I'm not blind enough to pretend the Democrats don't have their own religious puppets (they just have far fewer than the Republicans) but here is another gross example of religio-political attack dogs imposing a narrow (and uninformed) fundamentalist biblical view - not for the sake of Christ, but for the edification of the GOP.
I'm reminded of Len Sweet saying, "Focus on the Family? Jesus wouldn't 'Focus on the Family.' He told his disciples to die. To leave everything behind. He said, 'If anyone wants to follow me he must hate his father and mother'!"
But what really gets me is that Dr. James Dobson is not a theologian (admitedly, neither am I... only a student and an amateur), he's a family counselor. Focus on the Family ministries has rapidly deteriorated in the last decade, from a merely conservative counseling and family resource ministry, to a hyper-political, pseudo-theological military arm of the Religious Right.
So here's the scoop...
(CNN)— Sen. Barack Obama said Tuesday night evangelical leader James Dobson was “making stuff up,” when he accused the Illinois senator of distorting the Bible and taking a "fruitcake interpretation" of the U.S. Constitution.
“Any notion that I was distorting the Bible in that speech, I think anyone would be hard pressed to make that argument,” Obama told reporters on board his press plane Tuesday night.
Obama's past comments came front and center Tuesday when Dobson criticized the presumptive Democratic nominee’s June 2006 speech on his Focus on the Family radio show.
In the speech, Obama suggested that it would be impractical to govern based solely on the word of the Bible, noting that some passages suggest slavery is permissible and eating shellfish is disgraceful.
"Which passages of scripture should guide our public policy?" Obama asked in the speech. "Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is OK and that eating shellfish is an abomination? Or we could go with Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount — a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application?"
Obama responded Tuesday saying the speech underscored the notion he is a man of faith and highlighted the importance that people like him who find faith important “try to translate our concerns in a universal language so that we can have open and vigorous debate.”
Responding to the comments, Tom Minnery, senior vice president of Focus Action, said "There is no need to 'make stuff up' as it relates to Sen. Obama's interpretation of Scripture and the role of religion in the public square."
"His statements and record make clear his questionable perception of both. To argue that the Sermon on the Mount invalidates the Defense Department — as if Jesus Himself didn't have anything to say about the existence of good and evil and the need to combat evil — is about as deep as anyone needs to go to understand where the senator is coming from," Minnery also said. "He is editing God's word to fit his liberal worldview, and the more exposure his views on these matters get, the more obvious this will become to American Christians."
* * *
please read more about my thoughts on the evolution of Christianity at www.EmergingChristian.com
Visit Me At...
Wednesday
Monday
Suicide? Surrender? Or just lazy?
Question: does following Jesus mean surrendering not only to Jesus, but surrendering to our enemies? Is that the surrendered life? Does loving our enemies mean surrendering to them? Does that surrender mean we allow them to be victorious? Does dying to ourselves mean laying down and dying? Do we stop trying to win?
I think maybe it means all those things, but I'm curious if it sounds like heresy. Or evangelistic laziness. Or suicide...
* * *
please read more about my thoughts on the evolution of Christianity at www.EmergingChristian.com
I think maybe it means all those things, but I'm curious if it sounds like heresy. Or evangelistic laziness. Or suicide...
* * *
please read more about my thoughts on the evolution of Christianity at www.EmergingChristian.com
Wednesday
Obama...
Here's my confession - last Friday my wife and I cut in front of 7,000 expectant voters and Barack Obama fans to get into Eugene, Oregon's MacArthur Court!
We knew it was wrong. We knew it was a sin. But we can't repent. The truth is, if we had to go through it all again, we would. It was worth it...
When we arrived on the University of Oregon Campus at 6:00pm on Friday, there were already over 10,000 people waiting in two endless lines. We parked several miles away and rushed back to the stadium, undaunted (and not knowing whether we'd make it in or not).
As we approached the building, we noticed the line was just beginning to move. "Quick, start walking alongside it," Jen said. Like Eve with the apple... we did, and casually talked to each other, doing our best to appear intent on a purpose, and unaware of our transgression.
Pretty soon we had sneakily been absorbed in the midst of several groups of people who were naturally unaware of who belonged to each other's party. And in 2o minutes we were inside. In fact, after passing through the metal detectors, we were among the first few thousand to enter. We got great seats on the 2nd floor directly opposite Senator Obama's stage.
The evening was electric. Obama is even more captivating in person than on television - his presence is at once commanding and warm. Yes, I have a little man-crush. Few personalities are able to excite the imagination of millions, especially among jaded and overstimulated Generations X and Y!
We felt a little guilty when we later learned that 3,000 individuals weren't able to get inside. Yes, the blood was on our hands - and it smelled like change I could believe in!
On a side note, I was reading Brian McLaren's blog on Sunday. He has several posts about Senator Obama, celebrating his campaign, leadership and vision. In truth, I'm right there with McLaren, but a little part of my gut remains clenched, wondering if we've sold ourselves too easily - so starved for an attractive alternative to the Christian Right.
I can't answer that yet.
* * *
please read more about my thoughts on the evolution of Christianity at www.EmergingChristian.com
We knew it was wrong. We knew it was a sin. But we can't repent. The truth is, if we had to go through it all again, we would. It was worth it...
When we arrived on the University of Oregon Campus at 6:00pm on Friday, there were already over 10,000 people waiting in two endless lines. We parked several miles away and rushed back to the stadium, undaunted (and not knowing whether we'd make it in or not).
As we approached the building, we noticed the line was just beginning to move. "Quick, start walking alongside it," Jen said. Like Eve with the apple... we did, and casually talked to each other, doing our best to appear intent on a purpose, and unaware of our transgression.
Pretty soon we had sneakily been absorbed in the midst of several groups of people who were naturally unaware of who belonged to each other's party. And in 2o minutes we were inside. In fact, after passing through the metal detectors, we were among the first few thousand to enter. We got great seats on the 2nd floor directly opposite Senator Obama's stage.
The evening was electric. Obama is even more captivating in person than on television - his presence is at once commanding and warm. Yes, I have a little man-crush. Few personalities are able to excite the imagination of millions, especially among jaded and overstimulated Generations X and Y!
We felt a little guilty when we later learned that 3,000 individuals weren't able to get inside. Yes, the blood was on our hands - and it smelled like change I could believe in!
On a side note, I was reading Brian McLaren's blog on Sunday. He has several posts about Senator Obama, celebrating his campaign, leadership and vision. In truth, I'm right there with McLaren, but a little part of my gut remains clenched, wondering if we've sold ourselves too easily - so starved for an attractive alternative to the Christian Right.
I can't answer that yet.
* * *
please read more about my thoughts on the evolution of Christianity at www.EmergingChristian.com
"I'd Rather Not Be Golfing..."
"If Jesus didn't raise himself from the dead on the third day, I'm off to the golf course."
I've heard the nuts and bolts of that view shared by three different evangelical pastors in the last couple of months. At the heart of it, it sounds pretty faithful and pious, doesn't it?
"Jesus' resurrection is so central to my faith, that if he didn't raise from the dead the way Scripture says he did, then nothing else matters..."
But there are troublesome streams of thought that go along with that. Foremost, it says if my Christianity is historically invalidated, then the life I've lived in faith is a lie, the service I've done for my neighbors is worthless, and I'm off to serve myself [go golf].
Really? Your relationship with Christ is so one-dimensional that a piece of historic evidence would completely crush all of it? Faith in God? Call to service? If Jesus didn't rise from the grave, you'd be at strip clubs and smoking reefer? [my words, here]
I only asked these questions of the first pastor who shared his convictions. He was so upset that I would ask - and suggest a personal relationship with Christ might not be totally shattered [wounded, yes] upon proof of a dead-and-buried Jesus - that I not only lost credibility in the discussion, I lost credibity in his eyes as a Christian.
Now don't get me wrong here: I believe in a resurrected Christ. I believe that resurrection is central to my salvation. It is central to my faith.
But I also believe that the wisdom of God is foolishness to mankind. I believe my wisdom is foolishness to God.
More importantly, I believe I experience, daily, an undeniable relationship with the creator of the universe.
If I live to 126, married to my wife for 100 years, and on our 100th anniversary she looks me in the eye and says, "Peter, I have to confess something. My name isn't Jennifer. But I've loved you my whole life, and everything we've experienced together has been true." I won't suddenly believe my marriage was a lie. Because I know the one I love.
And I know the God I love, and that God knows me.
This is all hypothetical, because I don't believe a historian, archaeologist or geneticist will ever prove that Christ is not risen. I don't think it would even be possible. But if it were possible, then my faith falls back, not to the arguments I've heard or the theologies I've learned and believed, but to the experience I have known and the relationship I have engaged in... to the One I have loved.
If the wisdom of mankind makes Jesus Christ seem a fool, I will follow the fool.
But by all means, the disillusioned faithful can enjoy those 18 holes. Better make them last, and lookout for the sandtrap on number 9.
* * *
please read more about my thoughts on the evolution of Christianity at www.EmergingChristian.com
I've heard the nuts and bolts of that view shared by three different evangelical pastors in the last couple of months. At the heart of it, it sounds pretty faithful and pious, doesn't it?
"Jesus' resurrection is so central to my faith, that if he didn't raise from the dead the way Scripture says he did, then nothing else matters..."
But there are troublesome streams of thought that go along with that. Foremost, it says if my Christianity is historically invalidated, then the life I've lived in faith is a lie, the service I've done for my neighbors is worthless, and I'm off to serve myself [go golf].
Really? Your relationship with Christ is so one-dimensional that a piece of historic evidence would completely crush all of it? Faith in God? Call to service? If Jesus didn't rise from the grave, you'd be at strip clubs and smoking reefer? [my words, here]
I only asked these questions of the first pastor who shared his convictions. He was so upset that I would ask - and suggest a personal relationship with Christ might not be totally shattered [wounded, yes] upon proof of a dead-and-buried Jesus - that I not only lost credibility in the discussion, I lost credibity in his eyes as a Christian.
Now don't get me wrong here: I believe in a resurrected Christ. I believe that resurrection is central to my salvation. It is central to my faith.
But I also believe that the wisdom of God is foolishness to mankind. I believe my wisdom is foolishness to God.
More importantly, I believe I experience, daily, an undeniable relationship with the creator of the universe.
If I live to 126, married to my wife for 100 years, and on our 100th anniversary she looks me in the eye and says, "Peter, I have to confess something. My name isn't Jennifer. But I've loved you my whole life, and everything we've experienced together has been true." I won't suddenly believe my marriage was a lie. Because I know the one I love.
And I know the God I love, and that God knows me.
This is all hypothetical, because I don't believe a historian, archaeologist or geneticist will ever prove that Christ is not risen. I don't think it would even be possible. But if it were possible, then my faith falls back, not to the arguments I've heard or the theologies I've learned and believed, but to the experience I have known and the relationship I have engaged in... to the One I have loved.
If the wisdom of mankind makes Jesus Christ seem a fool, I will follow the fool.
But by all means, the disillusioned faithful can enjoy those 18 holes. Better make them last, and lookout for the sandtrap on number 9.
* * *
please read more about my thoughts on the evolution of Christianity at www.EmergingChristian.com
The Economy of Hotness...
***be careful with links in this post if***
****you struggle with sexualized images****
****you struggle with sexualized images****
This post is only partially thought-out at this point, but I'll probably be following up.
The more I look at sites like Facebook, MySpace and Youtube, and the more I see general advertising and reality TV behavior (trust me, I don't intentionally watch reality TV) the more I'm coming to believe that the ultimate goal in our society is HOTNESS. Attaining HOTNESS is the highest achievement in Gens X/Y/Z America.
And we're not talking about beauty. This is dirty-grinding-on-the-frat-floor HOTNESS.
Go log into MySpace or check out your Facebook friend list. You're probably already aware of this reality, but are you aware of how quickly it's happened? This is barely as old as online social networking - barely older than 2003 as MySpace climbed in popularity.
I remember hearing Dr. Drew Pinsky on Loveline talk with a 13 year-old-girl who was sexually active. He asked her, "what do you dream of doing?" trying to get her to think beyond the unhealthy behavior she was engaged in.
She giggled, "Honestly, I really want to be on Girls Gone Wild." So much for more women presidential candidates. And that's not me woman-bashing. These girls are trying to survive in an absentee-parent, predatorial society that has hypersexualized the bodies of pre-adolescent girls.
On the Superbowl Half Time show, the cameras kept cutting from Tom Petty to 18 year-old girls who didn't know the words to his songs. Every one of their movements was either seductive, erotic or just overtly, crassly sexual. As excited as they were to be on national television (one of the largest televised events in the world) their first thought wasn't, "Hi Mom and Dad!" It was to imitate the movements and motions of a late night Girls Gone Wild TV commericial. Seduce the camera. LOOK HOT.
Man, I sound old and lame.
And it's not just the girls. Facebook and Myspace are filled with suburban high school guys and college frat boys with their shirts pulled up, or off, flexing their abs, yanking down their beltlines... desperate for HOTNESS.
I'm really not a prude. Really. My wife and my close friends consider my humor to be vulgar by their standards. But this quest for HOTNESS is nothing less than web prostitution - not just of one's body through images and attached innuendo in comments boxes - but prostitution of identity. We're selling our humanity in exchange for a numeric rank, evaluating - not our beauty - but our HOTNESS...
please read more about my thoughts on the evolution of Christianity at www.emergingchristianity.blogspot.com/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
