A Grain of Salt

The answer to God?

While exploring last week’s topic, I came across this little gem. In the article, it explains the recent trend of  de-baptism, where the water of baptism is symoblically blown off with a hairdryer labeled “Reason”. Afterward, the newly de-baptized enjoy an “anti-sacrament” of peanut butter and crackers. The group said-

“We made fun of Islam, we made fun of Hinduism, we made fun of Christianity with intent to be blasphemous on purpose to make a point” about a proposed anti-blasphemy initiative at the United Nations, Scott said. “It’s not done with malice or intent to offend. But anytime you criticize religion or poke fun at what atheists would call the sillier parts of religion, you’re going to offend somebody. There’s just no way around that.”

First, personal freedom is a pillar of the American ideal. I believe that this person had every right to say what he said. I also believe that I have the right to disagree with him. This statement is entirely innapropriate. If the only way you can get your point across is to be “blasphemous”, then maybe you should rethink your standing. Secondly, and bigger…

The actions described in this article are a great way to demean the power of God. Just by performing this action they (if they care) are saying that God is not as powerful as… a hairdryer. They are saying that they can remove themselves from the will of God with a quick burst of air. Once you have accepted Christ, (I believe) you cannot leave him. Like a father and son, you can never stop being his child, though your relationship may change. Also, with the hairdryer marked reason, what are the really saying?

That reason is the enemy of God.

No.

We CANNOT let this become a commonly thought ideal- if it does… well, we’re done.

We have to act against this, letting people know that God is not anti intelligence, anti science, or anti anyone. Show love, show intelligence, show passion, and show restraint in all these, and spread the word of the love of Christ.

Nones- American’s who profess no religious affiliation- now make up 15 percent of the population. Given their rapid growth, their numbers might soon surpass the nation’s largest denominations. but get this: Twenty-four percent [of Nones] say they believe in ‘a higher power but no personal God,’ the belief that used to be called Deism. they don’t believe in Scripture, or cotton to organized religion. But in the privacy of their home, they think that the distant, aloof God occasionally checks in to listen to their prayers.                             – Beliefnet founder Steve Waldman, quoted in  the Wall Street Journal

This is… shocking. According to USA today, the Nones now take up more of the population than Catholics and Baptists. ‘Baptist’ is very broad, however, and encompasses several different denominations.

It seems the people of the United States have decided to join the movements against Christianity. Why would they choose to believe in an impersonal, uncaring god, when they have the choice of a loving God, who cares for them and wants the best for them? It doesn’t seem to me to be too large of a step from ‘a higher power’ to God. The good news is that people who do believe in a ‘higher power’ will (most likely) more easily turned to Christ than one who does not believe in any sort of God. But the main point seems to me to be this blurb near the bottom of the USA Today piece.

The percentage of those who choose a generic label, calling themselves simply Christian, Protestant, non-denominational, evangelical or “born again,” was 14.2%, about the same as in 1990.

This is very interesting to me- not the content, but it’s placement. It takes digging to find this. In addition, the title of the articles is “Nones now 15% of population.” Simply reading that, along with the opening paints a very different picture of the religious affiliations of our country today. When you read into it though, you see a new portrait- one of a constant group of faithful Christians who call themselves just that, while the different denominations have slowly decreased. I find it interesting that this facet was placed farther down the page- almost as if showing the steady faithfulness of the church would somehow discredit the rest of the article or it’s message. Of course, I could be mistaken. Maybe it was placed their purely arbitrarily. Who knows.

Lying is FUN!

It’s been a desire of mine to see this movie for the longest time. Then, an article in Entertainment Weekly, which is summed up here, brought my attention to the true point of the plot. It seems that in order to comfort the residents of the world that cannot lie, the main character invents religion as a whole, or as he puts it, “the man in the sky.” “It’s not atheist propaganda,” says Ricky Gervais. I don’t think that the simple inclusion of the plot device is the main issue here. It’s the movie’s rating.

Other movies have had anti-religious viewpoints before, but they were very up front about the ideas portrayed in the movie. Any one who wanted to see the film, and the ways that other people view our religion, and even some ways that we can defend the faith. But this is an anti-religious film hiding in the clothes of a comedy. I haven’t seen it- it could be the most hilarious movie in decades. But that won’t change what it is trying to sell. The hundreds of thousands of teenagers that go to see this movie will be met with a statement-  “God is a good idea, but c’mon, who actually believes that?”

At a certain point, thoughts like this will become all to prevalent. Then we reach a point that Frederick Nietzche talked about- God is dead. I think now would be a good time to explain that I still believe in God. I think Christianity is the best explanation for everything that has ever gone on in the world, and that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to get to heaven. But, at a certain point, the idea of God is beyond saving in a society. This is getting ever closer in ours– even now the name of God is seen as the epitome of irrational, illogical thought. Unless we make a stand for God, it will soon bet too late- his cause will be seen as “only for the unintellectual.”

Wow.

This is totally awesome.

Well, it was to begin with. Then I started reading into it. Go ahead, read the article. Seriously. Do it. Done yet? I’m not continuing until you’re done.

There we go. Now read some of the comments. they all seem like nice people trying to suggest what to do with the money. But I see something different- after reading most of the posts, it seems to me like people are just trying to find ways to GET AROUND the law. They’re not looking for ways to do the right thing- just ways to make it LOOK like they did. C’mon, folks. We need to go back to the days when people were serious about sin. I’ve heard of ( but sadly ) not experienced days when sin was confessed before the church. Now, sin is a polarizing issue– some consider it a taboo (although taboo is a taboo, but that’s a different post.), some consider it a completely personal choice to decide what is and what is not sin, and some see all issues as strictly black and white. While all these can have certain flaws in certain situations, seeing every issue as black and white is definitely the closest to the truth, and a place that America should come back to. Now, like alot of my posts, I’m gonna say- but that’s not the main issue.

Why is no one serious about Hell anymore? It seems to me that Hell has simply moved out of the minds of the nation, and if it hasn’t left completely, then it has moved to the realm of a joke. Hell is no longer a place of torment, but a cavern where Satan pokes you while you rotate on a spit with an apple in your mouth. Shows like Family Guy show Satan as a comic character who shows up every once in a while to tempt the characters humorously. It’s time for christians to get serious about Hell again. Can you imagine what it’s like to know someone who will spend all of eternity in absolute torture- it’s unimaginable. And it’s time that we rememebered that.