Pat Robertson and Ecclesiastical Idiocy

If you haven't seen it, here's the video where Pat Robertson cites a Haiti legend as the reason for the island's troubles, most notably poverty and earthquakes.



Now, I'm a Christian, but I'm not hyperspiritual and I don't buy what Pat Robertson is saying.

The pact with Satan is an unsubstantiated rumor from Haiti's past. A World Net Daily article quotes Haitian Christian minister, Jean R. Gelin PHD, who has studied the issue (emphasis mine):

. . . such a strong affirmation should be based on solid historical and scriptural ground. But, although the satanic pact idea is by far the most popular explanation for Haiti's birth as a free nation, especially among Christian missionaries and some Haitian church leaders, it is nothing more than a fantastic opinion that ultimately dissipates upon close examination.

This really bugs me. Aside from the inherent cruelty of the statement (that being the idea that Haiti brought this on itself), when a high profile minister such as Robertson publicly cites this as a reason for the earthquake, it threatens the credibility of every Christian minister. How can we expect the world to take our claims of eternal life or damnation seriously when we are seen as giving credence to legends and rumors?

Survey Says: Half of Clergy Members View Pornography Every Month

Here's the disturbing story from the Canada Free Press.com:

The reality of Christian America’s shift away from faith in God and sound doctrine is evident by some staggering statistics.

. . . perhaps the most shocking news coming from these surveys concerns the men (and women) in the pulpit. In any given month at least 50% of priests, pastors, and ministers have visited at least one pornographic website.

Why this decay? Why is the church worldlier than ever? There are many reasons: Liberal theology that denies the inerrancy of the Holy Bible; the attempt by many churches to grow in numbers instead of making disciples; churches that love tell you ‘God loves you’ but don’t preach the need for Repentance.

You can read the entire article here.

Ingrid Schlueter over at the CrossTalk blog adds this salient commentary:

The enemy has used porn to derail more lives and ministries than probably anything else . . . If half of all pastors are watching this filth, you can only guess at what the laity is doing.

We are living at a time that resembles the that of Noah. Everyone, including tens thousands of professing Christian pastors, seems to be doing what is right in their own eyes. Scripture tells us that judgment begins at the house of God. Porn-viewing pastors, and porn viewing Christians in general, have reason to tremble.

Dr. Dobson's Problem Child

Get Religion.org has an interesting article on what James Dobson is doing now. Seems he’s launching a nonprofit Christian group and will be hosting an accompanying radio show with his son, Ryan.

This new ministry will be focused on the family (it’s called James Dobson on the Family) and will be in direct competition with Focus on the Family – a ministry Dobson started back in 1977 and stepped down from in February 2009. Dobson is already hitting up potential donors for the startup costs of $2 million.

According to sources within FOTF referenced in the article, Dobson was frustrated at being forced to leave before he wanted to go.

Furthermore, there’s speculation that Dobson had wanted to pass the torch to his son, Ryan, but couldn’t do it at FOTF because Ryan went through a divorce in 2001.

You can read the article by clicking here, but here’s my take on the whole thing: I question Dobson’s motives. He seems to have an axe to grind and, while everybody’s saying the right things, it looks like he’s sticking it to his estranged child, Focus on the Family.

Three years ago I wouldn’t have thought an iconic religious leader like Dobson could be motivated by power, greed, and ambition. But I’ve seen the ugly side of the ministry business, and it does things to people. With this much power and money flowing through a ministry, I can see how a person’s “focus” could get skewed.

Fox News' Brit Hume to Tiger Woods: Turn to Christianity

Wow. I didn't think I'd ever see this. Way to go, Brit.

Okay, so he didn't go into the theological basis for salvation by Christ alone - I'm sure there were time constraints - but he'll take some serious flak for the little bit he did say. Notice co-host Bill Kristol's uncomfortable little joke at the end.

Churches across America are filled with Sunday morning pulpiteers who could learn a lesson or two from Brit Hume about boldness.

Article: Vatican Newspaper Praises "The Simpsons"

Wow - didn't see this one coming! Here's the scoop:

According to Catholic News Service, the Vatican paper went on to describe "The Simpsons" as "tender and irreverent, scandalous and ironic, boisterous and profound, philosophical -- and sometimes even theological -- nutty synthesis of pop culture and of the lukewarm and nihilistic American middle class."

"Simultaneously reflecting modern people's indifference toward and great need for the sacred, Homer ... finds his ultimate refuge in God."

You can read the entire article here.

And to think I was once chastised by my pastor for referring to The Simpsons during a youth message . . .

Priest Says Shoplifting is Okay - Seriously

The Yorkshire Evening Post reported that on Sunday, the reverend Tim Jones told his congregation at the Church of Saint Lawrence in York that it was okay for poor people struggling to survive to steal food and other essentials from stores.

Here's more from the article:

"My advice, as a Christian priest, is to shoplift," he said, as originally reported in the Yorkshire Evening Post. "I do not offer such advice because I think that stealing is a good thing, or because I think it is harmless, for it is neither."

Jones set down strict guidelines for would-be Christian criminals. "I would ask that [people] do not steal from small, family businesses, but from large national businesses, knowing that the costs are ultimately passed on to the rest of us in the form of higher prices," he said. "[And] I would ask them not to take any more than they need, for any longer than they need."

Needless to say, the reverend Jones has come under some serious fire from authorities and storeowners alike.

Modern Youth Ministry Labeled "Indisputably Unbiblical"

In a recent conference, Scott Brown, director of the National Center for Family-Integrated Churches, claimed that modern youth ministry is "indisputably unbiblical."

Here are a few tidbits from the article:

Age-segregated youth ministry, trained youth ministers and programs to draw and entertain youth are a new invention in the history of the church, Brown said.

"Modern youth ministry is also inherently destructive in its impact. It divides the church by creating generational division and multiple cultures instead of a unified 'body,'" he maintained.

. . . age segregation leads to the isolation of an individual's perspective to one that only looks outward from within the confines of their age group and excludes the lessons that can and should be learned from previous generations," he adds.

The National Center for Family-Integrated Churches holds that the biblical order and unity of the family are crucial to the stability and health of the Church of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, churches have contributed to the breakdown of the family, the center claims.

"We now have almost three generations of children who had no father who walked beside them but a youth group instead. It is obvious that half a decade of youth group does not produce young people who are passionate about the church."

Research and estimates by youth workers have suggested that a majority of youth group seniors drop out of church after graduating.

Brown is quick to point out that while he rejects youth groups, he supports ministry to youths. He advocates generous investments in teaching Scripture to teens.

Having been a part of the church machine for the past 25 years or so, and most of that spent in youth ministry, I have to say that – for the most part – I agree.

I don’t have a problem with teens having their own group, but I’ve seen it go way too far – to the point where teens don’t know what to do with themselves after they graduate and are no longer a part of the “youth group”.

I also don’t have a problem with burping contests, and snot shot contests, and all those crazy things, but I’ve seen those become the soul purpose of the youth ministry. In all my years, I always strove to teach solid Biblical doctrine to teens while allowing them to have fun on their own terms. And, all in all, it worked pretty well. The main emphasis, however, must be the Biblical presentation of the gospel and discipleship.

And Brown hits a home run with his indictment of the failure of families (and fathers in particular) to teach Biblical truths in the home. That, in fact, is the Biblical pattern.

Article: The War on Christmas

Every year we hear the battle cry, "Don't take Christ out of Christmas!" and we know the Christmas wars have begun once again. But here's an article that explores the battle fronts taking place in areas other than the hallowed manger in Bethlehem.

Here are a few quotes on a few different topics:

Economics

In his book, "Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays," [Joel] Waldfogel says gifts generate less satisfaction than things we buy ourselves. We don't really know what other people want, he says, but we do know what we want. Because of this, in his view, Christmas shopping is "an orgy of wealth destruction" as we spend on things people don't value as much as the money we pay for them.

"I'm not against spending, just sloppy spending," Waldfogel said on NPR's Tell Me More.

Health

Last week, Australian public health expert Dr. Nathan Grills of Monash University was called a "killjoy" and a "scrooge" in the media for an article he wrote suggesting Santa Claus was promoting bad health habits. The article, called "Santa Claus: A public health pariah?" was published at bmj.com, a British medical journal, and suggested that Santa was sending the wrong message with his obesity, drunk sleigh-driving, speeding and generally bad lifestyle choices.

Grills also said Santa could easily become a vehicle for spreading disease because he allows so many children to sit on his lap. Factor in all the sugary products he helps sell, he added, and the man in red is clearly not pushing a healthy agenda.

Editor's note: Grills later said the article was a spoof he wrote in his spare time.

Environmental

As Christmas trees went up and light displays started flashing around the world, some people cringed at the thought of the electricity required to light the season.

Many of these light detractors suggest swapping out traditional Christmas lights with LED (light-emitting diodes) strings, which can be 90 percent more efficient.

While using LED lights may be a step in the right direction, some point out that many of those lights still end up on carbon-eating trees that have been mercilessly chopped down.

Selling Jesus

Here’s an interesting article about one of my pet peeves: Christian Marketing. Ever since I saw “Testamints” (breath mints with Bible verses on them) at my local Christian retailer, I’ve been cynical about the selling of what church marketing consultant Brad Abare calls “Jesus Junk”.

In this article, Abare nails it:

"We think it's just dumb. It's not a true reflection of creativity," said Abare, of the nonprofit Center for Church Communication in Los Angeles.

He’s speaking specifically about the current t-shirt trend where widely recognized logos such as Subway, iPod, American Idol, and Coca Cola are altered to contain, upon closer inspection, Christian themes.

“Reese’s” becomes “Jesus”.
“American Idol” becomes “Amazing Grace”.
“Sprite” becomes “Spirit”.

Some are going beyond the creativity criticism and questioning the copyright infringement. Aren’t these clever religious marketers violating the eighth commandment – thou shalt not steal?

My main concern is that these cheesy, banal rip offs will cheapen the message of Scripture. How are we to take seriously the idea of a loving God giving his only Son as a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins against His holiness, when we see Him referred to as “My Homeboy”?

The Audacity of Forgiveness

Lately, God’s been dealing with me about forgiveness – both seeking it and offering it. I had no idea how challenging it would be. Forgiveness is never easy. In fact, it can be, as one commentator said, “the most difficult thing in the universe.”

Making it doubly difficult is our culture, which mocks at the idea of forgiveness. We are constantly encouraged to exploit our “right” to be offended at everything and exact vengeance on those who cross us.

Forgiveness, however, is a fundamental pillar of Christian character, and perhaps the one that is the most easily neglected. But to neglect it causes great harm. It can turn the Christian into the very things he hates: harsh, rigid, and bitter. This, in turn, leads to holding grudges and elevating pride.

As uncomfortable as it is, it is absolutely essential in Christian relationships. Though we hate to admit it, the church has its share of sins, imperfections, errors, misjudgments, and wrong attitudes, and these occur among the church leadership as well as the congregation.

John MacArthur:

The church needs to be filled with forgiving people because in this life people are always going to do things that irritate others or cause problems. If you’re willing to forgive an offender, you’ll be free from the bondage of bitterness. You’ll also be free to be forgiven by God and experience blessing from Him.

In the next few posts, I’ll share what I’ve been learning about forgiveness from the Scriptures.

The Hypocrisy of Forgiveness

It's easy to preach forgiveness when you're the offender; not so much when you're the offended . . .

Now, don't misunderstand me, forgiveness is an integral quality for a healthy life. It is indespensible in relationships with our fellow man as well as with God.

But, in my considerable ministerial experience, I've seen forgiveness applied with both hypocrisy and cruelty. How?

It goes something like this:

You realize you've offended someone. You apologize and then (humbly) demand that they forgive you. Sometimes you don't even have to apologize - you just stress the fact that they need to forgive even if there is no apology forthcoming (it's helpful if you're able to do this from a position of power, like a pulpit).

If there's still no discernible forgiveness on the part of the offended party, it's time to pull out the big guns. Scare them into submission by belaboring the point that God is on your side, and if they don't forgive you, He won't forgive them. If you're crafty, you can make this threat ambiguous enough so that they aren't sure if you're saying they will lose their salvation, or just be afflicted with some sort of malady that will make them a little less comfortable - like gout, or or a hellacious case of gas.

You can then rest easily, knowing that the person you have wronged has been properly warned against holding any kind of grudge against you. Furthermore, any retaliative action on their part will be further confirmation of their lack of forgiveness, and will get them in even deeper trouble with God, who - as has been previously stated - is on your side.

Now, put the shoe on a horse of a different gander (or something like that). You're the one who has been horribly offended. I mean, some low-life slob has debased himself and sunk to an all-time low in an attempt to hurt you.

And it did hurt, too.

And let's say, for kicks and giggles, that the offender has offered a public, heartfelt apology.

What do you do? Do you forgive and forget? Or do you launch a campaign of your own to further sully the scum's name and ostracise him or her?

I've been on both sides of this debate, and I can tell you - it ain't easy. At times I've responded well, and at times I've failed miserably.

How aboout you?

Article: Did Christianity Cause the Crash?

For years I have decried the bad theology and inherent cruelty of the prosperity gospel. I even earned myself some pretty serious reprimands from the leadership I was under at the time for publicly calling out some of the more egregious Ministers of Mammon.

So, I was fascinated when I ran across this article over at The Atlantic that examined the role this teaching may have played in the recent financial crash. I'd heard thoughts on this before, but journalist Hanna Rosin really goes into great detail explaining the prosperity movement, its appeal, and its likely impact on our country's current financial malaise.

It's a pretty long article (3 whole pages - a virtual War and Peace to this 140-character twitter generation!), so here's a quick quote that sort of encapsulates the whole:

. . . critics have begun to argue that the prosperity gospel, echoed in churches across the country, might have played a part in the economic collapse. In 2008, in the online magazine Religion Dispatches, Jonathan Walton, a professor of religious studies at the University of California at Riverside, warned:

"Narratives of how 'God blessed me with my first house despite my credit' were common … Sermons declaring 'It’s your season of overflow' supplanted messages of economic sobriety and disinterested sacrifice. Yet as folks were testifying about 'what God can do,' little attention was paid to a predatory subprime-mortgage industry, relaxed credit standards, or the dangers of using one’s home equity as an ATM.

In 2004, Walton was researching a book about black televangelists. 'I would hear consistent testimonies about how ‘once I was renting and now God let me own my own home,’ or ‘I was afraid of the loan officer, but God directed him to ignore my bad credit and blessed me with my first home,’' he says. 'This trope was so common in these churches that I just became immune to it. Only later did I connect it to this disaster.'

You can read the entire article by clicking here.

Just two quick thoughts:

I think it's sad how people in this time were taught that their loan approval was a blessing from God, when it was only at the behest of a bad government program.

And finally, this is what happens when the church gets away from its true mission and begins dabbling in the flesh.

The Bible: Taking on A Classic Argument for Divine Inspiration

I believe the Bible is the Word of God. I also believe that the current sixty-six books we have fully constitute the inspired Scriptures - nothing should be added, none should be left out. But lately I've been thinking critically about an argument we Christians have been trained to use to help prove the inspiration of Scripture.

For years I have believed, and taught, that one of the greatest testimonies to the divine inspiration of the Bible is the incredible unity it contains. We tell students that the Scriptures were written over a 1500 year period, on three different continents, and in three different languages. We say that it was written by over 40 different authors in all different walks of life: farmers, kings, judges, poets, tax collectors, priests, doctors, etc.

And we like to point out how, in spite of these vast influences of time, culture, and geography, the Holy Writ is amazingly consistent in dealing with such controversial topics as the nature of God, the nature of man, death, eternity, personal ethics, worship, etc.

Finally, we conclude this proves that One Divine Hand guided the writers as they wrote. But, I have to wonder . . . does it really? I mean, all of that is true, but is it a valid argument for divine inspiration?

Plain and simple, the sixty-six books of the Bible are so remarkably consistent because way back in 393 AD, a standard was recognized to weed out books and letters that just didn't fit in.

This standard is called the “canon” – an architectural term referring to a standard measuring rod. In 393 the Council of Hippo (no giggling!) recognized the canon for the Bible.

From ChurchTimeline.com (emphasis mine):

To be recognized as canonical, a book had to be Apostolic, fit in with the other scriptures, and have been of fruitful use throughout the church up to that time.

So, claiming that the unity of Scripture is indicative of divine inspiration is simplistic and misleading – mundane steps were taken to insure they were unified.

Yes, the Bible is the word of God, but there are much better reasons to believe.

National Day of Prayer is in doubt . . .

It's true! This article in the Washington Post has the story. Here are a few quotes:

"Obama Has Yet to Announce Whether He Will Continue Tradition of Hosting Conservative Evangelicals, Who Now Have Made Other Plans"

"The White House . . . declined to comment on whether it would even hold an event this year, much less who would be invited. "

"[Some speculate] that if the White House does mark the day, it would probably include "lots of different types of religious leaders," akin to the interfaith feel of last year's Democratic National Convention."

I'm wondering, though . . . do we really want a day of prayer hosted by a President who's just not that into it? Do we really want to play politics with prayer?

Finally, if Obama had a taste for the ironic he'd go ahead full steam with the event - and invite the Reverend Jeremiah Wright to lead it . . . .

Obama: "We Do Not Consider Ourselves A Christian Nation"

Some Quick Observations on Church Life in America

The guys over at Resurgence.com have posted an interesting study on church life dealing with staff, worship, and pastors’ job duties. Here’s a sample:

• 
  The number of paid staff for the average congregation is three. But nearly half of all congregations have one paid staff member.
  
• 
  The median pastor who is paid by the congregation works about 50 hours per week.
  
• 
  In almost all congregations, about half of the attendees stay after the worship service to socialize for about 25 minutes.
  
• 
  53.4 percent of congregations have small groups meeting regularly.

You can read the rest by clicking here.

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 . . .

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?

Holy Cheetos! People are seeing Jesus everywhere!

Okay, so what are we to do with this?

We could be skeptical: That was about as legit as a Fred Phelps smile.
We could wax sarcastic: Wow! I just saw Jesus in a liberal church! What're the odds? Never seen that before . . .
We could be really spiritual: Yes, but do others see Jesus in yooouuu?

What do you do with this?

American Idol: Over Half the Finalists are Christians (or have strong ties to the church)

This season's American Idol is shaping up to be a gospel music showdown.

MTV.com reports that:

"This season . . . Christians . . . are . . . watching because more than half of this year's crop of finalists — including Danny Gokey, Michael Sarver, Kris Allen, Scott MacIntyre, Matt Giraud and Lil Rounds — either have a strong affiliation with the church or are worship leaders in their communities."

And here's an interesting quote that begins the article:

'[This year's 'Idol'] shows that a Christian singer can have artistic integrity,'

Read the entire article here and come back and respond to these questions:

Understanding that we are called to come out and be separate (2 Corinthians 6:17), is this a case of Christian sellouts trying to come as close as possible to the world (you know, the whole "friendship with the world = enmity with God" truth that James talks about)?

Or are they being providentially elevated to a position of incredible influence because of their faithfulness (like the Old Testament prophet Daniel)?