Operation Shoebox Charity Auction

Bill O'Reilly is running a charity auction for Operation Shoebox, which sends much needed care packages to troops overseas.

The winners of the auction will receive a beautifully framed American flag that flew over Kuwait and a certificate of authenticity. The bidding prices are, at least for now, surprisingly low and would make a fantastic Father's Day gift--and what a great cause for the money to go to.

The auction ends on June 4th at 9:30 pm PDT (east coasters may have to stay up late to get those last bids in).

To go to O'Reilly's auction site, click here.

New York and Gay Marriages

In this article from CNN, New York to recognize gay marriages, we learn that "The governor's legal counsel told state agencies in a May 14 memo to revise policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in California and Massachusetts as well as Canada and other countries that allow gays and lesbians to marry, said Erin Duggan, the governor's spokeswoman."

New York doesn't actually marry gay couples, but they are going to recognize the marriages from other states. From information in the article, Massachusetts, "New Hampshire, Vermont, New Jersey and Connecticut permit civil unions, while California has a domestic-partner registration law."

As you know if you've been reading this site, I don't mind telling you what I think even if I'm pretty certain that no one will like it. This will be much the same. You see, as Christians, it is not for us to make immorality illegal. It is for us to try to evangelize the true message of God. Becoming so involved in the U.S. secular government by trying to impose the laws of God on the laws of the country is overstepping our bounds and is, again, not a way to win converts. People will always sin no matter what we make illegal. You will always sin though you might be a Christian. Should we find all the ways that you and I sin and make them illegal in the U.S.?

Furthermore, Jesus died for all our sins, not just the sins of Christians and certainly not just for the sins of those who sin the least or only partake in a particular types of sins.

Matthew 7:1-31Do not judge, or you too will be judged.2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged,and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

Added a bar...

Or, I suppose, that would be BAR. The daily news feed for the Biblical Archaeology Review has been added to the bottom of the first news column.

New Testaments burned in Israel, Pagan tomb in St. Peter's Basilica

Hundreds of New Testaments torched in Israel

"News accounts in Israel have quoted Uzi Aharon, the deputy mayor of Or-Yehuda, as saying he organized students who burned several hundred copies of the New Testament. The deputy mayor gave interviews to Israeli radio and television stations after word of the incident surfaced about two weeks ago."

This was actually organized by a deputy mayor, making it essentially a state function, though of course the action is officially condemned. This is a chilling reminder that no matter how fondly many Christians in America view Israel, that Israel is, after all, a part of the problem in the Middle East. From breaking treaties and bombing and bulldozing Palestinian settlements to Christian persecution, the Israelis are no friends of peace. Prayers go to the small population of Messianic Jews who live in Israel.

Pagan tomb under St. Peter's Basilica reopened

Several charcoal "graffiti" of designs and Latin inscriptions were left untouched to allow for further research. Scholars think the inscriptions might indicate Peter's tomb.

The entire article is interesting, but I found the small bit quoted above particularly fascinating. Whether the traditional burial place of Peter is truly the burial place of Peter or not has been hotly debated.

Finding life on Mars. What would it mean to Christians?

The Pope's astronomer has recently been quoted as saying, "...one cannot put limits on the creative freedom of God... They would be part of creation...Children of God."

According to this article in The Independent, such statements can be seen as an attempt to show that the current Pope is not as opposed to science as some of his statements, including those about Intelligent Design, might lead you to believe. In fact, the Pope's astronomer, José Gabriel Funes, a Jesuit priest, said that for him "evolution is a given. He also said that he believed in the Big Bang theory as the most likely explanation for the origin of the universe, and that the Bible should not be held to account for its lack of scientific accuracy. "Fundamentally," he said, "the Bible is not a book of science... It's a love letter written by God to his people in the language of two or three thousand years ago... So one cannot ask the Bible for scientific responses."

But what of the ID, anti-science proponents? They've just recently produced a documentary with Ben Stein, Expelled, which posits that the initial requirements for life are so remarkably unlikely as to make God's hand a virtual requirement for the formation of even microscopic life. Unfortunately, it is appearing to be increasingly unlikely that life is as wide-spread in the universe as only recently was thought. This means that NASA is unlikely to find any signs of life any time soon. Can anyone imagine that the misguided Christians who oppose science will only use this as further proof for their inane ideas? It would be better for us, as Christians, if NASA actually did find life. It would cause the ID, anti-evolutionists to completely rethink their entire position. I have little doubt that they would only manage to come up with some new horror, but at least the old one would be extinguished. And maybe even a couple of them might learn a valuable lesson.

Science Versus Religion

Looking at this story from the LA Times, we have a number of good perspectives of the "battle" between science and religion. For the average person of faith or disbelief, there really is no battle, but the leading public proponents of atheism and Christianity persist in perpetuating this seeming war, with leading skeptics saying things like (from the article) "The answer turns on whether one emphasizes belief or God. Science does not make belief in God obsolete, but it may make obsolete the reality of God, depending on how far we are able to push the science."

Let us make something perfectly, crystal clear. There is nothing in either cosmology or evolution science that could ever make a proof against God. We have, unfortunately, a lot of Christians who run around acting as though this is the case. We have the Intelligent Design crowd who fears evolution. We have the William Lane Craig people running amok with the cosmological argument, despite the fact that physics has moved so far beyond the Big Bang that modern physics can hardly see Craig in its rear view mirror.

I say again. Do not place Christianity in opposition to science. You do God no favors by acting as though He only exists so long as we can disprove certain theories or facts of science.

ABC and McCain's Pastor

According to this article by ABC, John McCain's pastor is quoted as saying, "Islam is an anti-Christ religion that intends through violence to conquer the world," Parsley says on the DVDs reviewed by ABC News.

He also made some other, in my opinion, innocuous and fully correct statements such as this one. You can hardly call Islam "pro-Christ" and Islamic leaders have consistently given speeches in which they advocated overthrowing Christian nations and spreading the law of Islam all across the world.

There was one odd statement about our country being founded for the purpose of eradicating the religion of Islam, but the rest of the statements were hardly anything worth reading. My only conclusion from reading the article is that ABC had a sort of active investigation with the purpose of finding something, anything, to point to with John McCain's pastor in order to even the score between him and Obama. Certainly, the statements, by and large, were run of the mill type comments that, truly, were not that debatable.

Christophobia in Germany

German chants of "No God, no state, no patriarchy", "Masturbation instead of evangelization," and "Never again Jesus" filled the air together with speaker announcements that compared the gathered Christians to Nazis...Christival hosts also reported that some Christians were mobbed and had beer bottles thrown at them.

The entire story can be read here.

You never blame the victim, but one of the bigger problems with Christianity today is that we've allowed the modern day version of the Pharisee, modern fundamentalists, to become the face of Christianity. If, as Christians, we taught what Jesus taught, no one would have any basis whatsoever for considering us a collection of bigoted, narrow-minded people filled with hate. Just as Jesus fought against the Pharisees, so must we fight against the modern fundamentalist so that we might return our religion to its true origins.

“How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the important things of the law- justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the most important things. Blind Guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat; then you swallow a camel.” Matthew 23:23-24

Steven Curtis Chapman's Daughter Killed

This is not so much a story regarding Christianity, though certainly Chapman is a popular artist, as it is a cautionary tale for everyone. It is remarkable how many children are killed in their own driveways every year. In my own town, we've had at least two that I can think of just in the last few months.

"The 5-year-old daughter of Grammy-winning Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman was struck and killed Wednesday by a sport utility vehicle driven by her brother, authorities said."

What an awful, tragic story. Certainly the Chapman family should be in all our prayers as they try to find the strength to make it from one day to the next. Some tests and trials hardly seem possible to overcome, and some seem to never fully recover from the loss of a child. Further, imagine the pain the brother will have to live with for the rest of his life.

As the death toll in China rises

Report: Death toll in China Exceeds 12,000

Actually, there's a good chance that the death toll far exceeds 12,000. If you were searching for a good Christian aid organization to lend support to, look no further than to World Vision International.

By providing relief and spiritual guidance in this most troubling time, we can demonstrate that Christianity is more than a codex, more than a thought, more than a slogan. Christianity is God's outpouring of love; it is the Holy Spirit moving through us to help those in need.

Loss of God is Making Us Miserable

Another sign of the times in mother England. This report from the Telegraph of what is causing the general malaise in England is spot on:

"Given all the advances of recent years, we seek to understand why a sense of human wellbeing – happiness if you like – is not more widespread...The faith communities have a great opportunity to lead here, but only if they stop carping and being against everything and start to be more positive. It is as much a message to the faith communities as other opinion formers."

In fact, this is a sign of the times for all Christianity. Why must people remind us to be a religion that is inclusive and more positive? We have become a mere shell of what Christianity was supposed to be. We are so worried about the splinters in everyone else's eyes that we can't imagine uplifting anyone. How can we uplift the masses when there are so many things to rant about?

We have lost our way. It is not for me to make you perfect, or for you to make me perfect (trust me, you couldn't no matter how hard you tried. I should forgive you without your asking. I should love you without your meriting love. I should lift you when you fall and support you on your journey. If I do these things for you, will you not feel the love of Christ and sense the power of the Holy Spirit through me?

To read this article, click here.

Highlighted: Challenges to Faith Not Addressed by Churches

From the Christian Post:

PORTLAND, Ore. - The inability of the church to discuss a topic that has become taboo among many Christians is one of the root causes why millions of Americans are leaving the church and never to return, says one author.
There are "Christians who have experientially lost their faith" but have no one to turn to since church culture shuns the topic, Dave Samford said Thursday.
It's not that these Christians lost their salvation, but that they have lost their faith in the Bible, the church and Christian beliefs, said the author, who was addressing attendants at the annual convention of the Evangelical Press Association in Portland, Ore.
Over 31 million Americans are part of this exodus from the church, Samford said, citing a Barna Group study.
"Any business that is losing 31 million customers is going out of business," he told a room of Christian journalists and editors. "[It] is the greatest crisis among Christians today in the U.S., Canada and some parts of Europe…We must break the silence in our publications.”

We, as Christians, cannot ignore the challenge of faith in the modern world. While we have many, now, who go after a confirmation of faith through such efforts as Intelligent Design, we have very few who are teaching the proper ways of coming to God and explaining Christianity in a light that makes the faith look reasonable and true. We must address, in every church, the challenges of faith. We must open reliable resources for those who are losing their way. And, as my good friend, Paul Zannucci, says, we must stop holding faith up as a counterpoint to reason.

Christianity Terminally ill in England and Evangelicals

In three stories that I find closely related, we find just how desperate the state of Christianity is in England, and we find where the evangelicals are placing their emphasis.

Churchgoing on its knees as Christianity falls out of favour

"Church attendance in Britain is declining so fast that the number of regular churchgoers will be fewer than those attending mosques within a generation, research published today suggests."

Church attendance in Wales ‘plummeting’

"New figures compiled after an analysis of membership of religious bodies have revealed the numbers attending church on a monthly basis could fall from 200,000 to fewer than 40,000 over the next four decades – that is less than the average attendance at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge football ground."

Meanwhile, seeing where the true problem lies, the evangelicals have decided to concentrate serious effort to combat global warming:

Evangelicals press to fight global warming

The once-tiny Christian environmental movement began quickly accelerating in 2006, when 85 prominent evangelical leaders signed on to the Evangelical Climate Initiative calling for action on global warming. That number has since climbed to more than 100.

"It's a bit out of the ordinary for evangelicals to be involved with this issue," said Jim Jewell, chief operating officer of the Evangelical Environmental Network, a group that educates and mobilizes Christians on environmental issues. "The evangelical involvement with climate has kind of shaken the political landscape a bit."

While the evangelicals are out baptizing a tree in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the warming of Hell gets stoked by more and more Britons. And, yes, that's a bit of hyperbole, but what is truly more important? The death of their religion or joining a controversial political opinion?

Then again, if the U.S. southern evangelicals went to London, they'd likely just stand on street corners yelling at people that they are going to hell because of Darwin and fornication (which is exactly how Jesus preached, right?), in which case Christianity wouldn't last another six months over there. Perhaps the new focus on the environment is not so bad after all.

Tennessee Schools can Teach the Bible

The Attorney General of Tennessee has cleared the way for Tennessee public schools to have classes that study the Bible as a literary and historical document so long as acceptance of its religiosity is not pushed upon the students. For the original story from April, see this Tennessean article. For one of the horrified media responses, see this more recent Knoxville News Sentinel article by Leslie Snow.

First of all, the Bible, simply as a document, is still the most important literary work in human history. There is no struggle of man that is not in the Bible: from love and faithfulness, to war and sacrifice. The quest for meaning and the evolution from hatred to love are there. As is the history of a civilization as it develops from wandering nomads to a stable kingdom, and then as an angry people under the thumbs of various imperialist states. Our understanding of the development of human culture would be far poorer without the Bible.

But beyond all that, when you consider that nearly every piece of art from 300 A.D. to the nineteenth century in some way references the Bible, how can you expect students of art to understand the symbolism and appreciate the work if they have no idea of its foundations? And how can one have a complete understanding of the history of western culture without knowledge of the book that inspired the beliefs and behaviors of the people of that culture?

I'm going to leave the other potential benefits of teaching the Bible to children completely alone, as it will only inspire more histrionics from those who cannot see reason for all their unreasonable fear of a dissolution of the boundaries between church and state.

Spiritual Water? Commercialization of Christianity

This story from the denverpost.com has me conflicted. In Sip your way to salvation with Spiritual Water?, we learn that a pair of Florida entrepreneurs have started selling bottled water with a picture of Jesus (and St. Michael and mother Mary) and a prayer on the bottle. There are a number of varieties, including "power" and "strength", and each sells for $2.00 per bottle.

"Church is on Sundays, but people need something to help them through the week," says Taieb, 33 and CEO of the company. "The whole idea is for people to feel better and to know God is with them," he says.

I'm not sure that's the whole idea. I'm sure that money is a part of the idea somewhere. And, in fact, my first thought was that money was, itself, the whole idea, particularly when I read the quote from one of the distributors, "You drink it, and you just feel like you are in church." That seems a bit much to me, particularly when we already have so many things that people substitute for church life these days. You can only get so much instruction and fellowship from a plastic bottle.

Yet here is a product that wears its faith on its label. If someone looks at the picture and reads the prayer and feels closer to the Holy Spirit then who am I to question that? In America we are so constantly distracted by the worldly that having a few bottles with the image of the Christ on them cannot be that bad, right? I honestly don't know. Using the image of Jesus to sell more and more products seems a taboo that once broken (it may already have been broken) may have far reaching implications. Are there products you wouldn't slap a picture of Jesus and a prayer on if you thought it would make you a buck? I am conflicted.

A Series of Odd Moves by the Methodists

In news over the last few weeks, with today included, we have had various stories put forth by the United Methodist Church that can only be described as attempting to move itself farther to the political left in the public eye.

First, we had news that the church was threatening to divest itself of Caterpillar stock, of which it owns quite a substantial quantity, because of the perception that Caterpillar was complicit in recent actions taken by Israel against Palestinians. Then we had news that they were going to be discussing the variety of topics that fall under the heading of transgender/homosexuality, with an eye to possibly changing the current position against practicing homosexuals from serving in the ministry. This was followed by an announcement that the leading Methodist court had been reshuffled to the political left (they're going even further?). And now we have news that they are calling for vast immigration reform.

First of all, each of these issues is something a church body should be addressing. Israel is not always right. I'm not certain about the practicing homosexuals serving in the church, but I do know that God forgives them just as He forgives me, and too often Christians forget the notions of forgiveness and tolerance when it comes to homosexuals. And the concept of being kind to the alien in your land goes back to the book of Genesis.

However, it seems odd to make such a concerted effort at this point on all these issues. One has to wonder whether there aren't other, real motives behind these announcements. Methodist membership has dwindled in the U.S. and Europe, though it has grown in areas such as Africa and China. Are they trying to redraw their image in America to be attractive to the growing liberal audience that is turned off by the evangelicals and the Southern Baptist Convention? A move away from the tenets of the SBC and the evangelicals is not necessarily a bad thing, and yet we must be careful that we don't create a sort of two-party Christianity in this country. We cannot blithely politicize the Bible without serious consequences to the foundations of our religion. Choosing a position because it is correct is one thing. Choosing a position because it is "left" is something else entirely.