Not in the Name of JESUS

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It really makes me angry to see the names of prominent "right wing" Christian leaders take the position that to disagree with them is to oppose Christ. James Dobson, a man I once admired for his work in family matters, is the worst of the lot. Then there is Richard Land! A Southern Baptist. There was a time when Southern Baptist stood for freedom of conscience and the separation of church and state. And Tony Perkins who says that the filibuster nominees

"are being blocked because they are people of faith and moral conviction.... These are people whose only offense is to say that abortion is wrong or that marriage should be between one man and one woman."

Brother Perkins is not altogether truthful. What! A lying "right winger"! Forsooth! He has reduced Democratic opposition to the Presidents appointees down to abortion and same sex marriage along with the nominees Christian faith. To get the real truth .. not Christian lies check out this LINK Way down at the bottom of the page you will see a link to Fili-BUSTED which makes a comparison to the "fibs" of the Republicans to actual reality. Check it out for yourself.

James L. Evans is pastor of Auburn First Baptist Church in Auburn, Ala. and he writes in his article for the ChristianEthic.com the following short excerpt (you can read the whole article by clicking on the link):

This is a good example of Republican strategists turning political issues into a religious crusade.

But nothing is quite as dangerous as a tightly wound religious crusade. We should not be surprised if those who ride the tiger of religious extremism, to coin a phrase, one day find themselves devoured by it.

We need look no further than to religion’s lunatic fringe—those troubled souls like Eric Robert Rudolph whose reality filter gets clogged with hate. A reckless rhetoric which demonizes the men and women of America’s judiciary essentially paints a bulls-eye on their backs.

And for this there should be accountability. If one judge is shot down as a result of this political circus, DeLay, Dobson and Frist will all have blood on their hands.

You've Gotta Love Maureen Dowd

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Smoke Gets in Our News

It's really getting hard to what's happening to our country. A Christian person should always stand firm in their personal beliefs ... but they should never presume to impose those beliefs on every or anybody else. Now it seems that if you are not a Repuplican or a right-wing Christian you are not a Christian at all. Not a person of faith.

President Bush has also long acted as if he channeled the voice of God. And now Tom DeLay and Bill Frist are also pandering to the far-right-wing and evangelical Christians by implying that God speaks - and acts - through them, too.

Mr. Bush's more subtle obeisance to the evangelical right is no longer enough. Puffed up with its electoral clout, the Christian right now wants politicians to genuflect openly.

The doctor who would be president is down on both knees. He's happy to exploit religion by giving a video speech on a telecast next Sunday that will portray Democrats who block the president's judicial nominations as being "against people of faith."

God help us all if these folks get more fully into power. They are selling their birth right for a bowl of lentils![Genesis 25:20-34]

Karl Barth (Thielicke I BELIEVE P. 235) says,

‘The church lives from her function as herald, she is God’s company. Where the church is alive, she must face the question of whether she serves this function or whether she is an end in herself. If the latter is the case, the church usually begins to taste “sacral”, to act pious, to become priestly, and to taste sour. Anyone with a sensitive nose will smell and find it dreadful.’

Frist Embraces Radical Right's Religious McCarthyism

This is a great article that clearly calls Frist to task for his remarks about people of faith. He clearly owes his colloquies in House and Senate an apology.

“Men and women of deep faith can and do differ politically. But this event is clearly an attempt to manipulate religious faith for political purposes, and that is an outrage,” said Neas. “Americans value religious tolerance and respect, and attempts to use religion to stir up partisan, political rancor are unconscionable.”


Frist is a scheduled speaker for Justice Sunday, organized by the Family Research Council and supported by other far-right leaders like James Dobson, who are campaigning to intimidate and impeach federal judges whose rulings they disagree with, and who are demanding that Frist impose right-wing political dominance over the federal judiciary if he wants their political support for a 2008 presidential bid.


"It is sad and disheartening, as well as reprehensible, that you would lend your name and position to such ugly and divisive political tactics," says PFAW's letter to Frist.


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Who Are People of Faith

It would seem that the only "people of faith" are those who support President Bush's program and his nominees for the Supreme Court. In case you can't make it out the young man pictures is holding a Bible in his left hand and and a gavel in his right hand. This article from the New York Times clearly shows how the Republican leadership is willing to push all of the religious right wing hot buttons to get what they want. When are Americans going to wake up to the reality that the Republicans and extreme religious right wingers are leading the nation down the garden path to a Theocratic form of government that will make some Islamic theocracies look liberal!

Read this short quote from the the article

As the Senate heads toward a showdown over the rules governing judicial confirmations, Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader, has agreed to join a handful of prominent Christian conservatives in a telecast portraying Democrats as "against people of faith" for blocking President Bush's nominees.

Fliers for the telecast, organized by the Family Research Council and scheduled to originate at a Kentucky megachurch the evening of April 24, call the day "Justice Sunday" and depict a young man holding a Bible in one hand and a gavel in the other. The flier does not name participants, but under the heading "the filibuster against people of faith," it reads: "The filibuster was once abused to protect racial bias, and it is now being used against people of faith."

Organizers say they hope to reach more than a million people by distributing the telecast to churches around the country, over the Internet and over Christian television and radio networks and stations.

Dr. Frist's spokesman said the senator's speech in the telecast would reflect his previous remarks on judicial appointments. In the past he has consistently balanced a determination "not to yield" on the president's nominees with appeals to the Democrats for compromise. He has distanced himself from the statements of others like the House majority leader, Tom DeLay, who have attacked the courts, saying they are too liberal, "run amok" or are hostile to Christianity.

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The Planter of Crosses: The Life and Death of John Paul II

�The Planter of Crosses�: The Life and Death of John Paul II

My title is taken from an article written by Charles Colson. The story of the Pope's part was originally published in his book Kingdoms in Conflict. Here is an excerpt from the article linked above:

This Pope was not only the spiritual leader of one billion Roman Catholics; he was also one of the handful of world leaders most responsible for bringing down Communism.

His political journey began in the town of Nowa Huta , Poland, designed as a living monument to communist utopianism. When the people demanded a church, a Polish priest and a few workers nailed together two rugged beams as a makeshift cross, marking the site of the chapel they would build.

The communists angrily tore it down. But when the sun rose the next morning, another cross had been raised in its place.

This went on for years as the people gathered at their cross, singing and celebrating Communion. The people’s faith became strong as steel. In the end, they got their church. And the man who was planting the crosses? Karol Wojtyla, later bishop of Krakow, and still later elected the first non-Italian Pope in 450 years.

When Stalin was once told that the Pope (of his day) would defy him, the communist tyrant jeeringly asked, “And how many divisions does the Pope have?” Years later, when the Soviets threatened to send troops in to quell a Polish uprising, Pope John Paul II announced he would return home to stand with his people.

The Soviet tanks never moved. Who had the most divisions?

I also recommend this fantastic article from the current issue of the New Yorker.

My Daughter Becomes a Blogger

She says that I was her inspiration? Maybe that was a little "tongue in cheek" just to make the old man feel good! ¿quién sabe? I am going to have to ask her how to creat links so that I can add her and her boyfriend Wes to my page. You can see their blog links on the right side of my page.


Annette and her precious Maya

More on Dr. John Merritt's Book

I cannot say it too often. This is an important book and it about to enter into it's second printing! There is an excellent review to be found here. The second will have a new cover and a new title: The Betrayal the hostile takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention and a missionary's fight for Freedom in Christ It will be marketed by Smyth and Helwys.

What's wrong with some churches

"I'd much rather deal with teenagers and the problems associated with their acquisition and application of basic academic skills, and the social problems that result from their forced association with a community called "school" every day than attempt to accomplish some form of Christian ministry in the face of oppositional deacons, self-appointed monarchs and power brokers in the church. "

So says Sandy a poster at Baptist Life

Now it sounds to me like Sandy may have started life out as a Pastor and got burned badly? I don't know. His point is well taken in my opinion. There are just some churches around that ought to shut down their operation. They may be harmless in their existence but as far as the Kingdom is concerned they are useless. These churches have all the accoutrements of a real church and go through the motions Sunday, Wednesday, Sunday week by week. These churches may baptize a few people, probably for the most part their own children, and there may be a little transfer membership but for the most part they are dead in water. These churches tend to become the play houses for the people Sandy talks about in the quote above.

Church Growth the human way versus the Biblical way.

Mainstream Baptist Convocation 2005 II

John Merritt and me at the Mainstream Baptist Convocation in Atlanta.
Posted by Hello

The highlight of my time in Atlanta was being able to enjoy fellowship with John Merritt. We have known each other for over thirty years having worked together in the European Baptist convention now known as the International Baptist Convention . John is the author of a very important book The Betrayal of Southern Baptist Missionaries by Southern Baptist Leaders. In my opinion this book should be read by every Southern Baptist layperson and pastor. It is a real eye-opener. It should be used as an extra reading book in every school or seminary that teaches missions. The orginal print run has almost sold out but, I understand that, a second print run is due out shortly. It will have a title change. The new title will be: The Betrayal the hostile takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention and a missionary's fight for Freedom in Christ

The second highlight was to also spend time with my eldest daughter who drove over from Samford University to attend the Convocation. The third delight was to visit with Al and Becky Shauf who were members of in Faith Baptist Church Kaiserslautern while I was pastor. They also served at Immanuel Baptist Church in Wiesbaden and were fellow church members with Elizabeth and John Merritt.

Mainstream Baptist Convocation 2005

Bob Ferguson and David Flick at the Mainstream Baptist Convocation 2/25/05
Posted by Hello

The Mainstream Baptist convocation was a wonderful experience. I enjoyed every minute and the fellowship with like minded Baptist was great. One of the last things I heard as I was leaving was that the next Convocation with be held in New Orleans. Great .. Can't wait.

I really enjoyed meeting participants at Baptist Life: Bruce Grouley, Alan Roper, Ed and Trudy Pettibone and of course David Flick. This will make my participation on the forum more meaningful.

Reading some of the stuff at Baptist Life I am very saddened by some of the remarks made by people who didn't even attend the Convocation. They seem to have all the answers but none of the questions. I left Atlanta with the sense that those in attendance were ready to leave the past and press on to the mark of God in Christ Jesus?

Sunday at Duke University Chapel

Today I was to sick to go to church ... a problem that required my remaining near to one of the small rooms in our house!

So I went to church on the Internet with Duke University Chapel. Well worth the time. The young man preaching did an exceptionally good job. I was blessed. Usually one goes to church expectiong bread and comes away with a stone .. not true today.

The Second Day

Now its Monday and I am still trying to figure out how to include my picture with my profile. There is somewhat of a learning curve with Bloggers!

Just a beginning

Well I want to see how this will work. So I am starting.