FAITH: Ephemeral links by their common ancestry!

The CRIB's periodically fugacious concerning people and events of faith ...

• MARRIAGE: Well written response to Newsweek's diatribe duo, Meacham and Miller - WARNING: Traditional view presented [Tennessee Baptist Convention]


• HAGGARD: it's hard to forgive this guy - but the Lord says we must. [FOX News]


• ELIMINATIONALISTS: WSJ via Maggie's Farm - Rick Warren and the left are "eliminationalists" - I don't believe the former, but I do the latter [WSJ; Maggie's Farm]
  


• EUTHANASIA: a rational argument against it - Physician Assisted Suicide not justifiable - it's an act of individualism. [Doc Is In]


• PLANNED PARENTHOOD: Counselor caught on video resigns - now will the rest of them follow her example? [FOX News]


• CONSTITUTION: Here's Separation of Church and State I can live with ... can't have cake and eat it too ... I hope! [Yahoo! News]


• CHILD PORN: appellate court gets one right - sexual images with kids, even if drawn or digital, are illegal. [FOX News]

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POLITICAL: Ephemeral links by their common ancestry!

The CRIB's periodically fugacious concerning all things political ...

• FAIRNESS DOCTRINE: look out Beck, O'Reilly and Dobbs - Solis the Socialist is coming through the back door [Yahoo!]


• INSANITY: "Like putting Cheney in charge of gun control," Joy Behar [News Busters]


• MSM: Obama seems to be ending up on the floor a lot lately; odd considering being in bed with them during the whole campaign. [News Busters]


• ECON 101: classic article on basic economics - The Pencil - 1st read this via Sowell several years ago. [FEE; h/t Am. Digest]


• MSM: "Ann Curry, you can't handle the truth." And Rick Warren gave it to her! [News Busters]


• SOCIALISM: NYT helps move USA to left then complains when China censors them? [FOX News]


• NATO: America's retreat to fortress foreign policy will replace NATO's dependence on US defense umbrella w/ all the attendant risks. [Brussels Journal]

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FAITH: Ephemeral links by their common ancestry!

The CRIB's periodically fugacious concerning people and events of faith ...

• If it's true that Prez Elect BHO will offer up his first post-inaugural speech in a major Muslim nation, perhaps he should listen to this guy? [YouTube]


• Another fine article on the church at The M Blog; one I entirely agree with. [M Blog]


• Faith & Science have been at war for 3 centuries: a commentary. [First Things]


• The Establishment Clause did not establish what revisionists say it did ... but they control public podium, so it means whatever they want it to mean. [Medved: Townhall; h/t View From 1776]
  


• Russell Moore links to and comments on Christopher Hitchens' cristophobic and incoherent rant at Slate (Jesus for President) [Slate; h/t Moore to the Point]


• Interesting Telegraph UK piece that comes alongside my posted review of Herb London's "America's Secular Challenge" [Telegraph UK; Sheep's Crib]


• David Dockery writes response to Newsweek's diatribe duo at TBC [Baptist & Reflector - TBC]

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BOOK REVIEW: America's Secular Challenge - Herbert London

As the effects of and depression from Mistake '08 begin to wear off, my mind swirls with questions, issues, imperatives, responsibilities, and choices.

Often I imagine I must write a book on all of this, especially radical Islam, but the jumble of thoughts won't coalesce: hard and soft jihad, terrorism, taxes, America's socialistic drift, family, finances, deeply held spiritual concerns, children and grandchildren, collapse of traditionally democratic Europe, AIDS, political malfeasance, Sanctity of Human Life, absence of godliness, voter ignorance, biblical ignorance, and public ignorance ... to name a few.

But my main concern has been the continuing rise of secular humanism - a menacing cultural, geopolitical, and philosophical hydra - among our people, and its debilitating affect upon our will to defend ourselves.

Well, Herbert London (bio below) has had the same concerns and written a 97 page book which expresses them better than I ever could have.

From the Hudson Institute web site (CRIB's emphasis):

In this timely and wide-ranging book ... London argues that the pervasive culture of secularism in the United States is an inadequate response to the challenge of radical Islam. As London explains, in the so-called war of ideas, our reflexive belief in relativism has handicapped our ability to thwart the inroads of fanaticism.

Taken together, traditional religion, multiculturalism and cultural relativism, materialism, and the belief in scientific rationality as the ultimate arbiter of human value underwrite a view of life that is ill-equipped to meet the challenge of a zealous enemy with totalitarian ambitions. In undermining the traditional roots of America, secular humanism has destroyed the West’s only beliefs worth defending.

This anemic remodeling of our culture has left us exposed in the monumental battle against ideological forces with radical global ambitions. America’s Secular Challenge is a sobering wake-up call and a battle plan for the political and existential trials of the twenty-first century.

Author's Bio:

Herbert I. London is president of the Hudson Institute, a world renown think-tank in Washington DC. He is professor emeritus and the former John M. Olin Professor of Humanities at New York University. And he was responsible for creating the Gallatin School of Individualized Study in 1972 and was its dean until 1992. This school was organized to promote the study of "great books" and classic texts.

[...]

In 1989, Dr. London was one of the Republican candidates for Mayor of New York City. In 1990 he was the Conservative Party Candidate for Governor of New York garnering more votes than any third party candidate in the state's history. ....

Order your copy of this must read book here. Look, it's only 97 pages, who can't read 97 pages of really readable counsel. And for $18.00, the content cost less than 20 cents per page. And if you are a believer in American traditionalism and exceptionalism you would be wise to read America's Secular Challenge.

I actually made copious notes to prepare for this review but have decided the above is sufficient to the purpose here. If you have questions, leave a comment or email me.

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JIHAD (Hard & Soft): Ephemeral links by their common ancestry!

The CRIB's periodically fugacious concerning Jihad, both soft (activist) & hard (militant) ...

• HARD - re imminent bio-terror attack - with any luck, Jeb Bush will be elected 45th POTUS in 2012 so the Dems, the Libs, and the Leftists will have a Bush to blame for it in 2013. [Yahoo! News]


• HARD - re the above terror warning, Threats Watch has a readable summary of the report and the threat. [Threats Watch]

• SOFT - ALLAH is not the “express image of the invisible God” only _____ is! [Bart Barber; h/t Moore to the Point]

• SOFT - Repugnant name callers call name calling a "violent hate crime." [Yahoo! News; h/t News Busters]

• SOFT - A Muslim slaughterman's attempts to discredit the New Zealand meat industry have drawn the attention of the country's spy service. [The Press; h/t Europe News]


• SOFT - Anti-Christmas: tell me the difference between this irrational Muslim protest and this rational American voice? [Islamophobia Watch; WND]


• SOFT - Deepak Chopra skilfully debunked by someone who until recently didn't know the nonsense guru even existed. Chopra blames his adopted country for the world' problems but makes no mention of Islamic fundamentalist's murderous global Jihad. [Am Spectator]


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ODDS & ENDS: Ephemeral links by their common ancestry!

The CRIB's periodically fugacious concerning whatever won't fit elsewhere ...

• Warning: watch how you approach the guy in the corner, the drooler in the wheelchair, he's armed. [FOX News]


• Check out something called CD/DVD rot. [Wikipedia; h/t Maggie's Farm]
  


• Elephants live longer in wild than in zoos You think? [Yahoo! News]


• Great mashup of Hitler film clip [Sense; h/t Am Digest]
  


• That's sad ... no way to start a democracy! [FOX News]


• Ten months at sea, rowed over 9,500 nautical miles, Italian adventurer quits 65 miles from goal. [FOX News]


• This ain't right ... people change and jobs are tight! This kind of retribution is wrong! [FOXNews]
  

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POLITICAL: Ephemeral links by their common ancestry!

The CRIB's periodically fugacious concerning all things political ...

• I have not been a fervent supporter of Bush 43 since the end of his second year in office, his unbridled spending and repeated failure to veto disturbed me .... however, we're about to draw the drapes on the Bush mausoleum and forget this somewhat unpleasant component of our history.
  
  But along comes Philip Klein with a well-written and well-justified tribute to one of the lamest ducks in that history. [American Spectator]

• This may put the quietus on Hillary's confirmation as SOS ... one that even Slick Willie may not be able to circumvent. [FOX News]

• More effort to lay war crimes at the feet of Bush 43 and those in or formerly in his administration. [Classical Values]

• Now this is disturbing ...

  Government investigators digging into the grim hidden history of mass political executions in South Korea have confirmed that dozens of children were among many thousands shot by their own government early in the Korean War.

  And there's apparently evidence our military was complicit in some of the horror! Damn! [Yahoo! News]

• BREAKING: The United States of America started the Pacific part of WWII. [Maggies Farm via Dan Ford]
  

• Ezra Levant offers a timely reminder of John Milton's relationship to freedom from censorship ... "give me liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience." [Financial Post; Ezra Levant]
  


• "I thot I saw a Twitter Bird? I did! I did! I saw a Twitter Bird." Conservatives Unit! [TCOT; h/t Urban Conservative]

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FAITH: Ephemeral links by their common ancestry!

The CRIB's periodically fugacious ...

• Russell D. Moore at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary leads off his pro-life commentary with this ...

  Ross Douthat heroically engages the attempt to blame the meltdown of the Republican Party on pro-lifers.

  [NYT; Moore to the Point]


• CELEB TESTIMONY #1 - Celebrity testimonies give me a pain where the grass won't grow. Here is an entertaining testimony by a well-know celebrity ... and not a single mention of Jesus, sin, confession, forgiveness, or the need for a Savior. [Powerline; h/t Maggie's Farm]
  


• CELEB TESTIMONY #2 - Jessica Simpson wants to return to her roots ... will her public give her a chance? Based on her behavior and her words, I'm curious just who her father might be? [John 8:48; Christian Post]


• CELEB TESTIMONY #3 - Have you ever wondered about Willie Nelson's faith? Well, wonder no longer! [Moore to the Point]


• The Miracle of Hope ... no not BHO's, Angola's ... no not the country, the prison. Yeh! The one in Louisiana.
  
  We watched the documentary last night and was blessed. I wonder though how long it will be before the ACLU and the other God haters try to shut down the success of this faith-based effort? [Christian Post; buy the DVD at BrooklynTabernacle]


• Atheism vs Christianity; especially the latter as it relates to our nation's foundations from the mind of a critical thinker. [Hillsdale; h/t View from 1776]
  


• Montana is not that far from Oregon, so this is not surprising; what continues to be surprising is the arrogance of man. [FOXNews]


• Words have meaning; without words, there is no meaning; without traditional and historical words, traditions and history lose meaning, without which a nation has no meaning! [Telegraph UK; h/t Black Kettle]
  


• The Grand Duke of Luxembourg (a Catholic) is opposed to euthanasia (and so is the Vatican); refuses to sign a law permitting the practice. However, the Prime Minister (also a Catholic and leader of the country's "Christian" Socialist Party) endorses killing the unwanted and inconvenient; he is in a position to push legislation that would downgrade the Grand Duke's legislative role. Three cheers for murder! Yahoo! [Times Online; h/t Cranmer]

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SHINSEKI: Maybe not one of Bush 43's best decisions!

There is a need for context and content in the Shinseki stories floating around, not to mention truthfulness.

Some in the liberal media are gleefully re-telling the 2003 story of the now famous general's senate testimony regarding troop levels in Iraq and his subsequent retirement.

But the truth of the matter, based solely on hindsight, is that his advice might have been helpful.

Clearly, there's an element of Bush rebuke in the appointment but what departing president has every not been symbolically rebuked by at least one of his successor's decisions?

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FAITH: ephemeral links by their common ancestry!

The CRIB's periodically fugacious ...

"An annual parade of boats on a Long Island river that dropped 'Christmas' from its name has apparently lost lots of supporters." [FOXNews]

Jordin Sparks - Superwoman or saintly woman? How walking the walk lets you talk the talk! [FOXNews]

Do they know something we don't? Heretics, one and all! Who's left? [Revolution]

This is how God interacts in real time, this side of heaven ... yep, that's the way He does it! Where are your caves of Adullam? (1 Samuel 22:1-2) [M Blog]

Ted Haggard: not ready for prime time! [Christian Post]

NEUTRAL - Recent reports highlight the difficulty of interfaith dialogues ... especially those between Catholics and Muslims. [Areopagus]

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SCIENCE/HI-TECH: Linking the ephemeral by their common DNA!

Offering the fugacious ... per their common ancestry ...

This post also includes what The CRIB believes to be faux science ...

Rubber duckies? At first I thought Al Gore was involved but, no, this is serious. [Telegraph UK]

God's micro universe up close and personal. [Boston Globe; h/t Classical Values]

Obama and Emanuel claim Bush responsible for missing spider and lost tool bag on International Space Station. [FOXNews]

Eye see you in MyTube! A bionic tale to be told! [FOXNews]

What do a book, a hair, a grave, and some bones have in common? Until a few days ago, only Copernicus knew! [Yahoo! News]

Bush plans to institute "even more endangered species" regulations prior to the arrival of the Robamatons [Yahoo! News]

The green scene to blame for the Big Three's headache, nothing else ... so says Steven Milloy [Junk Science]

Online harassment/bullying being defined in key case [FOXNews]

Kilimanjaro is a pawn in the global warming game. [News Busters]

Someday soon they will help the rowdies erect the big tent! [Yahoo! News; also NGS News]

"Now you see me, now you don't!" Invisibility cloak is now a real possibility! [NGS News]

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ENTERTAINMENT: Rosie gets the last laugh but ...

... why should there even be a last laugh?

One of life's great joys but great dilemmas occurs when two people (in this case Rosie Obamaton and Barbara Whawah) you detest take up swords against one another.

The joy comes from a root of evil ... revenge; the dilemma comes from having to consider which one you might support were you of a mind to support one or the other.

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OBAMA: Change that is upside down!

Inverted optics: DNCC wraps Obama in upside-down flag; A familiar look? | Hot Air

Both Ed Morrisey at Hot Air and the Gateway Pundit got this wrong ... the flag isn't upside down, everything else on the DNCC ticket is!

... the stars and blue field in the lower left corner, it looks like an upside down American flag. Published flag etiquette states the stars should always be displayed in the upper left corner. An upside down flag represents an international symbol of extreme distress.

HT: Do the Right Thing

Obama, Patriotism, Politics

OBITUARY: Honor due a hero from two nations!

We tend to fall short when it comes to honoring our war veterans ... during all wars; and I'm as guilty as the next. But Medal of Honor winners have always held a special attention for me. Since I currently pastor in Mexico, I was caught by the following report from The Arizona Republic.

Silvestre Herrera, 91, a Mexico-born recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, died Monday at his Glendale home, authorities said.

Herrera, who rose in courage and earned a place in history, also wore Mexico's highest honor for valor on the field of battle, making him the only person to earn both.

In 1945, Herrera, an Army private from Arizona, was awarded the Medal of Honor for saving his platoon from machine-gun fire near Mertzwiller, France, not far from the German border.

The private first class with the 36th Infantry Division took out one emplacement, then charged through a minefield toward a second, losing both feet to explosions. The entire eight man German crew threw down its weapons and surrendered.

Visit the Army's "full list" of WWII (g-l) here to see Herrera's official citation.

What people dont see in the photo at the top-left of this post is President Truman congratulating Herrera for his heroism; what is also not seen is the wheelchair this Mexican-American hero had been confined to as a result of his heroism.

Medal of Honor, Silvestre Herrera

GAY AGENDA: Boy Scouts climbing rocks and jumping hard places!

Hey Scouts!!!!!!! Tell them to go pound sand!

Boy Scouts of America, Gay Agenda

BLACK AMERICA: Poll IDs root problem with contemporary Black America!

Without realizing it, blacks, in voting for their "Top 25 Most Influential African-Americans," revealed the root problem with Black-America today.

Yes, Virginia, there is a real problem in Black-America.

The resulting list is telling ... more for the absence of certain Uncle Toms - like Secretaries Powell and Rice, Justice Thomas, columnist Sowell, conservative Connerly, and half-breeds such as Tiger Woods and Halley Berry - than for the inclusion of sycophants such as the Right-Revs Jackson and Sharpton, smut peddlers like Rhimes and Harvey, the heretic Jakes, and the now indicted Bonds!

Reminds me of an old Black-American Zen question I'm acts all the time: if a really gifted Black-American walked into any of a number of black ghettos in America, would the bros in the hood hear the sound?

America, Black-America, Polls

WHITEHEADS: Once they fester, they must be popped!

I've been so disturbed by the embarrassment brought about by "Christian" leaders this year and last (Christy, Tester, Haggard, Pearson, Paulks, Whites, Bynum/Weeks), that I promised myself I wouldn't go there again.

Bottom-line, what brought me here again is J. Lee Grady's piece on Pentecostalism's huge White-head! It needs to be lanced before the whole body becomes diseased ... my opinion, not his.

I subscribe to Charisma Magazine to receive Grady's online editorial called "Fire In My Bones" ... always a good, brief read; and Grady is usually a discerning and skilled Christian-writer, but not this time.

His article, There’s a Whole Lot of Shaking Going On, coming from a charismatic leader and and magazine, is not part of the solution, it's part of the problem. At its foundation it's as carnal as "Bishop" Thomas Weeks III receiving a standing ovation from his church after pummeling his wife and being released from jail.

The article is more of the same old Christian-spin and overwrought White-wash. Friends, there is forgiveness, there is self-control, and there is restoration; but there is also condemnation! It is the only thing which will cleanse the pockmarked face of Pentecostalism. Grady even goes so far as to modify Bynum's beating with the politically correct "allegedly."

In reality, Grady is telling us sin is not the problem; he's telling the injured, who lie devastated around the intersection at Avarice and Pride, that its their fault and that THEY need to be careful about how they react to these events. See the following ...

Ultimately we must come to a place of humility as we face this crisis. We must admit that we too might stumble into compromise or moral failure if we held a stressful leadership position. How would you act if you had Juanita Bynum’s preaching skills, Randy White’s huge congregation or Ted Haggard’s access to the White House?

I am so tired of Christian leaders telling us the stress of the calling to higher position is responsible for their transgressions I could puke! That's tantamount to saying Jehovah Jireh called me but is incapable of providing what I needed to do the job He gave me.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Jude 1:24-25

The advice offered by Grady is the same-old trinity of secular psychobabble that I'm so sick to death of ...

1. It’s OK to be angry.
2. It’s necessary to grieve.
3. It’s essential to pray rather than criticize.

These very public people need to make very public demonstrations of remorse, contrition, and guilt. [Psalm 51] If the church continues to follow the world's methods of discipline the word should be removed from our lexicon.

On the surface there is nothing patently wrong with Grady's advice - in fact, one paragraph sounds more like the true heart of the writer ...

Holy anger should boil inside us as we see how the name of Jesus is maligned and misused in today’s church. We must aggressively seek accountability and integrity at a time when we have been compromised by hyper-prosperity preaching, carnal showmanship and self-absorbed charlatans. America’s pastors should lift their voices in this hour and denounce this shameful charade before the false prophets of Jezebel completely hijack the American church. The people of God need bold prophets who are not afraid to draw lines and call down the fire of holiness from heaven.

Hoorah! Amen! Preach it brother! But then he intermigles this:

For those of us watching this painful drama, it’s tempting to become cynical, discouraged or judgmental.

There's that setup word, "judgmental." The reader is warned, "Don't you dare take offense at what these dear brothers and sisters have done, don't you dare show your God given emotions ... for shame, you'll be worse than them."

Folks, this steals the prophetic voice from among us; it diminishes the prophetic office and those who hold it. Discipline becomes an anachronism.

But godly people sometimes do ungodly things—and these scandals are a clear indication of deeper issues God wants to address. In this time of unprecedented spiritual shaking we must respond properly.

There it is, the spin! The excusing of sin! The adoption of worldliness ... political correctness!

Now a setup phrase, "respond properly." In this context, a proper response would be indignation, outrage, and gnashing of teeth. But that's not what Grady is advising, is it? What in the world does properly mean to a faithful follower, when his leader has betrayed his trust? It means, "You better watch out how YOU respond; your leaders are watching you!"

Friends, the "pewsters" didn't commit these acts, the leaders did.

And this: "godly people sometimes do ungodly things" ... yes, and sometimes ungodly people do godly things. Good grief!

Before you say anything negative about Randy White, Bishop Thomas Weeks, Ted Haggard or any other leader who may have disappointed you, pray for them by name and ask God to grant them His loving correction, His amazing forgiveness and His full restoration.

Just speaking of their confessions is something negative ... we can't avoid it! Especially when addressing their sins. Does this mean they're "innocent until proven guilty in a court of law"? God help us! Unlike non-believers, authentic Christians (to their credit) confess their sins openly. Are we suggesting we cannot speak of their confessions because it's politically incorrect to do so?

I can just hear Isaiah, Amos, Malachi, and Jeremiah confronting the leaders of their day with their disappointment: "I'm angry and you've disappointed me, but I'll pray for you!"

Under normal circumstances, when a leader disappoints you, yes! But not when they've egregiously sinned against God and the church! Cleanse the Temple! Pentecostalism is surely sending the wrong message by leaving these apostates in power and encouraging others to imitate them. Is there no fear of the Lord among them?

Lee, your callers asked you a question, "What in the world is happening to the church?" Tell them, my brother, tell them! Sin and Satan have entered the hearts of Pentecostal leadership and are bringing her down. Period!

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Technorati
Read this rather interesting take on the White's split

RELATED CRIB POSTS

BIG AIN'T BETTA
MEGA CHURCHES: Finally Someone Is Making Sense ... !
MEGA CHURCHES: This Report Reminds Me of Why ... !
PENTECOSTAL FAILURE: My Imagination ... ?
SIN: Call It What It Is!
DIVORCE: Paula & Randy raising the White-flag!

Apostasy, Christianity, Church Discipline,
Mega Barns, Pentecostalism, T. D. Jakes,
Randy & Paula White, Without Walls, Word of Faith

MORALITY: Another Christian leader under the microscope of public scrutiny.

Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals."

1 Corinthians 15:33

The netwaves continue to wax and wane with the tides of Christian corruption.
I know it won't stop, but I certainly wish it would a least abate.

In a withering report (reprinted by Christianity Today online) The Associated Baptist Press introduces grass roots believers to one Jason Christy ...

When young, charismatic Christian publisher Jason Christy was tapped two years ago to lead the powerful Christian Coalition, the group's leaders praised him for his ability "to inspire and encourage people of faith to action." But Christy's business dealings — both before and after his one-month affiliation with the Coalition — instead have inspired former customers and co-workers to file lawsuits charging Christy with defrauding their Christian businesses.

In their piece, ABP reveals just how close Ralph Reeds' former bosses at Christian Coalition came to making an egregious employment error with Christy ...

Christy, 36, who apparently had no previous public-policy experience, persuaded the Christian Coalition in 2005 to place him in one of the most visible and powerful positions in evangelical life. But before the coalition's leaders officially turned over the reins of their 1.2 million-member national lobbying group, they learned of a trail of legal and financial problems that has followed Christy from coast to coast.

Two young men below; two young men named Jason Christy; both serving someone; which do you admire most?

"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."

John 15:13

What I can't fathom ... I can fathom Christy ... is the number of evidently upstanding Evangelical shakers-and-movers, as well as Christian advertisers, who continue to keep company with this man.

In fairness to Christy, I went to his blog, where he responded to these charges, and read his post. Christy's response is a "people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" with a lot of "everyone is against me" and "can't we all just get along" pleading.

I'm sorry but those who opt to be leaders likewise opt to be held to a higher standard by default.

After reading the material present by ABP and Christy, I have some questions I think Mr. Cristy should answer:

1. Were the legal actions taken by your critics used by them as an avenue of last resort?
   
2. In other words, did they make reasonable attempts to settle their grievances with you, out of the secular courts? [we are admonished not to use the courts to settle our disputes; therefore they are an avenue of last resort (1 Corinthians 6:1-3)]
   
3. Both CT and ABP suggest they did; are they wrong?
4. In those cases which reached and were concluded in the secular courts; a) how many were there, b) how many were decided for the plaintiff and, how many of these have you satisfied by you according to the judgment handed down?

As a servant and steward of the Lord by your own words, where do you fit into the follow passage?

Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord.

1 Corinthians 4:1-4

Though it is true it will all be settled on Judgment Day, many more questions than answers survive here ... that's for darn sure!

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Leading Smart
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Arrogance, Bad Religion, Christianity,
Church Report, Cons, Hypocrisy,
Jason Christy, Justice, Leadership, Morals

TRENDS: Five Trends the Church Should Note!

The Christian Post brings us an article on Leonard Sweet's "top five trends ministers and religious leaders need to know for the next 10 years" ...

First, size does matter

It never has mattered to most churches!

Second ... the "well curve" replaces the "bell curve"

Whatever that means!

Third, EPIC rules

I can see it now, "30 Days to An EPIC Life" followed quickly by "30 Days to An EPIC Church"! Both NYT Bestsellers!

Fourth, everything in this culture ... is becoming decentralized and some, hyper-centralized

The computer is the cause of the current pattern; can't begin to guess the cause of the latter.

And fifth, Sweet points to "Crusade Nine," which he calls the growing conflict with Islam

Finally, one that I can agree with ... with one caveat - it won't be Christians, it'll be Western Civilization (if it wants to survive).

Besides, our battle is not against flesh and blood [Ephesians 6:12]; remember?

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Artsaha!
Rev Fife
to or three

Christianity, Leonard Sweet,
Myopic Thinking, Trends

TAMMY FAYE: Well ... Not Much to Say!

I sure hope she can Praise the Lord in "spirit and truth" now!

She was lying through her teeth then; she won't be able to now; but out of respect for the dead I'll not say more!

Well, maybe just to tell you my wife met Tammy once, when she was still a Baker. She came home one day covered with a plethora of colors ... I asked, "What in the world happened to you?" She said, "I ran in to Tammy Faye at the mall!"

These people were so embarrassing! But a person's passing is serious business! Lord I do pray Tammy was, is, and always will be one of Yours!

EDITOR: WorldMag Blog has an interesting post of this; check it out! Just now read another view than mine at Pen of the Wayfarer ... one I cannot voice due to hardness of heart and the razorblades in my mouth.

Apostates, Christianity, Deaths, Heretics,
PTL, Religion, Tammy Faye Baker