Friday, September 21, 2007

Man urinates on dying woman

This from USA Today:
Shouting, "This is YouTube material!" a 27-year-old British man urinated on a dying woman who had collapsed on the street, the BBC and local Hartepool Mail and Northern Echo tell us. He also doused her with a bucket of water and covered her with shaving cream.

The woman, 50-year-old Christine Lakinski, died at the scene of pancreatic failure.

In a sad sign of the times, it was all recorded on a mobile phone.
To be honest, I have no commentary on this story. I am simply horrified and dumbfounded. Instead I'll let brandolin comment:
Remember when Britain was considered the most civilized nation in the world???

Yes, and this stemmed chiefly from their devout faith in God and in the attempt to reflect his glory. Not that they did that perfectly! But that was the general impetus that drove them to behaving nobly and civilly.

I know that's an unpopular view but at some point we have to acknowledge that there's a freaky correlation between the time that societies start going down the tubes (morally) and the time they start rejecting God. God = life. Lack of God = lack of respect for life.

Many people in this society think that people who believe in God should be mocked and verbally spat upon. They blame christians, jews and the like of being the problem with this country, when in fact, its the opposite. The christians and peoples of faith have traditionally been the ones trying to hold back the tide of moral decay. They have prophetically predicted a host of poisonous things that have befallen ours and other nations due to our utter disregard and disrespect for a Higher Power.

They predicted that free divorce would produce broken families and thus a broken society. They predicted that unbridled promiscuity would result in disease of the mind and body. They predicted that free abortion would result in a general lack of respect for human life. All have come true. Yet no one will listen to them. Today, they are derided as the worst of society.

The "enlightened ones" who rule the stage and screen rule this nation now. And America follows them like good little sheep.

When will we open our ears and listen? Open our eyes, and see what we are doing to ourselves? This story from Britain is disgusting, yes, but we have truckloads of our own grotesque stories...and the numbers of them are rising.
God have mercy on us.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Star Bucks and Soteriology

Have you heard about these churches that have java cafes right in the worship center (a trendy word for sanctuary)? Yeah, apparently you can get coffee and a donut and whatever else during the service, come and go as you please, and are encouraged to do so. Well I've been to one, and here are some thoughts.

First off, let me say that in no way am I bashing this particular church. I only speak about it because it was a personal experience. The place was super modern and trendy, and they fostered what was less like a "come as you are" atmosphere and more like a "come any way you dang well please" one. Perhaps that's a big negative, but even the guy playing the guitar up front during the singing was doing so without shoes. Without shoes I tells ya'!

Seriously though, the place was relaxed to the max. Super trendy; super cool; super laid back; and, dare I say, super....shallow*? I really went in with a good attitude. I sang the songs (which were way too loud) and tried not to be critical but rather appreciate what was good about the experience. There's no doubt this church is meeting some sort of need for someone, but I ask myself, "at what expense?"

Ask the typical critic of so-called "traditional" churches and you will almost ALWAYS hear them say that it's too boring. Sadly, there's a lot of truth to that. I mean, I don't care what style you choose, it doesn't have to be boring. But I fear that as a reaction to boringness the tendency has been to swing too far the other direction at the expense of what truly makes the corporate Christian experience what it should be.

What kind of sign is being presented by Star Bucks Christianity? Should church be like your order at Burger King (have it your way)? Not at the expense of truth, mystery, and depth is what I say. But maybe I'm just whacked.

I know some of you disagree with me. I'm not interested in a debate, but in dialogue. Help me to see the benefits of such an ultra laid back approach to church. Make a case that American Star Bucks Christianity isn't selfish individualism's logical expression.

Please.

*On a side note, the pastor during his sermon (50 minutes, mind you) referred to the Holy Spirit as "it". He said, "One disciple said to the other, 'Holy Spirit, what's that?' The other disciple replied, 'I don't know, but we'll know when it happens.'" Pardon me, I just vomited in my mouth. Once again, in the attempt to "dumb down" and be funny he has committed heresy and depersonalized the third Person of the Trinity to 50 people. But that's just a side note....

P.S. This post is coming across way more negative than I mean for it to. I really do have a smile on my face right now. You just can't see it.