Yearly Archives: 2021

Amusing Ourselves to Death – by John Stonestreet

  • Post author:
  • Post category:Others

“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ” (Phil. 1:9-10). How Postman Saw It Neil Postman (1931-2003) was an educator and cultural critic who saw things more clearly than most. In the introduction of his highly acclaimed and criticized book Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, Postman demonstrated that he had his finger on the pulse of our culture in a way most others did not. This comparison between the pessimistic visions of George Orwell and Aldous Huxley is worth quoting at length: “We…

Continue ReadingAmusing Ourselves to Death – by John Stonestreet

Satan? Who?

We all laughed at Dana Carvey on SNL and his portrayal of the Church Lady, at least I did. I have no delusion that he was trying to warn people of the ever-present threat from the enemy of God, rather it was meant to mock and make fun of a concept (Satan) that the Christian church holds to. That’s ok. We shouldn’t have such thin skin that we can’t laugh at ourselves and how some of our beliefs make for some pretty funny caricatures. That said, the subject of Satan is no laughing matter in reality. Yet, we hear nothing of him anymore. There was a time when “hell, fire, and brimstone” were the main characters in the Gospel message, at least…

Continue ReadingSatan? Who?

What are His ways? What are His thoughts?

A few years back, I came across a couple verses that were very familiar to me. I probably memorized them in Vacation Bible School or Sunday School when I was a kid. Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Sometimes when we read the Bible, the verses are just verses. Familiar or not, we just continue reading and move on to the next. Then there are times, seemingly out of nowhere, the verses are like someone shining a bright light in our eyes. You say, “Whoa! What was that?” Then we…

Continue ReadingWhat are His ways? What are His thoughts?

When I Think of Sin…

When I think of sin, I think of what my pastor has been telling us for years now. Sin is rebellion. Rebellion against God, plain and simple. And, while I agree with that wholeheartedly, it would benefit us or at least it has benefitted me to look further at what sin is. We know that it’s disobedience. We know that sin is hurtful to everyone it touches, both directly and those on the periphery. We know that its consequences reach far beyond the time of the act(s). It can penetrate future generations. We know that sin always results in death, in one form or another, both in the short term and the long. Sin is the cause of every weed in your…

Continue ReadingWhen I Think of Sin…

Social Media’s Threat to Religious Freedom

  • Post author:
  • Post category:Others

This is an opinion piece taken from the WSJ. A theologian’s talk on the Christian view of sex was deemed a ‘content violation.’ By Salvatore J. Cordileone and Jim Daly Aug. 12, 2021 6:29 pm ET Carl Trueman is a distinguished scholar, bestselling author and ordained Presbyterian minister. On Aug. 7 he gave a series of talks to the Sacramento Gospel Conference, live-streamed on the YouTube channel of Immanuel Baptist Church. Twice during the event, the live broadcast was booted off the air. Viewers were informed that the first interruption was due to a copyright violation, possibly the result of Christian music that the conference organizers played during a break. But in the second, more mysterious instance, Mr. Trueman’s presentation went dark…

Continue ReadingSocial Media’s Threat to Religious Freedom