I’m reminded of Jim Croce’s song “Don’t Mess with Big Jim” when asked to mediate disputes with fellow Christians and their ministries: “ You don’t pull on Superman’s cape/You don’t spit into the wind/You don’t pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger, and you don’t mess around with Jim.” The Bible was ahead of the song’s wisdom when it warned not to take a dog by the ears when it’s fighting with anot [...]
The other side finds a way to get its people involved, to raise money. Our side is thinking about something else. —James Dobson Druid Hills Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia, is dealing with the issue of homosexual clergy. The Evangelical Lutheran Church must come to a conclusion on whether practicing homosexual pastor Bradley E. Schmeling of St. John’s Lutheran Church should be relieved of [...]
Can the gospel and social activism co-exist? Should Christians involve themselves in the world by participating in politics, pursue advanced degrees in education, medicine, science and law, produce films on a wide range of subjects, seek careers in journalism, and develop non-governmental programs for long-term social reform based on a well thought out biblical worldview? Or should Christians spen [...]
Pastor Oliver “Buzz” Thomas wrote an article that appeared in USA Today (November 20, 2006) under the title “When religion loses its credibility.” Similar articles have been written before. Jimmy Carter wrote “Judge Not” in the February 27, 1996 issue of the _Atlanta Constitution._1 Similar to the Thomas article, Carter reserves his jabs for the “religious right.” He considers abortion and homosex [...]
It seems the only way to get a religious book published by a secular press these days is to write some outrageous things about what the Bible claims to teach and how conservative Christians are evil, stupid, misguided, and just downright hateful. The most recent example is Pastor Oliver “Buzz” Thomas who has written 10 Things Your Minister Wants to Tell You (But Can’t Because He Needs the Job). In [...]
In the 1950s, the John C. Winston Company, later to become part of Holt, Rinehart and Winston, published “Adventures in Science Fiction,” a series of juvenile hardcover novels that made up a collection of thirty six books. Some of the world’s greatest science fiction writers got their start with the series: Arthur C. Clarke, best known for 2001: A Space Odyssey, Ben Bova, Lester Del Rey, Donald Wo [...]
As expected, I received an email defending VeggieTales as a way to introduce very young children to the Bible. As I pointed out in yesterday’s article, bringing Bible stories down to the level of children so they can understand them is a good thing, but the stories must be faithful to what the Bible actually says. It’s the retelling of Bible stories by VeggieTellers that drives me out of my gourd. [...]
John Lennon had the right idea, but he didn’t account for the fact that at least one person wanted him dead. I’m all for peace until somebody wants to kill me. In the “On Religion” section of USA Today, Oliver “Buzz” Thomas appeals to the Bible to declare that Christians should work for peace in the world.[1] I couldn’t agree more. Christian leaders should call for an international summit to estab [...]
Rome saw the connection between religion and the social order, and Christianity posed a threat to the old-time Roman religion because it did not make politics the sole agent of change. Israel’s past, however, was replete with visions of political salvation. Early in her history, God allowed Israel to experience what it would be like in a wholesale rejection of Jehovah (1 Sam. 8). The people were u [...]
The Christian is assured of the future. He does not have to concern himself with eschatological speculations. The “times and epochs” are God’s business (Acts 1:7). They are set by His sovereign will. There is no need to speculate on what is next on God’s prophetic timetable or despair and capitulate to evil when considering present circumstances. For whatever the future holds, we know that God hol [...]
A letter to the editor that appeared in the August 18, 2006 issue of USA Today begins with, “I don’t care how any god stands on abortion, as I don’t believe in any god.” The strident confession was in response to the article “Where does God stand on abortion?” that appeared in the August 14th issue. In an attempt to distance herself from faith, she must adopt another faith. “I don’t believe in any [...]
Jesus entered the world of the Roman political beast and its surrogates. Herod immediately seeks out “the Child to destroy Him” (Matt. 2:13). The local Roman occupation forces saw Jesus as a potential threat and had Him put to death. Many of the Jewish leaders, who should have known better (John 1:11; 3:10), chose a “notorious prisoner” and bastard (bar+abbas= “son of a father”: Matt. 27:21) and c [...]
Each year our church holds a Missions Conference. A few years ago, a missionary from West Africa gave a stirring account of how a school had been built to educate the young people and prepare adults for indigenous missionary work. The parents saw the schools as a means to a better life for their children. So while the parents spent the day working to stay alive, their children would spend a few ho [...]
Many German Christians adopted a sideline strategy similar to the one advocated by James L. Evans, and Adolf Hitler took advantage of it. Martin Niemöller, however, reacted strongly against passivity on the part of the clergy or the people: “We have no more thought of using our own powers to escape the arm of the authorities than had the Apostles of old. No more are we ready to keep silent at man’ [...]
There are some Christians who take themselves out of the battle over worldviews. They believe the Bible teaches that Christians should stay above the fray of social involvement. I’ve dealt with this and many other similar arguments in Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths.[1] James L. Evans, pastor of Auburn First Baptist Church, writes in an editorial that appeared in the religion section of The Decatur D [...]
Today’s entertainment, political, media, and religionist propagandists have, in the words of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, “defined deviancy down” so that what was morally shocking twenty years ago is acceptable, or at least tolerated, behavior today. Robert Bork, no stranger to moral degradation, having been “Borked” on national television and entered the dictionary as a verb, explains the phenomenon: [...]
Archimedes (287–212 B.C.), the Greek mathematician and physicist who yelled “Eureka!” as he ran naked from his bathtub at the discovery of the principle of displacement (Archimedes’ Principle), once boasted that given the proper lever, and given a place to stand, he could “move the earth.” But upon what would Archimedes stand to accomplish such a feat? Certainly not on the earth itself. Archimedes [...]
Sgt. Peter Damon, 33, a U.S. war veteran who lost both arms in Iraq, is suing Oscar-winning director Michael Moore for $85 million, saying television clips were used without his permission in the anti-war documentary “Fahrenheit 9/11” and gave a false impression that he opposed the war. I wish him well in his suit. Damon reminds me of Harold Russell’s character in the 1946 movie The Best Years of [...]
Nearly every social commentator appeals to the conservative Christian community to be tolerant of other religious traditions. After all, we live in a religiously pluralistic society. The assumption is that religion is a benign choice, little different from picking one car model over another. Therefore all religious traditions should be tolerated and accepted as valid expressions of faith. Of cours [...]
Many who advocate keeping drugs illegal maintain that poverty and environmental conditions (e.g., neighborhood, quality of schools, intact family, etc.) often “force” people to make bad decisions. One comes away with the impression that only the poor and uneducated take drugs. But we know that this is not the case. People with fine educations and lots of money indulge in drug taking. “Ecstasy” is [...]
