Trying to Show a Little Intelligence

Well, the month of May is just almost over, and I need to write at least one post about something more substantive than gasoline.

Imagine a newspaper that covered one particular issue, and for a while it only covered one side of this issue. Then the proponents of the other side began to feel like this situation was a little unfair, and the newspaper and the proponents of the first side acknowledged that maybe they should let the other side get a say in. Time passes, and eventually the newspaper is only covering the second side. So the first side begins to feel like this situation is a little unfair, but when it raises its concerns to the newspaper and the second side, they both laugh in the first side's face.

That's the situation that Ben Stein's documentary film "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" presents - that both science and education have shut the door on non-Darwinian theories of origins or even criticism of the Darwinian theory of evolution. That doesn't sound like what science or education would do, you say. But both science and education are stuck defending Darwinism, because there are really only two possibilities for how we all got here. Either we came to be as the most recent in a very long and, frankly, unbelievable series of natural occurrences, or some more powerful, more intelligent designer created us and put us here. Neither science nor education can tolerate a designer operating above nature. But the funny thing is, Darwinian evolution requires more "magical" thinking (more "faith"?) than intelligent design - starting with the violation of the law of biogenesis, which states that life only arises from existing life.

Congratulations to Ben Stein on this film that opened on April 18. Box Office Mojo lists it as the twelfth highest grossing documentary. And at least in part as a result of this film, six states (including Missouri) have introduced "academic freedom bills."

Gas Price Break, Part 2

Gas prices are on the minds of a lot of people, I suspect. And there doesn't seem to be much we can do about them, despite the encouragement of those e-mails that suggest a one-day "boycott" from buying gas or a boycott of certain brands of gas. But the fact that the price of a gallon of gas does have such a direct (as well as indirect) impact on so many of us has caused many churches to think about ways to use gasoline as something of an attention-getter, as I pointed out in my last post. But here is a different approach that seems to be a little more Christ-honoring.

I Could Use the Gas Price Break, But...

First of all, gas prices are RIDICULOUS! That pretty much goes without saying. And I know it is affecting many of us quite seriously - it almost costs more to drive to work than we'll make once we get there. So, I guess it is only natural that churches would want to try to help some of the people affected. But I'm thinking this is probably not the way to go about it.

It seems to me that publicity is not something that is completely off-limits for churches. A yellowish-colored pages advertisement in the phone book, a web page, or a listing in the local newspaper - those would all be excellent ways to let people know that you exist, where you're at, and maybe a little bit about you. But isn't the church's only "marketing gimmick," the only way we are given to add to a church's membership, by presenting the Gospel, which is very likely going to be seen not as compelling but as offensive?

God Helps Those Who Help Themselves

That's got to be in the Bible, right? Actually, no, it is nowhere to be found in the Bible. But many people quote it as if it were. And so Representative and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi apparently has helped herself to creating her own personal additions to the Bible. According to this article, for Earth Day she "quoted" (or at least paraphrased) the non-existent Scripture, "To minister to the needs of God's creation is an act of worship. To ignore those needs is to dishonor the God who made us." Funny, I just don't remember that one. And she couldn't be bothered with a pesky thing like a Scripture reference. But apparently it is one of her favorites, as she has quoted it on several occasions.

It's one thing when the Enemy attacks the words of Scripture, but quite another to attempt to discredit the Bible on the basis of things that aren't even in there. By the same token, even when we quote Scripture that is actually in the Bible, we must be careful to not quote it in such a way that we make it say what it truly does not mean in its context. Those of us who hold God's Word in its proper high esteem should guard its meaning as well as its words.

Interestingly, one of the interviewees for this article was Claude Mariottini, who was my Old Testament teacher in college.

Butterfly Kisses

Wow. Yesterday morning I heard a song for the first time that was so powerful. It is a secular song, being played on country and adult contemporary stations (I'm not going to get into the whole "pop in my country" thing right now), but the message is so strong and sweet, I was in tears. In fact, as I listen to the song right now and type this up, the screen is getting a little blurry and smudgy. Maybe I need a new monitor. Anyway, the song is called "Butterfly" by a duo that call themselves bluefield. You can hear the song on their MySpace page.

On this same topic (which you will only know once you've heard the song), Oklahoma has passed a law that requires an ultrasound be performed and the image shown to the mother prior to any abortion. This is really where the battle for abortion is won. All the rhetoric of choice and not ready for parenthood and whatever goes right out the window when you see that baby looking and acting just like the baby it is in his or her temporary shelter of the mother's womb.

I'll save the discussion of how racism is intricately a part of abortion for another time so I can put this up on the blog. Two days in a row of posting is a pretty good accomplishment.

Harder Than It Looks

I saw one of those church signs tonight. You know, the kind with one of those little soundbites of witticism. This one said something close to "Wisdom has two parts: (1) Having lots to say and (2) Not saying it." I wish I could say my lack of posting on here were a glorious display of wisdom. Because I have had lots to say. I could start at Barack H. Obama's pastor (or former pastor?) and stay busy right on up to the Pope's visit. But the real truth is, it is just hard to keep up with the blogging. But I'm going to keep trying, because I really do enjoy it.

On a sad note related to one of my previous postings, screen legend Charlton Heston (Moses in "The Ten Commandments," among other roles) passed away on April 5. The liberal media's attempt at an obituary was apparently as hard for them as keeping up with blogging is for me. In case you didn't catch all the negative slams, this might help out.

No Foolin'

Imagine a country where a student can receive a zero on an art project because it was Christian in nature while those portraying demons are allowed to receive a grade. Or one where a valedictorian is refused her diploma until she issued a written apology for a graduation speech that encouraged the audience to seek Christ. How about one where someone could be fired for having a picture of the crucifixion of Christ in his cubicle.

Now imagine that country was the United States of America.

I wish I could say "April Fool's!" But you've probably noticed each of the very few examples I've listed is a link to the news story describing these situations. So I can't.

And we are close to other things that are frankly astounding. Dr. James Dobson's "Focus on the Family" radio show is already being edited in Canada to avoid hate crime offenses, and the same could have almost been true in this country (and still could in the future).

Being a Christian, a real Christian, in America is starting to get challenging. And it looks like it will continue to get more so. No foolin'.