More Than Stone

Oh, and Nestle just acquired Gerber

Technorati Tags: nestle, boycott, malnutrition, starvation, formula, gerber

Sunday morning’s service opened with a video from a local news station. The story was talking about James Cameron’s “The Lost Tomb of Jesus”. A local professor of religion was interviewed about the documentary. She said,

“For some people this is going to be threatening to their faith to think what does this really mean, but for most Christians I think it’s not going to change their faith one way or the other.”

The pastor’s sermon focused on the question “Does the truth of the resurrection matter?” It was a good sermon and the use of the video clip was a great way to address current news events and answer the questions that they may leave.

My tirade today is not about the sermon. It’s about the woman that was sitting behind me in the church service. The professor that was being interviewed was not attacking Christianity. She did not say hateful or insulting things. She simply revealed a basic (but massive) misunderstanding about orthodox Christianity. The professor declared that bones or no bones, the tenets of the faith wouldn’t be altered, because Jesus taught “good” principles.

As the video ended, the picture froze on the professor’s face. The woman behind me, in her outdoor voice, said “She looks better with her mouth closed.” Her husband said “Sounds better, too!”

Now, my children were with me. This is not the type of Christian behavior I want portrayed to them. Why did this woman feel that she needed to make smart-ass and adolescent comments about this professor? Why did the professor’s comments incite anger in this woman instead of compassion? Why did this woman feel the need to attack instead of love? What is it in us, (or some of us) which cause us to spew forth such hatred to non-believers or those who do not understand an orthodox faith?

This woman proceeded to “talk out loud” throughout the whole sermon. You know the drill, “That’s right”, “Amen”, “AMEN!” “MMhm”. First of all, it was distracting. Secondly, she’d already lost credibility by being so hateful.

I wondered…

if I happened to be a non-believer or a young believer walking into that church on an Easter morning….

and I happened to sit in front of this woman…

and perhaps, because I didn’t have a good understanding of the faith, I agreed with the professor…

out of misunderstanding, not contempt….

but, I never really heard the rest of the sermon about why the resurrection matters…

because if being a Christian meant I was supposed to act like that….

I’ll pass.

Technorati Tags: the+lost+tomb+of+jesus, church, christianity

I found this site that has the “objections” to Christianity, with nice neat little “answers”, so you can easily get someone “saved”.

Number 18 “Objection” is Christianity is Boring.

Here is one of the suggested answers.

“How do you know? Have you tried it? There are millions of Christians who have a lot of fun being Christian. We just do it with a lot less sin, and therefore, a lot less problems. Maybe it’s only your problems that keep you from getting bored.”

Ok, are you kidding me? This is wrong on so many levels. First, it’s condescending and rude. Secondly, Christians are not less sinful than the average Joe or Jane. Thirdly, ARGHHHHHHH–I am so tired of christians implying that once you become a follower of Jesus, everything just gets pretty and sweet and perfect.

I don’t mean to find this stuff on the internet. Really, I don’t. But I run into this kind of junk all the time. It makes me tired. No wonder people aren’t interested in Jesus, when this is what they think they will become when they start following Him.

Oh, and just to irritate me a bit more, on the front page of the site, there is this lovely little picture of a white couple reading the bible. They are both good looking and of course, she’s blonde.

Because get what? When you become a Christian, you become a middle class, good-looking white couple.

Rant over.

Ok, I don’t know why I do this, but I can’t quit looking at my referers. The things people search for, and end up on my blog….

Just a few to get you giggling, or crying, or snorting in disgust.

Why people think American’s are stupid. Hmmmm…I wonder.

Does God say it’s ok to be scared of health problems? Only when you don’t have enough faith to get healed. (said tongue in cheek)

Hate you because of me, rejoice. Arghhhh….

Christians against hypnosis. oops.

Epilepsy demons and spiritual reasons for epilepsy Don’t even get me started.

Christian women how to to follow your husband To where?

what female wanted to birth jesus What?

purity balls I hope they weren’t looking for how to have one

Campolo prostitute cake (this makes me giggle for some reason.)

Why people agree to purity balls? why, indeed.

ingrid schlueter Boy, I bet that’s an interesting search.

saint is less dangerous than a rebel YES!

when epilepsy medicine does not work. My heart breaks on this one.

Click, click…..whirr…

What is that, you ask? That is the sound of my hard drive as it tried to mount this morning.

I was taking a look at my referrers the other day. Someone did a yahoo search on epilepsy and spiritual warfare and my site happened to be the first to come up, which I find kind of funny, considering that attempting to use “spiritual warfare” to win the battle against epilepsy in my daughter almost made me lose me mind.

We all know that Christians can take the spiritual warfare and “name it and claim it” type of thing too far with illnesses, but try battling a disease that Jesus specifically casts out as a demon in the New Testament. You might as well hang it up. It must be unconfessed sin, or a demon, or a negative spiritual influence, or drugs, or sexual abuse or past use of a ouiji board. Go ahead. Do a search on epilepsy and spiritual warfare or demons. There is no shortage of information out there. I had never considered what it must be like to have a disease like deafness or epilepsy that Jesus uses demonized language to heal. Until recently.

One Christian website actually says that demonic manifestation of a believer can take the form of:

Physiological imbalance & physical inability, such as blindness, deafness, dumbness, epilepsy, faintness, foaming at the mouth, change of voice & character, etc.

OH. REALLY?????? COULD it be that the person is actually blind or deaf or dumb or has epilepsy?

Perhaps if we quit seeing God as a gumball machine that just responds to our every whim and wimper, perhaps if we realize that, as painful as our suffering is, there are others that suffer more, we will stop acting as if every illness, every financial difficulty, every job loss is a personal attack from an enemy that we must battle. Perhaps we will realize, that as Job says in chapter 42,

2″I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3′Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
4′Hear, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.’
5I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you;
6therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.”

Ok, all I can say is if these people spent the same amount of time and money helping people in Africa, maybe they would have something.

Try answering these questions from your NIV.
Try Answering These From Your NIV

By Rex L. Cobb

INSTRUCTIONS:

Using the New International Version Bible, answer the following questions to this NIV quiz.

Do not rely on your memory. As the Bible is the final authority, you must take the answer from the Bible verse (not from footnotes but from the text).

1. Fill in the missing words in Matthew 5:44. “Love your enemies,__________ them that curse you, ______________ to them that hate you, and pray for them that __________ and persecute you.”

2. According to Matthew 17:21, what two things are required to cast out this type of demon?

3. According to Matthew 18:11, why did Jesus come to earth?

4. According to Matthew 27:2, what was Pilate’s first name?

5. In Matthew 27:35, when the wicked soldiers parted His garments, they were fulfilling the words of the prophet. Copy what the prophet said in Matthew 27:35 from the NIV.

6. In Mark 3:15, Jesus gave the apostles power to cast out demons and to: ____________

7. According to Mark 7:16, what does a man need to be able to hear?

8. According to Luke 7:28, what was John? (teacher, prophet, carpenter, etc.). What is his title or last name?

9. In Luke 9:55, what did the disciples not know?

10. In Luke 9:56, what did the Son of man not come to do? According to this verse, what did He come to do?

11. In Luke 22:14, how many apostles were with Jesus?

12. According to Luke 23:38, in what three languages was the superscription written?

13. In Luke 24:42, what did they give Jesus to eat with His fish?

14. John 3:13 is a very important verse, proving the deity of Christ. According to this verse (as Jesus spoke), where is the Son of man?

15. What happened each year as told in John 5:4?

16. In John 7:50, what time of day did Nicodemus come to Jesus?

17. In Acts 8:37, what is the one requirement for baptism?

18. What did Saul ask Jesus in Acts 9:6?

19. Write the name of the man mentioned in Acts 15:34.

20. Study Acts 24:6-8. What would the Jew have done with Paul? What was the chief captain’s name? What did the chief captain command?

21. Copy Romans 16:24 word for word from the NIV.

22. First Timothy 3:16 is perhaps the greatest verse in the New Testament concerning the deity of Christ. In this verse, who was manifested in the flesh?

23. In the second part of First Peter 4:14, how do [they] speak of Christ? And, what do we Christians do?

24. Who are the three Persons of the Trinity in First John 5:7?

25. Revelation 1:11 is another very important verse that proves the deity of Christ. In the first part of this verse Jesus said, “I am the A______________ and O___________, the _________ and the _______:”

Conclusion: Little space is provided for your answers, but it’s much more than needed. If you followed the instructions above, you not only failed the test, you receive a big goose egg.

(Ed. These are all missing in the NIV.) So now what do you think of your “accurate, easy to understand, up to date Bible”?

If you would like to improve your score, and in fact score 100%, you can take this test using the Authorized (King James) Bible.

Matt 10:22
All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved

Mark 13:13
All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Luke 6:22
Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.

Luke 21:17
All men will hate you because of me.

These 4 verses are thrown around in the US Christian culture a lot. It’s a “badge of courage”. The problem is that Jesus was not only talking to His disciples, many of whom were martyred, but also, across the ages to Christians in places like China, Sudan, and the Middle East. I do not think that Jesus was talking to us, here and now, to give us an excuse to be careless and unkind. If my basic understanding of the Scriptures is correct, those who were persecuting Jesus, and then the church, were the religious system and the empire of Rome. Persecution came as a result of challenging the Pharisees. Persecution came because Jesus challenged the empire that oppressed and abused those who were weak. I do not see evidence that persecution came because Jesus hated first.

“All men will hate you because of me.” How we love this statement. We love it because, if we can say it’s true, it somehow proves that we are genuine followers of Jesus. We love it because, if we can say it’s true, it puts us in good company. We love it because, if we can say it’s true, we will grow spiritually through the persecution. The problem is that most people that throw this statement around are taking it out of context and using it to be insufferably arrogant and cruel.

Think about the times you have heard one of the above Scriptures used. What was the context?

· People will hate you because they don’t like their sinfulness being exposed.
· People will hate you because they look pretty good until contrasted with true righteousness.
· People will hate you because you don’t laugh at their dirty jokes.
· People will hate you because you believe in 6-day creation.
· People will hate you because you picket at abortion clinics.
· People will hate you because you call homosexuality an abomination.

AMEN, Brother! REJOICE in the persecution!!! Now, perhaps the above examples are the far leaning “right” kinds of examples. However, I recall a conversation recently with a friend. This friend is not what I would call a fundamentalist. I was talking to him about Rob Bell, and how I love the fact that Rob focuses on the redemption of the world and Jesus’ love, the fact that Rob doesn’t use all the “churchy” language like “substitutionary atonement”. My friend replied, “It doesn’t matter how we talk, or if we change our approach to presenting the Gospel, because the world hates us.” It doesn’t matter. Really? It doesn’t matter…because all men will hate us. Then what are we doing? What’s the point? No wonder we all just sit around waiting to get to heaven. There’s no point doing anything in this world, because all men will hate us, anyway.

Isn’t this just a tired old excuse to be judgmental and hateful? Or an excuse to not have to examine the way we’ve been doing things in the Church? Or an excuse to stay locked within the church walls fraternizing with all the other Christians that the world hates? Could it be that when Jesus said the world will hate us, he meant that they will hate us because we are breaking the dominions, empires and structures of this world that oppress? That we are truly setting captives free, not just from their own sin, but also from the sins of others? That we are setting people free from religious institutions that keep people from the freedom that Jesus promised? Could that be what he meant?

Jesus challenged the power hierarchies. He challenged the hierarchies of kingdom, religious structures, wealth and social status. When Jesus said the world will hate you because of me, could it be that we would be hated because we;

· Love everyone, not just those we call our “brothers and sisters”.
· Invite the lame, poor, maimed and blind to our parties.
· Do not continue to amass wealth within an unjust system.
· Proclaim that in the Kingdom of God there are no slaves or masters, no men or women, no teachers or students.
· Challenge the systems that tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders.
· Have fellowship with outcasts, thus rejecting the views of those who demand separateness from an unclean world.

Could that be what Jesus meant?

Oh boy. Here it comes. Another rant. I’ve just been full of them lately. It all started like this…

I was reading Molly’s many posts on women, patriarchy, male rule, and her ongoing recovery. Molly is absolutely brilliant and I encourage you to take the time to read her well thought out posts on these matters. Then, I hopped over to another favorite blog, that spoke about an article that highlighted “Purity Balls”.

I read the article with interest, but got a little creeped out towards the end of the article,

When Lauren Wilson hit adolescence, her father gave her a purity ring and a charm necklace with a tiny lock and key. Randy Wilson took the key, which he will hand over to her husband on their wedding day.

So, dad will keep the key to her locket, until Lauren’s future husband shows up. What strikes me is that we pretend that the key from the locket is the key to Lauren’s heart. But it’s not, is it? It’s the key to her mental and emotional chastity belt. Please don’t misunderstand me. I have 3 daugters and my hope, desire, and prayer is that they do not have sex until they are married. But I find it a bit sick to have a dad hold this key, and then “hand it over” to her husband, as though Lauren is simply a possession to be controlled. I don’t really have a problem with a “purity ring” or a “purity pledge”, but the “purity locket” just reeks of male domination over female sexuality. We wonder why we have so many women in the church that are hung up over sex.
NEWSFLASH

From a “purity locket” website:

It is important to properly set up the evening when you will present your daughter with the locket. Start by explaining the “covenant” part of the equation. Begin with, “Sue, thank you for this evening. It is one we both will always treasure. I want to commemorate this day and our covenant with this.” Then open the jewelry box and let the gold do the talking for just a moment. Then say, “This locket is handmade from precious metal - just the way God made you. This locket and what it stands for is the sentinel of your heart. (READ:vagina) Here’s why: from this day forward you will wear this locket as often as you wish. It will send the statement that you are waiting for your husband. It is more than that though, Sue. It has a lock on it. It can only be opened with this key. I will guard the key until your wedding. On that day, I will present the key to my little girl’s heart to your husband. He will take the key and open the locket, the only one ever to do so.”

Now, I want to be fair, so I will include this part of the website.

DO’s AND Don’ts
# Do let your daughter know this is not a setup process to “ostracize” her if she slips up sometime in her life.
# Do let her know how unconditional love applies from both you and God throughout her life - both now and always.
# Do let her know that all decisions have consequences and the past is irrevocable.

“We love you. Unconditionally. But remember, if you screw up, it is irrevocable.” Excuse me, but WHAT THE HELL????

As I was doing an internet search on purity lockets, I somehow came across another website that sells a line of dolls with the following vision.

The Beautiful Girlhood Collection aspires, by the grace of God, to encourage the rebuilding of a culture of virtuous womanhood. In a world that frowns on femininity, that minimizes motherhood, and that belittles the beauty of being a true woman of God, we dare to believe that the biblical vision for girlhood is a glorious vision. It is, in fact — a beautiful vision. It is a vision for purity and contentment, for faith and fortitude, for enthusiasm and industry, for heritage and home, and for joy and friendship. It is a vision so bright and so wonderful that it must be boldly proclaimed. We are here to proclaim it.

Note that purity and contentment are the first things that are listed. Way at the bottom of the list, we have joy and perhaps if you behave, your husband may let you have a friend or two. One of the dolls sold on this website is called “The Liberty Doll” —HA!

When a girl plays with a doll, she is preparing to be a mommy someday. Her first role model is her own mother, and her first opportunity at role-playing is with her dolls. With this in mind, we are pleased to offer the Liberty doll for your girls to cherish for years to come and then pass onto a future daughter.

Again, please understand me. I am NOT opposed to motherhood! Being a mother to my 3 daughters has been one of the most fulfilling things I have ever done. I value and cherish the fact that I was able to stay home with them. In fact, we made many sacrifices so that I could be a stay at home mom. I believe that being a mother is one of the most empowering things that we do, as women. BUT–this whole idea, purity lockets, teaching girls that the most important thing is that they are pure, content and industrious at home….it’s wrong. We are missing the point. I want to teach my daughters that they are STRONG, EMPOWERED FOLLOWERS OF JESUS. That THEY can change the world. That God intends for them to play a role in the REDEMPTION of the world, and that the role goes beyond learning to stay pure and bake cookies (though purity and cookies are great concepts).

Perhaps if we taught our girls to be strong, empowered women, we wouldn’t have as much of the game playing and posturing that we find among so many women in the church. Molly has a facinating post entitled: Matthew Henry on Women. Please take the time to read the whole thing, but I want to steal a bit of it here.

Matthew Henry, on Genesis 3, states:

Though perfect in her kind, yet we may suppose her inferior to Adam in knowledge, and strength, and presence of mind…. Observe here how mercy is mixed with wrath in this sentence. The woman shall have sorrow, but it shall be in bringing forth children, and the sorrow shall be forgotten for joy that a child is born, Jn. 16:21. She shall be subject, but it shall be to her own husband that loves her, not to a stranger, or an enemy: the sentence was not a curse, to bring her to ruin, but a chastisement, to bring her to repentance.

To which, Molly states:

Repentance? See, this really confuses me, because it appears that female subjection is never taken away, so bringing her into repentance does…what? Repentance so that she might live meekly under a curse that is never lifted? I’m not sure I understand. With Fatherly discipline, one would see repentance and the discipline would be lifted. But, it would seem to these theologians (again, if I’m understanding them correctly), the punishment of Eve never ends. The best one can do is to bear it patiently with meekness, for being born female is to be born under a special sentance that the Cross could not fully atone for.

BRILLIANT. Just brilliant. A special sentence that the Cross can not fully atone for. We teach our daughters that women are under a curse that the cross did not/will not atone for.

Ok, I realize that since I posted this,
I still haven’t gotten much sleep and my edit button continues to malfunction. So with that little caveat, I proceed with my rant.

2007 saw the death of Slice of Laodicia and the birth of the Christian Reasearch Net. Notable names such as Ken Silva, Steve Camp and Ingrid Schlueter are some of the contributors. In the name of grace and mercy, some of the first posts of 2007 include enouraging titles such as: