Comments now working

I am not sure how many people tried, but my wife attempted to post a comment and it didn't go through. I re-posted yesterday's entry, and now you should be able to comment.

the Huddle

Two recent events have me wondering about a certain phenomenon I call the 'Christian Huddle'.

Southern Baptist proposal favors home, church schools

The first is the recent inclination of Southern Baptists to remove all their children from public schools [which was not approved]. Now, don't misunderstand me -- I am not against home schooling or Christian schools. I believe that both are wonderful ideas for those with the means and conviction to do so. My argument is against the mandate from church leadership for such an en masse egress. If that were done, where would the 'salt and light' be?

Christian Exodus Website

This one is a little more extreme. This group of believers are 'coordinating the move of thousands of Christians to South Carolina for the express purpose of re-establishing Godly, constitutional government.' Then their purpose is to secede from the Union.

My question is, how do these groups interpret John 17:15: "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one."

and

Matthew 5:15-16: "Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

What are your thoughts?

Responsibility, Mandate, or Both?

In a eulogy at his father's funeral, Ron Reagan -- son of the late President Ronald Reagan -- explained that his father's faith was a personal one, and that it had an effect on his presidency. Here's how Ron explained it:

"...after he was shot and nearly killed early in his presidency he came to believe that God had spared him in order that he might do good. But he accepted that as a responsibility, not a mandate. And there is a profound difference."

Responsibility vs. Mandate
Is there a difference? The Greatest Commandment and the 2nd Greatest Commandment and the Great Commission -- are these our responsibility, or also our mandate, or some combination?

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

TV Trends

In a commercial break during NBA Finals game 4, I saw ads for two new shows on ABC.

One is a reality show called 'Wife Swap.' The tagline is 'There's a new Mommy in Town.' Without much information to go on, this already had me worried. A Google News search later, I found out more of the details. In this article, it is explained that bedroom activity isn't involved, but that other household duties are. That's a relief, but it still has me worried. Why? I guess it's the fact that they're making a game out of the family unit. TV has already made fun of the traditional family. Now it's further trivializing it on the assumption that the women are interchangeable: "Let's see what happens when Sally acts as wife and mom in the Jones family."

The second ad was for a show called 'Desperate Housewives.' Again, the title alone has me wanting to rip out the limited cable that we do have. The ad shows a woman reviewing her To-Do list: buy groceries; repair car; cheat on husband (which is circled in red). At first, I thought that this was also a reality show. To my slight relief, it is not.

But it begs the question -- where are the shows that build up and encourage functional families? Where are the Huxtables? Where are the Keatons and the Seavers? Sure, these weren't the best shows, but at least they showed positive role models and encouraged loving family relationships.

I agree that Television shouldn't be where we learn how to be responsible parents, faithful spouses, or well-behaved children. But it saddens me that so much work, money, and talent goes into shows that chip away at the moral fabric of our nation.

Genesis 2:24 "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh."

Phil. 4:8 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."

What do you think? Is this harmless entertainment or a threat to families?

WANTED: Thinking Christians

This article is one of the inspirations for starting this blog.

In it, James Montgomery Boice points out that our culture is being "entertain[ed] to death." More precisely, he means that we are so enamored with entertainment, that it becomes our primary goal in life and damages our ability to think rationally, logically, and critically.

He then goes on to say that television (still one of the main sources of our entertainment) doesn't compliment religion. In Boice's words, "when you put religion on television, religion becomes entertainment" and doesn't promote the teaching of the Word or the application thereof.

I'd like to hear from you! The comments are always open to anyone reading this blog.

Romans 12:2: "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

Welcome

This is the first post of the Thinking Christians Blog. Over the next couple of days, I'll be configuring the site, inviting a team of bloggers, and thinking about the mission statement for this arena.

Stay tuned!