Our long time nemesis Benny Hinn had his wife just file for divorce. 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100219/ap_on_en_tv/us_televangelist_divorce

"ORANGE, Calif. – The wife of televangelist Benny Hinn has filed for divorce from the high-profile pastor, whose reputation as an advocate of prosperity gospel has attracted millions of followers and criticism from lawmakers and watchdog groups over his lavish lifestyle.

Suzanne Hinn filed the papers in Orange County Superior Court on Feb. 1, citing irreconcilable differences, after more than 30 years of marriage. The papers note the two separated on Jan. 26 and that Hinn has been living in Dana Point, a wealthy coastal community in southern Orange County."

Of special interest is that his wife filed for divorce in California, a no-fault divorce state, so she is likely to get half of everything. I wonder how he is going to fit that into his health & wealth theology? As much as I'd like to point and say "Ha Ha" with my finest Nelson Muntz impression, half of a huge pile of ill-gotten money is still a lot of ill-gotten money. But if I know conservative Evangelicals, his followers will suddenly start closing their wallets over this. We can only hope.

On a side note: This blog has been languishing for awhile. At first it was a technical glitch, and then we just ran out of ways to mock tithing churches. Self-parody eventually takes the fun out of parody, and after awhile you just stop caring. But I couldn't pass on a story that smacked of poetic justice. With that said, I go back into the void…

In an act of shameless promotion I encourage everyone to go see the movie "Legion" in theaters January 22, 2010.  It is by no means a biblical movie, but it offers some interesting discussion on the end times and whether God really would destroy mankind or not?  Would love to hear what people think.  I spent the last year working on it.

http://www.legionmovie.com/

Here is a recent letter I found published in Esquire magazine.  I believe it speaks for itself.  

To all my nonbelieving, sort-of-believing, and used-to-be-believing friends: I feel like I should begin with a confession. I am sorry that so often the biggest obstacle to God has been Christians. Christians who have had so much to say with our mouths and so little to show with our lives. I am sorry that so often we have forgotten the Christ of our Christianity. Forgive us. Forgive us for the embarrassing things we have done in the name of God.

The other night I headed into downtown Philly for a stroll with some friends from out of town. We walked down to Penn's Landing along the river, where there are street performers, artists, musicians. We passed a great magician who did some pretty sweet tricks like pour change out of his iPhone, and then there was a preacher. He wasn't quite as captivating as the magician. He stood on a box, yelling into a microphone, and beside him was a coffin with a fake dead body inside. He talked about how we are all going to die and go to hell if we don't know Jesus. Some folks snickered. Some told him to shut the hell up. A couple of teenagers tried to steal the dead body in the coffin. All I could do was think to myself, I want to jump up on a box beside him and yell at the top of my lungs, "God is not a monster." Maybe next time I will.

The more I have read the Bible and studied the life of Jesus, the more I have become convinced that Christianity spreads best not through force but through fascination. But over the past few decades our Christianity, at least here in the United States, has become less and less fascinating. We have given the atheists less and less to disbelieve. And the sort of Christianity many of us have seen on TV and heard on the radio looks less and less like Jesus.

At one point Gandhi was asked if he was a Christian, and he said, essentially, "I sure love Jesus, but the Christians seem so unlike their Christ." A recent study showed that the top three perceptions of Christians in the U. S. among young non-Christians are that Christians are 1) antigay, 2) judgmental, and 3) hypocritical. So what we have here is a bit of an image crisis, and much of that reputation is well deserved. That's the ugly stuff. And that's why I begin by saying that I'm sorry.

Now for the good news.

I want to invite you to consider that maybe the televangelists and street preachers are wrong — and that God really is love. Maybe the fruits of the Spirit really are beautiful things like peace, patience, kindness, joy, love, goodness, and not the ugly things that have come to characterize religion, or politics, for that matter. (If there is anything I have learned from liberals and conservatives, it's that you can have great answers and still be mean… and that just as important as being right is being nice.)

The Bible that I read says that God did not send Jesus to condemn the world but to save it… it was because "God so loved the world." That is the God I know, and I long for others to know. I did not choose to devote my life to Jesus because I was scared to death of hell or because I wanted crowns in heaven… but because he is good. For those of you who are on a sincere spiritual journey, I hope that you do not reject Christ because of Christians. We have always been a messed-up bunch, and somehow God has survived the embarrassing things we do in His name. At the core of our "Gospel" is the message that Jesus came "not [for] the healthy… but the sick." And if you choose Jesus, may it not be simply because of a fear of hell or hope for mansions in heaven.

Don't get me wrong, I still believe in the afterlife, but too often all the church has done is promise the world that there is life after death and use it as a ticket to ignore the hells around us. I am convinced that the Christian Gospel has as much to do with this life as the next, and that the message of that Gospel is not just about going up when we die but about bringing God's Kingdom down. It was Jesus who taught us to pray that God's will be done "on earth as it is in heaven." On earth.

One of Jesus' most scandalous stories is the story of the Good Samaritan. As sentimental as we may have made it, the original story was about a man who gets beat up and left on the side of the road. A priest passes by. A Levite, the quintessential religious guy, also passes by on the other side (perhaps late for a meeting at church). And then comes the Samaritan… you can almost imagine a snicker in the Jewish crowd. Jews did not talk to Samaritans, or even walk through Samaria. But the Samaritan stops and takes care of the guy in the ditch and is lifted up as the hero of the story. I'm sure some of the listeners were ticked. According to the religious elite, Samaritans did not keep the right rules, and they did not have sound doctrine… but Jesus shows that true faith has to work itself out in a way that is Good News to the most bruised and broken person lying in the ditch.

It is so simple, but the pious forget this lesson constantly. God may indeed be evident in a priest, but God is just as likely to be at work through a Samaritan or a prostitute. In fact the Scripture is brimful of God using folks like a lying prostitute named Rahab, an adulterous king named David… at one point God even speaks to a guy named Balaam through his donkey. Some say God spoke to Balaam through his ass and has been speaking through asses ever since. So if God should choose to use us, then we should be grateful but not think too highly of ourselves. And if upon meeting someone we think God could never use, we should think again.

After all, Jesus says to the religious elite who looked down on everybody else: "The tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom ahead of you." And we wonder what got him killed?

I have a friend in the UK who talks about "dirty theology" — that we have a God who is always using dirt to bring life and healing and redemption, a God who shows up in the most unlikely and scandalous ways. After all, the whole story begins with God reaching down from heaven, picking up some dirt, and breathing life into it. At one point, Jesus takes some mud, spits in it, and wipes it on a blind man's eyes to heal him. (The priests and producers of anointing oil were not happy that day.)

In fact, the entire story of Jesus is about a God who did not just want to stay "out there" but who moves into the neighborhood, a neighborhood where folks said, "Nothing good could come." It is this Jesus who was accused of being a glutton and drunkard and rabble-rouser for hanging out with all of society's rejects, and who died on the imperial cross of Rome reserved for bandits and failed messiahs. This is why the triumph over the cross was a triumph over everything ugly we do to ourselves and to others. It is the final promise that love wins.

It is this Jesus who was born in a stank manger in the middle of a genocide. That is the God that we are just as likely to find in the streets as in the sanctuary, who can redeem revolutionaries and tax collectors, the oppressed and the oppressors… a God who is saving some of us from the ghettos of poverty, and some of us from the ghettos of wealth.

In closing, to those who have closed the door on religion — I was recently asked by a non-Christian friend if I thought he was going to hell. I said, "I hope not. It will be hard to enjoy heaven without you." If those of us who believe in God do not believe God's grace is big enough to save the whole world… well, we should at least pray that it is.

Your brother,

Shane

To read the article CLICK HERE

On the cover of this month’s Charisma Magazine is the question "What can we know for sure about the end times?"  The article inside proceeds to point out that a number of prominent charismatic leaders believe we are living in the last days and that its fever is spreading virally around the planet as a confluence of world events is igniting widespread debate about the second coming.

"[Tim] LaHaye, John Hagee, Hal Lindsey, David Hocking, Paul McGuire and other prophecy teachers say the formation of Israel as a nation in 1948, the ingathering of Jews to Jesus, the rise of global anti-Christ political structures, the military alliance between Russia and Iran, and Iran’s threats to annihilate Israel are prophecy fulfillments or conditions that could allow for the fulfillment of prophecies regarding the rapture, Great Tribulation and Second Coming.

They contend that geopolitical events—the possibility of war between Iran and Israel; calls for a global government, economic system and currency; increasing immorality and lawlessness; devastating natural disasters; global warming; the pending biometric national identification system; the rebuilding of Babylon and the drying up of the Euphrates River—foreshadow events prophesied in the Bible.

A key unfulfilled sign involves a Matthew 24 prophecy that the gospel would be preached to the whole world and then the end will come. The top mission agencies are [now] predicting that within 10 years all of the earth’s 6,000 people groups will have the gospel preached to them.

[And most Christians agree.] A recent poll by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found 79 percent of American Christians believe in the Second Coming. But on the timing and circumstances of Christ’s return, Christians are divided. About a third—34 percent—say it will occur after the world situation reaches a low point, 37 percent say it’s impossible to know the circumstances preceding Christ’s return, and 4 percent say Christ will return when the world situation improves."

Now I've never been a big "end times" person, but this debate is interesting to follow.  Although I think most of these guys just like to blow smoke in order to sell books, get TV ratings and demand higher paychecks from speaking engagements, I am curious as to whether my generation or my kid’s generation will see the return of Christ?  But as Jesus said in Matthew 24:36 "No one knows about that day or hour…"  Guess we'll keep talking about it until it happens.

(For the full article CLICK HERE)

"If you build it, they will come…" says the movie. So I'm going to keep blogging here in hopes that people will figure out that the blog is back.

Today's installment is another tragic tale of religious legalism gone wrong. If you need evidence that tithing causes mental retardation religious legalism, this is it.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/sep/25/250033/na-church-employee-says-she-lost-job-once-tithing-/

" Carolyn Jackson and her husband gave a lot of money to Revealing Truth Ministries.

So three years ago, church staff encouraged her to apply for a job there.

During the work week, she served as a receptionist and later as its magazine editor. On Sundays, the Jacksons filled church baskets with thousands of dollars in tithe, offering and other giving.

In May, Jackson lost her job, not for poor performance, but because her tithing had dropped off. In a time of financial difficulty for her family, Jackson stopped giving 10 percent of her income to the ministry, which many Christians believe is biblically mandated."

The ironic part of all this is that she still believes in tithing!

"Jackson notes that she and her husband never stopped tithing, they just weren't giving as much. "I believe in the tithe," she said.

Jackson has not found work and she and her husband continue to look for a new church to call home.

Whatever congregation they join each Sunday, they always leave their tithe in the offering basket."

This isn't the first case we've heard of here at City Business Church, as we've had first hand accounts of staff at City Bible Church suffering the same fate. If you are going to insist that tithing applies to Believers (we don't), then the recipients of tithe money shouldn't tithe because they are the reason for tithing! The recipients of tithing in the OT were Levites and the poor, widows, orphans, and aliens. Asking them to tithe is like asking them to give to themselves and it's no different with modern tithing. A church that requires their employees to tithe is just a clever disguise for a mandatory pay cut. This isn't a demonstration of faith, it's just clever manipulation. If my boss told me that I had to make a "voluntary" contribution to the company's general fund or face being fired, I'd start looking for a new job.

What better way to help kick off the return of the blog than to talk about two controversial topics mixed into one?

Daniel Bowman recently wrote an op-ed to a local Maine newspaper scolding the Catholic church for asking for tithes to advertise against gay marriage legislation.

http://mainecampus.com/2009/09/28/op-ed-give-tithes-for-anti-marriage-equality-tv-ads/ 

"I implore all churchgoers: Spend your money on something more substantial than an ad campaign designed to drive a wedge between people who love each other. Buying a Playboy magazine would be more virtuous. The last time I checked, homosexuals were still homo sapiens and are promised the same freedoms as the rest of the country. Said freedoms include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These things were first engraved in our national consciousness when we declared our independence from Britain."

Even if you do believe in tithing (God help you), using it lobby for legislation rather than using it for the things it was intended (like providing for the 'Levites' and feeding the poor and hungry) seems like a pretty big no-no.

Personally, I think the US would do well to follow the lead of other countries and separate the legal and religious institution of marriage and allow civil unions for everyone and let churches & synagogues celebrate marriage in the manner they see fit. You know, that thing called "separation of church & state".

So the blog is working again. Cool. Guess I'll start writing again. Heh.

For starters, allow me to share this beautiful blog from a Christian Woman living in Portland. It's pretty powerful stuff.

Here's a section to which I'm particularly partial.

I find in my own life, when I take a moment each day to think about what I am grateful for, I feel better. And I have to much to be grateful for. I have a wonderful husband, a terrific son, a warm house to live in, a great many friends, a family who loves me, a good job, food on the table (more than I really need), and I live in the land of the free! Finally, I have a God who is always with me and will never forsake me. Even on my worst days, I have so much more to be grateful for than to be upset about. How about you?

True. True.

(thanks to jack for the heads up)

You know this. I know this. But sometimes it's nice to be reminded. 

Here are two nice stories that show real Christians acting like Christ.

The first is a story of a family who adopted a severely disabled and neglected girl. Police found the girl in a roach infested room only three years ago. 

– "Bernie and Diane are humble, unpretentious people who would rather picnic on their deck than eat out. They go to work, go to church, visit with their neighbors, walk their dogs. They don't travel or pursue exotic interests; a vacation for them is hanging out at home with the family. Shy and soft-spoken, they're both slow to anger and, they say, seldom argue.

They had everything they ever wanted, they said. Except for a daughter.

But the more they asked about Danielle, the more they didn't want to know.

She was 8, but functioned as a 2-year-old. She had been left alone in a dank room, ignored for most of her life.

No, she wasn't there at the video arcade; she was in a group home. She wore diapers, couldn't feed herself, couldn't talk. After more than a year in school, she still wouldn't make eye contact or play with other kids.

No one knew, really, what was wrong with her, or what she might be capable of.

"She was everything we didn't want," Bernie said.

But they couldn't forget those aching eyes. " – 

THE GIRL IN THE WINDOW (Great article. And won the Pulitzer Prize this afternoon)

http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/article750838.ece 

The second story is about the coach of a Christian High School football team who encouraged his fans to root for the other team. 

– "This all started when Faith's head coach, Kris Hogan, wanted to do something kind for the Gainesville team. Faith had never played Gainesville, but he already knew the score. After all, Faith was 7-2 going into the game, Gainesville 0-8 with 2 TDs all year. Faith has 70 kids, 11 coaches, the latest equipment and involved parents. Gainesville has a lot of kids with convictions for drugs, assault and robbery—many of whose families had disowned them—wearing seven-year-old shoulder pads and ancient helmets.

So Hogan had this idea. What if half of our fans—for one night only—cheered for the other team? He sent out an email asking the Faithful to do just that. "Here's the message I want you to send:" Hogan wrote. "You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth." –

COACH ASKS FANS TO SUPPORT THE OTHER TEAM

http://digg.com/d1gbkb