Category Archives: Christianity

Licensed Believers

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The “I believe” license plate was not approved in the State of Florida, but representatives in South Carolina have approved a similar plate for their state, also depicting a cross.  The Lieutenant Governor is even willing to put up $4,000 of his own money in order to begin production.  This raises new arguments about separation of church and state, which I believe most people do not clearly understand correctly.

The U.S. Constitution says that the government shall pass no law regarding the establishment of a religion; a statement also known as the establishment clause.  The words “separation of church and state” or even just the word “separation” never appears.  Many of the original colonies were founded on principles of religious freedom and/or tolerance.  The framers of the Constitution did not want a government sanctioned religion.  The establishment clause is simply meant to prevent the U.S. Government from creating a state religion, one imposed by the government on its citizens.  Separation of church and state has come to mean something totally different.  So much so that I believe in many cases our First Amendment rights of free speech and religious expression are violated. 

Allowing students in school a time to pray is not the same as the school system requiring prayer.  The monument placed in the Alabama Supreme Court building recognized one of the oldest written law codes in ancient history, but it did not impose Christianity or Judaism on the people of Alabama.  Even people in government have a right to express their religious views withous forcing everyone listening to them to believe the same way.  Since when does “freedom of religion” equate “freedom from religion.”  If a person chooses to not believe, that is their God given and U.S. government protected right to do so.  By the same token, however, no one has the right to tell others they cannot profess their faith; to do so violates the believers First Amendment rights.  It seems today we swap the misguided “separation” clause for our legitimate First Amendment rights.

Will the S.C. plate be struck down as well?  Was Florida right or wrong to try to create their religious plate?  Do you agree/ disagree with my assessment of the establishment clause?  Let me hear from you.

Lessons from the Garden of Eden

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7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.    -Gen. 2:7-9

Lesson 1: We are special to God. Human beings are made in God’s image and likeness (Gen 1:26-27).  What does that mean exactly?  I’m not even sure.  People will tell you what it means, but truthfully, we don’t really know for sure.  We do that no other being in creation is described this way.  Continue reading →

On the lighter side…

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The last couple of posts have been kinda’ heavy, so enjoy the following courtesy of Joke of the Day. 

A Catholic school teacher was asking her students what they want to be when they grow up.

“I want to be a fireman!” said John.

“Oh, very good John. Community service for the Lord!” the teacher praised.

“I want to be a nurse!” said Jane.

“Excellent! You can be a healer just like Jesus was!” the teacher cooed.

Then little Mary stood up and said: “I want to be a prostitute!”

At this, the teacher fainted on the spot. After a while, she regained her senses. She marched right up to Mary and demanded: “WHAT.. DID YOU JUST SAY?”

“I said, I want to be a prostitute!” replied Mary.

“Oh, thank heavens! For a moment, I thought you said you want to be a Protestant!”

Christ Centered Preaching

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I’ve thought some more on what Christ centered means, and wish I could say this to every preacher everywhere: Preach the gospel.  Are you preaching on the Law being given to Moses?  Great; just make sure to mention how Christ fulfills the Law and the Prophets, and perhaps include Paul’s statement that the Law is like a tutor to him.  Teaching from Job?  Be sure to include “I know my Redeemer lives,” before you’re finished.  The story of how God deals with fallen man is the central thematic element that runs through the entire Bible.  Continue reading →

God honoring, Christ centered

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I don’t know how well that shows up on your screen in the banner. Is that just a slogan? Well, sort of. When creating a wordpress page, you’re asked to write a title, and then a brief description of what your blog is about. “God honoring, Christ centered” is there as much as anything to remind me what I’m doing here. What does it mean? Now that my friend is the right question. Continue reading →

A Look Back: Read my blog – or not

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I first began blogging in February of this year.  Let’s be honest; I didn’t know what the heck I was doing.  A lot of those first few posts were bad, but not all of them.  It was okay, because there wasn’t really anyone reading my blog either.  I’ve been going through the archives, and found a couple of gems.  In response to another blog I read, I drew an analogy between blogging and gardening, and described how they’re both types of therapy for me.  Unless you’re one of about 4 people, this isn’t a repost for you; enjoy it for the first time.

I just read a post on Internetmonk entitled “10 Reasons I Don’t Read Your Blog.”  I just couldn’t say everthing I wanted to in the comment box.  Then I remembered: I have blog.  Perfect. Continue reading →

When it rains, it pours.

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Here’s a useful illustration you’re welcome to.  Or perhaps just a funny story.

There was a family watching anxiously as floodwaters came up around their home. They had a great deal of faith, however, and trusted in God to save them. As the water came up into their yard, a 4-wheel drive truck pulled up to their house, and told them it was time to evacuate. “God will take of us,” was the father’s reply, and the truck moved on to help other families in that same neighborhood. As the waters came into the first floor, the family moved upstairs. A boat came up to one of their windows, and warned that the water would continue to rise. “God will provide,” was the only response the father would give, and finally the rescuers moved on to search for others in need. At last the family climbed onto the roof, and a helicopter tried to pick them up. After much argument with the reluctant family, the helicopter moved on as well. The flood water continued to rise, and all the family members drowned. As they stood before God, the man was confused and distressed. “I told all of those people that I trusted in you to save us. Why did you let us perish in the flood?” God replied “I sent you a truck, a boat, and a helicopter. What else did you want me to do?”

Even when opportunity knocks, we must open the door.

 

 

Leaps of Faith

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Remember those team-building seminars that had you fall backwards into the arms of your co-workers? That trust fall activity was about building trust and forming community, etc. The video below is something like that, but a lot more fun to laugh at.

Let me give you all the background first. In the Sunday a.m. service, I preach a straightforward, classic sermon on faith. Genesis 15 and Luke 8 were used as the main texts, and other examples from the Old and New Testaments were illustrated briefly. In the first text, Abram’s faith was counted to him as righteousness, and the second is the story of the woman with the issue of blood for twelve years. I explained that faith was more than believing, it was about trust. Faith causes us to act. In the Sunday evening service, I read the many examples of how people of faith took action found in Hebrews 11. Then we did the fun stuff.

Each of the volunteers was taken out of the room and kept in isolation, being brought back in one at a time. What they were told was that after being blindfolded, we would be raising them up 5 or 6 feet, and asking them to jump. I told each to have faith that we would be providing for their safety, and they wouldn’t get hurt if they took the leap of faith. In reality, they were never more than about 6 inches off the floor. They could feel the sensation of movement, while at the same time I’m kneeling down. In all the times I’ve done this, I’ve never had a kid not jump. Most fall (as do our 3 people of faith in the video), since they expect to drop several feet to the floor.

How is abortion not killing babies?

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Kurt says:

Enough with this nonsense already!
The abortion “issue” is the biggest scam the GOP has ever come up with.
Think about it. If republican politicians and religious leaders truly thought we were killing babies, abortion would be stopped in an instant.

I’m a religious leader, and I think we’re killing babies. We have been doing so legally in the U.S. since the early 1970’s. Continue reading →