I know you think this is a crazy idea—Flip Wilson, the comedian, who passed away ten years ago for Synod President? Are you kidding? Well, yes I am, in part. Some of you may not even know who Flip Wilson was. Flip Wilson portrayed humorous characters. The most famous was perhaps Geraldine the flirty black woman, "What you see is what you get!" Fewer people outside of Flip's fans will remember that he also portrayed Reverend Leroy, a smooth talking con–artist, "The devil made me say that!" Rev. Leroy was pastor of a storefront congregation, The Church of What's Happening Now. "We don't care 'bout what went on yesterday. We don't care 'bout what's going to happen tomorrow. We're talkin' about what's happening right now!"
The skill of Flip Wilson's comedy was the way in which he captured the odd aspects of life in America. The Church of What's Happening Now truly represents the silliness that has happened in much of American religious experience. American "evangelical" churches of every stripe have largely forgotten where the church came from. They have forgotten the two millennia of church history. They have forgotten the universal character of orthodox Christian doctrine as confessed in the Three Ecumenical Creeds. They have forgotten what truly made them evangelical—the Evangel, the Gospel. Even once confessional churches are showing signs of erosion.
Few average American Christians realize how narrow our understanding of the church has become in America. For instance the "altar call" is such a common part of certain segments of the church that they think it was practiced by the apostles. How many recognize that it entered into the American religious scene through a heretical theologian Charles Finney? This kind of "altar call" mentality has forgotten that the church gathers around an altar where we receive the Body and Blood of Christ. The true altar call isn't making a decision for Christ at a mourners bench. It is receiving Christ's gifts given "for you" at the altar of the Lord's Supper.
Another related aspect of the American religious scene is the emotional emphasis of much of the church. Manipulative music, group–psychologically driven experiences, pseudo signs and wonders are common fare. Witness the fiasco of Todd Bentley and the phony Florida revival. He is not the first such shameful con–artist to claim divine sanction. He will not be the last. But we love our charlatans in America as long as they stir us up.
Now the emotional mindset in American religious experience is branching out into meditative techniques, some of which are not even Christian. If incense floats your boat—burn it. Do you like chanting—do it. Lectio divina—empty your mind, don't worry about content, just experience it. Whatever gives you an emotional high is the current "drug" of choice. The only reason to consider the past is to survey the religious smorgasbord of experiences and techniques in order to fill your plate with whatever suits your taste. Pick and choose. You are in control! No norma normans of Scripture. No universal truth of the creeds. To play on the final words of the poem Invictus—I am the master of my faith, I am the captain of my soul. We are a self–centered and selfish church! The odd thing is that much of this is considered new and ground breaking. It isn't. Most of what passes for relevant is really passé. Most of what is ground breaking is simply digging up the garbage of previous heresies.
Because—"We don't care 'bout what went on yesterday"—we are doomed to repeat its mistakes and forget its truths. This focus on the present experience, the pop–culture, the latest fad, our personal "felt needs" while ignoring the past and not caring about the future makes us short-sighted in the extreme. Western culture can be characterized as short-sighted. We want immediate results, instant gratification—"We're talkin' about what's happening right now!" Demonstrate increases in attendance regardless if the pews are filled with people who haven't the foggiest idea of the Christian faith. Preach sermons with catchy, faddish topics. Forget that old tired message of the Cross, of sins forgiven, of life everlasting. We want what we want and we want it now! Don't bore us with something we've heard before. Entertain us! Tickle our ears! Scratch that itch!
Ten years from now the fad will move on. What's happening now will change. Ten years from now those mega–churches will have moved further away from God's Word. They will no longer resemble the relevant churches of today. They will move on and in the process cease to have any connection with the church universal. Like Reverend Leroy's church, few will remember them any more. But the true church goes on in the truth of God's Word. The Church abides because it is built on the Rock!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Frog Soup
Thanksgiving is fast upon us. About seventy-two hours from now the smell of turkey, dressing, dinner rolls, and pumpkin pie will begin to fill homes all over America. Thanksgiving is a peculiarly American holiday. It is not technically part of the traditional church calendar, but most churches have a service of thanksgiving of some sort. It is one of the many ways that the church has accommodated itself to the culture of our nation. And rightly so in this instance. There is nothing wrong with giving God thanks for his many gifts to us.
Not all accommodations are so harmless. Some have serious consequences. For instance, a trendy pastor recently gave out a seven day sex challenge. He wants his married parishoners to have sex for seven days. This trivialization of the church's raison d'être is characteristic of a certain kind of pastor and church in America. In an frenzied effort to become relevant he elevates sex to something akin to a sacrament in which God works in a special way. His sermon was laced with sexual innuendo, not so clever word play, and just plain silly assertions. In our over-sexed society in which sexual sins are so prevalent could this pastor be throwing obstacles in the path of recovering sex addicts. How about single members of his church? They are left out all together. Teens struggling with temptation are not helped to overcome their lust. On top of all the sex talk, very little Scripture was used by this pastor. (My understanding is that this is typical of his church.) Christ and forgiveness, life, and salvation were not the message given to the people.
I wrote in another place the following:
"This Dallas pastor is trivializing the purpose of the church. Can you imagine the Israelites doing this before the altar of a temple? Oh—that's right, they did. When Ba'al worship was mixed with Yahwism they did have sex as part of their worship. You connect the dots!
God gives us many good gifts (1st article gifts) but not all of them have a place in the divine service apart from our regular giving of thanks for them. Will we need to have a seven day food challenge next? How about a seven day wine challenge? Or a seven day shopping spree? These kind of emphases puts the gifts, not the Giver front and center. Is this part of worshiping and serving the creation and not the Creator?"
This kind of neglect of the Scripture, treating the Gospel of Christ and his saving work as if it were a boring old cliché, stealing the focus from God and his gracious work for us to place the spotlight on ourselves is characteristic of much of the evangelical "church" today. The worship service has become a sex workshop, a self-help pop-psychology group, a seminar on financial freedom. The Divine Service in such churches is no longer divine. God could be left out altogether and the message would not change that much. Substitute any other motivational idea for God and you would probably find the same seven steps to success.
We have become so comfortable with our culture's ideas, methods, goals, and standards that we are no longer salt and light. In an effort to make the world welcome among us we have become like the world. This hasn't happened overnight. It has been going on for a very long time indeed. We are like the proverbial frog in a pot of water. The temperature has been slowly raised to the boiling point. What you get when the church accommodates itself to the world is frog soup!
Not all accommodations are so harmless. Some have serious consequences. For instance, a trendy pastor recently gave out a seven day sex challenge. He wants his married parishoners to have sex for seven days. This trivialization of the church's raison d'être is characteristic of a certain kind of pastor and church in America. In an frenzied effort to become relevant he elevates sex to something akin to a sacrament in which God works in a special way. His sermon was laced with sexual innuendo, not so clever word play, and just plain silly assertions. In our over-sexed society in which sexual sins are so prevalent could this pastor be throwing obstacles in the path of recovering sex addicts. How about single members of his church? They are left out all together. Teens struggling with temptation are not helped to overcome their lust. On top of all the sex talk, very little Scripture was used by this pastor. (My understanding is that this is typical of his church.) Christ and forgiveness, life, and salvation were not the message given to the people.
I wrote in another place the following:
"This Dallas pastor is trivializing the purpose of the church. Can you imagine the Israelites doing this before the altar of a temple? Oh—that's right, they did. When Ba'al worship was mixed with Yahwism they did have sex as part of their worship. You connect the dots!
God gives us many good gifts (1st article gifts) but not all of them have a place in the divine service apart from our regular giving of thanks for them. Will we need to have a seven day food challenge next? How about a seven day wine challenge? Or a seven day shopping spree? These kind of emphases puts the gifts, not the Giver front and center. Is this part of worshiping and serving the creation and not the Creator?"
This kind of neglect of the Scripture, treating the Gospel of Christ and his saving work as if it were a boring old cliché, stealing the focus from God and his gracious work for us to place the spotlight on ourselves is characteristic of much of the evangelical "church" today. The worship service has become a sex workshop, a self-help pop-psychology group, a seminar on financial freedom. The Divine Service in such churches is no longer divine. God could be left out altogether and the message would not change that much. Substitute any other motivational idea for God and you would probably find the same seven steps to success.
We have become so comfortable with our culture's ideas, methods, goals, and standards that we are no longer salt and light. In an effort to make the world welcome among us we have become like the world. This hasn't happened overnight. It has been going on for a very long time indeed. We are like the proverbial frog in a pot of water. The temperature has been slowly raised to the boiling point. What you get when the church accommodates itself to the world is frog soup!
Monday, November 3, 2008
The Truth About Barak Obama (Part Two of Two, continued)
The following article was written by a Baptist pastor in New Jersey. As an African–American he says some very sobering things about abortion and moral issues in the Black Community that all citizens and all Christians in the USA should take to heart. I am providing the text of this article in full (in two installments) because of its importance at this time.
"The Complete Story on Barak Obama"
by Rev. Clenard H. Childress Jr.
African Americans make up 12% of the population, but account for over 50% of all new cases of HIV. African American women account for a staggering 68% of all newly diagnosed HIV positive women in the United States. These women primarily contracted HIV from heterosexual sex. Now, with that said, 60% of all new aids cases in America will be the result of the violation of Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1:27 (men having sex with men).
Martin Luther King, Jr., who never marched one step for “Gay Rights,” said, “The contemporary church is often a weak ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is often the arch-supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power of the average community is consoled by the churches silent and often vocal sanctions of things as they are.”
No greater tune of uncertainty was ever played so loudly and with more confusion then the opening number sung by Rick Warren at The Saddlebrack Church. Yes, entering stage right is the Author of one of the best selling Christian books of our time. “The Purpose Driven Life”
Pastor Warren, which I want to believe with good intentions, invited Senator Obama to speak at the “Global Summit On Aids And The Church”
Despite every sociological indicator and warnings from the medical profession, Senator Obama still endorses and is an advocate for same-sex marriage. Same- sex marriage gives sanctity to a union that promotes the practice that accounts for 60% of Aids cases which is ravaging the African-American community. What message has Rick Warren sent to the millions that have read his book on “purpose”? Why did he accept this role in this Howard Dean production? Obama’s antithetical stand on the issues that are decimating the Afro-American community and the nation at large should have disqualified him from presenting at this event. It would be like Planned Parent Hood inviting me to speak at their next rally.
Can you imagine how fearful they would be at what I might say? It is amazing to me that it didn’t make Rick Warren and his staff concerned about what Senator Obama might utter across the sacred desk. This is a subliminal endorsement of a man who presently advocates the slaughter of innocent babies and the destructive gay agenda. Does this not diminish the Churches responsibility to remain true to the teaching of the word of God? Hasn’t this weaken the position of those actively working to stop the killing of infants?
In a statement made to the Philadelphia Inquirer Pastor Warren said, “One of my goals is to take evangelicals back a century, the 19th century said Warren. That was a time of muscular Christianity that cared about every aspect of life. Not just personal salvation but social action, abolishing slavery, ending child labor and winning the right for women to vote. It’s time for modern evangelicals to trade words for deeds and get similarly involved. “
A few things jump up at me here when I read this article, things like every aspect of life! Trade words for deeds sounds so moving! His reference to slavery and child labor laws should touch the heart of every Christian. Why? A nation is judged by how it treats it’s weakest and most venerable.
Now as I see it we definitely need to prioritize things just a little. At the end of this year 20,000 people will die of aids and more than half of them will be Black. Ok that’s about 10,000 Afro-Americans. 1.2 million will die from abortion. 36% of them will be African American. That’s nearly 500,000 Afro-Americans. After doing the math it is quite apparent we need to address this devastating scourge that is affecting every aspect of life. We need a significant deed! Pastor Warren I know just what we need. “A Global Summit on Abortion and The Church” With 150,000 babies murdered each day in the world, yes 150,000; surely the church should convene and caucus. The 19th century anointing is well over due and I believe with all my heart that anointing would cause the Church to be a clear clarion voice that Martin Luther King referred to that put an end to infanticide. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever!
I in no way want to minimize the horrendous effects of slavery, child labor and denying women to vote but in comparison to the decimation of our community by abortion they are mild at best.
Christianity Today.com gave this report recently from the autobiography of Billy Graham.
In the heat of segregation and racial injustice, when racial tensions were peaking, Evangelist Billy Graham invited Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King
To discuss the racial situation with him and his colleagues. Then before a capacity crowd at Madison Square Garden he called Martin Luther King to the platform and to lead the congregation in prayer. In his introduction he said, “a great social revolution is going on in the United States today.
Dr. King is one of its leaders and we appreciate his taking time out of his busy schedule to come and share this service with us tonight.” The words did not explicitly endorse King and King’s prayer called for nothing more revolutionary than a “brotherhood that transcends color” but the implication was unmistakable: Graham was letting both whites and Blacks know that he was willing to be identified with the revolution and its foremost leader, and King was telling Blacks that Graham was their ally. Billy Graham’s voice was important in declaring that Christian racist was an oxymoron.
When Graham invited King it was to set the captives free and identify with the segment of society that was denied the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It was to ensure the civil rights of others.
What was the implication of Pastor Warrens calculated embrace of Senator Obama to the thousands in attendance?
It implies that over 45, million babies killed by abortion are not relevant. It implies that the definition of marriage between one man and one woman is not important. It means the church can remain with a deaf ear to the cry of innocent blood coming from our ground to God’s ear.
Like Senator Obama, I would also like to refer to the Sermon on the Mount in Mathew 5-13. We are to be the purging agents God declares that we may avoid consequences for being less, “Ye are the salt of the earth if the salt has lost his savour, wherewith Shall it be salted? It is henceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under the foot of man.”
Church, where are you?
You have heard my review of this masterful political production concerning Sen. Obama and a few of his cast. There is undoubtedly more to come.
Suffice it to say, the prospect of Sen. Barack Obama becoming President of the United States poses a real threat to African Americans.
Cathy Cohen, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, conducted a survey tracking the attitudes of nearly 1,600 young people of all races nationwide. The professor did one of the most comprehensive studies with the focus on African Americans 15-25 ever performed.
The survey shows that young African-Americans are more conservative than their white counterparts when it is comes to same-sex marriage and abortion. There has been consistent data that shows African-Americans are pro-life and oppose same-sex marriage. An Obama presidency would certainly not reflect Afro-American youth or the nation he’d be leading. In fact, his position on these issues would be ensuring their present destructive trend.
Black Enterprise magazine did a survey in which 58% of its participants viewed the NAACP’s pro-choice stance as wrong. As a role model, Barack Obama would be stirring the cauldron of confusion and mixed emotion. Many people would be happy for his success, because he is black, but vexed by his immoral position on the critical issues.
Obama’s use of the presidential bully pulpit would be a boost for the culture of death and the homosexual agenda.
As President, there would also always be the threat of a veto of any significant pro-life or pro-family legislation. Additionally, Obama would undoubtedly nominate pro-abortion justices to the US Supreme Court, which could etch Roe v. Wade into stone for generations.
Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Any success achieved at the expense of our children is no success.” I and many other African-Americans long to see the day of an African-American President, but not at the expense of our children and our values.
Remember, all significant social change which empowered and eradicated injustice has come from the Church not congress, from Pastors not the president. Politicians often join in the cause later, but social reform always starts in the Church. To keep this better in mind I will close with another quote from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from a Birmingham Jail:
There was a time when the church was very powerful. It was during that period when the early Christians rejoiced as they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.
God help us to be a thermostat.
-------------------------------
Rev. Clenard H. Childress Jr. is the Senior Pastor of New Calvary Baptist Church in Montclair, NJ. He hosts “The Urban Prophet” which takes the pro-life, pro-family message into the urban areas. Rev. Childress is the author of “No Shepherd’s Cry.”
From— http://www.theurbanprophet.org/obamanation.htm
"The Complete Story on Barak Obama"
by Rev. Clenard H. Childress Jr.
African Americans make up 12% of the population, but account for over 50% of all new cases of HIV. African American women account for a staggering 68% of all newly diagnosed HIV positive women in the United States. These women primarily contracted HIV from heterosexual sex. Now, with that said, 60% of all new aids cases in America will be the result of the violation of Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1:27 (men having sex with men).
Martin Luther King, Jr., who never marched one step for “Gay Rights,” said, “The contemporary church is often a weak ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is often the arch-supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power of the average community is consoled by the churches silent and often vocal sanctions of things as they are.”
No greater tune of uncertainty was ever played so loudly and with more confusion then the opening number sung by Rick Warren at The Saddlebrack Church. Yes, entering stage right is the Author of one of the best selling Christian books of our time. “The Purpose Driven Life”
Pastor Warren, which I want to believe with good intentions, invited Senator Obama to speak at the “Global Summit On Aids And The Church”
Despite every sociological indicator and warnings from the medical profession, Senator Obama still endorses and is an advocate for same-sex marriage. Same- sex marriage gives sanctity to a union that promotes the practice that accounts for 60% of Aids cases which is ravaging the African-American community. What message has Rick Warren sent to the millions that have read his book on “purpose”? Why did he accept this role in this Howard Dean production? Obama’s antithetical stand on the issues that are decimating the Afro-American community and the nation at large should have disqualified him from presenting at this event. It would be like Planned Parent Hood inviting me to speak at their next rally.
Can you imagine how fearful they would be at what I might say? It is amazing to me that it didn’t make Rick Warren and his staff concerned about what Senator Obama might utter across the sacred desk. This is a subliminal endorsement of a man who presently advocates the slaughter of innocent babies and the destructive gay agenda. Does this not diminish the Churches responsibility to remain true to the teaching of the word of God? Hasn’t this weaken the position of those actively working to stop the killing of infants?
In a statement made to the Philadelphia Inquirer Pastor Warren said, “One of my goals is to take evangelicals back a century, the 19th century said Warren. That was a time of muscular Christianity that cared about every aspect of life. Not just personal salvation but social action, abolishing slavery, ending child labor and winning the right for women to vote. It’s time for modern evangelicals to trade words for deeds and get similarly involved. “
A few things jump up at me here when I read this article, things like every aspect of life! Trade words for deeds sounds so moving! His reference to slavery and child labor laws should touch the heart of every Christian. Why? A nation is judged by how it treats it’s weakest and most venerable.
Now as I see it we definitely need to prioritize things just a little. At the end of this year 20,000 people will die of aids and more than half of them will be Black. Ok that’s about 10,000 Afro-Americans. 1.2 million will die from abortion. 36% of them will be African American. That’s nearly 500,000 Afro-Americans. After doing the math it is quite apparent we need to address this devastating scourge that is affecting every aspect of life. We need a significant deed! Pastor Warren I know just what we need. “A Global Summit on Abortion and The Church” With 150,000 babies murdered each day in the world, yes 150,000; surely the church should convene and caucus. The 19th century anointing is well over due and I believe with all my heart that anointing would cause the Church to be a clear clarion voice that Martin Luther King referred to that put an end to infanticide. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever!
I in no way want to minimize the horrendous effects of slavery, child labor and denying women to vote but in comparison to the decimation of our community by abortion they are mild at best.
Christianity Today.com gave this report recently from the autobiography of Billy Graham.
In the heat of segregation and racial injustice, when racial tensions were peaking, Evangelist Billy Graham invited Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King
To discuss the racial situation with him and his colleagues. Then before a capacity crowd at Madison Square Garden he called Martin Luther King to the platform and to lead the congregation in prayer. In his introduction he said, “a great social revolution is going on in the United States today.
Dr. King is one of its leaders and we appreciate his taking time out of his busy schedule to come and share this service with us tonight.” The words did not explicitly endorse King and King’s prayer called for nothing more revolutionary than a “brotherhood that transcends color” but the implication was unmistakable: Graham was letting both whites and Blacks know that he was willing to be identified with the revolution and its foremost leader, and King was telling Blacks that Graham was their ally. Billy Graham’s voice was important in declaring that Christian racist was an oxymoron.
When Graham invited King it was to set the captives free and identify with the segment of society that was denied the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It was to ensure the civil rights of others.
What was the implication of Pastor Warrens calculated embrace of Senator Obama to the thousands in attendance?
It implies that over 45, million babies killed by abortion are not relevant. It implies that the definition of marriage between one man and one woman is not important. It means the church can remain with a deaf ear to the cry of innocent blood coming from our ground to God’s ear.
Like Senator Obama, I would also like to refer to the Sermon on the Mount in Mathew 5-13. We are to be the purging agents God declares that we may avoid consequences for being less, “Ye are the salt of the earth if the salt has lost his savour, wherewith Shall it be salted? It is henceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under the foot of man.”
Church, where are you?
You have heard my review of this masterful political production concerning Sen. Obama and a few of his cast. There is undoubtedly more to come.
Suffice it to say, the prospect of Sen. Barack Obama becoming President of the United States poses a real threat to African Americans.
Cathy Cohen, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, conducted a survey tracking the attitudes of nearly 1,600 young people of all races nationwide. The professor did one of the most comprehensive studies with the focus on African Americans 15-25 ever performed.
The survey shows that young African-Americans are more conservative than their white counterparts when it is comes to same-sex marriage and abortion. There has been consistent data that shows African-Americans are pro-life and oppose same-sex marriage. An Obama presidency would certainly not reflect Afro-American youth or the nation he’d be leading. In fact, his position on these issues would be ensuring their present destructive trend.
Black Enterprise magazine did a survey in which 58% of its participants viewed the NAACP’s pro-choice stance as wrong. As a role model, Barack Obama would be stirring the cauldron of confusion and mixed emotion. Many people would be happy for his success, because he is black, but vexed by his immoral position on the critical issues.
Obama’s use of the presidential bully pulpit would be a boost for the culture of death and the homosexual agenda.
As President, there would also always be the threat of a veto of any significant pro-life or pro-family legislation. Additionally, Obama would undoubtedly nominate pro-abortion justices to the US Supreme Court, which could etch Roe v. Wade into stone for generations.
Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Any success achieved at the expense of our children is no success.” I and many other African-Americans long to see the day of an African-American President, but not at the expense of our children and our values.
Remember, all significant social change which empowered and eradicated injustice has come from the Church not congress, from Pastors not the president. Politicians often join in the cause later, but social reform always starts in the Church. To keep this better in mind I will close with another quote from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from a Birmingham Jail:
There was a time when the church was very powerful. It was during that period when the early Christians rejoiced as they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.
God help us to be a thermostat.
-------------------------------
Rev. Clenard H. Childress Jr. is the Senior Pastor of New Calvary Baptist Church in Montclair, NJ. He hosts “The Urban Prophet” which takes the pro-life, pro-family message into the urban areas. Rev. Childress is the author of “No Shepherd’s Cry.”
From— http://www.theurbanprophet.org/obamanation.htm
Obama and the Born Alive Infants Protection Act
Watch this YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypDwNpgIUQc
And note these two political cartoons:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypDwNpgIUQc
And note these two political cartoons:
Sunday, November 2, 2008
The Truth About Barak Obama (Part One of Two Parts)
The following article was written by a Baptist pastor in New Jersey. As an African–American he says some very sobering things about abortion and moral issues in the Black Community that all citizens and all Christians in the USA should take to heart. I am providing the text of this article in full (in two installments) because of its importance at this time.
"The Complete Story on Barak Obama"
by Rev. Clenard H. Childress Jr.
The Democratic Party has for years given lip service to the African-American community. They have talked about prominence without fulfilling the promise. They patronize without empowering. Worst of all, this unholy bond has done more to decimate and deplete our community than slavery and Jim Crow laws ever could have accomplished. This allegiance has destroyed millions of our children; children created but denied access to the American dream, children aborted.
The Democrat Party has been a major contributor to the African American slippery slide down the slope of depravity. It has caused our community to deny the God of our Fathers and ignore the counsel of His Word. This Word brought us up and out of Egypt. This Word broke the chains of a terrible bondage and established us in the path of upward mobility and prosperity.
Our loyalty to this political regime has vexed our leaders and organizations. Institutions that were birthed to advance the causes of Afro-Americans, now in their ignorance, lobby for our decline. NAACP, Congressional Black Caucus, Rainbow Coalition, Urban League, the list goes on and on. All of these were once heralded groups with a noble past and great historic accomplishment. Today, they are stymied by this ungodly tie. Rev. Jessie Jackson, AL Sharpton, Julian Bond, Joseph Lowery are all allied in party and, in the process, have lost their souls. What happened to the God of Dr. Martin Luther King?
Despite this deplorable behavior of our perceived leadership, the winds of change have begun to blow. Pastors and leaders in the Black community have begun to remember their roots and realize they are chained to mediocrity and complacency. There has been a consistent flow of Afro-Americans making their way back to freedom. This has sent shock waves through the present Democrat leadership. While we are yet somewhat in a vacuum of solid Afro-American leadership with true integrity (there are many on the horizon not yet recognized), we are once again being wooed by the oppressor’s ploys to stay on the plantation. Staying where there is little reward and where our lives and votes are taken for granted. Once again it is someone of our own ethnicity, our own race being used. The Democrats have deployed a new pied piper in a desperate attempt to preserve their self serving party.
New face, same tune. The song being played is from the movie “The Culture of Death.” The goal is to fill the seats with Afro-Americans in the theater of apostasy. Why? Because if the current trend continues the Democrat party could soon be performing in their final act.
Enter Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill), who is truly turning out to be one of the greatest performers of all times. Obama’s biggest act is that he calls himself a Christian.
Howard Dean, Chair of the Democrat National Committee, scripted most of the scenes in this production starring Obama. Dean outlined an approach that will emphasize outreach to evangelicals. He said, “People of faith are in the Democratic Party including me.” (Now if you believe that, I own a cute bridge in Brooklyn still available at a great price!)
Listen to this line. Obama stated, “As I travel around this state, I don’t get asked about gay marriage, I don’t get asked about abortion, I get asked ‘How can I find a job that allows me to support my family?’ I get asked, ‘How can I pay those medical bills without going into bankruptcy.’” (Taken from a reply to questions asked during the Ill. Senate campaign)
As an African-American male and a Pastor of a Baptist Church, I am deeply troubled, but not surprised at the Senator’s remarks. One would only have to look at Obama’s consistent support and advocacy for the gay agenda and the abortion industry to understand. As a longtime activist for children in the womb (the most discriminated against segment of our society) and proponent for family values, I am horrified at this man’s voting record. Anytime Planned Parenthood gives you a 100% rating, all Americans should cringe in fear because they are the leading abortion provider in the nation.
Each day, 1452 African Americans are murdered by abortion. 4,000 children over all.
There have been over 15 million African American children dismembered in the womb by the abortion holocaust and as many women victimized.
As an elected official, should anyone have to ask you about abortion to make it your concern?
Marriage, since the 1970s, is down 17% in America and in the African Community it’s down 34%, which is twice the national average.
Should Barack Obama again have to wait until someone asks him about the fundamental building block of all society? Shouldn’t he protect the sanctity of marriage? The truth is, someone has asked and how he has answered the question was abysmal.
The question was asked of Obama, should the heinous act of partial birth abortion be outlawed in America? Twice Senator Obama answered no! When he was asked if a child, who might miraculously survive the sentence of death by abortion, be protected from an abortion doctor after surviving? Senator Obama said no! (See Born Alive Victims Protection Law.) Has he no conscience? Is he misinformed on the facts of these barbaric practices? His response to these questions is not indicative of the Black community’s beliefs, and certainly shows a low degree of conscience and moral fiber.
These six things the lord hates, yea seven are an abomination unto him, a proud look, a lying tongue and hands that shed innocent blood. (Proverbs 6:17)
There is no candidate running for the office of the presidency with a worse record than Sen. Barack Obama. His hands have aided and abetted the abortion industry’s slaughter of the innocent and no other community is affected by it more than the African American community. It’s an industry that targets Afro-Americans for profit at the expense of our children’s lives and the pain of Black women.
This charade has been quite a production. It is now playing and coming to a theater near you!
Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in his letter from a Birmingham jail, “The early church put an end to such evils as infanticide (infant killing).”
From a jail in Birmingham, AL, without any other source of reference but his heart and the Bible, Martin wrote to some Bishops and Pastors who were not in favor of the demonstrations he was leading. They felt that it was counter productive and not in the best interest of the Negro people. Martin Luther King, Jr. felt quite differently, he chided church leaders for their reluctance to join him in the struggle for freedom. King’s reference to infanticide pointed to the legality of infant killing under Roman law in the first century. Martin Luther King, Jr. pointed to the practice of Christians to rescue babies left on the side of the road to die, because their parents did not like their complexion, eye color, hair color or viewed the child as an inconvenience (sound familiar?) First century Christians rescued those babies and raised them as their own children.
The early Church defied unjust laws even when the consequences could have meant their own death for doing so. Oh, if that kind of love and courage could be demonstrated today by our leadership, it would begin to heal our land.
Sen. Obama has written, “I am not willing to have the state deny American citizens a civil union that confers equivalent rights on such basic matters as hospital visitation or health insurance coverage simply because the people they love are of the same sex – nor am I willing to accept a reading of the Bible that considers an obscure line in Romans to be more defining of Christianity than the sermon on the mount.”
Sen. Obama, did you say obscure? That would tend to lead unlearned listeners to believe that the Bible is vague or obscure on the subject of homosexuality.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Nearly half of the 32 verses in the first chapter of the New Testament book of Romans were dedicated to warning the early church about sexual perversion. The Apostle Paul warned that perverse thinking and the habits they create were due to the fact that “they did not want to retain God in their knowledge.” That verse truly reflects much of the cast in the Democrat Party.
I would like to ask Sen. Obama the question, “How obscure is this verse?”
Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with woman kind: it is an abomination.
That sounds pretty definitive to me.
It would appear to me that Sen. Obama as well as many others shun and ignore the obvious and cloak the true causes of our problems.
(part two continued tomorrow)
"The Complete Story on Barak Obama"
by Rev. Clenard H. Childress Jr.
The Democratic Party has for years given lip service to the African-American community. They have talked about prominence without fulfilling the promise. They patronize without empowering. Worst of all, this unholy bond has done more to decimate and deplete our community than slavery and Jim Crow laws ever could have accomplished. This allegiance has destroyed millions of our children; children created but denied access to the American dream, children aborted.
The Democrat Party has been a major contributor to the African American slippery slide down the slope of depravity. It has caused our community to deny the God of our Fathers and ignore the counsel of His Word. This Word brought us up and out of Egypt. This Word broke the chains of a terrible bondage and established us in the path of upward mobility and prosperity.
Our loyalty to this political regime has vexed our leaders and organizations. Institutions that were birthed to advance the causes of Afro-Americans, now in their ignorance, lobby for our decline. NAACP, Congressional Black Caucus, Rainbow Coalition, Urban League, the list goes on and on. All of these were once heralded groups with a noble past and great historic accomplishment. Today, they are stymied by this ungodly tie. Rev. Jessie Jackson, AL Sharpton, Julian Bond, Joseph Lowery are all allied in party and, in the process, have lost their souls. What happened to the God of Dr. Martin Luther King?
Despite this deplorable behavior of our perceived leadership, the winds of change have begun to blow. Pastors and leaders in the Black community have begun to remember their roots and realize they are chained to mediocrity and complacency. There has been a consistent flow of Afro-Americans making their way back to freedom. This has sent shock waves through the present Democrat leadership. While we are yet somewhat in a vacuum of solid Afro-American leadership with true integrity (there are many on the horizon not yet recognized), we are once again being wooed by the oppressor’s ploys to stay on the plantation. Staying where there is little reward and where our lives and votes are taken for granted. Once again it is someone of our own ethnicity, our own race being used. The Democrats have deployed a new pied piper in a desperate attempt to preserve their self serving party.
New face, same tune. The song being played is from the movie “The Culture of Death.” The goal is to fill the seats with Afro-Americans in the theater of apostasy. Why? Because if the current trend continues the Democrat party could soon be performing in their final act.
Enter Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill), who is truly turning out to be one of the greatest performers of all times. Obama’s biggest act is that he calls himself a Christian.
Howard Dean, Chair of the Democrat National Committee, scripted most of the scenes in this production starring Obama. Dean outlined an approach that will emphasize outreach to evangelicals. He said, “People of faith are in the Democratic Party including me.” (Now if you believe that, I own a cute bridge in Brooklyn still available at a great price!)
Listen to this line. Obama stated, “As I travel around this state, I don’t get asked about gay marriage, I don’t get asked about abortion, I get asked ‘How can I find a job that allows me to support my family?’ I get asked, ‘How can I pay those medical bills without going into bankruptcy.’” (Taken from a reply to questions asked during the Ill. Senate campaign)
As an African-American male and a Pastor of a Baptist Church, I am deeply troubled, but not surprised at the Senator’s remarks. One would only have to look at Obama’s consistent support and advocacy for the gay agenda and the abortion industry to understand. As a longtime activist for children in the womb (the most discriminated against segment of our society) and proponent for family values, I am horrified at this man’s voting record. Anytime Planned Parenthood gives you a 100% rating, all Americans should cringe in fear because they are the leading abortion provider in the nation.
Each day, 1452 African Americans are murdered by abortion. 4,000 children over all.
There have been over 15 million African American children dismembered in the womb by the abortion holocaust and as many women victimized.
As an elected official, should anyone have to ask you about abortion to make it your concern?
Marriage, since the 1970s, is down 17% in America and in the African Community it’s down 34%, which is twice the national average.
Should Barack Obama again have to wait until someone asks him about the fundamental building block of all society? Shouldn’t he protect the sanctity of marriage? The truth is, someone has asked and how he has answered the question was abysmal.
The question was asked of Obama, should the heinous act of partial birth abortion be outlawed in America? Twice Senator Obama answered no! When he was asked if a child, who might miraculously survive the sentence of death by abortion, be protected from an abortion doctor after surviving? Senator Obama said no! (See Born Alive Victims Protection Law.) Has he no conscience? Is he misinformed on the facts of these barbaric practices? His response to these questions is not indicative of the Black community’s beliefs, and certainly shows a low degree of conscience and moral fiber.
These six things the lord hates, yea seven are an abomination unto him, a proud look, a lying tongue and hands that shed innocent blood. (Proverbs 6:17)
There is no candidate running for the office of the presidency with a worse record than Sen. Barack Obama. His hands have aided and abetted the abortion industry’s slaughter of the innocent and no other community is affected by it more than the African American community. It’s an industry that targets Afro-Americans for profit at the expense of our children’s lives and the pain of Black women.
This charade has been quite a production. It is now playing and coming to a theater near you!
Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in his letter from a Birmingham jail, “The early church put an end to such evils as infanticide (infant killing).”
From a jail in Birmingham, AL, without any other source of reference but his heart and the Bible, Martin wrote to some Bishops and Pastors who were not in favor of the demonstrations he was leading. They felt that it was counter productive and not in the best interest of the Negro people. Martin Luther King, Jr. felt quite differently, he chided church leaders for their reluctance to join him in the struggle for freedom. King’s reference to infanticide pointed to the legality of infant killing under Roman law in the first century. Martin Luther King, Jr. pointed to the practice of Christians to rescue babies left on the side of the road to die, because their parents did not like their complexion, eye color, hair color or viewed the child as an inconvenience (sound familiar?) First century Christians rescued those babies and raised them as their own children.
The early Church defied unjust laws even when the consequences could have meant their own death for doing so. Oh, if that kind of love and courage could be demonstrated today by our leadership, it would begin to heal our land.
Sen. Obama has written, “I am not willing to have the state deny American citizens a civil union that confers equivalent rights on such basic matters as hospital visitation or health insurance coverage simply because the people they love are of the same sex – nor am I willing to accept a reading of the Bible that considers an obscure line in Romans to be more defining of Christianity than the sermon on the mount.”
Sen. Obama, did you say obscure? That would tend to lead unlearned listeners to believe that the Bible is vague or obscure on the subject of homosexuality.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Nearly half of the 32 verses in the first chapter of the New Testament book of Romans were dedicated to warning the early church about sexual perversion. The Apostle Paul warned that perverse thinking and the habits they create were due to the fact that “they did not want to retain God in their knowledge.” That verse truly reflects much of the cast in the Democrat Party.
I would like to ask Sen. Obama the question, “How obscure is this verse?”
Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with woman kind: it is an abomination.
That sounds pretty definitive to me.
It would appear to me that Sen. Obama as well as many others shun and ignore the obvious and cloak the true causes of our problems.
(part two continued tomorrow)
Saturday, November 1, 2008
I'm Voting for the Children
The beginning and conclusion of the article below is provided here to give you an idea of the author's point of view. People often accuse pro-life voters of being single issue voters. The intention of our pro-murder critics is to dismiss us as irrelevant because we are so myopic, irrational, narrow minded, and extreme. Keep in mind the issue that we are speaking about is the extermination of 50 million or more infants since 1973. To dismiss pro-life voters as irrelevant is to think of 50 million lives as expendable, unimportant. The moral bankruptcy of this is so apparent that I find it astounding we still need to say this!
==========
"Commentary: I'm Not Voting for a Man, I'm Voting for Generations of Children and Their Right to Live" by Randy Alcorn, guest columnist
As a Christian, should we vote for who we think should lead our country solely based on their stance on abortion?
The Bible is emphatically clear on when human life begins. On the same issue, science is equally clear.
Every Christian should take these teachings seriously. Is the unborn an innocent human being? If you claim to be pro-life, then your answer is yes. Is abortion the shedding of innocent blood, the taking of human life created in the image of God? If you say you are pro-life, your answer must be yes.
So, is the candidate’s stand on the issue of shedding innocent blood important enough to disqualify him as a candidate? Yes. While a single issue can’t qualify a candidate, it can disqualify him. In my opinion, this issue clearly disqualifies Barack Obama.
(Much of this article has been edited out of this post due to its length.)
But PLEASE don't just mindlessly say "I'm pro-life" then contradict that statement by saying you are supporting a candidate for president who is utterly committed to not only maintain legalized abortion through policy and appointment of judges, but who also HAS PROMISED to try to reverse pro-life state legislation passed in the last 30 years.
The full text of this good article on Abortion and the election is found at:
http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000008537.cfm
==========
"Commentary: I'm Not Voting for a Man, I'm Voting for Generations of Children and Their Right to Live" by Randy Alcorn, guest columnist
As a Christian, should we vote for who we think should lead our country solely based on their stance on abortion?
The Bible is emphatically clear on when human life begins. On the same issue, science is equally clear.
Every Christian should take these teachings seriously. Is the unborn an innocent human being? If you claim to be pro-life, then your answer is yes. Is abortion the shedding of innocent blood, the taking of human life created in the image of God? If you say you are pro-life, your answer must be yes.
So, is the candidate’s stand on the issue of shedding innocent blood important enough to disqualify him as a candidate? Yes. While a single issue can’t qualify a candidate, it can disqualify him. In my opinion, this issue clearly disqualifies Barack Obama.
(Much of this article has been edited out of this post due to its length.)
But PLEASE don't just mindlessly say "I'm pro-life" then contradict that statement by saying you are supporting a candidate for president who is utterly committed to not only maintain legalized abortion through policy and appointment of judges, but who also HAS PROMISED to try to reverse pro-life state legislation passed in the last 30 years.
The full text of this good article on Abortion and the election is found at:
http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000008537.cfm
Friday, October 31, 2008
Abortion is Genocide—Especially in the Black Community
Barak Obama is considered to be one of the most pro-murder candidates to ever run for office. Strangely, the very community which looks to him with such admiration, is the same community decimated three times over by the kind of abortion policies he is so radical in advocating. The statistics below are stark evidence of a modern day genocide of a minority community in our land.
[Statistics below from—http://www.blackgenocide.org/black.html]
Minority women constitute only about 13% of the female population (age 15-44) in the United States, but they underwent approximately 36% of the abortions.
According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, black women are more than 5 times as likely as white women to have an abortion
On average, 1,876 black babies are aborted every day in the United States.
This incidence of abortion has resulted in a tremendous loss of life. It has been estimated that since 1973 Black women have had about 16 million abortions. Michael Novak had calculated "Since the number of current living Blacks (in the U.S.) is 36 million, the missing 16 million represents an enormous loss, for without abortion, America's Black community would now number 52 million persons. It would be 36 percent larger than it is. Abortion has swept through the Black community like a scythe, cutting down every fourth member."
-----
On a personal note— Today a wonderful Christian layman at our church, who was the father of nine, beautiful, Christian children, was buried. Each Sunday as his family filed into the Divine Service, filling an entire pew, I used to think how blessed he was to have such a wonderful family. Several of his kids are prodigies with a variety of musical instruments. They often played music during special feast days at church.
He exemplified all that is best about being a Christian father. He and his wife loved children. Each new life was God's blessing to them including one of their sons that is a special needs child. What a contrast this Christian family is in comparison to the selfishness of so many in our society who see a child as an inconvenience or a burden. May God strengthen Larry's wife and family with a continued devotion to Christ and to one another! We will all miss him. Our prayers are with his dear wife and the kids as they go through the grieving process.
[Statistics below from—http://www.blackgenocide.org/black.html]
Minority women constitute only about 13% of the female population (age 15-44) in the United States, but they underwent approximately 36% of the abortions.
According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, black women are more than 5 times as likely as white women to have an abortion
On average, 1,876 black babies are aborted every day in the United States.
This incidence of abortion has resulted in a tremendous loss of life. It has been estimated that since 1973 Black women have had about 16 million abortions. Michael Novak had calculated "Since the number of current living Blacks (in the U.S.) is 36 million, the missing 16 million represents an enormous loss, for without abortion, America's Black community would now number 52 million persons. It would be 36 percent larger than it is. Abortion has swept through the Black community like a scythe, cutting down every fourth member."
-----
On a personal note— Today a wonderful Christian layman at our church, who was the father of nine, beautiful, Christian children, was buried. Each Sunday as his family filed into the Divine Service, filling an entire pew, I used to think how blessed he was to have such a wonderful family. Several of his kids are prodigies with a variety of musical instruments. They often played music during special feast days at church.
He exemplified all that is best about being a Christian father. He and his wife loved children. Each new life was God's blessing to them including one of their sons that is a special needs child. What a contrast this Christian family is in comparison to the selfishness of so many in our society who see a child as an inconvenience or a burden. May God strengthen Larry's wife and family with a continued devotion to Christ and to one another! We will all miss him. Our prayers are with his dear wife and the kids as they go through the grieving process.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Abortion is Genocide Redux
It is time to speak up, to vote, to be active protecting the unborn. If we do not speak up for the least among us, someday we may find no one to speak up for us!
I am reminded of a poem about the Nazi regime attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller:
"In Germany, they came first for the Communists,
And I didn’t speak up
because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists,
And I didn’t speak up
because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews,
And I didn’t speak up
because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . .
And by that time there was no one left to speak up."
My own addition to the poem:
Daily they come for the weakest among us.
And too many do not speak up
because it is too much trouble.
They will come again when we are old and weak.
And multitudes of children will not speak up
because they were murdered.
Here is an article that you should read before Election Tuesday.
For full text of this lengthy article go to: http://www.evangelizationstation.com/
Follow the links: >Moral Theology >Abortion and the Catholic Church >Why Abortion is Genocide
"Why Abortion is Genocide"
Gregg Cunningham
RATIONALE FOR THE GENOCIDE AWARENESS PROJECT (GAP)
As part of its Genocide Awareness Project, The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform exhibits large photo murals comparing aborted babies with Jewish Holocaust victims, African Americans killed in racist lynchings, Native Americans exterminated by the US Army, etc. Our purpose is to illuminate the conceptual similarities which exist between abortion and more widely recognized forms of genocide. This is important because perpetrators of genocide always call it something else and the word "abortion" has, therefore, lost most of its meaning.
GENOCIDE AS INDESCRIBABLE EVIL
Visual depictions of abortion are indispensable to the restoration of that meaning because abortion represents an evil so inexpressible that words fail us when we attempt to describe its horror. Abortion will continue to be trivialized as "the lesser of two evils," or perhaps even "a necessary evil," as long as it is allowed to remain an invisible abstraction. Pictures make it impossible for anyone with a shred of intellectual honesty to maintain the pretense that "it's not a baby" and "abortion is not an act of violence." Pictures also make clear to people of conscience the fact that abortion is an evil whose magnitude is comparable to that of any "crime against humanity." Educators properly use shocking imagery to teach about genocide and we insist on the right to do the same.
(Much of this article has been edited out of this post due to its length.)
Dr. Martin Luther King was often castigated by racists who unjustly blamed him for the violent unrest which sometimes followed his peaceful but confrontational demonstrations. Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago argued that if Dr. King would stop exposing racial injustice, black people would be less likely participate in the riots which left many dead and injured (The Civil Rights Movement, Steven Kasher, Abbeville Press, 1996). In his "Letter From The Birmingham Jail," supra, Dr. King rebutted this dishonest attempt to change the subject:
In your statement you asserted that our actions, though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence .... [I]t is immoral to urge an individual to withdraw his efforts to gain ... basic constitutional rights because the quest precipitates violence .... Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such a creative tension that a community ... is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that is can no longer be ignored.
In a speech delivered just months before he would be murdered, he restated the imperative of confronting a complacent culture:
... [U]ntil our problem is solved, America may have many, many days, but they will be full of trouble. There will be no rest, there will be no tranquillity in this country until the nation comes to terms with our problem.
Neither will there be tranquillity until the nation comes to terms with the "problem" of abortion.
I am reminded of a poem about the Nazi regime attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller:
"In Germany, they came first for the Communists,
And I didn’t speak up
because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists,
And I didn’t speak up
because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews,
And I didn’t speak up
because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . .
And by that time there was no one left to speak up."
My own addition to the poem:
Daily they come for the weakest among us.
And too many do not speak up
because it is too much trouble.
They will come again when we are old and weak.
And multitudes of children will not speak up
because they were murdered.
Here is an article that you should read before Election Tuesday.
For full text of this lengthy article go to: http://www.evangelizationstation.com/
Follow the links: >Moral Theology >Abortion and the Catholic Church >Why Abortion is Genocide
"Why Abortion is Genocide"
Gregg Cunningham
RATIONALE FOR THE GENOCIDE AWARENESS PROJECT (GAP)
As part of its Genocide Awareness Project, The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform exhibits large photo murals comparing aborted babies with Jewish Holocaust victims, African Americans killed in racist lynchings, Native Americans exterminated by the US Army, etc. Our purpose is to illuminate the conceptual similarities which exist between abortion and more widely recognized forms of genocide. This is important because perpetrators of genocide always call it something else and the word "abortion" has, therefore, lost most of its meaning.
GENOCIDE AS INDESCRIBABLE EVIL
Visual depictions of abortion are indispensable to the restoration of that meaning because abortion represents an evil so inexpressible that words fail us when we attempt to describe its horror. Abortion will continue to be trivialized as "the lesser of two evils," or perhaps even "a necessary evil," as long as it is allowed to remain an invisible abstraction. Pictures make it impossible for anyone with a shred of intellectual honesty to maintain the pretense that "it's not a baby" and "abortion is not an act of violence." Pictures also make clear to people of conscience the fact that abortion is an evil whose magnitude is comparable to that of any "crime against humanity." Educators properly use shocking imagery to teach about genocide and we insist on the right to do the same.
(Much of this article has been edited out of this post due to its length.)
Dr. Martin Luther King was often castigated by racists who unjustly blamed him for the violent unrest which sometimes followed his peaceful but confrontational demonstrations. Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago argued that if Dr. King would stop exposing racial injustice, black people would be less likely participate in the riots which left many dead and injured (The Civil Rights Movement, Steven Kasher, Abbeville Press, 1996). In his "Letter From The Birmingham Jail," supra, Dr. King rebutted this dishonest attempt to change the subject:
In your statement you asserted that our actions, though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence .... [I]t is immoral to urge an individual to withdraw his efforts to gain ... basic constitutional rights because the quest precipitates violence .... Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such a creative tension that a community ... is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that is can no longer be ignored.
In a speech delivered just months before he would be murdered, he restated the imperative of confronting a complacent culture:
... [U]ntil our problem is solved, America may have many, many days, but they will be full of trouble. There will be no rest, there will be no tranquillity in this country until the nation comes to terms with our problem.
Neither will there be tranquillity until the nation comes to terms with the "problem" of abortion.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Abortion is Genocide!
From— http://www.evangelizationstation.com/
Follow the links below:
Moral Theology
Abortion and the Catholic Church
Why Abortion is Genocide
"Why Abortion is Genocide"
by Gregg Cunningham
Cunningham notes, Webster's New World Encyclopedia, Prentice Hall General Reference, 1992, defines "genocide" as "The deliberate and systematic destruction of a national, racial, religious, political, cultural, ethnic, or other group defined by the exterminators as undesirable."
-----
An unwanted baby is not undesirable. It is not an inconvenience. It is a human being with intrinsic value to be protected with all the care we would want for ourselves.
Friends, our nation is sowing for a terrible harvest; Hosea 8:7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind....
Follow the links below:
Moral Theology
Abortion and the Catholic Church
Why Abortion is Genocide
"Why Abortion is Genocide"
by Gregg Cunningham
Cunningham notes, Webster's New World Encyclopedia, Prentice Hall General Reference, 1992, defines "genocide" as "The deliberate and systematic destruction of a national, racial, religious, political, cultural, ethnic, or other group defined by the exterminators as undesirable."
-----
An unwanted baby is not undesirable. It is not an inconvenience. It is a human being with intrinsic value to be protected with all the care we would want for ourselves.
Friends, our nation is sowing for a terrible harvest; Hosea 8:7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind....
Monday, October 27, 2008
The Next Genocidal Regime?
Some of you may find this offensive. I am not sorry. The real offensive thing is the murder that takes place thousands of times each day. One of the presidential candidates has pledged the most aggressive pro-murder policy ever desired by the murder for money lobby. God have mercy on us all!
Addressing the Planned Parenthood Action Fund (7/17/2007), Obama promised that the first thing he would do as president is to sign the Freedom of Choice Act. The Freedom of Choice Act would invalidate any “statute, ordinance, regulation, administrative order, decision, policy, practice, or other action” of any federal, state, or local government or government official (or anyone acting under government authority) that would “deny or interfere with” a woman's right to an abortion. This includes overturning the following: parental consent and notification laws, restrictions on government (tax-payer) funding of abortions, and legal protections for health workers who refuse to participate in abortions due to conscience. Heil Obama!
Addressing the Planned Parenthood Action Fund (7/17/2007), Obama promised that the first thing he would do as president is to sign the Freedom of Choice Act. The Freedom of Choice Act would invalidate any “statute, ordinance, regulation, administrative order, decision, policy, practice, or other action” of any federal, state, or local government or government official (or anyone acting under government authority) that would “deny or interfere with” a woman's right to an abortion. This includes overturning the following: parental consent and notification laws, restrictions on government (tax-payer) funding of abortions, and legal protections for health workers who refuse to participate in abortions due to conscience. Heil Obama!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The Economics of Sin
History should teach us something about ourselves. Sadly, the aphorism by George Santayana that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it is true of us also. We are pig headed and do not learn from the past. We are determined to make the same kind of mistakes over and over again. The sins of previous generations are repeated among us.
I recognize that history is not always easy to understand. Put three historians in a closed room and you will get four theories about what happened, eight theories about their meaning, and sixteen ideas about the manner this should influence our national policies. Santayana also said, "History is a pack of lies about events that never happened told by people who weren't there." Caveat lector!
Three statistics to consider:
1) Joseph Stalin is thought to have been responsible for 20 million deaths.
2) Adolf Hitler is generally acknowledged to be responsible for 42 million deaths.
3) All the Wars of the US (Revolution to Viet Nam) took approximately 1.1 million lives.
These three statistics represent staggering loses personally. The economic losses are probably beyond accurate counting. No reasonable person admires Hitler or Stalin. They are bywords for great evils committed on the basis of evil ideologies. We mourn the deaths of American citizens in her wars. As evil as Stalin and Hitler were, as sad as the death of our soldiers is to us, we tolerate something far worse in our nation.
Another staggering statistic:
Since 1973 an estimated 52 million deaths by elective abortion have occurred in the USA!
We are approaching a national election. The biggest issue is the economy, followed by health care, terrorism, Iraq, and immigration. Pro-life issues do not even make the key issue list in the polling. About half the voters consider abortion to be not that important. Of those who do consider it to be an important factor, not all are in favor of making it illegal. What does this say about our national priorities? We have brutally murdered about as many infants as the total deaths attributed to Stalin and Hitler combined. (Not to even argue that the ideology of the "culture of death" is very much like Stalin and Hitler's ideologies.)
Recently there have been several news items indicating that some supposed "pro-lifers" are voting for the Obama/Biden ticket because of economic problems in our nation. (I am sure other factors are part of these defections but the economy is cited.) Obama and Biden both have pro-abortion voting records. Economics trumps morality!
This is where the title of this article comes in, just what are the economics of sin? Is the dollar more important than morality? Can we be bought off so cheaply?
I am not that enamored of McCain's stand on all of the life issues (especially embryonic stem cell research). However, in good conscience I cannot vote for candidates and a party (Democrats) that stand firmly in the death culture camp. The Republican candidates have their own problems, but they at least do not vote for the culture of death agenda.
Another question concerning the economy and abortion—how do we dare think that God overlooks this evil? If God does not bring upon our heads the recompense of our sin, then he will have to apologize to Stalin and Hitler. But our economy apparently comes before morality. This is a building built over an abyss. We carelessly live as if there is no Judge and no judgment.
Gal. 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
So, I will vote, but not for those who support abortion. I may not like my choices. I may have to hold my nose as I pull the lever. But I will never vote for those who think that killing an infant is a choice.
I recognize that history is not always easy to understand. Put three historians in a closed room and you will get four theories about what happened, eight theories about their meaning, and sixteen ideas about the manner this should influence our national policies. Santayana also said, "History is a pack of lies about events that never happened told by people who weren't there." Caveat lector!
Three statistics to consider:
1) Joseph Stalin is thought to have been responsible for 20 million deaths.
2) Adolf Hitler is generally acknowledged to be responsible for 42 million deaths.
3) All the Wars of the US (Revolution to Viet Nam) took approximately 1.1 million lives.
These three statistics represent staggering loses personally. The economic losses are probably beyond accurate counting. No reasonable person admires Hitler or Stalin. They are bywords for great evils committed on the basis of evil ideologies. We mourn the deaths of American citizens in her wars. As evil as Stalin and Hitler were, as sad as the death of our soldiers is to us, we tolerate something far worse in our nation.
Another staggering statistic:
Since 1973 an estimated 52 million deaths by elective abortion have occurred in the USA!
We are approaching a national election. The biggest issue is the economy, followed by health care, terrorism, Iraq, and immigration. Pro-life issues do not even make the key issue list in the polling. About half the voters consider abortion to be not that important. Of those who do consider it to be an important factor, not all are in favor of making it illegal. What does this say about our national priorities? We have brutally murdered about as many infants as the total deaths attributed to Stalin and Hitler combined. (Not to even argue that the ideology of the "culture of death" is very much like Stalin and Hitler's ideologies.)
Recently there have been several news items indicating that some supposed "pro-lifers" are voting for the Obama/Biden ticket because of economic problems in our nation. (I am sure other factors are part of these defections but the economy is cited.) Obama and Biden both have pro-abortion voting records. Economics trumps morality!
This is where the title of this article comes in, just what are the economics of sin? Is the dollar more important than morality? Can we be bought off so cheaply?
I am not that enamored of McCain's stand on all of the life issues (especially embryonic stem cell research). However, in good conscience I cannot vote for candidates and a party (Democrats) that stand firmly in the death culture camp. The Republican candidates have their own problems, but they at least do not vote for the culture of death agenda.
Another question concerning the economy and abortion—how do we dare think that God overlooks this evil? If God does not bring upon our heads the recompense of our sin, then he will have to apologize to Stalin and Hitler. But our economy apparently comes before morality. This is a building built over an abyss. We carelessly live as if there is no Judge and no judgment.
Gal. 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
So, I will vote, but not for those who support abortion. I may not like my choices. I may have to hold my nose as I pull the lever. But I will never vote for those who think that killing an infant is a choice.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
The Christian I Should Be
Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
August 30, 2008—Pentecost 16
Romans chapter twelve begins the practical section of the book. Paul’s letters usually have two main sections. The first is typically doctrinal then follows the second practical section that is based on the first. These kind of practical exhortations are called parenetic teaching. This two main genre pattern (doctrinal & practical) is one of the most characteristic things about Paul’s letters.
Paul bases his parenetic teaching on what Christ has done for us, that is, because Christ has redeemed us, we should live in this manner. For instance, in Romans 12:1 he writes, I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God... Paul’s appeal to live as Christians begins with the reason we should obey. God shows mercy to us in Christ so we should respond in obedience. Chapter twelve of Romans deals with how Christians should live with other Christians. It is how we are to act toward fellow believers.
OK. We understand. This should be pretty straightforward. We have all read and heard such passages as this before. There is very little argument about the rightness of Paul’s parenetic teachings. Just look at our text for a moment. Christian virtues such as love, zeal, hope, patience, prayer, generosity, hospitality, harmony, returning good for evil, peace—I mean—who could object to such things. These kind of virtues describe what a Christian is like.
So as we read or listen to such passages as this one, our minds go on autopilot. We know what to expect. We know what the right response to these verses should be—Yes, Amen. We all agree with Paul’s teaching. Who would deny that this is God’s will for the Christian? We are about to turn the page and go on. Then, a moment of hesitation, a second moment of thought.
Let me go back and read that again.
Let love be genuine... An unsettling doubt begins to rise up in my heart. When has my love for other Christians been entirely genuine, without hypocrisy, without playing a part? How many times have I winced inwardly because a difficult person ties to corner me about something? Oh no, here we go again. I cringe and try get away... Is this genuine love?
Suddenly I am gripped by the fear that I might be a failure at being a Christian. Am I a phony, saying one thing and doing another? I read on and my fear grows. I do not hate every evil as I should. I hold on to the good rather lamely. I am lazy when I should show zeal in my service to God. I would rather turn on the mind numbing television than read or study God’s Word. I would rather hang out with my friends than help someone. How many times have I held on to my billfold as if my life depended on it? Please God, don’t ask me to talk to that poor person—I can’t afford it right now. O God, the last thing in the world I want to do is have them over for dinner. I laugh inwardly when that jerk gets his “come-upins.” I can’t get along with him! I’ll show him that he can’t do that to ME!! Heap burning coals on his head, with pleasure!!!
Paul’s words condemn me. Rejoice in hope? Patient in trouble? Constant in prayer? Yeah, right!
In disbelief and shock, I think, Paul must be a madman. This is so unrealistic. Who can do all this? Oh we might try—even try hard. But no one really acts like this. Not really. Not always. But—God expects really and always. Who am I to question God? This is the Christian I should be.
A sick feeling in the pit of my stomach tells me that I am doomed. There is no way that this sinful man can ever measure up to this long list of expectations. Call them what you will, they are all law and death to me. They kill me with their rightness and their goodness and their kindness.
Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips.
But then, a faint echo from Paul’s letter stirs something in me, I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God... The mercies of God! Mercy means that God doesn’t kill me outright for my sinful ways. Mercy means that he still calls me his child when I am rebellious and willful. Mercy means he shows me love when I am hateful.
But how do I know he is merciful to such a sinner as I am? He has proven his mercy when Christ took MY penalty of death for MY sins. Unlike me, Christ set his mind on the things of God and willingly went to the Cross. Unlike me, Christ gladly gave up his life so that I could live. He paid for all my sins—even my failures at being the Christian I should be.
Perhaps I should read the text again. Has anyone ever truly lived like this? Genuine love—Jesus did. Hate evil, cling to the good—Jesus did. Be zealous—Jesus did. Fervent—Jesus did. He served God. He gave himself for all of us needy sinners. He welcomes all who come to him—the poorest, the rejects, the unlovable, even enemies like me.
He rejoiced in hope—Jesus for the joy that was set before him...
He was patient in trouble—Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame...
He was and is constant in prayer—Jesus is at the right hand of God, always living to make intercession for us.
Jesus is the Christian I should be.
So Paul isn’t a madman. Paul understood.
We have died, and our life is hidden with Christ in God.
We have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us. And the life we now live in the flesh we live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave himself for us.
The mercies of God! Jesus died for me. Jesus lived for me. Yes, He is the Christian I should be—for me. So, Jesus lives for me and prays for me. I now read this text with new eyes. I see Jesus there. And in seeing I live, free from condemnation. And in my life, daily, as I die and rise again with Jesus, He lives out the Christian life in me. So that even in my imperfect obedience, God sees Jesus in me—really and always. Amen.
August 30, 2008—Pentecost 16
Romans chapter twelve begins the practical section of the book. Paul’s letters usually have two main sections. The first is typically doctrinal then follows the second practical section that is based on the first. These kind of practical exhortations are called parenetic teaching. This two main genre pattern (doctrinal & practical) is one of the most characteristic things about Paul’s letters.
Paul bases his parenetic teaching on what Christ has done for us, that is, because Christ has redeemed us, we should live in this manner. For instance, in Romans 12:1 he writes, I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God... Paul’s appeal to live as Christians begins with the reason we should obey. God shows mercy to us in Christ so we should respond in obedience. Chapter twelve of Romans deals with how Christians should live with other Christians. It is how we are to act toward fellow believers.
OK. We understand. This should be pretty straightforward. We have all read and heard such passages as this before. There is very little argument about the rightness of Paul’s parenetic teachings. Just look at our text for a moment. Christian virtues such as love, zeal, hope, patience, prayer, generosity, hospitality, harmony, returning good for evil, peace—I mean—who could object to such things. These kind of virtues describe what a Christian is like.
So as we read or listen to such passages as this one, our minds go on autopilot. We know what to expect. We know what the right response to these verses should be—Yes, Amen. We all agree with Paul’s teaching. Who would deny that this is God’s will for the Christian? We are about to turn the page and go on. Then, a moment of hesitation, a second moment of thought.
Let me go back and read that again.
Let love be genuine... An unsettling doubt begins to rise up in my heart. When has my love for other Christians been entirely genuine, without hypocrisy, without playing a part? How many times have I winced inwardly because a difficult person ties to corner me about something? Oh no, here we go again. I cringe and try get away... Is this genuine love?
Suddenly I am gripped by the fear that I might be a failure at being a Christian. Am I a phony, saying one thing and doing another? I read on and my fear grows. I do not hate every evil as I should. I hold on to the good rather lamely. I am lazy when I should show zeal in my service to God. I would rather turn on the mind numbing television than read or study God’s Word. I would rather hang out with my friends than help someone. How many times have I held on to my billfold as if my life depended on it? Please God, don’t ask me to talk to that poor person—I can’t afford it right now. O God, the last thing in the world I want to do is have them over for dinner. I laugh inwardly when that jerk gets his “come-upins.” I can’t get along with him! I’ll show him that he can’t do that to ME!! Heap burning coals on his head, with pleasure!!!
Paul’s words condemn me. Rejoice in hope? Patient in trouble? Constant in prayer? Yeah, right!
In disbelief and shock, I think, Paul must be a madman. This is so unrealistic. Who can do all this? Oh we might try—even try hard. But no one really acts like this. Not really. Not always. But—God expects really and always. Who am I to question God? This is the Christian I should be.
A sick feeling in the pit of my stomach tells me that I am doomed. There is no way that this sinful man can ever measure up to this long list of expectations. Call them what you will, they are all law and death to me. They kill me with their rightness and their goodness and their kindness.
Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips.
But then, a faint echo from Paul’s letter stirs something in me, I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God... The mercies of God! Mercy means that God doesn’t kill me outright for my sinful ways. Mercy means that he still calls me his child when I am rebellious and willful. Mercy means he shows me love when I am hateful.
But how do I know he is merciful to such a sinner as I am? He has proven his mercy when Christ took MY penalty of death for MY sins. Unlike me, Christ set his mind on the things of God and willingly went to the Cross. Unlike me, Christ gladly gave up his life so that I could live. He paid for all my sins—even my failures at being the Christian I should be.
Perhaps I should read the text again. Has anyone ever truly lived like this? Genuine love—Jesus did. Hate evil, cling to the good—Jesus did. Be zealous—Jesus did. Fervent—Jesus did. He served God. He gave himself for all of us needy sinners. He welcomes all who come to him—the poorest, the rejects, the unlovable, even enemies like me.
He rejoiced in hope—Jesus for the joy that was set before him...
He was patient in trouble—Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame...
He was and is constant in prayer—Jesus is at the right hand of God, always living to make intercession for us.
Jesus is the Christian I should be.
So Paul isn’t a madman. Paul understood.
We have died, and our life is hidden with Christ in God.
We have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us. And the life we now live in the flesh we live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave himself for us.
The mercies of God! Jesus died for me. Jesus lived for me. Yes, He is the Christian I should be—for me. So, Jesus lives for me and prays for me. I now read this text with new eyes. I see Jesus there. And in seeing I live, free from condemnation. And in my life, daily, as I die and rise again with Jesus, He lives out the Christian life in me. So that even in my imperfect obedience, God sees Jesus in me—really and always. Amen.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Snake Oil and Used Cars
I know I have mentioned previously that I was formerly a pentecostal. Because of this I know something about religious hucksterism. I have seen the religious fads come and go and have heard the sales pitch of some of the best religious pitchmen. I can smell snake oil a mile away. I know that smooth sounding engine will begin to smoke and stall just a short time after it leaves the lot. No matter how enthusiastic the pitchman might be, or how much he raves about his product, it is still snake oil medicine or a lemon of a car.
"Walking Together – The LCMS Future, Proposals and Possibilities for Consideration and Discussion, Presented by Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance" is just the latest in a long list of ideas whose time should never come. There is already a lot of discussion about the particulars of these proposals on the web. Many are already commenting on the manner in which it would concentrate even more power SPK's hands. The high sounding language hides the nasty little secret--or maybe not such a secret--that this is a power grab. With such power comes potential coercion and with coercion comes bondage.
Walking together? Hardly. Walking away from the Synod's original raison d'être. Walking away from the Synod as a servant of the churches. Walking away from sound doctrine and practice. Do we really trust the firm that brought us such wonderfully thought out products as Yankee Stadium or Ablaze? Will Synod Inc. truly help us walk in the truth of God's Word and the Lutheran Confessions?
Walking together means we value the same things. Should we value SPK's leadership thus far? Mmmm? Should we wish to give him even more power and less accountability? Mmmm?
Well, if that is how things are then maybe we had better walk away. Snake oil won't cure us. That lemon won't get us there. God's Word and the Confessions show us how to walk together. The founders of this Synod truly valued them and relied on them. With those who value the Word and Confessions we can walk.
"Walking Together – The LCMS Future, Proposals and Possibilities for Consideration and Discussion, Presented by Blue Ribbon Task Force on Synod Structure and Governance" is just the latest in a long list of ideas whose time should never come. There is already a lot of discussion about the particulars of these proposals on the web. Many are already commenting on the manner in which it would concentrate even more power SPK's hands. The high sounding language hides the nasty little secret--or maybe not such a secret--that this is a power grab. With such power comes potential coercion and with coercion comes bondage.
Walking together? Hardly. Walking away from the Synod's original raison d'être. Walking away from the Synod as a servant of the churches. Walking away from sound doctrine and practice. Do we really trust the firm that brought us such wonderfully thought out products as Yankee Stadium or Ablaze? Will Synod Inc. truly help us walk in the truth of God's Word and the Lutheran Confessions?
Walking together means we value the same things. Should we value SPK's leadership thus far? Mmmm? Should we wish to give him even more power and less accountability? Mmmm?
Well, if that is how things are then maybe we had better walk away. Snake oil won't cure us. That lemon won't get us there. God's Word and the Confessions show us how to walk together. The founders of this Synod truly valued them and relied on them. With those who value the Word and Confessions we can walk.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics--Ablaze(?) Disrobed
The title for this blog post is from a famous quote by Mark Twain: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” This jibe has been used often when someone is critiquing the misuse of numerical data which has been used to prove a point, tweak an image, propose a program, maintain a direction, adopt a strategy, and so on.
Statistical analysis is a mine field. The variables which effect data are so numerous that even the most well designed studies often prove to be in error. We have all heard reports in which further analysis has disproved a previously held opinion. This danger of error is often ignored by those who use statistics carelessly with a presumptive outcome in mind.
Why would any organization use faulty and carelessly acquired data to prove some desired point? There must be an agenda beyond the mere reporting of facts.
This illegitimate of use of numbers is the point of Twain's quote. Such statistics are worse that damned lies because the are double lies. They lie as to the facts. They lie as to their nature. Numbers used in this way are inferring an unassailable status as truth. You "can't argue with the numbers" -or- "numbers don't lie." But the people who misuse them do!
In the decades since the 1970s various church bodies have promoted world-wide evangelistic outreach programs (partly inspired by the Lausanne Congresses on World Evangelism, partly inspired by marketing strategies and Church Growth Movement theories). I have personally been witness to more than one of these campaigns. Usually these programs have a target goal by which they urge adherents to action. Sometimes they have a countdown, to-date, thermometer indicating their progress toward their goal. As the numbers rise it serves to encourage others to get on board and be part of the victory!
Oh, this sounds so good. Look at the scoreboard. We are on the winning side. We are doing something for God. It is something people can get excited about. It feels so right. It looks so good. It must be God's will.
The LCMS is one of the latest churches to adopt this strategy. They have named the campaign Ablaze. Their own web page declares the goal of reaching 100 million unreached and uncommitted people with the Gospel by 2017 (see http://www.lcms.org/pages/default.asp?navid=5247 ). Their own countdown thermometer indicates 8,664,671 people reached in 2509 events. This is an average of 3453 people per event. Wow, the day of Pentecost happened at 2509 events! [These numbers as of 8/12/08.]
Looks impressive, right? Wrong. It is deceptive. I ask once again, why would an organization use statistics in this manner?
The way in which the numbers have been acquired is questionable. They are obtained from reports by pastors and districts. As a pastor holds Ablaze events he reports the numbers for his events. Now these pastors want to look good so the temptation to inflate the numbers is is always present. Numbers are so important to show that a pastor is busy "growing the church." District presidents want to look good. Perhaps the numbers are further inflated. "Our district wants to be seen as a progressive district." The Synod wants to look good so they may "fudge" a little more, ad naseum. Self promotion is the dirty little secret behind the facade.
The basis of the numbers is a bigger problem. What constitutes an Ablaze event? What constitutes whether a person has been "reached"? The entire assumption behind the idea of "reached" is problematic. How can one measure this? One might ask what are the numbers concerning baptized and catechized believers as a result of these events? If one must "measure" success numerically why not use measurements that indicate relatively accurate results rather than some nebulous, ill-defined "event"? Reason--it wouldn't look as good.
Paul ran into a similar mindset. There were people who preached better than Paul, looked better than Paul. In my mind's eye I see a little, bent over, extremely nearsighted, Jewish man with a weak voice and a thick accent. Not your typical CGM leader. Yet he took the Gospel to the Gentile world and led a revolution by preaching nothing among them but Christ Jesus and Him crucified! He did not worry about image. He did not tickle ears with the sweet siren song of the latest fad. He preached the clear, unvarnished truth of God's Law and the Good News of forgiveness, life, and salvation in Christ. Read the following quote from Paul:
2 Cor. 10:10-12 [ESV] For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present. Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.
Paul hits at the core of this wrongheaded thinking. They are evaluating themselves by the wrong standards. Anyone can make himself look good. Simply pick a standard of measurement that can be manipulated to make the results look good. The Pharisees did this by easing the requirements of the Law. The CGM does this by counting the crowds. Damned lies and statistics! Exactly where does God command us to evaluate ourselves, our success, with numerical data whether numbers of people at our events, numbers of commandments kept, numbers of events held, or numbers of purposes fulfilled. His own standard is different, faithfulness. His own standard is His Son Jesus Christ, perfection. We are far from his standard; a 10% improvement on nothing is still not 100%. God help us!
What is the sin at the heart of this mindset? We do these things to build up our own self image as individuals and our public image as organizations. Look at me! I'm a success! Image is the goal and the problem. What is an image? It is another word for an idol. We like to stroke our egos. We like to have our egos stroked. Mmmm, feels so good. Look at me! You like me, you like meee! From the pulpit to the board room the common factor in each of us is our own little stinking idol, Me-Myself-I. We can hide it behind all kinds of high sounding rhetoric. We can whitewash the building with holy words. We can polish it with PR. It is the same stinking idol.
We need to get over ourselves. We are sinners. Without the graciousness of God our Father for the sake of Jesus his Son we are doomed. Our lofty opinions of ourselves and our programs need a reality check. Christ Alone is our hope! His gifts given to us in Word and Sacraments are God's means of life. His life lived through us in our vocation of loving service to our neighbor in the world is God's method. These are the spiritual tools for reaching the world.
2 Cor. 10:3-5 [ESV] For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. . . .
Our programs, our damned lies, our statistics won't help us. God considers only One, the Righteous One, Jesus as a success. Apart from Him we have nothing. In Him alone are we given the victory of forgiveness, life, and salvation!
Amen.
Statistical analysis is a mine field. The variables which effect data are so numerous that even the most well designed studies often prove to be in error. We have all heard reports in which further analysis has disproved a previously held opinion. This danger of error is often ignored by those who use statistics carelessly with a presumptive outcome in mind.
Why would any organization use faulty and carelessly acquired data to prove some desired point? There must be an agenda beyond the mere reporting of facts.
This illegitimate of use of numbers is the point of Twain's quote. Such statistics are worse that damned lies because the are double lies. They lie as to the facts. They lie as to their nature. Numbers used in this way are inferring an unassailable status as truth. You "can't argue with the numbers" -or- "numbers don't lie." But the people who misuse them do!
In the decades since the 1970s various church bodies have promoted world-wide evangelistic outreach programs (partly inspired by the Lausanne Congresses on World Evangelism, partly inspired by marketing strategies and Church Growth Movement theories). I have personally been witness to more than one of these campaigns. Usually these programs have a target goal by which they urge adherents to action. Sometimes they have a countdown, to-date, thermometer indicating their progress toward their goal. As the numbers rise it serves to encourage others to get on board and be part of the victory!
Oh, this sounds so good. Look at the scoreboard. We are on the winning side. We are doing something for God. It is something people can get excited about. It feels so right. It looks so good. It must be God's will.
The LCMS is one of the latest churches to adopt this strategy. They have named the campaign Ablaze. Their own web page declares the goal of reaching 100 million unreached and uncommitted people with the Gospel by 2017 (see http://www.lcms.org/pages/default.asp?navid=5247 ). Their own countdown thermometer indicates 8,664,671 people reached in 2509 events. This is an average of 3453 people per event. Wow, the day of Pentecost happened at 2509 events! [These numbers as of 8/12/08.]
Looks impressive, right? Wrong. It is deceptive. I ask once again, why would an organization use statistics in this manner?
The way in which the numbers have been acquired is questionable. They are obtained from reports by pastors and districts. As a pastor holds Ablaze events he reports the numbers for his events. Now these pastors want to look good so the temptation to inflate the numbers is is always present. Numbers are so important to show that a pastor is busy "growing the church." District presidents want to look good. Perhaps the numbers are further inflated. "Our district wants to be seen as a progressive district." The Synod wants to look good so they may "fudge" a little more, ad naseum. Self promotion is the dirty little secret behind the facade.
The basis of the numbers is a bigger problem. What constitutes an Ablaze event? What constitutes whether a person has been "reached"? The entire assumption behind the idea of "reached" is problematic. How can one measure this? One might ask what are the numbers concerning baptized and catechized believers as a result of these events? If one must "measure" success numerically why not use measurements that indicate relatively accurate results rather than some nebulous, ill-defined "event"? Reason--it wouldn't look as good.
Paul ran into a similar mindset. There were people who preached better than Paul, looked better than Paul. In my mind's eye I see a little, bent over, extremely nearsighted, Jewish man with a weak voice and a thick accent. Not your typical CGM leader. Yet he took the Gospel to the Gentile world and led a revolution by preaching nothing among them but Christ Jesus and Him crucified! He did not worry about image. He did not tickle ears with the sweet siren song of the latest fad. He preached the clear, unvarnished truth of God's Law and the Good News of forgiveness, life, and salvation in Christ. Read the following quote from Paul:
2 Cor. 10:10-12 [ESV] For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present. Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.
Paul hits at the core of this wrongheaded thinking. They are evaluating themselves by the wrong standards. Anyone can make himself look good. Simply pick a standard of measurement that can be manipulated to make the results look good. The Pharisees did this by easing the requirements of the Law. The CGM does this by counting the crowds. Damned lies and statistics! Exactly where does God command us to evaluate ourselves, our success, with numerical data whether numbers of people at our events, numbers of commandments kept, numbers of events held, or numbers of purposes fulfilled. His own standard is different, faithfulness. His own standard is His Son Jesus Christ, perfection. We are far from his standard; a 10% improvement on nothing is still not 100%. God help us!
What is the sin at the heart of this mindset? We do these things to build up our own self image as individuals and our public image as organizations. Look at me! I'm a success! Image is the goal and the problem. What is an image? It is another word for an idol. We like to stroke our egos. We like to have our egos stroked. Mmmm, feels so good. Look at me! You like me, you like meee! From the pulpit to the board room the common factor in each of us is our own little stinking idol, Me-Myself-I. We can hide it behind all kinds of high sounding rhetoric. We can whitewash the building with holy words. We can polish it with PR. It is the same stinking idol.
We need to get over ourselves. We are sinners. Without the graciousness of God our Father for the sake of Jesus his Son we are doomed. Our lofty opinions of ourselves and our programs need a reality check. Christ Alone is our hope! His gifts given to us in Word and Sacraments are God's means of life. His life lived through us in our vocation of loving service to our neighbor in the world is God's method. These are the spiritual tools for reaching the world.
2 Cor. 10:3-5 [ESV] For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. . . .
Our programs, our damned lies, our statistics won't help us. God considers only One, the Righteous One, Jesus as a success. Apart from Him we have nothing. In Him alone are we given the victory of forgiveness, life, and salvation!
Amen.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Deja Vu All Over Again?
[Issues, Etc. Blog of the Week, 8/15/2008]
All our idols fail us. Over and over again we see idols come crashing down. In America we have many idols--celebrities, financial and commercial giants, government and private institutions, politicians, leaders, sports figures. I am sure you could rattle off many others. In each category we have seen astounding failures. Corruption, sin, and law breaking by our own favorites fill our nightly news headlines with disturbing frequency.
For a number of years I was a pentecostal. Pentecostals have their idols. In pentecostalism one of the most important components of the movement is the charismatic evangelist. These men and women have been the hallmark of pentecostalism from its earliest days. People idolize these individuals and follow their activities closely. They are like rock music stars in their popularity among adherents. The charismatic personality really sets the agenda of the pentecostal and charismatic movements. It is rather ironic that these same charismatic leaders have been and are the focus of the most public failures. The moral and financial sins of Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Baker, and Kenneth Copeland are famous examples.
Lutherans have their heroes also. Luther, Chemnitz, Walther come to mind quickly. However, the respect given to such men is different. It is their teaching, their doctrine, that sets them above many others. They are not "rock stars" in the same sense as the televangelist is among pentecostals. They are respected teachers of God's Word. So in modern Lutheranism the individual personality has not been nearly so idolized. Among modern Lutherans a greater emphasis is placed on the organization, the Synod. There is a reverence for the organization that is unlike anything I have seen before. For instance, despite the steady downward spiral of the two largest Synods in America, many people can not envision life without them. The ELCA is a few years ahead of the LCMS in is degeneration. But the LCMS appears to be on a similar path.
In any case I am wondering if there may be an underlying similarity among all these failures. Certainly individuals making sinful and foolish choices in behavior are common. Greed and abuse of power may also be shared issues. The one issue that might be most instructive, in my opinion, is idolatry. In pentecostalism and Lutheranism a very basic component of the makeup of the two groups has failed publicly. It is very unsettling to the adherents of the different groups. The thing upon which so much rests is shown to be sand, not the rock.
This is not necessarily a bad thing. Such failures confront us with the idolater who lives in our old man. He constantly wishes to worship something or someone other than God. It may be that God has allowed these public failures to take place in order to turn attention from that thing that has usurped His rightful place as God alone. Ex. 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me." If these failures turn us to God alone in repentance for our idolatry, good! If these failures refocus our trust on Jesus Christ alone, good! If these failures cause us to hold on to God's Word alone, good! If these failures cause us to rely on God's grace alone, good! We have been comfortable, even asleep, in our complacency.
Rom. 13:11-12 [ESV] Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Eph. 5:14 [ESV] Therefore it says,
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
All our idols fail us. Over and over again we see idols come crashing down. In America we have many idols--celebrities, financial and commercial giants, government and private institutions, politicians, leaders, sports figures. I am sure you could rattle off many others. In each category we have seen astounding failures. Corruption, sin, and law breaking by our own favorites fill our nightly news headlines with disturbing frequency.
For a number of years I was a pentecostal. Pentecostals have their idols. In pentecostalism one of the most important components of the movement is the charismatic evangelist. These men and women have been the hallmark of pentecostalism from its earliest days. People idolize these individuals and follow their activities closely. They are like rock music stars in their popularity among adherents. The charismatic personality really sets the agenda of the pentecostal and charismatic movements. It is rather ironic that these same charismatic leaders have been and are the focus of the most public failures. The moral and financial sins of Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Baker, and Kenneth Copeland are famous examples.
Lutherans have their heroes also. Luther, Chemnitz, Walther come to mind quickly. However, the respect given to such men is different. It is their teaching, their doctrine, that sets them above many others. They are not "rock stars" in the same sense as the televangelist is among pentecostals. They are respected teachers of God's Word. So in modern Lutheranism the individual personality has not been nearly so idolized. Among modern Lutherans a greater emphasis is placed on the organization, the Synod. There is a reverence for the organization that is unlike anything I have seen before. For instance, despite the steady downward spiral of the two largest Synods in America, many people can not envision life without them. The ELCA is a few years ahead of the LCMS in is degeneration. But the LCMS appears to be on a similar path.
In any case I am wondering if there may be an underlying similarity among all these failures. Certainly individuals making sinful and foolish choices in behavior are common. Greed and abuse of power may also be shared issues. The one issue that might be most instructive, in my opinion, is idolatry. In pentecostalism and Lutheranism a very basic component of the makeup of the two groups has failed publicly. It is very unsettling to the adherents of the different groups. The thing upon which so much rests is shown to be sand, not the rock.
This is not necessarily a bad thing. Such failures confront us with the idolater who lives in our old man. He constantly wishes to worship something or someone other than God. It may be that God has allowed these public failures to take place in order to turn attention from that thing that has usurped His rightful place as God alone. Ex. 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me." If these failures turn us to God alone in repentance for our idolatry, good! If these failures refocus our trust on Jesus Christ alone, good! If these failures cause us to hold on to God's Word alone, good! If these failures cause us to rely on God's grace alone, good! We have been comfortable, even asleep, in our complacency.
Rom. 13:11-12 [ESV] Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Eph. 5:14 [ESV] Therefore it says,
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Triumphalism in the LCMS-- A Theology of Glory
In American culture there is a certain triumphalism which impacts almost every area of life. We are Americans. We can do it better. We are the brightest, the best generation. (I won't consider the error of this hubris here. However, we largely neglect, as a culture, to acknowledge that we stand on the shoulders of true giants like Paul and Luther!) Triumphalism is especially problematic in theological circles. It reasons something like this:
We are wiser than previous generations with their old fashioned ideas. We are more aware of the dynamics of interpersonal relationships. We have a better handle on the needs of the unchurched. We have new methods that are more in tune with the society at large. We can do it better. Our methods will bring more people into the church. Underlying this thinking is the unspoken criticism of the past. They were a bunch of stodgy old fuddy-duddies. They just didn't/don't get it. They were/are unwilling to change. They didn't/don't care about the lost. Notice that what is new, what brings change, what has cultural "relevancy," what can be measured numerically are given an automatic status of irrefutable truths, or undeniable good.
There is often a certain blindness in those afflicted with this malady. There is an irrational estimation of their own powers and their true situation. It is believing one's own PR. Turning a blind eye to problems. Thinking that one knows what is best for everyone else. Statements such as "we have never been more united," or "this is not your grandfather's church," or reaching "100 million unreached or uncommitted" by 2017 might be cited as indications of the triumphalist's PC-speak. We are marching to Zion! Look out, we are on our way!
(Note that the LCMS' Abalze program keeps a running count of their results on its home page. However, by their own numbers it averages 3500 people "reached" per event! This is as if we have had the day of Pentecost over 2400 times since Ablaze began! This seems kind of inflated, perhaps even to the point of being a lie. The other problem is that there is no evidence that those "reached" have been converted, baptized, or catechized. Does an Ablaze event always include a clear presentation of the Law and Gospel? Doubtful.)
This triumphalism toots its own horn. Look at us. We are more committed to the lost. We have better ideas. We are more faithful to mission. We have the vision. This is entirely a theology of glory. It looks good, it sounds good, so it must be good. But Luther warned us, "Although the works of man always appear attractive and good, they are nevertheless likely to be mortal sins." Heidelberg Disputation, Theses 3.
Since only the new, change, relevancy, and numbers count to some men, the supposed lack of growth in numbers previously implies a dishonoring of generations who have gone before. This isn't your grandfather's church. How do we answer such hubris? First, another theses of Luther says, "A theologian of glory calls evil good and good evil. A theologian of the cross calls the things what it actually is." Heidelberg Disputation, Theses 21. The Theology of the Cross demands that we recognize our sinfulness even when our works look good. The Theology of the Cross demands that we speak the truth about ourselves. Here is the truth.
The direction of the LCMS at the present time dishonors previous generations of faithful confessional Lutherans by despising their faithfulness to the methods given by Christ to carry out the mission of the church. "This isn't your grandfather's church." New methods are in vogue. Play down the old methods. Abandon the old hymnody. Get with the program!
Here are some passages in the Old testament I would like to consider briefly in relationship to this dishonoring of previous generations.
Deut. 19:14 You shall not move your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in the inheritance that you will hold in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.
Deut. 27:15 ‘Cursed be the man who makes a carved or cast metal image, an abomination to the LORD, a thing made by the hands of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’
Deut. 27:16 ‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Deut. 27:17 ‘Cursed be anyone who moves his neighbor’s landmark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Deut. 27:18 ‘Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind man on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Deut. 27:19 ‘Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
The book of Deuteronomy contains Moses' teaching to the Israelites just prior to their entrance into the land of promise. They were about to take possession of their inheritance. The land was a key part of God's teaching to his people. It foreshadows the New Testament teaching about the benefits given to us in Christ. One might say the land is to the Old Testament what the blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation in Christ are to the New.
These passages warn the Israelites against moving the landmarks, that is the boundary markers. To do so would rob another person of their inheritance. God commands the people not to do this. In the litany of curses in chapter twenty seven those who do this are to be cursed.
In the Church our landmarks and our inheritance are the Word and the Sacraments. These have been given by the Lord to his people as both their inheritance and the means of carrying out the mission of the Church. The Word (spoken and visible) bestows what it says, forgiveness, life, and salvation. It creates faith. It accomplishes what it promises. It is the work of God, not our work. The means of grace are the way the Church grows. Here are some of the key authorizing texts for this view of the means of grace:
Matt. 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to rthe end of the age.
Augsburg Confession
V. [The Office of the Ministry]
To obtain such faith God instituted the office of the ministry, that is, provided the Gospel and the sacraments. Through these, as through means, he gives the Holy Spirit, who works faith, when and where he pleases, in those who hear the Gospel. And the Gospel teaches that we have a gracious God, not by our own merits but by the merit of Christ, when we believe this.
VII. [The Church]
... This is the assembly of all believers among who the Gospel is preached in its purity and the holy sacraments are administered according to the Gospel....
If a church abandons its heritage of the Divine Means of Grace to carry out its mission, it does so at its own peril and brings the curses of God's law upon it. Consider again the litany of curses cited above. The first five sins which are cursed are: idolatry, dishonoring parents, moving landmarks, misleading the blind, and perverting justice for strangers, widows, and orphans. In my opinion, some men are making an idol of an organization, the Synod and its programs. Some men are dishonoring their fathers and mothers, the previous generations of Lutherans who held fast to the Divine Means of Grace. Some men are pushing aside the landmarks of our inheritance, the same Divine Means of Grace which are presented in a God honoring liturgy. Some men are misleading the blind by misrepresenting the truth, leading them into the dead end reliance on human means to accomplish God's work. Some men are perverting justice by abusing their authority to push the widows and orphans (the small, old fashioned congregations) aside to make room for the new, progressive, relevant assemblies. A five-fold curse of God's law is upon us unless we repent and turn in faith to the Lord.
Joel 2:12-13 “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.
Amen.
We are wiser than previous generations with their old fashioned ideas. We are more aware of the dynamics of interpersonal relationships. We have a better handle on the needs of the unchurched. We have new methods that are more in tune with the society at large. We can do it better. Our methods will bring more people into the church. Underlying this thinking is the unspoken criticism of the past. They were a bunch of stodgy old fuddy-duddies. They just didn't/don't get it. They were/are unwilling to change. They didn't/don't care about the lost. Notice that what is new, what brings change, what has cultural "relevancy," what can be measured numerically are given an automatic status of irrefutable truths, or undeniable good.
There is often a certain blindness in those afflicted with this malady. There is an irrational estimation of their own powers and their true situation. It is believing one's own PR. Turning a blind eye to problems. Thinking that one knows what is best for everyone else. Statements such as "we have never been more united," or "this is not your grandfather's church," or reaching "100 million unreached or uncommitted" by 2017 might be cited as indications of the triumphalist's PC-speak. We are marching to Zion! Look out, we are on our way!
(Note that the LCMS' Abalze program keeps a running count of their results on its home page. However, by their own numbers it averages 3500 people "reached" per event! This is as if we have had the day of Pentecost over 2400 times since Ablaze began! This seems kind of inflated, perhaps even to the point of being a lie. The other problem is that there is no evidence that those "reached" have been converted, baptized, or catechized. Does an Ablaze event always include a clear presentation of the Law and Gospel? Doubtful.)
This triumphalism toots its own horn. Look at us. We are more committed to the lost. We have better ideas. We are more faithful to mission. We have the vision. This is entirely a theology of glory. It looks good, it sounds good, so it must be good. But Luther warned us, "Although the works of man always appear attractive and good, they are nevertheless likely to be mortal sins." Heidelberg Disputation, Theses 3.
Since only the new, change, relevancy, and numbers count to some men, the supposed lack of growth in numbers previously implies a dishonoring of generations who have gone before. This isn't your grandfather's church. How do we answer such hubris? First, another theses of Luther says, "A theologian of glory calls evil good and good evil. A theologian of the cross calls the things what it actually is." Heidelberg Disputation, Theses 21. The Theology of the Cross demands that we recognize our sinfulness even when our works look good. The Theology of the Cross demands that we speak the truth about ourselves. Here is the truth.
The direction of the LCMS at the present time dishonors previous generations of faithful confessional Lutherans by despising their faithfulness to the methods given by Christ to carry out the mission of the church. "This isn't your grandfather's church." New methods are in vogue. Play down the old methods. Abandon the old hymnody. Get with the program!
Here are some passages in the Old testament I would like to consider briefly in relationship to this dishonoring of previous generations.
Deut. 19:14 You shall not move your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in the inheritance that you will hold in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.
Deut. 27:15 ‘Cursed be the man who makes a carved or cast metal image, an abomination to the LORD, a thing made by the hands of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’
Deut. 27:16 ‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Deut. 27:17 ‘Cursed be anyone who moves his neighbor’s landmark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Deut. 27:18 ‘Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind man on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Deut. 27:19 ‘Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
The book of Deuteronomy contains Moses' teaching to the Israelites just prior to their entrance into the land of promise. They were about to take possession of their inheritance. The land was a key part of God's teaching to his people. It foreshadows the New Testament teaching about the benefits given to us in Christ. One might say the land is to the Old Testament what the blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation in Christ are to the New.
These passages warn the Israelites against moving the landmarks, that is the boundary markers. To do so would rob another person of their inheritance. God commands the people not to do this. In the litany of curses in chapter twenty seven those who do this are to be cursed.
In the Church our landmarks and our inheritance are the Word and the Sacraments. These have been given by the Lord to his people as both their inheritance and the means of carrying out the mission of the Church. The Word (spoken and visible) bestows what it says, forgiveness, life, and salvation. It creates faith. It accomplishes what it promises. It is the work of God, not our work. The means of grace are the way the Church grows. Here are some of the key authorizing texts for this view of the means of grace:
Matt. 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to rthe end of the age.
Augsburg Confession
V. [The Office of the Ministry]
To obtain such faith God instituted the office of the ministry, that is, provided the Gospel and the sacraments. Through these, as through means, he gives the Holy Spirit, who works faith, when and where he pleases, in those who hear the Gospel. And the Gospel teaches that we have a gracious God, not by our own merits but by the merit of Christ, when we believe this.
VII. [The Church]
... This is the assembly of all believers among who the Gospel is preached in its purity and the holy sacraments are administered according to the Gospel....
If a church abandons its heritage of the Divine Means of Grace to carry out its mission, it does so at its own peril and brings the curses of God's law upon it. Consider again the litany of curses cited above. The first five sins which are cursed are: idolatry, dishonoring parents, moving landmarks, misleading the blind, and perverting justice for strangers, widows, and orphans. In my opinion, some men are making an idol of an organization, the Synod and its programs. Some men are dishonoring their fathers and mothers, the previous generations of Lutherans who held fast to the Divine Means of Grace. Some men are pushing aside the landmarks of our inheritance, the same Divine Means of Grace which are presented in a God honoring liturgy. Some men are misleading the blind by misrepresenting the truth, leading them into the dead end reliance on human means to accomplish God's work. Some men are perverting justice by abusing their authority to push the widows and orphans (the small, old fashioned congregations) aside to make room for the new, progressive, relevant assemblies. A five-fold curse of God's law is upon us unless we repent and turn in faith to the Lord.
Joel 2:12-13 “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.
Amen.
Finney and the American Religious Mind-Set--Pragmatism Gone Awry
American Christianity is deeply impacted by revivalism. Hardly any "outreach" done by diverse groups such as Pentecostals, charismatics, Evangelicals, Baptists, Emerging/Emergent church, church growth cannot be traced in some manner back to Charles Finney. This short excerpt from a paper I wrote in Graduate School describes Finney's views at key points:
-----
Of all the revivalists of the nineteenth century, Charles Finney is probably the most famous. His methods were widely imitated and touted even among some Lutherans. However, Finney’s theology and practice has some serious problems for a confessional church. His theology is extremely man-centered. In his lecture, What a Revival of Religion Is, he states, “Religion is the work of man. It is something for him to do. It consists in obeying God.” [1] Later in this same lecture he says that the sinner’s actions are necessary for salvation and that conversion consists in obeying, doing, and acting.[2] In another lecture he asserts that Scripture ascribes conversion to men.[3] This ignores the depravity of man and his inability to do anything for his own salvation. Miyakawa notes that for Finney sin was voluntary self interest not an inherited depravity.[4]
Finney also considers a revival to be something that men have power to bring about. By simply using the appropriate means men can bring revival. These means have a “natural tendency to produce revival.” [5] His view is something like a cause and effect principle or the exercising of the powers of nature.[6] He goes further to denigrate the notion of the sovereignty of God in spiritual matters such as revival.[7] Revivals in this view are not the result of grace alone.[8]
Another aspect of his theology and practice is emotionalism. He says “. . . it is necessary to raise excitement among them, till the tide rises so high as to sweep away the opposing obstacles.” [9] Finney does wish for a time in which this spasmodic religion were not necessary. However, in the present economy of things this will remain essential.[10]
Finney’s view of how one should preach the Gospel is also problematic. He states that “All preaching should be practical.”[11] By this he means that all preaching should lead to action. This action is what brings about conversion as noted above. In this view he confuses the Third Use of the Law with the Gospel. His entire lecture How to Preach the Gospel is filled with words such as must, should, and ought.[12] His concept of how one preaches the Gospel has a law orientation. Related to this is the fact that Finney advocated perfectionism.[13]
-----
The methods of Ablaze, Willow Creek, purpose driven churches, Church Growth, the Emerging/Emergent church, and many Evangelicals all have a mind-set that derives from Finney's Lecutres: "...these means have a 'natural tendency to produce revival.' His view is something like a cause and effect principle or the exercising of the powers of nature." The term revival could be replaced by church growth, relevancy, meeting felt needs, or any other outcome oriented theological term.
The pragmatic oriented methods also make use of group psychology: "Another aspect of his theology and practice is emotionalism. He says '. . . it is necessary to raise excitement among them, till the tide rises so high as to sweep away the opposing obstacles.'" This is where pentecostals/charismatics have been very influential upon American religious ideas. The exciting music, the praise bands, the large arenas, the highly charge atmosphere all derive from Finney's New Measures. It is not the Word working by the Holy Spirit where He will in whomever He will that converts. It is the group dynamic.
I do not believe that many Lutherans are aware of Finney's heretical influence. Perhaps some Lutherans simply do not care. Methods do matter. By adopting the mind-set advocated by Finney, sound theologically based evangelism (Word and Sacrament ministry, personal witness) is replaced by a wide range of pragmatic methods. This pragmatism might get "results" but the unintended consequences in many instances will be the damnation of souls for whom Christ died. One cannot be saved by Christ plus something else! The Confessional principles of the Solas rules out the methods of Finney and his theologically bankrupt great-grand-children.
-----------------
[1] Charles Grandison Finney, Lectures on Revivals of Religion, edited by William G. McLoughlin (Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1960), 9.
[2] Ibid., 18.
[3] Ibid., 194.
[4] Scott T. Miyakawa, Protestants and Pioneers: Individuality and Conformity on the American Frontier (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1964), 171.
[5] Finney, 13, 15.
[6] Ibid., Introduction, by William G. McLoughlin, xxiv; Miyakawa, 171.
[7] Finney, 14.
[8] The Oxford Disctionary of the Christian Church, 3rd edition, s.v. “Finney, Charles Grandison.”
[9] Ibid., 9-10.
[10] Ibid., 11.
[11] Ibid., 198.
[12] Ibid., 194 passim.
[13] The Oxford Disctionary of the Christian Church, 3rd edition, s.v. “Finney, Charles Grandison.”
-----
Of all the revivalists of the nineteenth century, Charles Finney is probably the most famous. His methods were widely imitated and touted even among some Lutherans. However, Finney’s theology and practice has some serious problems for a confessional church. His theology is extremely man-centered. In his lecture, What a Revival of Religion Is, he states, “Religion is the work of man. It is something for him to do. It consists in obeying God.” [1] Later in this same lecture he says that the sinner’s actions are necessary for salvation and that conversion consists in obeying, doing, and acting.[2] In another lecture he asserts that Scripture ascribes conversion to men.[3] This ignores the depravity of man and his inability to do anything for his own salvation. Miyakawa notes that for Finney sin was voluntary self interest not an inherited depravity.[4]
Finney also considers a revival to be something that men have power to bring about. By simply using the appropriate means men can bring revival. These means have a “natural tendency to produce revival.” [5] His view is something like a cause and effect principle or the exercising of the powers of nature.[6] He goes further to denigrate the notion of the sovereignty of God in spiritual matters such as revival.[7] Revivals in this view are not the result of grace alone.[8]
Another aspect of his theology and practice is emotionalism. He says “. . . it is necessary to raise excitement among them, till the tide rises so high as to sweep away the opposing obstacles.” [9] Finney does wish for a time in which this spasmodic religion were not necessary. However, in the present economy of things this will remain essential.[10]
Finney’s view of how one should preach the Gospel is also problematic. He states that “All preaching should be practical.”[11] By this he means that all preaching should lead to action. This action is what brings about conversion as noted above. In this view he confuses the Third Use of the Law with the Gospel. His entire lecture How to Preach the Gospel is filled with words such as must, should, and ought.[12] His concept of how one preaches the Gospel has a law orientation. Related to this is the fact that Finney advocated perfectionism.[13]
-----
The methods of Ablaze, Willow Creek, purpose driven churches, Church Growth, the Emerging/Emergent church, and many Evangelicals all have a mind-set that derives from Finney's Lecutres: "...these means have a 'natural tendency to produce revival.' His view is something like a cause and effect principle or the exercising of the powers of nature." The term revival could be replaced by church growth, relevancy, meeting felt needs, or any other outcome oriented theological term.
The pragmatic oriented methods also make use of group psychology: "Another aspect of his theology and practice is emotionalism. He says '. . . it is necessary to raise excitement among them, till the tide rises so high as to sweep away the opposing obstacles.'" This is where pentecostals/charismatics have been very influential upon American religious ideas. The exciting music, the praise bands, the large arenas, the highly charge atmosphere all derive from Finney's New Measures. It is not the Word working by the Holy Spirit where He will in whomever He will that converts. It is the group dynamic.
I do not believe that many Lutherans are aware of Finney's heretical influence. Perhaps some Lutherans simply do not care. Methods do matter. By adopting the mind-set advocated by Finney, sound theologically based evangelism (Word and Sacrament ministry, personal witness) is replaced by a wide range of pragmatic methods. This pragmatism might get "results" but the unintended consequences in many instances will be the damnation of souls for whom Christ died. One cannot be saved by Christ plus something else! The Confessional principles of the Solas rules out the methods of Finney and his theologically bankrupt great-grand-children.
-----------------
[1] Charles Grandison Finney, Lectures on Revivals of Religion, edited by William G. McLoughlin (Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1960), 9.
[2] Ibid., 18.
[3] Ibid., 194.
[4] Scott T. Miyakawa, Protestants and Pioneers: Individuality and Conformity on the American Frontier (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1964), 171.
[5] Finney, 13, 15.
[6] Ibid., Introduction, by William G. McLoughlin, xxiv; Miyakawa, 171.
[7] Finney, 14.
[8] The Oxford Disctionary of the Christian Church, 3rd edition, s.v. “Finney, Charles Grandison.”
[9] Ibid., 9-10.
[10] Ibid., 11.
[11] Ibid., 198.
[12] Ibid., 194 passim.
[13] The Oxford Disctionary of the Christian Church, 3rd edition, s.v. “Finney, Charles Grandison.”
Friday, March 28, 2008
End Game
For those of you who do not play chess the end-game is the point at which strategies for closing the game by checkmating the opponent come to the forefront. Even the lowly pawn becomes important as there are fewer pieces available to move. The goal is to win, or at least not to lose by bringing the game to a draw.
Chess is not the only place that end-game strategies are used by "players." Recently I heard about a controversy in a church organization that illustrates how end-game political strategies are used. In this church a decades long disagreement has been festering and occasionally erupts on the surface like a boil. The latest eruption involved the firing of two personnel at the organization's radio station and the canceling of the only show in their line-up that consistently brought in donations. This happened on Holy Week!
One must ask why the leadership of this church would either carry out, allow, or refuse to stop this action. Evidently it was because these broadcasters consistently took positions at odds with one faction (the ruling faction) of this church. I might add that the positions advocated by these broadcasters were conservative and traditional in the sense of upholding the church's own confessed doctrine.
To understand the end-game strategy of such an action by church leaders one need only consider three key goals of the end-game: destroy or neutralize the opponent's most powerful pieces, move the opponent into a relatively weak position on the board, and use your power to checkmate your "cornered" opponent.
These church leaders have silenced one powerful voice for the conservative position. By silencing the "Issues, Etc." program widespread and effective communication of traditional Lutheranism has lost a powerful outlet. Their next goal will probably be to maneuver conservatives to the sidelines throughout the church. Since their national hierarchy has increasingly asserted dominance in many key functions of this church, their opponents have less and less say about what goes on in the church. For instance, the insistence that district presidents control which qualified men congregations might consider as potential pastors. This kind of control is not part of the church's original organizing purpose or constitutional foundation. However, by assuming this prerogative the ruling faction can weaken the entire conservative base of the church. One can almost envision certain individuals gloating as they anticipate victory.
Already, denials of culpability have begun. The president of this church has denied that this action was by his order or direction. He does admit that he was aware that it would happen. Did he try to discourage or prevent the action? One must wonder why he could not even counsel that this action should wait until after Holy Week!
Perhaps the reaction of the listener's of "Issues, Etc." is greater than expected. A petition on the web against this cancellation and firing has over 5000 signatories as of this evening.
In any case I am reminded of a scene in the movie "El Cid." Prince Alfonso was to be crowned king of Spain after the murder of his older brother. All the lords of the realm were assembled outside the cathedral to swear fealty to their liege-lord King Alfonso. Everyone kneels, except El Cid. He stands until confronted by the king before the whole assembly. When asked why he alone refuses to swear fealty, El Cid replies that though all were kneeling none were sure that Alfonso was not guilty of murder. El Cid forces Alfonso to swear on the Scriptures that he was in no way complicit. After doing so El Cid kneels and kisses the ring.
What has this to do with the controversy described above? All denials without complete honesty and transparency will ring hollow. Many may not speak, but the question will always be there. It won't go away. It might even be too late to repair the damage done by such obtuse actions.
The complete lack of sensitivity to others within the church exhibited by this action really calls into question the leadership and integrity of those responsible. They should not be surprised if the fallout from this results in the serious erosion of trust by the rank in file of the church, a decrease in participation by congregations in national programs, and a further loss of income at the national level. These leaders have forgotten that even pawns are important in the end-game!
One last thought, the end-game has a double entendre. I will use a mixed metaphor to explain it. The games that hierarchies play can have unintended consequences. The persons involved in these maneuvers to gain power and control the church want all the pawns to bow and swear fealty. However, El Cid (that is the LORD) stands in condemnation of their actions. They cannot wantonly destroy God's people in order to aggrandize their own position. In their hunger for control that little which they have might just be taken from them. When the LORD returns he will not accept denials or excuses. He won't be impressed by plans and programs. He will look for repentance and faith. Their game will end!
Chess is not the only place that end-game strategies are used by "players." Recently I heard about a controversy in a church organization that illustrates how end-game political strategies are used. In this church a decades long disagreement has been festering and occasionally erupts on the surface like a boil. The latest eruption involved the firing of two personnel at the organization's radio station and the canceling of the only show in their line-up that consistently brought in donations. This happened on Holy Week!
One must ask why the leadership of this church would either carry out, allow, or refuse to stop this action. Evidently it was because these broadcasters consistently took positions at odds with one faction (the ruling faction) of this church. I might add that the positions advocated by these broadcasters were conservative and traditional in the sense of upholding the church's own confessed doctrine.
To understand the end-game strategy of such an action by church leaders one need only consider three key goals of the end-game: destroy or neutralize the opponent's most powerful pieces, move the opponent into a relatively weak position on the board, and use your power to checkmate your "cornered" opponent.
These church leaders have silenced one powerful voice for the conservative position. By silencing the "Issues, Etc." program widespread and effective communication of traditional Lutheranism has lost a powerful outlet. Their next goal will probably be to maneuver conservatives to the sidelines throughout the church. Since their national hierarchy has increasingly asserted dominance in many key functions of this church, their opponents have less and less say about what goes on in the church. For instance, the insistence that district presidents control which qualified men congregations might consider as potential pastors. This kind of control is not part of the church's original organizing purpose or constitutional foundation. However, by assuming this prerogative the ruling faction can weaken the entire conservative base of the church. One can almost envision certain individuals gloating as they anticipate victory.
Already, denials of culpability have begun. The president of this church has denied that this action was by his order or direction. He does admit that he was aware that it would happen. Did he try to discourage or prevent the action? One must wonder why he could not even counsel that this action should wait until after Holy Week!
Perhaps the reaction of the listener's of "Issues, Etc." is greater than expected. A petition on the web against this cancellation and firing has over 5000 signatories as of this evening.
In any case I am reminded of a scene in the movie "El Cid." Prince Alfonso was to be crowned king of Spain after the murder of his older brother. All the lords of the realm were assembled outside the cathedral to swear fealty to their liege-lord King Alfonso. Everyone kneels, except El Cid. He stands until confronted by the king before the whole assembly. When asked why he alone refuses to swear fealty, El Cid replies that though all were kneeling none were sure that Alfonso was not guilty of murder. El Cid forces Alfonso to swear on the Scriptures that he was in no way complicit. After doing so El Cid kneels and kisses the ring.
What has this to do with the controversy described above? All denials without complete honesty and transparency will ring hollow. Many may not speak, but the question will always be there. It won't go away. It might even be too late to repair the damage done by such obtuse actions.
The complete lack of sensitivity to others within the church exhibited by this action really calls into question the leadership and integrity of those responsible. They should not be surprised if the fallout from this results in the serious erosion of trust by the rank in file of the church, a decrease in participation by congregations in national programs, and a further loss of income at the national level. These leaders have forgotten that even pawns are important in the end-game!
One last thought, the end-game has a double entendre. I will use a mixed metaphor to explain it. The games that hierarchies play can have unintended consequences. The persons involved in these maneuvers to gain power and control the church want all the pawns to bow and swear fealty. However, El Cid (that is the LORD) stands in condemnation of their actions. They cannot wantonly destroy God's people in order to aggrandize their own position. In their hunger for control that little which they have might just be taken from them. When the LORD returns he will not accept denials or excuses. He won't be impressed by plans and programs. He will look for repentance and faith. Their game will end!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Will 2008 Be the End?
Yesterday the news media spent a lot of time looking back on 2007. Aside from the fact that it is a cheap way to fill broadcast time and earn advertising dollars, these year-in-revue shows do little to educate anybody. A person would have to have lived on Mars to not already know what happened in 2007. Even worse is the fact that an inordinate amount of time is wasted on "celebrities." Can we move on already! I have had enough of who-is-doing-what-with-who at this-or-that club/resort/jail/rehab center!
Another big non-story is the annual forecast about anything and everything by supposed experts. Most of their predictions are either so obvious, or so fuzzy, or so silly that they would be better to have been left in the circular file.
Religious people are not immune from such silly predictions. It is the twentieth anniversary of "88 Reasons Why Jesus Christ Will Return in 1988." Twenty years! In spite of the notorious failure of this pamphlet to prove to be accurate, the fad of prediction keeps popping up in various ways. Few people will step out on such a limb and predict that 2008 is the year Jesus Christ will return. But there are droves of people predicting that it will be soon. Often events in the EEC or the Mideast "prove" their scenarios. They rush their latest book to the publishers with their secret inside info about why they are certain that this is the year, season, decade, century, or era! Of course, if you make a prediction broad enough someone will prove to be right. But then any believer who confesses the Apostles Creed already knows that Christ will return at the end of the age!
I do not spend much time looking back. Of course I do look back in order to confess my sins to God. But dwelling on the past is a sure way to fail to step into the future. I come from pioneer stock. My family were the kind of people moving west. I guess I have that flowing in my blood. Looking and moving ahead from where I am to where I hope to be is a process of taking the first step and following it with a second one and so on. The future is unknown and therefore limitless. No small step forward is really wasted effort. We go forward, or learn something, or experience something, or meet someone that prepares us for the future.
You might wonder why I asked a question in the heading above—Will 2008 Be the End? It is pretty nebulous. The end of what? I do not expect war, famine, hatred, crime, tyranny, or greed to stop in 2008. We are all much too selfish and sinful for that to be likely! I do not expect the present age of human history to end in 2008. However, no one knows when Christ will return so it isn't impossible. I do not even know if my life will end in 2008. None of us really knows the time of our death. If we are honest with ourselves we have very little control about any of the big issues in life, so we cannot predict the end. Even our New Year's resolutions are pretty iffy. If you made any last year did you really succeed in keeping them?
So what could this question be about? Perhaps I could ask another question. Will 2008 Be the Beginning? The end or the beginning of hope? Some of you reading this have lost hope. You have decided to give up. Life is dreary and meaningless, you think, what's the use? So obsession, addiction, empty activities become your means of deadening the pain. Is there any hope left for me, you wonder?
I have hope. I don't say it to make you feel bad or envious. I want you to find the same hope. I really do! I have hope because God has given me a gift. I don't deserve it any more than you which is to say I don't deserve it at all. I didn't do anything to earn it. It is a free gift! God has given me forgiveness of my sins, life beginning now and continuing forever, and salvation at the end of time! God offers this same gift to you! As 2008 begins will you receive the free gift of God? He offers it to you because Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose from the dead! Your hope is that God promises you that he will raise you from the dead also to live forever in his Kingdom! Life lived in this world with the hope that comes from God's gift of salvation through Jesus Christ is new and fresh every day! May 2008 be the end of your despair and the beginning of hope in Christ!
Yesterday the news media spent a lot of time looking back on 2007. Aside from the fact that it is a cheap way to fill broadcast time and earn advertising dollars, these year-in-revue shows do little to educate anybody. A person would have to have lived on Mars to not already know what happened in 2007. Even worse is the fact that an inordinate amount of time is wasted on "celebrities." Can we move on already! I have had enough of who-is-doing-what-with-who at this-or-that club/resort/jail/rehab center!
Another big non-story is the annual forecast about anything and everything by supposed experts. Most of their predictions are either so obvious, or so fuzzy, or so silly that they would be better to have been left in the circular file.
Religious people are not immune from such silly predictions. It is the twentieth anniversary of "88 Reasons Why Jesus Christ Will Return in 1988." Twenty years! In spite of the notorious failure of this pamphlet to prove to be accurate, the fad of prediction keeps popping up in various ways. Few people will step out on such a limb and predict that 2008 is the year Jesus Christ will return. But there are droves of people predicting that it will be soon. Often events in the EEC or the Mideast "prove" their scenarios. They rush their latest book to the publishers with their secret inside info about why they are certain that this is the year, season, decade, century, or era! Of course, if you make a prediction broad enough someone will prove to be right. But then any believer who confesses the Apostles Creed already knows that Christ will return at the end of the age!
I do not spend much time looking back. Of course I do look back in order to confess my sins to God. But dwelling on the past is a sure way to fail to step into the future. I come from pioneer stock. My family were the kind of people moving west. I guess I have that flowing in my blood. Looking and moving ahead from where I am to where I hope to be is a process of taking the first step and following it with a second one and so on. The future is unknown and therefore limitless. No small step forward is really wasted effort. We go forward, or learn something, or experience something, or meet someone that prepares us for the future.
You might wonder why I asked a question in the heading above—Will 2008 Be the End? It is pretty nebulous. The end of what? I do not expect war, famine, hatred, crime, tyranny, or greed to stop in 2008. We are all much too selfish and sinful for that to be likely! I do not expect the present age of human history to end in 2008. However, no one knows when Christ will return so it isn't impossible. I do not even know if my life will end in 2008. None of us really knows the time of our death. If we are honest with ourselves we have very little control about any of the big issues in life, so we cannot predict the end. Even our New Year's resolutions are pretty iffy. If you made any last year did you really succeed in keeping them?
So what could this question be about? Perhaps I could ask another question. Will 2008 Be the Beginning? The end or the beginning of hope? Some of you reading this have lost hope. You have decided to give up. Life is dreary and meaningless, you think, what's the use? So obsession, addiction, empty activities become your means of deadening the pain. Is there any hope left for me, you wonder?
I have hope. I don't say it to make you feel bad or envious. I want you to find the same hope. I really do! I have hope because God has given me a gift. I don't deserve it any more than you which is to say I don't deserve it at all. I didn't do anything to earn it. It is a free gift! God has given me forgiveness of my sins, life beginning now and continuing forever, and salvation at the end of time! God offers this same gift to you! As 2008 begins will you receive the free gift of God? He offers it to you because Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose from the dead! Your hope is that God promises you that he will raise you from the dead also to live forever in his Kingdom! Life lived in this world with the hope that comes from God's gift of salvation through Jesus Christ is new and fresh every day! May 2008 be the end of your despair and the beginning of hope in Christ!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
