MERE HEALING

Gays, Boy Scouts, and dogma

A brief, albeit provocative and wonderfully honest post from one of my all-time favorite bloggers on a subject that is getting painfully politicized.

From the Boy Scouts to the British Parliament: Left behind? Conservative Christians and the gay revolution

Evangelicals do not believe that homosexuality is sinful because it is part of our platform, but because it is a conviction drawn from Scripture.

Read the whole thing.

Why I am a consultant...

We're supposed to move up the food chain as we grow older and more experienced in business.

What we realize is that as we grow older, all that changes are the titles that we apply to our existence.

Jesus H Christ (as in Hussein)

Leftist poster boy Barack Hussein Obama has an amazing new title to add to his already colorful resume.

...Rashad Hussain, America’s special envoy to the Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC), the Saudi-based body formed in 1969 to “protect” Jerusalem from the Israelis, announced a new title this week for President Barack Obama. According to Hussain, Obama is America’s “Educator-in-Chief on Islam.”

But wait... there's more.

... Hussain has now revealed that the U.S. will officially support the OIC in the latter’s United Nations effort to criminalize “defamation of religion” – widely perceived as a measure to suppress criticism of Muslim practices that violate human rights. "The OIC and the Obama administration will work together in the UN on the issue of defamation of religion, especially in Europe," said Hussain.

If you'd like a little more perspective on Rashad Hussain, his recent speech before a Muslim Brotherhood front group speaks for itself.

Because Arabic nations <smirk>honor all religions<\smirk>. And because the alleged president of the United States is now fully dedicated to imposing sharia law on Europe.

A hymn for atheists. No, really.

Steve Martin sings with the Steep Canyon Riders. Breath-taking. And hysterical.

Christians have their hymns and pages, (hymns and pages)
Havah Nagilah is for the Jews, (for the Jews)
Baptists have their rock of ages, (rock of ages)
Atheists just sing the blues.

Romantics play Claire de Lune, (Claire de Lune)
Born agains sing He is Risen,
But no one ever wrote a tune, (wrote a tune)
For godless existentialism.

For Atheists,
There’s no good news,
They’ll never sing a song of faith.
In their songs they have a rule,
The “he” is always lowercase.

The “he” is always lowercase.

Some folks sing a Bach cantata, (Bach cantata)
Lutherans get Christmas trees,
Atheist songs add up to nada, (up to nada)
But they do have Sundays Free.

Some folks sing - they sing to heaven, (sing to heaven)
Coptics have the book of scrolls,
Numerologists count - they count to seven, (count to seven)
Atheists have rock and roll.

For atheists, there's no good news.

They'll never sing a song of faith
In their songs they have a rule,
The “he” is always lowercase.

The “he” is always lowercase.

Atheists - Atheists - Atheists

Don't Have No Songs.

Christians have their hymns and pages,
Havah Nagilah is for the Jews,
Baptists have their rock of ages,
Atheists just sing the blues.

Catholics dress up for mass
and listen to Gregorian chants.
Atheists, just take a pass
watch football in their underpants.

Watch Football in Their Underpants

Atheists - Atheists - Atheists

Don't have no songs.

Don't Have No Songs.

Some folks sing a Bach cantata, (Bach cantata)
Lutherans get Christmas trees,
Atheist songs add up to nada, (up to nada)
But they do have Sundays Free.

Some folks sing - they sing to heaven, (sing to heaven)
Coptics have the book of scrolls,
Numerologists count - they count to seven, (count to seven)
Atheists have rock and roll.

For atheists, there's no good news.

They'll never sing a song of faith
In their songs they have a rule,
The “he” is always lowercase.

The “he” is always lowercase.

Atheists - Atheists - Atheists

Don't Have No Songs.

Christians have their hymns and pages,
Havah Nagilah is for the Jews,
Baptists have their rock of ages,
Atheists just sing the blues.

Catholics dress up for mass
and listen to Gregorian chants.
Atheists, just take a pass
watch football in their underpants.

Watch Football in Their Underpants

Atheists - Atheists - Atheists

Don't have no songs.

Don't Have No Songs.

"I'm quitting Korn and I'm gonna raise my kid."

What if Ted had told the truth?

Using fallen angel Ted Haggard as his linchpin, Jeff Buchanan, Director of the Exodus Church Network, addresses how the church can better reach those who struggle with same-sex attractions and behavior:

What if he had been honest from the very beginning? I'm not talking about the beginning of the scandal, I mean from the very beginning of his ministry. What if he had disclosed his struggle with same-sex attractions to his church and to the National Association of Evangelicals at the very start? Would he still have become president of one of the world's largest evangelical organizations? Would he still have become one of America's most respected spiritual leaders? I would like to believe so. However, I am not naïve to the fact that there are, unfortunately, many other organizations that desire leaders who are "spiritual lions" but upon the admission of any significant weakness, they are sacrificed liked lambs. Was this what Ted was afraid of and if so, was it justified? Do we have a culture in the church today where vulnerability in leadership is considered a disqualifying weakness? If so, what are we going to do about it?

Good question, one that’s been asked for quite some time and for which the church at large has yet to find a suitable answer. I'm going to be in the Caribbean when Ted's HBO special (proof that money will, in fact, buy anything) airs on Jan.29th, so I'll get my two cents in now. I can't think of a story less worth telling to the general public. Just another reason television is not a part of my life.

Creative Theology 101

If anyone had explained the Gospel to me like this when I was four, I would have become a believer at a much younger age. And perhaps even saved myself a bit of grief in the process. No, scratch that last part. Anyway, here’s S.T. Karnack on Frosty Theology:

Frosty disobeys the policeman, a symbol of the law, but if he were in fact to obey he would melt and die. What saves Frosty is not obedience to the law but Santa himself, and without Frosty doing anything to earn it. Frosty is saved not by the law but by the grace of God, in the form of Santa Claus, his earthly symbol for children. This of course, accords with the Bible, as expressed, for example, by Apostle Paul in Galatians 2:16: “for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified,” and chapter 5, verse 18, “if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law.”

H/T: Patrick O’Hannigan. 

Inquiring minds want to know.

The pope made his annual address to the Roman Curia, and Diogenes has a few pointed questions for United Press International:

In his annual address to the Roman Curia, Pope Benedict mentioned that the Church cannot accept "gender ideology" because it is contrary to God's design for the human person. No one even vaguely familiar with Church teachings could possibly have been surprised by the Pope's statement; it reflects the constant teaching of the Church. Yet dozens of commentators have professed shock that the Pontiff would dare say such a thing.

After pointing out some of the more hysterical headlines from alleged journalistic sources, Diogenes brings up the UPI story, which is endowed with a more severe headline:

Pope's speech draws criticism from gays.

If nothing else, the headline is at least accurate; gay activists did actually criticize the Pope. Still it's telling that UPI felt the criticism from gays of the pope was indeed newsworthy. And here is where Diogenes throws down the gauntlet:

When was the last time gay activists did not criticize the Pope? For that matter, why do we need to know what gay activists think about the Pope's year-end discussions with the Roman Curia? What did the Albigensians think of the Pope's speech? Did proponents of the gold standard have any strong opinions?

The papal address ran some 3,500 words, and the reference to sexuality occupied no more than a couple of sentences. That apparently mattered not the least to the media, nor to offended gay activists (Are there any other kind?). It goes without saying that the Church is obsessed with sex -- at least among critics of the Church. So when a Church leader -- especially the pope -- says something (anything) about sexuality, the media and Church opponents are possessed by it. Never mind the tone and timbre, nor the balance of the content. It is these few words that are the significant ones because… well, they're about sex.

Release the pigeons!

Let the games begin:

Southern Baptist Pastor Wiley Drake bashed Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren this week, saying “God will punish” Warren for agreeing to give the invocation at President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration next month.

“I pray He is kind to you in this punishment that is coming,” Drake wrote in a widely-released e-mail. In it, the First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park pastor criticizes Warren’s “recent plan to invoke the presence of almighty God on this evil illegal alien,” a reference to Obama.

Baptists. Can't live with 'em. Can't shoot 'em.

Christmas 1915

Celtic Thunder singing Christmas 1915.

1915 on Christmas Day
On western front the guns all died away
And lying in the mud on bags of sand
We heard the German sing from no man's land
He had a tenor voice so pure and true
The words were strange but every note we knew
Soaring ore the living dead and dammed
The German sang of peace from no man's land

They left their trenches and we left ours
Beneath tin hats the smiles bloomed like wild flowers
With photos cigarettes and bottles of wine
We built a soldier's truce on the front line
Their singer was a lad of 21
We begged another song before the dawn
And sitting in the mud and blood and fear
He sang again the song all longed to hear

Silent night, no cannons roar
A king is born of peace for evermore
All's calm, all's bright
All brothers hand in hand
In 19 and 15 in no man's land

And in the morning all the guns boomed in the rain
And we killed them and they killed us again
At night they charged we fought them hand in hand
And I killed the boy that sang in no man's land

Silent night no cannons roar
A king is born of peace for evermore
All's calm, all's bright
All brothers hand in hand
And that young soldier sings
And the song of peace still rings
Though the captains and all the kings
Built no man's land

Sleeping in heavenly peace

A little holiday perspective.

"Is there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?!"

Difficult as it may be to believe, Christmas was complex even way back in 1965. Charlie Brown's disheartened plea originated back in a day when things were a little less complicated and much less consumer-driven than they are now… during a time when there were fewer divided families (and divided Christmases) than there are now.

At our little church we have vowed to keep the Christmas Story simple. I am weary of gazillion- dollar productions that can never even come close to what a simple reading of scripture can. Let the profound truth of Christ break through the confusion of consumer-driven life. We have the One Message that matters. We have great reason to celebrate.

My favorite philosopher hits nuthin’ but net on this timeless video.

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Luke 2: 8-14

May your Christmas be filled with the love that changed the world.

"The Trials of Ted Haggard"

Ted Haggard will have his own HBO special titled “The Trials of Ted Haggard” at the end of January. It’s produced by Alexandra Pelosi, and if that name sounds just a little familiar, she’s the daughter of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Oh, and Haggard is going on the necessary press junket to promote his documentary.

Although I simply cringed when I heard about this documentary and its promotion, I’m also aware that we need to uphold the biblical truth that God’s grace and forgiveness runs deep in all our lives, and is abundantly available and active for Ted and his family. Certainly we can all pray that God will restore and recreate Ted’s personal and family life. After all, God did not cast him out of His Kingdom for what he did - although, many Christians would have liked that, I'm sure - and he is still a wounded member of the Body of Christ. Certainly, the Scripture verse about being wise as serpents applies here, but God is faithful to redeem us, even when we mess up so spectacularly.

What's wrong with this picture?

From RedState:

Barack Obama’s transition site, change.gov gives a breakdown of Obama’s inauguration. According to the website, Obama will deliver the following oath of office:

“I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

That is, in fact, the actual oath found in the actual constitution. But every President has added “so help me God” to the end.

Washington did.

Lincoln did.

FDR did.

We'll just have to wait and see.

Heh. Newsweek strikes again.

Mollie Ziegler has leveled the playing field with Newsweek by taking alleged journalist Lisa Miller to the proverbial woodshed for a well-deserved come-uppance. But far be it from me to spoil things. First, read Miller’s breathtakingly witless trashing of the Church here. Then continue with what MZ has to say:

It is no exaggeration to say the piece was an embarrassment. My analysis of the belly flop is here. On a radio show yesterday, the host asked me whether the piece was more offensive to my sensibilities as a journalist or a Christian. I went with “journalist” since the piece wasn’t anywhere legitimate enough, theologically speaking, to be considered seriously. As a journalist, it violated almost every rule in the book. It failed to accurately represent the viewpoint being scrutinized. It was riddled with errors. It was driven by emotion. More than a few journalists — one at a competing weekly news magazine — wrote to me yesterday asking, “Where was her editor?"

Indeed. In fact, she saves her strongest criticism to answer that very question. It needs to be said here that Newsweek editor Jon Meacham is no slouch, having been widely published on religious matters, ranging from cover stories to American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation , a well-written historical portrait of religion and American politics. Indeed, MZ's post carries just a note of surprised disappointment that Meacham could forsake theological (not to say journalistic, as well) integrity for the sake of socio-political expediency:

A good editor helps shape the story, makes sure it’s well researched and reported, notices blatant mistakes or errors in logic or of bias. Well, I have bad news. Based on his editor’s note, Meacham completely failed Miller and her readers. His note introduces and praises the piece.

Here’s a sample:

No matter what one thinks about gay rights — for, against or somewhere in between — this conservative resort to biblical authority is the worst kind of fundamentalism. Given the history of the making of the Scriptures and the millennia of critical attention scholars and others have given to the stories and injunctions that come to us in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian New Testament, to argue that something is so because it is in the Bible is more than intellectually bankrupt—it is unserious, and unworthy of the great Judeo-Christian tradition.

Yes, that’s right. The editor of Newsweek thinks that argument from the Bible is “the worst kind of fundamentalism.” Can you believe that? Can that be serious? Proper exegesis is difficult and requires a great deal of understanding of languages, types of writing styles, history and tradition — but determining what the Bible teaches is very serious work. Lutherans such as myself believe that Scripture is the only divine source and the norm for our teachings. That may be shocking to a liberal Episcopalian but to call such exegesis intellectually bankrupt is ignorant. And Biblical exegesis sort of defines the “great Judeo-Christian tradition.” Perhaps Meacham’s focus on civil religion and American history has made him blind to this fact.

The lady is just getting warmed up. Do read the whole thing. And be sure to read the comments, as well.

What if Starbucks Marketed Like the Local Church?

Things are bad enough for Starbucks. Richard L. Reising at Beyond Relevance thinks they could be even worse off. They could be marketing like the typical local church.

Said Reising:

Have you ever tried really hard to make a point and when people say they get it, you are just not sure they do? Sometimes it takes us seeing our world through new eyes--something that it is hard to do as believers. Sometimes a little bit of juxtaposition does the trick.

We made this video because we sometimes struggle in helping churches to truly understand the disconnection between how we do things and the people we’re trying to reach. Our thought was to showcase the visitor experience in a completely different context and in doing so, we might help churches realize how they might actually comes across to the world we are called to reach.

What if Starbucks marketed like the local church? It would probably all boil down to this: Speaking its own private idiom, trumpeting its own unique goals, blithely unaware how weird it looks and sounds -- and profoundly annoyed with the customers who just don't seem to "get it."

Is that your church?

Well. Is it?

Tertullian’s Advice to eHarmony?

By Tim Wilkins of Cross Ministry. (used with permission)

While eHarmony - the multimillion dollar matchmaking enterprise - tries to dodge criticism for vowing to launch a gay dating site in response to a lawsuit filed by a gay man, some national headlines are playing to eHarmony’s “ethical dilemma.”

How so?

eHarmony and its founder Neal Clark Warren have built their behemoth on Christian values – only matching men and women since 2000.  Their past honorable endeavors make their recent decision to capitulate puzzling – to say the least.

What is as puzzling are some of the headlines announcing eHarmony’s decision - as if eHarmony was caught between a rock and a hard place.  Some of those headlines read:

• Lawsuit Forces eHarmony To Match Homosexual Couples
• eHarmony Forced To Match Homosexual Couples
• Dating Firm Forced To Include Gays
• eHarmony Forced To Offer Same-Sex Dating

Now hold on there!  eHarmony was not forced to do any such thing.  To be clear, eHarmony was forced to respond to a lawsuit.  They were forced to give depositions, but eHarmony has not been forced to “match homosexual couples” nor “offer same-sex dating.”

eHarmony has chosen to launch their gay website by March 31, 2009.

eHarmony has argued “it was best to settle this case.”  eHarmony has stated that ongoing litigation was “unpredictable” and no doubt costly. (To its credit, eHarmony had fought the lawsuit for three years.)  eHarmony may declare their expertise of matching men and women is too vital to jeopardize.  And eHarmony may insist their employees have to earn a living.

But none of these “justifications” hold water - not even the last one.

Tertullian of Carthage, an early Christian theologian and moralist, was also the pastor of a church in North Africa about 200 years after Jesus Christ was born.  Many historians recount the story where some of Tertullian’s church members tried to justify their burning incense to pagan gods as they entered their workplace.  They told Tertullian “even though we are Christians, we won’t really honor pagan gods.”

Tertullian asked, “Why would you do that?”

The people said, “Because we have to work to buy food to eat!”

Tertullian then asked “Why do you have to eat?”

They replied with astonishment “Because we have to live.”

Tertullian, who had been converted to Christianity by witnessing the uncompromising courage of Christian martyrs, looked at them and said, “No! You don’t have to work, or eat and you don’t have to live. The only thing you have to do is be faithful.”

Some readers will find this concept irrational.  Is it?

Oswald Chambers wrote “God will tax the last grain of sand and the remotest star to bless us when we obey him.”  Had eHarmony not caved, we would have witnessed a blessing – the form of which only God knows, but God cannot bless disobedience.

It is an awful thing to fall out of harmony with the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us!

Into Great Silence.

German filmmaker Philip Gröning wrote to the Carthusian order of monks and nuns in 1984 for permission to make a documentary about them. They said they would get back to him. Sixteen years later, they agreed. What follows is a pretty amazing clip from the award-winning 2006 documentary "Into Great Silence" in which a blind monk talks about blindness and mortality.

H/T: martha, martha

Tell me again why you have that rainbow logo.

Now this is special. In what appears to be something of a trend, "gay" activists are proposing bodily harm against California’s Proposition 8 supporters. Ironically enough, it appears some of the advocates of "hate crimes" legislation want to lead the way in committing them against those who support the constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

Here are just a few sample views of these shiny, happy activists: 

"I swear, I'd murder people with my bare hands this morning."

"While financially I supported the Vote No, and was vocal to everyone and anyone who would listen, I have never considered being a violent radical extremist for our equal rights. But now I think maybe I should consider becoming one. Perhaps that is the only thing that will affect the change we so desperately need and deserve."

"Can someone in CA please go burn down the Mormon temples there, PLEASE. I mean seriously. DO IT."

"I'm going to give them something to be f---ing scared of. … I'm a radical who is now on a mission to make them all pay for what they've done."

Splendid. When U.S. citizens make a principled stand to oppose a socially unacceptable public policy like gay marriage, they are labeled as intolerant. When gay activists threaten with death those who hold contrary and utterly legitimate views, what’s the response from the MSM?

<crickets>

Matt Barber, director of cultural affairs for Liberty Counsel, had a few specific things to say concerning this latest round of vituperation from the rainbow people, labeling the threats and invectives "hate crimes" for their intent to create violence against someone based simply on their beliefs.

"This is not just a matter of some people blowing off steam because they're not happy with a political outcome. This is criminal activity," he said. "The homosexual lobby is always calling for 'tolerance' and 'diversity' and playing the role of victim. They claim to deplore violence and 'hate.' Here we have homosexuals inciting, and directly threatening, violence against Christians."

. . .

Barber said, "This is not free speech; these are 'hate crimes' under the existing definition. Imagine if Christian websites were advocating such violence against homosexuals. There'd be outrage, and rightfully so. It'd be national front-page news. Federal authorities should immediately investigate these threats and prosecute the perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law."

<crickets>

H/T: Veritas Rex

The "Good" Samaritan.

I absolutely laughed out loud when a friend of mine tipped me off to this. Don’t know what that says about me… or my friend. But I do think this is quite clever.