Bloggers, Moderate Your Comments

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Typically I allow anyone that has been approved before to have their comments automatically displayed.  Meaning that your first comment to this blog will be held for moderation and after that one is approved your others will appear instantly.  Some blogs strictly moderate every comment, while some allow everything to appear regardless of the source.

Keep your eye out for comments from L.W. Dickel.  If there is even such a guy (it could be a group of people) he keeps leaving exactly the same inflammatory remarks on multiple posts of multiple Christian blogs.  It’s nothing more than anti-Christian spam, but my filters didn’t catch it and I’ve seen at least two Christian blogs displaying the same comment.  Keep an eye out, moderate your comments, don’t bother engage.  If he wants a legitimate dialog, let him follow the rules.

 

As For Me and My House, We Will Eat at Chick-fil-A.

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Thousands of conservatives protested JC Penny when they announced that Ellen DeGeneres would be their new spokesperson.  (If you recall, I cited the ridiculousness of such a boycott).  In light of Christians calling on others in their ranks to boycott Disney, JC Penny, or (retailer of the week) for supporting gay marriage we should not be surprised that gay and lesbian groups are calling for organized boycotts against Chick-fil-A for their public stance on supporting the family.

Please read this article, published by Denny Burk, titled Chick-fil-A and the Irony of the Tolerance Policy.  I will offer a couple of excerpts but strongly encourage reading the original piece. Continue reading →

Bible Survey: Joseph: Dreams Do Come True

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If you follow The Master’s Table but have never heard of Bible Survey, that’s because it’s been a while.  Specifically it’s been over a year.  There was a time I considered bailing out on that project and deleting the URL.  I once tried to give away but there were no takers.  Every now then it bugs me, so…

Joseph: Dreams Do Come True is the Bible Survey post based on Genesis chapters 37 – 41.  The first several chapters of Genesis deal with a lot and cover several hundred years of human history.  As we near the end of Genesis and begin Exodus the story should speed up.

Was the Serpent in the Garden of Eden Satan?

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Most people believe that Satan appeared in the Garden of Eden as a serpent and tempted Eve to commit sin.  Some point out, however, that the Genesis account does not directly identify the serpent as Satan, and others will actually argue against the serpent being Satan.  So am I knowing and willfully opening this potential Pandora’s box?  Oh yeah.

I suggest beginning with a read of Genesis 3.  In verse 15, God speaks of enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman.  This makes little sense if God is speaking to a mere serpent.  But if the seed of woman is a veiled reference to the Son of Man, i.e. Jesus who is the Christ, then this is the first prophesy of the Messiah.   Continue reading →

Christians Response to Gay Advertising

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Over the weekend I got a rather feisty comment on my Ellen DeGeneras post from February (link).  The commenter railed on Christians that would still shop at JC Penny after they “actively supported this!”  I thought the article was clear that what the retail chain supported was buying more stuff; they sell lots of women’s clothing and DeGeneras is a public iconic figure that wears women’s clothing and probably knows a thing or two about shopping.  Mr. Smith, in his comment, used words like faggot, queers, and terms such as “the homos” and suggested we would talk about his language while ignoring the depravity around us.  Which does beg the question: What should the Christian response be to the proliferation of homosexuality in our culture? Continue reading →

Case in Point

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Reagan’s name gets kicked around a lot  in the political arena these days, by members of both political parties.  The Reagan era in the White House was a time of ultra-conservatism, returning the nation to the center after a very liberal late 60’s and 70’s.  Quoting Reagan is to conservatives what Jefferson or Franklin is to Patriots.  Did President Reagan actually say these words (We do not want socialized medicine) or is this a cut and paste with his picture on it? Continue reading →

A Piece of My Mind

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I didn’t watch the evening news the day the Supreme Court ruled on Obamacare.  I held my tongue as every single person on Facebook suddenly became a constitutional scholar.  I can’t take it anymore, I’m going to have to share how I really feel before a vein pops or something.  Here comes my 2 cents worth.

Allow me to put on my history teacher hat.  When our present system of federal government was designed by the framers of the Constitution in 1787, they were still trying to settle the representation issue.  Under the Articles of Confederation (a smaller government with fewer taxes that failed miserably) each state got one vote.  There were 13 states and any measure required a 2/3 majority vote.  There was only one branch of government, Congress, and even if they could pass something there was no executive to carry it out.  Without the power to tax, the brand new American government was already in debt from fighting the Revolutionary War and had no means of income whatsoever. Continue reading →

Romney, Obama and Christianity

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Some conservative Republicans are concerned that Romney being Mormon will divide the voting base, turning away some mainstream conservative Christian voters.  So will they vote for Obama instead?  25% of Americans still believe Barack Obama is Muslim.

For those that believe Romney is a Christian, I’d like to point out that Obama is also.  If you believe Mormons are not Christian, may I suggest that perhaps Obama is a Muslim.  Now…

This an election year.  In November we will select a president for the next four years.  We’re not electing a pope, you will not be attending his church.  Regardless of who sits in the Oval Office, we still have 535 members of Congress ensuring nothing will get passed and 7 Supreme Court Justices to overrule it if it does.

The issues in this election are unemployment, national debt, immigration, health care and mid-east wars.  Let’s pretend both candidates are scientologists and move on to discussing the political views of both men.

The Read and Share File

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When I heard the SBC would appoint their first ever African-American president I thought “well that’s neat.”  When I learned he mangled a new motorcycle at age 21, later walking down the aisle on crutches… now there’s a guy I can respect.  Read more on Fred Luter’s life in ministry here, via Baptist Press.  

Here’s another story coming out of the SBC convention this week – in something of an ongoing conflict, SBC messengers passed on a resolution on the “sinner’s prayer.”  The headline for the article is worded badly, but the report is excellent.  Full text of the resolution is included.

It’s not nearly short enough for Twitter, but here is the message of the Bible in only 221 words.

The Donald Miller blog is going on hiatus and will return new and improved on August 1st.  Here’s the list of what to expect.

Meanwhile, Tall Skinny Kiwi just changed the appearance of his blog, citing the old look as “boring.”  Check it out, I like it.

I always enjoy getting some classic iMonk, and here’s a collection of original Internet Monk selections from 2005.

I don’t regularly read Mark Driscoll, so thanks to Noel Heikkinen for sharing 11 Practical Ways for Men to Lead a Family.

I didn’t even know there was a .church internet domain; meanwhile, LifeChurch.tv wants to own it.

Did the Supreme Court strike down indecency laws regulating t.v. broadcasts?  No it did not, although the Associated Press initially reported so.  The Court ruled a narrow decision on only the two cases, involving FOX and ABC, that were being considered.  The Court did not overturn the existing laws nor consider constitutionality of the existing FCC regulations.  Full story here.

The Nearest Thing to Heaven

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How many times have you bitten into a delicious slice of cheesecake (insert favorite dessert here) and made the statement “I’m in Heaven?”  Listening to beautiful music, attending a wedding reception, or perhaps sitting at home in a rare moment of peace and quiet can move us to feel that way at times; this is what heaven must be like.  Do you ever feel that way at church?

My dad wrote a song about the church titled The Nearest Thing to Heaven.  Like old country music, even Dad’s gospel songs were made of two things: 3 chords and the truth.  The point of the song is simple; the Church (universal) should be the nearest thing to heaven you can find on earth.  While he acknowledges there are problems and that no person nor congregation is perfect, the Church is (or should be) filled with God’s people.  The Church is made up of disciples of Jesus, who are continuously learning to be more Christ-like.  In short, the Church should be populated with God’s people, led by and filled with the Holy Spirit, and working for the Kingdom.  With Christ as its head, the Church should be the body.  That should be manifest in our worship and in our service.  Worship takes place in the church building, while our service takes place Monday through Saturday outside of the church building.

Do you enjoy going to church?   Continue reading →