Christ and Culture

The book to buy

Is the church more about culture than doctrine?

This is a followup to my previous post: What is Culture? And when I say church I am speaking of the kind of church I am in. One that would be called a fundamentalist Baptist Church. Here's my concern and perhaps I am way off but ...

• I know a seminarian who told me he aspires to be a fundamentalist pastor.
• I believe in the fundamentals of the faith and as one can see from my doctrinal statement that I could easily be called a fundamentalist.
• When I was in seminary school I aspired to be a Baptist pastor.
• What I believe I am seeing in church is that we are more about culture than about a doctrinal position.
• Examples ... discussions at fellowships:
  • What Christian Day school did one attend?
  • What Bible College did one attend? "I went to Pillsbury ... or Northland"
• About the culture of fundamentalism: It seems to revolve around the so-called traditional fundamentalist taboos: Movies, dancing, drinking, cards, et cetera. "behaviors that are expected, rewarded and reinforced by and within a particular group.”
• I sense that our churches have become cultural centers (perhaps I should say "sub-cultural" centers instead of bastions of doctrinal truth. And the church is to be "the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15).
• We gather, I fear, wearing the clothing of the fundamentalist club instead of to worship "in spirit and truth" (John 4:24)

Comment: I appreciate your comments. Help me figure this out! What I see as expected:

• Sending one's child to the church's Christian Day School
• A young person enrolling in the approved Bible college
• Being "called to ministry" (want to be rewarded .... express being called!)
• A woman not being a professional.

What is Culture?

“Culture consists of the collective values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors that are expected, rewarded and reinforced by and within a particular group.”

Comment: I took a class at work last week and the issue of "culture" was addressed. I was thinking of fundamentalist culture and what makes one a fundamentalist Christian. Thoughts?

A tawdry marketing gimmick

Dan Burrell: The Latest in Pastoral Challenges — 7 Days of Sex

Excerpt:

I personally find this kind of trendy, flavor-of-the-month, pop-psychology type of “religion” distasteful and immensely irritating. To me, this fits in with other “trends” in emergent-driven churches like wearing too much gel in one’s hair, wearing shirt tails out, giving away shot glasses with the church name on them out in bars, shocking signs (Flamingo Road Church recently had a huge banner on their building asking people to “Flip Someone the Bird” this Thanksgiving. It was part of a Thanksgiving food drive. Please excuse me while I roll my eyes.), Starbucks franchises in the lobbies, one-word church names and worship franchising. None of these, on their own are intrinsically evil or always unBiblical — it’s just that if I were an unsaved person watching all these gyrations to get me to give them some attention, I’d be laughing hysterically at the antics and the seeming desperation. In fact, I do laugh hysterically at it sometimes. Other times, I just throw up a little bit in my mouth.

Comment: God’s creation has managed to propagate without bill-boards, campaigns, and pulpit messages.

‘7 days of sex’ is a cheap marketing gimmick. I personally would not be comfortable worshiping with the kind of fools drawn into this.

HT: Dan Burrell

Mantuary from matrimony

Why he needs a room of his own

Excerpt:

"I have it decorated with all the sports memorabilia that my wife would not allow anywhere in the house in a million years," says Brian, 30, a sales director for a print media company.

But for Brian, it's not just about holding onto the ratty futon and the "Fletch" movie poster from his bachelor days. It's about having a "mantuary," or "man cave" -- a space just for him where he can watch sports uninterrupted or play Xbox games with his buddies.

"When his friends come over, they will go downstairs," says Vicki, a 31-year-old account executive at a communications firm. "It's like the basement in 'That '70s Show.'"

What does Brian have stashed away?

"Millions of movies," he says, plus a 32-inch flat-screen TV, film posters, his guitar, an exercise bike, and a few family treasures, including the first-place trophy he won at a melanoma charity golf tournament he played in honor of his deceased father.

Having a room of one's own can provide refuge in a stressful world, but can a mantuary actually help a marriage?

Comment: My home is my mantuary!

Postmodern Pastor-Comedian

HT: The Old Truth


Comment: This has got to be a joke!

Albert Mohler: Is Creationism a Threat to Human Rights?

Is Creationism a Threat to Human Rights?

Excerpt:

As if the world needed another crazy development, the Council of Europe, the continent's central human rights body, last week declared creationism to be a threat to human rights. The group's Parliamentary Assembly approved a resolution stating that creationism is promoted by "forms of religious extremism."

As Reuters reported:

The Council, based in the eastern French city of Strasbourg, oversees human rights standards in member states and enforces decisions of the European Court of Human Rights.

The resolution, which passed 48 votes to 25 with 3 abstentions, is not binding on the Council's 47 member states but reflects widespread opposition among politicians to teaching creationism in science class.

The text of the resolution leaves no doubt about the Council of Europe's judgment. "For some people the Creation, as a matter of religious belief, gives a meaning to life," the text acknowledges. "Nevertheless, the Parliamentary Assembly is worried about the possible ill-effects of the spread of creationist ideas within our education systems and about the consequences for our democracies. If we are not careful, creationism could become a threat to human rights which are a key concern of the Council of Europe."

Anyone looking for evidence of a secularized culture should take a quick look at this resolution. When the official human rights institution of Europe has to explain that "some people" believe that the divine creation of the universe "gives a meaning to life," this can only mean that Europe (at least as represented by the Council of Europe) has forgotten even its Christian memory.

Comment: Add Albert Mohler's blog to your RSS reader or bookmark it! Every article is worthwhile! Here he highlight's secularism run amuck! Truth has been turned upside down! Good is evil ... evil is good! More to come from our culture! (Yet God is still sovereignly in control! Blessed be His Name!)

What's the difference?

The image on the top is from a stupid Hollywood movie (The Ring).

The image on the bottom ... well you can read about it here

Excerpt:

Napoleon Press, Inc. specializes in producing printworks of classic literature in their entirity, all on a single poster. Our current print contains the complete text of the King James edition of the Holy Bible. This decorative bible poster is suitable for framing, and is a great gift to display in home or office. The Bible poster measures 22" X 28" and will fit easily into a standard poster frame available at most local craft and framing stores. The border is adapted from artwork found in the Gutenberg Bible, which was the first printed book in human history. This edition of the Bible is typeset in Univers Light Ultra Condensed, the size is approximately one point. It is printed using vegetable-oil based inks on McCoy Silk 100# cover paper, which is archival quality.

Comment: Yes ... the entire Bible on one page. Looks like a grey screen to me! If you stare at it enough, you will become a mindless zombie like the actress in the top image! The point is this - the Bible is not a talisman to ward off evil or bring good luck. One must read it with an open heart and an understanding mind!

2 Timothy 3:14-17

But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

HT: A Little Leaven

Virtual adultery!

Is This Man Cheating on His Wife?

Excerpt:

A week later, he asked her to move into the small apartment he rented in Phantom Island, an area of Second Life. In May, they married in a small ceremony in a garden overlooking a pond. She wore a strapless white dress that she bought at a Second Life yard sale and he wore a tuxedo. Thirty of their avatar friends attended.



Comment: These people have an unusual infatuation with each other that is, in reality, a form of marital unfaithfulness. See my earlier posting Second Life? Get a Life!

Matthew 5:27-28, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that(everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

Pastoral Counseling and the New Technologies.

Quote: "human lusts find new ways to express themselves in every generation"

Potter Madness

If one wants: drama, action, character development, good vs evil, miracles, wicked kings, 'Jezebel' queens, prophets, seers, family rivalies, etc ...

Look no further than ...



I'm amazed by the frenzy over "Pottermania"! Americans are ignorant of the greatest book ever! The Holy Scriptures. And unlike Harry ... the Scriptures are TRUE!

1. Romans 1:2-4, " ... which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. "
   
2. 1 Corinthians 10:1-11, "Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come."
   
3. 2 Timothy 3:15,16, "and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness"
   

We will give an account for how we handle truth. Read a novel if you wish - but don't let the Bible be a forgotten book!

On a personal note: Kathee and I are reading the Old Testament together (2 chapters a night generally). It is exciting stuff! And it is God's Holy Word!

What's the best Bible! Well unless you read Hebrew, I would not suggest the Bible in the picture above. Bibles I have and recommend: King James Version, New American Standard, New King James Bible, New International Version, and the English Standard Version. All are available at Amazon.com, Borders Bookstore, and other locations. Many probably have one right in your home, perhaps gathering dust from disuse!

Is Environmentalism a religion?

Environmentalism and Christianity

Comments: Good read from Challies! The "Live Earth" (think Al Gore) organization is AKA "SOS" = "Save Our Selves!

Excerpt from Challies:

... environmentalism is fast becoming a religion in its own right. It has many of the elements of a religion, many of which even bear a passing resemblance to aspects of Christianity. Here are a few of the ways environmentalism has religious overtones: there is a deity (most often the earth itself), a heavenly state (the earth in its natural state before humans came along), a fall into sin (when man began to destroy the earth, particularly through industrialization), sinners (human beings), penance (carbon offsets and credits), redemption (a return to the earth's heavenly or natural state when man finally gets it right or when man is eradicated). It has its leaders and sages, men like Al Gore (or in Canada, David Suzuki). It demands full adherence and scorns those who disagree, even suggesting that such people do not deserve a voice in public discourse. It is becoming a worldview unto itself and a worldview built upon a Darwinian understanding of the world's origins. It may acknowledge some kind of deity beyond the earth itself, but certainly not the God of the Bible. In short, it is a religion and, like all false religions, an idolatrous one. It is the religion of choice for many and perhaps even most people in our culture today.

40th Anniversary of the "Summer of Love"

The Summer of Drugs

An unclouded, un-stoned view by Ted Nugent!

Excerpts:

Forty years ago hordes of stoned, dirty, stinky hippies converged on San Francisco to "turn on, tune in, and drop out," which was the calling card of LSD proponent Timothy Leary. Turned off by the work ethic and productive American Dream values of their parents, hippies instead opted for a cowardly, irresponsible lifestyle of random sex, life-destroying drugs and mostly soulless rock music that flourished in San Francisco.

The Summer of Drugs climaxed with the Monterey Pop Festival which included some truly virtuoso musical talents such as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, both of whom would be dead a couple of years later due to drug abuse. Other musical geniuses such as Jim Morrison and Mama Cass would also be dead due to drugs within a few short years. The bodies of chemical-infested, brain-dead liberal deniers continue to stack up like cordwood.

As a diehard musician, I terribly miss these very talented people who squandered God's gifts in favor of poison and the joke of hipness. I often wonder what musical peaks they could have climbed had they not gagged to death on their own vomit. Their choice of dope over quality of life, musical talent and meaningful relationships with loved ones can only be categorized as despicably selfish.
=================

The 1960s, a generation that wanted to hold hands, give peace a chance, smoke dope and change the world, changed it all right: for the worse. America is still suffering the horrible consequences of hippies who thought utopia could be found in joints and intentional disconnect.

A quick study of social statistics before and after the 1960s is quite telling. The rising rates of divorce, high school drop outs, drug use, abortion, sexual diseases and crime, not to mention the exponential expansion of government and taxes, is dramatic. The "if it feels good, do it" lifestyle born of the 1960s has proved to be destructive and deadly.

---

Where was I that summer?

1. Just graduated from High School
   
2. Worked at a greenhouse for the Summer (and my first year of college at the University of Cincinnati)
   
3. Was not a Christian - that would come 2 years later
   
4. I enjoyed the music ... but never tried the drugs!
   
5. "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" (see below): was somewhat of the theme song for that Summer. Really looks and sounds stupid in 2007!
   

---

Mauritania: Where Fat is Sexy

In Mauritania, Seeking to End an Overfed Ideal

Nouakchott Journal
In Mauritania, Seeking to End an Overfed Ideal
By SHARON LaFRANIERE
Published: July 4, 2007
To Mauritania’s men, fat is sexy, so women resort to force-feeding and steroid use in pursuit of obesity.

Excerpt:

But this is the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the mirror opposite of the West on questions of women’s weight. To men here, fat is sexy. And in this patriarchal region, many Mauritanian women do everything possible — and have everything possible done to them — to put on pounds

Comment: I live in the wrong country!

More (maybe not!)

Nor is it easy, Ms. Mahmoud said, to change how the sexes view each other. “Men want women to be fat, and so they are fat,” she said. “Women want men to be skinny, and so they are skinny.” Indeed, according to Mauritanian stereotypes, porky men are womanish and lazy.

Mohamed el-Moktar Ould Salem, a 52-year-old procurement officer, blames the brightly colored, head-to-toe mulafas that hide all but the most voluptuous female curves for shaping the men’s preferences. A slender woman, he said, “just looks like a stick wrapped up.”

The dark side of Web 2.0

The Cult of the Amateur

Books of the Times
The Cult of the Amateur
By MICHIKO KAKUTANI
Published: June 29, 2007
Andrew Keen points out in his provocative new book that Web 2.0, which incorporates user-generated content, social networking and interactive sharing, has a dark side.

Excerpt:

Mr. Keen argues that “what the Web 2.0 revolution is really delivering is superficial observations of the world around us rather than deep analysis, shrill opinion rather than considered judgment.” In his view Web 2.0 is changing the cultural landscape and not for the better. By undermining mainstream media and intellectual property rights, he says, it is creating a world in which we will “live to see the bulk of our music coming from amateur garage bands, our movies and television from glorified YouTubes, and our news made up of hyperactive celebrity gossip, served up as mere dressing for advertising.” This is what happens, he suggests, “when ignorance meets egoism meets bad taste meets mob rule.”

Comment: While I probably won't buy the book (until it is in the bargin bin!), the review was interesting.

Another surrender to culture!

Simpsons to Teach Theology, Boost Attendance

Excerpt:

The Church of England is getting help from the Simpsons to provide a more relevant way of teaching children about theology and to give a boost to dwindling congregations.

Comment: Try preaching the gospel!

Ark: "acts of random kindness"

Just Say Noah: Evan Almighty's appalling effort to pander to religious moviegoers

Excerpts:

Evan Almighty, a drab retelling of the Noah story as a comic ecofable, is Hollywood's latest and—with a $200 million budget—most expensive pander at the Christian market. Ever since the success of The Passion of the Christ in 2004, studios have been hurling money at Christian directors in hopes they can recapture that Jesus mojo.
---------
You might argue that making a comedy about Noah's ark—one of the Bible's grimmest stories—is a bit like making a sex farce about the Rwandan genocide.
---------
But Evan Almighty also strips away anything Christian (or Jewish) about the story and replaces it with a message of universal hokum. God's entire instruction to his flock? Practice "acts of random kindness." (Look at the initial letters of that phrase.) That's not religion or even morality. It's a coffee mug slogan.
---------
never thought I'd hear myself say this, but Evan Almighty makes me miss The Passion. It was a sadistic, horrifying movie, about a bloody and terrifying book. But Mel Gibson captured the sense of the story, the ideas of suffering and sacrifice that undergird Christianity.

Comment: What I don't get is why some Christians are falling all over themselves to endorse this film! Salon review: God forbid Steve Carell should keep pouring his comic talents into brain-dead heart-warmers like this

Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht

Bach: Coffee Cantata

Excerpt:

"If I can't drink my bowl of coffee three times daily, then in my torment, I will shrivel up like a piece of roast goat"

I recently heard of this. The sentiment above is close to my coffee experience!

In German: Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht ("Be still, stop chattering")

100,000 Wang Tao's

Picture from picturechina.net

Chinese surname shortage sparks rethink

Excerpt:

Current Chinese law states that children are only allowed take the surname from either their mother or father, but the lack of variety means there are now 93 million people in China with the family name Wang.

In a country of around 1.3 billion people, about 85 percent share only 100 surnames, according to a nationwide survey conducted by the Ministry of Public Security in April and published in the China Daily newspaper on Tuesday.

The survey found 92 million people shared the surname Li, while 88 million were called Zhang. A further seven surnames -- including Chen, Zhou and Lin -- are held by at least 20 million Chinese.

Comment: My back surgeon is a Zhou (Dr. Wylie H Zhu)!

Cocaine: generational amnesia?

Cocaine: Hidden in Plain Sight

Fashion & Style
Cocaine: Hidden in Plain Sight
By MELENA RYZIK
Published: June 10, 2007
The drug may have faded from the public eye but it is very visible on the social scene.

Excerpt:

While cocaine and drug abuse seem to have faded from the headlines, with coverage limited to the not-so-veiled references surrounding the exploits of waifish celebrities, it is still very much a part of the social scene, especially in New York.

Evidence of that is popping up in music, television and even theater. Indeed, for a generation that has not had its John Belushi to drive home the dangers of drug abuse, references and even use are open, casual, even blatant.

...

Dominic Streatfeild, the author of “Cocaine: An Unauthorized Biography,” who is based in London, where according to recent government studies, use among young people has tripled since the late 90s, had another theory. “In a culture obsessed with celebrity,” he said, “the fact that cocaine makes you feel rich and beautiful — it’s the perfect drug for our times.”

With Wall Street surging and a 24-hour global economy, young professionals have the money and the incentive to stay constantly wired.

Comment: Another generation must confront this addictive drug!

9 year old video champ

He’s 9 Years Old and a Video-Game Circuit Star

New York Region
He’s 9 Years Old and a Video-Game Circuit Star
By BRUCE LAMBERT
Published: June 7, 2007
Victor M. De Leon III — known to rivals and fans as Lil’ Poison — is thought to be the youngest pro gamer.

Excerpt:

Victor M. De Leon III has been playing video games on the professional circuit for five years now, racking up thousands of dollars in prizes and endorsements at tournaments around the country. He has a national corporate sponsor, a publicist and a Web site, with 531 photos chronicling his career. A documentary filmmaker has been following him for months.

Victor weighs 56 pounds and likes to watch SpongeBob SquarePants at his home here on Long Island. He celebrated his 9th birthday last month with a trip to a carnival and a vanilla cake. He gets above-average marks in the third grade, where he recently drew a dragon for art class.


Comment: This can't be healthy for body, mind, or spirit!