OD Weekend: 24-25 January 2009

There were lots and lots of postings in the ODM community this weekend, but I took the weekend off from following them (well, until now). I will be on an open-ended business trip starting Thursday evening, so updates may be few and far between soon.

1. Jonathan Falwell offers an open letter to President Obama. “Why do Christians continue to dwell on abortion? Consider this: Since 1971, more than 49 million babies have been aborted in our nation. According to National Right to Life, about 1.2 million abortions were performed in our nation in 2006. While this figure is down from previous years, the abortion holocaust remains our national shame. Dr. Alveda King, pastoral associate of Priests for Life and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., noted this week, “… there is no greater injustice than that suffered by the 4,000 babies, 1,400 of them black, who die on any given day at the hands of abortionists.”"
2. Richard Land hosts Henry Blackaby, who is pushing a book on spiritual gifts and the Holy Spirit. “Henry says of his book, “This book is not an exhaustive study on the Holy Spirit, but it will reorient your thinking to biblical teaching on the Spirit’s role in your life, clarify the apparent confusion between natural talents and spiritual gifts, and help you get in step with God’s purpose…”"
3. Carol at Abomination Nation takes on Feng Shui and Indigo Children. “The Bible clearly condemns Feng Shui, and all other forms of occult witchcraft. Witchcraft is seeking spiritual guidance, power, or information from sources apart from God. There are only 2 sources of spiritual power: God and Satan.”
4. Jennifer O’Hara connects the dots among Islam, socialism, and sadism. ” There are quite a few people out there who think that President Obama and his staff want another great depression, because it opens the door for them to further dominate, control, and steal liberty away from the American people. As much as I hate to believe it, part of me looks around, listens to what they have to say, and can’t help but accept it as truth.”
5. Ken Silva continues to take on the Emergent Church, refers to Red Letter Christians as “post-liberal.”
6. Phil Perkins offers a special article on Henry Blackaby. “The problem isn’t Blackaby. Anybody could be Blackaby and anyone could have written a book that promoted feelings as the primary way of coming to an intimate knowledge of God. The condition that made it possible for this man to make millions of dollars hoodwinking the church is the MENTAL GHETTO conditions in the pew.”
7. Desert Pastor/Defending Contending take on Charles G. Finney, link to an old article by Phillip Johnson. “Predictably, most of Finney’s spiritual heirs lapsed into apostasy, Socinianism, mere moralism, cultlike perfectionism, and other related errors. In short, Finney’s chief legacy was confusion and doctrinal compromise. Evangelical Christianity virtually disappeared from western New York in Finney’s own lifetime. Despite Finney’s accounts of glorious “revivals,” most of the vast region of New England where he held his revival campaigns fell into a permanent spiritual coldness during Finney’s lifetime and more than a hundred years later still has not emerged from that malaise.” It is probably worth noting that opinions differ on the meaning of the term “burned-over district:” I repeatedly see both the contention (as in this article) that it referred to nobody in western New York having any interest in Christianity and also the view that everyone had been converted. I have not read Whitney Cross, originator of the term, and so can’t say which is correct.
8. Steve Hays offers opinion on President Obama, good diversity, and bad diversity. “For example, San Francisco would be far better off with more Christian Chinese-Americans and fewer white liberals.”
9. Cindy Kunsman takes on postmodernism and the public perception of Christianity vs. “totalitarian niceness.” “My husband describes this strange, postmodern twist on the golden rule (“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”) as a nearly impossible task: “Do unto others as those others would have you do unto them.””
10. Kris at SGM Survivors parses the idea of “believing the best” about someone, especially during disagreement, conflict, and mistrust. “Moreover, it’s downright ludicrous to me that anyone would assume that someone purported to have behaved badly years ago and then successfully swept this situation under the rug for a decade would suddenly be willing to be completely open and honest about it with some random questioner ten years later. … Do your leaders extend this grace to YOU? … Yet…if a PASTOR is spoken of negatively, the member is supposed to automatically “believe the best”? Where’s the logic in any of this?  How can this be supported from Scripture?” I’m not going to try to place this on the spectrum of correct and incorrect interpretations of “be subject unto the higher powers.”
11. Miriam Franklin addresses the new accusations against Ted Haggard. “Why are we only hearing details about this NOW?”
12. Ralph Petersen offers a contrary view on the end of racism in the Obama administration. “it is evident that this president, even on inauguration day and amid all his .. blather about “coming together,” and “unity,” cannot let racism die.”
13. Defending Contending asks where Rick Warren goes from here, suggests the answer is “left.”

OD Today: 4 January 2009 (late edition)

I have a lot to do this afternoon, so I’m catching up and calling the day early. Tomorrow work starts in earnest again after the holiday, so I’m going to have to tighten the criteria I use for linking here. I will probably end up dropping articles that just link or quote another item without comment.

1. Cindy Kunsman gives an overview of authoritarian teachings within Christianity, particularly Bill Gothard and what Kunsman calls “submission doctrine.” “Bill Gothard openly promotes this teaching as the ‘umbrella of protection’ teaching, and many of the groups that originated during this same era espouse some similar version of this ‘umbrella’ exemplar which they communicated to their spiritual posterity.”
2. Ingrid Schlueter continues her comments on modesty with a link to an article by Timothy Paul Jones. “When I see a young girl displaying her sexual charms to the world at large, my first thought is, where is her father? Why is he endangering his daughter by allowing her to dress this way?”
3. Jeremy at Renewing Our Minds discusses some of the ways in which Mormonism deviates from Christianity, then calls out denominations as being cults writ small. “It appears that a denomination is a liberal cult.”
4. Jason Garwood shares Arthur Pink’s “Present Day Evangelism.” I think this is the third time this particular article has surfaces in the last couple of weeks.
5. Michael Newnham talks about Sabbath-keeping, then announces he’s taking the day off. Good for you, Michael.
6. Miriam Franklin comments on Charlie Robinson and his “Third Heaven” experience.
7. Christine at Talk Wisdom discusses coverage of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, calls out Larry King/CNN.
8. Bill Salus on Israel/Hamas.
9. Stan Goodenough on Israel/Hamas.
10. Joel Rosenberg on Israel/Hamas.
11. Richard Land on Israel/Hamas (1, 2). Land appears to be tilting in favor of a two-state solution.
12. Miriam Franklin opens a discussion on whether the apostolic authority to heal the sick, raise the dead, and drive out demons is applicable today.
13. Job at Jesus Christology delves into the implications of postmodernism in understanding the attributes of God. “So for some issues, modernism, postmodernism, and premodernism are inadequate. Modernism can only deal with truths that can be observed or measured according to some rational system so that mind makes right. Postmodernism makes truth a moving target so that it can be the instrument of whoever is best able to use – or misuse – it so that feelings make right. And premodernism allows truth to be defined by human institutions and authority so that might makes right. So when it comes to the Bible, all of them come short.”
14. Emily H. at Grace in the Triad visits an abortion clinic. “I don’t just want to tell them they are wrong to abort their babies, although that is true. I want to hug them and cry with them and show them how my heart breaks for them. I wish we had the chance to pray with them and figure out an alternate plan. I wish that just one of them had listened.”
15. Miriam Franklin picks up Tony Blair’s comments on religion generally and Islam in particular.
16. Cia W. at EFT & Spiritual Warfare encounters an NIV/The Message combination Bible, gives it a thumbs down, links/quotes this article from Berean Call (Dave Hunt/T. A. McMahon).

And finally, something completely different: at Secular Right, Heather McDonald comments on Christopher Hitchen’s comments on Rick Warren’s invitation to give the invocation at Barack Obama’s inauguration: “How, then, do they live with the knowledge that their friends and loved ones face an eternity of torment? … Either believers live with an extraordinary degree of cognitive dissonance between the inclusive values of their society and the dictates of their religion, or they unconsciously mitigate those bloody-minded dictates as atavistic vestiges from a more primitive time.”

My apologies to anyone who thought this might finally be an update without a reference to Rick Warren.

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Richard Land on George W. Bush’s reading list

Richard Land devoted Saturday’s installment of Richard Land Live to a summary of how he nearly came to work in the George H. W. Bush administration, and then reads Karl Rove’s column in the Wall Street Journal devoted to his (Rove’s) annual reading contest with the outgoing President.

He then delves into the (lack of) differences between the college board scores and grade point averages of George W. Bush, Al Gore Jr, and John Kerry.

I guess this means that Land won’t be discussing Bush’s theology on his show. Land is apparently still one of the true believers.

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OT Today: 23 December 2008

Here are the online discernment links for December 23, 2008:

• Reformata.org links without comment to a CANOE/Associated Press story about an Amsterdam nativity scene featuring a “Mary in drag.” The organization Christians for Truth is mentioned as having protested to the city.
• Orrin Judd links to comments by Joseph Alois Ratzinger’s comments that “saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behaviour is just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction,” and links to a BBC news story.
• Job at Jesus Christology reviews and interprets the Disney movie “Meet the Robinsons;” “So what is this time machine? Your Bible. Most specificially, the prophetic and eschatological passages thereof.”
• Dwayna Litz recommends the weblog WifeBoat, an outreach to women in difficult marriages.
• Brannon Howse distributes an article by Israel Wayne on Presuppositional Apologetics. This article appears to be special to Worldview Times; I can’t find it anywhere else.
• Job at Jesus Christology offers his take on Obama/Warren: “The problem with Warren and those like him is that they offer a Jesus Christ that is Savior without truly being Lord.”
• Michael Davis offers a link and an assessment for Rick Warren’s “The Purpose of Christmas” article at Christianity Today: “excellent.”
• Michael at Chasing the Wind offers links to bad-news Christmas stories.
• Larry Schweikart, professor at the University of Dayton, author of 48 Liberal Lies About American History, appears on Richard Land Live (audi0); Land accuses John Kerry of treason, both discuss treatment of Ronald Reagan as a litmus test of the accuracy of a history text.
• Ingrid Schlueter links to an article on AMERICABlog pointing to current and cached versions of Saddleback Church pages, showing that language stating that homosexuals are not welcome in Saddleback small groups has been removed. Schlueter’s comment: “Biblical Christians are the offendees at the moment, raising sand over his removal of material from the Straddleback Saddleback website to appease his leftist, homosexual friends.”
• Lighthouse Trails links to an article by Melissa Etheridge at Huffington Post, comments “The writer, Melissa Etheridge, who met Rick Warren a few days ago at the MPAC Convention, believes that the world is on the brink of a new era. Note in the article that Rick Warren is softening his public opinion regarding the practice of homosexuality. Just as was predicted by MPAC last week, Warren is rethinking his views.”
• John Baker shares details, analysis of Warren’s address at Muslim Public Affairs Council Convention. “This statement by Rick Warren is so horrendous as it makes differences which can determine the difference between Eternal life and eternal damnation inconsequential for the sake of working together on what he calls areas of common ground!”
• Ingrid Schlueter shares a letter (PDF) from Margaret Manning at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries regarding Zacharias’s references to Henri Nouwen, comments: “The letter was in response to a listener to Ravi’s show who was concerned after hearing Ravi refer to Universalist and quasi-Buddhist, Henri Nouwen, as one of the ‘greatest Christian saints.’”
• Ingrid Schlueter also shares the Melissa Etheridge column: “Remember the column when I advised angry, anti-Warren gay activists to go back to their bathhouses because it would all be OK?”
• Ingrid Schlueter points to a press release by Patrick Mahoney and Kaitlin Clare of the Christian Defense Coalition regarding the concerns of (unnamed) pro-life groups that they will not be able to demonstrate at the Obama inauguration.
• Ingrid Schlueter links to Sam Guzmán/Always Ready sharing this John Piper video (“You Must Suffer”).
• John Sexton links, comments on the waning influence of religion in America: “Sounds to me like people believe religious influence is waning every time a Democrat wins the Presidency. As I’ve argued before, I’m not sure that really holds this time around. Obama was clearly the most religious of the two major party candidates.”
• Job at Jesus Christology comments on the Focus On The Family/Glenn Beck/Mormonism flap, layoffs at Focus. “Also, if the role of the gospel is to transform the world, then the Bible itself would declare the gospel to be a failure. Why? Because the Bible makes it clear: the world is never transformed. It is never subdued. It remains wicked and rebellious to the very end.”
• Ingrid Schlueter relays a press release for a new book by David Cloud/Way of Life Literature: “Contemplative Mysticism: A Powerful Ecumenical Bond.” I am interested to note Cloud’s preference for the King James Version of the Bible.
• Ingrid Schlueter links to a TMZ story on Rick Warren. Warren not only keeps company with sinners, he buys used books at their thrift stores, etc.
• Reformata.org apparently links an MSNBC story on the Saddleback website edits story, but the link itself is missing.
• Job at Jesus Christology calls out Atlanta church Ebenezer Baptist Church for inviting Rick Warren to speak on January 19th as part of their Martin Luther King Jr Day observance.
• Vic Eliason welcomes Brannon Howse to the Crosstalk airwaves (audio) to discuss the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (December 17). Howse says the convention “treats children as adults” including free access to pornography. Also, Eliason scolds evangelical Christians who voted for Barack Obama.

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Richard Land on Obama/Warren

Time Magazine asked Richard Land for his opinion of Obama/Warren; his capsule response is in this Time article.

When I called Richard Land, head of the denomination’s influential Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and its principal Washington strategist, he agreed with Warren. “Rick is having a summit on AIDS, and Barack Obama has said some compelling things about the issue. I work all the time in coalition with people to the right and left of me, when we’re in agreement on a specific issue. One of the markers of Evangelicals is the ability to walk and chew gum at the same time.”

Land’s extended comments can be found in the last segment of this installment of Richard Land Live. Land essentially says “one does not say ‘No’ to the President when he asks you to give an invocation.”

The Red Feather

Richard Land featured Tom Elliff, pushing his book The Red Feather on For Faith & Family a couple of days early this week.

Elliff shares the story of his pastor father leaving his wife and the pain it brought Elliff fils. He says his father’s problems began because he reached a point where he was coasting as a preacher and a pastor.