Whirled Views with Dan Burrell

If you haven’t read the Newsweek article by Jon Meacham that I cited in my previous post, much of what I’m about to write will not make sense.  You may read “The End of Christian America” by clicking HERE.

Jon Meacham asks outloud in last week’s issue of Newsweek, “Have we reached the end of Christian America?”  To some extent, he may be asking a question that has largely already been answered.  One only has to spend time among the population today or view the religious melting pot that has become our cities to realize that Christianity — as “the” monolithic faith system in America that it once was — is rapidly become one among many.  Without a doubt, it is still the dominant one, but even among those who would lay claim to the identifier “Christian” it means less and less.  I was told recently of a community interfaith service held in small town Binghamton, NY designed to remember 14 people killed by a madman during which the name of Jesus was not invoked even a single time.  In today’s pluralistic hyper-sensitivity to tolerance, the distinctive of Jesus as “THE (only) Way/Truth/Life” is simply too narrow and dogmatic to be acceptable by most, it would seem.

So without debating the thesis of Meacham’s article, what does the evangelical church do in response to the reality that is “religiousity” in American today.  Indeed, there is as much hostility against evangelical Christianity as there is fervency for it in many quarters.  What follows is a mix of ideas, observations and thoughts….

1. We need to look within our borders for missionary activity.

Simply put, we have a new mission field to consider and it is us.  And in particular, it is the part of “us” that lives in the Northeast — the land of the Pilgrims, Puritans, Moody, Wesley and Whitefield.  I was told recently that there are 60 Southern Baptist churches in New York alone looking for pastors.  Few young people “dream” of moving to Massachussetts to start a church.  Could there be many places harder to start an evangelical church with a Biblical worldview that leans toward a conservative philosophy than say, Vermont?  New York City?  Boston?  Connecticut?  Maine?

There are a handful of small Bible colleges in the Northeast dedicated to equipping church planters, pastors and missionaries — Davis College in Binghamton.  Boston Baptist in Boston.  Word of Life Bible Institute in Upstate New York.  But they struggle in recruiting young people from the hotbeds of evangelicalism in the South, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest who are willing to go to the cold (in every sense of that word) Northeast for a life of ministry.  But indeed, it is a mission field worthy of investment and attention and individuals and churches should consider a place to send money, prospective students and other support.

Like it or not, the Northeast may be the most influential area of our country in terms of education, politics, economics and literature.  It’s closest rival would be Southern California and its music and movie industries.  We need to recapture this area with the Gospel.

2. We must re-emphasize the Supremacy of the Word of God

Someone once asked me what I believed was the most important theological issue in the Universe.  In a phrase — it is the Word of God and in that I have a dicotomous emphasis -  The Infallability of Scripture and the Sufficiency of Christ.  Both the Written Word and the Living Word must be pre-eminent in our faith or we have nothing.

Al Mohler, one of my favorite authors and thinkers, said this in the Meacham article: “The post-Chrisitan narrative is radically different; it offers spirituality, however defined, without binding authority.”  The fundamental question for every Worldview comes down to this:  “Who’s the Boss?”  All of theology and philosophy are built on that question.  Not “Who am I?” or “Why am I here” — but “Who is in Charge”.  Whom or what we accept as Truth is that on which our entire nature of being is hinged.

Philosophy and Theology are not nearly as complicated as we make them.  It is fairly simply and the crux of Worldviews is found in the “Book of Beginnings” — Genesis.  The questions with which Adam and Eve grappled in the Garden of Eden are still the questions of today.  “Is there really a God and does He really matter?”  “Can we trust God to tell us the Truth or is there something that He is holding back from us that we really need to know Truth?”

Bottom line — Either God matters and is telling us the Truth or God is irrelevant and can’t be trusted.  You must decide.  AND you must give it more than lip-service.  Many people claim to believe in God and His Word, but in the end, their actions indicate something entirely different with every choice that they make.  Wiersbe said, “Our behavior is a reflection of our beliefs.”  Don’t tell me what you believe….show me.

Today’s evangelical — let alone the man who makes no pretense of being a “believer” — generally chooses a lifestyle, a values system, a course of direction that indicates that God isn’t really to be trusted and we are the ultimate authority for what is right or wrong.  The implications of that are huge.

3. Genuine Christians will have to decide Who or What will define their values.

American Christians are flabby and undisciplined.  For too long, we have enjoyed a government that largely reflected many — if not most — of our values.  Since Darwinism and the Public Education System emerged in the late 1800’s however, we have seen a steady and progressive movement away from the core Biblical worldview that was held and taught by the Puritans who founded this nation.  Even non-Christians like Jefferson and Franklin at least held an appreciation for the Absolutist Worldview of those who held Scripture as the Standard for Truth.

Not so today.  Christians are often difficult to differentiate from non-Christians in how we think, how we spend our money, what we find entertaining, how we amuse ourselves, our sexual values, our integrity and business ethics, the sanctity of our marriage vows and how we identify with the world around us.  In some cases, people who make no pretense of being an orthodox believer in the values of Scripture conduct themselves with more consistency and integrity than those who plaster their faith statements on their T-shirts and car bumpers.

Thus the church must adjust its mission to teach things like Biblical literacy, theological discipleship, a Biblical worldview (philosophy), practical Christian living and Biblical discernment as it is now a counter-culture mission — often even within our own churches.

4. Evangelical Christianity must resist theological Heglianism.

In brief, Georg Wilhelm Freidrich Hegel was a theological philosopher who postulated (among other things) that Truth could be found by the impact of two opposing ideas.  The “Thesis” would collide with the “Anti-Thesis” to produce a “Synthesis” which, having survived the violent clash of ideas would be embraced as “Truth”.

Today’s virtue of “Tolerance” utilizes that premise in many ways by asking us to “put aside” or compromise our distinctives for the sake of unity or harmony.  We are challenged to discard the inconvenient truths of our faith for the sake of unity, harmony and tolerance.  The Ecumenical result of this is a faith that is born of a sense of “spirituality” and not from a foundation of doctrine.  This transient form of faith takes the pleasant and leaves behind the difficult.  It “cherry-picks” values held in common among various faiths, but neglects the roots that produced the fruit.  It is Oprah’s spirituality and Madonna’s Kaballah and the Dali Lama’s Noble Path and the earthy karma of Hinduism all rolled up into one.  Dogmatism is not a virtue, but a vice.  Absolutes do not provide a foundation, but are an example of intolerance.  Not believing is as valued as believing.

Jesus did not come to bring peace to man.  He came to bring peace with God.  His way is narrow (narrow is the gate), His claim was exclusive (no man comes to the Father but by ME) and His authority was Supreme (I and My Father are One.)  No room for compromise in His message.  Indeed, while compromise is the lifeblood of politics; it is the deathknell of theology.

5. American’s Hope is NOT Political

I am a political junkie.  I enjoy the drama of politics the way some people follow sports.  Every other November is my “Olympics”.  However, we have to get away from the idea that there is a political solution to the moral crisis in this nation.  Our national values are generally reflected in Washington — not dependent upon Washington.  As our country moves deeper into the era of “post-Christianity” we have to come to grips with the idea that Washington has moved from being a shelter for us to possibly becoming an adversy against us.  But this does not negate the soul autonomy which is assigned to each believer and what he or she does with truth whether or not a government declares it legal.

No one can make my daughter get an abortion in this country — yet, I wonder how many Christian parents have looked the other way as their daughter (or wife) went to take an innocent life because to have allowed it to continue would have been embarrassing or inconvenient.  I don’t need the Supreme Court to tell me that abortion is murder.  No one needs to keep drugs illegal in order for me to avoid them any more than the legal sale and consumption of alcohol has compelled me to take even one single drink in my entire life.  I don’t HAVE to watch smutty TV shows, I am not required to visit pornographic websites, I am not compelled to use vile language in order to appreciate “free speech” and I don’t need to buy a gun if that would be dangerous for me to do so.  My values are linked to Scripture, not legislation.  But when the choice is left to me, it does require me to THINK and DISCERN and to exercise SELF CONTROL.

Will I continue to vote for people who reflect my values?  You betchya.  But you know, elected office has a way of changing people, so I’d better not depend on them to keep me free, safe or holy.  In Meacham’s article he quoted journalist and commentator, Cal Thomas, who said, “No country can be truly ‘Christian’.  Only people can.”  We elect what we value, what we deserve, what we trust.  Look at whom we have put in power and that will tell you much about how we think.

That’s enough of my rambling for today.  Feel free to disagree or extend your own thoughts.  I’m not discouraged about Christianity in America.  Where there is much darkness, the smallest light makes a bigger difference.

One of the favorite fantasies of far-left liberals is dreams of playing Robin Hood.  As America prepares to elect the most extreme President in our history a week from tomorrow, it might be nice to see what we’re getting.  This shocking audio interview gives us a little insight into what Obama wants to appoint to the Supreme Court and how he wants them to take from you and give to others.  It is a tradition among liberals to use the courts to due what legislation will not support.  It’s called an “Activist Judiciary” and is one step short of an elite dictatorship.  I wonder how long it will be before Obama follows in the course of the last great activist liberal President (FDR) and tries to expand the Supreme Court by a couple more members so that he can force his agenda through.  Of course, it’s the greedy hope — that somehow an Obama administration might toss a little plunder our direction — is what is driving many to vote for him.

There’s a lot of irony in the fact that I’m going to be heading to C uba in a week where this whole “Redistribution of Wealth” thing has been such a stunning success.

Listen to it for yourself HERE…

I believe that the Wall Street Journal is absolutely dead on in THIS editorial.

When even Newsweek sees the “Pornification” of our culture, we have to ask why more self-identified Christians don’t recognize it or do something about it.  This article ought to wake parents out of their apathy before it’s too late.

It may not be the end of the world, but you can see it from here….

Warning: This post contains offensive quotations.

It’s always amusing to me to hear liberals talk about “tolerance” and “diversity” and “acceptance.”  In case you are brain dead, when they use those terms, what they really mean is “YOU have to accept THEIR twisted lifestyles, viewpoints and hate speech.”

When the liberal elite say “Hate Speech” what they mean is that they want to be as vile, disgusting, mean, degrading and offensive as they want to be, but when you disagree with their opinion, you should be censored.

The Liberal Elite are a GIFT to the Republican Party right now.  Their response to McCain’s nomination of Sarah Palin is the best energizing force they could provide for red-blooded conservatives this side of arranging for the actual Resurrection of Ronald Reagan.  They’ve certainly taken this bored-of-politics, disinterested and unlikely-to-vote withdrawn member of the “Cultural Conservatives” and revived him.  I’ve even gone out and registered to vote in my new home state of Florida — something that wasn’t on my priority list just a few weeks ago.

If you wonder how DEEPLY, the Liberal Elites — and by them, I mean the Hollywood Hooligans, the Mainstream Media Big Namers and a smattering of entertainers, financial moguls and left-wing professors — then all you need to do is read the papers these days.  The hate spewed from these lunatics is absolutely stunning.

Take a look at this little diatribe from Jewish commedienne Sandra Bernhard regarding Sarah Palin:

Now you got Uncle Women, like Sarah Palin, who jumps on the s–t and points her fingers at other women. Turncoat b—h! Don’t you f–kin’ reference Old Testament, bitch! You stay with your new Goyish crappy shiksa funky bulls–t! Don’t you touch my Old Testament, you b—h! Because we have left it open for interpre-ta-tion! It is no longer taken literally! You whore in your f–kin’ cheap New Vision cheap-ass plastic glasses and your [sneering voice] hair up. A Tina Fey-Megan Mullally brokedown bulls–t moment.

In the same “show” she also warns Palin not to come into Manhattan lest she get gang-raped by some of Sandra’s big black brothers.  No hate speech here, right?  Can you imagine if Don Imus were to say something disparaging about liberal black folks what might happen?  Oh wait — we’ve already seen that!  Why the double standard?  And in case you missed it, the “Goyish, crappy, shiksa….” she is speaking of is the NEW TESTAMENT.  Of course, she’d never dare saying anything like that about the Koran, would she?  Again, the REAL “sin” here is being conservative — or even worse, a conservative Christian.  See the whole mess HERE.

The has-been comedian Chevy Chase called on Tina Fey to “Decimate” Sarah Palin in her future SNL appearances.  Read about that HERE.

Hollywood’s newest little lesbian superstar, Lindsey Lohan spewed the following on her blog:

“Is our country so divided that the Republicans best hope is a narrow minded, media obsessed homophobe?” 

I can (and will later on) give you pages of these diatribes.  Sure, you can find some whacked out conservative who’ll say some awful things as well — but they are rarely mainstream and when they do say trash, they are roundly and soundly denounced by principled conservatives.  You won’t hear that from the liberals — you’ll just get smirks, smiles of agreement and the secret hope that somehow their hateful opinions are the majority.

Conservatives should be concerned with this level of vitriol.  Can you imagine what would happen if this country gives them the keys to the White House, Congress AND the Courts all at the same time?  That, in and of itself, should give reasonable voters pause when they enter the voting booths in a few weeks.

I am going to link the hate-speech to this blog in the future — watch for it.  Uninformed and under-educated voters are dangerous.

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Late Entry:  Here’s another particularly VILE one from Salon.com.

Many of you know that I am deeply involved in ministry in an island nation just south of Florida whose name starts with a “C”.  (I have to be very careful about what I post on the internet and have found that some of their officials peruse the net for information by using google searches which is why I don’t actually type the name of the country fully.  It’s just best not to invite the scrutiny.) 

As you know, Tropical Storm Fay just cut across central “C” before hitting Florida.  We experienced no damage at all in our neck of the woods, but we have 32 pastors who live in homes that are often very substandard in that part of their nation.  I have received preliminary reports that several of them had some serious damage to their homes that also serve as their ministry location.  I am getting ready to send funds there this week to help them with the repairs.

The pictures on this post are the homes of two of the pastors with whom we work — the first one is actually a converted metal shed.  For security reasons, I can’t show you the family, but this is the home of a wonderful pastor who was introduced to Christ by Dr. Charles Keene and he lives there with his wife and two boys — one of whom is mentally handicapped.  Believe it or not, some of the pastors live in homes that are not as well built as this one.  This pastor was in the direct path of Fay.  When I visited him last March, we enjoyed a wonderful baptismal service in the ocean where nearly a dozen new believers gave testimony of their faith in Christ.

The second one is in  a small town.  It has 4 rooms and no running water or working toilet.  The young couple that lives here are  just incredible servants with such sweet spirits.  I wish I could introduce them to you personally.

If you would be willing to send an offering to help these pastors rebuild their roofs and repair the damage, you may send it to:

Missions Connect
P.O. Box 210716
Royal Palm Beach, FL 33421

Please mark your gift for “Tropical Storm Fay Repair“.

I don’t ask my friends to support projects that I don’t support personally.  My check for $1,000 is already on the way.  Thanks for considering them and their needs.

Dan

Prosperity preachers are, in my opinion, the cockroaches of the clergy.  Many of them (perhaps most) preach a polluted Gospel and a twisted view of God.  The bring immeasurable disrepute upon the testimony of Christ’s church and run completely counter to Paul’s consistent testimony that he would not “profit” from the Gospel.  I do not begrudge a decent living for men like those mentioned in these articles, nor do I resent them benefiting from their own books and other materials.  What I do abhor is the way they have fouled the message of Scripture with their teachings that dumb down the Gospel, ignore the holiness of God, abuse people into thinking that “faith = prosperity” and the superficiality of their theology (in comparison to the sophistication of their business acumen.)  God is far more interested in our holiness than He is our happiness.

These articles (particularly the one on Osteen) are rife with sarcasm and bias, but sometimes it is possible to learn more from critics than sycophants.

Article on Kenneth Copeland.

Article on Joel Osteen.

My long-time friend, Bob Byers, is one of the smartest guys I know.  Over at his blog, Watchman’s Words, he’s written three thought-provoking blogs on presumptive Presidential nominee Barak Obama that raise very important questions and provide interesting insight.  He makes his points by quoting F. Scott Fitzgerald and Isaac Asimov and  parodying George Orwell’s Animal Farm.  You’ll find the posts HERE, HERE and HERE.

Well-known evangelical pastor, author and conference speaker, Greg Laurie, loses his son in Southern California auto accident.

Story HERE.

I really don’t like schlocky, kitzy gimmickry in general and at church specifically.  My first impression on seeing this church’s “Jesus for President” campaign was to head for the keyboard and doing some serious venting.  However, after reading how this church is supporting an African village that contains 900 AIDS orphans and is active in trying to stop the human sex trade business, I ended up feeling “rebuked.”  I still don’t like schlock.  But what I really should hate is people kidnapping little girls to become sex slaves and the fact that I’m doing nothing while orphaned kids cry themselves to sleep at night because they are hungry.

Read the full story HERE.