In what appears to be yet another fundamentalist hypocrisy, I have to ask the question: who modeled for Adam and Eve? The photo on the left is from the new Creation Museum. As someone who has done drawing from models before, I know that in order to do accurate drawings of the human body, one has to actually see the human body. Did a woman create the Eve mannequin and a man create the Adam mannequin? We don’t want anyone falling into sin. If Eve’s hair moved just a little bit, all hell would break loose.

The kinds of people who enjoy this museum are absolutely opposed to nudity of all forms, even if its just for an art class. This goes straight to the gnostic roots of fundamentalism – that the human body is evil.

Clarification: There are at least four articles on CRN promoting the Creation Museum.

It’s not CRN, Slice 2.0, or even a blog site for that matter… but the folks over at the Rapture Ready Bulletin Board are, for the most part in complete agreement with the aforementioned watchblogs. 

Sometimes they make a good point, but most times they do this -take something like a Lava Lamp prayer and pour external meaning into it.  In this way they can attack new things while seeing fulfilled prophecy at the same time – remember, it’s all part of the end-times falling away.

In a bizarre twist, which doesn’t surprise anyone actually, Ingrid criticizes a church for hiring a senior woman pastor. Issues aside, Ingrid often acts as an authority over Christian men. Before anyone points out that she only attacks “unregenerate”, let me remind us all that we don’t know the state of anyone’s soul, only God knows that.

Perhaps she should stay at home and consult her husband before she blogs.

It seems like the ever so ambiguous “editor” over at C?N hasn’t been able to dig up any dirt on good ol’ Rick Warren for a long time.  They had to dig pretty deep for this article, and meet their weekly quota of Rick Warren is a Heretic stories.

Apparently a business in Irvine, CA is giving seniors a memorial service while they are still alive.  Milestone Memories plans birthdays, reunion and retirement parties, but the most unique would be the living memorial service.  ”A significant, affirming living memorial celebration is an amazing gift to offer a loved one,” says company owner Jean Winder.  This gives others an opportunity to share all the memories and love that they have with a person while they are still alive to enjoy it.  Don’t we all have a few words we would have liked to tell someone before they passed on?  I can’t see anything wrong with what they are doing, can you?

Well, C?N is up in arms over the business.  First, they mislabeled them a ministry.  No where on their site or in the article could I see any reason to assume they were a ministry, or considered themselves a ministry at all.  In fact, this sentence was the only thing that linked them to Rick Warren:

Winder also served as conference coordinator for Rick Warren, author of “The Purpose Driven Life.”

So, because she once served as the conference coordinator for Warren, her business is automatically tainted with… well, with… I can’t figure that one out.  This last section made me laugh out loud:

Rick Warren has been teaching a legion of people in south Orange County how to love themselves through his Purpose-Driven teaching…This is just more proof that the first sentence of the Purpose Driven Life “it’s not about you” is a complete joke.

You got it Mr. Ambiguous Editor Man (or woman)!  When you plan a party to encourage and uplift someone else, you are being completely self-centered!  How dare people plan events like this to encourage and love ourseniors!  We should probably call off all birthday parties, graduations, weddings and even funerals.  We wouldn’t want to make them all about us, right? 

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?

As our executive pastor, Eric Bryant, spoke on this passage last night I began to think about how it applied to much of what we discuss here.  I don’t think people need to be reminded too often that God is wrathful.  In fact, I would say that the majority of people in this world think of God as an angry dictator in heaven, just waiting to strike someone down dead for their sins.  This is a huge reason why people do not get involved with spiritual life.  They are either too guilty or repelled with their notion of who God is.

However, the scriptures tell us that it is God’s kindness that leads people to repentance.  Paul actually is addressing people who dislike the notion that God is tolerant with people.  And yes, the scriptures say that God is t-o-l-e-r-a-n-t.  How much more should we be patient and tolerant of people who are not where we are on our spiritual journey?  If it is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance, than should we not be known for our love?  However, so often the Christian world is known for what we are against.  I wonder what would happen if we were known by our kindness, tolerance and patience rather than our hate, divisiveness and pride.

So often I hear that love is telling the whole truth, which includes that which hurts.  That is so true.  However, that kind of truth can only come in relationships, not machine gun style spreading of truth.  Could you imagine me walking up to a dangerously overweight stranger and saying, “You are really unhealthy, and it’s pretty socially awkward to have you in public.  And because I love you, I felt that I need to say that.”  I have to first bring that person into my life, and develop credibility and permission to speak this truth.  However, people on the watchdoggie blogs and elsewhere do this very thing everyday.  Does the whole truth need to be shared?  Yes!  But it is always done best in trusting relationships.

I dare all of us to allow the people that Christians love to hate into our lives.  What would happen if we, rather than writing hate truth blogs about people, we went out into our communities and actually befriended gays, Catholics, minorities, Muslims, and even Baptists.  And not befriending them as a “project”, but authentically loving them with the love of Christ.  If every follower of Christ did this, then a lot more people would see the kindness, tolerance and patience of our God, and be drawn to repentance.

shameless plug:  Eric Michael Bryant’s new book, Peppermint-Filled Piñatas (Zondervan) is out in stores everywhere.  It is an excellent resource on this topic.  You can check out some of it on his blog here, or purchase it here.

Ok people some ground rules: No bringing up the different sites.  No name calling, and no debating election/free will or any of that stuff. All such comments will be deleted with extreme prejudice. Now, that we have that out of the way, here’s the question:

Why is God so angry with Job’s friends. He says they did not speak what is right of him. But in your opinion what did they say that was wrong? I hear a lot of what they said from “good God fearing” people. In other words, give me your opinion or take on this whole  scenario.

Job 42

Ken Silva says we don’t need the teachings of Jesus today! Ken offers us this quote of one Rob Bell,

“What we need now more than ever is the teachings of Jesus.”

Ken follows this with this statement in response to Pastor Bell…

No Rob.

What kind of Bible is Ken teaching if he believes we don’t need to teachings of Jesus. What kind of morally bankrupt doctrine does he hold? Certainly a gospel which does not include the teachings of Jesus is no gospel I want to be apart of.

**Editors note*** This is an exact word for word quote of Ken’s. I even took a screen picture in case it changes. No, I don’t for a minute believe that Ken is espousing that we don’t need Jesus but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to accurately misquote Ken as he done to many–be it Bell, McManus, or whoever. Now, whenever Ken says he believes we do need the teachings of Jesus we can pull this quote up and ask how the two can be true.

Jill Martin Rische, a substitute for Ingrid at Slice while she is away, is the eldest daughter of Walter Martin. She parts ways with Silva in this statement about the Catholic Church (and agrees with her father):

“I take the same position my father did on Catholicism. I strongly disagree with some of their doctrines, but they have the right Jesus, the right Trinity, the right God and Father of us all. There are believers within the Catholic Church and they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is what my father taught and after much thought and prayer, this is what Kevin and I believe.”

Go up the comments page and you have Silva’s thoughts on Catholicism:
“Apostate Roman Catholicism is actually bigger than a cult. As Dr. John MacArthur rightly says it is another religion entirely. So the RCC is not a cult but should be classified with false world religious systems such as Islam.”

I totally agree is Rische on this point. I have serious issues with Catholic doctrine but I believe there are active, strong, growing, regenerate Christians within this denomination. And I would agree with Silva in that there aren’t Christians within Islam.

What do you think?

I am at the Willow Creek Arts Conference.  It is appropriately themed Hallelujah: What’s Right With the Word.  So many times as  followers of Christ we look at all the bad in the world.  We often fail to see the beauty and good that God is bringing to so much in the world around us.  I have had the opportunity to hang out with Donald Miller and Brian McLaren.  They are two incredible people.  I have to say that some of my opinions about McLaren have definately changed after this weekend.  it’s amazing how that happens when you actually have a conversation with the person.

I will write more when I return home.  Pray for us at Mosaic as we are communicating the truth of the scriptures on the main stage tomorrow with dance, poetry, drama and film.