Monthly Archives: September 2010

Atheists Know More about Religion than Religious People do

Posted on by
11

Filed under, Why Am I Not Surprised?. The Pew Forum asked folks about the Bible, Christianity and other religions, and they found that Atheists know more about Religion than any of the other groups.


Researchers from the independent Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life phoned more than 3,400 Americans and asked them 32 questions about the Bible, Christianity and other world religions, famous religious figures and the constitutional principles governing religion in public life.

On average, people who took the survey answered half the questions incorrectly, and many flubbed even questions about their own faith.

Those who scored the highest were atheists and agnostics, as well as two religious minorities: Jews and Mormons. The results were the same even after the researchers controlled for factors like age and racial differences.

It appears that religious folks treat Religion like I treat Dancing With the Stars. I know it exists, and I tell people I like it. But I'm not sure I've ever actually seen the show.

Whatsoever you do unto the least of my brethren

Posted on by
19

I was going to write about Bishop Long and his recent daliance into high-school homosexuality, but I found it too depressing. No, not the fact that a homophobic pastor was secretly sleeping with teenage boys in his congregation, that's a given. I was more depressed by the report that his followers don't seem to much care. "Yeah, our pastor coerces young people into sex. Now let's pass the bucket and buy him another Bentley."

But I did run across this recent excerpt from Steven Colbert's testimony to Congress. Last week, Mr. Colbert recently spoke to Congress (in his television character) about the plight of migrant workers. I actually don't think having a fictional character testify in public is all that great a way to influence public officials. However, for a second Colbert broke away from his character, and revealed a little of himself. And I have to say, I liked it.  In his testimony defending Migrant workers, Colbert had this to say about why he chose to speak out on the issue.

"I like talking about people who don’t have any power, and it seems like one of the least powerful people in the United States are migrant workers who come in and do our work, but don’t have any rights as a result. And yet, we still ask them to come here, and at the same time, ask them to leave. And that’s an interesting contradiction to me, and um… You know, “whatsoever you did for the least of my brothers,” and these seemed like the least of my brothers, right now. A lot of people are “least brothers” right now, with the economy so hard, and I don’t want to take anyone’s hardship away from them or diminish it or anything like that. But migrant workers suffer, and have no rights."

You can watch the 50 second excerpted video here. And yeah, Colbert, that's a scripture we don't hear very often. It'd be nice to hear it more. I wonder why we don't.   

Open Rebuke is Better than Secret Love

Posted on by
8

Here is a fun comment from Philip Suparto (A fake name, if I've ever heard one). He recently "stumbled" across this website, and has taken it upon himself to set us all straight. The comment isn't that much different from the hundreds we get here telling us in very polite terms to SHUT UP!   

But I thought there was one interesting part in the comment where Philip tells us that he's sorry for offending us, but "open rebuke is better than secret love".  I find this statement fascinating, because I always thought that this blog was pretty much an "open rebuke" of City Bible Church.  Additionally, anyone who has ever spent anytime in leadership at City Bible knows that the biggest gossips are all on the pastoral staff. At least folks on this blog are taking their criticisms public rather than hiding behind the cloak of "leadership."

Consider this an open thread. My motiviation to blog comes and goes, and I'm currently low on motivation. So if there is anything you want to discuss feel free to mention it in the comments, perhaps it will get my blogging blood flowing again.

Powerful Message At Youth Conference (Paul Washer)

Posted on by
16

A friend of mine recently told me about a message by Paul Washer, a Baptist preacher in the south (where being a Christian is about as common as wearing blue jeans).  I watched it on YouTube and wow, this guy gives one hell of a message. Although I don't agree with everything that he says, he is right on point when he speaks of the hype and fluff that has taken over the American church today.  I am sure many of us can associate certain pastors, churches and youth groups with the stuff he says.  It's an hour long but if you have time I recommend watching the whole thing.  Here is the link:

Shocking Youth Message by Paul Washer

If you don't have time to watch it, here are some of my favorite quotes (and the time mark where he says them) that ring very true in my ears.

  1. "The greatest heresy in the American evangelical protestant church is that if you pray and ask Jesus Christ into your heart, he will definitely come in…you will not find that in any place in scripture." (10:00)
  2. "Do you realize how much love it takes to stand before 5,000 people and tell them that American Christianity is almost totally wrong?  Do you know how much it is going to cost me to never be asked back to something like this?" (11:30)
  3. "[They think they are saved] because some evangelist who should have spent less time preaching and more time studying his Bible told them they are saved.  And he did so, so he can brag about how many people came forward in his next revival." (13:30)
  4. "One of the greatest distinguishing marks of false prophet is that he will always tell you what you want to hear, he will never rain on your parade; he will get you clapping, he will get you jumping, he will make you dizzy, he will keep you entertained, and he will present a Christianity to you that will make your church look like a six flags over Jesus." (26:50)
  5. "How many times do youth groups come to things like this and get all fired up and go back to their churches and it only lasts a week and a half…it wasn't a great move of God, it was emotion." (33:15)
  6. "The only thing that is going to save the church in America, there's only two possibilities, one, a total reformation in our preaching and the study of the world of God, or the other is a fierce, horrifying persecution." (54:45)

Washer has received some criticism from people who thought the message was too harsh, so he did a follow up interview to help explain why he felt he had to give the message.  Background of The Shocking Youth Message

I believe it's pretty easy to grow a mega church when you preach the warm and fuzzy stuff that everyone wants to hear. Many preachers today don't have the balls to preach the truth because the truth often hurts. As Washer said their are a lot of false prophets out there, preaching the good stuff while ignoring the bad.  I too hope the American church undergoes some sort of major reformation before it's too late.