Analysis: Mega-Stardom Muddling Faith of Christian Pop Stars

Lindsay Lohan (file)

By

Kevin Jackson

Christian Post Reporter

Thu, May. 31 2007 04:47 PM ET

Over the past several months, the faith of some female celebrities in the secular music scene has become more of an issue for their friends, family, and the media.

The most recent example: a car accident in Beverly Hills, Calif., involving actress/singer Lindsay Lohan that led to her arrest on charges of driving under the influence with possible cocaine on the scene.

Her estranged father, Michael Lohan, responded to the incident with a plea towards God.

"When Lindsay puts God back in her life, things will turn around," he explained in an interview with the Ledger. "Until then, I'll just keep praying."

Incidences involving several other pop celebrities have also raised questions for many over whether or not they are still a Christian.

In most cases, the problem is not a complete absence in belief in God. However, while most celebrities appear to keep their faith - on a more personal and private level - they are also taking on the values of the pop culture that surrounds them.

The result is a muddled belief that borders on the faith but may not be completely be characterized as Christian.

Pop princess Britney Spears, for example, has littered the tabloids throughout this year - mostly in a negative way. She has had to deal with a second divorce, constant media slander, and even checked into a clinic to try to get her bearings straight.

But in the beginning, Spears entered the music scene as a relatively devout Christian. She was raised as a Southern Baptist in her home state of Mississippi, part of the Bible Belt, and began her fame with that as a foundation. http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070531/27704_Analysis%3A_Mega-Stardom_Muddling_Faith_of_Christian_Pop_Stars.htm

So is it possible to maintain genuine faith in the thicket of temptation called media stardom?

It ain't easy. But it can be done.

Consider another celebrity who has chosen a decidedly different course in life.

Converting Kirk Cameron

"I was rich, I was young, I was famous, I could do anything I wanted with whomever I wanted." - Kirk Cameron

By KEVIN SITES, TUE MAY 29, 1:47 PM PDT

BELLFLOWER, California - At the height of his Hollywood success, former "Growing Pains" sitcom star Kirk Cameron started worrying about something his money couldn't buy: salvation.

He had more than just legions of fanatic fans. He also had stalkers and kidnapping threats, and was sometimes driven to the set in a bulletproof car. It got him thinking about his own mortality. He had it all, but still felt empty.

Kirk Cameron reaches a new audience these days through his Christian radio show, television show, and Web site.

"I was raised not going to church. We never prayed — didn't know how. Are you supposed to close your eyes, keep them open? Look up? Look down? Get on my knees? What do I do?"

Cameron started reading the bible and going to church. He became a Christian, but says his transition had some growing pains of its own.

On the set of his hit show, the easy-going prankster became detached and sullen. Once close to the other cast members, he pulled away from them all — except his co-star and fellow Christian, Chelsea Noble, whom he married in 1991.

He also started taking issue with some of the show's writing. One script called for his TV mom to have a nightmare in which Cameron's character, Mike Seaver, wakes up next to a beautiful girl and says, "Hey, babe. Good morning. By the way, what's your name again?"

Cameron balked, pushing for the writers to change the scene. They refused. Cameron says he wasn't trying to push his religious views on the show. He just didn't want to compromise his newfound moral principles.

Cameron is 36 now and still has the boyish good looks of his TV character — but with a few of the wrinkles and creases that go along with self-reflection and fatherhood. He and his wife have six children, four adopted and two of their own.

He says he is more comfortable in his Christian skin today, his convictions just as strong, but without the isolating air of self-righteousness. He has reconciled with former "Growing Pains" cast members and even was part of a reunion show in 2000.

But Cameron says his priorities are very clear: God, family, career — in that order.

He says those decisions have had negative consequences for his career.

"I had one producer in a meeting discussing a movie say, 'So I hear you've got content issues.' You know, absolutely I've got content issues," Cameron says. "What I would say is I've got convictions. I've got priorities. If someone was asking me to do something that would compromise my relationship with my wife I wouldn't do that; if that's going to hurt my marriage, I'm not going to do that. If it's going to hurt my kids, I'm not going to do that and I take it a step further and say if this is going to hurt someone else's kids, I don't want to be a part of that."

"It's about personal integrity," he says, "that's all." http://potw.news.yahoo.com/s/potw/41/converting-kirk-cameron

It has been said that unless we decide what we will stand for in life, someone else will make that decision for us. And what is true in the glare of the spot light is also true in the hall ways of school, the aisles of the grocery store, and in the soft glow of sitting down in front of the television or computer screen.

We all are faced with daily decisions that directly impact our integrity. They will either strengthen it, or erode it. And the secret of avoiding being the next sad story of conspicuous corruption is not only deciding what we will stand for, but as in the case of Kirk Cameron - Who we will stand for.

Show me a man or woman who has genuine personal loyalty to Jesus Christ, and I will show you a person of true integrity.

Some have it. Some have lost it. Some completely reject it. But the bottom line is in order to stand for what is right in times when pursuing what is wrong is celebrated, we all need that relationship with God.

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

Where are you building your house today?

 

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AP Photo

Rachel Smith, Miss USA 2007 gets up after falling during the evening gown competition of the Miss Universe 2007 beauty pageant in Mexico City, Monday, May 28, 2007. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Smith was booed repeatedly during her stay in Mexico, including last week, when she carried a guitar and wore an Elvis-style suit during a parade of national costumes held in downtown Mexico City.

She kept her poise during an interview Monday night with pageant judges, despite the boos and chants of "Mexico! Mexico!" that drowned out her answer.

"I am very passionate about education and being in South Africa sparked my interest in that," said Smith, a journalism graduate who volunteered for a month at talk show host Oprah Winfrey's Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

Then she paused, smiled and spoke in Spanish. "Buenas noches Mexico. Muchas gracias!" which earned her some applause and some chuckles. http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=entertainment&id=5340512

Did you catch the key word here?

Poise.

With her dignity still intact Rachel Smith finished the evening as a top five finisher in the competition.

 I have a feeling that the ability to keep one's head in such an overwhelming set of circumstances is going to serve her well in her future.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

Let's take a moment and ask ourselves have we become more comfortable in the role of a critic, or would we like to be better known as someone who cares?

Imagine if we can be the one to come upon a person who stumbles and help them to get back on their feet?

Not to point out the flaws or faults (most of us have no problem spotting those!), but to seek to find even one thing that is still right and praiseworthy in the situation.

And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,  not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. (Hebrews 11:24-25)

Let's not be a part of the fellowship of the cold and timid. Let's ask the Lord for the love and wisdom to be among the compassionate and committed. Let's sincerely pray for the perspective and power to be an encourager.

Dr. Francis S. Collins, the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institute of Health, says he has no problem with looking at Genesis as being more of an allegory for how the world was created.

“As a born-again Christian, I regard Ken Ham as my brother in faith and I have no doubt of the complete sincerity of his position,” Collins told The Christian Post. “But as a working scientist who has studied the intricacies of human DNA as my life's profession, I have arrived at very different conclusions on the basis of the facts in front of me.”

Collins, who is a theistic evolutionist, is recognized for his landmark discoveries of disease genes and successfully leading the effort to complete the Human Genome Project (HGP), a complex multidisciplinary scientific enterprise directed at mapping and sequencing all of the human DNA, and determining aspects of its function. He is the author of the book The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief and is invited to many settings to defend Christianity in debates about the existence of God and evolution.
“By closing their minds to the profoundly compelling evidence about the age of the universe and the relatedness of living things by descent from a common ancestor, those who adopt an ultra-literal interpretation of Genesis 1 and 2 seem to imply that God needs to be defended against what science is teaching us about nature,” said Collins. “Didn't God create all of this? Isn't science therefore a way to worship Him?” http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070527/27635_Creation_Museum_Stimulates_Christian_Discussion_of_Origins.htm

A valid question is raised by Dr. Collins. Can we have opt for a billions of years old Earth, with God as the orchestrating guide for the process of evolution?  Is the only thing that Genesis 1-2 brings to the discussion is that God is the Creator, with the details consigned to pre-scientific allegory?

In a word, no.

I have no doubt that Dr. Collins is a brother in the Lord, and a fine scientist. But when a scientist, especially a Christian one, begins making theological assertions they need to realize that they are not only speaking outside their realm of expertise, but may be creating more problems than they solve.

Could God have used evolution to accomplish His plan? The theory falls apart when we see the clear assessment God gave to His creation.

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.(Genesis 1:31)

Evolutionary theorists tell us that the driving mechanism behind the process of life is death. The strong survive and breed. The less fit fall by the way side and are eliminated.

Theistic evolutionists are left with the conclusion that God is the Author of death, disease, suffering and the cruelty of nature "red in fang and claw." We have fossilized bones of dinosaurs that show signs of bone cancer. Is God the designer of an engine of creation driven by suffering, pain and death itself? Could God have looked at all this and pronounced it "very good"?

If death was a part of God's creative plan from the very beginning we are also left with problems far outside "an ultra literal interpretation of Genesis". What are we to make of the clear view of the New Testament regarding the origin of death?

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.(Romans 5:12-21)

If death has no connection with sin, the Bible isn't simply some well intentioned allegory. It is wrong.

In fact, the theistic evolutionist ends up having to face the fact that the whole system he wants to impose on both the Old and New Testaments has no use for the God he tries to hold on to.

The late Carl Sagan, in his book Contact, wrote:

‘If God is omnipotent and omniscient, why didn’t he start the universe out in the first place so it would come out the way he wants? Why is he constantly repairing and complaining? No, there’s one thing the Bible makes clear: The biblical God is a sloppy manufacturer. He’s not good at design, he’s not good at execution. He’d be out of business if there was any competition.’¹

It’s easy to understand why Carl Sagan viewed the God of the Bible this way. Sagan believed that the fossil record, with all its death, mutations, disease, suffering, bloodshed and violence, represented millions of years of Earth’s history. He also saw a world full of death, mutations, disease, suffering, bloodshed and violence today. So he concluded that any ‘god’ responsible for this seeming mess of life and death could not be all-powerful and all-knowing.

Sagan is not the only one to recognize the true nature of the god of an old earth. Irven DeVore, a Harvard anthropologist, said:

‘I personally cannot discern a shred of evidence for a benign cosmic presence … I see indifference and capriciousness. What kind of God works with a 99.9 percent extinction rate?’ ⁶

DeVore recognizes that the fossil record is one of massive extinction. If this has stretched over millions of years, enormous numbers of creatures have become extinct — without such a reason as a Flood judgment on man’s wickedness. What kind of god would create such a scenario? The god of an old earth can’t be a loving God. http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v21/i4/oldearth.asp

So why do so many attempt to read evolution into the creation account in the Bible? Some will say that scientific facts demand we change our view of the Bible. But facts don't speak for themselves. Facts only speak when interpreted by people. And people have biases.

If my bias is to believe the words of men, rather than the Word of God, I will look at the facts and arrive at a certain set of conclusions.

If my bias is to believe the Word of God, rather than the words of men, I will look at the facts and arrive at another destination completely.

My bias is to believe the words of the One who lived a perfect life, made an impact unlike any other person who has ever lived, died on a cruel Roman cross and rose from the dead in a moment of history. And Jesus had these significant words to say concerning the inspiration of the man God used to write the creation account in Genesis.

"For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”(John 5:46)

Who are you going to believe?

Poll: 1 of 3 Americans Say Bible Should be Taken Literally

About one-third of American adults believe in the actual word of God and that it should be taken literally. And people who attend church more frequently are more likely to believe in the literal truth of the Bible, a Gallup Poll found.

According to the new survey, 54 percent of Americans who attend church weekly believe the Bible should be taken literally word for word. The more seldom church attendees are less likely to hold that belief with only 30 percent of those who attend church monthly and 8 percent of those who never attend church believing in the actual word of God.

Church attendance is highest in the South, the poll also noted. Thus, Southerners are most likely to believe in a literal Bible. Those least likely to hold that belief are Americans in the West (22 percent). Westerners are more likely to believe in the inspired word of God, but not literally so (50 percent).

A prime example of a denomination that can support the poll's results is the Southern Baptist Convention – the largest Protestant group in the nation. Their "Faith and Mission" statement states, "The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy."

Forty percent of Protestants believe in a literal Bible while 48 percent of believe in the inspired word of God. Among other Christians, 45 percent believe the word of God is to be taken literally and 46 percent say the Bible is the inspired word of God.

Catholics are most likely to believe in the inspired word of God with 61 percent holding that belief and only 21 percent believing in a literal Bible.

The survey further revealed that the higher level of education one gets, the less likely the individual is to believe that the Bible is the actual, literal word of God. Those with a high school education or less are most likely to believe in a literal Bible (42 percent) compared to 20 percent of college graduates and 11 percent of post graduates. Someone with a lower education level is also least likely to believe the Bible is the inspired word of God with 41 percent of Americans with a high school education or less holding that belief compared to 57 percent of post graduates.

 Overall, the most popular view Americans hold today is that the Bible is the inspired word of God with 47 percent claiming such a view while 19 percent believe the Bible is a book of ancient fables, legends, and history as recorded by man. http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070525/27615_Poll%3A_1_of_3_Americans_Say_Bible_Should_be_Taken_Literally.htm

To clarify these positions, the survey indicates that if one holds that the Bible is completely God's Word to man, this view is called "literal".

If one believes that the Bible contains God's truth, but has some of man's ideas thrown in as well, the view of the Bible is called "inspired".

One can see why the "inspired" view would be popular. It has the nice, comforting feel of the middle of the road. And if someone ask a tough question about the Bible's contents, we can always beg off and say, "Well, I'm not sure about that part, but the overall message is good."

There is a problem here. The total message of the Bible is made up of all of it's parts. If we begin picking and choosing the sections we like, while dismissing the parts we don't, a funny thing has happened. Instead of allowing the Word of God to judge our lives, we have suddenly become judges of the Word of God. Instead of being under the authority of the Word, we are now authorities over it.

That certainly isn't the way Jesus looked at the Scriptures.

So why should we believe the Bible is to be taken not just literally, but seriously as the Word of God?

It is doctrinally consistent. Although written over a 1,500 year span by 40 authors on three continents in three different languages it agrees with itself on the most controversial issues known to man. This is powerful evidence of a greater Author at work than any human source.

And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.(II Peter 1:19-21)

It is historically accurate. The Bible doesn't begin with the words, "Once upon a time". It claims to be a record of God's dealings with man in history and describes events that can be confirmed or falsified by evidence. Studies in history and archeology have consistently confirmed the Biblical narrative. Consider how Luke begins his account of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us,  just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us,  it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus,  that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.(Luke 1:1-4)

The Bible also demonstrates supernatural quality through predictive prophecy. Consider that Jesus fulfilled over 104 specific Old Testament predictions during His first coming. Among them is this passage written 700 years before His birth.

Surely He has borne our griefs
      And carried our sorrows;
      Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
      Smitten by God, and afflicted.
      But He was wounded for our transgressions,
      He was bruised for our iniquities;
      The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
      And by His stripes we are healed.
       All we like sheep have gone astray;
      We have turned, every one, to his own way;
      And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:4-6)

This is, as Josh McDowell would put it, "Evidence That Demands a Verdict." There is no room for a hung jury in the case for the inspiration, preservation and trustworthiness of the Bible. It is not man's words about God, but God's Word for man. We would be well served to hold the same perspective toward the Bible that King David did.

The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul;
         The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
         The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
  The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
         The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
  More to be desired are they than gold,
         Yea, than much fine gold;
         Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
  Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
         And in keeping them there is great reward. (Psalm 19:7-11)

A Florida adult-care facility is going ahead with plans to implant identity chips into patients with Alzheimer's disease who are in its care, despite protests that it is a form of branding.

Alzheimer's Community Care in West Palm Beach will implant a radio frequency identification chip into Alzheimer's patients with the consent of their families or the patients themselves if they are deemed competent.

 The chip, which is slightly larger than a grain of rice, is implanted under the skin of the right forearm. Each chip will contain a unique 16-digit number that, when scanned in an emergency room, will link to the patient's medical records.

Mary Barnes, the president and CEO of Alzheimer's Community Care, said the RFID chips, manufactured by VeriChip Corp., provided the best means of giving medical personnel access to a patient's medical history, since people with Alzheimer's often cannot relay that information themselves.

"Our patients are the most fragile and vulnerable of any population," Barnes said.

While the RFID implants have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, VeriChip is testing the effectiveness of the chips in a real-world situation to see if Alzheimer's patients with the chip receive "quicker and better treatment" than those without, said VeriChip CEO Scott Silverman. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ActiveAging/story?id=3186229&page=1

At first glance it is easy to see how a RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) could be a life line for an Alzheimer's patient who is unable to communicate vital information about their condition in a medical emergency.  RFID chips not only can broadcast a person's condition, but their position on the globe as well. We do hear regular stories about people so afflicted who wander away from their care centers. What a help to be able to instantly determine where to find such a helpless person!

OK. RFID chips would be a good idea for the elderly or the infirmed.

But wait. It doesn't stop there.

If your child could wear an implant – a microchip that could tell a computer where he or she was at any time to within a few metres – would you buy it? After the horrific snatch of three-year-old Madeleine McCann from her bed in Portugal, the answer from many parents seems to be “yes”.

Professor Kevin Warwick, who developed the technology that made it possible for the first child in Britain to volunteer to be “chipped” in 2002 – after the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman – has been bombarded with e-mails over the past few days from parents desperate to keep tabs on their children. As we talk, another e-mail drops into his inbox from a mother of two young children who says that she is deeply anxious about Madeleine’s disappearance and wants to know more about the chip technology.

It works, in theory, by sending a signal via a mobile-phone network to a computer that can identify the child’s location on an electronic map.

But there was the concern at the time over the ethics of tagging our children’s bodies – some groups, including Barnardo’s and Kidscape as well as sections of the media, said that it was a neurotic overreaction that would not benefit children in the long run. So Warwick, Professor of Cybernetics at Reading University, did not continue to develop the project nationally. “It caused such a backlash that we had to step back,” he says. “There were ethical concerns, and as a scientist you have to listen.” But he adds that the point about chipping is not that you would use it to track your children 24 hours a day – only in a worst-case scenario. “You would hope that it never gets used,” he says. http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article1788169.ece

Have you ever lost track of a child in a crowd? There is no more horrible feeling! A flood of worst case scenarios wash through the mind.

When we see stories in the media about children who were kidnapped and kept for years less than twenty miles from their homes, we start to say, "OK, RFID chips for kids seem like a good idea."

But there is more.

You may have been following the debate concerning the immigration bill currently in congress. Part of this plan includes bringing "out of the shadows" an estimated 12 million people currently in this country illegally. To say that this is a huge security risk in the age of terrorism is an incredible understatement.

So part of the bill provides for the issuing of the so called "Z-Visa".

The Z visa plan would start with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States going on a probationary legal status. If the triggers are met — a process that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) estimated would take 18 months — then illegal immigrants who qualify could get Z visas. Those who have committed felonies would not be eligible, Graham said, and all participants would have to pass security checks, pay a fine and a processing fee and pass an English proficiency test.

Z visa holders would be able to apply for legal permanent resident status, a step toward citizenship. But at some point, the heads of households with Z visas would have to return to his or her home country and then reenter the United States. They would have to take their Z visa to the U.S. Embassy or consulate and would be guaranteed reentry. The Z visa would include a photo and fingerprints, Graham said. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-immig16may16,1,7711680.story?track=rss&ctrack=1&cset=true

So we get 12 million people to voluntarily start the path to legalization by giving their personal information to the government.

Question: Assuming this bill becomes law, how long will it take before some enterprising criminal mind starts cranking out counterfeit Z-Visas?

Would there be a way to make sure we could not only ensure the validity of an immigrant's status that wouldn't be borrowed, faked or stolen?

Lets add another 12 million to the RFID club.

Second question: If the next terrorist attack on this country is traced to an illegal alien, how long before the suggestion is made that we all need a form of national ID?

You get the picture.

Bible commentator and former TRW board member Chuck Missler offers this sobering comment.

We live in an increasingly global, increasingly dangerous high-tech world. The satellites that enable OnStar to locate your vehicle and give you directions to the nearest hospital may also make it possible for third-parties to track you without your knowledge. The convenience of RFID is offset by the tremendous potential for the loss of privacy.

Once upon a time the idea of humans getting microchip implants seemed an unlikely scenario - the stuff of Orwellian fiction. Some have envisioned a day when governments might seek to monitor and control their populations though the use of mandatory implants. However RFID technology is becoming increasingly common and more socially acceptable. The day may come - which once seemed unthinkable - when people around the world will stand in line and voluntarily embrace such technology. http://www.khouse.org

 Will RFID technology eventually be used to implement the "mark of the Beast"? It is possible.  But remember, when the Anti-Christ implements his system he will require each participant to make an active choice to worship him as a god. No one will take this mark accidentally.

It may take a global cataclysm to push people to the place where they will make that decision. Stop and think of the chaos that will follow the sudden disappearance of millions of people around the world in a single instant at the Rapture (See I Thessalonians 4:15-18). The promise of "peace and safety" under such circumstances may make the mark of the Beast a future reality.

But for now,  it is interesting how the fears we have for our elderly, our children, or our nation's security seem to make such a system much more attractive than it would have been even 10 years ago.

 

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Did You Hear the One About...?

The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles,
      And they go down into the inmost body. (Proverbs 18:8)

Solomon's word choice here is interesting. A trifle was an old English way of describing junk food.

Who can resist an occasional lapse into a tasty treat that probably takes more nutrition out of us than it puts in?

But before we indulge in the next session of the gospel gossip society, stop and consider the consequences. A momentary lapse into sharing the worst about others can have a funny way of coming right back at us.

Four women found that out the hard way recently in Hooksett, New Hampshire.

Idle Chatter Cost Four Seasoned Employees Their Jobs

Gossiping is very much a part of American culture, but engaging in idle chatter in the workplace can be risky. (PhotoDisc)

What happened in the town of Hooksett, N.H., is no rumor.

Four town employees with 46 years of service between them were fired, in part for gossiping and discussing rumors of an improper relationship between the town administrator and another employee that Hooksett residents now agree were not true.

The administrator complained, and after an investigation the town council fired the women, finding, "Gossip, whispering, and an unfriendly environment are causing poor morale and interfering with the efficient performance of town business."

"When I was given my termination papers, I just looked at the gentlemen that were present in the room and I said, 'You've got to be kidding!'" said fired worker Sandy Piper, who insisted her comments weren't out of line. "We discussed it on a lunch break, and then it ended."

"It kind of sort of was, 'Oh did you hear that too,'" said Michelle Bonsteel, Piper's fired co-worker.

Gossip is ingrained in American culture, from the elementary school playground to the office water cooler. But Tory Johnson, "Good Morning America's" workplace contributor, said people should be careful about what they say when they're on the clock.

"Free speech only goes so far," Johnson said. "An employer definitely has the right to defend his reputation."

In Hooksett the four firings are ironically now the talk of the town. But for the women out of work, the controversy is not a matter of idle chatter -- they want to get back to work. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3199506

How can we keep ourselves from being a part of this behavior that can destroy not only the reputations of people, but even entire fellowships if left unchecked?

First, check your heart.

If we seem to get that kind of junk-food like thrill out of running down others, is it possible that there is unresolved bitterness or envy at work deep inside of us?

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled (Hebrews 12:14-15)

Second, check your mouth.

If we were to have an entire written transcript of all the things we say in a day handed to us to read, would we really like what we would find? The old adage is true- make sure your words are sweet and tender because some day you might have to eat them!

Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.(Colossians 4:6)

Third, check your patterns of behavior.

Do you find yourself constantly approached by those who have a bit of gossip to share? Consider that it not only takes a spark to get a fire going, it also takes combustible material to feed the flames. We might not be the type to start the fire, but do we keep it going by dutifully listening to destructive speech?

What would happen if we made it clear that we weren't interested in that kind of "sharing"?

We might not please the gossip gang. In fact we might find ourselves their next target. But we will be pleasing the Lord in a crucial area of His work in our lives. And remember, it is His words about us that will ultimately matter when we see Him face to face.

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”(Matthew 12:35-37)

Imagine how different our lives would be if we took these words of Jesus seriously?

 

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Scott's Blog 5/22/07

 Scott's Blog 5/21/07

Better to go to the house of mourning
      Than to go to the house of feasting,
      For that is the end of all men;
      And the living will take it to heart.(Ecclesiastes 7:2)

There are certain lessons we can only learn as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. In fact, it is often only after a life is over that the true measure of a man can be taken.

A vivid example of this phenomenon in action has taken place over the last week since the death of the Reverend Jerry Falwell. One of the most interesting assessments of the life of a man who stood for biblical standards of morality has come from a rather unlikely source, Hustler Magazine publisher Larry Flynt.

In an op-ed published in Sunday's LA Times, Flynt wrote about the unlikely friendship that he shared with Jerry Falwell.

I was in my office in Beverly Hills, and out of nowhere my secretary buzzes me, saying, "Jerry Falwell is here to see you." I was shocked, but I said, "Send him in." We talked for two hours, with the latest issues of Hustler neatly stacked on my desk in front of him. He suggested that we go around the country debating, and I agreed. We went to colleges, debating moral issues and 1st Amendment issues — what's "proper," what's not and why.

In the years that followed and up until his death, he'd come to see me every time he was in California. We'd have interesting philosophical conversations. We'd exchange personal Christmas cards. He'd show me pictures of his grandchildren. I was with him in Florida once when he complained about his health and his weight, so I suggested that he go on a diet that had worked for me. I faxed a copy to his wife when I got back home.

The truth is, the reverend and I had a lot in common. He was from Virginia, and I was from Kentucky. His father had been a bootlegger, and I had been one too in my 20s before I went into the Navy. We steered our conversations away from politics, but religion was within bounds. He wanted to save me and was determined to get me out of "the business."

My mother always told me that no matter how repugnant you find a person, when you meet them face to face you will always find something about them to like. The more I got to know Falwell, the more I began to see that his public portrayals were caricatures of himself. There was a dichotomy between the real Falwell and the one he showed the public.

I'm sure I never changed his mind about anything, just as he never changed mine.

I'll never admire him for his views or his opinions. To this day, I'm not sure if his television embrace was meant to mend fences, to show himself to the public as a generous and forgiving preacher or merely to make me uneasy, but the ultimate result was one I never expected and was just as shocking a turn to me as was winning that famous Supreme Court case: We became friends.

There is an old saying that a man is known by the company he keeps. Perhaps that is why it is said that the average Christian loses most of their non believing friends within three years after getting saved. We worry about our reputations, especially concerning what our fellow church goers might think if they saw us associating with "those kind of people".

How interesting that a man like Jerry Falwell didn't think that way. He was willing to not only embrace, but establish an ongoing friendship with a notorious pornographer because, in Flynt's words, "He wanted to save me and was determined to get me out of 'the business'."

How interesting that Jesus didn't think that way.

Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them. As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?”
When Jesus heard it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”(Mark 2:13-17)

The key to these kind of redemptive relationships is maintaining a balance between love and truth. Some will err on the side of wanting to establish friendships with the lost at any cost. We do ourselves or non believers no favors if we compromise our convictions to be liked and accepted. Others will err on the side of truth and turn people off with a kind of "holier than thou" brand of super spirituality.

The secret is to love truth and love people. Levi the tax gatherer was reached by that love and went on to use his tax collector's eye for detail to pen the Gospel of Matthew. Larry Flynt the pornographer hasn't yet given his life to Christ, but certainly has been given a lot to think about.

Let's learn that life lesson and reach out to those who need a relationship with God most with a beautiful balance of love and truth!

Scott's Blog 5/18/07

God Is Moving

I have to admit the contents of this week's entries on Scott's Blog haven't exactly been straight out of the "Sunshine n' Roses File". We've explored persecution, the dark spiritual reality behind the increasingly dangerous events in the Middle East, the loss of a man of principle and conviction, and the increase of anti-God propaganda in our schools.

Ready for a change of pace?

Me too.

Christianity is growing faster now that at any time in its 2,000 year history 

The Church of Jesus Christ is growing faster now that at any time in its 2,000 year history. Globally more than 90,000 new converts come to Christ each day with 20,000 new Christians confessing Christ daily in Africa, and 28,000 new Christians coming daily to Christ in China.

The Rt. Rev. Derek Eaton, former Bishop of Nelson, New Zealand and now Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Egypt told more than 1,000 missionary-minded Episcopalians and Anglicans at a New Wineskins for Global Missions conference that despite Western timidity and a deconstructionist gospel being foisted on the American Episcopal Church, there are 8,000 new adult Anglican believers coming to Christ each day across the globe.

"We are seeing 400 new Anglican churches open each week around the world. In the Province of Nigeria there are more Anglicans in church on Sunday than all the UK, North America and Australasia put together," he told a stunned audience, many of whom live with revisionist Episcopal bishops who no longer have a biblical gospel to proclaim.

The newly installed Middle East bishop said mission is integral to the Christian Faith, and without mission there would be no Christianity. "We have a gospel for the whole world. Since Jesus is unique he has universal and global significance and therefore he must be made known to everyone in the world," said Eaton who described himself as New Zealand's only evangelical bishop.

"Christian mission is rooted and grounded in the very nature of God himself. Mission is indispensable to Christianity. It is rooted in the triune God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God has created a missionary church, and He is working towards a mission consummation. We worship and serve a missionary God. If you want a biblical base for mission it is not possible to choose less than the whole Bible. This is the world God loves - our God is a missionary God.

"Mission is taking place whether we like it or not. The question we must ask is, do I want to participate and be a part of the global plan or remain parochial. In the Province of Nigeria they have consecrated 20 new bishops and created 20 new missionary dioceses in the past year. The Church is not dying it is growing, let us be encouraged."

"In Indonesia the church has seen a 500 percent growth in 20 years. In South Korea more than 30 percent of the population is Christian. Ethiopia has more than 7,000 new congregations. In Tunisia there were only about dozen or so Christians, now there are several hundred Tunisian Christians, and some are worshipping openly. There is now an Arabic service. The truth is there are many exciting stories to tell of God's missionary plan to extend His Kingdom globally."

"We are called to be his missionary people. The God of the Old Testament is the Father and maker of the universe. The OT begins with Adam not Abraham, not with a covenant but with creation, not with a chosen race but with the human race. God's purpose and promise was to bless all the nations of the earth. In the NT we see the Christ of the Gospels as a missionary Christ. God had only one Son and he was a missionary and a physician. The Holy Spirit of Acts is a missionary Spirit; nobody can be indwelt by the Holy Spirit and keep that Spirit to himself. Where the Spirit is He flows forth and if there is no flowing forth He is not there. The church of St. Paul's letters is a missionary church."

Citing Archbishop William Temple's dictum, Bishop Eaton said, "The church is the only society on earth that exists primarily for the benefit of its non members. We've got to turn the church inside out to serve the world out there. It is a world that needs Christ. Each local church is to exhibit the 'missionary' character of the Church universal."

The Book of the Revelation is the climax of history and it is a missionary climax. St. John's vision of heaven is the company of the faithful. To proclaim Christ and his cross in a world of pluralism is to invite opposition. Mission lies at the heart of God. Mission is the global outreach of a global people of our global God."

"We need to repent of our indifference. Have we resisted the missionary call, hear it afresh. Our God is a missionary God. He loves the world he has made and we are called to be his missionaries. Equal to anything that God calls us to be or to do are His resources. Let us do it."  

Notice the exciting key to this growth is faithfulness to God's Word. When we allow the Biblically authentic message of Jesus to be shared in the power of the Holy Spirit, awesome things take place.

Have you ever stopped to think of your own neighborhood as a mission field? What would happen if we started praying for God to reach the lost on our own street, apartment complex or cul-de-sac?

Some Christians doubt that God still does miracles. I'm sure they don't feel that way in Indonesia, or Nigeria, or Tunisia. If we step out and share God's love with those in our corner of the world we will see God's power as well!

“I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name." (Revelation 3:8)

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Scott's Blog - 5/17/07

They Are Just Kidding, Right?

Those who believe that persecution of believers is a thing of the distant past evidently don't get out very much. We in the United States live on an island of relative tranquility as far as paying a physical price for our faith in Christ. But around the world, the cost for standing with Jesus continues to be a high one indeed.

Taliban Tells Pakistani Christians: Convert or Die

Thursday, May 17, 2007

 FNC

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan  —  Christians in a Pakistani town beset by pro-Taliban militants sought government protection Wednesday, the eve of a deadline for them to convert to Islam or face violence.

About 500 Pakistani Christians in Charsadda, a town in the North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan, received letters earlier this month telling them to close their churches and convert by Thursday or be the target of "bomb explosions."

Several Christians, a tiny minority in the predominantly Muslim country, have fled town and others are living in fear, community leaders said.

Some complained that police were not taking the threat seriously.

"Police say someone is joking with us by writing these letters," Chaudhry Salim, a Charsadda Christian leader, said during a news conference in Islamabad. "They have deployed only two policemen at our churches ... this is the kind of security we are getting now."

Shahbaz Bhatti, a prominent Christian leader and head of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, said the provincial government, which is controlled by a coalition of pro-Taliban religious parties, would bear blame for attacks after the deadline.

The response of the police is interesting here. "Oh, don't worry. Someone is just pulling a practical joke on you! Don't take these things so seriously!"

But if the history of the last twenty years has taught us anything, those whose message is "Convert or die!" are serious. Deadly serious.

Take a moment and watch this vivid portrayal of this dangerous strain of fanaticism.

 http://www.terrorismawareness.org/know-about-jihad/

This is the nature of the enemy we are fighting. And as events this week have revealed there is both a physical and spiritual component to this battle. We need to be in prayer for our brothers and sisters who are targets of persecution. We also need to be prepared to take full advantage of our amazing privilege to be able to share openly the love and truth that are in Jesus.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.  To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (I Peter 5:8-11)

 

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 Scott's Blog - 5/16/07

The Key to Mahmoud's Foul Mood

The Bible tells us that behind every war that we can see, lies a war that we cannot see.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

Never has this truth been more real and relevant than when we take a look at the motivating forces behind the brewing storm in the Middle East.

Even a casual observer of today's events knows the "what" behind the current crisis. Iran has embarked one seemingly one way journey toward becoming a nuclear power. All carrot and stick approaches toward getting the mullahs in Tehran to change course have failed.

Today, former UN ambassador John Bolton spoke of the "what" of this crisis in blunt and unmistakable terms.

We must attack Iran before it gets the bomb

A nuclear Iran would be as dangerous as “Hitler marching into the Rhineland” in 1936 and should be prevented by Western military strikes if necessary, according to a leading hawk who recently left the Bush administration.

	John Bolton has close links to the Bush administration

John Bolton, who still has close links to the Bush administration, told The Daily Telegraph that the European Union had to "get more serious" about Iran and recognise that its diplomatic attempts to halt Iran's enrichment programme had failed.

Iran has "clearly mastered the enrichment technology now...they're not stopping, they're making progress and our time is limited", he said. Economic sanctions "with pain" had to be the next step, followed by attempting to overthrow the theocratic regime and, ultimately, military action to destroy nuclear sites.

Mr Bolton's stark warning appeared to be borne out yesterday by leaks about an inspection by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of Iran's main nuclear installation at Natanz on Sunday.

The experts found that Iran's scientists were operating 1,312 centrifuges, the machines used to enrich uranium. If Iran can install 3,000, it will need about one year to produce enough weapons grade uranium for one nuclear bomb.

Experts had judged that Iran would need perhaps two years to master the technical feat of enriching uranium using centrifuges - and then another two years to produce enough material to build a weapon.

But the IAEA found that Iran has already managed to enrich uranium to the four per cent purity needed for power stations. Weapons-grade uranium must reach a threshold of 84 per cent purity.

Mohammed ElBaradei, the IAEA's head, said the West's goal of halting the enrichment programme had been "overtaken by events". Iran had probably mastered this process and "the focus now should be to stop them from going to industrial scale production".

Mr Bolton said: "It's been conclusively proven Iran is not going to be talked out of its nuclear programme. So to stop them from doing it, we have to massively increase the pressure.

"If we can't get enough other countries to come along with us to do that, then we've got to go with regime change by bolstering opposition groups and the like, because that's the circumstance most likely for an Iranian government to decide that it's safer not to pursue nuclear weapons than to continue to do so. And if all else fails, if the choice is between a nuclear-capable Iran and the use of force, then I think we need to look at the use of force."

President George W Bush privately refers to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has pledged to wipe Israel "off the map", as a 21st Century Adolf Hitler and Mr Bolton, who remains a close ally of Vice President Dick Cheney, said the Iranian leader presented a similar threat.

"If the choice is them continuing [towards a nuclear bomb] or the use of force, I think you're at a Hitler marching into the Rhineland point. If you don't stop it then, the future is in his hands, not in your hands, just as the future decisions on their nuclear programme would be in Iran's hands, not ours."

But Mr Bolton conceded that military action had many disadvantages and might not succeed. "It's very risky for the price of oil, risky because you could, let's say, take out their enrichment capabilities at Natanz, and they may have enrichment capabilities elsewhere you don't know about."

Such a strike would only be a "last option" after economic sanctions and attempts to foment a popular revolution had failed but the risks of using military force, he indicated, would be less than those of tolerating a nuclear Iran. "Imagine what it would be like with a nuclear Iran. Imagine the influence Iran could have over the entire region. It's already pushing its influence in Iraq through the financing of terrorist groups like Hamas and Hizbollah."

The price Iran has paid for its nuclear ambitions has been significant. International sanctions have increased a sense of unease among the people. Many believe the fiery rhetoric of Mahmoud Ahmadinejhad has hurt both their perception in the world as well as their pocket books.

So why continue down this path?

The answer is frighteningly spiritual.

On his excellent web site , Joel Rosenberg calls our attention to a just released book on Iran's seemingly self destructive behavior called The Nuclear Sphinx: Mahmoud Ahmadinejhad and the State of Iran. Although it's authors are secular in their perspective, the spiritual underpinnings of our current world crisis are hard to miss.

As Joel comments:

..if you're looking for some light summer reading, you might want to skip The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the State of Iran by Yossi Melman, a leading Israeli investigative journalist, and Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian-born Mideast analyst who works closely with the BBC, Voice of America and the Los Angeles Times. But if you're interested in revealing new insights in Ahmadinejad's apocalyptic religious beliefs, look no further.

Major American news outlets like CBS's "60 Minutes," NBC News, CNN and Time have covered Ahmadinejad extensively this past year -- even interviewed him exclusively -- yet missed the big story: the end of the world theology driving his foreign policy. But Melman and Javedanfar get it.

Excerpts from their new book:

* "Ahmadinejad is the first Muslim leader who has prayed for the hastening of the return of the Shiite Messiah, known as the Mahdi, at the U.N. General Assembly, an act that reinforced his conviction that he was carrying God's words and acting on behalf of the Messiah....Never before had an Iranian leader so publicly acknowledged his messianic beliefs." (p. 42)

* "The Ayandeye Roshan (Bright Future) Institute, based in Qom, specializes in theological research about the Mahdi. It points to at least five 'distinct signs' that need to happen before the Mahdi appears." (p. 43-44)

1. "The first is the rise of a fighter from Yemen called the Yamani, who attacks the enemies of Islam.

2. "The second sign is the rise of an anti-Mahdi militant leader named Osman Ben Anbase, who will also be known a