religious smackdown

it's been pretty hectic the past couple of weeks, but things are finally starting to settle down. it's a cold, rainy day-- perfect for being inside and catching up on some reading, blogging, and polishing off my lesson for Bible Study tomorrow morning.

we're wrapping up the first chapter of james. tomorrow we're focusing on verses 22-27, "prove yourselves to be doers of the word, and not mearly hearers who delude themselves..." it's not enough to just listen to a sermon or read a portion of Scripture. the proof of our faith is revealed in our response to the Word of God. simon kistemaker comments:

do what it says. the christian faith is always active and stands in sharp contrast to other religions that practice meditaion and general inactivity. [the apostle john wrtote] 'dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.' (1 john 3:18) -kistemaker nt commentary, pg 60

john macarthur, commenting on the same passage states:

...how we behave is proof of our salvation or of our lostness. in light of that truth, there is good reason to believe that there are countless men, women, and children who come to church regularly and make a strong profession of being a christian, but whose lives testify that they are not. -macarthur nt commetary, pg 81

shifting gears to the "i'm not making this up" department, the tulsa world reported today that a tulsa-based professional wrestling company, Tornado Professional Wrestling, entertained members and guests of [a local congregation] after church Sunday to raise money for church outreach. [a company spokesman] said the wrestlers go to churches four or five times a year. the pastor of the church, donned wrestling clothes and joined the professionals in the ring under the name "Pastor of Disaster." approximately 200 people attended the event.

i purposely didn't use the name of the church or the pastor. i actually know some people that attend the church. this is the kind of thing that just makes me [fill in strong emotion here]. the sad thing is that this kind of activity isn't considered "outlandish" by many. church has become more of an entertainment venue than a place where the Word of God is proclaimed. old truth's website has a great post along this same line.