Welcome to this week's Christian Carnival. Put on your seat belts and away we go........
*A really happy event one moment; a tragic event another. Hey! Aren't we supposed to just have good things happen to us? Find out at The Marshian Chronicles in the post, Cry Out!.
*The Gaza pullout is supposed to resolve the Palestinian argument toward Israel, right? HCS and Gen's Place doesn't think so in their post, Militants Evicted From Gaza--WRONG!! Homeowners Evicted--The Insanity Builds Higher.
*At first I didn't know where this post was going but then when I got to the end, WHAMMO! You've just got to read this--but please, please don't stop reading until you get to the end.
The post is Of Hair Dye, "The Man," and God's Plan at the Happy Catholic blog.
*Resistance is futile! tells us about what Australia is doing about militant Islam in that country. But is this a dangerous precedent for the future persecution of Christianity or other religions? Do read this post at Separation of Church and State.
*Questions and Answers makes us think when he asks the question, what would it take to turn us into Josephs? Do we have to go into slavery? Read his answer in The Grace of Joseph.
*Which statement is correct?
1) The job of the Christian is not to make the Bible "relevant" to the world in which we live.
2) We allow the Word to use us and to reshape us (and our world).
Transforming Sermons tells us the answer in The startling power of the Word.
*Complaints about hypocrisy from preachers also shows hypocrisy in critics. Hmmm...reminds me of the log in the eye. Read Preachers Shouldn't Think Things Like That... even though the rest of us do at Ideas In Progress.
*What exactly is the basis for moralism? Viewpoint writes,
Atheism seems seductive, but a people who reject God deprive themselves of any grounds for establishing justice in their state,.
The post is entitled, The Basic Principle of Political Philosophy.
*I really like to read about what shepherds do since it helps me to understand some of the Bible's references to God as our Shepherd. Kim at Sharing Spirit has done a great job in telling us about some of the things shepherds use to keep the sheep safe and sound. She also reminds us not to take ourselves so seriously as that is perhaps God's message to us at times. Read this great post at Relieve Me of Myself.
*One of my interests is reading what Christian leaders wrote right after the last Apostle died. I always wonder what they will say and if it differs from what the Apostles wrote in the New Testament. One of my favorite post-Apostolic writers is Clement of Rome. Richard of dokeo kago grapho soi krastistos theophilos has written about one of the things Clement wrote to the Corinthian church. Check out Prayers Rendered for Caesar? about praying for those in charge of the civil government. A very timely topic indeed.
*PhilThreten gives five points that both the emergent church and the modern church need to understand to help clarify misconceptions about each other. Since I am trying to figure out what the emergent church believes, this post, What is Emergent? was especially interesting and helpful for me, and I'm sure it will be for you too.
*There is a real treasure of a statement in this post, Grace4U. See if you can find it. Here is a hint: What is the difference between Christianity and all other religions? (clue: second paragraph below the quote in the green box). The answer that Dr. Bob at The Doctor is in gives is mind blowing. I loved it! I think you will too.
*OK, here is the Carnival question of the day:
How did the turtle get way up there on that fence post?
Byron at a ticking time blog
presents a choice of answers in his discussion of Intelligent Design in the post, The Turtle and the Fencepost: On Science, The Search for Truth, and the Teaching of ID in the Public Schools.
*Has anything unexpected happened to you lately to help you see something you should do? Robin at Between Sundays answers this question by looking at another author's blog in her post, Take A Message. . ..
*Darren at Nicene Theology writes,
Ultimately our attempt to recover primitive Christianity betrays our ecclesiology, for it testifies to our belief that the deposit of the faith does not lie with the church instituted by Christ and upheld by the Holy Spirit.
He further explains this in his post, Returning to Primative Christianity.
*For a long time now I've thought that there might be a lot of truth in the preterist end times view. If you don't know what the preterist view of eschatology is, do check out this post, What is the "abomination that causes desolation" in Mark 13:14? by the one and only "Sven" at his blog, Sven's Theology and Biblical Studies page.
*Alex at Jordan's View tells us that the fact that God and His ways are mysterious might not be a bad thing after all in his post,
God Is A Confounder.
*Many people find that their pets are at times their best friends. Paula at Listen In
relates a story of a little girl and her smiling dog, explaining how their relationship correlates to how followers of Christ need each other to get through life together. Check it out at With a Little Help From a Friend.
*My friends regard me as an excellent teacher and they know I love it. Then why would I leave the profession (both public and private schools)? Read Bob's post, So,What About the Performance Reviews? at his blog,
CrosSwords and you will have a good clue as to the insanity out there and why teachers are leaving the professions in busloads. (And no, it's not the low pay).
Hint about what Bob's blog is about: It concerns how many times a student in Britain may say a certain word in school.
*An after dinner conversation, the daily news, and the conflicting messages in the world. How did these bring a longing for His return? Find out at Another Man's Meat in the post, When He Returns.
*There are some astonishing misconceptions about Christianity, and where they may have come from. Thinking Christian tells us what they are in What Christianity is Not.
*Lyn at Thought Renewal presents a short book review on betraying ourselves which then affects all of our relationships. Read the review at Leadership and Self-Deception.
*When you find scads of comments at a post, it probably will be a good read. By noon (PST) yesterday there were 24 comments (one being by yours truly) at this Ales Rarus post,
A Litmus Test By Any Other Name.... It's about a lot of accusations regarding litmus tests, usually from the Right accusing the Left. The thing is, the Right is just as guilty of using litmus tests, and Funky Dung thinks the hypocritical claims otherwise harm the pro-life cause.
*Points of Light is an interesting blog as each post highlights a photo with a short description of a part of God's creation. This week the post is Bigger Than Phil. To find out who "Phil" is (no, it's not the blogger), you've just gotta read this post as well as seeing the beautiful picture too.
*It's always interesting to see what Mark is up to at his blog,
Pseudo-Polymath. This week he's commenting on another person's blog essay regarding modern developments meaning that we might by our own efforts be getting closer to a state of Grace. So did Mark agree with the essay's stand? Read it and see. Genesis 3:16 and Modernity.
*This is actually a question that has been bothering me for while, so I appreciated Jeremy at
Parableman doing a post on what justification really involves. Read his answer at What Justified the Prodigal Son?.
*I'm hearing lots of talk today about people leaving churches. Christianity is Jewish weighs on in this controversy in Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You. She tells us what she did...and why.
*If you don't know the animal featured recently at the London zoo, then you must read these two posts. It seems this animal is a plague-carrying breed. Find out about this animal at
Humans in the Zoo at Cross Blogging
and Oh the Humanity! I Mean, Animality! at Northern burbs blog. Obviously the evolution vs. creationist argument will be popping up in both of these posts.
*As we've all heard by now, Hurricane Katrina left a path of devastation through Louisiana and Mississippi. Tidbits and Treasures tells us about one Christian relief effort in
Convoy of Hope Moves In As Katrina Moves On.
*A Sunday morning stunt designed to teach the congregation about
celebrity worship got Ed at Attention Span thinking the red carpet rolled out for celebrities is but a poor imitation of the original, in his post, Red Carpet.
*Beneath The Dirty Hood sent me this comment,
An awkward "I love you' on the sofa in the dark."
Don't worry--it's not R-rated. But it is a short but very effective post, entitled, Psalm 13.
*A Penitent Blogger reflects on the fragility of life and the security of Christ in I thought it was safe.
*I read this in my Los Angeles Times-about the UC system not giving science credit to students who took science in Christian high schools. And can you guess why? I bet you can. But you had better read it here at Education Matters in the post, Christian
High School Sues University of California system .
*Donna-Jean at LibertyandLily has some thoughts on forgiveness - and unforgiveness - and how vital it is that we get it all right. This topic is a hard one for me so I really appreciated this post:
Something to Think About.
*David at all kinds of time... examines the powerful need for prayer in the Christian life, as displayed in the example of Christ, in his post, Christ's one selfish act.
*There has been much controversy recently, especially in the Charismatic movement, about the interpretation of dreams. Pastor Runalong at Runalong takes what I think is a fairly good balanced approach in his post, Does God Speak to Us in Dreams Today?.
*Here is a theological insight from Ben's three-year-old daughter at Faith and Theology in the post, Theology from a three-year-old. Hey--at times three-year olds beat the pros.
*It always mystifies me as to why many evangelicals believe that there is an incompatibility between loving and following God, and being academic. So, I was happy to see one blogger, The Common Room post on this subject in Academic Snobbery.
--------------------------
*At my blog, Crossroads: Where Faith and Inquiry Meet, I tackle the thorny problem of some bloggers and apologists who at times smear someone in ministry simply because of who they know. You can read it at Guilt by Association?.
THE END
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Guilt by Association?
Recently I've noted that many blogs and apologetic sites are making a bad mistake--guilt by association. For example, if someone is a speaker at a conference that the blogger or apologist doesn't agree with, then automatically the speaker is apostate. I might agree if the visiting speaker is in theological agreement with the apostates; and certainly if he or she is one of their crowd. However, I have found that because God loves His people, He wants to send those with truth to some of these "camps." We must be careful to find out more about the visiting speaker and their beliefs.
For instance, I attended to a very controlling church once, and was surprised that some national well-known Christians came to speak there. I always was amazed that they didn't see the excessive control and cultism.
Then one time, one of these national speakers, a couple, stayed with some people in the church who were seeing the light about the control. They asked this nationally known couple if they didn't see this control and cultism. The couple said, "Oh yes we do. And it is bad. But God sent us here to give people the truth."
So, perhaps we need to slow down a bit on this and be more discerning? However, let's not go to the other extreme and let our guard down either.
For instance, I attended to a very controlling church once, and was surprised that some national well-known Christians came to speak there. I always was amazed that they didn't see the excessive control and cultism.
Then one time, one of these national speakers, a couple, stayed with some people in the church who were seeing the light about the control. They asked this nationally known couple if they didn't see this control and cultism. The couple said, "Oh yes we do. And it is bad. But God sent us here to give people the truth."
So, perhaps we need to slow down a bit on this and be more discerning? However, let's not go to the other extreme and let our guard down either.
Friday, August 26, 2005
The Ultra-Right/The Ultra-Left--Maybe the Same?
Here's a scary thought? I used to think the spread between ultra-conservatives and ultra-liberals was a line with each one at each end. But I wonder if it really is a circle. In other words, let's suppose that someone is so ultra-liberal that they sound like an ultra-conservative and vice-versa. Could this be a circle instead of a line where the ultras at both ends meet?
I came to this conclusion after watching one of my very favorite programs, the McLaughlin Report, now on PBS. The program consists of a panel moderated by John McLaughlin. The panel often yells at and interupts each other and it's great fun to watch.
On the ultra conservative side is Pat Buchanan. The next most conservative is Washington Times Op/Ed editor Tony Blankley. Then sometimes another conservative, Mort Zuckerman, editor-in-chief of U.S. News and World Report, joins them. But most of the time, a liberal who I don't know is on the panel. Or, from the Chicago Tribune, the very liberal Clarence Page. On the ultra-liberal side is Eleanor Clift of Newsweek magazine.
What I am seeing more and more of is ultra-Right Pat Buchanan and ultra-Left Eleanor Clift actually agreeing on many issues, while the others--conservatives and liberal--disagree with THEM.
Friends--that is scary!...LOL
I came to this conclusion after watching one of my very favorite programs, the McLaughlin Report, now on PBS. The program consists of a panel moderated by John McLaughlin. The panel often yells at and interupts each other and it's great fun to watch.
On the ultra conservative side is Pat Buchanan. The next most conservative is Washington Times Op/Ed editor Tony Blankley. Then sometimes another conservative, Mort Zuckerman, editor-in-chief of U.S. News and World Report, joins them. But most of the time, a liberal who I don't know is on the panel. Or, from the Chicago Tribune, the very liberal Clarence Page. On the ultra-liberal side is Eleanor Clift of Newsweek magazine.
What I am seeing more and more of is ultra-Right Pat Buchanan and ultra-Left Eleanor Clift actually agreeing on many issues, while the others--conservatives and liberal--disagree with THEM.
Friends--that is scary!...LOL
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Christian Carnival is Coming....Here!
Christian Carnival is coming.....here on Aug. 31, 2005.
Yes, yours truly will be the host for the next Carnival.
If you have a Christian blog and wish to enter, simply send an email to:
christiancarnival@gmail.com
Include the following information:
*The name of your blog.
*The URL address of your blog.
*The name of the post you are submitting. Posts must be dated later than the last carnival--that is after Aug. 23.
*The URL address of your post.
*A short description of your post.
See you on the 31st!
Yes, yours truly will be the host for the next Carnival.
If you have a Christian blog and wish to enter, simply send an email to:
christiancarnival@gmail.com
Include the following information:
*The name of your blog.
*The URL address of your blog.
*The name of the post you are submitting. Posts must be dated later than the last carnival--that is after Aug. 23.
*The URL address of your post.
*A short description of your post.
See you on the 31st!
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Cerulean Sanctum on Wheaton Revival
Dan at Cerulean Sanctum has commented on my last post, Wheaton College-1950.
To see his post, go here.
To see his post, go here.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Wheaton College Revival-1950
I thought this was interesting. Throughout our countries' history there have been revivals on Christian college campuses. Here is the description of the one at Wheaton College in 1950 as reported by TIME Magazine in its FEBRUARY 20, 1950 issue. I want to thank my missionary friend for contributing this. Since she was there, following the Time mag report, I've included her observations.
"42 Hours of Repentance
Just after dinner one evening last week, balding, spectacled President Victor Raymond Edman of Illinois' Wheaton College rose to begin a regular session of the Evangelistic Week that traditionally begins each term. Stepping up to the microphones in the brightly lit, rectangular auditorium of Pierce Memorial Chapel, he asked if any student would, 'like to give a word of testimony or praise on the blessings of this week.'
President Edman was not surprised when several students trooped up to the rostrum." (Students were asked to come and sit in the choir loft and move over and down one by one, after it became evident that too many were standing and waiting for too long, to testify or confess, but the reporters didn't get there the first day. They came the second night). Such impromptu declarations are not unusual at Wheaton, a little (1,300 students), non-denominational college which still bears the stamp of its strict fundamental heritage: no movies, smoking, card playing, dancing or drinking, a 10 p.m. curfew. But as the first students finished speaking, a surge of confessional fervor swept through the auditorium.
Christ or Baseball? Singly and in little groups, sweatered and blue-jeaned undergraduates streamed onto the stage, filling up the choir chairs to await their turn. Hour after hour they kept coming. All night long, all the next day, all through the following night, and half the following day, students poured out confessions of past sins and rededicated themselves to God.
The auditorium filled up and overflowed into a smaller chapel downstairs. Classes had to be canceled altogether. Some speakers came forward boldly and eagerly; other were so overcome with shyness they had to abandon the attempted come back later to try again. Some broke down completely.
Said one young man, 'I have to confess that in the pass I felt undue pride in my membership in the Men's Glee Club, and tended to look down on members of the Gospel Choir.' Sniffled a determined brunette: 'I want to say this publicly so that those who hear me will know I mean business. I know it's mostly the fellows who say they have impure thoughts, but girls have them too. And I want to apologize if I've ever tempted any of the fellows I've had contact with. I know I've tried, and I'm sorry.' Said a young man with a Brooklyn accent, 'I want to apologize for making the faculty the butt of my corny jokes...I want to get something else off my chest: giving thanks for food and then complaining about it.'
'Twenty-four hours ago,' declared a cheerful, ruddy baseball star, 'This is the last thing I thought I'd be doing...Last night I looked in my yearbook, and after my name it said baseball is my main interest. I want to say: Christ is my main interest.'
Probing of the Heart.
One girl both committed her, 'sin,' and asked pardon for it while at the microphone. Many of her fellow students, she said, were 'silly to give testimony,' because she couldn't believe they were sincere; then she asked forgiveness for doubting their sincerity. A spare young faculty member rose to confess: 'I've led a double life. I've lived a life of defeat...As you know, I was once a missionary in China. After the war started, I came back. I told people it was because of the war. But it wasn't...It was because I didn't want to go on being a missionary...I want you to pray for me so my life will really tell for God.'
There was little audible response to the confessions. Here & there, listeners sat with their heads in their hands. Patiently through all most all of it, waited the Rev. Edwin Johnson of Seattle's First Mission Covenent Church, who, as leader of the Evangelistic Week, had been scheduled to address the group the night it all began. At last, President Edman gave him his chance at the microphone. 'We've seen a probing of the heart today such as we've never seen before,' said Johnson.
But when other confession-hungry heart probers began flocking to Wheaton--followed by the simply curious--President Edman discretely ended the public testimonies. After a few hours more of confessions, it was all over. 47 hours and 40 minutes after it started. 'These kids are tired out,' explained weary President Edman. 'The testimonies have mostly to do with private matters. After all, the principle confessions are to Almighty God, not a public audience.' "
Now here is her report. She and her future husband attended Wheaton in that year, 1950.
My future husband and I were in that chapel when this revival happened. The reporters didn't know how it began. First, a young man named Bill stood in the meeting at testimony time and said, "I was like that tree that blew down. It was beautiful and it looked strong, but it was rotten inside, and it fell at the first wind of winter. I know what you all think of me. It hasn't been true. God helping me, it will be from now on."
That just stunned everyone. And more people stood in their places. We didn't go back to our dorms that night. We didn't go to the dining hall for breakfast, or at least most didn't. They began keeping the dining hall open at all hours, for light meals or portable snacks, eaten on the way back to the chapel. There was minimal eating and no sleeping until the end, and then classes started again and we were back to normal. The reporters stood out unbelievably. They all sat together at about the third row from the front, on the right, looking toward the stage. And the women were wearing rather extreme make-up, causing them to look harsh in that early morning light. We were wearing about as much makeup as a bunch of nuns. None.
God had touched us all. We were being kinder to one another and to our professors and instructors. Finals were coming up. We wondered if we could get through them without taking little pieces of paper hidden in the palms of our hands with outlines and other material written on them. We all seemed to have done fairly well without the cheat notes. Of that senior class, one-third of us became foreign missionaries. That's the only class in the history of the school with such a percentage. Other classes had one missionary or two or three. We had one hundred. And I think that's a very telling fact.
"42 Hours of Repentance
Just after dinner one evening last week, balding, spectacled President Victor Raymond Edman of Illinois' Wheaton College rose to begin a regular session of the Evangelistic Week that traditionally begins each term. Stepping up to the microphones in the brightly lit, rectangular auditorium of Pierce Memorial Chapel, he asked if any student would, 'like to give a word of testimony or praise on the blessings of this week.'
President Edman was not surprised when several students trooped up to the rostrum." (Students were asked to come and sit in the choir loft and move over and down one by one, after it became evident that too many were standing and waiting for too long, to testify or confess, but the reporters didn't get there the first day. They came the second night). Such impromptu declarations are not unusual at Wheaton, a little (1,300 students), non-denominational college which still bears the stamp of its strict fundamental heritage: no movies, smoking, card playing, dancing or drinking, a 10 p.m. curfew. But as the first students finished speaking, a surge of confessional fervor swept through the auditorium.
Christ or Baseball? Singly and in little groups, sweatered and blue-jeaned undergraduates streamed onto the stage, filling up the choir chairs to await their turn. Hour after hour they kept coming. All night long, all the next day, all through the following night, and half the following day, students poured out confessions of past sins and rededicated themselves to God.
The auditorium filled up and overflowed into a smaller chapel downstairs. Classes had to be canceled altogether. Some speakers came forward boldly and eagerly; other were so overcome with shyness they had to abandon the attempted come back later to try again. Some broke down completely.
Said one young man, 'I have to confess that in the pass I felt undue pride in my membership in the Men's Glee Club, and tended to look down on members of the Gospel Choir.' Sniffled a determined brunette: 'I want to say this publicly so that those who hear me will know I mean business. I know it's mostly the fellows who say they have impure thoughts, but girls have them too. And I want to apologize if I've ever tempted any of the fellows I've had contact with. I know I've tried, and I'm sorry.' Said a young man with a Brooklyn accent, 'I want to apologize for making the faculty the butt of my corny jokes...I want to get something else off my chest: giving thanks for food and then complaining about it.'
'Twenty-four hours ago,' declared a cheerful, ruddy baseball star, 'This is the last thing I thought I'd be doing...Last night I looked in my yearbook, and after my name it said baseball is my main interest. I want to say: Christ is my main interest.'
Probing of the Heart.
One girl both committed her, 'sin,' and asked pardon for it while at the microphone. Many of her fellow students, she said, were 'silly to give testimony,' because she couldn't believe they were sincere; then she asked forgiveness for doubting their sincerity. A spare young faculty member rose to confess: 'I've led a double life. I've lived a life of defeat...As you know, I was once a missionary in China. After the war started, I came back. I told people it was because of the war. But it wasn't...It was because I didn't want to go on being a missionary...I want you to pray for me so my life will really tell for God.'
There was little audible response to the confessions. Here & there, listeners sat with their heads in their hands. Patiently through all most all of it, waited the Rev. Edwin Johnson of Seattle's First Mission Covenent Church, who, as leader of the Evangelistic Week, had been scheduled to address the group the night it all began. At last, President Edman gave him his chance at the microphone. 'We've seen a probing of the heart today such as we've never seen before,' said Johnson.
But when other confession-hungry heart probers began flocking to Wheaton--followed by the simply curious--President Edman discretely ended the public testimonies. After a few hours more of confessions, it was all over. 47 hours and 40 minutes after it started. 'These kids are tired out,' explained weary President Edman. 'The testimonies have mostly to do with private matters. After all, the principle confessions are to Almighty God, not a public audience.' "
Now here is her report. She and her future husband attended Wheaton in that year, 1950.
My future husband and I were in that chapel when this revival happened. The reporters didn't know how it began. First, a young man named Bill stood in the meeting at testimony time and said, "I was like that tree that blew down. It was beautiful and it looked strong, but it was rotten inside, and it fell at the first wind of winter. I know what you all think of me. It hasn't been true. God helping me, it will be from now on."
That just stunned everyone. And more people stood in their places. We didn't go back to our dorms that night. We didn't go to the dining hall for breakfast, or at least most didn't. They began keeping the dining hall open at all hours, for light meals or portable snacks, eaten on the way back to the chapel. There was minimal eating and no sleeping until the end, and then classes started again and we were back to normal. The reporters stood out unbelievably. They all sat together at about the third row from the front, on the right, looking toward the stage. And the women were wearing rather extreme make-up, causing them to look harsh in that early morning light. We were wearing about as much makeup as a bunch of nuns. None.
God had touched us all. We were being kinder to one another and to our professors and instructors. Finals were coming up. We wondered if we could get through them without taking little pieces of paper hidden in the palms of our hands with outlines and other material written on them. We all seemed to have done fairly well without the cheat notes. Of that senior class, one-third of us became foreign missionaries. That's the only class in the history of the school with such a percentage. Other classes had one missionary or two or three. We had one hundred. And I think that's a very telling fact.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Laodicea Moves
One of my favorite blogs, Slice of Laodicea has a brand new web address.
Check it out.
Check it out.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
The Youth Pastor
Internet Monk has another great blog. This time it's on Five Things That Youth Ministers Need To Hear (and you're afraid to tell them, so, OK, I'll do it.)
Here is my paraphrase of his five points, but I do hope you will read his whole post.
1. You are under a pastor. Talk to him once in a while.
2. Remember to teach the gospel instead of trying to be the coolest person on the block and doing the coolest activities for youth known to man.
3. Put down the cool CD's and get up from watching MTV for a while. Read some good books on theology and the Christian life.
4. Church isn't a disco club. Maybe tone down the music a little for the old folks? That also might teach the youth a bit about "love" for others in the church instead of dividing the church into a "us vs. them" war.
5. Communicate once in a while with the parents and involve them.
Boy, did Michael hit the nail on the head! For thirty years I've been asking what this type of youth program has gained us. Just look at the adults in our churches--the very ones who went through these "cool" programs. That may say it all. I'm not saying that kids cannot have some fun but we need to teach children and teens the following terms and what they mean for their lives:
God
Christ
the cross
justification and santification (yes, they can actually handle 'dem big words)
reverance
respect
Godly fear
diligence
Any more you wish to add? Just add them in the comments section.
Here is my paraphrase of his five points, but I do hope you will read his whole post.
1. You are under a pastor. Talk to him once in a while.
2. Remember to teach the gospel instead of trying to be the coolest person on the block and doing the coolest activities for youth known to man.
3. Put down the cool CD's and get up from watching MTV for a while. Read some good books on theology and the Christian life.
4. Church isn't a disco club. Maybe tone down the music a little for the old folks? That also might teach the youth a bit about "love" for others in the church instead of dividing the church into a "us vs. them" war.
5. Communicate once in a while with the parents and involve them.
Boy, did Michael hit the nail on the head! For thirty years I've been asking what this type of youth program has gained us. Just look at the adults in our churches--the very ones who went through these "cool" programs. That may say it all. I'm not saying that kids cannot have some fun but we need to teach children and teens the following terms and what they mean for their lives:
God
Christ
the cross
justification and santification (yes, they can actually handle 'dem big words)
reverance
respect
Godly fear
diligence
Any more you wish to add? Just add them in the comments section.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Is America Getting Better?
David Brooks,the New York Times resident conservative Op/Ed columnist, thinks so. He cites some statistics to prove his point:
*The rate of family violence in this country has dropped by more than half since 1993.
*Americans today hurt each other less than they did 13 years ago.
Brooks writes,
They are more likely to resist selfish and shortsighted impulses. They are leading more responsible, more organized lives. A result is an improvement in social order across a range of behaviors.
*Violent crime over all is down by 55 percent since 1993 and violence by teenagers has dropped an astonishing 71 percent, according to the Department of Justice.
*The number of drunken driving fatalities has declined by 38 percent since 1982, according to the Department of Transportation, even though the number of vehicle miles traveled is up 81 percent.
*The total consumption of hard liquor by Americans over that time has declined by over 30 percent.
Teenage pregnancy has declined by 28 percent since its peak in 1990. Teenage births are down significantly and, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, the number of abortions performed in the country has also been declining since the early 1990's.
Fewer children are living in poverty, even allowing for an uptick during the last recession. There's even evidence that divorce rates are declining, albeit at a much more gradual pace. People with college degrees are seeing a sharp decline in divorce, especially if they were born after 1955.
*Teenage suicide is down.
*Elementary school test scores are rising.
*Teenagers are losing their virginity later in life and having fewer sex partners.
Brooks makes a wonderful observation:
*The first thing that has happened is that people have stopped believing in stupid ideas: that the traditional family is obsolete, that drugs are liberating, that it is every adolescent's social duty to be a rebel.
*The second thing that has happened is that many Americans have become better parents. Time diary studies reveal that parents now spend more time actively engaged with kids, even though both parents are more likely to work outside the home.
*Third, many people in the younger generation, under age 30 or so, are reacting against the culture of divorce. They are trying to lead lives that are more stable than the ones their parents led. Post-boomers behave better than the baby boomers did.
*Fourth, over the past few decades, neighborhood and charitable groups have emerged to help people lead more organized lives, even in the absence of cohesive families.
*The rate of family violence in this country has dropped by more than half since 1993.
*Americans today hurt each other less than they did 13 years ago.
Brooks writes,
They are more likely to resist selfish and shortsighted impulses. They are leading more responsible, more organized lives. A result is an improvement in social order across a range of behaviors.
*Violent crime over all is down by 55 percent since 1993 and violence by teenagers has dropped an astonishing 71 percent, according to the Department of Justice.
*The number of drunken driving fatalities has declined by 38 percent since 1982, according to the Department of Transportation, even though the number of vehicle miles traveled is up 81 percent.
*The total consumption of hard liquor by Americans over that time has declined by over 30 percent.
Teenage pregnancy has declined by 28 percent since its peak in 1990. Teenage births are down significantly and, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, the number of abortions performed in the country has also been declining since the early 1990's.
Fewer children are living in poverty, even allowing for an uptick during the last recession. There's even evidence that divorce rates are declining, albeit at a much more gradual pace. People with college degrees are seeing a sharp decline in divorce, especially if they were born after 1955.
*Teenage suicide is down.
*Elementary school test scores are rising.
*Teenagers are losing their virginity later in life and having fewer sex partners.
Brooks makes a wonderful observation:
*The first thing that has happened is that people have stopped believing in stupid ideas: that the traditional family is obsolete, that drugs are liberating, that it is every adolescent's social duty to be a rebel.
*The second thing that has happened is that many Americans have become better parents. Time diary studies reveal that parents now spend more time actively engaged with kids, even though both parents are more likely to work outside the home.
*Third, many people in the younger generation, under age 30 or so, are reacting against the culture of divorce. They are trying to lead lives that are more stable than the ones their parents led. Post-boomers behave better than the baby boomers did.
*Fourth, over the past few decades, neighborhood and charitable groups have emerged to help people lead more organized lives, even in the absence of cohesive families.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Church in 1563
Have you ever wondered what church was like in the early days of the Reformation? Here is a description of a church service in Heidelberg, Germany in 1563:
First there was a greeting from the Bible; not the typical,
"Hi, welcome to first church. We are sooooo happy you are here. Visitors please sign the visitor's register and wear this silly visitor button. Oh, and we will make you stand up too--while we clap.
The Heidelberg 1563 greeting was from I Tim. 1:2:
"Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord."
Next a whole Psalm was read; not just a few verses of one.
Then came the prayer of repentence and confession of sin.
Before the sermon, there was a prayer for understanding the sermon as well as the sermon scripture.
After the sermon the offering was taken and then the reading of the law. After that was a prayer reminding everyone that they were pardoned by the blood of Christ from the penalty of the law.
And THEN.....oh boy......this wouldn't be too popular today.....a Declaration of Judgement on the Impenitent. Translated that means--those who persist in sin won't be a-goin' to heaven.
After this prayer were prayers of Intercession for the congregation, the civil authorities; safety from famine, sickness and other bad stuff; prayers for those alone, poor and sick; prayers for those Christians who are being persecuted; and the Lord's Prayer. Also prayed was a petition asking God to "confound all of the works of the devil." Hmmm...sounds kind of Word of Faith-y to me.
Another Psalm was read and the the Benediction given. For those of you who are not in churches that do a Benediction at the end of the service, here is the one the Heidelberg church used--it's found in Numbers 6:24-26.
[May] The Lord bless and keep you
The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you
The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
My comment: I don't think this service would do well today in seeker-sensitive circles, Third Wave circles, or Emergent circles.
Waaay too "religious" and "offensive."
Source: Order of Worship
First there was a greeting from the Bible; not the typical,
"Hi, welcome to first church. We are sooooo happy you are here. Visitors please sign the visitor's register and wear this silly visitor button. Oh, and we will make you stand up too--while we clap.
The Heidelberg 1563 greeting was from I Tim. 1:2:
"Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord."
Next a whole Psalm was read; not just a few verses of one.
Then came the prayer of repentence and confession of sin.
Before the sermon, there was a prayer for understanding the sermon as well as the sermon scripture.
After the sermon the offering was taken and then the reading of the law. After that was a prayer reminding everyone that they were pardoned by the blood of Christ from the penalty of the law.
And THEN.....oh boy......this wouldn't be too popular today.....a Declaration of Judgement on the Impenitent. Translated that means--those who persist in sin won't be a-goin' to heaven.
After this prayer were prayers of Intercession for the congregation, the civil authorities; safety from famine, sickness and other bad stuff; prayers for those alone, poor and sick; prayers for those Christians who are being persecuted; and the Lord's Prayer. Also prayed was a petition asking God to "confound all of the works of the devil." Hmmm...sounds kind of Word of Faith-y to me.
Another Psalm was read and the the Benediction given. For those of you who are not in churches that do a Benediction at the end of the service, here is the one the Heidelberg church used--it's found in Numbers 6:24-26.
[May] The Lord bless and keep you
The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you
The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
My comment: I don't think this service would do well today in seeker-sensitive circles, Third Wave circles, or Emergent circles.
Waaay too "religious" and "offensive."
Source: Order of Worship
Monday, August 15, 2005
Dr. Price Pays the Price
I think most of us know that the day is coming when our freedom of religious expression here in the United States will be limited, if not kaput. One needs only to look at Canada to see how it will work. But it's beginning to happen here too. We saw what happened to the Connecticut 6, the Episcopalian pastors.
Now where I live, in the Los Angeles area, there is another sad event.
Whether or not you like Fred Price, I think you will agree that this troubling. Dr. Price does not go out of his way to blast homosexuals/lesbians/transgenders, but he certainly doesn't shy awy from preaching the Biblical definition of marriage and relationships between men and women as do many pastors.
In my Los Angeles Times of Saturday, July 23, I read that the L.A. City Council will not pay for an agreed upon intersection near Dr. Price's chruch, named for him. The gay member of the council, newly-elected Bill Rosendahl, felt he needed to speak up about Dr. Price's "anti-gay" positions and a majority of the council voted with him.
If Dr. Price was a Fred Phelps I would probably agree. But he isn't. The council heard that Price wasn't against homosexuals as individuals. He made that very clear. But alas, that wasn't enough. Price has a 15,000 member church in the heart of the inner city in Los Angeles. His church bought a college campus and built a brand spanking new sanctuary in the round. These inner city folks paid the WHOLE thing off in a few years. Perhaps Mr. Rosendahl should acknowledge that, instead of getting hooked up on the gay thing.
The councilman who nominated Price, Bernard Parks, represents part of the inner city (Rosendahl DOES not). Here is what councilman Parks said,
"I don't know of many pastors in the 8th district that I represent that do support gay marriage. It's not like he [Price] is alone."
Oh by the way, Parks used to be the Los Angeles police chief.
And the World turns....on and on and on.......
Now where I live, in the Los Angeles area, there is another sad event.
Whether or not you like Fred Price, I think you will agree that this troubling. Dr. Price does not go out of his way to blast homosexuals/lesbians/transgenders, but he certainly doesn't shy awy from preaching the Biblical definition of marriage and relationships between men and women as do many pastors.
In my Los Angeles Times of Saturday, July 23, I read that the L.A. City Council will not pay for an agreed upon intersection near Dr. Price's chruch, named for him. The gay member of the council, newly-elected Bill Rosendahl, felt he needed to speak up about Dr. Price's "anti-gay" positions and a majority of the council voted with him.
If Dr. Price was a Fred Phelps I would probably agree. But he isn't. The council heard that Price wasn't against homosexuals as individuals. He made that very clear. But alas, that wasn't enough. Price has a 15,000 member church in the heart of the inner city in Los Angeles. His church bought a college campus and built a brand spanking new sanctuary in the round. These inner city folks paid the WHOLE thing off in a few years. Perhaps Mr. Rosendahl should acknowledge that, instead of getting hooked up on the gay thing.
The councilman who nominated Price, Bernard Parks, represents part of the inner city (Rosendahl DOES not). Here is what councilman Parks said,
"I don't know of many pastors in the 8th district that I represent that do support gay marriage. It's not like he [Price] is alone."
Oh by the way, Parks used to be the Los Angeles police chief.
And the World turns....on and on and on.......
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Quote of the Day
From Holy Hip Hop in Milwaukee at Slice of Laodicea comes this gem:
Hip hop isn't going to save anybody in the inner city because the message of the music is still one of in-your-face-rebellion. For that matter, hymns won't save anybody. It's not about music. Hymns flow from hearts that have been changed, they were never designed to save people. Only the preaching of the Word is going to convert sinners through the Holy Spirit.
And I say.....Amen to Ingrid.....again.
Hip hop isn't going to save anybody in the inner city because the message of the music is still one of in-your-face-rebellion. For that matter, hymns won't save anybody. It's not about music. Hymns flow from hearts that have been changed, they were never designed to save people. Only the preaching of the Word is going to convert sinners through the Holy Spirit.
And I say.....Amen to Ingrid.....again.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
BOOM!
BOOM! It was 5:12 AM and the boom jolted me awake. My cat had a
terrified look on his face. At first I thought it might be an earthquake.
Then the brief thought that it was a bomb entered my mind, but quickly left as
I realized what it was. And I was elated.
The shuttle had landed at Edwards Air Force base, about 2-2 1/2
hours from me. Whenever the space shuttle lands here (S. Cal), there is a huge BOOM
and the windows shake. I would hate to live 15 minutes away from Edwards....:)
I was elated because I realized God was not closing His suitcase-at least not for
now.
Some years ago, I was fairly sure that God showed me that He was ready to leave
America. What this meant was essentially no covering for the country, persecution for the true church, and so forth. God was of course fed up with
American society but there is sin in every society. But what really grieved and
griped God was the church; for it's the church that determines what happens in
a country. When the church has its salt through correct gospel preaching and
teaching, at least part of the county becomes reformed and turned around and
that can set the entire country's course.
I have never seen the American evangelical church in as bad shape as in the past five years. In the past month I felt that we had two tests. One was
the Chinese bid for Unocal and the other if the space shuttle would return
safely. I knew if the Chinese won the bid and the space shuttle disintegrated in space, it meant God had packed His suitcase and had left America on its
own.
Happily, the Chinese bid failed, no thanks to our do-nothing
bought-out by-lobbyists-Congress. And, the shuttle made it safely back to
earth. We still have a small window of time.
Let's not blow it.
terrified look on his face. At first I thought it might be an earthquake.
Then the brief thought that it was a bomb entered my mind, but quickly left as
I realized what it was. And I was elated.
The shuttle had landed at Edwards Air Force base, about 2-2 1/2
hours from me. Whenever the space shuttle lands here (S. Cal), there is a huge BOOM
and the windows shake. I would hate to live 15 minutes away from Edwards....:)
I was elated because I realized God was not closing His suitcase-at least not for
now.
Some years ago, I was fairly sure that God showed me that He was ready to leave
America. What this meant was essentially no covering for the country, persecution for the true church, and so forth. God was of course fed up with
American society but there is sin in every society. But what really grieved and
griped God was the church; for it's the church that determines what happens in
a country. When the church has its salt through correct gospel preaching and
teaching, at least part of the county becomes reformed and turned around and
that can set the entire country's course.
I have never seen the American evangelical church in as bad shape as in the past five years. In the past month I felt that we had two tests. One was
the Chinese bid for Unocal and the other if the space shuttle would return
safely. I knew if the Chinese won the bid and the space shuttle disintegrated in space, it meant God had packed His suitcase and had left America on its
own.
Happily, the Chinese bid failed, no thanks to our do-nothing
bought-out by-lobbyists-Congress. And, the shuttle made it safely back to
earth. We still have a small window of time.
Let's not blow it.
Monday, August 08, 2005
The New and Improved WH Inn Quiz
After a few years hiatus, the White Horse Inn radio program (a Christian Reformed theology program) has issued the challenge of taking the updated White Horse Inn Quiz.
If you are like me, you would have probably flunked the first one. At least that is what happened to me when I took it in the '90's. Now I am more savy to what they want and so I think I did better on the updated one--but not a whole lot better.
Here are a four sample questions. For the entire 19 question quiz, go to the link above.
True or False
A. In the Old Testament, God was known as the Father; in the New Testament, as the Son; and after Pentecost, as the Holy Spirit.
B. We are saved by grace after all that we can do.
C. Justification is the process by which a person, through faith in Christ and sorrow for his sins, receives the gift of the Holy Spirit and so becomes a child of God.
D. The Bible teaches that there is an age of accountability, and that children who die before this age go to heaven because they are innocent.
Answers
A. False. This is a heresy known as modalism. The truth is God is three-in-one all the time.
B. False. If you answered "True," congratulations--you are a Mormon-- since this question was lifted straight out of the Book of Mormon.
C. False. Congratulations if you said "True" as you are a Roman Catholic. This was lifted right out of a book on what Catholics believe.
D. False. Sorry all you Baptists and other assorted peoples. This just is not found in the Bible and has no creedance.
So, how did you all do?
If you are like me, you would have probably flunked the first one. At least that is what happened to me when I took it in the '90's. Now I am more savy to what they want and so I think I did better on the updated one--but not a whole lot better.
Here are a four sample questions. For the entire 19 question quiz, go to the link above.
True or False
A. In the Old Testament, God was known as the Father; in the New Testament, as the Son; and after Pentecost, as the Holy Spirit.
B. We are saved by grace after all that we can do.
C. Justification is the process by which a person, through faith in Christ and sorrow for his sins, receives the gift of the Holy Spirit and so becomes a child of God.
D. The Bible teaches that there is an age of accountability, and that children who die before this age go to heaven because they are innocent.
Answers
A. False. This is a heresy known as modalism. The truth is God is three-in-one all the time.
B. False. If you answered "True," congratulations--you are a Mormon-- since this question was lifted straight out of the Book of Mormon.
C. False. Congratulations if you said "True" as you are a Roman Catholic. This was lifted right out of a book on what Catholics believe.
D. False. Sorry all you Baptists and other assorted peoples. This just is not found in the Bible and has no creedance.
So, how did you all do?
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Feminist Grooming (Not)
Tammy Bruce is the former head of the Los Angeles chapter of NOW (National Organization of Women). She used to be an extreme liberal like the rest of her feminist friends and colleagues, but now she is an avowed conservative (although still a lesbian). She has a radio program on a conservative talk station here in Los Angeles as well as being a commentator on the Fox News Network. She tells us something absolutely fascinating in her latest article entitled, The Increasingly Ugly Left.
She writes,
During my time with the National Organization for Women one of the
(many) things that disturbed me during national board meetings was the
fact that many of the women seemed to be allergic to bathing, and
especially frightened of the concept of `grooming.'
The simplest things reveal you are in a room full of unhappy
people many were significantly overweight, and by grooming I mean
engaging in the simple act of running a brush though your hair,
brushing one's teeth, visiting a dentist if need be (at least on
occasion), and simply caring enough about yourself to at least attempt
to appear healthy.
When I would dare to bring up the issue of appearance (as gently as
one could imagine), that notion, of course, was rejected as
"surrendering to the male dominated view of female beauty." Hey, how
about surrendering to not being repulsive? That helps every cause,
whatever it may be.
When reading and listening to Bruce, you really do get the inside skinny on the feminists. The sad thing to me is how out of touch they are. In fact, they are so narrow that they are excluding some of their own. I'll never forget a few years ago when 60 Minutes (the TV news program) aired a NOW meeting with all the heavy hitter feminist leaders at the head speakers table. Camille Paglia came in and they threw her out. This was unbelievable to me since Ms. Paglia is not only a feminist and liberal, but also an outspoken lesbian. But you see, like Bruce, Paglia dares to criticise the Gloria Steinems, et. al. and their positions on a few matters. They don't like Christine Hof Summers either, another feminist. She's too "conservative."
According to Bruce, in one of her books, this narrowness is certainly taking their toll on NOW--budgetwise that is. They're panicked about their dwindling resources. And the reason for the dwindling money is the dwindling membership. The feminists are still living in the 70's and are just NOT relating to the women of today. IMO they are more concerned with their lesbian politics as well as far leaning leftist ideals than they are with REALLY helping women. Thus, the dwindling membership.
Bruce ends her article with the eventual conclusion to women who think grooming is for sissies (or Republicans):
"Think I'm being too extreme? Consider Robin Givhan's coverage of John
Roberts' family at the president's press conference announcing Judge
Roberts as his nominee for the Supreme Court. In her Washington Post
story also on July 22, 2005 titled "An Image A Little Too Carefully
Crafted," Givhan actually attacks Judge Roberts' wife and children for being groomed and well-dressed."
Well, I don't think we need to worry. Perhaps the feminist era might just be coming to an end. Maybe time for the Christian community to step in to fill the vacuum when the feminists leave altogether?
*For more on Tammy Bruce, see my post from July, 2004,
Tammy Bruce.
She writes,
During my time with the National Organization for Women one of the
(many) things that disturbed me during national board meetings was the
fact that many of the women seemed to be allergic to bathing, and
especially frightened of the concept of `grooming.'
The simplest things reveal you are in a room full of unhappy
people many were significantly overweight, and by grooming I mean
engaging in the simple act of running a brush though your hair,
brushing one's teeth, visiting a dentist if need be (at least on
occasion), and simply caring enough about yourself to at least attempt
to appear healthy.
When I would dare to bring up the issue of appearance (as gently as
one could imagine), that notion, of course, was rejected as
"surrendering to the male dominated view of female beauty." Hey, how
about surrendering to not being repulsive? That helps every cause,
whatever it may be.
When reading and listening to Bruce, you really do get the inside skinny on the feminists. The sad thing to me is how out of touch they are. In fact, they are so narrow that they are excluding some of their own. I'll never forget a few years ago when 60 Minutes (the TV news program) aired a NOW meeting with all the heavy hitter feminist leaders at the head speakers table. Camille Paglia came in and they threw her out. This was unbelievable to me since Ms. Paglia is not only a feminist and liberal, but also an outspoken lesbian. But you see, like Bruce, Paglia dares to criticise the Gloria Steinems, et. al. and their positions on a few matters. They don't like Christine Hof Summers either, another feminist. She's too "conservative."
According to Bruce, in one of her books, this narrowness is certainly taking their toll on NOW--budgetwise that is. They're panicked about their dwindling resources. And the reason for the dwindling money is the dwindling membership. The feminists are still living in the 70's and are just NOT relating to the women of today. IMO they are more concerned with their lesbian politics as well as far leaning leftist ideals than they are with REALLY helping women. Thus, the dwindling membership.
Bruce ends her article with the eventual conclusion to women who think grooming is for sissies (or Republicans):
"Think I'm being too extreme? Consider Robin Givhan's coverage of John
Roberts' family at the president's press conference announcing Judge
Roberts as his nominee for the Supreme Court. In her Washington Post
story also on July 22, 2005 titled "An Image A Little Too Carefully
Crafted," Givhan actually attacks Judge Roberts' wife and children for being groomed and well-dressed."
Well, I don't think we need to worry. Perhaps the feminist era might just be coming to an end. Maybe time for the Christian community to step in to fill the vacuum when the feminists leave altogether?
*For more on Tammy Bruce, see my post from July, 2004,
Tammy Bruce.
Saturday, August 06, 2005
The Outsourcing Circle
I need to catch everyone up on what the columnists on the New York Times OpEd page have been saying. So, for the next few weeks, here and there, I will post my thoughts about some of the articles I've been reading.
Today's post concerns one I read some weeks ago. Suketu Mehta is one frustated lady. She and her husband, both from India, moved here to the USA many moons ago to find more opportunity. But now, with so many jobs (some of them very good) being outsourced to India, she and her husband wonder if he will still have his job. Perhaps they will have to go back to India to find work. What a weird dilemma for the Indians, Irish, and other immigrants here in the USA whose countries are now BIG outsourcing places for American countries. Will they too need to go back to their country of origin to find work?
Today's post concerns one I read some weeks ago. Suketu Mehta is one frustated lady. She and her husband, both from India, moved here to the USA many moons ago to find more opportunity. But now, with so many jobs (some of them very good) being outsourced to India, she and her husband wonder if he will still have his job. Perhaps they will have to go back to India to find work. What a weird dilemma for the Indians, Irish, and other immigrants here in the USA whose countries are now BIG outsourcing places for American countries. Will they too need to go back to their country of origin to find work?
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
The Revival Series
I want to thank those of you who faithfully followed this very long blog series of revival history throughout the summer. Here are the links, in order, to the 22 posts in the series.
1. Revival:Awakenings in the USA
2. Revivals:The Puritans
3. Those Fun Loving Puritans
4. Revival Blogging
5. The First Great Awakening:Milieux
6. The First Great Awakening:The Methods
7. The First Great Awakening:The Message-Part 1
8. The First Great Awakening:The Message-Part 2
9. Revivals: Pietism
10. The Second Great Awakening:Milieux
11. The Second Great Awakening:New England and the South
12. The Second Great Awakening:Finney
13. The Third Awakening
14. 312 Azusa Street
15. The Great Welsh Revival
16. Aimee Semple MacPherson
17. The Healing Revivals and Latter Rain Teaching
18. The (New) Evangelicals
19. The Indonesian Revival
20. The Charismatic Renewal
21. The Third Wave Revivals
22. Revivals:Analysis and Summation
1. Revival:Awakenings in the USA
2. Revivals:The Puritans
3. Those Fun Loving Puritans
4. Revival Blogging
5. The First Great Awakening:Milieux
6. The First Great Awakening:The Methods
7. The First Great Awakening:The Message-Part 1
8. The First Great Awakening:The Message-Part 2
9. Revivals: Pietism
10. The Second Great Awakening:Milieux
11. The Second Great Awakening:New England and the South
12. The Second Great Awakening:Finney
13. The Third Awakening
14. 312 Azusa Street
15. The Great Welsh Revival
16. Aimee Semple MacPherson
17. The Healing Revivals and Latter Rain Teaching
18. The (New) Evangelicals
19. The Indonesian Revival
20. The Charismatic Renewal
21. The Third Wave Revivals
22. Revivals:Analysis and Summation
Monday, August 01, 2005
Revivals: Analysis and Summation
For the last two months we've come full circle from the High Calvinism- head-faith of the 17th century New England Puritans, to the more extreme Arminian-heart-experience-based faith of the late 20th century Third Wave Charismatics.
The Revival cycle
At SingleSpoon Ministries there is found a revival cycle chart that goes like this:
First society gets desperate and cries out to God. Then a deliverance/deliverer comes and brings renewal/revisitation/revival to the church. This regenerates society but then the next generation falls away bringing society into degeneration. The whole cycle repeats itself when a few people despair about the degeneration of the society around them and start to cry out to God for revival. And then the cycle begins all over again.
Five Important Questions
Here are the questions I asked myself as I was researching these revivals and their cycles:
1. What was the primary theology of the revival?
2. Were there any manipulative techniques in the revival?
3. Was it the theology; or manipulative/dramatic techniques that brought people into conversion? Or, were both used equally? Were the majority of the conversions real?
4. How long did the revival last? If not long, why not?
5. Did the area (town, towns, counties, etc.) around the revival change? If so, did the change last a long time or a very short time?
The Revival Panorama
Applying these questions, let's look at the revival panorama from the Puritans to the Third Wave. A theme we will come across continually beginning with the Puritans are the two cities that Augustine described--the city on the hill, being the godly Christian city; and the other more secular city down from the hill in the muck of unregenerate society.
The Puritans resolved this question by combining the two, so they were like Siamese twins. You really couldn't tell the difference between the two because the city below was also the city above and vice-versa. With this method, it was obvious that society, at least outwardly, looked holy. Also, with just one church group (the Calvinistic Congregational), there was little dissention between denominations. Preaching and moral laws based upon the Bible, accepted by almost most of the populace, was how the Puritans maintained the status quo.
But as time marched on, the two cities began to separate and so revival "techniques" changed too. In the early 18th century, Deism began to creep into the colonies courtesy of books from and travels by some colonists to France (i.e. B. Franklin and T. Jefferson). Also, society at that time, now the third and fourth generations since the original Puritans, began to be more and more interested in commerce and "amusements." How does one reach this society? Either people had to be forced into conformity by rules and laws; or, there needed to be a revival outside of regular preaching, that is a visitation from God if you will, to change society. We see this again after the Revolutionary War as the society once again reverts back into a more secular mode. But now, instead of Deism which certainly is still afoot, Unitarianism is the new threat, especially in the New England and Middle colonies.
Shortly after the 19th century begins, a new type of revival technique comes onto the scene--with a different type of theology. Charles Finney brings a more manipulative style and a pretty extreme Arminian theology to his revivals. There had been this tension all along among revivalist--even those in the early 18th century. The BIG question was--does God bring revival sovereignly? Or, does man have a part in "praying" it in. Illustrating the first view, missionary William Carey was told by the religious leaders of his day:
"When God pleases to convert the heathen, he'll do it without consulting you or me."
The other view is seen in Carey's famous quote,
""Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.""
By Conversion? Or By Laws?
Unfortunately, while these revivals did change the areas around them, the followers of Finney got into the same type of thinking that the Christian Right is in today. "We will convert as many as possible but the rest we will put moral laws upon whether they like it or not to get rid of the evils of slavery and alcoholism." Sadly, the South didn't wish to come under these laws and there was a Civil War. I do understand there were other reasons for that War but certainly the abolitionists had one part in pushing the South to the wall. Meanwhile, the Finneyites also had some success in passing temperance (i.e. prohibition) laws in several towns and counties and later even whole states. This led eventually to the 18th Constitutional Amendment in 1919, which has been the only Amendment to be repealed--in 1933. So, it seemed that passing laws to get people to act right and conform didn't (and doesn't) work well. Perhaps we need to get back to conversion? I have posted many times here about the book by Cal Thomas and Ed Dobson, both of whom helped Jerry Fallwell found the Moral Majority. The book, Blinded by Might: Can the Religious Right Save America? is the realization by Thomas and Dobson that for 25 years they followed a wrong premise and ultimately had to get back to the conversion technique. By the way, the book's subtitle ("Can the Religious Right Save America?") is a rhetorical question--the answer being, "NO."
New Revival "Techniques"
With the advent of Moody, Sunday and MacPherson in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, we have the entertainment and drama revivalists. We also see a higher level of material living among the revivalists than in the original 18th-19th century Methodist circuit riders who owned a coat, two suits, a horse and two books--the Bible and Methodist Order book. Unfortunately, most of these revivalists only reached the Western European Protestants and not the Catholic and Jewish immigrants.
At the beginning of the 20th century, and going through today, the signs and wonders of Pentecost in Acts, chapter 2, begins to be explored as a possible way of a genuine, lasting revival with more conversions possible. Azusa Street, the Welsh Revival, the Healing and Latter Rain revivals, the Charismatic Renewal and today's Third Wave produced new forms of theology, mostly Arminian and experiential in nature. Some stuck very much to Christ and the cross (MacPherson and Hagin especially) while others strayed far afield (i.e. the Third Wave). Interestingly, both the Azusa and Welsh revivals didn't last long. Why? Many people who were a part of these revivals, as well as some revival historians, point to a lack of good follow-up Biblical teaching to be the culprit. A lady who frequently comments here said this to me in IM (AOL Instant Message):
Why couldn't they just say, 'well, folks, the Holy Spirit has lifted, and this is the end of the miracles for now. Go home and live the Christ life, study your Bibles and grow in the Lord?'
While I am very much for signs and wonders continuing, I think she is making a very good point. I'll let you ruminate on what she said.
The next and last post in this revival series (posted in about two days from now) will be all the links to all of the revival posts.
The Revival cycle
At SingleSpoon Ministries there is found a revival cycle chart that goes like this:
First society gets desperate and cries out to God. Then a deliverance/deliverer comes and brings renewal/revisitation/revival to the church. This regenerates society but then the next generation falls away bringing society into degeneration. The whole cycle repeats itself when a few people despair about the degeneration of the society around them and start to cry out to God for revival. And then the cycle begins all over again.
Five Important Questions
Here are the questions I asked myself as I was researching these revivals and their cycles:
1. What was the primary theology of the revival?
2. Were there any manipulative techniques in the revival?
3. Was it the theology; or manipulative/dramatic techniques that brought people into conversion? Or, were both used equally? Were the majority of the conversions real?
4. How long did the revival last? If not long, why not?
5. Did the area (town, towns, counties, etc.) around the revival change? If so, did the change last a long time or a very short time?
The Revival Panorama
Applying these questions, let's look at the revival panorama from the Puritans to the Third Wave. A theme we will come across continually beginning with the Puritans are the two cities that Augustine described--the city on the hill, being the godly Christian city; and the other more secular city down from the hill in the muck of unregenerate society.
The Puritans resolved this question by combining the two, so they were like Siamese twins. You really couldn't tell the difference between the two because the city below was also the city above and vice-versa. With this method, it was obvious that society, at least outwardly, looked holy. Also, with just one church group (the Calvinistic Congregational), there was little dissention between denominations. Preaching and moral laws based upon the Bible, accepted by almost most of the populace, was how the Puritans maintained the status quo.
But as time marched on, the two cities began to separate and so revival "techniques" changed too. In the early 18th century, Deism began to creep into the colonies courtesy of books from and travels by some colonists to France (i.e. B. Franklin and T. Jefferson). Also, society at that time, now the third and fourth generations since the original Puritans, began to be more and more interested in commerce and "amusements." How does one reach this society? Either people had to be forced into conformity by rules and laws; or, there needed to be a revival outside of regular preaching, that is a visitation from God if you will, to change society. We see this again after the Revolutionary War as the society once again reverts back into a more secular mode. But now, instead of Deism which certainly is still afoot, Unitarianism is the new threat, especially in the New England and Middle colonies.
Shortly after the 19th century begins, a new type of revival technique comes onto the scene--with a different type of theology. Charles Finney brings a more manipulative style and a pretty extreme Arminian theology to his revivals. There had been this tension all along among revivalist--even those in the early 18th century. The BIG question was--does God bring revival sovereignly? Or, does man have a part in "praying" it in. Illustrating the first view, missionary William Carey was told by the religious leaders of his day:
"When God pleases to convert the heathen, he'll do it without consulting you or me."
The other view is seen in Carey's famous quote,
""Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.""
By Conversion? Or By Laws?
Unfortunately, while these revivals did change the areas around them, the followers of Finney got into the same type of thinking that the Christian Right is in today. "We will convert as many as possible but the rest we will put moral laws upon whether they like it or not to get rid of the evils of slavery and alcoholism." Sadly, the South didn't wish to come under these laws and there was a Civil War. I do understand there were other reasons for that War but certainly the abolitionists had one part in pushing the South to the wall. Meanwhile, the Finneyites also had some success in passing temperance (i.e. prohibition) laws in several towns and counties and later even whole states. This led eventually to the 18th Constitutional Amendment in 1919, which has been the only Amendment to be repealed--in 1933. So, it seemed that passing laws to get people to act right and conform didn't (and doesn't) work well. Perhaps we need to get back to conversion? I have posted many times here about the book by Cal Thomas and Ed Dobson, both of whom helped Jerry Fallwell found the Moral Majority. The book, Blinded by Might: Can the Religious Right Save America? is the realization by Thomas and Dobson that for 25 years they followed a wrong premise and ultimately had to get back to the conversion technique. By the way, the book's subtitle ("Can the Religious Right Save America?") is a rhetorical question--the answer being, "NO."
New Revival "Techniques"
With the advent of Moody, Sunday and MacPherson in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, we have the entertainment and drama revivalists. We also see a higher level of material living among the revivalists than in the original 18th-19th century Methodist circuit riders who owned a coat, two suits, a horse and two books--the Bible and Methodist Order book. Unfortunately, most of these revivalists only reached the Western European Protestants and not the Catholic and Jewish immigrants.
At the beginning of the 20th century, and going through today, the signs and wonders of Pentecost in Acts, chapter 2, begins to be explored as a possible way of a genuine, lasting revival with more conversions possible. Azusa Street, the Welsh Revival, the Healing and Latter Rain revivals, the Charismatic Renewal and today's Third Wave produced new forms of theology, mostly Arminian and experiential in nature. Some stuck very much to Christ and the cross (MacPherson and Hagin especially) while others strayed far afield (i.e. the Third Wave). Interestingly, both the Azusa and Welsh revivals didn't last long. Why? Many people who were a part of these revivals, as well as some revival historians, point to a lack of good follow-up Biblical teaching to be the culprit. A lady who frequently comments here said this to me in IM (AOL Instant Message):
Why couldn't they just say, 'well, folks, the Holy Spirit has lifted, and this is the end of the miracles for now. Go home and live the Christ life, study your Bibles and grow in the Lord?'
While I am very much for signs and wonders continuing, I think she is making a very good point. I'll let you ruminate on what she said.
The next and last post in this revival series (posted in about two days from now) will be all the links to all of the revival posts.
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