Birmingham Blogs

Wade on Birmingham is a blog that obviously focuses on local events and news. I can't remember how I first stumbled upon it a few days ago, but I think it will be a regular read.

EchoBooming in Birmingham is also a B'ham-based blog, and I remember now that I found Wade on Birmingham as a link from EchoBooming, but I don't know how I first connected to EchoBooming.

Part of my recent desire to look up more Birmingham blogs and sites has been in part a reaction to the lack of quality local news as I blogged about here.

Book: Searching for God Knows What

Searching for God Knows What rose to the top of my reading list after I finished reading Donald Miller's popular book Blue Like Jazz. Searching is not as catchy or entertaining as Blue, but the book is a continuation of Miller's ability to think outside the box and make excellent points about Christianity in terms that stretch many in the mainstream of evangelical Christianity. To some extent, I would call Searching a book-length presentation of the message of salvation in Christ that challenges a believer in Christ to think about things they may have taken for granted or taken to be normal (or even biblical.) However, the book is not limited to a Christian audience. In the same vein as I would recommend Mere Christianity to a person who was not a believer, I would also think that a non-Christian could read and identify with much of Searching for God Knows What.

One of the more interesting themes that Miller develops throughout the book is his "lifeboat theory" concerning how we all live our lives as if we are in a lifeboat and fighting to keep other people out of it - people we deem as inferior to ourselves. We judge ourselves superior based on a number of things. For a Christian, such a view of themselves is utlimately one of pride that is contradictory to the grace of God.

AL.com, as in "Alabama"

Birmingham, AL, New Orleans, LA, Cleveland, OH, and many other places -
I recently filled out an online survey for the local newspaper and the online company that publishes news for Birmingham, Huntsville, and Mobile, Alabama. The survey was basically asking for my input as a reader of al.com, the online edition of the newspapers for three of Alabama's biggest cities. While a bit too lenghty, the questions in the survey were actually good. By contrast, the online news is presented very poorly.

The Advance Internet News
There are several news outlets that I had noticed online that use pretty much the same template so I looked into the matter a little more, discovering that Advance Internet is the company that produces all of these very sub-par publications. Cities included in this list are New Orleans, Cleveland, apparently the whole state of New Jersey, some of Michigan, some of Pennsylvania, some of Oregon, and others including the three cities in Alabama mentioned above. A quick look at these web sites (all listed at advance.net) shows that they are the same layout, different words and pictures.

(Okay, I obviously do blog with a free-blogging host and a commonly used template. But for my level of involvement, I don't see any comparison.)

Good News Websites
If all newspapers online were like these, there would be no problem with the paper subscriptions seeing any drop in subscribers for the paper delivery. A comparison of these generic websites with other newspaper websites with which you are familiar demonstrates the obvious difference in quality, presentation, and in most cases, the ease of use. The expectation does not have to be a website as polished as The New York Times or The Washington Post, but something of quality should be the goal with a unique design. Is that asking too much?

Higher Education and Christianity

Can religion and education go together?

Can genuine confessional Christianity thrive within a context that values serious scholarship and authentic intellectual inquiry?

David Dockery works toward an answer in this article complete with Latin phrases.

Birmingham Making Noise

An interesting article on Birmingham's music in the Washington Post...

How To Conduct a Counter-Terrorism Press Conference

In light of the news today concerning this terrorist plot headline and the subsequent press conference on TV, I have concluded that there exists an un-publicized memo in the hands of all authorities that outlines the proper way to conduct these press briefings. Though my reconstruction may be in slightly different words, I think I have formulated the majority of the original document birthed with 9/11.

1. As many levels of governing authority and law enforcement as possible should be present and included in a speaking role in the announcement.

2. All of the speakers who step to the podium (more is better) should repeat the news of what has just taken place.

3. Language should be stern. Faces must be grim.

4. The American flag must be visible (otherwise you may be accused of lacking patriotism.) You cannot have too many American flags (see also the aftermath of the 2000 Presidential Election.)
5. Terrorists are not "alleged." They are guilty until proven innocent.

6. All cities should conduct press conferences with strong rhetoric on terrorism. Even if terrorists could not find your town using Google, this rhetoric will help your re-election.

7. No matter how delighted you are to be on national TV, you must act perturbed to be taking questions from the press.

8. If there are not many details you can reveal, just be repetitive. Remember that the longer you speak the more times the television network can replay the loop of footage they have of likely unrelated "terrorist" events or the ever-important terrorist training camp.

9. "I don't know" is not an acceptable answer. "I can't comment on that," however, makes you look supremely in control.

10. No news is too small. Any plans classified as terrorism are newsworthy.

Why I Am Still a Southern Baptist

Every year in the month of June (for some strange reason) I find myself questioning whether or not being a part of the Southern Baptist Convention is best. I get caught up in the negatives and forget the positives. That's why I appreciate the timeliness of these words by Mark Dever. We all need to be reminded often of the main purpose of the SBC.

Treasure Map Approach to the Bible

Evidently there is a treasure map in the Bible that humankind is supposed to solve. Treasure Map Hermeneutics views Scripture as some amazing compilation of information that is somehow given in code that we must decipher in order to truly understand things. While this approach seems especially true when it comes to end times, many people approach the Bible as if everything contained in it is written in some sort of secret code - if we can just piece the right verses together and get our charts right, then we'll understand this strangely complex book.

This lesser view of Scripture that has flooded the church borders on the "research" reported in The Bible Code, where computerized analysis "uncovered" hidden words in Scripture. (The same approach also found similarly hidden words in Moby Dick (a.k.a. "The Whale") and could be applied to any sizable text - it is simply a study in mathematics and probability.)

Such an approach seems to be in conflict with an 'authorial intent' approach to the Bible. Interestingly, though, it seems that those who place the most emphasis on Scripture and profess to hold a "high view of Scripture" are often (not always) the ones who also communicate such a system of finding answers "hidden" somewhere in these 66 books of the Bible. The Bible becomes a big treasure map with little clues hidden here and there that, when pieced together, provide answers.

However, for this Treasure Map approach to work then one must also conclude that the inidividual writers of the books of the Bible were very cunning in the way that they presented their material. Matthew must have been joking when he wrote "let the reader understand" in Mt 24.15. Similarly, in Mt 24.42-51 Jesus tells the disciples that they will neither know what day their Lord is coming nor will he come at the time of their prediction.

The disciples prompted the whole discussion in Mt 24 by asking Jesus some questions about the coming of the end. Similarly, it is not wrong for us to seek to rightly interpret Scripture and come to grasp the meaning of the text, and it is not wrong to want to understand the end times.

The doctrine of Scripture is weak in the church today, and I believe this is in large part due to the inconsistent hermeneutical approaches of our trained pastors and teachers. I often say that I believe that the most important class taught in seminary is Hermeneutics. Modeling hermeneutics for those we teach in any arena is as important as the content of what we teach. Without realizing it, we can turn the Bible back into Latin that only the elite few are able to interpret. Let us be careful.

The Death of Death?

Birmingham fights back against crime! Well, sort of...

In a procession of church leaders that included Birmingham's mayor Kincaid, several hearses were being borrowed for an event that intended to raise awareness of the problem. From the news blurb:

“We must bury murder,” said Bishop Calvin Woods, Birmingham chapter president of Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which organized the march. “We must
bury drugs. We must bury disrespect. We must turn from death in this city to
celebrating life."

Meanwhile, the city's 54th murder of 2006 occurred near the route to be taken by the procession. The victim, who died later of gunshot wounds, was found in broad daylight.

Friendship Evangelism

John H. Armstrong makes some interesting points about evangelism and the trend of our culture. He writes

I highly doubt that any form other than friendship evangelism will work well in
our culture in the years ahead. The luxury of “hit and run” evangelism is dead and only the Christian and church that is willing to place friendship at the top of its agenda will succeed in making new disciples for Christ.

It is harder work to be intentional about building relationships and proclaiming the gospel within these contexts. Neighbors and coworkers are our most obvious harvest fields and yet we easily overlook them and think of evangelizing somewhere far away where there is little risk. So-called "hit and run" evangelism seems to produce many once and done "Christians."

New Orleans, the National Guard, and Birmingham

New Orleans has returned to the headlines, sounding the alarm this week for the National Guard to come help as the city's murder totals for 2006 have jumped to 54. While it seems to be common knowledge that New Orleans was riddled with crime before Katrina, there has apparently been an idea floating about (no pun intended) that this "new" city would be much safer. This article reads, The bloodshed has raised fears that violence is back on the rise in a city that was plagued by crime before Katrina drove out half its population of 465,000. Community leaders are afraid the violence will discourage people from returning.

As a resident of Birmingham, AL, I am always checking the crime statistics here and mapping out where violent crimes take place (none near our home, for those who care.) As I blogged some last year, the city has seen a drastic increase in murders, and as of today the city is 15 ahead of last year's frightening pace...and there is still a search in progress for two grandparents and their 19-year old grandson who have been missing the past few days. If 54 is an emergency number for New Orleans, then what is 50 for Birmingham? (53 unless this missing family is actually alive somewhere.)

Considering the problem in New Orleans, this article presents the idea that these "thugs" are coming back to New Orleans from places like Houston. Nagin said Monday that he believes some thugs are coming home from places like Houston because the judicial system is in such disarray here that they're in less danger of spending long stretches in prison.

Apparently, Nagin only wanted his upstanding residents to return after the storm. Of course, he (and everyone else except Houston) would have been fine with the criminals staying away.

As for Birmingham, the reaction to its own problems is basically no reaction thus far, just the calming rhetoric from the police spokesman:

"It's more homicides than what we would like to see. As I always say, one homicide is one too many," said Birmingham police spokesman Lt. Henry Irby. "We encourage people to not settle their differences through violence and to step away from confrontation when possible."

It seems that of these two cities, the one that should be more concerned is the one that wasn't devasted by a hurricane and has not lost its ability to fight crime. Hopefully Birmingham will wake up before it's too late.

Snoozing. Spiritual Warfare?

Is the snooze button from the devil?

The never-ending list of problems that Christians face and attribute to spiritual warfare seems to always include the problem of not getting up early enough, especially for those who consider getting up earlier a virtue related to the practice of the study of Scripture and prayer in the wee, or not-so-wee hours of the morning. Some interesting questions arise, though, when one considers that people who are not Christians also struggle with getting up when their alarm goes off. This article even refers to a practice that would lead one to get up right when the alarm goes off in the morning - and none of it has to do with anything spiritual (HT: Truepravda.)

So what makes hitting the snooze button a spiritual problem for Christians and just a personal dilemma for everyone else?

First of all, it seems that many times anything less than Enoch-like devotion to God is labeled as some sort of spiritual warfare that must be dealt with by various means as if demons were the immediate and direct cause of any lack of concentration or highest "achievement." The flesh is rarely considered to be the culprit, since even most Christians believe that they are basically good, just needing a little 'boost' to be saved.

Second, there are lessons to be learned by the discipline that people demonstrate in the way that they live their lives, even if they are actually seeking to glorify themselves rather than to glorify God. If a man can train himself to wake up much earlier than his body would desire simply so he can gain some exercise time or reading time or something else toward personal improvement and achievement, then what about the follower of Christ?

Finally, it does seem right for a Christian to take a different perspective on things in life. Believers in Christ are at war with the flesh and there certainly is a spiritual, unseen battle raging. However, a man I know once started to ask a group for prayer that he would be able to devote more time to prayer but then he recanted and said, "I just need to do it." For most people, I don't think that a messenger of the devil has to whisper in our ear suggesting that we hit the snooze button. For most of us, we voluntarily do it because the flesh is king at 5 am.

Interestingly, in his article Steve Pavlina actually writes: "Your 5am coach is no good, so you need to fire him." From a completely secular piece on getting up early, he essentially refers to the flesh and its battle against the mind. He, too, lives in a fallen world. He, too, recognizes the struggle between better and worse.

Basically Good...

Since we're all basically good and there's no such thing as a sin nature...

"Anger Syndrome Not Just Bouts of Bad Behaviour"

Immigration From USA To Mexico

This is a revealing account:
Immigration From USA To Mexico

Re-do

As you may have seen on Google News, the 'Words' blog has gone to a new look. A new 'template' actually...for those of us who are html-challenged (assuming that it is html that one needs to understand to create their own blog website - I could be mistaken.)

In case you've been looking for vast quantities of content here lately but haven't found it, there seems to have been a content leak somewhere in the old blog formatting. Hopefully this newfangled sort will be a little tighter and better able to retain all the amazing content that I'll be posting daily, even hourly on some days.

A Boy and His Dog

On a recent hike in Talledega National Forest (The Pinhoti Trail.) Celia loves to hike with us. Funny thing is, she can't heel to save her life when we're in the neighborhood, but in the middle of nowhere, she's stays glued to your leg.

We could seriously use a few sessions with 'The Dog Whisperer.' I noticed that Cesar has his own website, too. I used to tell people I was getting my degree in 'pet psychology.' That could have been me...

Blue Like Jazz

In a word, captivating.

I finally sat down with Blue Like Jazz, the Donald Miller book that has been recommended by several people around me. The other half dozen or so books I'm working through faded into the background while I found myself seeking reading time to get back to Miller's Jazz. I didn't actually gasp or fall out of my rocking chair at any of his theology (we don't agree, but he is gracious and I can be too.) Overall, I found the book a breath of fresh air, very inspiring, and a springboard for some reflection and introspection.

Barking at the Neighbors

In the same way that my dog barks at the neighbors as if they might be terrorists, people in our society appear to be perfectly confused about what is worthy of protest and what is worthy of respect. The protest over John McCain's speaking at commencement at this institution in Manhattan is only this hour's example of what has been going on with seemingly increasing frequency for several years (the years seemingly following the 2000 election.) Political position has become a variable by which the right to speak on a campus is judged - even when the officials of the campus have formally invited the one to speak, such as at commencement.

Argument by Noise

Is the demonstration format the proper one to voice the opinions of either a vocal minority or a true vocal majority? Certainly there is a time, place, and certain reasons that offer themselves as protest worthy, but the question concerning whether one agrees with the speaker on his/her main political stances should not be reason to attempt to interrupt their speech. Is there no such thing as respect anymore?

While I would argue that such a tactic is wrong no matter if the situation is conservative protesting liberal or vice versa, the argument by noise and attempt to frustrate and heckle appears to be one that is gaining ground in our society when it comes to opposing those with conservative views politically and even religious. According to the article one of the main issues that was prompting this protest of McCain is his stance on homosexuality. Because he is opposed to homosexuality and was also speaking at Liberty University in the days prior to his appearance at New School.

Un-Civil Debate

Even when the TV news spin-off programs air, so much of the rhetoric among the guests on the programs concerning their differing views becomes a contest of who can yell the loudest or speak most quickly. On the format that "fair and balanced" news shows are offering us there is no interaction whatsoever among most of those who are beamed in by satellite, rather there is merely a steady flow of strongly stated arguments for their own positions. The only one who does any interacting with these guests is the host of the show. No one seems responsible anymore for truly answering anyone else's questions.

While I do not believe that it is the news programs that are feeding the protests in question, the common element in each is the lack of any kind of respect for hearing a person's presentation. No one has to answer any questions about whether or not homosexuality is right - they can just show up in noisy masses to shout down the one man who takes a position against homosexuality (even though it is probably not a topic he was going to mention at their commencement!) The battle cry of the left on such issues seems to increasingly be similar to "Might makes right!"

Flickr

Procrastination has met its fiery doom, and thus I've uploaded some photos. I don't know if I like Flickr yet or not, but I'll give it a chance.

Look Out, Iowa and New Hampshire

Yes, look out, Iowa and New Hampshire - there's a new sheriff in town!

Yes, Alabama is moving its presidential primary to February 5th. (Oooh, I forgot to tell you, the reader, to sit down...but then you are at your computer.)

I can see it now...live town hall debates coming from Clanton, AL.

So, can just any state move its primary to whatever date decided upon?

Someone is bound to have theirs a couple of years early just for the attention it will receive if that's the case. Maybe there should be a system in place where the state with the highest average IQ should get to go first...maybe that would be Alabama.

Another New Alabama Law:
A sales tax holiday on the first weekend in August for back-to-school purchases. Honest! As if Wal-Mart wasn't crowded enough the week before school. I wonder if this applies to Best Buy???

Your Favorite Scriptures--

Your Favorite Scriptures--

Hurry and Vote now!

FBC Orlando is looking for the favorite Scripture verses of the congregation to serve as a sermon series for the summer.

Hmmm... I'm certainly not present to make an accurate evaluation of whether or not this is being done in a biblical manner, but 2 Timothy 4.3 does come to mind: "...they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires..."

The Gospel According to, um, Judas

Never mind that there is little evidence that gives any rational credibility to the document being titled 'The Gospel of Judas.' There is much irony in the presentation of the document and the weight that the media gives to it. Statements are flying everywhere like this one from National Geographic itself: The newfound account challenges one of the most firmly rooted beliefs in Christian tradition.

The greatest irony that can be found in the attention given to this document is the fact that it exists as only one written document and is estimated to have been originally written in the late 2nd Century. (If you want to read about the reliability of the real New Testament documents, go here. ) The attention given to anything that seems to detract from orthodox Christianity is nothing short of breath-taking. Every discovery that might challenge something in the Bible is front page material. When was the last time CNN did a piece on the weight of evidence in favor of the New Testament? If there is so much excitement about one single document that was supposedly written in the 2nd Century, where is the fanfare about those than can be reasonably traced to the middle of the 1st Century?

Similar to other popular writings, this discovery also provides opportunity for people to be off the hook. If the Bible must be taken seriously, then there are serious implications for every person who must deal with the claims of the Bible and the specific claims of the Bible concerning the deity and purpose of Jesus. The world will grasp at any straw and ignore the weight of evidence.

Sin

As the coverage of The Masters tournament went off on Friday, the next program that came on was "Law and Order." As usual, the show began with a crime. I was only half paying attention, but as the scene caught my eye, the horrid crime that took place caught my full attention. I will not describe it. Suffice it to say that it left a sour impression on my mind, one that I wish was not there. (I, like most of the present generation, have seen too many crimes on TV and in movies, and unfortunately, feel rather hardened to such. This one, however, has really pierced my mind.)

One image. One "acted out" sin. On TV.

Part of the sermon that our pastor preached on Sunday was asking the question about the cup that Jesus faced in the Garden at Gethsemene. In that cup, Jesus saw all the horrid sins that we was about to bear on the cross. My mind was being affected by just one that I had seen. He saw them all, and still chose to take them upon himself.

"But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him." - Isaiah 53.6

Once Saved...

The common expression "once saved, always saved" has done the kingdom of heaven about as much good as termites have done to houses. I can speak more to Baptist circles than others, but the expression has tended to be thrown around with such casual reverence that it might as well have been found right there in the Bible.

I do find that the Bible teaches that the person who is in Christ will never find themselves outside of Christ. Thus, I would, by mere definition, agree with the terminology "once saved, always saved." However, while the term is certainly intended to grow the confidence of a believer in Jesus and to affirm something that is true, the abuse of such thinking has done considerable harm to the church, especially in the age of the invitation and the aisle walk.

The Christian 'testimony' for many has become such a direct look backward to the moment of belief that their basis for their salvation at this present moment lies more in the experience that they once knew than in their present state of knowing God through Jesus Christ.

"Holiness is the nature of the Spirit of God."

"The Spirit of God so dwells in the hearts of the saints that He there, as a seed or spring of divine nature, making the soul a partaker of God's beauty and Christ's joy, so that the saint has truly fellowship with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ, in thus having the communion or participation of the Holy Ghost."

As Jonathan Edwards writes in Religious Affections (page 129 in the edition by Banner of Truth Trust), the occasions for false assurance of faith are numerous. Edwards teaches that people can display spirituality and many apparent works of the movement of the Spirit of God in their lives while, in reality, they do not know true salvation in Jesus Christ. Usually such misguided people are basing their spiritual standing upon something that took place in their life that they refer to as the moment they believed.

The case can be that the person is trusting in their own conversion experience. In other words: "I believe because I came to believe." Their evidence is not found in their current life of following and obeying Christ, but in their ability to point to their own faith. Does an experience convert a person? No, believing is to hold something to be true. Biblical faith is placing trust in the gospel of God in Jesus Christ.

Are Doubts Healthy?
Edwards certainly taught that it was much better for a true follower of Christ to ask hard questions concerning his current standing in the grace of God's salvation than for the topic to be given little thought. The purpose, as Edwards states, of the detailed descriptions he gives of the evidence of faith is for the believer to be able to accurately evaluate his life Edwards, as he begins the third section of the book (page 120), states that distinguishing the true and the false in other people is not possible, but rather such examination should be a personal undertaking for one's own salvation in Christ.

Thoughts and Wishes Fail Patients

Not only did the findings of the much-publicized study on prayer fail to be conclusive (which deserves a serious post in its own right), but other findings associated with the study were not as widely published. Surgery patients who had other people's "thoughts" with them healed no better than those who were not thought of nor did those who were given "best wishes" improve more quickly than those with neutral or ill wishes given them.

May our thoughts and prayers be with them. Er, um, best wishes. Get well soon.

Misquoting Jesus

After reading through Bart Ehrman's Misquoting Jesus yesterday, I came away with a new appreciation for Ehrman's grasp of textual criticism. I had initially dismissed Ehrman's book as a liberal religion professor's stabs at Christianity. After looking at his credentials a little more thoroughly, I realize now that the book is a well-marketed and lay-level version of Ehrman's other books, especially his most serious scholarly work, Orthodox Corruption of Scripture. It seems that ever since Ehrman produced Orthodox, he has been rewriting the topic in various forms up until now in the highly personal volume of Misquoting Jesus. (See his list of titles at Wikipedia.) Thus, while Misquoting Jesus certainly does not fall into the category of biblical scholarship, it does come from a man who is very capable in that arena.

Misquoting (Misrepresenting) the Numbers
One of the initial points that stuck out to me in Ehrman's book is the way he deals with the Greek manuscripts and the numbers involved concerning their existence and the textual variants. As the Washington Post quotes, "There are some 5,700 ancient Greek manuscripts that are the basis of the modern versions of the New Testament, and scholars have uncovered more than 200,000 differences in those texts." Ehrman's analysis of the evidence is completely contrary to his mentor's analysis – Bruce Metzger is one of the, if not the, foremost experts on the topic today and he renders much interpretation the opposite direction. Even his chapter in Lee Strobel's book, The Case for Christ, leans strongly in favor of the accuracy of our New Testament.

An Expert Analysis
Daniel Wallace offers a brief review of Misquoting Jesus at Ben Witherington's blog. As a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary who teaches classes in textual criticism, I will leave the finer points of breaking down the problems of Ehrman's book to Wallace (though this review is meant to be brief - notice that both Wallace and Witherington carry on the dialogue in the comments at Witherington's blog.) One of the interesting points that Wallace makes is that he believes it is wrong for an expert on a topic, such as Ehrman is, to write and market his findings for the general population who are not equipped to make judgments on the book.

Ehrman's Motivation
The part that disturbs me most about Ehrman's book is similar to one of Wallace's points. Ehrman has believed this position for over a decade, at least. He has published nearly 20 other books, most of which are marketed at least for the arena of religious studies along with his more scholarly works intended for those in academic study. It would seem (based on Ehrman's introduction in Misquoting Jesus as well as the historical track of his writings) that he is now seeking to step outside the realm of scholarship and into the pop culture which has so embraced The Da Vinci Code. As Wallace also points out, there have been many challenges brought against Ehrman's Orthodox Corruption of Scritpure (which is the chief basis for his other books), and Ehrman does not address these challenges but rather has moved to a different arena to display his findings. Might this be akin to a scientist as NASA who comes up with a "brilliant" theory and finds his theory does not convince many of his colleagues? Then he moves outside the arena of scientific research and publishes his findings in Time Magazine rather than in the leading scientific journals in his field.

Dangerous?
Yes. I would find Ehrman's arguments very convincing if I were approaching the topic with no other information. This book is currently a bestseller and is bound to make an impact in our society.

One Final Point
Any person who does not believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to God must provide an explanation for their unbelief. Thus, it is not surprising that any person would seek to undermine the Bible as the way that God has revealed truth to mankind. A person who is aware of the Bible's claims (the Bible certainly claims that there is no other name by which men may spared eternal judgment) must either ignore what the Bible states or attempt to discredit it. Most people just ignore it. Some people work hard to demonstrate that the Bible cannot be taken seriously, because if the Bible is to be taken seriously then each person must recognize where they stand in God's sight: either in their own condition of imperfection that will result in eternal judgment and eternal torment, or in the forgiveness of Jesus Christ that grants us, by grace, eternal life by trusting in him. This teaching is admittedly a hard one to accept, and we are tempted at many points to try to explain it away.

Relativism in Iraq

The STR blog has a post on Hugh Hewitt's interview with a Time reporter with some interesting insights into the amoral approach that they attempt to take.

"Ware argues for a journalistic objectivity that requires moral neutrality, thus he can't
discern or won't admit to a moral difference between the Iraqi and Coalition troops and the
terrorists blowing up innocent Iraqis. They are just two sides of a war he must report on."

It seems that "objectivity" has become such a key word in the media's approach to such things that the whole debate about right and wrong is a side note for someone else to argue. If you consider the approach of Fox News' "Fair and Balanced" to be an objective look at news (I'm not necessarily arguing that it is), then what do you call such an approach that essentially draws no lines whatsoever? Warm Jello maybe. Relativism, certainly.

If Words Mean Things
One of the Webster's (1960)definitions of "objective" reads: determined by and emphasizing the features and characteristics of the object, or thing dealt with, rather than the thoughts, feelings, etc. of the artist, writer, or speaker.

Misplaced Objectivity
Misplaced objectivity seems to be the culprit. Even such a concept as objectivity can be applied illogically and ridiculously. The act of reporting events has risen to its own enterprise, one that exceeds the very subject that it is supposed to convey to the people watching. The backlash against subjective and ethnocentric reporting seems to have birthed a style that has no framework whatsoever for morality, motivations, or the ability to judge right from wrong.

Logical Conclusions
If we applied similar reporting to our local nightly news, we might discover that no one was to blame for the recent rash of burglaries in our neighborhood, or that the high murder rate of our town is simply a fact, neither good nor bad. With such a lack of any framework for reporting in Iraq, what makes a roadside bombing any more important as news than 3 year-old Johnny's birthday party where he put his whole hand in the cake?

Thanks, Basketball Advertisers

Thank you, dearest basketball advertisers. Yes, it is March, and yes, you are on the ball. We the viewers need basketball in every commercial.
Yes, we can only be interested in your car (or investements/cell phone/jeans/beer/TV show/kitchen appliance/lawn mower/airfare/website/board game) if you creatively market it with a 'March Madness' theme. And the creativity...outstanding. Mrs. Harmon's 3rd grade class could do no better.

Extra-special thanks award goes to: all you local car dealerships. Please yell a little louder...and could you put some more of your children in the commercials? We're flocking down to your car lot right at this moment. Nice job!

Belarus Reality

LA Times Opinion: Spinning Belarus: Can hyping a peoples' 'revolution' in Minsk make it so?

Belarus Peaceful

With varying reports of incumbent President Lukashenko taking in 82-92% of the votes according to exit polls for today's election, the only questions that remain for Belarus will relate to the way the country now responds. So far, the protests and the government's response to the protests have been peaceful, thankfully.

Here's a good summary of the events.

Smokey Dies

SMOKEY VIII PASSES AWAY

I received my diploma from this Smokey.

More on Belarus

Reading the news and the blogs on the Belarus election being held Sunday there are so many angles and stories that deciphering what is true from what is false is not easy. Many seem to be concerned that post-election demonstrations could get out of hand if Lukashenko wins the election. (Lukashenko has been the president since the mid 90's and has been accused of election tampering among other things.)

Why is Belarus different?
Belarus acts the most like the former Soviet Union of any of the former states. Little change has taken place, and many Belarussians (whether a majority, who knows?) would prefer to keep it that way. Belarus has always kept a firm guard against public protests and gatherings. Even with much less at stake in the past, gatherings draw quick and thorough attention from law enforcement. Since the Orange Revolution occurred in Ukraine, both sides in Belarus see things differently. The opposition has a greater feeling of the possibility of victory through similar methods. Lukashenko, likewise, has seen the possibilities of what took place in Ukraine, and it appears that he is more determined than ever to clamp down on groups that act in opposition.

Bad Possibilities
This mixture appears dangerous. It appears that protests are likely, and hopefully they will all be peaceful. It also appears likely that the authorities will be out in force to curb such protests. If any news takes place in Belarus, don't look for a repeat of the Orange Revolution of Ukraine.

Belarus: Just the Facts, Please

Mediafax: The Belarus government has ordered eight members of a Scandinavian team of unofficial election observers to leave, BBC News Online informed. The two Swedes and six Danes were part of a monitoring team sent by the unaccredited Danish group Silba.

Belarus blocks EU monitors' entry

Belarus bars U.S. camping gear ahead of polls

Purge Barry?

Gene Edward Veith answers the question:
Put Barry Bonds Down the Memory Hole? Answer carefully.

Stand to Reason

Greg Koukl and Stand to Reason provide a wealth of information for the Christian in today's world (specifically, the world of southern California, with applications to the rest of us.) The website is worth a look and a listen to Koukl's weekly radio broadcast-which is now being podcast.

The Passing of Ronald Nash

Ronald Nash died yesterday, March 10,2006.

Read Jared Bridges' post here.

I, too, took Dr. Nash's philosophy course at Southern Seminary. His passion for philosophy, for truth, and for teaching will not be forgotten.

Hfnl56729

While the threat of bird flu remains a hot topic, the presence of these Storm Trooper scouts should be causing quite a stir.

What you say online could haunt you

This article caught my attention on the newstands today at a couple of different places (ironically, in print, not online.) The ever-growing online arena is so different than anything society has ever known before that the methods for instructing people and handling situations are being developed right before our eyes.

At the base level are these truths: Words mean things, and actions have consequences.

Deceptive Anonymity
Students are getting in trouble for posting things that they would normally hesitate to openly proclaim by mouth or pen and paper. People are getting fired or not hired because of the information about them on the web. The dangers of the supposed anonymity of a personal computer screen is deceptive to say the least. The glass house provides no privacy. Employees may be safer bad-mouthing their boss at the water cooler than on the web.

There is something fascinating about "publishing" one's own words and pictures for absolutely the whole world to see. Yet, it is a fire of a responsibility that a 7th grader as well as a 55 year old CEO must learn to contain.

Drawing the line
In most of the cases in this article, I think the person who got 'caught' rightly deserved it. If a student writes bad things in a personal journal that no one reads, there is reasonably no punishment. If a student writes bad things on the board, that's a different case.

New Codes of Conduct
We are seeing and will continue to see new rules written into the conduct codes at schools and with employers. Taking it all into consideration, I think the lessons that are being learned are valuable ones for the land where "Freedom of Speech" reigns. Yes, freedom of speech is a good thing, but that freedom is a jewel that must be handled with care.

More Pre-election Unrest in Belarus

BELARUS ELECTION CAMPAIGN TURNS VIOLENT

The "election" is to be March 19th.

God's Coffee

God's Coffee. Seriously. Is there a blend called 'manna'?

There's No Time

#39 If everyone on "24" followed Jack Bauer's instructions, it would be called "12".

Even if you haven't laughed at one of the Chuck Norris lists or watched '24', I think you'll like the Jack Bauer list - just google it, since it is everywhere...like Jack is everywhere.

Fill It to the Rim...

The Seattle Times: Health: Coffee drinkers get a jolt in study

How do we know which half we're in?

A Thought on Church Planting

"Church planting should not be like building a building-one big traumatic hiccup and we are glad that's over with."

Rather, Tim Keller argues that church planting after the biblical model of Paul's ministry should be a regular part of church existence and growth. Evangelism, discipleship, and church planting are the "Natural Church Planting" model according to Keller.

He has several insightful articles on the topic here.

(HT: Steve McCoy's list)

...and, um, your lip balm

A friend used to love to compile the crime report from our college days. Here's a current one that is worth a look from Hoover, AL:

"Saul Luciano, 36, and Juan Becedra, 28, both of Hoover reported they were walking in a breezeway at Mountain View Apartments in Hoover about 9 p.m. Wednesday when two men with pistols forced them to the ground and told them to empty their pockets. The gunmen got $250, a key and lip balm from Luciano." (emphasis mine)

Times are hard in Birmingham, especially to find good lip balm.

Marilynne Robinson

Marilynne Robinson, the 2005 Pulitzer Award-winning author of Gilead, will be in Vestavia Hills, AL for a book signing, a discussion of the book, and a lecture at Samford University.

Book Signing: Milestone Books, April 25: 4 to 6.
Discussion: Shades Mountain Baptist Church, April 25, 7 pm.
Lecture: Samford University, Reid Chapel, April 26, 9:30 am.

Affections (viz. "Religious Affections")

affection. n. A tender feeling?

One of the problems that arises when reading someone who used the English language 250 years ago is the difference in the meaning of the words he/she communicated. Jonathan Edwards is a prime example in his use of the term "affection" to refer to something other than what our 2006 American minds tend to think, and as Dictionary.com defines:

A tender feeling toward another; fondness.

Feeling or emotion. Often used in the plural: an unbalanced state of affections.
A disposition to feel, do, or say; a propensity.
Obsolete. Prejudice; partiality.

Even pulling a definition from Edwards' book The Religious Affections can be somewhat elusive. Here is a helpful insight into the meaning from this site:

[1] Affection is not the same as emotion.
Affection is a felt response to an object called forth by an understanding of the nature of the object. Plainly, where there's no understanding there can be no affection, regardless of how much emotion is present. (There was no shortage of emotion during the revivals.)

[2] Affections differ from passions.
Passions (a) are inclinations that overpower an individual, thus diminishing self-control
(b) captivate people. To be captive to a passion is to be passive. Such passivity is a denial of the active response-aspect of an affection. Whereas passion enslaves the will, affection is an exercise of the will. An affection is a response of the total self as the nature of something (someone) is apprehended.

And, yes, Jonathan Edwards did do a few other things in addition to preaching "Sinners in the hands of an angry God."

The Church and Belarus

Minsk, Belarus. From an article: "On Sunday 5 February the Christ's Covenant congregation of approximately 30 was reading the Bible and praying at his home, [Pastor Vyazovsky] ... when a local district official entered and began to take photographs. When church members refused to let in a police officer who arrived shortly afterwards...the two state representatives drew up a protocol accusing the pastor...of violating the established legal procedure for holding religious events. Under the 2002 Religion Law, such events require state permission if held outside a designated house of worship and may not be conducted systematically or on a large-scale in a private home."

Like sands through the hourglass, Belarus continues to be the most USSR-ish of all the former Soviet republics. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

The 50 Most Influential Christians

Check the latest rankings: How is your favorite Christian leader doing? Will he or she make the playoffs?

(HT: Christ and Culture)

Revolution by George Barna

A Brief Review of Revolution by George Barna – Colby Willen

Revolution is the result of the vast research that George Barna has done concerning the church, society and people, and, as such, the book reflects his research data and findings that support his view that the church of the 20th and 21st Centuries is a dying entity. Even in his beginning chapter, Barna attempts to paint the spirituality of two men in light of such findings, presenting one as a spiritually-growing man who has been "freed" from a traditional view of church while the other is presented as a spiritually-declining man who is struggling to keep up his church attendance and responsibilities.
While Barna does a fair job of presenting some of the facts of what is currently going on in America and America's Christianity, the basis for his presentation is a bit backwards. He rightly identifies that many Americans who attend church are not growing spiritually. He rightly identifies some of the changes in American society that lend themselves to different lifestyles today as compared to American lifestyle of generations past. He rightly points out the advantages that some of the "Christian Revolutionaries" have experienced in their approach to their faith and their non-traditional approaches to church. However, the book does not go beyond a surface analysis of what has taken place as the experience of some people, and the book hinges on experience rather than truth for the direction it would take the church.
The problem with this approach is that statistics do nothing more than to present the current situation. Barna's desire in writing this book, I believe, is to further open the door for Christians to find new ways to practice their faith that are untied from the traditional way of "doing" church. At the heart of Barna's findings is a similar finding that most Christian leaders in America would agree upon: the spiritual appetite of Americans is declining and the church in general is declining as well.
With Barna's approach, though, there is no basis for what a church should be, and at the heart of this approach are his fuzzy statements about Christian worship. The fact is that the New Testament's presentation of the early church and the biblical teachings on the church are not precisely mirrored in today's churches. No church is perfect, and the church universal throughout history has needed to be called back to its foundation many times. One example is Barna's description of "worship gypsies" and their practices on pages 65-66. This "worship" as described takes place absent of any prior congregation of people and with no attempt to necessarily reconvene the same individuals. The leaders simply show up and lead this "so-called" worship experience for whoever wants to gather regardless of denomination or belief or any further commitment to one another. Notably absent from Barna's analysis of Christianity and Christian worship are the numerous references to the church as a body where growth takes place among believers, not in isolation (see Ephesians 4 among others.)
But the problem goes beyond worship. The presence of postmodern ideas saturates the book. One example is on page 51 where he argues for the existence of God based on the "fact" of peoples' changes lives. Such evidence might be a good testimony on occasion but does not go far to prove the existence of God any more than any religious person in the world proves the existence of their god.
The very heart of Barna's thesis is that the church should be fluid—there are no absolutes for what a church should look like. Meanwhile, there is some truth to most of what Barna says. There are many areas in which the church needs to change and to truly seek ways to see peoples' lives changed by the power of God through the gospel in a more personal and possibly more culturally-relevant way. Biblical change, though, must be a truth-based reform. Throwing out traditions, traditional meeting schedules, and old buildings is going to do nothing less than water-down the Christian faith even further in a world of relativity. Change for the Christian church comes through revival—a return to the truth of God, not through new programs or new "sensitive" ways of doing church.
Also apparently absent from what Barna envisions is the structure of biblical shepherding and discipleship. While there are certainly countless examples of poor church leadership to be found in every denomination, where would the church be today without the God-ordained leadership given through pastors? In a structure such as what Barna seems to advocate, each individual would appear to be responsible for his own spiritual direction, something contrary to the New Testament's teaching and examples of the early church and the structure of discipleship. In essence, he is advocating that the sheep can take care of themselves—an obvious affront to the biblical picture of sheep and their needs.
Finally, though limited in scope and depth, Barna's book does serve a purpose in turning a light on for the church. There is a value in recognizing the trend that Barna describes and addressing the spiritual needs of our culture and the shortcomings of the church in meeting these spiritual needs. Barna's book should serve as a wake-up call to all of us who give testimony to God's salvation in Christ and the urgency of what we are called to be as the church.

2005 Nights

Okay, okay, I've come out of hibernation to post by inspiration of Truepravda's list. My list of places I spent at least one night in 2005 is pretty lacking compared to many years past, but here it is:

Ashburn, VA
Birmingham, AL
Cincinnati, OH
Kingsport, TN
Sipsey Wilderness, AL
Sonora, KY
Summerville, GA

**List subject to change pending recovery of memory lapse.

The "I Believe Stick"

A football game. A man on the sidelines. A stick held in the air every single play.

I saw this pecular practice in person when Southern Miss played UAB, and this one man on the sidelines holding up some sort of pole as each snap was about to take place was befuddling. Was this a microphone? Was it a signal to the players? A lightning rod? Moses parting the waters?

No, it was about faith. You know, the easy-flowing, feel-good, this-works-f0r-me, success-on-the-football-field kind of faith (a.k.a. mystical, positive self-esteem.)

Father Tommy Conway is the "team chaplian" for Southern Miss, and he actually has a Bible reference to support his habit which began (and worked!!) against an undefeated TCU (Horned Frogs) team:

"Seizing upon an amphibian motif, Conway read the team the scripture in Exodus that described the plague of frogs God sent down upon Egypt to convince the Pharaoh to let Moses and the Jews go free.
"In the end the frogs all died, and they put them in a big pile and they began to stink," Conway said. "I told the team, 'We're not going to let these stinking frogs come in here and beat us. Now, I'm not Moses and I'm not Jesus, but I do have my own staff. Every time you take the field, I want you to look at the staff and believe in yourselves.'"
Sure enough, Southern Miss shocked the stinkin' Horned Frogs, 40-28. And a tradition (superstition?) was born. Ever since then, Father Football and his stick have been a sideline presence. "

You serious, Clark?

Sunday of Christmas Past

Where were you on Christmas in 1994? What were you doing?

With all the press about Christmas falling on a Sunday this year and the response of many churches, one of the intriguing aspects that occured to me is that the last time that Christmas Day fell on a Sunday was in 1994. (The next will be 2011, Lord willing.)

Did you attend a worship service on Christmas in 1994?

Were the things most important to you then still the most important to you now?

Without finding pictures or something else, can you remember anything specific about that Christmas 11 years ago? With whom did you gather? What did you give? What did you receive?

Christmas Movie Quotes Quiz

Here is the Christmas movie quotes quiz I compiled for a party. See how many you can guess without googling them. I'll post the answers soon.

1. This is extremely important. Will you please tell Santa that instead of presents this year, I just want my family back. No toys, nothing but Peter, Kate, Buzz, Megan, Linnie and Jeff. And my aunt and my cousins. And if he has time, my Uncle Frank. Okay?

2. No, no. I mean "Jingle Bells". You know, deck them halls and all that stuff. No, no, no. You don't get it at all. I mean "Jingle Bells". You know, Santa Claus, and ho-ho-ho, and mistletoe... and presents for pretty girls...

3. We're kicking off our fun old fashion family Christmas by heading out into the country in the old front-wheel drive sleigh to embrace the frosty majesty of the winter landscape and select that most important of Christmas symbols.

4. Look, Daddy. Teacher says every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.

5. It's just like Santa's workshop! Except it smells like mushrooms... and everyone looks like they wanna hurt me...

6. Football? Football? What's a football? With unconscious will my voice squeaked out 'football'.

7. It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes, or bags.

8. Happy birthday! Hey, I said my first words. But... But snowmen can't talk. Ha ha ha, come on now, what's the joke? Could I really be alive?

9. If I live to be 100, I'll never forget that big snow storm a couple of years ago. The weather closed in and, well you might not believe it, but the world almost missed Christmas. Oh, excuse me, call me Sam. What's the matter? Haven't you ever seen a talking snowman before?

10. Charlie, stay away from those things. They're reindeer, you don't know where they've been. They all look like they've got key lime disease.

11. It's Christmas Eve. It's-it's the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we-we-we smile a little easier, we-w-w-we-we-we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year we are the people that we always hoped we would be.

12. Faith is believing when common sense tells you not to. Don't you see? It's not just Kris that's on trial, it's everything he stands for. It's kindness and joy and love and all the other intangibles.



The Answers...



1. Home Alone; 2. A Charlie Brown Christmas; 3. Christmas Vacation; 4. It's A Wonderful Life; 5. Elf; 6. A Christmas Story; 7. How the Grinch Stole Christmas; 8. Frosty the Snowman; 9. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; 10. The Santa Clause; 11. Scrooged; 12. Miracle on 34th Street.

Update: Take Quiz 2: Christmas Movie Quotes Quiz 2

New for 2009: Take the Christmas Carol Quiz

Why December 25?
The origin of Christmas had nothing to do with paganism - by Gene Edward Veith at World Magazine.

The Numbers Must Lie

Birmingham recently ranked as 10th most dangerous city in the USA. Birmingham's Mayor Kincaid, evidently living somewhere between Alice and the Cat in the Hat, denied the numbers, claiming
"It sends the wrong message about our city...[t]hat kind of data going unchecked can have a chilling effect on what we are striving and working toward - creating jobs and working activities for our young people, making this a livable city."

How about working toward reducing the crime rate?

Kincaid claims that the 2004 stats show improvement. What the 2004 stats show is that Birmingham still ranked worse than the national average in every single category. Any complaints by Kincaid that the stats are being manipulated is simply denial. Then, a glance at the 2005 increase in murders immediately raises eyebrows.

Sorry Folks, Park's Closed

Some Megachurches closing on Christmas.

Thousands of Gold and Silver Coins

Psalm 119:72 says, "The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces."

First of all, imagining thousands of gold and silver pieces is staggering. I feel good if there are a few paper bills in my wallet, and I tend to find confidence in such minor things to boast about.

Next, "better" is not just a ranking on paper, but must play itself out in how we order our lives -- or it is not actually "better." If I claim that Coke is better than Pepsi, then given the choice, I must choose Coke to support my statement.

The point is that actually choosing God's law over the riches of this world is the test of truth. I can claim to love God's word, but if I cannot find time in a 24 hour day to open a Bible, my claims are empty. If my career (which is where our modern-day gold and silver come from) is the overriding effort of my entire life, is God's law truly "better"?

Homicide Headquarters

What is wrong with Birmingham, Alabama, "The Magic City"? Something. The number of homicides for 2005 has hit #98 with still four weeks remaining in the year, nearly a 100% increase over last year's 59 and up considerably from 2003's mark of 85. The national average is about 5.5 per 100,000 people. That would translate to around 13 homicides for a city of Birmingham's size.

Wed Newly

In case you weren't keeping score at home, little sister Jen was married over the weekend. I include a picture of the cake for several reasons:

1. It was good cake

2. It was one of my only clear inside pictures

3. I didn't want to run the risk of outting my sister and having to deal with the Democrats and their press.

The blog world has been slow without my presence, I realize, but hopefully now that the harsh grip of winter has settled in on Birmingham, maybe life will slow down a little.

Rosa Parks and Birmingham in 2005

From December 1, 1955, to the passing of Mrs. Rosa Parks this week, the struggle to eradicate racial divides in Alabama has remained at the forefront of the minds of many in the United States. When one thinks of the Civil Rights Movement, Alabama is naturally one of the places that comes to mind with the obvious contributions of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr., only to mention two of many who have worked hard and sacrificed for what is right.

As a transplant to Birmingham only 1 1/2 years ago, I see two Birminghams. The downtown city of Birmingham is a run-down, exhausted city that shows glimpses of a time when the steel industry was booming and the city was thriving. There are efforts underway to revitalize the downtown area, and I hope they succeed, but one has only to drive through on I-65 to make a judgment that is basically true. While the UAB area of downtown is growing exponentially, the future of the center and northern parts of downtown are still up in the air. Downtown areas west of I-65 become increasingly dangerous. When murders are reported on the news, the Ensley area is usually assumed unless otherwise noted.

The other Birmingham is what is commonly called "Over the Mountain." Red Mountain serves as a geographical border between the city that thrived in the early and mid-20th Century and the areas to the south that are now thriving. Red Mountain also serves as the socio-economic divider for the area. Property investments have obviously moved away from the old into new for the metro area over the past 50 years.

Is there a racial divide present in Birmingham? Apparently, yes. Is there an economic divide? Obviously, yes.

While my personal observations are limited (and fallible), it appears that both divides are problematic and tend to fuel each other. Obviously the history of racial segregation has impacted the way that the area is settled. Regardless of skin color, the majority of those who live in middle and upper class income brackets live "Over the mountain," and the majority of those living in poverty live in Birmingham proper.

Life "Over the Mountain" seems to be fairly well adjusted racially. (I'm not saying things are perfect or that there is not progress to continue to seek.) People live and work in harmony, and there are many races represented in the work force. While life may fall short of the average beer commercial ratio of racial perfection, interaction and life seems to be close to arriving at the right place.

Not so in old Birmingham. There are plenty of reasons that could be discussed, but traveling around downtown and areas west of I-65 would lead one to ask whether anything has changed since 1955. I can only imagine what Booker T. Washington would write today, 104 years after his visionary book Up From Slavery if he were to take a walk through the streets of West Birmingham. The poverty is blatant. The crime is daunting. There is a feeling of hopelessness on these streets that calls for fresh thinking and something to be done in 2005.

Something Fishy

Exxon Mobil Profit, Sales Soar to Records
There are lots of questions to ask our beloved oil companies now...

Big Business

Coming Soon to a Church Near You demonstrates how marketing is 'catching on' to the church audience behind the doors of the church.

"Twenty-five years ago, there were fewer than 50 churches in the United States that attracted more than 2,000 people each week. Today, there are more than 1,200. Many boast professional-quality sound systems, large-screen projection systems and comfortable seats that rival those of any commercial theater. Most also have bookstores or gift shops."

I might add that the changing of money and the availability of doves for purchase are also a growing industry within the church.

The rest of the article further turns my stomach.

Heaven, Hell, and the Gospel

Along I-65 between Birmingham and Louisville there are plenty of 'evangelistic' billboards at which to laugh, but a sad reality lies behind the message - a message that choosing heaven or choosing hell is the essence of religion in this world. Jesus does teach quite a bit on the topic of hell, but today the topic has become so distorted that either escaping hell or assuring oneself of heaven seem to have been completely separated from the person of God.

I am reminded of an evangelist (with perfect evangelist hair, of course) who preached a thrilling message on heaven and the wonders of heaven. He preached with passion and great zeal in this first message to our church, and then, having adequately painted a picture of the gloriousness of heaven, he gave an invitation: "Come, now, and you can have heaven." (My paraphrase.)

Removing the message of the Cross, the death and resurrection of the Son of God, the absolute need of mankind for redemption, or the fact that our salvation is supremely for God's glory (not to satisfy our own desires for a better place) is to take the gospel out of the gospel. Just as Scott Slayton has pointed out the lack of an explanation for the invitation given by Joel Osteen, there is an absence of the gospel out there in places where some unspecified religion is being proclaimed.

I certainly believe that the Bible teaches a literal heaven and a literal hell, but making the choice out to be a simple Eternal Choose Your Own Adventure is to present a lie to people. Holding heaven over a person's head like a carrot and then leading them to pray a prayer that equates to the ticket is from the father of lies.

Update:
Speaking of the fire kindled in us by God, Richard Sibbes writes:
"Heavenly truths must have a heavenly light to discern them. Natural men see heavenly things, not in their own proper light, but by an inferior light. In every converted man, God puts a light into the eye of his soul proportionable to the light of truths revealed to him. A carnal eye will never see spiritual things." (from A Bruised Reed)

The Apprentice - As Good as it Gets?

I'm not initially impressed with this 'season' of The Apprentice, the only reality show I watch (and pretty much the only TV aside from sports.) My early favorite is Randal – he's smart and sensible, not so self-absorbed, and educated to the hilt. I think he fits the pattern of the other three winners so far. Trump doesn't seem to hire other 'Trumps.' The reason I'm not impressed overall is that there just seem to be a lot of ridiculous people on the show. Pretty people and abrasive personalities make the ratings better, I'm sure, but there just don't seem to be many that would truly be capable of running a business in Trump world. (My second favorite would be Alla, maybe the truest entrepreneur of the group.)

While George and Carolyn (Trump's 'eyes') are so easily likable, Trump himself is another matter. In some ways I think he is a true representative of the American persona (both good and bad...maybe a topic to flesh out later.)

Accommodation

Accommodate. v. to make fit; adjust; adapt; to reconcile.

Accommodation has long been a dangerous element in people's theology. The church today is no different. One of the antonyms listed by Roget's for 'accommodate' is 'inconvenience.' Churches that ask too much are considered an 'inconvenience,' an inconvenience that people are easily able to overcome:
1. Go to another church that has fewer inconveniences
2. Stay at the inconvenient church, but smooth over (and ignore) what is troubling.

Rather than taking an approach to the Bible and one's subsequent understanding of God that asks: What needs to change about me?, people would rather just accommodate their theology for the areas that they might 'disagree with.' Most churches have lost any notion of authority that has historically (and correctly) come from an authoritative view of Scripture. Christians (I use the term loosely) join churches but hold on to their own understanding of the ways things should be. Concerning the Bible, people read and even study it without being truly open to change within themselves. Maybe that's why there are 1,527,983.75 different theological positions within a church of 500 people.

Rather than working through conviction, our very nature is to figure out another way. We accommodate our beliefs rather than admit that our thinking on a topic is wrong. Very quietly the church is full of Jeffersonian Bibles with pages cut out and verses marked out. Sure, other verses are highlighted and underlined – these are agreeable – "I will live by these," we declare.

Not only on the level of how we live, but our very understanding of God is shaped more by how we think God should be than by what the Bible actually says: "I don't think God is like that" or "I can't believe in a God like that." A person who accommodates the God of the Bible to be the god of their wishes cannot be called "Christian."

Likewise, entire churches and denominations are built on a spirit of accommodation. "Loving" or "compassionate" are usually key terms emphasized as the reason for their convenient interpretation of Scripture. "Acceptance" is more important than any biblical standard of how believers should live. The latest CNN poll on public opinion is their Bible. Their own feelings serve as their 'god.'

How to Cover a Hurricane

Obviously many people are glued to their TV's when a major hurricane threatens. I am usually one of them as a practicing amateur meteorologist. The funniest part, though, in addition to every major news channel, local channel, and the Weather Channel covering every drop of rain and every gust of wind, is the method of Wind-leaning. Even before Hurricane Katrina was finished one of the news crews had compiled a "One Shining Moment" type video of clips of reporters leaning at 10, 25, or even 45 degree angles into the wind. Somehow this method of reporting is one of the most important for conveying to the viewers the strength of the storm. I guess when all of their guesswork as to where and how strongly a storm will make landfall comes together to actually permit a reporter or a full-fledged meteorologist on the beach or in the hotel parking lot where the hurricane is making a severe impact there is a right to do this LEAN of celebration as if to say: "Hey, look at me. I found the storm and it's this bad."

"Another hour deeper in the night
Another mile farther down the road
A man can drive as hard as he can drive
And never get as far as his heart was meant to go."

-Rich Mullins 10/21/55 to 9/19/97

New Wave?

New wave: strategy-coordinator churches.

This article in The Commission describes how churches are being identified as "strategy-coordinator" churches that seek to be directly involved in missions:
"It’s a church that is owning the task of taking the gospel to an unengaged people group,” says Ken Winter of the International Mission Board’s Church Services Team.

Sounds a little biblical to me. Isn't that old fashioned?

It may be old fashioned in a good sense. Churches should be as directly involved in missions as they possibly can. Of course, the churches in the article are Southern Baptist churches, and the International Mission Board is the 'missions' wing of the Southern Baptist Convention. There is some irony to the whole idea, as the very founding of the Southern Baptist Convention has roots in the 1840's when Baptist churches agreed to work together in the effort of mission work forming a cooperative system where many churches would pool resources to support missionaries that a single church probably could not have afforded to support.

Without arguing the good and/or bad of the cooperative program, there seems to be something very healthy about churches sending their own missionaries to specific places to reach the specific people there. The authority that governs such an endeavor is directly located with the sending church. The people praying for the missionaries are those that have helped send them. The church itself gets the opportunity to directly be involved in the work of reaching the nations by sending its own people, whether long term or short term, to help.

According to the article, even smaller churches are involved in this 'new' approach. Money was the issue in forming a cooperative over 150 years ago. Now there are so many churches and missionaries that many churches could afford to send their own. When we consider how our funds are allocated, shouldn't our churches at least be considering this type of work? If we could send a church-planting team to a region instead of remodeling our own multi-million dollar facility, shouldn't we at least consider it? While the IMB currently has over 5,000 career missionaries, I find much more reason to rejoice with the people to which our local church has ties, whether they serve with the IMB or not.

I wrote down a quote from David Penman a few years ago, though I do not recall precisely the source:
"No local church can afford to go without the encouragement and nourishment that will come to it by sending away its best people."

High Country

The view from 'Round Bald' on the Appalachian Trail, Cherokee National Forest near Roan Mountain. The view is of North Carolina. The other direction is a similar view of Tennessee. Photo taken Labor Day Weekend.

The Bible versus Higher Education

To destroy the validity of Scripture is to destroy Christianity. That is precisely why so many in academic circles seek to undermine the authority and the testimony to the complete verbal inspiration of the word of God. While it is one thing to see such an approach in the Religion Department of a secular university, such an attack is even greater and much more detrimental from the inside of supposedly Christian institutions. "Christian" in the description of a college or university breeds a trust among Christian students that they are learning in a Christian environment. However, a line must be drawn when the validity of Scripture is at stake. To this end, I've tried to compile a list of books that help explain the problem and/or give an adequate defense of Scripture:

The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel

The Great Evangelical Disaster by Francis Schaeffer

A Basic Guide to Interpreting the Bible by Robert Stein

A General Introduction to the Bible by Norman Geisler and William Nix

The Hermeneutical Spiral by Grant Osborne

Scripture and Truth by D. A. Carson and John Woodbridge

Hermeneutics, Authority, and Canon by D. A. Carson and John Woodbridge

The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible by B. B. Warfield

Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen

Strobel's book gives a great summary of the documentary evidence for the historical validity of Scripture. Schaeffer's book adequately describes what it is stake for Christianity. Stein's book is subtitled "Playing by the Rules" appropriately because it demonstrates how interpretation must be done according to a standard. Geisler and Nix provide a great general overview of the issues. Osborne writes a detailed manual of interpretation. Carson and Woodbridge also provide trustworthy explanations of precisely how interpretation is to be approached. Warfield simply writes a classic (using no less than 4 languages) that serves to defend the Scriptures of the Christian faith. Machen, like Schaeffer, describes much of what is at stake, going so far as to describe those who adhere to anything other than Bible-believing Christianity as some other religion and "not Christianity."

Lord of the Flies

Given a reason, men will be their absolute worst. Or, without a reason to refrain, the utter depravity of humanity rears its ugly head.

As the situation continues being reported from New Orleans, both 'life' inside the Superdome and 'life' on the flooded inner city streets have displayed the capability of mankind to perform evil. While some are risking their lives 24/7 to rescue people from danger, some are taking liberties at the absence of enforceable law. Just as in Golding's Lord of the Flies, when the structures of society are removed an inherent evil comes out of some people. The age-old question, 'Who are you when no one is looking?' is being answered by men with guns on the streets and people shamelessly stealing anything they can.

Part of this scenario we've all seen before. Every time a riot breaks out in a city, some people flock to the scene to start fires, flip vehicles, and break windows. Looting is a given. Sometimes the occasion is a feeling of injustice. Sometimes the riot starts as a celebration for a sports championship. Either way the event serves as an excuse for some men to go to the extremes that only the laws and structure of society hold back on a regular daily basis.

The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?
-Jeremiah 17:9

A Telling Image

Hurricane Katrina by satellite @ 5:44 pm on 8/29/05

Paid Admission to Worship

From al.com:
[Joel] Osteen and his wife, Victoria, will be leading a worship service at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Arena in Birmingham on Tuesday, Aug. 30, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 each through Ticketmaster, with information available on his Web site, www.joelosteen.com.

1. All other problems with Joel Osteen's self-help theology aside, how can he be on tour and charge admission for 'worship.'

2. This is not worship. If you want to feel good, watch The Natural, don't go listen to Osteen's smile.

the deth of 'death' in the english langwege

"i kno u r gona b there..."

I joke about it when I see it, but the reality of the impact of the language of instant messaging (IMing) is becoming increasingly evident. I see it at work. I see it in blogs. Not only the extremely abbreviated spelling of words (never, ever use a double consonant like 'bb' or 'nn' in the middle of a word) but also the increased use of a developing shorthand full of acronyms. There is no punctuation unless, of course, to illustrate some point or draw a picture. Words are kept to a minimum (you try typing on your phone!) and short words are preferable to longer ones.

Before you cry "foul" thinking about the possible direction the English language is heading, remember from where we've come. Most words that we use today that have been around from early English have been transformed to some degree...a letter here...drop an ending there. Ever read Beowulf? How about 'King James' English? The language evolves to be more practical and usable, right?

While I find myself fighting the trend toward watered-down English, I can also admit that some change is good. Maybe we can quit using all those silent letters like 'gnat' and why do we need both a 'c' and a 'k' in 'kicking'? For pronunciation, you say? English hardly follows the rules. Why do 2 z's make 'pizza'? Why not write it like it sounds, 'peetza' or something?

Though lacking the vision to see what is next in the technology of communication, I suspect there are going to be other radical innovations in the next few years that will further alter how we communicate. I'm not ready to throw my Harbrace Handbook away nor to write off the Chicago Manual of Style just yet, but we do have to realize that language is never static.

What makes something "Christian"? ---> Some interesting thoughts over at TruePravda.
As for a vehicle, it is obviously that little fish thing, right?

The Da Vinci Code: Using Fact in Fiction

How should fiction deal with history and fact?

There are plenty of places to find out about the discrepancies in Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, but one of the questions that should be posed concerns the genre of writing and the subsequent standards for the handling of history and fact.

Novels are fiction. No matter how true to life and to history a book may appear the fact that it is fiction makes it a work of literary art. When Tom Clancy writes a book on the topic of submarines he is held to a different standard than when he writes a fictional novel about a submarine. Clancy does not write Alice-in-Wonderland-type books. While fantastic, the characters in his books are supposed to be real people and the events are supposed to be feasible.

The problem that is encountered concerns the right of the author to use both historical fact and to create history that accords with the story. In Dan Brown's case, he masterfully intertwines the two. His characters Langdon and Teabing are supposedly scholars, and so their views and teachings in the book are treated as academic fact.

Personally, it seems ethically acceptable in making up a fictional story to altar the facts so long as one is not slandering a real person – but there would be many obvious gray areas in between when it comes to the possibility of offending persons or groups. The danger is only truly present when a novel is written in a genre and style that conveys that the events taking place are true to life, realistic fiction.

For Dan Brown, the popularity of The Da Vinci Code brought the issues to the forefront as Americans have made the book a bestseller for a record-setting length of time. Many Christians have read the book and find it interesting. Many Christians have also read the book and failed to distinguish fact from fiction, and therein lies the problem. Much hype has surrounded Brown's use of theories and fictional historical ideas to embellish the novel. He is certainly not the first fiction (nor non-fiction) writer to take factual events and distort them to fit his story. He will not be the last.

Making up facts for the NY Times is wrong. However, making up facts for a work of fiction seems to fit well with the definition of fiction. As much as I (and history) strongly disagree with the presentations made by Langdon and Teabing in the novel and with Brown to the extent that his characters represent his own views, I do not fault him for writing in this style. In fact, for a man whose worldview appears to be significantly different from a biblical worldview, this novel is precisely what I would expect.

The Pool of Siloam and the Usual Suspects

The L A Times is conveying a report that a pool has been discovered in Jerusalem that is thought to be that of the gospel of John where Jesus instructed the blind man to go and wash (John 9:7). After he washed he came back seeing.

Whether this is actually the biblical pool of Siloam is yet to be determined and may never be actually "proven." My point is not about Archeology nor about the pool itself. Rather, it is concerning the immediate response found in the article by a liberal theologian:

"Scholars have said that there wasn't a Pool of Siloam and that John was using a religious conceit" to illustrate a point, said New Testament scholar James H. Charlesworth of the Princeton Theological Seminary. "Now we have found the Pool of Siloam … exactly where John said it was."

First of all, it is common knowledge that liberal theology doubts many if not all of the miracles of the Bible. Just as Charlesworth of Princeton confirms, so-called "scholars" believe only what they wish of the biblical account.

Secondly, in terms of archeology, liberal theology takes the approach that anything that has not been found, dated, and 100% confirmed as having existed must not have really existed. Whether a town, a building, a pool, or a person in the Bible, liberal theology has no place except as metaphorical usage for any reference on which they cannot put their hands. Case in point, if the 'pool of Siloam' hasn't been uncovered, it must not have really existed - when John wrote this account, he was simply making an illustration about the washing.

Finally, and quite revealing, is that response of Charlesworth to the report. "It is the pool!" Now, the article may be taking Charlesworth out of context, but it would appear that he is now perfectly willing to accept that this new find is the pool of John 9:7. Where is his skepticism now? I, a conservative, am highly skeptical every time a discovery like this is made. I would love to eventually accept that this is the same pool mentioned in John, but I need a little more evidence. The irony is obvious, is it not?