Random Items

Spring Break is here and I’m not sure how much blogging I’ll be doing. Be looking for “God Doesn’t Wear Red and White Stripes” after the break. Until then, here are some random items for your amusement.

I don’t know if I have ever seen a stranger headline (outside of Leno’s bit).

On a related note, how weird is this theology?

I’m excited about things at Life Choices. If you enter “Arkansas abortion clinics” into Google, we are a top sponsor and getting hits. We have also had several students find our services from our UCA and Hendrix Facebook flyers. Life Choices is making a real and eternal difference in the lives of girls and their partners. God is good.

I’m not sure what to make of the new chapel plans at my alma mater.

Do not try to give your teachers wedgies.

Christian Clown Training. Sad. So very sad.

Interesting thoughts on homosexuality by Al Mohler. And a follow up article.

I feel much better about my office now.

Everybody to the limit.

No More Flyin' Solo

There is little to no redeeming value in today’s post. But Monday’s entry reminded me of these 2 minutes of perfect cinema...

Ephesians 5:1 and Tater Tots

Ephesians 5:1 – Be imitators of God, as beloved children.

I wonder if Paul specifically mentioned children because he knew that they just naturally imitate. It’s second nature to them. Take an example from my son, Parker (who is 4 years old). Shanda sent me the following email recently….

Parker was in here [playing a game] on the computer and I saw him reach into his shirt pocket and pull out a pretzel and eat it. I said, "Parker, do you have pretzels in your pocket? Why?" He nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm trying to be like that guy on that movie who put tater tots in his pocket."



It’s good to be a kid.

How Americans Think, Feel, & Act - Part 3

The Barna Research Group recently released the results of a recent survey of the self-oriented behavior of Americans. According to Barna, the data suggests that “millions of Americans engage in routines that benefit themselves, often flouting moral boundaries to do so.” See for yourself. Here is what American report of their behaviors – all of these occurring in the past month:

Relationships

• 33% of adults say they have used profanity in public in the last month.
• 28% have said mean things to others about someone else when that person was not present.
• 13% have told someone something they knew was not true
• 10% have gotten even for something someone did to hurt or offend them
• 2% admit to fighting or abusing someone else

Sexuality

• 28% of adults have read a magazine or watched a movie or video that contained explicit sexual images in the past month (35% of men and 19% of women)
• 10% have visited a website that showed explicit or uncensored sexual content in the last month (14% of men and 2% of women).
• 14% have had an intimate sexual encounter during with someone to whom they were not married

Property and Finances

• 31% have purchased a lottery ticket in the past month
• 18% have placed a bet or gambled in the last month
• 6% have inappropriately traded or downloaded music

Substance Abuse

• 16% of adults have consumed enough alcohol to be intoxicated or considered legally drunk at least once in the last month
• 3% admit to recent use of illegal, non-prescription drugs

Spirituality

• 5% have consulted a psychic or medium for spiritual guidance in the last month
  

And these are not just the behaviors of lost people. According to Barna, “…born again Christians are statistically indistinguishable from non-born again adults on most of the behaviors studied.” What a sad commentary on the lives of Christians. We are “statistically indistinguishable” from non-Christians.

So, to wrap up the three-part series of postings:
(1) Americans are IGNORANT in their beliefs
(2) Americans are INSECURE in their emotions
(3) Americans are INDULGENT in their behaviors

My pastor would be proud of my alliteration.

This description is an oversimplification, to be sure. But it is accurate enough from where I sit. What is most troubling to me is the fact that Christians aren't much different from non-Christians in their ignorance, insecurities, and indulgences.

I don’t want to leave these postings with just a lament of our current state of affairs. Let’s now be constructive. How do we fix these problems? As Christians, how do we tackle issues of ignorance, insecurity, and indulgence? What can our schools do? What can our churches do? What can we do as individuals? The more practical your solutions, the better.

How Americans Think, Feel, & Act - Part 2

Identity theft, road rage, peteranswers.com, boogey men and spooky noises in the middle of the night……Americans are afraid of stuff – lots of stuff. Take a look at a small sample:

• 40% of Americans fear being the victim of a terrorist attack
• 33% are afraid to put their heads under water
• 35% are worried about getting West Nile Virus
• 29% believe terrorist mass destruction will occur in their lifetime
• 29% are concerned about developing Avian or bird flu.
• 25% are afraid of snakes
• 22% believe a worldwide disease pandemic will occur in their lifetime
• 10% are afraid of flying.
• 6% believe an asteroid impact on earth will occur in their lifetime
• I even had two students at CBC last semester admit to a clown phobia
  

Those things are amusing, but here’s the kicker:

• 98% are afraid of a full 98% of other Americans
  

What in the world is going on? According to the ABC News/Washington Post poll: "Between the criminal element, salesmen, religious zealots, alcoholics, minorities, immigrants, fast-driving teens, employers and panhandlers, a total of 49 in 50 Americans present a fearsome image to the vast majority of their fellow citizens."

Apparently, only babies and really old people make us feel safe. How did we get into such a predicament as a nation? Why are we so afraid of each other? Post your comments – if you dare.

Coming Soon:

How Americans Act....

How Americans Think, Feel, & Act - Part 1

What Americans Think…..

I’m not sure that most Americans are very bright about issues of faith. Americans talk a lot about religious issues, but know precious little about them.

Stephen Prothero’s, new book, Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know — and Doesn't offers some startling facts. Here are a few:

Of American high school seniors:

• 50% of high school seniors think Sodom and Gomorrah were married.
• 36% of high school seniors know Ramadan is the Islamic holy month; 17% said it was the Jewish day of atonement.
• Only 10% can name all five major world religions and 15% cannot name any.
  

Of all Americans:

• Nearly two-thirds believe that the Bible holds the answers to all or most of life’s basic questions.
• Only half can name even one of the four Gospels
• Fewer than half can identify Genesis as the first book of the Bible
• 60% can't name five of the Ten Commandments.
• Only one third know that Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount.
• Approximately 75% of adults mistakenly believe the Bible teaches that "God helps those who help themselves."
• More than 10% think that Noah's wife was Joan of Arc
• 60% of evangelicals answered yes when asked whether Jesus was born in Jerusalem (only 51% of Jews answered yes).

Perhaps the most startling finding is that, according to Prothero, evangelical Christians do not fare too much better than those of other faiths or no faith when it comes to knowledge of these issues.

Coming Soon:
What Americans Feel…..
How Americans Act…..

The Blasphemy Challenge

I find myself in a CBC bubble and wonder if others do, too. I'm surrounded by good, solid, Christian men and women. My workplace is safe. My friends are safe. My world is safe here. But I sometimes forget what life is like in other circles. I was reminded in a dramatic fashion that there are untold numbers of people "out there" that are lost, hurting, and confused.

A group called the Rational Response Squad has offered up The Blasphemy Challenge. I was stunned as I watched the video. It seems over two housand people have already responded to the challenge.



Honestly, I'm not sure how to respond to a video like this. Should I be angry that people can so easily and openly mock the Holy Spirit? Should I be heartbroken over people who are lost and confused? Should I be indifferent to the rebellious antics of juveniles? I know this, I'm unsettled. What is your reaction?

Plagiarizing for Jesus

Stephen Ambrose – famous historian
Doris Kearns-Goodwin – popular historian
Jayson Blair – New York Times reporter
Kaavya Viswanathan – Harvard student / “chick lit” author
William Swanson – Raytheon CEO
Ian McEwan – best-selling novelist
Raj Persaud – famous British psychiatrist


What do these good folks have in common? They have all been charged with plagiarizing their work. These high-profile cases of plagiarism have left many scratching their heads, wondering about the integrity of people who should definitely know better. And now a high-profile case of plagiarism surfaces in Baptist circles.

Paul Negrut is the President of the Romanian Baptist Union as well as a close colleague to many prominent Southern Baptist leaders. He wrote a book in 1999 in which 8 of his 13 chapters were taken virtually word for word from another book written by a seminary professor in California in 1995. The topic of the book?? Get this – Ethics.

I’m a Southern Baptist and a graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX. The current president of SWBTS, Paige Patterson, has supported Paul Negrut through the ordeal, trying to find a way to explain Negrut’s actions as something other than plagiarism. I appreciate many of the things Patterson has done for the Southern Baptist Convention, including the fact that he helped lead the conservative resurgence in the convention. But when it comes to Negut’s actions, I think Patterson is just plain wrong. Plagiarism is plagiarism--regardless of Negrut’s reported intent to simply “provide readings to Romanian students” and regardless of the reported ill intentions of those who brought the plagiarism to light.

It is no wonder that college students are conflicted about plagiarism. Now we can’t even get some of our religious leaders to call a spade a spade.

How widespread is the problem, really? Nearly 40% of college students admit to plagiarizing at least some portions of research papers from the internet and over 75% say they do not consider copying from the internet to be a serious issue.

Where have we gone wrong? Why is plagiarism no longer considered unethical? Exactly how commonplace is plagiarism at places like CBC? I’d like to hear your take. Students – post anonymously if you’d like, but I would like to hear your thoughts and hear of your experiences.

CCM, Apostles, Donna, and Jesus: Sunday Night Musings

I originally posted this on my Facebook page, so I've reproduced it here because of its vast historical significance :) .

Tonight, I've been in a bit of a nostalgic mood. I've watched two DVD's of a couple of my favorite musical artists: Keith Green and Rich Mullins. Keith was one of the first Christian artists I was introduced to after I was saved in the late '70's. The thing that occurred to me was that when Keith died in 1982 and Rich in 1997, CCM lost its two most powerful prophetic voices. It says something that the Christian musician I most admire today--Bono of U2--isn't even a CCM artist.

On top of that, I know that both Keith and Rich wrestled with their broken, fallen humanness--a struggle I've experienced my whole Christian life. But watching them again tonight reminded of what it's like to be in love with Jesus--not just to admire Him or want to emulate Him, but to find in Him my entire reason for being and all the meaning my life will ever need. It's nice (and necessary) to be reminded that Daddy God is the one universal constant in my life.

Tonight, my wife and I were talking about some of the great biblical heroes--including Jesus' own disciples--and what a bunch of messed-up people they were. Then my wife said one of the most profound things I've heard in ages: they were conduits for God's grace. Wow, what a great word picture. It wasn't about them, any more than it's about me--it's about God; it's about my willingness to let God do in and through me whatever HE wants. I'm just the medium for the message. What a gift my wife is.

What does all this mean? You've got me. I just know that I want to be a good kid for my Heavenly Father. Thanks for the music, Keith and Rich. Thanks for the insight, Donna. And thank You, God, for enriching my life through them.

Three-Year-Old Theology and Other Tidbits of Wisdom

My wife and I have a three-year-old little boy. Like most three-year-olds, he loves "Cat in the Hat," "Arthur," and the Wiggles (he can't understand why they can't come to our house or why we can't go to "Australa" [Australia] to see them).

Lately, though, he's also been asking a lot of questions about heaven: Where is heaven? How long do we stay in heaven? Can you talk to people in heaven? Can you leave a message? He is also curious about God: When was God a baby? Why does God live in heaven? How can God be in heaven and here too?

Yesterday, we were telling him about a friend getting baptized. We tried to explain that when someone asks Jesus into their heart, they let other people know that by being baptized (being good Baptists, we gave him the full immersion version). He then said what sounded like a three-year-old version of the "Sinner's Prayer": "Jesus, I've done bad things."

I doubt very seriously, even given his evident genius, that our little boy understands the concepts of sin and grace and salvation, but I do believe that there is not a doubt in his mind that God exists, that heaven is real, and that he loves Jesus (because "Jesus is an important guy"). What he reminds me of on a regular basis is how skeptical and even cynical I can be sometimes, as if by virtue of being a professor, I have to have clear, empirical evidence to believe in anything. Faith is just the opposite: it is the evidence of things unseen, and without it, it is impossible to please God.

My little boy affords me the opportunity to see the world anew with astonished, accepting eyes, and to look beyond the concrete into the unseen with equally astonished and accepting eyes. No wonder Jesus said in Matthew 18:3, "Unless you become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven."

2 Lessons from Luke 10

I teach a Sunday School class (for young married couples) at Conway’s First Baptist Church and I enjoy it very much. I think my teaching benefits me more than it does my class, however. I understand Scripture much better and find more ways to apply it to my own life when I have to study Scripture to teach it to others. I think I’m too passive when a student.

I found something interesting from Luke 10 this week.

Luke 10:25-37 is the parable of the Good Samaritan. We see two religious leaders who have probably just finished their religious duties (they are leaving Jerusalem). On their way to Jericho they each pass by a man who has been left for dead. A Samaritan sees the same man, but instead goes to great lengths to take care of him. The contrast between empty religious duties and faith in action is stark. Today, our “religious duties” may include sitting through a couple of church services on Sundays and sitting through a Bible study or two (or a CBC chapel or two) during the week. But Jesus seems to be offering this lesson: DON’T JUST SIT THERE. DO SOMETHING.

Luke 10:38-42 comes immediately after Luke 10:25-37. (I learned this at seminary.) On the surface, there seems to be little connection between the story of Martha and Mary and the previous parable of the Good Samaritan. But I don’t think their proximity in Scripture is a coincidence. In this passage we see that Jesus has been invited to the house of Martha and Mary. Martha is busy with all the preparations that naturally come with having such an honored guest as Jesus in your house. She becomes upset that her sister Mary is just sitting at Jesus’ feet – doing nothing to help with the necessary accommodations. Jesus gently instructs Martha that while she has gotten busy worrying about many things, Mary has chosen the one thing that is best. Today, many of us get busy trying to do many things for Jesus. But Jesus seems to be offering this lesson: DON’T JUST DO SOMETHING. SIT THERE.

How do we reconcile these two seemingly contradictory lessons? I have my own thoughts. But I’d like to hear yours.

New Classroom Policy?

Think I should institute a new classroom policy like this one?