Tag Archives: religion

Will the real RM-2493 Please Stand Up?

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Have you ever seen (or signed) one of those petitions supporting public broadcast of religious programs?  I remember hearing as early as 1993 that Madalyn O’Hair, infamous for getting prayer removed from public schools, was engaged in petitioning the FCC to ban all religious programming from radio and television.  Resolution Number 2493 has generated heated dispute for over 35 years.

Today you might get an email or see a Facebook message claiming Dr. James Dobson (or some other Christian leader) is pleading with American Christians to sign a petition or write the FCC.  Dobson denies any involvement with such requests.  Other preachers or ministries are sometimes listed as being in danger, and some versions are geared toward Christmas.  2493 would supposedly ban all Christmas programs and carols from public schools.  Please don’t sign the petition, don’t forward it to anyone, and certainly DO NOT write a letter to the FCC.  They have been inundated with thousands of pieces of mail for over 35 years for no good reason whatsoever.

The real RM-2493 was presented to the FCC in 1974 and denied in 1975.  The real document was not sponsored nor endorsed by O’Hair in any way.  It requested the FCC not give religious organizations licences to broadcast on channels reserved for education.  Again, the resolution was denied by the FCC in 1975, but even at that time they responded to the thousands of letter received from misinformed citizens.  The FCC clearly understood their role as an agency of the federal government was to neither promote nor inhibit religion.

RM-2493 did not call for a ban on religious programming on the airwaves.  The resolution was denied in 1975.  The FCC does not have the authority to ban religious programming even if it wanted to.  Further, Madalyn O’Hair has been dead since 1995.  Yet the rumor lives on.  The FCC has received over 10 million letters, email and phone calls.

More at snopes.com

Book Review: Jesus Died for This?

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Jesus Died for This? by Becky Garrison came out in August.  (Why I’m just reviewing it now is kind of a long story.)  In this volume Garrison reports as a pilgrim, a sojourner on a quest to find out whatever happened to Jesus.  She documents her travels from early 2007 to the election hype of 2008, taking her all the way from Jordan and Israel to Seattle and Manhattan.  Along the way she witnessed a lot of “Jesus junk” but also found genuine communities living out the Gospel in small groups of broken individuals. Continue reading →

This Just In…

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There are two things I never do; one is over react in a restaurant if my order isn’t right.  I rarely send anything back, and when I do it’s with a lot of respect for the kitchen staff and multiple apologies.  You should never act like a jerk to the people who are spitting in preparing your food.  The other thing I don’t do is complain about the postal service.  No matter how bad it gets, keep your mouth shut if you ever want to see your mail again.  It’s not like they have competition.

Becky Garrison’s new book Jesus Died for This? went on sale in August.  A batch of our local mail was misdirected, and just discovered this morning.  The postmark on what would have been my advanced copy was July 21.  I’m not bitter, I just bring it up to say this: I’m reading it now, and will post a review as soon as I’m able.  Keep in mind that Garrison is a satirist, not a theologian.  Her books combine hard-hitting journalism and good common sense with frequent LOL’s.  Read more about the book and author here, and perhaps purchase a copy for $14.99.  There is also an audio download and e-book available as well.  My review will be up in a few days.

I was introduced to Becky Garrison when I reviewed The New Atheist Crusaders and Their Unholy Grail for the Internet Monk.  You can read that review here.

Religion is Bad News

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If you type “religion, gospel” into the Google search bar, you get 3.6 million results in about 0.22 seconds.  Search on WordPress and the results are even more along the lines of “Religion vs. the Gospel” and such like.  Lots of people are aware of the shortcomings of religion compared to the Good News of Jesus Christ.  But even for the believer, and certainly for everyone else, the temptation is still there to not fully trust in the concept of grace.

In Mark’s Gospel (Mk. 5:1-20) Jesus and the disciples land on the coast of the Gerasenes.   They encounter Legion, a mad man filled with demons.  After Jesus casts the demons into a herd of pigs, the locals are amazed to see the man formerly known as Legion clothed and in his right mind.  Rather than allow him to follow, Jesus commands him to go back to his home town and tell them what God has done.  In this case, the man does so.  Ergo: You don’t have to fix all your problems before coming to Jesus.  How many people plan to come to church as soon as they quit drinking, stop smoking, get back with their ex-wife, find a job, etc. etc.  We cannot fix our own problems, and if we could then we wouldn’t need Jesus in the first place.  Remember what Jesus told the Pharisees; it is the sick who need a physician, not the well.

The rich young man (Mk. 10:17-22) come to Jesus with one simple question; What must I do to be saved.  Religion is about what we do.  We could substitute Law if we were comparing the Law to the Gospel.  Keeping the Law, very religious.  This man claims to have keep each of the commandments since his youth.  Unlikely.  David was a man after God’s own heart, and he failed all kinds of ways to keep the Law.  We simply cannot do what is right, just like we cannot in and of ourselves fix what is wrong.  Religion is what we do; grace is what God has already done.

We can’t.  That’s the story of fallen man.  We can’t keep the Law.  We can’t be right.  We can’t fix what’s wrong.  Religion is our attempt to either be right or fix the wrong, and we the human people are epic failures at both.  Religion is bad news; the Gospel is Good News. Tell the world.

Jesus Was Not Religious

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jesusI’ve said before that the problem with religion is that it’s easier than following Jesus.  It is usually a given that something is wrong with us, wrong with the world, perhaps critically or else just a little off, but most people agree that something must be done because all is not right in the world as it is.  Religion, in most cases, offers us the chance to do something.  If we read the right book, say the right things, act right, talk right and treat each others the right way we can “fix” what is wrong.  Religion, as such, is worthless.  But what could I mean that Jesus was not religious? Continue reading →

Defecting to Faith

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stain glass crossFirst, let me say that I’ve been reading several different blogs listed at SBC Voices, and will soon be adding some of those to my blogroll.  A button for SBC Voices appears in the sidebar if you would like to check it out; I’ve been introduced to some really good blogs over there including Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee, who shares the story below.

According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, often quoted by atheists to show how quickly religion is failing, children raised in non-religious homes tend not to stay that way.  The New York Times calls the situation “defecting to faith,” and reports that over half of those raised with no religious affiliation will choose one in adulthood.  Only 13 or 14 percent of those raised in Christian homes will defect.  And although atheism has large numbers of “converts” each year, it also has one of the lowest retention rates. 

Link to Kevin’s article here, with more stats and links.

The God We Wouldn’t Make Up

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God made man in his own image.  And man, in his infinite wisdom, returned the favor.    -Mark Twain

In my last post, I argued that if Christianity were a lie, we would have told a better lie.  A similar line of thinking applies to God.  Many gods have been invented by people.  The God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, the Almighty God, Maker of Heaven and Earth, isn’t one of them.  Here’s why no one would make up such a god:

God requires perfection.  We would make up a god that settles for good enough.  Our imaginary god would be happy with 70%.  That’s good enough to pass.  The best you can do is the best you can do.  Who would ask for more than that?  The God we wouldn’t make up, that’s who. Continue reading →

“He Cannot Save Himself”

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He Cannot Save Himself

Many questions were asked of him,
though no answer was heard.
Pilate pressed him to respond,
but Jesus spoke not a word.

As prophesied by Isaiah,
like a lamb he was silent.
Which angered the crowd even more,
and they began to riot.

Governor Pilate faced the Jews,
and in order to honor custom,
told them that at their choosing,
he would release one prisoner among them.

He knew that Jesus was delivered
out of envy, malice and vice.
But the crowd choose Barabbas,
shouting “Crucify Jesus Christ.”

Pilate washed his hands before them,
saying “I am innocent of this man’s blood.”
The crowd said “Let his blood be upon us,
and upon our sons.”

They stripped off his own garments,
placed on him a robe and crown.
And then pretended to worship,
before him kneeling down.

They placed on his head
a crown made of thorns.
Then they spat, hit and slapped him,
and mocked him to scorn.

They compelled the man Simon
to carry his cross.
And divided his garments,
by casting lots.

They made for him a sign,
placed over his head.
“This is Jesus, King of the
Jews” the words read.

Thieves were crucified with him,
on his left and his right.
One was loud and boastful,
the other more humble, contrite.

“We are guilty of our crimes,
and deserve to die this way.”
And when Jesus saw his faith,
promised paradise that day.

“He cannot save himself” they mocked,
as his blood fell to the ground.
But they were crucifying an innocent,
in whom no guilt was found.

This was God’s plan of salvation,
established before there was time.
Each event had been prophesied,
and now fell perfectly in line.

The trial, the false witness,
his hanging on a tree;
It was all prophesied clearly
in Isaiah fifty-three.

So the words of their mocking
are actually true, you see.
He could not save himself, for
on the cross… he saved me.

On the Subject of Theology

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theologyTheology – theo meaning having to do with religion, ology meaning the study of something. Theologians are those that study religion.  We need not all be theologians, but a Christian should at least know what we believe, and hopefully why we believe it.  In this we are lacking.

In his Collapse of Evangelicalism, Michael Spencer says ” massive majorities of evangelicals can’t articulate the Gospel with any coherence.”  The next day after reading these words, our school chapel sang Hymn 604 in the Baptist Hymnal, which ends with these words: “And repeat the gospel story ’till his name the world has heard.” We have not done this.  It is not surprising that the un-churched do not know how to become a Christian, but church members not knowing how one gets saved is unacceptable.  Continue reading →

The Bible, Uses and Misuses

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bible-pagesImagine you wanted to open a one gallon can of paint.  Most all of us have a flathead screwdriver lying around in the kitchen junk drawer or else someplace handy.  You grab that and pry the lid from the can.  It’s not exactly what the screwdriver was made for, but it does the job well enough.  The Bible is like that also. Continue reading →