I never ceased to be amazed at the arrogance and denseness of the writing staff at Christian Research Network. I will say it, the cowardly and haughty anonymous editor there has written a piece that shows their own spiritual blindness, lack of compassion and severe misinterpretation and misuse of the scriptures. A recent news organization gave an article highlighting the African American religious community coming together over the increasing AIDS crisis in the black community.

over 150 African American leaders proposed the National HIV/AIDS Elimination Act, which they plan to introduce to Congress as early as January. The act calls on the federal government “to declare the HIV/AIDS Crisis in the African American community a ‘public health emergency’” and urges “the Secretary of Health and Human Services to use his emergency authority to redirect resources to address this emergency.”

CRN called this story “rueful”, implying that they were sad or apologetic over the fact that the religious community had come together to fight this disease. In 2005, 49% of the AIDS population was African-American. That sounds like an epidemic worth fighting for. However, the CRN popular whipping-boy, T.D. Jakes, was a part of this movement. The article said that Jakes

“acknowledged that while the group represented different theological viewpoints on homosexuality, he asserted that those differences should not distort the issue. ‘Tomorrow we can save souls but today we must save lives,’ said Jakes.”

The editor said that Jakes was showing his spiritual denseness. He/she/it writes

This is indeed a shocking, heart-breaking and actually quite foolish statement by Jakes who is supposed to be a minister of the Gospel of Jesus— Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth… Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away (Proverbs 27:1; James 4:14).

Are you kidding me? They criticize him for wanting to save lives, and why — they say he is boasting of the future! In other words, Jakes’ efforts to heal the sick are boasting about what is going to happen tomorrow. By applying this passage to this situation, they are implying that human life is but a vapor and therefore insignificant, not worth their time, and not worthy of saving. Heck, why attempt to do anything that will affect tomorrow… evangelize, heal, love… it’s all boastful if you tell someone you are going to do it, right?  On top of all the scripture abuse, they add this verse to the opening of the article

Every man’s way is right in his own eyes (Proverbs 21:2)

What?!?  How on earth does this apply at all?  Does it mean that because Jakes has actually read the scriptures and seen that we are to care for the sick, that he is right?  This one easily falls into the “what can you say” category here at CRN.info.

In the news business, right behind the axiom ’sex sells’ is its step-cousin, ‘outrage sells’. That is all well and fine (or maybe not, but that’s another topic for another day), but it’s downright sad when is used in the church in such a way that a story’s headline sells one or the other, but the article ‘fails to deliver’, revealing the headline to be nothing more than a carnival huckster’s pitch.

In an article posted yesterday, CR?N posted the same headline as chosen by the Christian news service, “One News Now” – So. Baptist Leaders Advised Not to Force ‘Narrow View’ of Scripture on Everyone. The average reader would most likely see this headline and assume that the liberal agenda was trying to force a low view of scripture upon the SBC. However, once you read the article, you find out the the scripture from which some folks don’t want the SBC to take a narrow view:

Thou shalt not put any child in daycare, nor shalt thou enable thy unbelieving neighbors place their children into the hands of Molech via the abomination of daycare. – II Opinions 4:14

Don’t get me wrong – I am not a big fan of daycare. However, I know a number of single mothers and families in dire financial straits who cannot avoid some limited form of daycare situation. [I also know at least one woman who put her children in daycare 5 days a week, an when she took vacation days, she would still put the kids in daycare, as she just couldn't deal with them all day long. This led me to point-blank ask her, "Are children just the newest fad of pets as status symbols?" Needless to say, I'm not on her Christmas mailing list...]

I also know a woman who removed her family from a church we used to attend (before we moved 60 miles away) because they opened a daycare facility in the church, primarily aimed at single mothers [it was part of the selection criteria]. Her comment was that the church had no business ‘enabling’ people to commit child neglect.
Sadly, it is on topics like daycare that Christians should be at the forefront of service, rather than being the Nagging Aunt Mable in backseat telling other people how to raise their kids, whilst not lifting a finger to do anything about it. Who does that remind me of?

The church we attend now has a daycare facility (and an after-school program) in it which is primarily used by families outside the church. It is considered to be an outreach ministry of our church. Children in the church daycare will be exposed to Bible stories and wholesome activities, while they are cared for by loving, Christian volunteers. The kids also become part of activities inside the church, to which their parents are invited. For some of these families, this is their first experience inside a church building and with the body of Christ.
Yet, it seems, there are some who wish to try to make unbelievers behave in a manner of believers without ever having taken the first step of belief. Then, they are puzzled as to why they are hated, when the reasons for the hate have nothing really to with Christ, but everything to do with the self-righteousness of those who are supposed to represent his body here on earth…

Perhaps a better headline would have been:

So. Baptist Leaders Advised Not to Create Legalistic Rules that are Not Explicit in Scripture

Just sayin’

According to this site, they are not saved. Now, I would love to see Chris R debate this gentleman on the “heresy” of baptismal regeneration. There really isn’t much more to say.