Jimmy Carter's Christianity

I always hesitate to make judgments on whether or not someone is genuinely a believer in Jesus Christ--a Christian in the orthodox sense of the word. However, we can learn a lot about what people believe by examining their words carefully. Ex-President Jimmy Carter did an interview with Newsweek recently as publicity for his forthcoming book about his bible studies. Apparently Carter has been a Sunday school teacher for most of his adult life. I won't address the political aspects of this interview, but there was a very troubling, Osteenesque answer at the very end of the piece.

Do you think a Mormon is a Christian?Yes, I do. I have a
cousin who is a Mormon and she married one of the Marriott family. I don’t know anyone who’s more devout in their faith than she and her family. I admire them very much.

No, no, no. I know lots of religious people who are far more devout in their faith than I am and that does not make them a Christian. What makes one a Christian is belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, repentance from sin. One can't believe in Jesus plus x, or Jesus minus x and still fit the bill.

Mormon's do not believe that Jesus is God. They believe he is a brother of Lucifer and they also believe that God the Father was once a man from another planet. They believe the bible has been corrupted and the Book of Mormon fabricated by Joseph Smith provided clarification, correction, and supplemental teachings to the Word of God. Because they use the name Jesus a lot in their promotional materials don't make them Christians. I'm tired of the name Christian being hijacked.

Here is an article written by R. Philip Roberts, Director of the Interfaith Witness Evangelism Section of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, which addresses the issue of the LDS church claiming the name Christian.

Here is another online resource comparing the Christian view of Christ's resurrection to the Mormon view.

Struggling With the L Word?

In the struggle to come to grips with Calvinist theology, many get stuck on one particular letter of the TULIP--of course the L. Limited Atonement.

The Big Orange Truck blog has a nice post about the L-word and the difficulty of navigating through seemingly contradictory biblical language regarding certain aspects of salvation.

Take a ride in the orange truck and let me know what you think.

View from My Window

Such a splendiferous day out and I'm relegated to the indoors. This is the view from my window in real time. I wouldn't mind taking a dip in the pool next door (bottom left) or hanging out on the Uptown Park Starbucks patio (middle left). Alas, it is not to be. Work beckons...

And I thought Wisconsin was Famous for their Brats

It's like Ron White says, "you can't fix stupid." Now I like a good weenie roast as much as the next guy, but....jeez louise!

I'm sure some media blowhard types will be all over the airwaves calling for a ban of the jackass movies because they negatively influence children (a fair enough point) who might try to duplicate these rediculous stunts at home. However, what's important to point out about these two Einsteins, is that the roaster was 43 years old and the roastee was 20.

You can't fix stupid.

Is Rap Dead?

An interesting article on cnn.com asks the question. Has rap music hit the wall? Personally, I cannot answer the question fairly because I don't listen to rap, or hippidy hop as the kids call it these days. To be honest, I don't recognize any of the names of rappers referenced in the article, but nevertheless this piece made me think about bigger issues.

Rapper David Banner's (I believe he turns into the Incredible Hulk when he gets angry) quote at the end of the piece provides a glimpse into the real issues surrounding the proliferation of rap music focused on gangsta themes like drug abuse, drug dealing, prostitution and the demeaning of women.

"...Banner says there's a reason why acts like KRS-One and Public Enemy don't
sell
anymore. He recalled that even his own fans rebuffed positive songs he
made --
like "Cadillac on 22s," about staying away from street life -- in
favor of songs
like "Like a Pimp."
"The American public had an
opportunity to pick what they
wanted from David Banner," he says. "I wish
America would just be honest.
America is sick. ... America loves violence
and sex."

Supply and Demand

Shouldn't it be clear that the rap issue boils down to a supply and demand issue? If "America loves violence and sex", surely rappers, writers, movie directors, producers, radio and television executives et al will continue to produce what the market will bear. It makes business sense for David Banner to write songs that his audience wants to buy. By Banner's own admission, he tried making songs with a more positive message (although I can't verify how positive, if at all) and his fans didn't buy. So he made a song called "Like a Pimp" and his fans couldn't get enough.

Is Moral and Legal Reform Enough?

So what does this mean to the Christian and how does this translate in real terms? Despite the best efforts of many well-intentioned Christian activists and political organizations who have worked dilligently to make the airwaves cleaner, the obsenity laws tougher, the explicit lyrics warnings on cd's more visible, and in many other area; real reform will never take place through legal or government channels alone. As long as there is a public demand for such content, such content will most assuredly be made available.

Only through spiritual reform, (yes, one changed heart at a time coming to repentance and turning from their sins) can real transformation take place. When every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord, there won't be much of a market left for gangsta rap. But until that wonderful day comes, Christians must focus on sharing the amazing news of a savior who can forgive all sins. We must tell people the gospel and allow the work of the Holy Spirit to shine light into every dark corner of every sinful heart, revealing the depth of their spiritual need.

A Practical Shift In Focus

Too often the Church has focused more on political reform (see the past two elections where the Christian Right practically coronated Dubya) than sharing the good news of the gospel to sinners. In essence, the Church has said to the rap world, "stop listening to your junk, throw out your filthy music and come follow Jesus." Of course this is folly. Nobody outside of the transforming grace of Christ will suddenly be compelled to leave sinful rap music behind anymore than a greedy corporate executive will give back the millions he embezzeled from share holders.

The Power of the Gospel

The first thing people need to hear is the message of the gospel. There is power in the gospel! Christians must not forget this. The power to bring sinful men and women to repentance and new life can be found only in good news of Jesus Christ. The gospel contains the power to teach men to fulfill the roles God intended when he created Adam. The same gospel illuminates the value God places on the lives of women and shows them the special identity they can have in Christ. When Christ fills hearts, hearts will begin to listen to the voice of truth. The truth they hear from Jesus will be in direct contradiction to most of the rap lyrics they allowed to define their lifestyles. When Christ fills hearts, the unsteady balance of supply and demand will dictate the end of gangsta rap.

Father Morris Opens Up a Can on James Cameron

As a follow up on James Camerons "discovery" of Jesus' bones, Father Jonathan Morris brings the pain on little Jimmy the amateur archeologist.

Father Morris pulls no punches in this piece which is written from little Jimmy's perspective if only he was telling the truth. Here is a snippett:

"Today is my day for revenge. When I received my Oscar for best director a few years ago, I looked out into the crowd and proclaimed, “I am the king of the world”. That’s what I felt on that day and I wouldn’t have said it, if I didn’t believe it. But some of my Hollywood colleagues have looked down on me ever since. They thought I was exaggerating. As my movie credits prove, I’ve been sidelined since that day. But when I found the two-thousand year old scribblings on a tomb wall and, with the help of mathematicians, extrapolated that Jesus’ tomb was not really empty, that he may not have risen from the dead, as two billion people believe today, I realized how true my Oscar’s acceptance speech really was. It was kind of prophetic, I guess. The real king of the world — James Cameron — calls into question the King of Kings.
So don’t forget to buy our book and watch the Discovery Channel on March 4th.”

Check out the full article for more of this beatdown.

Explosions in the Sky

As a huge fan of both the movie "Friday Night Lights" and the current TV drama of the same name, I just had to find out where they got all of their cool instrumental background music. Lo and behold, the source of the coolness behind both the movie and TV show is none other than Texas' own little band, Explosions in the Sky. I used up the better part of my $25 iTunes Christmas gift card scooping up two of their albums, the most current release, All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, and the 2001 release Those who Tell the truth Shall Die, Those who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever.

If you love catchy pop songs with easy to sing-along-to hooks, this is the wrong band for you. EINTS is entirely instrumental. I like to think of their music as background music for your life. If your life was a movie, these guys would be the soundtrack.

I won't bother to write three more sentences describing their sound or comparing them to similar bands. Frankly, their sound is pretty unique and I can't think of anyone to compare them to. Just go listen and tell me what you think in the comments thread.