Dungy returns to Colts

Tony Dungy returned to coaching the Colts a week after his son's apparent suicide. He said, "It was the right time to come back." He continued, "we went through the grieving process and now we're starting with the healing process." During the funeral and after he returned to the Colts he urged parents to make sure they hug their children every chance they get. As a father I cannot even begin to imagine the regret and and blame that you would naturally place at your own feet. If only you were there more, if only you tried harder, if only... The questions will probably always remain unanswered for the Dungy family, but I do hope that the grace of Christ will reign in their lives affording them the hope to make it through the struggle of this life.

Irresponsible and Inexcusable Journalism

The Los Angeles Times has committed a journalistic faux pas. An April Fool's joke ended up on their front page! The reporter who wrote the article admitted that they found their information on the internet and did not even check the source or seek further confirmation of the validity or invalidity of the piece. If they cannot be trusted with so little a story should we venture to trust them on matters far more important? HT: Between Two Worlds

Sermon Fodder

Some good material here.

I am Satan!

Some people claim that they are Jesus Christ. Others claim to be Satan. Roy Lee Henson was arrested for walking around and screaming wildly in Lake County, FL. The only clothing which he was sporting were his boxers around his ankles. So in FL we have a dirty, freaky, white boy running around naked claiming to be Satan. I don't know, maybe he was thinking Santa and was just too drunk to say it correctly. Actually a naked Santa is almost a more frightening image than a naked white Satan. Don't worry - he probably is not really Satan. Now if he only had some horns... UPDATE: Speaking of the Devil: this story is horrid. This is what happens when Catholicism mixes with Animism. Such a deadly brew is what is found in this story of killing the "demons." Only true undiluted Christianity will have the truth which sets the captives free.

Merry Christmas!

Immanuel, God with us. In the fullness of time God sent his son born of the virgin Mary. The eternal and almight creator took upon himself the form of his creation. God became man. He dwelt amongst his people. He tabernacled with us. He became the Word of God incarnate, deity with humanity. He came with a purpose. To set the captives free. He came seeking to save those who were lost. Our creator became our redeemer. He lived the perfect life and died the perfect death for our sakes - that those who believe in him might have everlasting life. That is the true meaning of Christmas.

"I am that Person" Jesus Christ

Jose Luis Espinal adds a new spin on taking the Lord's name in vain. On Friday a Manhattan Civil Courts Judge ruled that Espinal could legally change his name to Jesus Christ. When asked why he wanted his name changed to JC the unmarried and unemployed Espinal said, "This was not done for any reason other than I am that person. You're dealing with the real deal." While Espinal claims to be the real deal I believe the beloved apostle of the true Christ hits the nail on the head when he writes, "Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour" (1 John 2:18). So while Espinal claims to be Jesus Christ God's holy word states otherwise. A little later on John admonishes his readers to test all those who come claiming to be prophets from the Lord:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 1 John 4:1-6

Instead of being a true believer, one who confesses that Jesus Christ who has come in the flesh is from God, Espinal confesses that he himself is Christ. His name change exhibits in all its depravity the spirit of the antichrist.

James Dungy, Dead at 18 yrs. old

Although I am an Eagles, fan having been born and raised in and around Philly, I must confess that my favorite coach in the entire NFL organization is Tony Dungy head coach of the Indianopolis Colts. A few days ago NFL.com posted a great article on Dungy's leadership style (I haven't been able to find the article. I bookmarked it on my desktop which is currently having video card issues). The article was nothing but positive yet what it failed to mention was Dungy's faith in Jesus Christ. I don't know much about Dungy's Christianity but one thing seems true is that it is public and evident to all who surround him. It is with much sadness then to learn of the death of his son James today. He was eighteen years old and was found dead in an apartment in the Tampa Bay area. There is no foul play suspected. Many in the NFL have offered their prayers and support. I cannot imagine loosing one of my children. I honestly don't even want to conjure the thought. Even though I don't know him and will probably never meet him I prayed for him and for his family. Even for a Christian, the loss of a child is devastating. He needs to be reassured of the hope of the gospel even more. I pray that this may be so. It is a sad day for a great man of God. May the Dungy family find rest in the one and only true rock of salvation. UPDATE: It is confirmed that James Dungy has committed suicide although they will not know the official cause of death for a few weeks. Upon reading the initial report of his death and given the fact that there was no foul play suspected I pretty much thought it was a suicide. More importantly than knowing what caused his death physically is why he chose to die. This is the awful burning question which will haunt his family for the rest of their lives.

BUSTed for Praying in Jesus Name

Maybe this is only something a guy would notice, but since I am one I thought it was rather funny. Get it? i am not sure if "busted" was intentionally placed over the bust. The site which this shirt is on, Cafe Press, certainly looks interesting. I am not into Christian t-shirts even if I would agree with their theology (seems to be Reformed?), but the clothing certainly is interesting. I wonder the responses they have had to the "Allah Hates You" t-shirt! Or how about the "Gay Men Must Be Blind" shirt. I have to admit that the design on that one is pretty cool.

Praying in the Name of Nobody

In the armed forces of the United States it is no longer kosher to pray in Jesus' name. It has become increasingly difficult for evangelical Christians to adhere to their biblical faith by offering prayers in the name of Jesus Christ. Instead if they want to pray in public the only deity which can be mentioned is a generic "god." Interestingly though it doesn't seem that Muslims and Jews are facing the same restrictions. At least not as harshly. To remove Jesus is to render Christianity void and meaningless. If there is no Christ there is no gospel, no hope, no salvation and no future promise of eternal reconciliation with the Father. There is only despair and misery. Christ must remain and his name must be held out and louldy proclaimed from the rooftops, boot camps, aircraft carriers and barricks. Christ is to be above all and over all. There is no other option. May those Christian chaplains pray boldly as Daniel did many years ago. May they continue to faithfully pray in the blessed and wonderful name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Child Pornography & Redemption

Today the New York Times reports on a disturbing tale of a Justin Berry (NY Times requires a free membership – this article does contain graphic and disturbing material) who began offering pornographic images of himself online at the mere age of 13. It is a story of sin and misery, but also a story of redemption and hope. Trapped as an under aged victim in the hands of manipulative adults he soon assumed the role of the adult perpetrator. He began selling himself with the hopes of receiving gifts and money. He quickly established a thriving porn business racking in thousands of dollars a month with over 1,500 members who subscribed to his site. It began with a young thirteen year old teenager longer for friendship and companionship. Yet it brought all the wrong kinds of relationships.

His life fell apart in 2003 (then at the age of 16). A drug addict, a child porn-star, and a victim of repeated molestations, Justin began taking other young teenagers down the same path. Then in June 2005 he was contacted by a reporter who was writing a story on child pornography on the web. The reporter convinced Justin to go to the F.B.I. and after a slow start his life began to take a new direction. He received immunity and became a federal witness bringing many sexual predators to justice. He began to restore relationships with his family and the article even hints to his return to Christianity. Of course, that could mean a lot of things, but what the gospel says is that Jesus Christ is the only hope for people like Justin. Those trapped deep within their own sins and transgressions can only find hope and peace through Jesus Christ. If Justin found Christ and turned his life to him then his life which was once a tragedy has now become a masterpiece of the sovereign creator-redeemer of the universe. May it truly be so!

A What?

A Win! After loosing the past ??? games (too many games to want to remember) the Eagles finally squeaked by the St. Louis Rams winning 17-16. Overall it was a rather ugly game. Both teams combined for 28 penalties in the game. Also neither McMahon nor the Rams QBs broke 100 yards throwing. McMahon was sacked four times and threw three interceptions. Yet he did throw the game winning pass to Mike Bartrum for a three yard touchdown. One shining moment was rookie Ryan Moats 59 yard rushing touchdown. Even though a win is way too late for any playoff hopes it still feels good inside. Maybe we'll have a few more this season?

Democracy and Religion in Tension

In a recent op-ed contribution to the New York Times Pankaj Mishra argues that while the West often blames Islamism for the suppression of democratic ideals it is often in fact caused by a form of secularism which stands opposed to religion. Mishra points to Turkey as a test case and in particular the trial of Orhan Pamuk. Pamuk is on trial for mentioning the Armenian genocide along with the slaughter of 30,000 Kurds. The suppression of this genocide and slaughter, the disallowance of free speech, is actually caused by Turkey’s secularist democracy.

Mishra argues that for too long the West has argued for this east versus west, religion versus democracy worldview clash when in fact such a clash is quite different then previously perceived. In fact it is argued that for Turkey the problem is not one of Islamic extremism, but democratic authoritarianism. It is actually Turkey’s pursuit of democracy which has led to the suppression of free speech and the denigration of human rights.

Therefore as Mishra contends, one is too quick to see religious fundamentalism as the universal evil, the paradigmatic bad guy. It is to easy to blame religion when we actually need to be taken a harder and closer look at our own democratic ideology. Mishra writes, “The destructive potential of modern nationalism should not surprise us. Traditional religion hardly played a role in the unprecedented violence of the 20th century, which was largely caused by secular ideologies - Nazism and Communism. Secular nationalism has been known to impose intellectual conformity and suppress dissent even in advanced democratic societies.”

To a certain extent Mishra is correct in the case of Turkey. The country’s pursuit of democracy has often squelched religious and political freedom. With the Advent of Atatürk Turkey became reformed toward a western democracy. After Atatürk’s death Kemalism arose and instead of pursuing a furtherance of democracy the government and more particularly Turkey’s military sought to stabilize the fledgling democracy through autocratic methods. So in effect Turkey sought to keep its democracy stable and secure through the suppression of what democracy strives for. A paradox indeed!

So Mishra is correct to note that democracy gone bad, as in the case of Turkey, can have a stifling affect on freedom. However, religious fundamentalism, particularly in Islamic countries, cannot remain exempt from this charge of suppressing freedom. Does Indonesia, the heaviest Muslim populated country, fall out of Mishra’s radar? This is a country where true democracy would help stabilize and correct and otherwise backward and suppressive Islamic fundamentalism.

Again what Mishra also fails to recognize in placing some of the blame at the feet of democracy is that particularly in the case of Turkey they cannot be classified as a full and true democracy. They are striving towards democratic ideals but they still have a long way to go. So to conclude we can correctly state that democracy gone awry is often to blame for suppression of speech and basic human rights, but on the other hand Islamic fundamentalism as seen is such countries as Indonesia is not without blame. Today the story is often more complex than just ascribing only one guilty party. There are often much more factors to blame and while we must not be too quick to blame religion we must also not be too fast to place all the blame at the feet of democracy. As Mishra concludes we must carefully question our democratic ideologies, but we must also take a hard look at the Islamic suppression of western and Christian freedom.

Boiling Blood

Some blogs I read just to get my blood pressure up. Some are provocative helping you to think about complex issues and others are just down right frustrating. Here are some blog posts that have been provoking my thoughts/anger lately. Scot McKnight, the self-professed pacifist, has written a post on the death penalty which has provoked many, not just myself. I wish I had more time to work out in writing my own thoughts. Maybe someday. Needless to say for the most part I disagree with McKnight. Another blood boiling moment was evoked by emergent. They emergent movement, conversation or whatever it is called will be meeting with some postmodern Jewish leaders for ecumenical dialogue. No suprise there. It was only a matter of time. Well I am starting to get bothered again just writing this so that is enough for now. I thought I would share the maddening madness.

Gospel According to Peanuts

Brent Thomas reminds us of Charlie, Snoopy, Linus and the whole Peanuts gang's Christ centered Christmas. From the reading of Luke 2:8-14 to the singing of Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Charlie Brown's Christmas is full of Christ. Can't wait to watch it this year.

Blah, Blah, Blah

I don't like noisy toys. You know the ones I am talking about. We have a whole bag of them in our basement. And every time you walk near the bag about ten different toys go off making all kinds of annoying noises. If you have children you have a LFT (least favorite toy) as Michele Norris calls them. Unfortunately we have more than I would like. Norris has a nice little piece (Wishing for a Silent Night in Toyland) about noisy toys and the headaches they cause. In the end of reviewing a few obnoxious noisemakers she settles for the mind inspiring creativity found in Lincoln Logs. Not only do these quieter toys make less noise they also allow for more creativity and thought in the child's mind. So if your child receives some annoying gifts for Christmas at the very least take out the batteries and even better suffocate Talking Elmo making sure that his whinny little voice is never heard again. Just make sure you hide the body. :)

Why am I so smart?

Because I drink a lot of coffee! :)