Do You Torture Your Kids with Religion?

Brian Flemming says you do. According to him, kids in our country need a liberator from this “child abuse” that we call religion. He thinks taking your child to church, raising your child in a Christian home and teaching him/her Christian values is a form of psychological torture.

Brian Flemming is the pied piper. . .or worse.

If you already know about him, then I would just ask that you do one thing: take a moment right now to pray for those young people who are falling prey to this demonic plot.

But if you don’t know about him, you might want to take a little something first, to settle your stomach.

He’s an atheist and film director who is enticing kids to deny the existence of the Holy Spirit. Thus the name “Blasphemy Challenge.” The target? Teens. The medium? Film. Kids are told to film themselves denouncing God/Jesus/the Holy Spirit and upload their video to YouTube.

In return, they get a free copy of The God Who Wasn’t There, a film which irreverently lays out the argument that Jesus Christ never existed.

This is issued as a challenge to kids, a dare. How well can any teenager resist dares and peer pressure? Some kids even say on their videos, “Hey, if I can do it, so can you.” 

Think it’s nothing to worry about? Last time I checked, there were 1162 video responses. (Granted, some of those might be in protest to his theory or his “challenge,” but I just can’t go through them all to find out. Watching these kids breaks my heart.) And there were nearly 300,000 views of Flemming’s video challenge.

The instructions on the website say that, in order to get your free copy of the film, “You may damn yourself to Hell however you would like, but somewhere in your video you must say this phrase: ‘I deny the Holy Spirit.’” Scripture is actually quoted (Mark 3:29) to explain to them that they won’t be forgiven for this sin. “Jesus will forgive you for just about anything, but he won’t forgive you for denying the existence of the Holy Spirit. Ever. This is a one-way road you’re taking here.”

(Mark 3:29 “But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.”)

Now, there are a lot of things that are debatable here, and they are being debated all over the internet. This sicko could be the anti-Christ for all I know, or he’s a demon or he’s just a genius at advertising and, like a little kid, he’s pushing the buttons of the Christian community, poking at us to get a rise out of us and to get fame for himself. (I certainly hate to give him that satisfaction, but he’s going after kids! How can we ignore it?)

Personally, I think it’s about your heart, not your words. I think if they ask forgiveness for saying those words, they’ll be forgiven. I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong, in which case, this is an even worse-case scenario than I thought. I believe that blaspheming the Holy Spirit, denying Him, is when you reject Him, when you deny Him access to your heart and your life. I think it’s more than just saying the words. If they are living those words when they die, I believe they will not be forgiven because they have rejected Christ. But in the meantime, I believe that they could repent and still be saved as long as they are still on this earth.

But you know what I really do worry about? What do these kids think is the truth? What will they believe about themselves, their value and place in this world AFTER they have denounced God? Once they make their video, will they live as if they are already condemned anyway, so what does it matter what they do? Will they never allow themselves to be open to God because they think it’s a waste of time now?

Will they revel in their new lives of “freedom” and convince others to do the same? Perhaps they’ll go about their own version of the great commission.

Could they be condemning themselves to lives of hopelessness?

We need to pray for these young people, and be vigilant about protecting the kids we can.

Here are the sites to check it out for yourself. Why should you? If your concern about this guy or your concern for these kids is only lukewarm, just read some of this information. Watch a few of the videos of kids denying God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. It will add passion and urgency to your prayers for them.

http://www.blasphemychallenge.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7QVbJnSPQE
ABC Nightline News story about Brian Flemming

Be prepared to weep.

Blind Date with Crossroads Christian Church

I’m searching for a new church family, for any readers who don’t know. So Sunday, on my way to visit Crossroads Christian Church, it occurred to me that going to a new church is very much like a blind date. You just never know what you’re gonna get.

This is a very small church, average attendance about 140 (a tenth of my previous church). People were sincerely gracious and welcoming. They didn’t swoop down on me like some churches, they were just a very friendly bunch.

The music was contemporary, nice mix of recent stuff with even an old favorite thrown in (Old Rugged Cross-just a little faster version of it). The main thing is, it didn’t detract from my worship, it added to it. So that makes it ok in my book.

Speaker was pretty good, his message very soundly Biblical, though he was a deacon, not the pastor.

That was the disappointing news. . .because of ill health, their pastor just resigned 2 weeks ago. Now they’re just starting that process of looking for a new one, and I know from experience, that can take a year or more.

<sigh>

Next!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Our society places a great deal of importance on respect. We are taught that we need to respect ourselves and require others to respect us as well. If we let others take advantage of us, we’re likely to hear “Don’t you have any self-respect?” When we are treated unfairly, the expectation is that we will speak up, not let that person get away with it. When we are accused of something we didn’t do, we are compelled to confront the accuser and straighten them out, make sure they understand the facts. Anything less is showing a lack of self-respect, and a lack of self-respect looks the same as weak and helpless.

Among young people, it is so important that you can be killed in a heartbeat if there is any hint of disrespect. Murders occur every single day, especially among young males, because “he disrespected me, man. I had to kill him.”

But what if our heroes are Biblical? Paul said in Acts 20:24, “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me.” [NIV]

I consider my life worth nothing to me. Think about that statement for a minute. Imagine someone today making that same statement.

Where do we draw the line? If I truly consider my life worth nothing to me, (and after all, none of anything I have or am is my own), and if my focus is the same as Paul’s, why would I be compelled to defend myself against others? Jesus was certainly accused of things He didn’t do, and aren’t we told in the Bible to expect such suffering in our own lives?

There seems to be a fine line here, and I’m just not sure where to draw it. I am close to people who will, if I don’t set boundaries, always take advantage of my time and my good nature. Do I have a right to set boundaries?

Should I set boundaries, should I say “no,” should I speak up for myself and defend my honor? By today’s standards I must, but I wonder: What would Paul do, and what would Jesus do? What are we supposed to do?

Can Salvation be Lost?

Don’t we all stray from time to time, to different degrees? Backsliding or whatever you call it, we are human and can and do sin. We can’t help ourselves, right? Because of our sinful nature? Or is it just me?

So, let’s say we ask God into our hearts, we say the prayer and ask God to forgive us, and we do all the things for years that we are called by God to do. But something happens in our hearts and we begin to drift. We are tempted and we sin. Then we sin a little more, then a little more, until one day none of that sin bothers us any more. We once walked with God, now we walk in total sin, for years, decades, maybe the rest of our lives.

Is our salvation still assured? And if so, how can that be?

**UPDATE: Be sure to check out the comments on this question. There are interesting viewpoints, and further musing.

Hangin’ with the Lord

I am what you might call relationally challenged. Any hint of intimacy, most of the time, makes me run the other way.

Except when it comes to being intimate with God. Psalm 91:1 says, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” (NIV) Aaahhhh, that’s intimacy, the “dwelling” and “resting” that the Psalmist talks about here. So so sweet.

If I could, I would spend my entire day reading my Bible, studying, praying. And I could do it, too, even listening to MP3 recordings of sermons while I’m on the treadmill. I would spend my day dwelling in His presence and resting in His shadow.

But I don’t think that’s what we’re here on this earth to do. That pleasure, spending all of our time worshipping Him, will come in heaven. Meanwhile, we are here for a reason. We have work to do.

In the book “The Practice of the Presence of God” Brother Lawrence spends his days doing what we might call menial tasks at the monastery, like cleaning the floors. But the entire goal of his life, his very existence, was dedicated to living every minute in the presence of God. It was his belief that, to be constantly aware of God’s presence, we need to form a habit of continually talking with Him throughout each day.

So he figured out a way to do both at the same time, the daily tasks that were his work, and dwelling in the presence of the Lord. Before he began his duties, he would say to the Lord, “My God, since You are with me and since, by Your will, I must occupy myself with external things, please grant me the grace to remain with You, in Your presence. Work with me, so that my work might be the very best. Receive as an offering of love both my work and all my affections.”*

Hangin’ with the Lord. That’s what I’m striving for, all day, every day. Intimacy. (Who me?)

*If you’ve never read Brother Lawrence’s little gem of a book, I would highly recommend it!

Witness like a Pharisee

Here’s a quote from Brennan Manning in the book Live Like a Jesus Freak: “The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

Would any of us deny that hypocrisy is rampant and a huge problem for the Christian witness?

So how can I witness to someone without sounding like I’m judging him/her? Take a simple statement like: ”the Bible says that all of us are sinners and that we can only be saved by accepting through Jesus Christ as our Savior” or any statement like that. We also may say, or it may be asked of us, if that means we believe they will go to hell if they don’t accept Christ.

Well, I will have to say “yes” to that question, the Bible is clear on this. We have a choice to make. God is not to blame if we spend eternity in hell, that is completely up to us.

Anyway, to nonbelievers, this sounds like we are judging them. I’ve heard all the scriptures quoted back to me about the log in my eye and “judge not lest ye be judged,” and all the rest. I try to tell them I’m not judging them but it comes off lame. Then I hear about their neighbor/co-worker/relative who attends church regularly and calls themselves a Christian, but who steals or lies or cheats on his taxes or beats up on his wife. They don’t want to have anything to do with the type of Christianity they’re used to seeing.

Do the people around you know that you’re a Christian? Would they be shocked to learn that about you? And if they don’t know, why not? Is it your behavior or are you embarrassed or afraid that there will be consequences? Do you consciously hide it or just not talk about it? 

I put a Jesus fish on the back of my car, and it keeps me very aware of my actions behind the wheel. No more yelling, rude gestures, or laying on the horn. I don’t want people seeing the Jesus fish and thinking ”there goes another hypocrite.”

Maybe we should all wear some kind of sign.  

Faith and Persistence in Prayer

So many passages in the Bible suggest that if you ask the Father, ask with faith, you will receive if it is in keeping with His will. Several things about this raise questions in my mind.

First of all, does this mean we need to qualify every request with “if it is in keeping with Your will”? This is confusing to me because some things are obviously in keeping with His will (e.g. being a light unto the world, forgive me my sins, etc.), but others are not so obvious. So in cases where we are unsure of God’s will, what then?

Let’s say I ask God to heal a friend who’s sick. We are promised “ask and ye shall receive” but what if God has other plans for that person? What if the illness is actually going to be a learning opportunity for that person, or for someone else in their life? Might my prayer change God’s mind, which is documented to have happened in the Bible? If God wants a dynamic, two-way relationship with us, and He’s looking sometimes for someone to “stand in the gap,” then this idea that we could change His mind seems possible.

And what about the parable of the persistent widow, in Luke 18? The NIV version says the widow was asking for justice, so does this apply only in the case of needing justice, or are we being told to bug the you-know-what out of God until He answers our prayer? 

There are certain people in my world that I pray for every day, either for salvation, or health, or safety, whatever. I do not doubt that these are prayers that our Father is happy to hear and answer. But I have prayed for secular things that I believe I need, and I can’t help but have doubt.

Since doubt=lack of faith=lack of answer to prayer, I’m stuck. How can I pray with faith for something that I believe I need, when, what the heck, maybe God’s got something better in mind or maybe I’m not meant to have that thing, or . . .

Little help, please?

More on Church Music

Whoa, I hit a nerve on this one, didn’t I? Why is this such a devisive issue? If you haven’t read the comments on this question, please do as they are wonderful and all across the board.

Although the music at this church that I visited was awful and was an assault on my ears, I plan to return to that church next Sunday to hear the senior pastor speak. Since I agree that music can’t be the over-riding, deciding factor, I need to go back there a time or two to hear the Word preached. 

Or maybe I’ll skip around and come back to it. I don’t know. I’ll pray about it in the meantime, and keep my ears and eyes and heart open to whatever the Lord might lead me to. 

What about church music?

A couple of years ago, I met Christ and went to church for the first time since I was a kid.

I grew up in a conservative Christian church, where the music was sung by a choir, where my Dad could make you cry with his achingly beautiful solo rendition of “O Holy Night,” and where the accompaniment was an organ, period.

So when I finally went back to church, (not my parents’ church but a church on the opposite side of the country), I was shocked. Drums? In church? And guitars, both acoustic and electric bass, horns, and no choir, just a few singers leading the whole congregation. We sang songs I had never heard of, and I had been expecting Amazing Grace and Nothing But the Blood of Jesus, songs like that. I thought I had stepped into a devil’s workshop.

Then the pastor began his sermon. I didn’t feel an immediate connection, but soon, I found myself calming down inside, closing my eyes and really letting what he was saying sink into my heart and soul. The Holy Spirit spoke through him, to me, in a powerful way that day.

That Sunday, and many Sundays after that, I cried sometime during the service. Actually, not just cried, bawled. Do you remember when you first accepted Christ and realized what incredible grace and mercy it was that you were saved?

I grew to love the worship music. It helped me to focus on God and praising Him, I lifted up my voice and my heart in worship and I believe that God loves this when His children praise Him. It was prayerful, reverent.

“I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.”  Amen!
(Psalm 13:6.)

So now that I have to find a new church, the music has become an issue for me. Like the church I visited yesterday; the music was so bad, I wonder if I could ever grow to love it. The music director was off-key the entire time, no matter which song we sang, the instruments were played at about a high-school level of proficiency; it was almost painful to be in that sanctuary with that music.

Contemporary or traditional, choir or band, I don’t really care about any of that. I care about whether the music speaks to my heart in a way that causes me to do so much more than just sing along. I want to lift my voice to the Lord, to send my heart-messages of gratitude and praise and worship to Him in a focused and reverent spirit.

But it feels almost sacriligious to say that this is important to me. Church isn’t supposed to be about me, what’s fulfilling to me.

I can’t make a decision for or against a church because of it’s music, can I? Should I?  

More on the Church Search

Want to hear something funny?

My previous church held a missions class, and I eagerly signed up. It was taught by an assistant pastor, and was 8 weeks long. But early on in the class, I learned more about my church’s position on women in the church. This was something I didn’t know, even after months of attending there.

A woman’s place, her job according to this pastor, is to run the household and raise “his” children. Huh? She is not to teach any adult classes, but she can teach the children. (Which really confuses me: if she shouldn’t teach the adults, why in the world would you want her teaching the children?)

Anyway, women can’t teach the Word, run prayer groups, even lead a group in, say, an opening prayer. Even if there are women present who know the Word, live exemplary Christian lives, women who are eminently more qualified to teach than the men present, still, women aren’t allowed. Women are only allowed on the mission field as a help-mate for her pastor husband (think of Calcutta without Sister Theresa) and to take care of the children and to have the children.

Now, I don’t need a female pastor or anything. I’ve never attended a feminist rally, never burned a bra in my life, ok? But when I’m searching for answers, don’t blow me off just because I’m a woman!

The senior pastor was the only one who would discuss any of my questions with me. All the other pastors routinely listened to my question, then told me to call so-and-so sometime during the week and make an appointment; so-and-so was the woman in charge of women’s counseling. And this was routine stuff here, questions about witnessing and prayer, etc, all done out in the middle of the church after a service, no chance of appearing inappropriate, I don’t think.

When my pastor left and one of the assistant pastors moved into the senior position (yep, the same one who taught the missions class), I knew it was time to go.

This morning, I visited a little church close to me. The music was pretty bad, seriously. The service was delivered by an assistant pastor, and it was neither smooth nor polished nor even terribly inspiring. I did, however, get something from it.

The senior pastor and assistant pastors were welcoming, but best of all they didn’t mind engaging in discussions about their church, their beliefs, and our community needs.

I wasn’t treated like the plague or a second-class citizen by any of them. That included the assistant pastor who preached the Word this morning, Stephanie Wheeler.