - and all the things that go along with that. Arguing for the Biblical position of the existence of the devil were Mark Driscoll (pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle) and Annie Lobert (former prostitute and founder of Hookers for Jesus - not what it sounds like).

Arguing against the existence of Satan were Deepak Chopra (New-Age author of many popular books who dresses like a classic James Bond villain) and Bishop Carlton Pearson (former evangelical demon-caster-outer).

Here's a short YouTube clip:



One of the best lines came when Mark Driscoll said (as only Driscoll can say) that if people would have made up a religion and voted on it, they would have come up with something like a "salvation by eating chicken wings and napping". At least he said that is what he would have voted for.

You can watch the entire debate by clicking here. Scroll down and click on the video labeled "Driscoll Slams Pearson's Religious History" to see a great exchange.

Diversity: Is It Really All That Great?

Okay, that title was intentionally inflamatory - but still an honest question. For the record, I'm not talking about racial diversity, or physical diversity of any kind. I'm talking about a spiritual and philosophical diversity that threatens our relationship with God. Hear me out.

Here's the article that sparked the thought: Parents Sue Florida School District Over Religious-Themed Song.

Apparently, some parents were outraged that their children were being taught an overtly religious song in a public school. The song - "In God We Still Trust" by Diamond Rio - contains the following lyrics:

"You place your hand on His Bible/When you swear to tell the truth/ His name is on our greatest monuments/And all our money, too/And when we pledge allegiance/There's no doubt where we stand/there's no separation/We're one nation under him."

Now, there are a lot of directions my mind went on this story, but the one I wanted to explore - and get your thoughts on - was the idea that we can't publicly teach our children songs about the Christian God of the Bible because we might offend the devotees of some other religion (and that includes Atheism, btw).

Even though this country was founded on Christian principles by mostly Bible-believing men, we are taught - in the name of diversity - to honor, respect, and treat as equal other belief systems. We are told over and over again how rich our culture is to have so many varied inputs into our "melting pot". Other cultures have so much to teach us we hear them say. But I can't help thinking (over there in the stubborn, politically-incorrect portion of my brain) that the "melting pot" has become a standing cesspool of diluted truth (how's that for a word picture!).

You know, there's a reason why God warned Israel about fraternizing with diverse cultures and "learning their ways". He knew it would cause them to fall away from Him and eventually bring about their nation's demise . . .

Bonus Post: The Small God of The Shack

Here's an article by Travis McSherley over at Chuck Colson's BreakPoint site. In it he makes some quick, salient points about the insidious nature of The Shack. Here are a few quick quotes:

"[The God of The Shack] is not God. At least not the God of Scripture. He (or she, in this case) doesn’t speak like God, doesn’t judge like God, and—despite the entire premise of the book—doesn’t love like God. Nearly every aspect of God’s glory and power are distorted and diminished in the “Trinity” of The Shack."

"And as much as God’s majesty and power and authority are diminished, His Word is completely disregarded . . . With the tether to Scripture broken, the book makes plenty of bold, though unsupported, assertions involving God’s sovereignty, man’s free will, forgiveness, submission and relational hierarchy, the purpose of pain, the design of Heaven . . ."

". . . there are a number of truths in The Shack, even valuable ones . . . But these small nuggets of truth are in no way worth taking in the abundance of theological distortion."

You can read the entire article here.

To play off an old Jerry Reed song title: William P. Young got the gold mine; truth got the shaft.

Mark Driscoll on The Shack

Here's the second of two posts on the Christian publishing phenomenon known as The Shack.

This video features Seattle pastor Mark Driscoll debunking the book - which he refers to as heresy. As you'll see, Pastor Mark is one of these up and coming church leaders who is well-grounded in solid Biblical doctrine.

The purpose of this is to really lay out the facts about the book and let Christians decide. Is this a serious misrepresentation of Almighty God, or are we to view it as simply a harmless little allegory that deeply touches our emotions?

The Shaft

Here's the first of two posts on the Christian publishing phenomenon known as The Shack.

A good, Biblically-solid friend of mine was carrying around a copy of the book just recently, and I realized that the deception still continues! Just so there's no confusion about how I feel about the book, here's a cartoon I drew several months ago:

BigDog Robot Being Used in Afghanistan

I love this kind of stuff! Here's a 4-legged robot that looks like a headless canine and uses a gasoline engine that whines like a pack of killer bees - CREEPY!

Here's more from the article:

"Its robot brain, a sophisticated computer, controls locomotion sensors that adapt rapidly to the environment. The entire control system regulates, steers and navigates ground contact. A laser gyroscope keeps BigDog on his metal paws — even when the robot slips, stumbles or is kicked over."

Read more here.

On a related side note: I took the fam to see Knowing this weekend and saw previews for the new Terminator movie . . .

Town Outraged After Pastor Takes In Child Killer

FOXNews.com reports:

A pastor in this quiet, picturesque New England town opened his doors to a
convicted child killer who had served his time but had nowhere to go.

You can read the article here.

Is this good Christian charity or just plain irresponsible? Would you want this in your neighborhood? Would you open your home up to someone with this history? WWJD?