The time has come… The illness has gotten to my head… It’s… it’s…

The Chick Tract Translation
This week’s feast of loveliness from JTC is an out-of-print goody from my Fundy/Charismatic days that I found digging through some old desk drawers that hadn’t been opened in years. It’s called “Wounded Children”, and after scouring the net, I can’t find it anywhere. Jack’s own website doesn’t list it, and the only references to it are either at collectors’ lists or in anti-Christian websites that think that Jack Chick represents all Christians.

Guess they’re going to have to figure out the Episcopalian thing later…

Our story opens with POD. No, not the Rastafarian rock band… Pissed Off Dad. Dad’s told his little brat of an offspring, David, at least a hundred times to stay out of his forbidden office of marvelous mystery. Immediately after, Dad heads out to grill up some steaks. Off in the distance, Ms. POD is talking to her friend about how she found porno in POD’s office and how she’s just sick about it. Of course, since Dad’s focused on grilling, and Mom’s focused on whining about her husband’s copy of “Juggs”, it’s a prime opportunity for David to receive a visit from a close, personal aquaintance.

Satan.

Ol’ Goatlegs hauls David’s TV-bloated head into Dad’s office to show him what’s behind the blurs on “Jerry Springer”. David pilfers through the cabinets looking for better and better porn, and ends up with an expression on his face that tells us all that he’s found his copy of Dad’s “Ugly Naked Chicks”, which, if I recall from my less than Christlike years, would include every single woman working in porn. Fortunately, Satan’s a quick study, and helps David shove dad’s funbooks back into the desk. Later that night, Satan keeps David awake by incessantly talking about porn, which is a lot like a kid I knew in high school. Then he got shoved into a locker. By a teacher. With the school board looking on in approval.

Whoops. Satan must’ve whispered that to me…

A few years later, David’s dragged little girls in the neighborhood into his young perversions, and they aren’t overly thrilled by it. They tell David to go away and never talk to them again. Fortunately, Satan has a few words of comfort for Dave. Ol Hornhead informs him that he, David, is in fact, female, which is why little girls don’t like him. It’s why his sister hates him. Well, that, and he keeps playing with her Barbies. David’s dad calls him a big sissy, so we know he’s on the way to gayness even as we speak. Fortunately, Jack Chick takes the time to tell us that not all gay people are sissies. Some of them are leather-clad guys that’ll kick your butt before they grab it.

Thanks for the warning, Jack.

Dave’s parents haul his gay butt to a psychiatrist, who tells them that nothing can be done for their sissyboy. Dad blames mom for being a girl around Dave. Mom blames Dad for not being enough of a man around Dave. It bothers Dave a lot, and so he tries to date girls, and the girls love him now because he understands them so completely. So THAT’S why all the other guys in my high school got dates and I couldn’t. It wasn’t my geekiness or my aggressive mixture of heavy metal and charismatic fundamentalism. It was that they were all gay. All 600 of them.

I feel so much better.

Unfortunately, Dave doesn’t, and heads off to Gay Land, where everything is color-coordinated and just FABULOUS. Fortunately, Dave knows exactly where to go, because the gay baths and bars all have signs on them that say “Gay Baths” and “Gay Bars”. That’s good, cuz I saw what happened to straight guys who went into unlabeled gay bars in “Police Academy” and “Police Academy 2”. And 3. And 4. That’s bad stuff. Labeling gay bars should be a federal law, like labeling cholesterol – so that we can prevent another foxtrot in the Blue Oyster.

Yep, gay bars a-plenty, complete with gay men that have herpes and “cancer”, known today as AIDS. Yessireebobarooney… even in 1983, Jack Chick was aware of the marketing aspects of AIDS in Fundy Tracts. So Dave hooks up with Ares from “Xena: Warrior Princess”, and they have a fling, until 9 months later when Dave delivers his first chil… oh, wait. I lost my place. Dave’s just upset that Ares, aka Brian, is off playing “I’m a huge gay perv that likes to screw around with other men” with a bunch of other men. Fortunately, Satan is there to comfort David by telling him that he should commit suicide.

Oh, that Satan. What a card.

Unfortunately for Ares, a bunch of rednecks decide that Gay Land has just a little bit too much fuschia and puce and it’s time to grab their Louisville sluggers to teach some of the sissyboys how to play baseball. They’re not good teachers, though, beacuse they decide to use Ares’ head as the ball. Dave is understandably distraught, but fortunately Satan is there to offer his comforting, horned head on David’s shoulder. Unfortuntely for ol’ Pitchfork-holding-guy, Dave runs into Keith Green in a gay bar, who tells Dave that he, too used to be as queer as a football bat.

Strange. I don’t remember THAT in Keith’s biography. And didn’t Keith die in 1982? Isn’t this 1983? Uh…

Keith tells Dave all about Jesus and how gayness is wrong. Surrounded by a bunch of other gay men, Dave decides that he doesn’t want to get that sweet, sweet manlove if it means an eternity of fire and guys in red suits poking you. Dave converts and joins the Independent Baptists. As a bonus, Dave and Keith Green run over to Dave’s manlover Kenny’s house, and they get him to join the Independent Baptists.

As long as it’s not the Episcopalians, I guess…

My essay is- at this point- really about fellowship, and the problems I see in Pentecostal-Charismatic circles when it comes to relating to other Christians. This is a highly relevant matter right now in our context, as we are currently heavily populated with good Pentecostal and Charismatic staff members. What grieves me is the way their understanding of Christianity stands in constant judgement over ours and mine. Please send anything. Heck- write something.

Michael – on the Charismatic article: I’ve had some ideas running around in my head recently about charismaticism. Having been a part of the movement for the vast majority of my life, I may send you something from that point of view, both for a good look at the inner workings of the beast, and also as a bit of a balance.

A classic moment: Clemens gets his 100th Fenway Park victory in his last game in Boston. Meanwhile, I continue to think it may be a Cards/Yanks series. I am officially rooting for the Cards because I want to see Pujols take Wells for a couple of moonshots.

I am writing an essay, I’m just not sure it is “the” essay. Knowing my coworkers will read it is very much on my mind. But I like it so far, because it takes a personal angle and explores what really grieves me as a person about my relationship with my Charismatic friends.

Tom: Please don’t take anything I say too seriously around here with respect to football, or anything else for that matter. And there certainly is no reason to get ticked off before going to church. I have to admit I’m a total homer. Give me Bucks football and the Cleveland Browns, Indians, and Cavs, in that order. As far as any other teams are concerned, I’m just not that interested. I’m not the type to sit down and watch any game just for the sake of watching. In fact, I’m not nearly as fanatic about my home teams since 1995. Prior to 95 I used to live for Browns games. I could hardly function at work on Mondays after a Browns loss, especially when they lost close game, like the two AFC Championship losses to the Denver Broncos back in the mid 80’s. Anyhow, in 1995 the Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens. When that happened, it just took something out of me. I decided I’d never invest that much emotionally into a sporting event. So, please, take whatever I say about sports with many, many grains of salt. I’m just having a little fun.

Now, having said that, HOW IN THE HECK CAN OKLAHOMA BE RANKED NO. 1. I understand that preseason polls mean little. I also understand that the Bucks won several close games last year. But the fact is, they won every game, including the national championship! Need I remind you that Oklahoma lost not once but twice. Sheesh! What’s a Buckeye gotta do to get some respect! I HEARD THAT, JACK!

JS: You have to be careful saying this around here, but I would say the two primary objections- from my standpoint as a Calvinist- are 1) that it depends on a true argument from silence, and that 2) it contradicts a number of things that scripture does plainly teach, best summarized in Westminster Confession, Chapter 3. (Please people, let’s not divert into a discussion of 100 Gripes with Calvinism. I’m just answering the man’s question.) I would also say, however, that God is free to do whatever he pleases. For example, Are there other planets with beings for who there is also a plan of salvation? I would say scripture doesn’t answer that question, but not because there couldn’t be “billions and billions” of such worlds or universes, or many other variations on the plan of redemption for such worlds, but it is just a matter of silence in our Bible. I personally find the “salvation after death” and “universal opportunity before death” to be options that do not understand “T” and the “U” of the Gospel, but to have an Arminian approach to the whole matter. That’s fine, but it’s not me.

Noel called, and her first night her roomie asked her to go visit some of her schoolmates at UK. So she goes, and the friends- not the roomie- are like “Let’s go get drunk” and “Where do you want to go to church.” Ahhhh memories of my own college years. I had warned her of exactly this. Later, Noel told her roomie that she would enjoy getting to know her friends, but if they were just going to party, don’t invite her. That’s the daughter I raised, right there. Straightforward. Knows who she is. She is bored with all the orientation antics, and wants school to start. She went to the biggest PCUSA show in downtown Lexington, and didn’t see any young people, but talked with the minister. She has found some downtown churches close by (walking distance.) I am hoping she will eventually try a PCA church (Tate’s Creek Presby) or a Reformed Baptist kind of thing, but I am enjoying her journey. I am praying for her to find a church, but also to find other Christian young people who want to live their lives without WASTING EVEN ONE DAY in getting drunk, etc.

I enjoyed high school football for many years, and Div II basketball, but baseball is a different thing entirely with me. Mystic chords of memory and all that.

All this talk of football makes me wish I still enjoyed the sport. I haven’t watched a whole game since I left home three years ago.

Good article, Judd, and I’m also proud to count myself among the inclusivists. I was intrigued by #4, though:

4. Postmortem Evangelism: The unevangelized receive an opportunity to believe in Jesus after death.
a) Key Texts: John 3:18, I Peter 3:18-4:6

I’ve thought about this myself from time to time, and I have to ask—what are the Biblical arguments against it? Usually Hebrews 9:27 gets trotted out when I ask this question, but this verse doesn’t seem to actually eliminate that possibility. It says that men die and are judged, but doesn’t address the possibility of something happening between those events. I really don’t have much idea about this, so I’d love to hear what the rest of your opinions are, and any scripture that speaks to this.

Article on Geocaching in the Lexington Herald-Leader. Jim N likes this sport. Good article.

I did something today I never do. I changed my sermon at the last minute. Driving to church, D and I were talking about Biblical texts that are helpful to us right now. I immediately thought of the whole Jacob narrative, and how Jacob needed to leave home to become the person God wanted him to be. He needed to get away from what he was becoming as a “mama’s boy.” Only after he left, and apparently lost everything, did God begin to speak to him, and he began to respond. There were some hard knocks and tough times, but God was making a man of God out of him.(This is a favorite narrative for me, and I preach from it often.) Today, I realized three of the families in the congregation have recently seen a child move out and on, so I just got up and let it fly. Preaching to myself. I won’t repeat it, but let’s just say God loves our children more than we do. He gives them to us and then we give them back more and more. Along the way, they are a source of delight and learning, but finally they are another way God comes into our lives, even as we let them go. Ultimately, I am NOT defined by being a parent or a preacher or even a husband. i have to let all that go sometime, and hold only to the only thing that really gives life eternal significance. So it was good for me, and others appreciated it. Last week was “A Text For Mid-Life.” Today it was “A Text for the Empty Nest.” Who knows what depressing topic we will explore next week.

It is revival week at OBI. BHT veterans know what that means, so pray for the students, the preacher and that old anti-revivalist curmudgeon- Me!

Marcus Borg is coming to Transy in October. I want to hear him if possible.

I’ll be back after my nap.

Matt’s right. Open up comments a little more often.

Well, I am back, in a sense, though, in a different sense, I never left.

Got settled here in Denton, TX last week and worked W-F at the new job. I’m still learning technologies (mostly XML based), but I really like it. The environment is extremely friendly. I still feel like a resource drain, though. Once I get up to speed and actually become a contributing team member, I’ll be feeling a lot more comfortable.

Today, Amanda and I are doing the first of our new-town church shopping. We’re attending a small congregation in nearby Krum called Providence Chapel. They’re actually on the Founders page, so that’s kinda cool.

Speaking of college football, OU just crushed UNT 37-3 yesterday. Not that I follow the sports news, just thought I’d mention it. It’s funny, I’m still living in a college town, but this one (Denton) revolves a lot less around its football team than the previous (College Station).

Well, ya know, Mike, what real difference does it make whether OU or OSU is rated #1 in the polls to start the season? Everything pretty well shakes out by the season’s end. And OU’s schedule? At Alabama, who is a very talented team, UCLA won a bowl game last year, and you can laugh at UNT and Fresno State, but they were both bowl champs also. Texas is always tough, Colorado looked pretty stout offensively last night and OU has to play them in Boulder in the thin mountain air. And get this, Mike, if OU wins the Big 12 South, guess what? THEY HAVE TO PLAY THE WINNERS OF THE NORTH FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP, which looks right now to be K-State, a pretty darned decent team if you ask me. Big 11 (excuse me, Big 10, since they obviously can’t count up there) people have no concept of a conference championship game. Geez, I shouldn’t get ticked off like this before I go to church. But I will say I wouldn’t have voted the Buckeyes #1 either for two reasons 1. The Clarett suspension, which admittedly didn’t hurt the team too much yesterday, and 2. There were too many games that OSU was involved in that could have gone either way. And one more thing: just who do you think your coach went to when he wanted to improve his defense. That’s right, the Stoops boys, so maybe you should give a slight tip of the hat to the Sooner staff. I’m glad you guys beat Miami last year because I never could stand them, but don’t mess up the good will I still have toward the Buckeyes.

Charles: I didn’t get to watch OSU (the other one) against Nebraska, and saw very little of the OU game because, unfortunately, I have to work Saturday afternoons and evenings. But I’m eager to see the replays of OU. It looks like Jason White did an awesome job, and QB was one of the big question marks.

Charles: OSU’s offense looked just fine in their 28-9 pounding of Washington. And the defense . . . how about a total of 7 yards rushing on 24 attempts for Washington. Even the lowly University of Nobody Texas had 79 yards rushing against Oklahoma. BTW how is it that the defending national champs are ranked second in the polls behind Oklahoma before the first game is played. I mean, come on, Oklahoma only has two teams currently ranked in the top 25 remaining on their schedule (one of which is Oklahoma State at 24, which will probably drop after their loss). Who, besides Texas, is going to test Oklahoma? (Maybe the Crimson Tide can pull off the upset next week). Ohio State, on the other hand, has 5 ranked teams remaining on their schedule, including the grand finale at Michigan. Of the teams currently ranked in the top 6, Oklahoma, Texas, and K-State have the easiest schedules, while Ohio State and Miami have the toughest. Looks like the folks over at the BCS are shilling for the national champion to come out of the Big 12. Oh well, we’ll see. Go Bucks!

Michael, pass my thanks on to whoever suggested FindYourSpot.com. It was entertaining, and confirmed what I already knew: I need to move about 300-400 miles north (although I did get two suggestions for locations in PA, which is interesting.) I’m going to have Linda take it, and compare results. Hopefully, this won’t lead to divorce…

I know there’s been both a lot of interesting discussion in the past few weeks and some BHT technical things going on, and I also know that I’m miles behind on porting stuff over to the Scriptorium. Things are unspeakably horrendous at work at the moment, and the prospects are extremely likely that I’ll be changing jobs soon. I’ll be back, I promise, once some of this starts to sort itself out. In the meantime, you’ll have to endure or ignore my occasional drop-ins like good Christians (meaning that you’ll be real nice to my face, and then get together and run me down as soon as I’m out of earshot…)

Phillip: I don’t want to be picky about this but I live in British Columbia and we don’t have any French signs. It’s a myth!

Michael: Now I know who the girls are. Thanks. I do not think I have ever watched “Friends” either. I guess I am pretty uncool.

In an earlier post you mentioned writing an article on the charismatic/pentecostal movement. Write the article.

Tom: Did you see the OSU/Nebraska game? Turnovers led to two Nebraska touchdowns. OSU offense has the potential, but could not get it going.

Thank you Judd!! I should have posted something like that long ago. I am proud to be in #3 with several good people. I hope this will be noted by anyone who thinks I am a kneejerk Calvinist. (Really, since I believe faith is a gift, I am proud to be theologically consistent in my inclusivism.) Now you people know what to call me.

Hey, this article pertains to our so-called “universalism” thread, and is pretty intriguing. It provides a broad textual and historical overview of the views on salvation for those who don’t hear the historical gospel.

Here’s an excerpt:

1. Restrictivism: God does not provide salvation to those who fail to hear of Jesus and come to faith in him before they die.
a) Key Texts: John 14:6; Acts 4:12; I John 5:11-12
b) Adherents: Augustine, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, R.C. Sproul, Ronald Nash

4. Postmortem Evangelism: The unevangelized receive an opportunity to believe in Jesus after death.
a) Key Texts: John 3:18, I Peter 3:18-4:6
b) Adherents: Clement of Alexandria, George MacDonald, George Lindbeck, Stephen Davis, Gabriel Fackre

Michael,
As a member of other forum groups, I can say this is the only one that scrolls up.

Bill,
I agree with what you are saying, but just not to the extent of what you are saying. Without feelings, the brain would be a gray blob of analitical goo.

Also, I am not necessarily senstive in the classical sense, I am just perceptive. I see and understand things I cannot put into words. Which means I am either perceptive, or lacking vocal skills, or both…!!!. At times I have been called a cold hearted SOB, but that has to do with the protective walls I built, metaphorically speaking of course.

A done deal. It all went real well. She looked pretty overwhelmed when we left , but wow Transy does a magnificent job with new student orientation. I couldn’t list everything Noel will be doing before classes start Tuesday but she will have dozens of cool choices. She plans to take in a chapel service for students Sunday a.m. just to see who turns up, and do a bus tour of Lexington, and there are lots of small group things with the girls dorm. Plus tests, and all that official stuff. No big emotional scene, but I think Clay really is having a sad time. He and his big sis are the best of friends. I’m going to keep it low key around here the rest of the day, because the tears are probably just a memory away.

Bill: The Transy Net was not up yet, but when I ran the network wizard, I found myself with shared folders from seven girls! Seriously, what’s up with that?

Tom: Comments on Baseball. I’m ignoring it. That’s my plan. Your right to talk about College football (a sport I would have plenty to say about but Angus lurks nearby) may require you to kick the national pastime, but that will not provoke me. I will remain calm. I realize that, given your location, It’s understandable. May I suggest you wait until spring, when the grass is a greener shade of brown, and you get an upper deck, first base side seat for opening day with the AA Tulsa Drillers. Have a couple of hot dogs and whatever drink they allow down there. Fill out a score card (something that I don’t think we would want to attempt with the average college football fan.) Catch a fly ball. Root for the home team, sing the song and attempt to cleanse your system of the influence of a sport where naked women must cavort on the sidelines at all time to keep the interest of the crowd. (JN)

Tim: It’s cool. Gotta remember we’re all talking to each other but not about each other—usually :-)

Charles: They are the three primary babes on Friends. Research has shown that the secrets of the human personality can be unlocked by analyzing who a man finds most attractive. The great-looking, but clearly insane one,. The great looking, but compulsively controlling one, or the great looking, but totally out to lunch one. For instance, Jack and I rule because we have this one right. Phillip, on the other hand, has visions of hell.

Lurkers have suggestions: One wants Jim and the rest of us to visit FindYourSpot.com, which apparently will answer the big question. (If it posts an html tag or pic, just give us the result and skip the visuals. Another lurker wants us to reverse the order of posts. Here’s the suggestion, and I’ll hear what you guys have to say.

I have a suggestion: Please reverse the order of the posts (oldest at top, newest at the bottom). I realize that people will have to scroll down, but it’s tough trying to follow a thread (especially for people who don’t read the blog every day). I tune in about once a week, so I have to scroll down to read something that is referred to on the top of the page, read through the article, scroll back to down to read the next post, etc. You could even break it up into more than one page—on the first page, just have links (“last two days threads,” “threads older than two days,” or whatever).

If you want to keep it to one page, you could have a link, at the top of the page, saying, “go to middle of page,” or “down two thirds,” or whatever, so daily readers can shoot right down to the latest posts. I very much enjoy reading this blog, but sometimes I get a headache constantly going back and forth.

Has anyone noticed that it’s hard for me to let things go?

Tim: Anger, love, sadness, joy. Those all come from our brain. True, we don’t need to analyze them to perceive them, but without the mind there are no feelings. To know something with your “heart” is just an idiom in my opinion. The only place you can know something is in your mind. At least while we occupy our bodies. I’m only about 85% sure of myself in this so keep working.

I saw leaves falling today!! Woohoo! My favorite season fast approaches. (and not just cause I get to shoot things. Tim’s not the only sensitive guy here. (JN))

Two of my favorite topics. However, it’s pro football not college where my interests lie. As for nudity, isn’t that what this MTV hoopla is really all about. Why would anyone sit there and watch? Answering that “well, the music is cool” or “I find this an interesting phenomenon with societal implications” or “I need to keep abreast of the tensions between the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness” is like saying you buy Playboy to read the articles.

I suspect it was far easier to ”... flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. “ (2 Tim 2:22) in Paul’s day than today. Sadly, pro football is all about beer commercials which, of course, are all about the mammaries and other organs.

No need, really, to re-iterate what Jesus had to say about lust. But, I think that the verse “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matt 5:6, can be of some help for those of us who are weary of their own hunger and thirst for their lusts to be satisfied. Where do you fall between these two poles? For there can’t be two poles more in opposition than these. The question is not rhetorical. What is your answer? In my case, I am indeed weary of the lusts of the flesh. I urge you to meditate on this and your own reactions to the gyrations of nearly naked women that you see all the time on TV and in movies. And then, finally, after taking a good long look at yourself, turn to scripture and read Romans 7:14-25. This exercise will help turn the tide and the blessing offered by Jesus in Matt. 5:6 will begin to accrue in your life.

Michael,,
Good, I was hoping that wasn’t addressed to me personally, but I was not sure..
I will unruffle my feathers and head back to the coop.
Sorry about that,
Tim

Check this out. http://www.terrisfight.org/

Tom: I join you in your heresy. Looks like one of the better games may be OSU vs. Nebraska. The other promising game is OSU ( the one Mike is referring to) and Washington.

Mike: I have friends from Minnesota who refer to OSU as ” Oh – how – I – hate – Ohio!” Have you ever heard that one?
Who are your favorite teams other than OhioSU? Any feel for who you think will win the national championship? Heisman?

Football season and cool weather. What more could we want?

Michael: I do not know enough about the MTV personalities to comment. I do not know if that dates me, tags me as uncool or what. Also, somehow I managed to never watch a full episode of Seinfeld. I really do not know why. It just never happened. These three girls you guys are talking about; are they on some TV show or something? On seinfeld? major :)

Mike, speaking as one from the great state of Oklahoma who is a fan of the great OKLAHOMA SOONERS but NOT a fan of the Oklahoma State Cowboys (also called the Aggies, as they were known previous to 1959), I can tell you that OSWho is a popular term among the non-fans for that particular school. Another popular designation for them is Silo Tech. One that I came up with on the OU message boards but never caught on with anyone else is O-Wuss-U.

What do you think about Clarett, anyway? He’s an amazing talent, but is such a head case that I can’t help but think he’s a detriment to the Buckeyes, especially with his suspension.

FOOTBALL! I love it (the majority of the remaining posts, though interesting, cause way too much thinking for me :-) FOOTBALL!

By the way, gentlemen, when I’m talking about OSU around here, I’m talking about this team, and not this team. The first, after all, are national champions, the latter, are . . . well . . . they just are. We will have to think of a different acronym for Oklahoma State. May I suggest OSWho.

Michael: Prayers for you and the family. And don’t worry about that five speed. Just remember . . . if you can’t find it, grind it.

You make it sound like I am some big pansy pushover empath with little flowers for everyone’s hair.

uhhhh…what? I’m discussing a subject you brought up, that is a real live wire where I live, but I am not discussing you at all. Not calling you a “pansy,” which is a pretty derogatory term. Discussing a subject does not equal discussing person who brought up subject, unless someone explicitly said so in post. How did you find yourself in my post, other than you brought up the topic and categories? You said that your comments on thinking feeling weren’t about the rest of the board, and I assume you know that my comments aren’t about you. Discussing the topic isn’t critiquing the person who brought it up. No personal observations involved, just my side of the topic, illustrated from where I live.

When a topic comes up, sometimes it is discussed separate from the poster, sometimes it is illustrated from experiences with other people, sometimes it is discussed abstractly and non-personally. Seldom, in my experience at the BHT, does anyone’s reply make a personal comment or criticism of the previous poster. If it does, it is unmistakable. (See archives, posts by Heald, Rigney and Spencer to one Steve Schaper.)

Tom Hinkle: ..........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I received Douglas Wilsons’ book “A Serrated Edge” in the mail yesterday.
Mr. Wilson addresses a topic – the use of satire and confrontation – that has always been practiced less than perfectly by yours truly – me. For someone who grew up in a culture that believed in never giving any type of offense, my continuing reading of the Scriptures points to the fact that Jesus was kind and gracious and yet would not hesitate to use pointed invective when necessary. The issue of how and when to use anger, confrontation, and satire is an area that is sadly neglected by the modern American church. For example, most of my Christian friends assume that any display of anger or frustration is a sin. Consequently, they feel guilty when taking a position that requires them to have a justified anger. The Jesus I read about in Scripture is different than the one I hear about from most sources.

Here are some selected excerpts:

Chapter 2: The Meaning of Arrogance

Arrogance is the sin of assuming yourself to be in the right without warrant from the Word of God. In other words, we must make our standard explicit, or we will run ourselves into hopeless contradictions. This is because everyone in the world believes that he is right. This is part of the human condition.

This problem of arrogance arises whenever we refuse to bring our views to the bar of Scripture to be corrected there. And if we are willing to be corrected there; it does not matter what the world thinks.

So when modern evangelicalism is handled somewhat critically or roughly, one of the common complaints or questions amounts to this – ” Who do you think you are?” This is a variant of a question that comes up in Scripture frequently, which is, “By what authority do you do this?” Everyone understands that random acts of kindness, provided they stay within certain bounds, and are not overtly meddlesome, require little or no authority to perform. But verbal admonition, rebukes, jabs and jokes are all at bottom authoritative acts. And this leads to the question – “Who died and left you king?” And since the answer to that question is not visible to the questioner, it is assumed that the satirist has simply taken it upon himself to make fun of other people, and what could be more arrogant than that?

Arrogance, defined biblically, is the practice of challenging the will of the triune God. Every aspiring idol, precisely because it is aspiring to replace the triune God, must seek (however unsuccessfully) to take on the same attributes. This means that idols try to define arrogance in the same way. Arrogance is that which challenges the god who seeks to reign.

This means that when modern evangelicalism has compromised fatally with the idols of the age (which it most certainly has ) and when someone points it out in a way that cannot be ignored, the basic defense of the idolatry is to attack the critic as one who is arrogant.

Now of course, as already noted, it is possible for an orthodox Trinitarian to attack unbelief in a way that really is arrogant. But it is arrogant because the Trinitarian is being inconsistent with what the Scriptures require of him. He is orthodox in one way, but disobedient in another. Suppose he attacks some form of unbelief, but he does so filled with a spirit of malice and selfish hatred. This is arrogant, because he is setting himself up as a defender of God who is not bound to conduct himself the way that God commands.

But an attack on unbelief is never arrogant simply because unbelievers claim that it is arrogant. Nor is it arrogant because compromised believers think that such an attack is arrogant. In short, arrogance is never determined by examining the results of a survey or a poll. The issue, always, is the authority of the Word of God.

And this is why the basic question about arrogance is the same in every discussion of every issue – Who is God? And if He has spoken, dare we challenge that Word?

From Chapter 3 The Satire of Jesus

High profile piety and high levels of greed have been often seen together at a cheap motel late at night.

Chapter 10 The Goal of Giving Offense

Mr. Wilson offers this on giving offense:

This means, following the many examples of Scripture, that there is a different kind of religious controversy, where the central point is to give offense. Failure in such controversy would be reckoned as a failure to give offense in the way Scripture requires, and for the reasons given in scripture. We determine when and how to enter into such a fracas through careful Bible study. And one of the things we discover there is that Scripture demands that we seek to offend willful obstinafcy by ecclesiastical officials in the face of the grace of God. Failure to distinguish these two kinds of controversy, or a flat denial that there is ever a time when giving offense is a spiritual obligation, means in effect that in the great basketball game between obedience and disobedience, the referees are always on the take. We are not left to our own devices in figuring this out. Our Lord Jesus, when confronted with ecclestiacal obstinacy, showed us this godly pattern for giving offense. (Matthew 15:10-14 referenced after this statement).

Michael, if any of that was addressed to me, you may have missed my point entirely, if you need to think about what love is, or where it comes from, you are thinking and not acting. And to equate love with spoiling some snot nosed, balmy brat of a kid is very mistaken.

I do not get the analogy of loving someone and giving in to their every whim, wish and desire? You make it sound like I am some big pansy pushover empath with little flowers for everyone’s hair. That is not loving, and since kids annoy the crap out of me, I seldom believe them at all (JN).

Bill, Those are physical feelings. But feelings are not thinking, they are feelings. If you get hurt do you think,, oh man, now I am hurt, boy oh boy that hurts, or does the pain shoot through you before the mind knows what happened? So granted, while you cannot have feelings without a brain (mind), I say the opposite is also true.

The balance between the two is something that should be achieved, but often it leads too far one way or the other. Kind of like being smart versus having common sense, one without the other is worthless, a good balance is great. I know lots of smart people, but few with much common sense.

Well, I kind of agree with Tom, although when the Cards are in it this late in the season, I care. The loser Cubs won tonight while StL and Houston both lost (freaking Reds). Cards and Stros are still tied for first in the NL Central with the Cubs a half game back. The Cards need pitching (of course, I’ve been saying that for years. Where’s John Tudor when you need him?)

Didn’t see the Empty-Vee music awards, but I will say one thing: Johnny Cash’s video of “Hurt” may just be the BEST VIDEO EVER. If you ever get a chance to see it and can keep from crying, you’re a better man than I.

Now, I’m going to say the most heretical thing on this board I’ve ever said: when football season starts, baseball is over, as far as I’m concerned. In fact, baseball was over with the beginning of free agency, the designated hitter, and, the final nail in the coffin, inter-league play. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

It’s time for bed. We had a great prayer time around the table. Noel ran off a map of the church she wants to go to Sunday. Everything is packed. I get to drive a 5 speed Ford truck. It will be an emotional day. And a strenuous one- 7 flights of stairs. I expect it will all be over by noon and we will be on our way home. Pray for Dad, Mom, brother and sister in this family. We are all pretty emotional. Noel has been the star of the show in our house for 18 years. It’s great to see her achieve this, and I am determined to rejoice. After I cry a bit. I’m counting on you guys to pull through for me. Call the Guinness truck please.

So good to hear other people talking about Arvo Part. His Te Deum album is nearly a mystical experience.

Judge Moore and his crew are seriously misguided, to say the least. Like you said, Michael, this view of America as a Christian nation comes more from bad American history than anything in the Bible. Does the NT endorse the idea of Christian government at all? I don’t see it—the Bible talks about worldly rulers as necessary, God-given agents for order in a fallen world, but still ultimately agents of a sinful cosmos in rebellion against God. Perhaps there was a time when a Christian government was viable, but that time is not now. The fundies need to get it in their heads that Christendom is dead and that we need to be the minority, missional church—which means we focus on loving our neighbor, not on erecting pointless monuments in courthouses. (If, indeed, we ever should have been focused on anything else.)

IM Short Essay of the Day Entry: What the MTV Video Awards Mean To Me

The MTV Video Awards mean that I can count on to be pandered to because I’m young, male, and pop-cultural consumer. Let’s call me a YMPCC.

Madonna, Britney, and Christina: I’m pretty sure that none of these women are lesbians. I’m also pretty sure that MTV is not on the cutting edge of queer rights. After all, I’m a YMPCC, so I get to think that gay people are funny, but more or less okay. Why the kiss, then? Because horny YMPCCs think its hot. (And, boy, was it ever.)

Justin Timberlake and Johnny Cash: As a YMPCC, I might not have heard of Johnny Cash, so I’m glad that Timberlake won. It reassures me that youth always beats wisdom. But just in case I’m a hipster and listen to Johnny Cash, he gets a lifetime acheivement award, so I can feel good about that too.

50 Cent and Martin Luther King, Jr: I like listening to 50 Cent, because it’s cool to be a thug or a pimp. I’m neither, of course, but I get to pretend, because I’m a YMPCC. I also think that Racism is Bad, though we did away with it a long time ago, so I like MLK, too. I’m not sure what Chris Rock meant, but I also think he’s funny.

Good Charlotte and Duran Duran: Depending on my exact age, I’m either too young to remember Duran Duran, or old enough to be nostalgic about it. In either case, I’m glad that they got an award. The 80’s is practically forever ago to a YMPCC—long enough ago to have a retro trend associated with it, so basically everyone wins here. I also like Good Charlotte, because they’re punks and punk rock is great, ‘cause it’s all about rebelling against society and stuff. YMPCCs are all about rebelling against society, which is why we watch MTV.

Beyonce is just hot, so does anything else really matter?

The MTV Video Awards mean that I’m part of the best demographic ever.

In my daily reading of Martin Lloyd-Jones’s “Sermon on the Mount” book, I encountered his brief explanation of the body/soul/spirit thing. He didn’t give the background for his view, but it was this-

body is what we live in- our day-to-day mundane existence

soul has to do with how we relate to others- communal, I suppose

spirit is the medium in which we relate to God individually. The inner sanctum so to speak.

Love is accountability. Without God holding us accountable, his mercy is meaningless. Without us holding our dear ones accountable, our love is meaningless. It is tough and I hate doing it, because I hate confrontation. But the best things in my life are because someone held me accountable first, even before they hugged me or showed me mercy.

The people at Oneida who hold the kids accountable are the ones who really love them. The Pentecostal/Charismatics who refuse to be held accountable to the bible are in grievous, mortal danger.

Hold them accountable, Michael.

The IM Short Essay of the Day Contest: What does this MEAN? (Serious and non serious commentary invited.)

And the irony here is to obvious and sad to even mention. I hope Chris Rock really knew what he was saying. Black America at its worst: vile, uneduacted, sexually obsessed, shallow, offensive, and the white man laughs and shakes his head. These people are total dupes of a system that demeans them.

Besides the bump-and-grind number by Madonna, Spears and Aguilera, there was 50 Cent’s performance of “P.I.M.P.,” during which he was joined onstage by Snoop Dogg, the ubiquitous Bishop Don Magic Juan, members of his G-Unit posse- and a bevy of half-naked women. “Today is the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream’ speech- isn’t it nice to see that his dream has finally come true?” cracked host Chris Rock (news) after 50 and company left the stage.