A few weeks ago (August 8, 2012), Jon Trott of Jesus People USA (JPUSA) uploaded a post to their Wilson Station blog titled “Big Government in Texas Executes Man with 61 IQ.” It began as a concise protest against the execution of Marvin Wilson for the 1992 murder of a police informant in Beaumont, TX. In its first six paragraphs Jon made a plausible prima facie case for the impropriety of Wilson’s execution, given his diminished mental capacities. But it was Jon’s final, seventh, paragraph that caught my attention:

We continue to call on Texas to stop such executions. As Christians, we see no reasonable or ethical argument for the execution of *any* prisoners. Our Lord died via execution. We resist the culture of retribution.

Yowza! How does one jump from protesting the execution of the mentally incompetent to declaring that it is the Christian position (“As Christians,” he wrote) to denounce all executions? Was Jon not aware of the fact that it was God Himself who established the first death penalty (Genesis 9:5-6)? Does he not realize that his remarks imply that in doing so God established an unethical “culture of retribution?”

So, a few days later, Continue reading …

This may seem like an odd question but strikes me as being a good corollary to one that I have been asked quite frequently in recent weeks. The questions on this issue can be summed up in a recent email I received:

On political questions like this I and MCOI have to be a little careful not to endorse a candidate or party. However, I think some guidelines for making such decisions are appropriate and can be helpful. The first is to pose the question as to whether or not we should be involved in the election process to begin with? Continue reading …

In the midst of all the trivial headlines there were two fairly high profile conversions. First, rapper Snoop Dogg claims to have been “born again” and now wants to make records “kids and grandparents can listen to.” He’s changing his name to Snoop Lion. When a rapper who’s best poetry is dedicated to pimping and smoking marijuana gets religion and wants to clean up his act, we all win especially those of us who pass by his music when we are on “scan.”  I myself was slightly excited when I heard those two magic words that often indicate someone has made a turn toward God but I’ve been burned before <cough> Paris Hilton <cough>. However, don’t go looking for Snoop at your local mega church or future Dove awards. Turns out that the Snoop had a religious experience all right. But “born again” doesn’t mean the same thing to a Rastafarian as it does to a Christian. Snoop is changing his name to Snoop Lion and believes he is the reincarnation of Bob Marley. He’s making a documentary about his reincarnation experience. Predictably Continue reading …

I thought I had said all I wanted to say about gay marriage, being gay, and what Christians should do about it. I was happily going about researching other topics for you dear reader to think about. Then Dan Cathy, COO of Chick-Fil-A, answered a direct question in an interview and suddenly here we are. I’ve held off a few weeks for the feathers to settle. To give the media time to settle on a narrative and for the pundits to “pund”. By now, you’ve probably hear all you want to hear about CFA and gay marriage. However,  it is important for me to come back to this subject because of its relevance to what I said about gay marriage in previous posts:

My prediction is that gay marriage is an inevitability. I predict that same-sex couples will not settle for tolerance and being left alone with their right to marry. Instead many will demand non-discrimination from religious organizations . . . Christians who are tolerant of same-sex couples but who don’t want to be complicit in same-sex events as vendors, photographers etc. will claim freedom of religion and they will be ridiculed, persecuted, and hated for it. Christians who simply assert that homosexual practice is incompatible with Christianity for the same reason pork chops are incompatible with Judaism or a glass of wine is incompatible with Islam will be called bigots and worse.

Cue Dan Cathy. In an interview on the Ken Coleman show, Cathy made the following statement: Continue reading …

Where Has Oprah Taken Us? The Religious Influence of the World’s Most Famous Woman, by Stephen Mansfield, Nelson Publishers 2011, Hardback, 246 pages, $22.99

This book could be titled Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Oprah Winfrey and Much Much More.  Stephen Mansfield’s book is a insightful page turner and an incredibly interesting read. He is a New York Times Best-Selling Author and Biographer. He is well researched in Eastern Mysticism and is also a professing believer in Christ.

In the early chapters Mansfield sketches a fast moving biography of Oprah Winfrey (born February 1954) and pin points the exact time, location and decision made by her that propelled her away from her Christian roots Continue reading …