Muslims, Christians and Jesus

This was a very interesting book to read. Written by Carl Medearis, it talks about how to talk to Muslims about Jesus without turning them off to the good news. It explains the 5 Pillars of Islam and points out a multitude (I lost track at 80) of verses that mention Jesus in a positive light along with a correlating Biblical Verse.

The book also talks about the things that Christians do that turn Muslims off to Jesus. One of the most interesting things about the book is how focused the book is on Jesus and not the Christian faith and it's not hard to see why. It's not Jesus that turns people off it's the way we follow (or don't follow) him that turns them off.

Reading that book gave me insights into the Muslim faith that I didn't have before and answered some questions that I did have. It was far more instructional than watching blowhards on the news argue about whose religion is better.

For Jesus it was never about religion, why do we keep forgetting that?

Real Christianity

Yea, I chose that title completely on purpose. You see there are two kinds of Christians, those that talk a good game and those who actually do. Today our church went and did. There is an apartment complex that houses refugees from around the world. Most of them came here with only the clothes on their backs to start a new life here in Las Vegas.

Our church held a block party for these refugees and anyone else who happened to live there. We provided all sorts of things like toiletries...
















Free haircuts...

















Lots and lots of food... LOTS of food...





It was just too much for some folks to take in...




We also gave away clothing, silverware, glasses, a microwave oven, furniture, shoes, snow-cones and balloon animals and more. That table you saw earlier was empty within about 60 minutes. Aside from showing up, my family helped with the balloon animals, clean up and my son started to give the kids who lived there balloons, but since he can be shy he would leave them next to them while they were eating, stealth generosity if you will. When people start banging on Christians, just show them those photos, because this is what real Christians do, help those in need without making a big deal out of it. There was no news conference, no press releases just Christians doing what they do best.

Skillet

Life and More by Vegas Art Guy

I got to spend the day observing the class that I will be taking over in October for a teacher who is expecting her first child. (Thanks again Karlana) She is an excellent teacher and I hope that I can be half the teacher she is now. I'll be teaching US History to 9th graders for the remainder of the semester. Three of the classes are regular ones and three are honors classes. Mrs Fogila is also going to allow me to teach a couple of my own lessons in addition to the ones that she has already set up. She also gave me a copy of the power point presentations that I'll be able to use (and fix up) while I am in her class. Needless to say, I am very excited about this chance. I decided by that much to teach English instead of History so I won't be flying blind with this subject like I would with science or math classes.

Now on to other matters...
While perusing my emails, I ran across an interesting breakpoint commentary by Chuck Colson dealing with the sub-prime crisis and the forgotten third leg of the economic stool. It's a fairly short read and well worth the time. There is a line in the Bible that goes along the lines of man's inability to serve two masters.

It's also worth noting the passing of Dr. D. James Kennedy, of complications following a heart attack late last year. Alan Seers writes a nice obituary here. He did his best to live his life by the beliefs that he preached from the pulpit. I was lucky enough to hear many of them on the radio, and even when I did not totally agree with him or his guests (I'm not a young earth creationist), I was always impressed with how he backed up his statements and the amount of time he took to prepare his lessons for his congregation. He will be missed by many around the world, including this desert rat.

A Crisis of Faith by Vegas Art Guy

Time magazine had an article detailing the crisis of faith suffered by Mother Teresa. At first glance it looked like an attack on one of the great Christians in the last oh, 150 years or so. But once I had really gotten into the article I realized that God was merely answering her prayer to share in Christ's suffering. I shall pass on noting that you really need to be careful on what you ask God to give you. ;)

Every Christian worth their salt has had at least one real crisis where they felt like God was nowhere to be found. It could have been a marriage that fell apart, or getting molested by a family member. It could be an addiction, or an accident, job loss or a myriad of other things that may or may not be caused by them.

I have been through them, my pastor has been through a few doozies and now we know that Mother Teresa had them as well. Simply because God looks like he's not paying attention and does not care, the opposite is true. He does see and He does care. He never promised us an easy life, we're going to have great times and horrible ones. I wish it weren't so, but it is. He did promise to be with us every step of the way.

A True Class Act by Vegas Art Guy

While perusing the web I ran across this article at time.com, that talked about how Billy Graham is dealing with the loss of his wife Ruth. It's truly amazing how he is still positive about life after all he's been through.

After reading that article I saw this one in the side bar under related stories. In short it talked about how Billy Graham helped Hillary Clinton during the Monica Lewenski scandal and the relationship that he has with the Clinton's and many political leaders. Surprised? You shouldn't be. Billy was simply doing what was right, helping someone who was floundering in a difficult situation. Say what you want about Hillary, and I've plenty to say, but the fact that she forgave him is a good thing.

Of all the modern Christian leaders Billy Graham is at the top of my list. These two articles are a good illustration of why I hold him in such high esteem.

A couple of eye catchers by Vegas Art Guy

What is it with these people? Don't they get the fact that when you're a Christian pastor that everything you do is going to get taken apart with a fine toothed comb and any screw up is going to get national press?

Take this gem of a pastor in Tennessee. He gets drunk on vodka and oxycodone then relieves himself at a car wash in front of kids then offers the cops a sexual favor. Oh and did I mention the fact that he was wearing a skirt? It's idiots like him that make real Christians and Christian leaders lives miserable because people don't trust them due to the idiocy of people like this.

I don't blame them either, you can't tell people the good news when you're in a skirt, drunk and offering sexual favors, the message rings a bit hollow to the audience.

H/T Drudge Report and WGAL Channel 8

The other item that caught my eye was this:

Fred Thompson has an interesting article at townhall.com, discussing how the democrats are once again playing politics with judicial appointments. Why is it that when a democrat is the president, the republicans honor his appointments but the democrats forget their job when a republican is President. Is their hatred of Bush that strong or is this another example of their on-going power grab?

Probably a bit of both if you ask this desert rat.

Here we go again...

H/T: The Oxford Medievalist

Now that Hamas has seized power in Gaza, they have set their sights on destroying any Christian presence in the area. They are going to make life so difficult for Christians there that they'll either have to leave, convert, or die. Not attractive options now are they?

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56241

Don't expect to see this in the MSM any time soon, they'd sooner die than paint Christians in a positive light. It's far easier for them to roast Jerry Falwell or talk about Fred Phelps than show how Christians are really treated around the world.

Is this the true face of Islam? If not, where is the outcry about the brutal treatment that non-Muslims and especially ex-Muslims that have converted to another faith? And yet Jimmy Carter would have us recognize these, these thugs as the rulers of the Gaza Strip.

I've blogged earlier about how Christians are treated around the world here, here, here, here, and finally, here. Read them if you dare enough to care. We forget that in many parts of the world Christians are in the minority and not the majority and get treated like dirt and worse, especially in Islamic countries where sharia law is the final word. May God help them because nobody else seems to give a damn...

Driving Christians out of Bethleham

....chirp chirp
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55718

That is what you hear from the MSM in regards to this story. Bethleham is probably the holiest city on earth for Christians. It's where our and your savior was born. It's also where the muslim population is driving out the Christians by any means necessary. Forged documents, corrupt government, brute force. Just another day in paradise right? At what point are people going to care? Where is the left, the party of "tolerance" and "compassion'? Oh, right we're talking about those evil Christians, and we all know they deserve no pity at least not according to the left.

I think I'm going to throw up now.

It's called the high road, try taking it...

As most people know by now, Rev. Jerry Falwell died yesterday at the age of 73. I don't know if he's dining with God or roasting in hell right now, that's up to God not me. I do know that the venom from the left screams hypocrisy, lack of tact or anything that resembles class. Honestly, it makes me want to vomit.

The left loves to throw the words tolerance, understanding, multiculturalism, etc., at the right and when the time comes to practice what they so loudly preach we get nothing but bitter hatred, bile and venom.

For those of you on the left, either practice what you preach or come clean about the fact that you want US on the right to accept your world view and that you will NEVER return the favor. Otherwise, shut the hell up.

Three Martyrs and their last hours

http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/1067893/18109220

Details are starting to come out about the final hours of the three murdered Christians in Turkey. Not only was this brutal crime planned well in advance but the victims were stabbed numerous times and the killings were methodical and ritualized. The killers seemed to be following instructions from the Koran as follows below.

"The distinctively ritual manner of the murder, particularly the slicing of fingertips, is convincing observers of the consciously religious motivation of the assassins. The perpetrators seem to have been following the instructions of Sure 8:12, from the Koran. There it says (in the Rudi Paret German translation of the Koran), “I will strike terror into the hearts of unbelievers. Flay their necks (with a sword) and strike every finger.” The last half of the sentence is translated in even more striking terms in some versions. In the Rassoul and Zaidan translation it says, “chop off every finger;” the Azhar and Ahmadeyya translation says, “chop off every finger tip.”

This is the face of evil, make no mistake about it. They were killed to send a message that only Islam would be tolerated in Turkey. And if any were foolish enough to worship anyone or anything other than Allah that they would meet the same fate. And yet we hear nothing from the MSM, guess they're too busy making sure that we fail in Iraq and that the President's last two years in office are a living hell. Of course they probably think that those evil Christians deserved their fate.

HT The Point Blog

Pastors and Pharisees

If you've read the Bible or have more than a passing familiarity with it you'll know that Jesus had time for everyone, with the exception of the Pharisees. A Pharisee, in Biblical times, were the religious leaders of the Jewish people. They were responsible for the spiritual well being of their people. They were to set the example for all to follow via their actions and teachings.
However, in reality they often lorded their position over the people. They often decided who was acceptable to be with in society and who were not. They looked down upon people who were not Jewish, i.e. the Gentiles and the Samaritans. They considered 'sinners' less than human and would gleefully point them out for judgement and condemnation. During Jesus' time on earth he repeatedly pointed out the gaps between their teaching and their actions. When they questioned his choice of dining partners, he replied that it was the sick that needed a doctor, not the healthy. He repeatedly showed the hypocracy that ran rampent in their ranks, so much so that they ended up having him crucified.

Fast Forward to 2007 in America. Christian leaders daily face the challange of living out their beliefs and teachings. One wrong step and they go from pastor to pharisee. Now let me tell you how I define these two terms and give you some examples so you know where I am coming from.

Pastor: Does his best to live by the teachings in the Bible. Puts words into actions via ministry work like Angel Tree, Christmas in April, feeding the homeless, volunteering at a hospice. They are more concerned with spreading God's message than their own glory and power. They don't want the biggest church they want an effective one.

Think Billy Graham, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Pope John Paul II. The churches who were too busy helping others to rebuild their churches after Katrina were led by real pastors.

Pharisee: Claims to be a Christian and will speak with authority. Knows the Bible from stem to stern. Often makes strong moral statements about hot button issues. May or may not be active in ministries mentioned above. Says one thing and does another. Doesn't live by what is preached or will not preach according to what's in the Bible. Often very concerned with their personal power and glory, God gets the leftovers if He's lucky. Will often fall from grace in public scandal, usually due to an extra martial affair of some sort.

Think Jim Baker, Jerry Falwell, Jimmy Swaggart, Fred Phelps, Pat Robertson, Ted Haggard, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.

I'll bet you recognize the Pharisees or had a similar list as you were reading my description. To be honest you'll rarely see Pastors in the news because they don't call attention to themselves or their work, because they're not in it for personal glory. And honestly the MSM won't report on them because they don't like to paint Christians in a positive light. They'd rather focus on the Pharisees and show the world that all Christians are like this, no matter what the reality is.

Anti Catholic Bigotry Updated

What the? This really pisses me off. It's bad enough Rosie O'Donnell thinks that Roman Catholics shouldn't be judges but now Tony Auth has added his 2¢ to his view of Christians and Catholics in particular.

Now this cartoon is in response to the partial birth abortion ban that the court upheld. The 5 in the mitres are all Catholics. Notice that the two Jews and the two protestants are not identified in this cartoon by similar garb. Why the hell do people think it's OK to bang on Christians? Because we don't go nuts, starting riots and killing people of other faiths?

I'm sorry this is bigotry pure and simple. The message he is sending with this cartoon is that Catholics cannot be trusted as judges because they get their marching orders from the Pope. What crap, and yet we as Christians are just supposed to get a thick skin and deal with it right? Uh, no. This should not stand and all Christians need to let Tony and the paper know that you cannot bang on Christians without consequence. The cartoon appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer so if you want to let them know how you feel they're the ones to contact.

Update 3:27pm...

http://thepoint.breakpoint.org/2007/04/christian_marty.html

Three Christians in Turkey had their throats slit for the crime of selling Bibles last week. Funny how it didn't seem to get any mention in the MSM. Of course had they been Muslim or any other religion aside from Christian it'd all over the place, with pleas for tolerance and understanding. But Christians? You'd be lucky to even get crickets to chirp. Anyone else see the hypocrisy here or is it just me?

The End of Religious Freedom · Updated!

http://www.breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=6301

Don't look so surprised.

The assault on religious freedom has reached a new high, or low depending on your viewpoint. Now England wants to outlaw Christian Schools from teaching about sexuality from a biblical viewpoint. What did we expect from across the pond anyway?

Western Europe has been becoming more and more secular, when that happens, religious freedom becomes something that is now subject to the whims of governments. And in England that means that you can no longer legally practice your religion like you have for the last several hundred years.

Those that continually call for tolerance from people of faith are finally showing their true colors and that the only thing they tolerate are views that are in lock step with theirs. All others are intolerant, homophobic, an assault on women's rights etc. Expect laws like this to spread throughout Europe, which will make life very interesting for countries like France that have large Muslim populations and who find homosexuality abhorrent to the point where you can get killed for your sexual preferences. I doubt seriously that the Muslims will go quietly into the night on this one and that will probably give the fanatics even more traction in their war against the west.

The USA is next on the list and I doubt even the First Amendment will be enough to protect people of faith. Of course they'll go after the Christians first, then once they've been made irrelevant then the 'minority' religions are next in line. After all they must be treated the same right? That's the reasoning they will use.

If you're a person of faith, be it Jewish, Islamic, Christian or whatever...

Be afraid, be very afraid...

Update #1 3/21/2007
Et, tu Brutus?
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3376215,00.html
Now this I thought I'd never see. Now it's not only illegal to convert Muslims in the Middle East but now Israel is off limits? As it stands you can't convert anyone under the age of 18 in Israel now they want to make all Israelis off limits. Huh? Maybe we need to take a hard look at our so called ally. Needless to say I am surprised and disappointed in Israel for this policy.

Credit to Alex http://alexlsilva.blogspot.com/2007/03/83-interesting-links-viii.html
(A fine blog in it's own right)

Tolerance is a one way street

Yea, I love this stuff... As a Christian I'm the one who is supposed to bend over backwards to be tolerant of ALL sorts of stuff, abortion, TV, music, movies etc...

And then I see crap like this.

"Everyone, forgive me for being such a posting hog but honestly, I just had to get at least ONE star under my name! Plus, I'm gone all next week on business and won't be able to post much. Thank you for your kindness and patience.RETAIL THERAPY is here and Hobby Lobby knew I was getting paid today! You are NOT going to believe this incredible deal. I have to shop quickly in Hobby Lobby because they constantly play that annoying Church music and if I stay too long, I'll burst into flames! Seriously... like garlic to Vampire.. Blessed Assurance Jesus is calling ... ~Whoof!~ Somebody, get a bucket of water! He's in the linen section and the whole store is gonna go! "What a world... What a Cruel World, I'm melting..." What was I talking about? "

Yea, and yet those who hate Christians can just post this stuff and go on their merry way. What if I had posted something like this about the gay community or about Islam? How long before the torches and the pitchforks are out? And yet Christians and conservatives are intolerant? See this is what really makes me mad. I'm still debating about responding and pointing out how nasty that post really is. I'm not sure it will be worth the effort though so I may let this one go. Then again maybe not.

Catholic Church raises money to build a what?

http://www.playfuls.com/news_10_19335-Catholic-Church-In-Cologne-Collects-Money-For-A-Mosque.html

WTF? Sorry, not getting it. If you believe you're the one true faith then why the flizz do you help build a place of worship for a faith you consider false and wrong? I'm all for freedom of religion. You're Christian? Jewish? Muslim? Hindu, etc? Fine, no problem. You want to worship sports, money, sex, power the oak tree in your back yard? Enjoy. But this is wrong. Very wrong. I have no problem with community projects that people of different faiths can participate in together, it breaks down the ignorance and hatred, I'm all for that. You want to have celebrations and have people from different faiths participate? Be my guest. But I don't get raising money for what is a totally different religion and faith.

Are European Christians so weak in their faith that they're willing to embrace another faith in this way? Is the spiritual vacuum that great in Western Europe?

What am I missing folks?

Credit to KCC and their fine commenters for the news story...
http://kansascitycatholic.blogspot.com/2007/03/kcc-100000.html

When in doubt

Use the shotgun approach. Don't like the tack Christians take in a debate? Call them neocons, fundies, the radical right etc., and thus win the arguement! Why? Because we all know that them neocons etc., are EVIL and as soon as you get lumped into that group all your rights to have a discussion disappear into thin air! Don't believe me? Just go to any discussion where Christians are involved and then wait for the attacks.