Regarding Yesterday's Post / Pin Dancing

So yesterday when I was home sick and still sort of feverish I put up a couple of ridiculous pictures of the Icthus symbol eating the Darwin fish.

At heart I suppose I am a Fundamentalist. When I used to talk about the Jesus Movement at schools and churches I always would say that I did not claim to have the corner on truth, but that I knew who the Truth is. Unfortunately that sentence was always grammatically bad, what with my dangling participle. And just as I don't have the corner on truth, I don't have the corner on knowledge either. However there are plenty of folks that lay claim to both.

About 30 miles south of my home sweet home town of Newport (motto: "It's always lovely this time of year") is The Creation Museum. This is a structure was ironically situated near Big Bone Lick State Park, which was named for the giant prehistoric fossils found on the park's land. Apparently the area was quite salty at one time. Which made it a wonderful place for the dinosaurs to picnic as the Tyranosaurus Rex must have enjoyed a little salt on his Stegasaurus.




I am not certain what The Creation Museum's take on the fossils in the nearby park, since there is no mention of brontosaurs or raptors in the first several books of the Bible. The only mention I recall is of the Leviathan. The Leviathan of course is one of the books of Hebraic law. No wait that is Leviticus. So yeah, the Leviathan was the sea monster.



I think later there was mention of the Behemoth. Which reminds me of a panel in my favorite cartoon strip, Pogo, in which Albert the Alligator is pondering about a robin being one of the harbingers of spring and says, "Behemoth or be he bird, that's the prettiest song I've ever heard." Answers In Genesis, the operator of The Creation Museum claims the Leviathan was actually a large alligator. So was Albert.

The Creation Museum is dedicated to disproving Evolutionism and of course the Scopes Monkey trial not only successfully gave a legal precident to disprove Evolution, but was also successful in driving the public's attention away from the main focus of the Bible .

I for one don't care what sequence of events occured in the past. Whether we happened, evolved or were found under cabbage leaves is not something that will change life as we know it.

It makes no difference to me if dinosaurs lived before Adam and Eve started the first nudist camp. I does not change my opinion if some of the early stories in the Bible hint at being myths handed down from wandering tribe to wandering tribe and embellished as they were retold. I don't care if I am a monkey's uncle or a monkey is my uncle. It is well documented that Charles Darwin went through a very tough mental and emotional struggle wrestling with his own Christian beliefs and faith before making his writings public.

I know that my Redeemer lives and I know that God takes care of His own. I love to read His Word and everytime I read it again I learn something new.

So let's get to the point of what really matters. This of course is how many angels can dance on the head of a pin? This age old theological discussion can only be answered when one considers the variable; what sort of dance are they doing?

Survival Of The Fittest

No Illeagle Missionary Work

From the Charlotte Observer:

Despite fierce criticism from some Christian activists, N.C.-based evangelist Franklin Graham said Sunday he's sticking by his opposition to any "illegal" missionary work during this summer's Beijing Olympics.

Graham, who recently met with state-sanctioned church leaders and government officials in China, told the Observer that as head of the Charlotte-based Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, he obviously supports evangelism. But he said he worries that the planned influx of American and other foreign missionaries into China for the Olympics could jeopardize freedoms Chinese Christians have won in recent years from the Communist government.


"I would be against any groups that would be coming in and encouraging people to break Chinese law," said Graham, who has no plans to attend the Olympics or send any missionaries. "As foreigners, we can come in and make some mistakes that would hurt the (Chinese) church. Then, long after we're gone, they suffer for it."

When I was a young man and full of pith and vinegar, I think I would have disagreed with Reverend Graham the Younger. However, in my 56th year I think Franklin's statements are very wise.

Nearly 50,000 souls perished in last week's earthquatke that rocked China. The Chinese people do not need preaching and witnessing. What they need now is aide, relief and manpower. May the Church do her job to provide.


And may God Bless us all.

More Controversy For Larry Norman

Throughout his life, Larry Norman was a controversial. He is credited as the Father of Christian Rock music. Many of his songs were aimed at the shortcomings of The Church of the day and their lack of putting forth the Good News, helping the poor and caring for their own.

No doubt, just like all of us, Larry had some issues. And when your life is lived under the spot lights, perhaps those issues become more visible. So as he was contriversial in life, so he is in death.


I am a member and infrequent contributor to a yahoo discussion group concerning Christian Music.

Recently an Australia woman named Jennifer McCallum posted the same message to several Christian discussion groups. She claims to be the mother of a son born to her in 1989 that she states was fathered by Larry Norman. This occurred during a time she was a backup singer for his touring band.




In her letter she goes on to say that Larry promised to look after her and her son, but never followed up. She then claims that he met them in 1994 and treated them to a trip to Disneyland, but never followed through with his promise of taking care of her and reputed son. She then states that her son went to England to a Larry Norman concert to speak with him, but the event did not go well. 

She also references Randy Stonehill and his wife into the posting. She ends by stating she requested that the Norman family provide her and her son with Airline tickets to attend Larry's funeral and was upset when they did not respond to her request.

Larry's brother Charles Norman posted to the group that he was aware of the rumors of someone in Australia claiming Larry had sired her son. He states he has spoken with the woman by phone and communicated through an attorney requesting that a birth certificate be produced and a DNA test be performed.

Charles states that some of the events described in Jennifer's post do not add up. For instance she states she was with Larry during a 10 week concert tour of Russia in 1989.

Charles states that he and Larry went to Russia for a 2 day concert in 1988, but never in 1989. Additionally the birth certificate she did produce does not have a name listed as the child's father. That line was left blank
.

I am very much aware in disagreements there are always at least two sides. I am also aware there are many people, that are unaccepting of the reality, much less the truth. My opinion of the situation is this lady had years when Larry was alive and healthy to pursue this paternity claim through legal venues in her country and in the United States and State Court system. If her words are true, she is not only causing added grief to the Norman family, but to her own son and her family. From her own words she did not pursue her claim through proper channels in a timely manner. Just like the rest of us, she needs to deal with what was put on the plate before her and live with it. Be grateful and accepting that she has a loving son and move on with her own life.


However, we must also consider the validity of documents and claims posted on the internet. For all we know Jennifer McCallum might just be a guy on the internet making up contriversial claims.

Black Chritianity...

...is Christianity. 

In my mind there is no Black or White Christianity. I've been to churches in which the congregation was made up entirely of African American people and more often congregations that were entirely populated by Caucasians. And I heard the Word of God presented in each. I will also point out that there were an just as many ladies with big hats and flowery dresses in both Black and White churches.

Thankfully in 2008 we are seeing more diversity in the Body of Christ. I attribute this to people seeking a personal relationship with Jesus and a desire to do God's Will. Perhaps in the past there was more of a desire to hold onto cultural identity instead of individuality.

There definitely was more of a liberation doctrine in Black churches in the past than in White churches. This makes sense based on African American history in the United States.

I think the Jesus Movement was a large factor in liberating White congregations from a congregation mentality to a more personal God-seeking outlook. I attribute this in part to the events that preceeded The Jesus Movement. The March on Washington, Assasination of Martin Luther King, the riot in Watts and riots throughout the United States, the Viet Nam War and the search for identity that we referred to as the culture of the '60's, drugs, peace and free love.






The time was ripe and God had a plan.









Recently the local PBS TV affiliate did a program about the religious structures in Cincinnati. In the 19th century the Jews of Cincinnati built beautiful synagogues in the downtown area. The documentary demonstrated the leading factor for migration from the city proper was urban renewal in the poorer areas of town. As the Jews moved to the northern part of the city, Black congregations purchased the synagogues and moved their families to the surrounding area. This happened several times in the past 150 years as members tried to mainstain the cultural identity and boundaries.

What brought these thoughts to mind was the recent headlines about Reverend Jerimiah Wright, the retired Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ. Here is a man that most of us had never heard of until about a month ago. The recent venting of his radical statements regarding Black Christianity have been hot topics in the news as of late.

I've seen this man interviewed on TV and read his words in the online news. And I've heard the sound bites of his sermons. The divisiveness of his language gets my ire up. (After all, I am of Irish heritage)

Keep in mind that in the world of public relations, bad press...good press, it's all the same as long as you get your name in the public eye, you wind up with your 15 minutes of fame. However I would rather he not drag the Body Of Christ into his debacle with Candidate Obama.



In the words of Jesus from Matthew 7:16 "You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?"

Padre Pio - I Don't Dig This News

I am really trying to understand what the Catholic Church is about and then I come across weird news like what has happened this past week. They dug up Padre Pio!

For those unfamiliar, Padre Pio was an Italian Capuchin friar that was given a gift of healing. He was accepted into a Capuchin community in the early part of the 20th century. Although he was ordained a priest in 1910, due to his own poor health, he remained with his family until 1916. At that time he entered the order and took the name of Brother Pio.

In 1917 as World War l broke out in Europe, he was called to serve in the military to serve in the medical corp. Due to hospitalization, his military service was brief. During this time, he developed a reputation for his gift of miraculous healing. He became a Spiritual Director to many devotees.

He also is known as one who had the stigmata, or the wounds of Christ which appeared on either his hands. I do know this was very painful for him. He wore gloves to cover these wounds. He also had a wound in his side.

Due to his popularity, many allegations began to surface. Church leaders found him to be an embarrassment and forbade him from hearing confessions and performing other duties. Pope John XXlll, in his writings, considered him to be a fraud and womanizer. Pope Paul Vl later dismissed these accusations.The ban was eventually lifted and Pio returned to his duties.

Padre Pio died in 1968 a day after saying his final Solemn Mass.

This week they exhumed the man's remains.

Why? He had already been named a Saint by the Church.

The commercialization of the Monastery" town, San Giovanni Rotondo, has been criticized: "Alessandro Maggiolini, Bishop of Como and an eminent theologian, spoke out the day before St. Pio's canonization against the vast industry that has grown up around him. “Jesus Christ chased out the merchants from the temple, but I see now that they have returned," he said in an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica.

These words were said in 1968 and now forty years later, the town is still cow towing to the merchants. The Saint’s remains have been exhumed and restored by a team of doctors, cosmologists and scientists to look presentable and he is on display once more.

I just shake my head.

Bait and Switch - A Christian Conundrum

This morning I listened to a C-SPAN interview with Frank Schaefer, the son of theologian Francis Schaefer. Mr. Schaefer ll was promoting his latest book "Crazy for God". The book is a memoir of his life growing up in the Christian community, L’Abri that was started by his parents.


L'Abri was a chalet located in Switzerland that was visited by tourists, those seeking the counsel and teaching Francis and Edith Schaefer and celebrity Christians. People were constantly coming and going. If any of you have ever lived in a community there is no privacy and no alone time. But I digress.

I've been thinking lately about several things and Frank Schaefer's words helped put both thoughts into perspective.

1. Why do our children turn out so differently than our expectations?

2. What has happened to the Church? Why have old friends gone in so many directions? Why do I cling to evangelical Protestantism and my wife clings to Catholicism? Who is right? Is there a right way or do both paths lead in the same direction?

As to my first thought I believe that there is a normal progression after childhood to be rebellious. You are testing out the waters of adulthood. You are demonstrating to your parents that I don't need you telling me what to do because I can handle life.

Shortly after this, life comes at you with all its fury. You get the papers to prove your new found freedom as an adult, i.e. car payment, utility bills, insurance payment, taxes are due notification along with subsequent late notices and penalties, the doctor is telling you that you are going to be a parent. This is LIFE whacking you up-side the head and putting things in perspective.

I have noticed that not only my own children, but the children of old friends and colleagues that had similar Christian experiences as myself seem to have children that seem rebellious to the principals and tenants we tried to guide them through. I do not have a solution. Perhaps there is no need for one. I pray for my kids and grandkids and I know that God directs them. As my own children are now in their third decade I see them becoming more receptive to God's direction in their lives. I trust in Him.

Frank Schaefer's book, "Crazy for God" addresses his rebellion with his family and the direction that his life subsequently took. As my wife is fond of saying, "It's all good stuff."

The second point is what happened to the Church?

I was first told that Christ died for my sin and offers a new chance. God has sent His Holy Spirit to guide me in His Ways. I need to read the Word of God, The Bible, go to Church, pray with and for others and trust God in all things. By being baptized and accepting Jesus into my heart I was now a Christian, a follower.

So in 1970 I became a born again Christian. One night when I was at a church I felt God reach out and grab me to announce to a crowd of strangers, "Yes I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sin and I want to be a part of the New Life He offers to me."

Shortly after that I joined a group of believers that were not affiliated with an established Church. Remember these were the days of The Jesus Movement. At the time, I learned that some of my new found friends had left their established church due to disagreement over church doctrines.

Wait a minute! What's this doctrine business? When I walked out into the frosty November Ohio River and was baptized, I was not shown any fine print about doctrine. Nobody told me about this!

When I felt the Spirit of God literally move me to the altar of that church on York Street in Newport, I didn't have any addendum fall out of the sky that said, "Please read carefully below, sign & date to acknowledge your understanding."

But as I grew, I learned that some folks worship God one way and some are more robust in their expression of worship. Some state you must be dunked, some dipped and some are sprinkled. Some places of worship are adorned with statues of men and women that were faithful and others do not want depictions of any human or animal form. 

There are places of worship don't want anyone playing a musical instrument. For example the Non-Instrumental Church of Christ while other churches seem to have been built around massive pipe organs.

I live and accept most of those examples. It is when The Church started imposing their doctrines of We are Right and those who disagree are going to hell. When the membership and pastorate of one group says "What's up with those who do not speak in tongues? They are losing out on so many blessings. What a bunch of losers." And then another group of believers says, "Those Christians that speak in tongues are a bunch of heathens. Let's keep them away from all of us true believers so we do not pollute the faithful."

These attitudes make me cringe.

I have also experienced acquaintances being told that they or their family member was not healed due to their lack of faith.

Through my walk in Christ, the small group that I was a part of splintered off into a larger group and then split again. My wife and I splintered into yet another group and were subsequently dismissed due to my wife's interest in Catholicism.

It is no small wonder that so many have been disenfranchised from the Church. And it is no small wonder that we are not eager to return. We discovered we were victims of the Bait and Switch strategy. Promise us one thing, Salvation...no strings attached, and then hit us with all the caveats.

The Jesus Movement became the Charismatic Movement and has been replaced by the Mega Church Movement. Linny and I recently went to a mega church and came away thinking, "Where is the worship?" Yet this group has two are three services each Sunday that draw crowds of two to three thousand people at each service.



A few years back my wife had contacted a local minister and we were invited to come to her church. The group had just come from a Benny Hinn Crusade and was talking about the wonders they had seen. In my humble opinion, Hinn is a snake oil salesman and should be run out of town on a rail.


With all respect celebrity Christians, I believe Jesus can work through them and we should glorify His Name, but not theirs. Any church group that is placing more emphasis on a man or woman's works and essentially mirroring them does not want me for a member. Any man or woman that is putting more emphasis on their name and works and not sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ is but a white-washed tomb.

My walk with the Lord has gone from simply "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved," to "Do that... and oh, by the way, here is the rest of the rules which are subject to change and management's discretion."

Frank Schaefer had enough of the evanglical/charismatic movement and joined the Greek Orthodox Church. He motive was stability.

Many years ago I met Duane Pedersen. Duane published the Hollywood Free Paper, an evangelistic newspaper that was at the forefront of the Jesus Movement. Duane went on later in life to become clergy in the Eastern Orthodox Church and was active in a prison ministry.

My wife Linny for years has been a convert to Roman Catholicism and has extensively studied the church. It is surprising how much more knowledge that she has than most of the priests or nuns we have spoken with throughout the years. These people have all turned from traditional evangelical Protestantism because of the myriad of ever-changing doctrines. With these older well established churches the rules are stable and not subject to the whims du jour of the leadership.

I hold tight to my original faith. I don't know where I will be lead. But I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and I trust in God Almighty. May God have mercy on His Flock.