May 18, 2005
Good Question!
The
New York Sun has asked a question that I think we should all be asking ourselves in light of Newsweek's article about Qur'an desecrations
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Posted by: Warren Kelly at
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I hear your frustration and to an extent, I agree with you. However, when I look at the greatest injustice ever, the crucifixion of Jesus and all the events surrounding it, I am reminded of how Jesus himself reacted. In Matt 26:50, he rebules Peter for his anger and gives a stern warning about living and dying by the sword. In Matt 27:12,13, Jesus remains silent while being accused. What was He trying to teach us here?
When you say the "bible is abused", are you talking about someone's written copy? Can't only believers abuse Scripture through our acts of disobedience? Does not true desecration happens at the hands of the very people for whom the Word of God was written?
I do agree with you about our apathy but IÂ’m not sure I agree with you as to what our reaction should be. On the political and social side, yes we should continue to safeguard our constitutional freedoms. On the spiritual side, we need to realize that the Word of God lives in us, Psalm 119:11. We need to pray for those who do not know what we know, who do not have what we have and who will not be where weÂ’ll be someday unless they find the Hope that springs eternal.
Posted by: Terry McCann at May 18, 2005 10:19 AM (3HZMI)
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I think the true desecration is when we who claim to be Christians ignore it's precepts and live more according to the dictates of a modern philosophy than Biblical teachings.
I think that the biggest problem I have with Bible desecration is not that we don't riot and protest, but that we aren't even offended. And we are expected to be offended when similar things happen to other faiths (and we should be).
Posted by: Warren at May 18, 2005 03:47 PM (a64K1)
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I look at it this way. Regardless of your religious beliefs the words printed in a book are just words printed in ink, no matter if they come from a divine source. An action against the book it's self does nothing to alter the words or their meaning. So even if you totally destroy the book, drag it through mud, urinate on it burn it or flush it, the words and meaning contained in the book live on. I do believe we should be respectful of other peoples beliefs and make an effort to not trample on them, but the actions of a few people in desecrating the Koran does not amount to an endorsement by the US Government against Islam. The widespread desecration of the Bible by the Saudi Government and most of the Followers of Islam is an official endorsement against Christianity. Should I be offended and speak out or protest? No because no matter what they do, the truths contained in the Bible will stand, they can do nothing to alter that.
Posted by: JIm at June 04, 2005 01:25 PM (n+UM/)
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May 16, 2005
Kristof and Spong
I haven't been mocking Nicholas Kristof lately, but his latest effort has really got me ... laughing.
In his attempt to reimagine Christianity, Kristof has engaged the arch-heretic John Shelby Spong. Paul was a gay man who attacked homosexuality to keep his own desires in check. Judas didn't betray Christ, because Paul (as well as the ever-elusive Q source) doesn't mention the betrayal at all. Never mind that Paul doesn't attempt to give an account of the life of Christ, and the betrayal never really factored into his ministry or teachings. If Paul didn't mention it, then it didn't happen. And Q seems to be the last refuge of doubt -- if we see something that all three Synoptics have in common, it has to be from Q (rather than it having to do with the common inspiration of God that the writers labored under).
Kristof comes short of actually agreeing with Spong, but he does say "at least he's engaged in the debate," and encourages liberals to engage conservative Christians on their own turf, on their own terms. If Spong is the best they have, I think they're better off with their current strategy of ridicule and ignore.
Posted by: Warren Kelly at
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From the "DUH!" File
Newsflash!!
Sunday Schools Teach Children Creationism
Seriously, is this really news? Next thing you know, Mr. Baker will be leading off with a story that many evangelical churches pray, and at most the church leader (called the "pastor" by the congregation) ends the service with a half-hour speach based on a selected Biblical text. Some parishoners call this speach a "sermon," and it is often followed by an "altar call" or a "benediction" in some churches.
This would be in the running for a Clewie award, but I'm not sure this guy can get a clue. He sure shouldn't be covering religion news if he thinks that teaching creation in Sunday School is news.
Posted by: Warren Kelly at
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This is where creationism should be taught, not in science classes.
Posted by: MC Lodahl at May 16, 2005 05:25 PM (Al7oN)
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Well, that really wasn't in dispute. But I DO disagree that there are different kinds of truth. If something is true, then it's just as true in the classroom as it is in the church building. And there is plenty of presupposition going on in evolutionary circles -- it's not totally objective, unbiased information.
Posted by: Warren at May 16, 2005 08:40 PM (a64K1)
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Truth may be told in different ways and on different levels and languages.
Th language of science depends on empirical evidence, that of religion does not.
So, creationism does not belong in science classes since it is not based on empirical evidence.
Posted by: MC Lodahl at May 17, 2005 10:38 AM (Al7oN)
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There is enough empirical evidence that backs design that it should be offered as a viable alternative to evolutionary theory. Not exclusively, but along with. Evolution is FAR from a scientific fact, and should not be advocated exclusively when there are other viable options.
Language itself depends on meaning, which I've been told is not absolute. (Don't believe that myself, though). Language is language. Words mean things. Truth is truth, no matter where it's taught -- unless you're a Greek philosopher or a dualist.
Darwin based most of his theories on conjecture -- he 'knew' that he would eventually be proven correct. We're still waiting, and most evolutionary theories at this point reject a good bit of what Darwin taught.
I'd be happy if science classes actually taught science -- experimentation, development of hypotheses, etc. rather than conjectural studies regarding the origin of the universe. And Darwinism should be relegated to the history class.
Posted by: Warren at May 17, 2005 04:27 PM (a64K1)
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Newsweek and the Qur'an
I admit that I was outraged when I first heard
the story about intentional desecrations of the Qur'an at Guantanamo Bay. I'm not 100% sure why I didn't blog about it, though. Maybe I had a gut instinct that we weren't getting the whole story, maybe I was nervous because I hadn't heard much about the story from other outlets (and it gets a small mention in the Newsweek article. If you blink, you might miss it). But I held off, and I'm glad I did.
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May 13, 2005
Beyond the Shadowlands Part 4: Conclusion
One of the things that I was hoping to gain from this book is an explanation of Lewis' alleged heterodoxy. I've heard him accused of universalism. I've heard that he believed in Purgatory. From reading
Mere Christianity, I can tell he was fairly ecumenical. Martindale defends Lewis from the first two charges in this work.
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Posted by: Warren Kelly at
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Beyond the Shadowlands Part 3: Remythologizing Heaven and Hell
I need to interject a definition here, because without it many people will miss the point, or assume something that is not the case. It concerns the use of the word "myth" and how it's used and misunderstood.
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Posted by: Warren Kelly at
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May 11, 2005
Pastor Resigns after Political "Misunderstanding"
Chan Chandler, the pastor of the now-famous East Waynesville Baptist Church, has resigned after a closed-door meeting with the church last night.
"I am resigning with gratitude in my heart for all of you, particularly those of you who love me and my family," Chandler said, adding that the dispute was rooted in his strong feelings about abortion.
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Posted by: Warren Kelly at
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May 10, 2005
Beyond the Shadowlands Part 2: Myths about Hell
In the next section I want to discuss (though it's chapter 8 in the book), Martindale (and C.S. Lewis) take on the various myths that we have constructed concerning Hell. We don't like to think about Hell. We don't like to talk about it. It's politically incorrect to tell other people that they might be going there (unless you're using profanity). But the fact is that Hell is a reality, and it is a severe, final punishment to all who persist in their rebellion against God. Lewis once said that there are two people in the world: those who say to God, "Thy will be done" and those to whom God says, "Thy will be done."
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Posted by: Warren Kelly at
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May 09, 2005
The Washington Post vs. Ergun Caner
I'm sure that the
Post intended
this as a nice story -- everyone knows how much they love Liberty University and Jerry Falwell. But they can't help but be critical of Caner -- he's not politically correct, the way he's supposed to be.
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Posted by: Warren Kelly at
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Best of Me Symphony
Head over the
The Owner's Manual for this week's edition of The Best of Me Symphony!
This week's theme is Monty Python, so you KNOW I had to get in on it. I entered my old post about my dear friend Nicholas Kristof and his total buy-in to the idea of the God gene -- a proposition that has been roundly refuted by both theologians and competent geneticists.
There is a boat-load of great posts over there -- so go over and check it out!!!
{EDIT} OK, so I forgot to actually put a LINK to the BOMS. So shoot me. At least I remembered a trackback!!
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May 08, 2005
If I Could Be ...
I was memed a while ago, and haven't responded yet. I'm sure that
Songstress thinks I've forgotten, but I haven't.
You have to pick out 5 different things that you could be from the list below. So here goes:
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Posted by: Warren Kelly at
05:26 PM
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Hey Warren,
I already did that meme here:
http://everydaymusings.blogspot.com/2005/04/playing-tag.html
Although, I must say I find the "If I could be a three-year-old" one intriguing....
Posted by: rebecca at May 09, 2005 12:52 PM (0/gmv)
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OK -- Rebecca gets a bye on this one, because I didn't check her blog close enough. I'll figure out another person to tag, and post it later.
Posted by: Warren at May 09, 2005 04:11 PM (a64K1)
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May 07, 2005
Beyond the Shadowlands Part 1: Myths about Heaven
{This is the first part of the actual review. The introduction can be found here. I plan on at least four parts to this review, because of the nature of the book.}
In the first part of the book, Martindale deal with seven common myths concerning heaven. He shows that these are misconceptions based on a LOT of factors, including an attitude that any physical pleasure is inherantly sinful, so we won't have any fun in heaven.
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Posted by: Warren Kelly at
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May 06, 2005
A Resurgence Not Yet Realized ...
Obviously, this is about Thom Rainer's newest report on the status of evangelism in the Southern Baptist Convention. Dr. Rainer has found, through interviews with local Southern Baptist churches, that while the conservative resurgence has had great success, especially in changing the course of the SBC's seminaries, the expected evangelistic growth has not happened.
The full article is published in The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology for Spring 2005, and I got my free copy today. Unfortunately, it's not available on Southern's web site yet, so you can't actually go there and read it -- and I'm not sure about copyright restrictions, or I'd offer to send anyone who wants it a copy. It is a rather revealing look at the Southern Baptist Convention -- and not a very flattering one.
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Posted by: Warren Kelly at
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May 05, 2005
Beyond the Shadowlands: Introduction
{NOTE: This is the first part of my blogging review of the book Beyond the Shadowlands: C.S. Lewis on Heaven and Hell by Dr. Wayne Martindale. I received this book through Mind and Media as a gift from the publisher (Crossway), who donated the books for the reviewers.}
This post originally appeared at the old site on 4/10/2005. I am including it here so that the entire review will be on one site.
I am looking forward to this book, just from reading the author's Introduction. This quote will give you an idea why: "Somewhere in the back of my mind, quite unconsciously, Heaven was an extended, boring church service like those I had not yet learned to appreciate on earth -- with this exception: You never got to go home to the roast beef dinner."
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Posted by: Warren Kelly at
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