Beneath The Dirty Hood

Modern reformer? Loud mouth with a chip? Something in-between?

La Shawn Barber (with links) on the firing of Christian talk-show host Marty Minto after he applied the Gospel to Pope John Paul II:

He said that the Bible makes it very clear that unless a person is born again, the person will never enter or see the kingdom of God. WORD-FM, a Christian radio station, fired Marty Minto because his response “alienated listeners.”

What is it about “born again” that’s so alienating? The concept is often maligned and mocked in our unbelieving culture, but every Bible-believing Christian knows it is how we are able to profess Christ. To be born again is to be made anew. The old self, separated from God, has died, and the new creation in Christ exists in its place. The passage that illustrates this most clearly is John 3.

The freedom to share the Gospel as taught in the Bible was why the Reformation took place. There was a time when people were being burned at the stake for not believing that bread was the literal body of Christ or that the mother of Jesus was sinless. While Marty Minto is no Martin Luther, he was doing what the Reformation gave him and others freedom to do. “Alienating listeners” is just a new cover on the same old, rotten book.

Roman Catholic Ales Rarus has the biggest "collection of the varying opinions...to sort out what really happened and why" that I have seen in one place, including his personal take:

LaShawn is an interesting blogger and I respect her opinions, but I think she's way off the mark here. Marty is not a martyr for the Reformation.  He's a good guy with a loud mouth and chip on his shoulder. Even if he's right about the Catholic Church (Obviously I don't think he is), he certainly wasn't winning any souls to his side with his demeanor. You'll win more friends with honey than vinegar, friend. That doesn't mean obfuscating the Gospel to make it more palatable. I just means meeting people where they are in life and loving them as Christ would. They will know we are Christians by our love.

He has the statement from the station that fired Marty:

"The story in Thursday’s Pittsburgh Tribune Review would lead you to believe that we ended Mr. Minto’s program because 'He questioned if the pope’s Roman Catholic beliefs would impede his entry to heaven.' This statement did not come from the management of WORD-FM. A similar headline accompanied an AP wire story that unfortunately was not fact checked. We have never placed any restrictions on subject matter for the talk show. Mr. Minto knows that. The decision to release Mr. Minto had been under consideration for an extended period, primarily because of our concern that he tended to unnecessarily alienate listeners; and was finalized well before the pope was in the news. The conclusion that he was released because of his views on the pope is completely without foundation. We regret that you were left with a perception that is false."

When I've read interviews with Marty and the descriptions of what he said, I think, "Gee, he got fired for saying that?--on an evangelical station?"  At the same time, I don't know him or any of the HOW he comes across, or any of the inside / confidential stuff that always affects a person's employement.  A friend of mine is a serious evangelical in secular radio management and one of the first things he said was it didn't make sense and maybe the station had been looking to make a change for other reasons.  I've been on the inside of these things and it's almost never as simple and clear-cut as some make it out to be (sometimes it's worse!).  But if Marty keeps his cool and stays away from lawsuits and complaining and playing the martyr, it could turn out well for him and the Gospel.  And if what the radio station has said is true (that his firing had nothing to do with his views on the pope), then they may feel a need to prove what they really believe and that could end up good for the Gospel, too.

"How do you marry that with pop music?"

Jars of Clay singer Dan Haseltine on the challenge of putting the Gospel to pop music:

The Gospel is the most offensive thing anybody would want to hear. It’s telling you that apart from God you are nothing, that you need God in order to exist, in order to have life. And pop music would say, "Yeah, you’re amazing." It wants to build us up when the Gospel wants to tear us down in a way that says 'You need God. With God you are everything, without God you are nothing.' How do you marry that with pop music? It’s a contradiction in and of itself.

God in Iraq

Cool page-turning slideshow, too.  (HT Thunderstruck again)

"God, you see what these soldiers are up against. We pray, be their shield," said chaplain Maj. David Causey. "God, help them to fulfill their mission. ... And Lord, we pray for Iraq. Please bless this land."

"Suicide by Secularism" he said

Secular thinker George Will is worth reading even when he isn't thinking secular (might have to register).  Talking about the Catholic Church in Europe:

The challenge confronting the church can be expressed in one word: modernity. The church preaches that freedom is life lived in conformity to God's will as manifested in revelation and interpreted by the church. Modernity teaches that freedom is the sovereignty of the individual's will -- personal volition that is spontaneous, unconditioned, inviolable and self-legitimizing.

(but)...the substance of what (Pope John Paul II) presented did not amount to accommodation with the culture of modernity.

In America, a market-driven society, there is a religion market in which the most successful competitors for congregations are churches with clear doctrinal and strict moral positions. For these churches, the "crisis of Christianity" is congestion in their parking lots.

(HT Thunderstruck)

She says I shouldn't say this

(...says I shouldn't feel this way.  That I should "take it up with the Lord."  I say it helps me understand something I want and to picture what it will be like...)

Sometimes I have this tremendous longing for her.  If we've been busy I long to spend one-on-one time with her.  Sometimes it's in other ways.  Sometimes it's really strong, almost like a panting.  And her name is fairly common, but when I hear it or think it or say it, I hear & see & feel all that she is; her personality, her demeanor and character.  Our relationship.  The mercy and grace she gives me.  It's like she comes alive out of her name.  That doesn't happen with any other name; other names are just a name.  She is more real to me than anyone or anything.  I love her name.

Do I feel that way about God?  I want to.  David did.

I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands.  Turn to me and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name.--Psalm 119:131-132

What she knows

My daughter was excited about her mentor.  It was the lady she really wanted to be teamed with.  She was mature and had mentored lots of young women.  But now they had met 3 times and she was a little disappointed.  She seems awful busy.  She doesn't seem real interested in me.  I guess I was hoping for someone like mom.

I told her mom what she said.

Her mom: Well she only needs one mom

Me: She said the lady has just started a new business and it's taking off and maybe it's distracting her.  She also said sometimes she feels like the lady doesn't understand.

Her: She probably means about grace

I looked her in the eye and held it.  I wanted her to hear this.  I wanted her to hear it because sometimes she allows herself to feel a little insignificant.

It can be pretty special when you start something like your own business.  All up and down this street are houses and apartments with people living in them who mostly work for someone else.  A few of them have their own thing and yeah it's a big deal to them.  But also all up and down this street are dozens and hundreds of small businesses--so really they're a dime a dozen.  What YOU'VE got and where YOU are is way more special and rare.  Very few have gotten to where you are and understand and appreciate the way you do.  The gate is narrow and few go thru it but YOU HAVE. 

I wasn't saying this to build her up, or to take away the accomplishments of others, but to remind her of what she knows.

"But none of it will matter without..."

Ed Veith (thru worldmagblog) talks about The Catholic Moment, the pope's funeral and what evangelicals can learn

Sadly missing was the liberating gospel of salvation through faith in the free forgiveness won by Christ alone.

Evangelicals should take advantage of Christianity's current visibility in the public square. They can learn that moral absolutes are persuasive when presented in a spirit of love and that recovering Christian spirituality, not modernizing the faith, is the way to cultural relevance. But none of it will matter without the proclamation of the gospel. —•

Who's whose?

Jesus was asked should we pay taxes and basically answered yes but then (as usual) said more.  Just as money has the portrait / inscription of government on it, and so is given to government, something else is to be "given up / given back" to God and the implication is it's the thing that has the portrait / inscription of God on it.

He doesn't really say "pay back."  It's "give up / give back."  As if the one who has taken possession of the thing is not the rightful owner.   

From Hungry Heart  #4/15...

Christ lived on earth that He might show forth the image of God in His life; He lives in heaven that we may show forth the image of God in our lives

God has but one way of revealing Himself, it is 'Christ in you.'  He has no other way of showing Himself to men except as Christ lives in us

"The path to winning the culture war..."

JD Wetterling is thinking about hate and rage and the desire for influence (HT Wittenberg Gate)...

The New Testament writer, James, has a sobering warning that applies to internet communicators.  In 1:26 he says, “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” My fingers on the keyboard are an extension of my tongue, and when I get wound up they fly out of control even easier than my tongue, deceiving my own heart.  Sitting behind the protective veil of my computer screen I cannot see your nonverbal cries of pain, and I can say things to you I’d never have the nerve to say in person.  In the guise of righteous indignation I can vent and you can’t lay a hand on me from that distance.  Then the geometric progression of the internet lets my lousy witness circle the earth at the speed of electrons, demonstrating "my religion is worthless."

Then he quotes R.C. Sproul, Jr...

“The path to winning the culture war, the war out there, is to win the sanctification war, the war in here.  We will change the world only as we, by the power of His Spirit, change ourselves.”

Day of Silence / Truth

Albert Mohler writes about the Day of Silence...

Participation in the Day of Silence "enables participants to show, in a highly visible way, everyone they encounter, that they support LGBT rights." Of course, organizers are seeking to do far more than consciousness-raising. They are pushing for the explicit inclusion of lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual persons in the school curriculum, and an effective endorsement of homosexuality at every level of the school's life.

The rapid expansion of the Day of Silence program is one indication of the speed with which the homosexual rights movement has advanced across the political landscape. In just one decade, the Day of Silence has spread from one university to over 4,000 institutions. This represents a vast wave of social change, bringing a moral revolution in its wake.

Another response is The Day of Truth

I am speaking the Truth to break the silence. I believe in equal treatment for all, and not special rights for a few. I believe in loving my neighbor, but part of that love means not condoning detrimental personal and social behavior. I believe that by boldly proclaiming the Truth, hurts will be halted, hearts will be healed, and lives will be saved.

And Matt at Stones Cry Out...

Christians should create an environment in the home and church that prepares junior high and high school students to deal with this sort of thing. If a fifteen year old Christian is defenseless against such arguments, whose fault is it? Here's a hint: it's not the school administrator. Having said that, high school is not the place to bombard students with a message of GLBT revelry.

...as Christians we should realize that there are young people who are very, very trouble and confused. The simple truth is that students who would call themselves gay or lesbian are often subjected to bullying and torment. This sort of thing should be refuted on all counts and we should exhibit gentleness and love to all people, though I agree with Mohler that our compassion to the lost should not lead us to accept a pro-gay agenda with open arms.