Pray for his Deliverance!!

Poor little Ralph has been in bondage since age 9. You see, he was possessed by the Demon of Bow Tie and White Suit and has never been set free. He's tried Preaching and he's tried Bible Study--nothing has worked for him. The kind of faith that's going to have to deliver him is massive! Let's keep praying for him.

Seeker Friendly Promotion

"Positively Positive"--Robert Schuller. "Unbelievably Practical"--Bill Hybels. "New 40 Days of LSD Coming To A Bookstore Near You!!!"---Rick Warren. "Huh??!!"---Hippie Man Journal.

The first ever Seeker-Sensitive promotional tool was recently uncovered. Unexpecting hippies would wander to the church in their desire for a good trip---and what they got was a lecture about Leadership, Service, and Dedication. One Hippie was quoted as saying, "That was some bummer acid man!!"

Also available for home studies is the acclaimed, "High on God: Experiencing the Buzz of God," and the ever popular, "Smoking Crack Cocaine Bible Study."

Accordion Madness

I can't tell if the "accordion" is supposed to represent his "before Christ" days or his "after Christ" days. One could argue that--due to the big smile on his face (with the accordion) he must be a Christian (the joy of the Lord). But then again, he could just be enjoying the joy of his sinful, accordion playing lifestyle.

In the bottom picture, he has more of a smirk. Is it a sinful smirk? Perhaps, it's a smirk reflecting his distaste for his old lifestyle as an evil accordion playing sinner. I can't really tell. Maybe, both pictures are simply there to promote thought and discussion. What do you think?

Russia in the Bible?

While I cannot find the word "Russia" in the Bible (by the way, Mr. Jack Van Impe can't either), this is a good illustration on why we shouldn't allow pseudo-scholars to set the agenda in the Christian community. Unfortunately, this is pretty common discussion in the hyper-dispensational and hyper-fundamentalist sections of the protestant evangelical church. If one can "act" scholarly and sound authoritative, then they can convince the masses of just about anything. Russia was quite the rage in the early 70's when Hal Lindsey and others were formulating their theories about how and when the world would end. Now the rage is Islam. Tomorrow, perhaps, it will be Hillary Clinton.

Tradition can certainly blind us to truth, but letting others do our thinking for us is even worse. If you are a TBN, couch-potato Christian (and there are many out there), then you can do just that. Instead of inventing things to fit into scripture that aren't really there--here's a thought: Let's practice what is there! Instead of looking for the next Christian fad, let's practice what is sure and certain.

Tradition and the Word of God

"Those who don't believe that they have any 'traditions' in their understanding of Biblical passages are the most vulnerable to actually having some." James White

Traditions can certainly affect how we interpret certain passages of scripture, how we do church, or how we relate to others. Having been apart of a certain denomination (Calvary Chapel) for over 10 years, I now realize just how many "traditions" that I developed while there. One of these "traditions" was my understanding of Revelation chapters 2-3. The "hyper-dispensationalist" tendencies of some, in Calvary Chapel, insisted that these churches represented actual church ages. They would take each church in succession and line them up with various points in church history (ie. the Early Church was Ephesus, the Persecuted Church (under Rome) was Smyrna, the Reformation Church was Sardis, and so forth). Though we can certainly see some characteristics of these 7 churches (in chapters 2-3) with church history periods, it was not meant to be a perfect description of every church age in succession.

There is not even the slightest indication, in these passages, that they were supposed to represent church ages, rather, they were 7 literal churches that existed in the Apostle John's time. This had never been the understanding of these passages until men like Harry Ironside and Hal Lindsey popularized them.

Most credible Dispensational scholars see these as only literal churches as well (see John Walvoord's commentary on revelation, or Robert Thomas' commentary). Why is this interpretation important? For one, it takes away the practical aspects of learning about these churches and drawing lessons from them. Secondly, it perverts your understanding of Church History. Case in point--if the Sardis church becomes the Reformation Church, then one of the greatest revivals in church history becomes "dead" and no better than what it tried to reform--namely, the corrupt Roman Catholic Church of that time (which would correspond with Thyatira). All of this confusion is built upon forcing something into a passage that is never stated (or even implied).

Tradition can be a good or bad thing. The important thing is to always be willing to take a fresh look into how we see things--whether it be our interpretation of scripture or how we structure our church. Our "sacred cows" should never interfere with Biblical truth. More on this topic later.

Media Bad Boy

Dick Cheney rules! I've been enjoying the press coverage of Cheney's hunting misfortune immensely. I've seen some in the media actually go into "convulsions" over the fact that Cheney really doesn't care what they think.

The media is an interesting bunch. Some are fair and balanced, while others, obviously hold grudges and try to create controversy out of nothing. With all of the conspiracy theories out there about Dick Cheney, it's comical to watch some of the news programs actually feed into some of those. Was Cheney drunk on Jack Daniels? Was Halliburton somehow a factor? Did oil stocks rise because of it? Was this a deliberate distraction for something even bigger? The liberals are having a fun time inventing new "fairy-tales" about a much hated conservative VP.

Brit Hume (from Fox News) finally won the honor of sitting down with Cheney and helped put things into perspective (Download Here/Right Click, Save Target As, Desktop). I was somewhat dissappointed with the humor that came out of the event. I think that it was so good that many of the comedians didn't know what to do with it.

Cheney Rules!

The moral of the story is--don't mess with Cheney! Whether you're a terrorist or a 78 year old lawyer, Cheney rules!

One More Weird Album Cover

Okay, just one more. I've always been a little scared of these puppet people. They give me the creeps for some reason. Perhaps, I saw too many horror movies as a kid, or perhaps they just are creepy! Anyways, you can see more of these "interesting" album covers at: http://purgatorio1.com. There's a wide assortment of Christian humor there.

Due to the amazing success of my Music Review segments (I actually got two comments left--thanks Brad!), I will certainly revisit this subject later.

Mike and His Bird

"Speechless"--New York Times. "Supernaturally Inspiring"--LA Times. "Out of this world!"--Pee Wee Herman "Yes, I am in love with birds too!"--Bird Fancy Magazine.

High praise indeed! There's music that's uplifting and then there's music that makes you soar! Mike Adkins takes you to the next level. With his new hit single, "Thank You Mommy And Daddy For My Cool Bird", and his awe-inspiring, "I Just Love Being Myself", Mike Adkins takes music to another galaxy.

Negative 3 (out of five stars)

Leaving my Troubles?

Perhaps the greatest weakness of this album is their title. Obviously, they do have some troubles. But that's another story.

The music does groove however. My favorite songs are "Holy, Holy, Holy Rollin Is The Life For Me", and the critically acclaimed, "Lord, Please, Please Take Me Home...Please." After listening to their music, you'll be praying that too! Enjoy!

Zero (out of five stars)

More Music Reviews

There's nothing better (after a hard day at work) to come home and put on a little R&B Gospel. With great hits like, "I've got too much soul to control" and "Chillin at my Father's Crib" you'll be maxing and relaxing too. Stressed out in your life? Take a chill pill from Carl Preacher. Let him take control as you drift away into a Soul Wonderland! Oohhhh Yehhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Three (out of Five Stars)

Music Recommendation

Want to dance? Want to disco? Do I have an album for you! My foot is tappin' and my soul is singing! The Christian Crusaders (with Al Davis) rocks and rolls for your soul. Movin and groovin! I just can't get enough of that jammin beat!

Four (out of five stars)

Finally at Peace with my Colts

Well the Steelers won the Super Bowl--this actually helped alleviate my pain in seeing the Colts getting "spanked" in their first playoff game. It's always good to see the team that knocked you out win the championship.

Though I had hallucinations of the Colts during the Super Bowl game (I had a hard time believing that they weren't playing the Seahawks), I finally made my peace with the past and have moved on. I have taken an important step in my development as a human being.

After all, it's just a game...life goes on...there's always the next season...the Colts are still a young team..etc, etc, etc. However if they lose again next season, I'll never watch the NFL again!

C.S. Lewis and the Moral Law

The Moral Law, or Law of Human Nature (as Lewis sometimes called it) deals with the "natural" inclination of all humans to recognize a basic thing called "right and wrong". Though there are some cultural latitudes here, there still is, within humans, the tendency to categorize moral behavior into good and bad. This was, according to Lewis, a signpost to the fact that God existed--based upon his understanding of Romans 1 (among other Biblical passages).

Some would object (as one did to Lewis) that "cannibals obviously don't have the same moral standards as an Englishman." Of really? Try this interesting experiment the next time you happen to run into a cannibal: Simply inform him that you have a desire to butcher and eat him for dinner (granted that you have an able translator). What is his reaction? Instinctively, he will inform you of his desire not to be consumed in a meal by you, or any other person for that matter. He objects to your desire and declares it "bad". This will be even more obvious if you try and force yourself upon him, in hopes of making him your meal. "It's a bad and horrible thing to be eaten," declares the cannibal. Thus, the Moral Law is applicable even with someone as seemingly amoral as a cannibal.

Buckley Column on Economics

Insightful column by William F. Buckley at National Review Online (Read Here). His article ends with this wise statement: "Don't get overexcited about the market. It is doing its work." Even the best economy in the world has problems---it's still, however, the best. I've always wondered why the typical American can't understand and appreciate this. I think that our lack of contentment is due to a misunderstanding of the world and America's historical place in it. We are, still, the most successful society on earth--if not in all history. Certainly, we live like kings and queens. "If only I could just afford that new High Definition Television!!" Life is tough here in America!

Kerry and Liberal Education

As many have already pointed out, John Kerry's claim that "53 percent of our children don't graduate from high school" is significantly inaccurate (not even in the ballpark--actually around 16%). His appearance on the Today Show (Download the video here)--(Right Click, Save As, Desktop) was supposed to be a slam on those "evil Republicans" who mismanage our national affairs, but Kerry actually indicted himself (as a liberal) and those who vehemently insist upon liberal-driven education. Let us assume that Kerry is right (let's play pretend). Who and what would that odious statistic reflect upon?

One thing that the Public Schools are actually good at is graduating kids. The problem isn't with graduation, it's the quality of education. Kerry's blunder was two-fold: (1) He used bogus statistics to try and prove a point, and (2) even if he was right, he actually hurts his own agenda. More great campaign video for 2006 and 2008! Kerry is the gift that keeps on giving!