Author Archives: Isaiah

Time Magazine: Did God Want You to Get That Mortgage?

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Posted by Isaiah on October 5, 2008 – 4:25
Filed under Christian Living

Time Magazine asks the question if the Prosperity “gospel” has turned most of its adherents into victims of the current financial crisis:

Has the so-called Prosperity gospel turned its followers into some of the most willing participants — and hence, victims — of the current financial crisis? That’s what a scholar of the fast-growing brand of Pentecostal Christianity believes. While researching a book on black televangelism, says Jonathan Walton, a religion professor at the University of California at Riverside, he realized that Prosperity’s central promise — that God will “make a way” for poor people to enjoy the better things in life — had developed an additional, dangerous expression during the subprime-lending boom. Walton says that this encouraged congregants who got dicey mortgages to believe “God caused the bank to ignore my credit score and blessed me with my first house.” The results, he says, “were disastrous, because they pretty much turned parishioners into prey for greedy brokers.” (more…)

Albert Mohler also weighed in on the issue with Are We Promised Prosperity?, with these sobering words:

Perhaps we all need a refresher course in Christian economics and Christian theology. Niall Ferguson argues from the record of history in looking to the current crisis. Perhaps we should remember our own history lesson — that far more believers in Christ have been and are now among the poor, rather than among the wealthy. We should hear Jesus warn against materialism and Paul remind us that we are to be content when we have plenty and when we have little. We should know that the Christian virtue of thrift is incompatible with the lies of those who push consumer credit.

Oh, and by the way, I learned that the senior pastor of a mega-church in Singapore preached this morning about having to tithe (and give to the building fund) so that your debts will be canceled because God is a “debt-canceling God” and we can chase off the “spirit of debt”.

God sure can cancel debt — our sin the heaviest debt when you repent and put your trust in Jesus Christ, but to say that God will cancel your debt if only you will tithe and give to the building fund… that’s preposterous! Stop feeding these feel-good, engage-the-marketplace, build-a-house-for-God pastors who offer choice passages from the Bible to substantiate their false claims.

The key to overcoming debt which is a result of materialism and greed is not giving more to a church building fund or tithing. Pray God that you will abide in Christ, and He will give you a new heart to focus on His kingdom and not the things of this world which moths and rust can, and will, destroy. In my opinion, that should have been preached, but then again, I never did expect much Biblical sense from a pastor who calls John Avanzini “friend”.

Photo by swamysk.

Much To Ponder

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Posted by Isaiah on October 3, 2008 – 1:11
Filed under Christian Living

My good brother Samuel at A Lion Has Roared wrote this thought of his down which also gave me much to think about.

I have often said: “He who thinks little of God in his time thinks very little of God in his heart”; I still hold to that tenaciously. However, I would today, reiterate it with greater potency. Indeed, he who thinks little of God in his life, that is, he who does not pray but now and then; who does not read the Word of his acclaimed Father but under compulsion; who does not ponder the Truth on a daily basis and humbly surrender himself to It; he is a man who will not merely think of God less often than he could, but one who will not consider God correctly when he most desperately needs the God he knows so inconsiderably.

How can I honestly claim a Friend, Father and Savior to Whom I seldom speak, and worse, to Whom I never listen?

That man is me on so many occasions…

HT: A Lion Has Roared.
Photo by massdistraction.

Acknowledging God’s Sovereignty In Times Of Grief

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Posted by Isaiah on October 2, 2008 – 11:09
Filed under Christian Living

I first heard this account recounted on Way of the Master Radio and it made my eyes moist.

On September 16, 2008, the night was clear and dry when Preston Newby and his wife, Tara traveled along I-5 in Washington State. Suddenly, traffic became chaotic, stopping and swerving so they wouldn’t hit a mighty elk that lay in the middle of the interstate. Along the side of the road was a banged up car with a smashed window.

Preston Newby, 24, a recent alumni of a Portland area Bible college, and Youth Pastor at Lake Bible Church in Lake Oswego, Oregon, knew he had to stop and help whoever was in the car that everyone else was leaving behind. Telling Tara they had to stop, she already knew he would dash to help. It’s who he was, and what he did. There’s no way that he would leave some one behind that might have needed assistance.

When Preston looked in the car, he found a 16-year-old driver who appeared to be injured from hitting the majestic animal. Tara watched as her husband followed the calling of God as he checked on the driver and called 911. Something made her look away at the very moment a car veered from hitting the elk, and instead hit her husband. It’s “by the grace of God” she says, that she didn’t actually see him struck.

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And, Now, We Have The 10 Commandments For Christian Bloggers

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Posted by Isaiah on September 30, 2008 – 14:24
Filed under Blogging, Christian Living

In response to concern at how religious blogs can quickly descend into vitriol, the Evangelical Alliance (an umbrella group founded in 1846 that represents thousands of churches of most denominations) has drawn up a set of 10 commandments for Christian bloggers based on those delivered to Moses by God at the top of Mount Sinai.

Aimed at delivering Christian bloggers from the temptations of online arguments, the “commandments” include advice to not “make an idol” of their web space, not to misuse their screen name by using anonymity to sin and to remember the Sabbath by taking one day off a week from blogging. In addition, Christian bloggers are “commanded” to honor their fellow bloggers and not to get too upset by their mistakes. They shall not murder the reputation of another blogger, shall not give false testimony against a fellow blogger and shall not steal the blog content of another.

Krish Kandiah, executive director of Churches in Mission, said: “These commandments are virtual rather than set in stone, but are offered to the blogging community as a way to link the Ten Commandments with the art of blogging. In the ever-changing information age, what we need is wisdom for life, and God communicates wisdom to our culture through the Bible on every issue from social justice to social networking.”

The Ten Commandments:

  1. You shall not put your blog before your integrity.
  2. You shall not make an idol of your blog.
  3. You shall not misuse your screen name by using your anonymity to sin.
  4. Remember the Sabbath day by taking one day off a week from your blog.
  5. Honor your fellow-bloggers above yourselves and do not give undue significance to their mistakes.
  6. You shall not murder someone else’s honor, reputation or feelings.
  7. You shall not use the web to commit or permit adultery in your mind.
  8. You shall not steal another person’s content.
  9. You shall not give false testimony against your fellow-blogger.
  10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s blog ranking. Be content with your own content.

Gee, I thought the original Ten Commandments already covered all these points, although I’d say it’s a good reminder nonetheless.

Source: The Telegraph.
HT: LoCTY!.

You’re Saved Because God Chose You First Not Because You Chose Him First

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Posted by Isaiah on September 30, 2008 – 11:47
Filed under Christianity

This is a video follow up to the debate on free-will versus predestination, this time on the issue of salvation.

Many people hold that the reason they are born again is because of something they did. Does the Bible teach this, though? Listen as Mark Kielar explains, Biblically, the order of salvation. This is a clip from the series called How God Converts the Human Soul. You can order this full series at CrossTV or by calling 1-877-CROSSTV.

Where Are The Real Men?

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Posted by Isaiah on September 30, 2008 – 10:50
Filed under Christian Worldview

The recent debate on gender roles, from the Christian perspective, in response to Sarah Palin’s election as the running mate to John McCain gave me much food for thought, especially that of the role of men today.

For awhile now, I have been observing and bemoaning the fact that much of Christendom has been feminized to such an extent that there aren’t many Christian men today whom we can certainly call true leaders both at home and in church.

My point is this: that if Christian women are to be godly women, then it follows that we must have godly men who will fulfill the roles that God has ordained them to be in. As the ones ordained to be the leaders both at home and in church, if we men are not godly, it will follow that the women we lead, no matter if we like or admit it, will more than likely not fulfill their godly responsibilities.

I’ve yet to put much of my thoughts on this down, but as a start I am sharing this video on the issue, taken from the TV show Wretched.

Can God Create A Rock So Big He Can’t Lift It?

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Posted by Isaiah on September 27, 2008 – 8:27
Filed under Christianity, Evangelism

Ah, yes, the favorite question of many a skeptic and, of course, atheist. Bodie at Answers in Genesis sheds some light on answering the question:

For this to be a valid question, God would need to be bound by the laws of gravity. Obviously, God is not bound by His creation (i.e., gravity), as it is part of the universe He created. This is like asking on what page of Shakespeare’s Hamlet can we find Shakespeare? It is an illogical question. One could argue that Shakespeare’s characteristics are in the play, but he, as the playwright, is certainly not bound by the pages of his work.

In other words, this question first assumes that gravity is greater than God. How can something God creates be greater than God? The assumption is illogical right from the start, and thus the question is illogical right from the start — this is called the contrary-to-the-premise fallacy. Since this question assumes God is bound to His creation, it cannot be referring to the Creator God of the Bible. One way to reveal this fallacy when someone asks this question is to ask:

“What ‘god’ are you talking about?”

They will probably respond: “The God of the Bible” (as this person apparently intended).

Then you can respond: “The God of the Bible is not bound by His creation, and since this question has this ‘god’ bound by gravity, it cannot be referring to the God of the Bible.”

Do share if you have creative and Biblical answers to this question. :)