Feb 28 2010
Church Signs, Religion Christianity, Church Signs, Self-denial, Without Me Ye Can Do Nothing
I am starting a new weekly feature: Stupid Church Sign Of the Week.
To qualify for the Stupid Search Sign of the Week a sign must meet one of the following criteria:
- Teach bad theology
- Make outrageous statements about life
- Make nonsensical statements
- Be a bad attempt at humor
- Be a bad attempt at being “cool” or “relevant”
Of course, the above criteria pretty well covers 99% of all Church signs. 
This week’s Stupid Church Sign of the Week award goes to Ney Church of God, Ney Ohio.
The Church sign read “God doesn’t call us to to do anything in our own strength.”
The Christian Bible teaches:
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.John 15:5
And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Acts 17:26-28
So the sign reflects what the Bible teaches.
Bur what does every day life tell us? What does my experience tell us?
That non-Christians live life without God and live each and every day by their own strength. Their lives, very often, are no different than that of the Christian. (both good and bad)
The difference? The Christian says I am a poor, helpless creature. I can do nothing on my own. I have no strength of my own. Unless God gives me the strength to do what I need to do I will fail.
The “I can’t do anything in my own strength” teaching is reinforced virtually every week in Church. People sit around helpless, waiting for God to give them the strength to do what it is they need to do.”If God would only give me strength”
Every once in awhile the Christian will venture out to a special meeting by someone like Joel Osteen and they will be challenged to do great things for God. In God’s strength they are encouraged to do great exploits. (like getting lots of money)
Some Christians become more like their non-Christian siblings. They realize that it is up to them to live their life. They find whatever inspiration they may need from Church and the Bible, and then they get busy making decisions.
As a non-Christian I have come to the conclusion that the Bible verse quoted above, taken at face value, are simply untrue. Everything in life tells me I operate in my own strength and that I am the decision maker of my life. I am my own god. (at least on this plane of existence)
The sign also speaks to the Christian notion of calling. Instead of simply saying “I want to do this” the Christian makes his decision out to be “God is calling me to do_______________”
How does anyone KNOW God is calling them do do ___________________? What is objective criteria for judgment?
No. the truth is Christians do what they go because they want to, just like the rest of us. Self-interest is OK. Covetousness, lust ,greed, envy, desire, ambition all have their place. Christianity is ultimately the denial of what makes us human. (see the post The Denial of Self)
Feb 27 2010
Religion Child Abuse, Empire Alabama, Jack Patterson, Lester Roloff, Reclamation Ranch, Reclamation Ranch Ministries
Dr.(ten bucks says it ain’t earned or it came from a diploma mill) Jack Patterson runs the Reclamation Ranch Ministries in Empire, Alabama.
According to their website Reclamation Ranch Ministries is:
We are a Christian organization that specializes in a boarding school for girls ages 12-17 and young men and women ages 18-35. Our homes have 24 hour watch care and professional staff that have given their lives to help young people obtain a "second" chance at life. Our young people come from all walks of life, from pastor and missionary families to homes that are broken and filled with drugs and alcohol. No one is exempt from a broken heart and we teach our young people to use their hurts to heal someone else. Our staff give their lives to the young people in our programs to bring honor to the Lord Jesus Christ.
What is Dr Jack’s ministry. According to his personal website:
Bro. Jack is the Founder of Reclamation Ranch Ministries and is an Evangelist traveling across America to help other churches desiring to working with the troubled youth of America. We aid in counseling as well as teaching others how to work with people addicted to drugs, alcohol, gambling and the lifestyles that come with such addiction. We know the God of second chances and want to remind others that "whatever their past might have been, their future is spotless" by the Redeeming Blood of Calvary!
It seems Dr. Jack got himself into a good bit of trouble.
In a March 4, 2009 story the Birmingham News reported:
The director of a ministry that established a home for troubled boys in western Blount County has been charged with aggravated child abuse and will be arraigned on March 17.
Pastor Jack Patterson of Empire, the founder-director of Reclamation Ranch Ministries, was indicted in early February and posted $25,000 bond, according to the Blount County circuit clerk’s office.
Patterson has declined to discuss the case. The Reclamation Ranch Web site has a statement that says, "Any of you who know Bro. Jack know that there is no way for him to allow any type of harm against anyone."
Reclamation Ranch also is trying to raise $40,000 to cover attorney’s fees, according to its Web site. Patterson’s defense attorney is former Blount County Circuit Judge Bob Austin.
Also charged with aggravated child abuse is Michael Parkinson, whose listed address is Byron, N.Y. Parkinson was served with his indictment Feb. 13 and posted a $25,000 cash bond. He also has a March 17 arraignment.
Another person indicted in the case has not yet been served.
The case began in late November, when authorities received a complaint of "severe abuse, beating and torture" from a 17-year-old who was living at Reclamation Ranch’s Lighthouse Academy. The Reclamation Ranch Web site at the time described the academy as "a minimum one-year program that incorporates Bible teaching, character training and respect for family." The Lighthouse Academy is not currently listed on the site.
Eleven boys younger than 18, as well as some 18-year-olds living at the academy, were subsequently placed by the Department of Human Resources in other residential settings and later returned to their parents, relatives or other adults. Some of the boys came from California, Kentucky and an Amish community in Ohio. (the boys were later returned to the home)
Reclamation Ranch also operates a boarding home for troubled girls and young women in Walker County and a men’s ranch in Empire.
On Monday, March 1st Jack Patterson will be back in court.
According to his website:
I agreed to a very low plea bargain, of "verbal harassement" and a $500 fine.. This is a class "C" misameanor and involves no child endangerment or any nature of child abuse. While we really do not believe we should even agree to this we are more interested in getting on with the work the Lord has called us to do in working with those who are down and out and while there is still time to reach those who need to be reached for the Lord Jesus Christ. We will apprear before Judge Stephen King on March 1, 2010. Please pray all goes well. (spelling errors are in the original)
I wish I had a dollar for every time I have read one of these types of statements from a Preacher.
Patterson plans to plead out on March 1st. He will plead guilty to verbal harassment and pay a 500.00 fine. I have no idea about the merits of the legal case against him. I do know that time after time, preachers like Patterson seem to skirt criminal prosecution. Rarely do they have to answer for their crimes.
Patterson does not believe he did anything wrong. He agreed to the plea bargain so he could “get on with the work the Lord has called us to do in working with those who are down and out.”
After all they need to be reached “while there is still time.”
Patterson used to work for Lester Roloff. Firedog Lake has a feature article on Patterson. I hope you will take time to read it.
Postscript:
I was right about Patterson’s doctorate.
Firedog Lake states:
Dr. Jack Patterson is not a doctor. He received an honorary title from the Pacific Garden Mission Institute. (All I was able to find is Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago’s South Loop.) Patterson holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Religious Education from Hyles Anderson College – an Evangelical Christian college that spurns regulation or accreditation – in Indiana. Essentially, a degree from Hyles isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.
Feb 26 2010
Humor Bruce Gerencser
From the Restless Wanderings spam folder:
My pet parrot has more insight about this topic than you. Find a different subject to talk about cos you don’t know a huge amount about this one.
I am sure many people agree.
Feb 26 2010
Religion Bible, Bible Authority, Christianity, Inerrancy, Infallibility, Inspiration, Inspiration of the Bible
A recent commenter suggests that believing the Bible is the words of God and in an inspired book is a fundamentalist construct. To be sure every Evangelical and Fundamentalist sect believes the Bible is the words of God and is inspired by God.
What does the rest of Christendom believe about the Bible?
Here is just but a sampling:
PCUSA (Presbyterian) 3 million members
The church confesses the Scriptures to be the Word of God written, witnessing to God’s self-revelation. Where that Word is read and proclaimed, Jesus Christ the Living Word is present by the inward witness of the Holy Spirit. For this reason the reading, hearing, preaching, and confessing of the Word are central to Christian worship. The session shall ensure that in public worship the Scripture is read and proclaimed regularly in the common language(s) of the particular church
United Methodist Church 12 Million members
United Methodists share with other Christians the conviction that Scripture is the primary source and criterion for Christian doctrine. Through Scripture the living Christ meets us in the experience of redeeming grace. We are convinced that Jesus Christ is the living Word of God in our midst whom we trust in life and death.
The biblical authors, illumined by the Holy Spirit, bear witness that in Christ the world is reconciled to God. The Bible bears authentic testimony to God’s self-disclosure in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as well as in God’s work of creation, in the pilgrimage of Israel, and in the Holy Spirit’s ongoing activity in human history.
As we open our minds and hearts to the Word of God through the words of human beings inspired by the Holy Spirit, faith is born and nourished, our understanding is deepened, and the possibilities for transforming the world become apparent to us.
The Bible is sacred canon for Christian people, formally acknowledged as such by historic ecumenical councils of the Church. Our doctrinal standards identify as canonical thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament.
Our standards affirm the Bible as the source of all that is “necessary” and “sufficient” unto salvation (Articles of Religion) and “is to be received through the Holy Spirit as the true rule and guide for faith and practice” (Confession of Faith).
Episcopal Church 2.2 Million Members
Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the Holy Scripture we do understand those canonical Books of the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church.
ELCA (Lutheran) 4.8 Million members
Most Americans, religious or not, have heard of and read part or even all of the Bible. It is arguably one of the most often referenced books — or set of books — in our culture…
But its meaning — and its significance to the Christian faith — is far more complex and profound. As Lutherans, ELCA members believe that the Bible is the written Word of God. It creates and nurtures faith through the work of the Holy Spirit and points us to Jesus Christ, the living Word and center of our faith. And in reading the Bible, we are invited into a relationship with God that both challenges us and promises us new life.
American Baptist 1.1 million members
Foremost among beliefs firmly held by American Baptists is the acknowledgment that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and our Lord, and that through belief in Him we are assured of eternal fellowship with a loving God. For us, the foundation of Christian belief–and the greatest event in all history–is the drama of the first Easter week: the death of Christ, in which He took upon Himself all the sins of the world, and the Resurrection, which offers glorious proof of His teaching and His triumph over sin and death.
Holy Scripture always has been for us the most authoritative guide to knowing and serving the triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer). As the divinely-inspired word of God, the Bible for us reveals our faith and its mandated practice.
Southern Baptist 16.3 million members
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
Roman Catholic Church 1.1 Billion members
134 “All Sacred Scripture is but one book, and that one book is Christ, because all divine Scripture speaks of Christ, and all divine Scripture is fulfilled in Christ” (Hugh of St. Victor, De arca Noe 2, 8: PL 176, 642).
135 “The Sacred Scriptures contain the Word of God and, because they are inspired, they are truly the Word of God” (DV 24).
136 God is the author of Sacred Scripture because he inspired its human authors; he acts in them and by means of them. He thus gives assurance that their writings teach without error his saving truth (cf DV 11).
137 Interpretation of the inspired Scripture must be attentive above all to what God wants to reveal through the sacred authors for our salvation. What comes from the Spirit is not fully “understood except by the Spirit’s action’ (cf. Origen, Hom. in Ex. 4, 5: PG 12, 320).
Conclusion
Every Christian group, to some degree or another, believes the the Bible is inspired by God (in general, in part, in whole) and that it is authoritative. (whether self attesting or as interpreted by the church)
There is no Christianity without a sacred text. Certain segments of liberal Christianity think they can deny the Bible is inspired at all and still be considered Christian. This is nothing more than fanciful thinking. To be Christian means embracing the message of the Bible. (to whatever degree) Without the Bible Christianity has no basis for existence.
One big problem within the Christian community is that people confuse their persona doctrinal beliefs with that of their Church or Denomination.
It goes something like this:
I am a Catholic and I don’t believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God.
From their own personal belief they extrapolate that Catholics don’t believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God.
Of course, this is is faulty logic.Catholics DO believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God.
What I wrote above is the official statements of the listed Churches found on their websites. Virtually every denomination has a website and you can find out what they believe quite easily.
And they most certain DO believe…
Feb 25 2010
Life Bruce Gerencser, Fighting Battles
When He battled liberal Churches and Preachers they loved Him.
When He battled Democrats they loved Him.
And then He became too liberal for them.
When He battled Fundamentalism they loved him.
When He battled those who preached cheap grace they loved Him.
And then He became too liberal for them.
When He battled the institutional Church they loved Him.
When He battled the mega-churches and TV preachers they loved Him.
And then He became too liberal for them.
One day He realized that He had spent His life battling.
and to what end?
No one stood by Him.
The great battler stood alone.
Along the way He had changed.
And when He changed they walked away.
He learned a hard lesson.
They never really did love Him.
They loved His smart writing.
They loved His stand for truth.
They loved His personality.
They loved everything about Him except what mattered.
When He needed them the most they were nowhere to be found.
He made them uncomfortable.
He had changed.
He wasn’t what or who He used to be.
What happened to Him , they asked?
Perhaps the real question is, what happened to them?
He often feels like a one night stand.
Used.
He still fights the battle.
But now the battle is within.
He battles the demons of the past,
He battles the reality of the present.
And He battles fear of tomorrow.
He is forced to forge new relationships.
Why does He feel the closest to people He has never met?
He used to laugh at the very notion of internet friends…
Yet where would He be without them?
They read what He writes and offer their opinion.
They agree, They disagree but they let Him be who He is.
They ask no fidelity and require no obedience.
What’s a battling old preacher to do?
The fires still burns.
Passion still stirs in his being.
But the old battles provide no fight.
So He looks for another battle to fight.
Maybe He will fight for those scarred and damaged by the gods.
Maybe He will fight for those who can not, or fearfully will not, fight for themselves.
Maybe He will fight for those whose lives have been ruined by people of the Way.
Maybe He will fight for a better world for his children, for Levi, Victoria, and Karah.
There are still battles to fight.
Choose who and what you will fight for.
And forget those who only loved you for the battles you fought.
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