Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Some Christmas Foolishness--Really, nothing serious here:
Friday, November 20, 2009
The Manhattan Declaration--and it has nothing to do with an Atomic Bomb:
The Manhattan Declaration begins with a summary of the impact of Christianity on nations where the shadow of the cross has fallen. From the rescue of abandoned children in Rome, to the preservation of learning in the middle ages, to the opposition to slavery, to the civil rights movement of the last century, the church has, in spite of its "imperfections and shortcomings," been a blessing in this world.
Continuing this tradition of standing for righteousness, the declaration speaks to issues related to
- Life: The declaration speaks against a "culture of death [that] inevitably cheapens life in all its stages and conditions by promoting the belief that lives that are imperfect, immature or inconvenient are discardable."
- Marriage: The signatories endorse the view that marriage is a unique institution. "Marriage then, is the first institution of human society - indeed it is the institution on which all other human institutions have their foundation. In the Christian tradition we refer to marriage as "holy matrimony" to signal the fact that it is an institution ordained by God, and blessed by Christ."
With compassionate firmness Christians must resist the various attempts to redefine, or diminish the respect for marriage. - Religious Liberty: "religious liberty is grounded in the character of God Himself . . . the right to religious freedom has its foundation in the example of Christ Himself and in the very dignity of the human person created in the image of God. . . . No one should be compelled to embrace any religion against his will, nor should persons of faith be forbidden to worship God according to the dictates of conscience. . . .
Perhaps most significant is the commitment to resist the erosion of ethical standards in our culture. Commenting on the dual-citizen-status of God's people the declaration says, ". . . we take seriously the Biblical admonition to respect and obey those in authority. . . . The biblical purpose of law is to preserve order and serve justice and the common good; yet laws that are unjust - and especially laws that purport to compel citizens to do what is unjust - undermine the common good, rather than serve it. . . ." The declaration goes on to promise noncompliance to government edicts that compel actions that violate these Biblical standards.
"We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar's. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God's."
You can read the Manhattan Declaration in its entirety at http://www.demossnews.com/manhattandeclaration/press_kit/manhattan_declaration_signers
The leaders who put the Manhattan Declaration together didn't ask me to sign it, but I do agree with it, at least enough so that I would. I'll have more to say in days to come. The guys who signed the MD, as well as the rest of you, are welcome to comment.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Helping People Do Right, or Helping Them to Feel Better About Doing Wrong?

Here is a sample:
The solution, without exception, is to offer different and
presumably more workable idols, rather than repentance unto
the Bible’s Christ! Secularistic therapies teach people
eufunctional idols, idols which do “work” for people and
“bless” them with temporarily happy lives (Psalm 73).
So, for example, self-esteem is nurtured as the replacement
for trying to please unpleasable others, rather than esteem for
the Lamb who was slain for me, a sinner. Acceptance and love
from new significant others, starting with the therapist, create
successful versions of the fear of man and trust in man rather
than teaching essential trust in God. Self-trust and self-confidence
are boosted as I am taught to set expectations for myself
to which I can attain. The fruit looks good but is fundamentally
counterfeit. Believers in false gospels are sometimes allowed
to flourish temporarily.
Therapy systems without repentance at their core leave the
idol system intact. They simply rehabilitate and rebuild fundamental
godlessness to function more successfully.
The Bible’s idolatry motif diagnoses the ultimately selfdestructive
basis on which happy, healthy, and confident
people build their lives (eufunctional idols), just as perceptively
as it diagnoses unhappy people, who are more obviously
and immediately self-destructive (dysfunctional idols).
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Follow-up on Sunday's message:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl8dazS0FeQ
Covington Bible Church, once again, presents the Live nativity:
If you live in our area we hope that you will join us one of the evenings, September 18-20.
The LIVE NATIVITY is a presentation of the birth of Christ, and what it means to us. Be our guest in the Village of Bethlehem and view scenes including:
- The Annunciation to Mary,
- The Stable where Christ was born,
- The Visit of the Magi, and more.
Visiting the Life Nativity will take about hour, but many people choose to stay and visit in Bethlehem or find out more about what these events mean to each of us.
It is a great family outing--help your children understand the real meaning of Christmas.
To find out more, write.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Here we go again: Why would a Baptist pastor want to burn Bibles?
Or you can read the story here: http://www.mercurynews.com/weird-news/ci_13567852
Nearly four decades ago when I began ministry, I knew about the King James Only movement. My hope was that when that generation died we would be done with them. We aren't. They have multiplied like rabbits--yeah, verily they hath been exceeding prolific in the spread of their view of scripture.
A couple of folk from the church where I pastor ran into some of these King James zealots recently. Thankfully, these devotees of what they call the "Authorized Version" aren't planning a Bible-burning, though I figure they wouldn't do much to talk the North Carolina pastor out of his event. One accusation, among others, is that modern translations like the NIV or NASB somehow downplay the Deity of Christ. Jesus Christ and Who He is are at the core of my faith, so I don't take those accusations lightly.
Here are a couple of good articles, if you want to read further:
- This article does a good job refuting the accusation that translations other than the KJV are substandard in regard to Christology:
http://contenderministries.org/biblestudy/kjodeityofchrist.php - Here is an article understandable to the layman that discusses the Greek manuscripts:
http://www.onenesspentecostal.com/kjvevaluation.htm - Here is an article that begins with a brief statement about why we need an English translation other than the King James and then goes on to do a good job of presenting, in essentially bullet-point format, a brief description of the popular modern translations and paraphrases.
http://www.firstpresb.org/translations.htm - While this article needs to be updated, it is still useful in making a decision as to which Bible translations are dependable and useful:
http://covingtonbiblechurch.org/DevotionalAidsResources/HelpinChoosingaBibleTranslation/tabid/235/Default.aspx
