(Note: Once in a while a story comes along that is just too unbelievable for me to make up parts of it just for fun. In this one, I'll just quote bits from the New York Times article, and you can click the link for the whole thing.)Onstage before thousands of believers weighed down by debt and economic insecurity, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland and their all-star lineup of “prosperity gospel” preachers delighted the crowd with anecdotes about the luxurious lives they had attained by following the Word of God.
Private airplanes and boats. A motorcycle sent by an anonymous supporter. Vacations in Hawaii and cruises in Alaska. Designer handbags. A ring of emeralds and diamonds.
“God knows where the money is, and he knows how to get the money to you,” preached Mrs. Copeland, dressed in a crisp pants ensemble like those worn by C.E.O.’s ...
The preachers barely acknowledged the recession, though they did say it was no excuse to curtail giving. “Fear will make you stingy,” Mr. Copeland said ...
“If God did it for them, he will do it for us,” said Edwige Ndoudi, who traveled with her husband and three children from Canada for the Southwest Believers’ Convention this month, where the Copelands and three of their friends took turns preaching for five days, 10 hours a day at the Fort Worth Convention Center ... A large contingent came in wheelchairs, hoping for miraculous healings. The audience sat with Bibles open, flipping to passages cited by the preachers, taking notes on pads and laptop computers.
Stephen Biellier, a long-distance trucker from Mount Vernon, Mo., said he and his wife, Millie, came to the convention praying that this would be “the overcoming year.” They are $102,000 in debt, and the bank has cut off their credit line, Mrs. Biellier said.
The Bielliers are now among 386,000 people worldwide whom the Copelands call their “partners,” most of whom send regular contributions and merit special prayers from the Copelands ...
Mrs. Biellier said some friends and relatives would say the preacher just wanted their money. She explained that the Copelands did not need the money for themselves; it is for their ministry ... “I remember Copeland had to once fly halfway around the world to talk to one person,” she said. “Because we’re partners with Kenneth Copeland, for every soul that gets saved, we get credit for that in heaven.”
______________________________________________________________________________
Separation of Church and State Watchdogs Reprimand the State of Illinois
To the horror of the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the governor of Illinois signed an infrastructure-improvement bill into law that could give up to “$40 million in grants to at least 97 religious organizations within the state.”Executive Director Barry W. Lynn (who is an ordained minister mind you) said that he was deeply troubled by the constitutional implications of the Illinois grants.
"Government is forbidden by the Constitution to fund religion ... When grants are made to religious groups with no safeguards whatsoever, the rights of taxpayers are clearly being infringed ... No American should ever be forced to contribute money in support of religion. The state of Illinois needs to move swiftly to ensure that public funds are not being misused for religious purposes."
Gov. Quinn was asked about this later, and said "I'm just trying to build the infrastructure of my state, I don't know what all the fuss is about."
Attorney General: Really governor? Giving money to the "Friendship House of Christian Service" for "facility improvements" or "Salaam Conference Center of Muhammad’s Holy Temple of Islam" for "jihadic rennovations"?
Gov. Quinn: Who allocated that? I didn't tell them to give state funds to those groups.
AG: What about the "Misc. allocations" to the "Peace and Rest Center of Spiritual Love" or the "Village de l'Est B.C." or the "Association for Worshippers of the Squirrel God"?
Gov. Quinn: "I didn't ... what is the 'Association for Worshippers of the Squirrel God' want money for?"
AG: Uh ... they're building "healthy nut stands" in public parks. Apparently this is to help improve the health of squirrels through the entire state of Illinois.
Gov. Quinn: Scratch that off the list, but I still think it's ok to help build that Catholic Hospital.
(phone rings)
AG: Hello? Yes, hold on ... It's Copeland Ministries, Kenneth Copeland is promising that God will give us a budget surplus next year if we allocate some of our funds to his private jet ... I'm sorry, hold on ... Yes? ... Ok, he also says to tell you his private jet helps people in our state make more money thus increasing Illinois' gross state product, because God makes them rich if they become Christians.
______________________________________________________________________________
Christian Fortune Teller Predicts Your Future As Burning In Hell
Jamie Cohen was on vacation in Ocean City and decided to stop by a fortune teller. Unfortunately (no pun intended), this “fortune teller” described herself as a born-again Christian. Even worse, Cohen was gay and managed to let this fact slip while the fortune teller, June Mitchell, was reading her tarot cards for him. Then she gazed into the crystal ball,“I can see you … and this is hundred and hundreds of years later …”
“I’m still alive?” Cohen was surprised, “Wow, did science finally figure out how to make anti-aging pills?”
“Everything is dark, but everything is burning with red hot fire. Oh, no! You’re on fire! And you’re screaming because you can’t put the fire out …”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“And then one of the demons in charge starts poking you with his pitchfork and laughing. You don’t like this at all … Oh wait, I see a sign inside the cave, it says it’s reads “Enter ye here all ye fag-
“You know what? Screw you, lady!”
Cohen left the fortune telling and didn’t pay his $20.
So ... yes, she called the cops on him for not paying for his fortune. The confrontation of the cops turned ugly, but at the end of the shouting on both sides, Police Officer Jacobson said "Wait, wait, wait ... I can see both of your futures ... you're both talking to me, and hold on, it's coming ... yeah, I listen to both of you whine about each other for a whole (expletive) half hour and then you both hear me say 'I don't give a sh**. Come on, Jack, let's go get some donuts.'"
When asked about this later, Mitchell said “My Christian doctrine opposes homosexuality, but I really was just trying to make him happy. I mean, he wanted to know his future.”
Some might ask whether Christians are supposed to be working as gypsy, tarot card reading, fortune tellers. But that’s only because you didn’t see the “Snake Charmers for Jesus” shop and the “3 Witches of the Holy Ghost” tavern to the left and right of Mitchell’s “Bible Fortune Telling Emporium.”
More after the jump -
______________________________________________________________________________
Evangelical Film Critics Immediately Pan Quentin Tarantino’s Latest Film
Wait. Is this news?
Adam R. Holz, from PluggedIn Online - Focus on the Family, says -
Wine. Whiskey. Beer. Champagne. Schnapps. All of that and more is consumed throughout the film. Moonshine is mentioned. An extended scene takes place in a bar where several German soldiers are visibly drunk. Cigarettes. Cigars. Pipes. Just about everyone smokes. And Lt. Raine snorts some sort of (unidentified) substance …
Brad Pitt's portrayal of Lt. Aldo Raine is one-dimensional, and at times it brought to mind Bob Crane's TV sitcom Hogan's Heroes—of all things. Not that Col. Klink ever got scalped! And Hogan never dropped the f-bomb …
Kim Masters, on The Daily Beast, writes "The real story is better," writing off Tarantino's work as "cartoonish ... violence-porn."
Movie Guide, A Family Guide to Movies and Entertainment, says -
Regrettably, there are shots of extreme bloody and gratuitous violence, although Tarantino pulls the camera away at a couple of the more extreme moments. The movie also contains plenty of strong foul language and a brief shot of depicted sex between Hitler’s propaganda minister Goebbels and his French mistress. The violence is particularly excessive, however. That said, the movie clearly sides with the good guys fighting Hitler’s National Socialists, but there is a strong and brutal revenge element to it that suggests the ends always justifies the means. Also, at the end, there is a strong, callous message against showing any mercy to the Nazi enemies.
Hunter Baker, at Touchstone Magazine, says -
I admit that I saw the new Quentin Tarantino film Inglourious Basterds. Now that I've seen it, you don't have to. Inglourious Basterds is a cultural low point. It is the revenge fantasy of a poorly educated and completely unreflective thirteen year old. It is a jerky exercise in crudely manipulating the feelings of the audience in order to give them an excuse to hate the bad guys enough to want them brutally and cruelly dispatched … Though Inglourious Basterds opened big, I don't think it will carry over. I can't imagine this film is going to capture many imaginations … I wish I'd seen G.I. Joe, instead. You know, the REAL American hero?
Jeffrey Overstreet, at Looking Closer, says -
And no, I don’t buy the argument that Tarantino is asking us to question our “enjoyment” of such violence. The last scene is a wink-wink “Isn’t this fun?” punchline. And by honoring Eli Roth with a major role, he persuades me that he’s down with Roth, the king of “torture porn” cinema. It’s a shame. Few filmmakers are more talented than Tarantino. But just as the Roman coliseum was an impressive feat of architecture, we must not forget what went on inside.
Daniel Thompson, at the Christian Spotlight on Entertainment, says -
During the film, it’s easy to begin rooting for the Basterds as they scalp Nazis and attempt to kill Hitler. You find yourself justifying their actions because you know how it actually turned out. You start secretly cheering like it’s a sporting event. It’s a strong commentary on why humans are incapable of delivering ultimate justice: because we too are inherently fallen and sinful, just as the killers in the film.
And etc. etc., I could keep quoting more but instead I will add that there were two rebels among the evangelical film critics, Christianity Today and Relevant Magazine, of course both reviews caught hell from most of their readers.
A couple commenters at Relevant Magazine’s review -
I thought you guys were a Christian oriented magazine? You didn't even mention how the movie might effect me spiritually or how the movie comes across to a Christian. Thanks for nothing.
and
No one seems at all concerned about the fantasy world of gore and obscenity. I have been searching for some thoughtful sense of whether "sharing" in this movie has any impact on our witness. Instead it is treated with some sense of glorified adulation … I am going to see it with my son …
Wait, what?
... but whether I can stomach such a film, given the previews, reviews, and warnings I have gathered, remains to be seen. The first audience cheer at the mutilation of a German soldier (or should I use Tarantino's epithet and say Nazi, in that the majority of soldiers in the Wermacht were not members of the Nazi party) will probably propel me out of there.
Good grief. With this attitude, don’t even go and see it, let alone take your son.
Average commenter at Christianity Today’s review -
It puts knots in my stomach to see that CT would even review a movie like this, much less give it so many stars, and that Christians would go see it (even if they didn't like it after, what could they be possibly be expecting?). Movie reviews are, I believe, a serious black spot on CT, and I worry that someday their place in the work of God's kingdom may be taken away from them. Seriously. Christians are supposed to be holy (literally, set apart), different from the world. In so many ways us American Christians simply are not. It does not matter if the director and producer and actors and writers are all wonderfully talented, and the work is "fascinating", we still must call trash trash. And avoid it.
______________________________________________________________________________
Christian Parents Using Their Kids as Anti-Islam Propaganda
10-year-old Billy was sent home from school after showing up Monday morning wearing a "Islam is of the Devil" t-shirt. Where'd he get it? From his local parents and church.The next day they sent 3 more of their children all wearing the same version of the shirt.
Pastor Terry Jones, one the leaders of this new creative protest against Islam, said that the purpose of the protest is to bring people to Christ. "Our shirts are meant as a great act of love," said Jones, "spreading this important message is more important than education itself. I don't care if the schools don't like it."
"It's pretty offensive, isn't it?" Islamic Association of North Florida President Saeed R. Khan asked The Sun. "Particularly in a school setting where you are trying to create an atmosphere where people are supposed to respect each other and live with each other, where we have people of every ethnicity and every religion."
Great job spreading the gospel, guys. Keep telling everyone that their worldviews are the worldviews of the devil and see if you win them over. Maybe if you tell them that they're just going straight to hell, that's a time-tested witnessing technique, isn't it? How about "God hates fags!" that's another great Christian act of love. Print it on a shirt and send your 10-year-old back to school with that one. You'll win someone over eventually.
______________________________________________________________________________
MUST HAVE: Christian “Jesus Junk” of the Week
JC Lamb and The Secret of Yahweh by Leferna Arnold Walch
Official DesciptionA “magical” book with secrets the author didn’t see coming - Instead of a lightning bolt on the forehead, J.C. Lamb wears the sign of the fish on his chest, right over his heart. He’s magical because God sent him as a messenger in a vision from a song. Instead of using wands and witchcraft, children learn how to spiritually see with their hearts by believing in things they cannot always see with their own eyes– trouble is, they can’t all see J.C. Lamb, either! When LeFerna finished the first book draft, the title was Meet J.C. This was before she felt led to rewrite the true names of God and Jesus into “Mystery Sunday” and change the title to 'The Secret of Yahweh!'. After this change, strange things began to happen. It was as if the secrets to the novel extended beyond the pages of the book. Her first surprise was the way this twist on Mary’s Little Lamb seemed to be attracting adult readers claiming to learn something new from this children’s story about Christianity. This was quite a complement for someone who claims to have spent the first 40 years of her life “wandering in the wilderness” of the unchurched. LeFerna thought she was writing for ages 7 to 12, adding over 100 illustrations so parents would read it with their younger children, but the library refused to stock the book, claiming it didn’t have an age category at all. LeFerna then revised the book with it’s own lending program for church members to use as a tool to reach out to all ages, seeing to whom and how far the book travels before coming back, (some being sent overseas to our soldiers). Mary’s Lamb Publishing predicts tweens will enjoy sharing J.C. Lamb books the most, but as school draws near, college students seem to love J.C. Lamb, too and want to start their own circles on campus; picking up on the slogan; “Do you know the secret yet?” A novel for the ‘child of God’ in all of us.
0 comments:
Post a Comment