The gods aren't angry at Rob Bell, but others are

Two weeks ago Rob Bell was in town on his "The gods aren't angry" tour. My wife and I went to hear him and, for the most part, had a good experience. I had not posted about it sooner, mainly because I've been busy with that end of the semester crunch at Seminary, but also because it's taken me a while to digest what he had to say.

Just today a friend directed me to a review of Rob Bell's nearly 2-hour presentation. You can read the review here. I think I agree with what the reviewer has to say.

Of note is the fact that recently Mark Driscoll (pastor of the other Mars Hill church) labeled Rob Bell a Heretic at the Convergent Conference in September. There's plenty out there in blogland about this now.

Here's my comment on the goings on. I'm not quite ready to label Rob Bell a heretic. I have listened to some of his teachings and even read his first book Velvet Elvis. I wouldn't recommend the book to believers who are not mature in their faith, but Bell definitely challenges us as believers to live out our faith. Further, his communication skills are formidable and his knowledge of Biblical backgrounds is impressive.

Have a look at the review. I'd love to hear what you think.

A Touching Story

I am a latecomer to this video/story. The story is one of cellphone salesman Paul Potts, contestant on Britain's Got Talent. I heard about this video recently and finally saw it. It's quite moving.


Paul went on to win the competition and his new cd is out, and you can see his website here.

Portrait Unveiled, and Yes the Dog's Still in it.

Last night, in the midst of the annual SWBTS Trustee meetings, the portrait of President Paige Patterson was revealed at long last. I must say, it's nice that he finally was able to stand still long enough for the portrait to be made, and it completes the set in the seminary's rotunda. I did, however, in good fun, predict to some friends that Patterson's faithful hound, "Noche", would be included in the portrait. Patterson's previous portrait at Southeastern set a precedent where another black dog was pictured sitting faithfully before his master.

I haven't found an online picture of this new portrait, but if I do in the near future, I'll post the link. As before, the portrait is well-done, but to be honest, the new portrait is quite similar to the SEBTS one.

On College Football

I am really into College Football this season. There have been some recent seasons when I've been too busy or some such (like last year being a newlywed with a wife that could care less about football). But not this season. The staff at my church has even gotten into some college football picks. That said, I will also say that college football is So much better than pro. There's more teams to follow, I actually care about a few of them, including my alma mater, because my tuition money helped build that team -- I have an interest. And the biggest reason to love it is that these guys play because they love the game, not for money (there's no whining about contracts in NCAA football).

Overall, today has been a good day for college football. I grew up a Mississippi State fan, and they won. But, may alma mater, Liberty managed to lose to Toledo in a last-minute comeback, making the final score 35-34. But finally, on a bright note: USC, quite possibly the most overrated team in the history of football lost--to an UNRANKED instate rival -- Stanford. Go Stanford! I salute you!

I hope that you're enjoying college football season, and look forward to getting back east into SEC football land, though big 12 isn't so bad I guess.

Absurd Litigiousness Continues in America

This morning I read a number of news stories, many of which reported more lawsuits in America. How absurd can we be? Well we've already seen people suing God. Now today I've seen stories about a student suing the University of Massachusetts because he received a "C" in one of his classes. I can't help but scratch my head on that one. Maybe he's being done an injustice, but there's got to be a better way to solve the issue. Oh, and by the way, he's not some 18-year-old kid - the guy's 51. He should know better.

The second suit that I read about today involves a man suing his priest. According to the story, the man called the priest and left a critical message on the priest's answering machine. The priest played the message in church on sunday, and allegedly told the congregation, "This is the person in charge of religious education here last year. That's why it is no surprise to me [that] we had the kind of religious education we had. That's why we didn't get altar boys. What should we do? Should we send him to hell or to another parish?"

The story says, "[The parishioner] claims in the lawsuit filed this week in McHenry County that he was defamed and suffered "immediate emotional distress, embarrassment and humiliation."

Where do we even begin with something like this? Should I say that if you're bold enough to say unloving words to your pastor or priest, you ought to be willing for others to hear them? I think this guy needs to look for another way to deal with the issue. This goes back to the issue of Christians suing one another, and how the Bible teaches that we ought to take our disagreements to the church (1 Cor. 6) instead of taking one another to court. There are plenty of examples of this, but the point is that it makes us look really bad, and gives Christ a bad reputation.

What can we do to curb the overabundance of litigation that mires our court system in pointless actions?

Tired of the Guilt

In the news recently, the latest case for the 24-hour news media has been the case of the so-called "Jena Six." Since I listen to the radio and watch tv, I feel that I am at least moderately (if not severely) informed about the case. As if this weren't enough, we have Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton and a number of other "civil rights" leaders stirring the pot on the issue and milking the situation for all it's worth.

See, that's what bothers me about cases like this. And I don't think I'm the only one. I believe that so many Americans, and especially young white Americans are tired of the load of guilt that Jackson, Sharpton, and others attempt to foist upon us every time there's an issue to which they devote themselves as they make it a "race issue." To tell the truth, the more I learn about Jena, the less it all makes sense to me.

Recently I read a great book written by Shelby Steele entitled
White Guilt: How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era. I must say it was a fascinating and truly enlightening read. I highly recommend the book. In it Professor Steele discusses the history of the Civil Rights movement and deals with where he believes it all went off course.

He discusses the issue of moral authority as a central theme of the book. He discusses how prior to the 1960's in America, white supremacy was seen as a legitimate source of moral authority, along with the other "traditional" values of American society. Steele explains that when white supremacy was recognized as evil, Americans threw the baby out with the bathwater--that is, our society delegitimized other traditional values of which white supremacy had been one. In this process, he explains, moral authority was transferred to the unjustly oppressed minority (Black Americans). However, social power remained in the hands of wealthy white men.

In America today, Professor Steele says, the white elites still have the power, but they still lack the moral authority to wield it. This authority is something that Black "civil rights leaders" have made a business of trading to these white elites. You see, Steele's point is that these leaders, like Jackson and Sharpton, profit nothing from Black Americans achieving a higher status or becoming powerful. Rather, they benefit in using their inherited moral authority to leverage those in power to do their will. This works because the authority figures live in fear of being called racist. Of course we know that today there are few things worse than being called racist. Read the book, it's very enlightening.

Today so many of us are tired of being held hostage by those like Sharpton, Jackson, and others who are constantly trying to leverage their authority for more power. The plight of minorities in America is not as they would have us believe. Our society does care about people, regardless of their color or background. There are opportunities for anyone who is willing to look for them and work for them. So often I hear more and more young whites (usually men) complain that they are often denied opportunities because of their race or made to feel guilty because of the sins of previous generations. It's time to move on. I'm tired of the guilt, and I'm over it.

Michael Vick Finds Faith in Christ?

This morning I heard part of the Michael Vick press conference after I got out of classes at Southwestern. I was surprised at what I heard Vick say. I'll let you watch and judge for yourself, but I must say what he says here is impressive. I've never been a big Vick fan, but I pray that what he says here is sincere.

In the conference he apologizes to his teammates, his fans, kids that looked up to him, and everyone that he let down. He owns up to what he's done and doesn't make excuses. He encourages others to learn from his example and to make better choices than he has made. He says he will now have plenty of time to think about what he's done. Most importantly, however, Vick says that he's found Jesus and given his life to Him.

Now when I heard that in my car this morning, I must admit my first thought was, "yeah, sure - that's a great way to get sympathy, claim religion." Then I realized that he could be for real. Shame on me or any of us for judging the man who claims that he has found faith in Christ! I pray that he truly has and that Christ will change Michael Vick. To some, this may just seem like a convenient excuse, but I can think of no better time to turn to faith than when we're losing everything else. Could it be that God allowed Vick to get caught and to potentially lose everything in order that Michael Vick might gain eternal salvation through faith in Christ? I think it's a real possibility.

I look forward to seeing what comes of this in the future. What do you think? Is Vick sincere? See for yourself:

Jerry Falwell Home at Last

Today I was traveling back to Fort Worth and listening to the radio when I heard the report that Dr. Falwell had been found unconscious and rushed to the hospital, moments later a friend who still attends Liberty called me to deliver the news that Jerry Falwell had gone on to be with the Lord.

There aren't many things that I can say about Dr. Falwell that haven't already been said. For four years I was a student at Liberty University and during that time I had the opportunity to be a part of Thomas Road Baptist Church and to witness firsthand just what kind of man Jerry Falwell was. I fondly remember his passion for the Lord, the Bible, conservative politics, and LU sports. He was, in many ways, like a grandfather to the students and will be sorely missed.

I for one will treasure the memories of Dr. Falwell - the things I admired about him and the things that I learned from his mistakes, as well as those few times when I got to meet him face to face. Jerry Falwell always had time for people, and was always generous - he even had to have assistants to stop people from asking him for things because he would always give. I recall a time when some close friends of mine asked him for a steak dinner - and he delivered, taking them (several of them) out to one of the town's premier steakhouses. That's just the kind of guy that he was.
I shall also remember his passion for young people to embrace the spiritual disciplines of earnest prayer and study of the scriptures. Jerry Falwell was many things, but to those of us who have attended his school he'll always be our Chancellor.

Lastly, when I heard the news of his passing I could not help but think of a saying he had: "Until God is through with me, nothing can harm me--I'm bulletproof until He calls me home." I smile as I think of the wisdom of his words, indeed those were words he lived and died by. Now that God is finally through with him, he can rest in the presence of his Savior.

Antiplagiarism Service Sued For Copyright Infringement

Last week, this story was published about a lawsuit against a company that offers an anti-plagiarism service to schools across the country. According to the Washington Post, two high school students from Mclean, Virginia are suing iParadigms, LLC--the California company which offers the Turnitin anti-plagiarism database. Turnitin is a service, “seeks to root out cheaters by comparing student term papers and essays against a database of more than 22 million student papers as well as online sources and electronic archives of journals. In the process, the student papers are added to the database.” And that – the fact that student papers are added to the database – is the heart of the lawsuit.

I have a particular interest in this case because SWBTS (where I am currently a student) uses Turnitin to screen papers and major assignments for most of its classes. According to the story, "Turnitin is used by 6,000 institutions in 90 countries, including Harvard and Georgetown universities, company officials have said."

The suit charges that Turnitin unlawfully adds students' papers to its database without the consent of the authors, and offers no remuneration to the students. These high school students object to the use of their intellectual property (their papers) by a for-profit business without their consent. The lawsuit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, seeks $900,000 in damages from Turnitin.

Read more about it here.

What do you think? Is it wrong for this service to use student papers in this way without giving them any compensation or even getting their permission? Is the company doing the same thing (using someone else’s work without giving them credit) that its service seeks to prevent?

On a personal note, I believe it is sad that plagiarism is a problem in seminaries. Conversely, I think it borders on the ridiculous that we must be constantly warned (and threatened) about plagiarism to the point where professors are lecturing us on the evils of “unintentional plagiarism.” Plagiarism is bad, but the remedy must never be worse than the cure.

Mississippi Baptists Remember Abortion Victims

I recently read this story from Baptist Press and found it especially noteworthy. The Baptist convention from Mississippi (my home state) has come up with a unique way to remember the lives that have been extinguished by Abortion, and at the same time to raise money, "to create a permanent endowment fund for pro-life projects, such as assisting with the operations of crisis pregnancy centers and other efforts for women with unwanted pregnancies."

What are they doing? They have built the "Memorial to the Missing," a 12-by-16 foot clear building, made of bulletproof glass to contain 50 million pennies. The memorial stands in front of the Mississippi Baptist Building, across from the Mississippi Capitol Building in Jackson. Visitors can contribute by dropping pennies into the memorial or by mailing them in to the Convention Offices. According to the report, over 26 million pennies have been collected to date toward the goal of 50 million.

Here's one of the coolest parts of the story, to me:

The Memorial to the Missing itself is weighty. When Mississippi Baptists finish contributing 50 million pennies -– $500,000 -– to it, it will weigh 156 tons or 312,000 pounds, roughly as much as 100 automobiles. Pylons driven 15 feet into the ground support the glass structure, built free of charge by a John Laws III, a Presbyterian layman who owns a construction company in Flowood, Miss.

I must say, I'm impressed by this effort and think it's a great idea to raise awareness and money to save these unborn babies. Jim Futral, the Convention's Executive Director-Treasurer had this to say: “We want people to know when they see the memorial that these children are not out of sight and out of mind.” It's most important to me to see that not only are Mississippi Baptists raising money, but they are also remembering these families and that lives are being impacted. This sunday, January 21st, Mississippi Baptist Churches will take a special offering "in remembrance of the unborn" and to go toward helping mothers choose life for their unborn babies.

Southern Baptists in the News

At the moment things seem fairly quiet on the Southern Baptist Political front. Perhaps this is simply the calm on the surface that disguises the turmoil beneath, but I think everyone seems to be settling into the new year with a new president and some are still sizing one another up.

Thinking of this I decided that I wanted to know the public perception of Southern Baptists in the news. My question is this: can good come from Baptists being in the news or is negative controversy all that gets reported?

A brief Nexis search surprised me. I searched the term "Southern Baptist" throughout the major news outlets in the last six months. I found that the bulk of the reporting centered around the convention (naturally). However, I was surprised by the positive tone of many of the articles. I did also note that there seems to be a lack of depth to a number of the articles as well, this I attribute to the fact that some of these articles are written by people who don't understand the nature of the Christian faith experientially.

I expected to find that the major news outlets mirrored the local baptist news entities in that they captured a lot of dissention and controversy. It seems, however, that they just aren't interested in our squabbles. Generally, they could care less about Paige Patterson, Wade Burleson, and our inter-denominational politics; although the do enjoy gaping at our stances on alcohol, abstinence, and public education.

So, are we better off quietly "doing our thing" and ministering without the attention of the news? Does the attention of the media help advance our cause? Or does it simply hinder us? Or there's the related question of "are we doing anything newsworthy?" Think about this--the early church caused such a stir that they were accused of turning the world upside down! (Acts 17:6 ESV)

Was the Pope Wrong?

Today I am reading several headlines about the Pope's recent remarks. It seems that he angered some muslims. Headlines might well read: "Muslims claim their religion is not one of violence, threaten to kill the Pope." Ok, so that's not a real headline, but it seems to be what is going on. Anybody else recognize the blatant contradition?
First off, let me say that I am a Southern Baptist, not a Catholic. I do not believe that the Pope speaks for God, but that doesn't mean that I think he's always wrong. On issues of faith and morality it can be important for all who call themselves Christians (including Catholics) to stand together to advocate for what is right. In doctrinal issues, we often disagree.
Recently Pope Benedict XVI gave a speech in which he read a 14th Century text written by a Byzantine Emperor. It charged that the teachings of Muhammed were "evil and inhuman" and that its followers used the sword to spread their religion. Many Muslims found the Pope's remarks insulting and offensive. They claim that Islam is a religion of peace, and that the Pope should die for his remarks. Obviously he was WAY off base. If you think Islam is a religion of peace, you should ask Ergun Caner or his brother Emir. So there you have it, and now perhaps my life is in jeopardy. Don't dis the peaceful religion of Islam or yours could be too!