Happy Reformation Day

Unless I shall be convinced by the testimonies of the Scriptures or by clear reason . . .I neither can nor will make any retraction, since it is neither safe nor honourable to act against conscience. God help me. Amen

Ten Effects...of Calvinism

Steve Camp has posted an excellent article by John Piper entitled Ten Effects of Believing in the Five Points of Calvinism. Read it here

No Underwear Allowed

The following story appeared on the ABC News website:

(AP) Captain Underpants has battled talking toilets and Professor Poopypants, but he was no match for a high school principal who banned students from dressing up as the children's book character.

Long Beach High School Principal Nicholas Restivo took the action Wednesday after three 17-year-old girls wore beige leotards and nude stockings under white briefs and red capes on the school's Superhero Day.

"Yes, I know they weren't naked," Restivo said. "But the appearance was that they were naked."

Chelsea Horowitz, one of the dressed-up girls, had a problem with that logic.

"They're not see-through or anything," said Horowitz, an honor student and softball player. "All the teachers thought it was cute."

But Restivo decreed that no underpants would be visible in his hallways.

Horowitz and fellow seniors Ashley Imhof and Eliana Levin went home to change back into their mortal attire.

I'm not sure why I think that story is funny. On a more serious note: I don't get Oprah!

I Feel Like Crud!

I haven't felt good since last Friday!!!

Prisons and Gator Wrestlin'

Typical Saturday morning...HGTV and a cup of coffee, checking email, cruising the web, reading blogs, and the paper. A couple of articles in the Tulsa World caught my attention this morning.

1. A candidate for Oklahoma public school superintendent has suggested that school textbook covers be made of kevlar. The books could then be used for protection during situations like Columbine or more recently, the school shooting in Pennsylvania.
   
   
2. California Governor Arnold Schwarzennegger has declared a state of emergency in that state's prison system. Beginning next month, California will begin shipping inmates to four other state's prisons (including Oklahoma) because they are currently housing 172,000 inmates in spaces designed for about 100,000! "forcing some inmates to sleep in gymnsiums and auditoriums."

Currently, Oklahoma has around 24,000 inmates in state prisons. Based on my own Google results, it looks like it costs anywhere from $16000 to $23000 per year to house EACH INMATE in the state of Oklahom. That could be as much as $63 per day! The article stated that a private prison company will be paid a projected $22.9 million annually for housing the inmates.

I'm not a rocket scientist, but that sounds a little excessive to me! Why does it cost that much to put people in prison? I know they have to pay for the guards, utilities, food, etc., but good grief, they don't have to have gyms, cable TV, auditoriums, etc. What are they eating in prison? Steak and lobster? It's supposed to be PRISON, not a country club! And while we're at it, let's clean house...according to deathpenalty.org, there are over 3300 inmates currently on death row--start running them through like cattle! Maybe if prison started being more like PRISON, people wouldn't want to go there and JUST MAYBE, our children wouldn't have to wear their "Introduction to Trigonometry" book for protection!

On a lighter note, Slice of Laodicea recently pointed me to an article on pastors.com in which a "man facing the jaws of death, literally, and with the alligator firmly affixed to his body, his thoughts went, not to Holy Scripture, but to....you guessed it...the Purpose Driven Life." You can read the article here.

#%*@!#?#%*@!#?

Is it just me, or has "cursing" become so widely accepted that no one even notices it anymore? I'm attending a workshop this week on a work related topic. Now, I work in a manufacturing plant and hear cursing/cussing everyday (I don't like it there, either), but it's been very interesting to see that, even in a "lecture style/professional/office" environment, no one thinks twice about letting the expletives fly. I'm not talking just an occasional h*** or d*** here. Attendees, as well as the instructor are dropping the "f-bomb" like it was their home address. God gets mentioned frequently, but not in a prayer or blessing. Gender doesn't seem to matter either--male or female, these folks can cuss with the best of 'em.

I'm not comfortable with that kind of language. I don't use it myself...ever. No one in my home talks that way. There are movies we won't rent or television we don't watch because of the profanity.

I obviously don't fit in with what's "acceptable" these days. Some people seem to really enjoy cussing. Check out this blogger's comments:

I cant (sic) think of anything funnier than a 3 year old cursing. I mean come on, does it really matter if we say Poo Poo or s*** (my edit)? Of course not. Unless of course your (sic) married and your wife tells you it matters...I like to curse. I like to curse because I enjoy how it gets everyone in an uproar. (Editorial Comment: This person should spend less time cussing and more time using the spell/grammar checker. I also was not aware that "poo poo" was supposed to be capitalized.)

Golly gee, Wally! What's this world coming to?!

Just Check "Salvation"

GUTS Church in Tulsa, OK has been putting together a haunted house of sorts for the past 14 years known as The Nightmare. A recent newspaper review stated:

The Nightmare is geared to show kids what a life without Jesus is like, thus persuading them to perhaps join their church...[it is] set up tour-style, with a series of rooms, each depicting a nightmarish scene. [Depicted] rather bloodily are druken driving, drug addiction, rape and murder.

One room also features the crucifixion of Jesus, complete with scourging and a crowd yelling "crucify him!" The tour ends with attendees being led to a tent where GUTS Church volunteers "proseliytize to the students", encouraging them to repeat a "salvation prayer and fill out an information card. (You can check the salvation box.)" The reviewer noted: "GUTS put on a great show this year...The Nightmare makes for a truly entertaining evening."

Hmm...I guess I understand the motive here, but for the life of me, I'm having a hard time finding the Scripture that says, "Jesus came to seek and scare the h*** out of the lost." GUTS may be scaring people, but are they really "scaring" them into salvation just because they repeated a prayer and filled out a card?

Jesus is Not That Tall

I'm flipping through the channels last night and I came across the "Christian network"-- and lo' and behold, there's Jesse Duplantis. Brother Jesse was "waxing eloquent" about his trip to heaven--an event that took place several years ago, but God has recently told him to tell "His people" about it. In case you're wondering, and Jesse says it's true:

Jesus was taller than I thought He would be. I would guess Him to be from five feet eleven inches to six feet one inch. I thought at first His hair was white; but when He turned His head, I caught a glance and saw that it was light brown.

Soooo...all this time, that "flannelgraph" picture of Jesus my Sunday School teacher was showing me was a big, fat lie!?

TBN's website states that Jesse Duplantis [is] "one of the most unique and loved ministers of our generation, Jesse Duplantis has been sharing his memorable mix of strong, biblical preaching and hilarious life lessons (emphasis mine) every week on TBN for years."

"Strong biblical preaching"? - Mr. Duplantis didn't quote a single Scripture the whole time I watched (I'll have to admit, it wasn't very long) and "hilarious life lessons"? Yep, that's what I look for in a preacher...Dave Letterman with a New Testament.

No Debate / The Savior is Waiting

It looks like the debate on Calvinism at Lynchburg has been called off. I was really looking forward to hearing it.

The Savior is Waiting
When I was in Youth Group many years ago, we sang a song entitled The Savior is Waiting. The lyrics (in part) went something like:

The Savior is waiting to enter your heart
Why don't you let Him come in?...
Time after time
He has waited before
And now He is waiting again
To see if you are willing
To open the door
Oh, how He wants to come in.

We would sing this tune at the end of our Youth meetings or at church camp during the "invitation" while the minister/preacher pleaded with people to "come forward" to be saved. The process was pretty much always the same. If no one came forward after a couple of verses, the preacher would have everyone bow their head and closes their eyes ("every head bowed, every eye closed") and begin to ask if there was "anyone in the audience that wanted to make a decision for Christ, but just couldn't/didin't have the courage to walk that aisle. If that describes you, just raise your hand right where you are. (Long pause) I see that hand--thank you. I see those hands--yes, yes..."

After asking for people to raise their hands, the preacher would then proceed to tell those who had (raised their hands) that they needed to "come forward, while no one is looking." Someone usually (finally) went forward.

Looking back, it all seems manipulative to me. I don't think Jesus "stands at the door", knocking, hoping, not really sure that someone will eventually answer the door so He can save them.

A Happy Post

The past couple of posts have been somewhat negative, so I'll try to make this one more positive.

I talked to an old friend yesterday; we hadn't spoken to each other for at least 10 years. He was a minister in a church we both attended. He and his family moved away and I got busy--you know the routine. We just lost touch with each other. But yesterday, I picked up a church periodical (that I normally don't read) and found an obituary for my friend's father who had died last month. I managed to track my friend down and left a message: call me. I didn't know if he would, but he did.

It was good to talk with him--to catch up on each other's lives. He and his wife have divorced and he has recently remarried. His new wife sounds really nice. He sounds very happy--he's been through some rough stuff. In the middle of the conversation he said:

"Guess what...I got saved a while back, too."

"Really?" I said.

"Yeah, I REALLY got saved. I never was the whole time I was in the ministry. I lied to myself, my family, to God. I was never converted." he replied.

"What happened?" I asked, and he proceeded to tell me how he came to Christ.

Incredible. All that time and I never knew some of the stuff he was telling me. I told him how great it was that he had repented of those things and was now living the life that God intended for him. I hung up the phone, and I thanked God for His grace and His mercy. I thanked Him for saving my friend.

Former Rep. Mark Foley

Former Rep. Mark Foley of Florida has checked himself into an alcohol rehab center. He stated earlier today:

I strongly believe that I am an alcoholic and have accepted the need for immediate treatment for alcoholism and other behavioral problems...

I think he should have checked himself into a "I Like to Send Dirty Text Messages to Children" Rehab Center. And since when did being an alcoholic become an excuse for being a perv!? I'm sure Foley would have eventually turned himself in -- had he not gotten caught.

Of course, I still believe in Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy, too.

EDIT: 10.03.06 According to an AP story today ...disgraced former Rep. Mark Foley said through his lawyer Tuesday that he was abused by a clergyman as a teenager, but accepts full responsibility for sending salacious computer messages to teenage male pages.

• So why bring it up?!
• Who else SHOULD take responsibility?!