Category: Uncategorized

Why I feel like Jed Clampett

My daughter Aubrey graduates this week from Oklahoma City University with a degree in dance performance and is making final preparations to join a major cruise-ship line. I am so proud of her … but also admittedly a little anxious as I rent a truck and bring home four years of accumulated belongings from her OCU dorm room. Hence my ode to college dads everywhere, with a tip of the hat to Jed Clampett and my apologies to Flatt & Scruggs.

Come and listen to my story ’bout a dancing fool

She just graduated from a dancing school

Prima ballerina and a tapper to boot

But dad doesn’t know what to do with all her loot (stuff, that is … dorm-room diaspora)

Now the first thing you know old dad is deep in debt

He’s praying for the Rapture but it ain’t here yet

He’ll likely have to work till at least he’s 93

But by then there’ll be nothing for security (social, that is … big gummint in action)

Well we thank you mighty kindly now for dropping in

Our daughter’s off a-cruising in the Caribbean

We’re awfully proud of her as we’re rockin’ in our chairs

She’s kicking but we’re resting on our derrieres (y’all come back now, hear?)

Protestant pastors view Islam with suspicion

The following story was released April 23 by LifeWay Christian Resources.

By Rob Phillips

Protestant pastors in the U.S. have a negative view of Islam and more than half agree with Franklin Graham’s statement that Islam is an “evil” religion, according to a just-released study by LifeWay Research. More than four in 10 agree that Islam is dangerous and promotes violence.

Graham, son of Billy Graham, stirred controversy in 2001 by saying Islam is an “evil” religion. Recently, Graham called Islam offensive and wants Muslims to know Jesus died for their sins. In response, the U.S. Army yesterday rescinded an invitation to Graham to speak at a May 6 prayer service at the Pentagon, calling his comments “not appropriate.”

Most Protestant pastors, however, agree with Graham according to a telephone survey of 1,000 church leaders conducted March 1-9, 2010, before the current controversy.

The survey included questions about the differences between the religions, giving the respondents the opportunity to choose between positive and negative descriptors.

“When given the choice, they consistently chose the negative descriptions,” explained Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research. “This should not surprise us – Protestant Christianity is, in a sense, a competing faith, and that comes through in the survey.”

Protestant pastors were asked which is closer to their beliefs: Graham’s widely reported comment that Islam is “a very evil and a very wicked religion,” or former President George W. Bush’s remark that “the Muslim faith is based upon peace and love and compassion.”  

Forty-seven percent of the pastors surveyed believe Graham’s assessment of Islam is accurate, and an additional 12 percent agree with both Graham’s and Bush’s statements. Twenty-four percent agree with the former president’s statement. The rest could not decide.

“This means a majority of Protestant pastors chose statements that agree with Franklin Graham’s statement,” Stetzer said. “Of those who chose only one statement, respondents agree with Graham over Bush at a 2-to-1 rate.

“Franklin Graham’s belief about Islam is a mainstream view among Protestant pastors.”

Additionally, those identifying themselves as evangelical are more than twice as likely to agree with Graham’s assessment of Islam.

Other findings:

  • Three out of four pastors disagree with the statement, “Christians and Muslims pray to the same God” – 69 percent disagree strongly.
  • Eighty-two percent say Islam is “fundamentally different from Christianity.”
  • Forty-two percent agree that Islam “promotes violence.”
  • Four in 10 say the religion is “spiritually evil.”
  • One in three says Islam “promotes charity.”
  • Twenty-eight percent consider the religion “relevant today.”

However, a minority of pastors, especially those from mainline denominations, hold a more positive view of Islam.

One-quarter of all pastors agree “the Islamic religion is a relevant and viable religion for today,” including 11 percent who strongly agree. Similarly, 19 percent say Islam is “spiritually good” and 16 percent characterize the religion as “tolerant.”

Those who strongly agree they know a Muslim personally are more likely to agree with Graham that Islam is “evil” (43 percent) than with Bush’s statement that it is a religion of “peace and love and compassion” (28 percent). Despite agreeing that Islam is an “evil” and “wicked” religion, those who strongly agree they know a Muslim personally were more positive in their reaction to statements about Islam promoting charity and being spiritually good.

“We should not say that Protestant pastors are uniform in their view and in no way does this study show they think that Muslims are bad people, but it does show concerns about the religion and its impact,” said Scott McConnell, associate director of LifeWay Research.

Regardless of their views about Islam, six in 10 pastors agree that Christianity and Islam should seek to coexist in America.

“This is not the first survey to look at the perception of Islam,” explained Stetzer. “Pew and others have pointed to negative perceptions among the American people. However, it is important to consider the religious view of the leaders of the largest faith group in America: Protestants. The fact is Protestant pastors tend to hold a negative view of Islam, but they also believe they should seek to coexist.”

LifeWay Research is an evangelical polling organization in Nashville, Tenn. More details of the study may be found at www.lifewayresearch.com.

Methodology: LifeWay Research commissioned Zogby International to conduct a telephone survey of Protestant pastors March 1-9, 2010. The completed sample of 1,000 phone interviews with senior pastors, ministers and priests provides 95 percent confidence that the sampling error does not exceed ±3.2 percent.

Catch the Kingdom at Walmart

I was grateful this morning to receive word from my good friend Phill Burgess at CrossBooks that Walmart.com is now carrying a select number of CrossBooks titles including The Kingdom According to Jesus: A Study of Jesus’ Parables on the Kingdom of Heaven. The book explores 17 parables of Jesus having to do with the kingdom of heaven and, I believe, is helpful in personal or group Bible study. Earlier this month, The Kingdom won a first-place award from the Baptist Communicators Association.

Check it out at Walmart.com.  The book also is available at CrossBooks, LifeWay Christian Stores, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. If you read the book, be sure to post a review. I’d very much like to hear your critique.

The Great Impostor

This article first appeared in Baptist Press.

He was known as “The Great Impostor” and inspired a 1961 film by the same name.

Ferdinand Waldo Demara impersonated everyone from physicians to monks and thus achieved notoriety. He began his nefarious career during World War II by borrowing his Army buddy’s name, going AWOL and faking his suicide. A string of pseudo careers followed. He was, among other things, a sheriff’s deputy, a doctor of applied psychology, a lawyer and a child-care expert.

He was best known for masquerading as a surgeon aboard a Canadian Navy destroyer during the Korean War, successfully completing a string of operations. His final gig: serving as a Baptist minister.

Demara’s life is a fascinating but sad story of one man’s quest for respectability. His success as an impostor also exposes the soft underbelly of a society whose people are easily duped by one who talks smoothly and claims to serve the greater good.

For Christians, Demara’s story is a warning to be on guard against those who disguise themselves as “servants of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:15). But how can we know a religious impostor when we see one? The apostle Paul gives us three clear markers in 2 Cor. 11:4. False teachers proclaim “another Jesus … a different spirit … a different gospel.”

To illustrate, let’s look briefly at three of the largest and most successful religious systems in the world today: Islam, Mormonism, and the Watchtower (Jehovah’s Witnesses) – all of which are growing worldwide and teach unbiblical doctrines concerning Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the gospel.

Islam

Jesus. Muslims say Jesus was one of God’s greatest prophets but inferior to Muhammad, who brought Allah’s final revelation to man (the Koran). The Koran denies that Jesus is the Son of God, and any Muslim who believes in the deity of Jesus has committed the unpardonable sin called shirk – a sin that will send that person to hell. Muslims believe Jesus is the Messiah, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life and is coming back one day – but only to establish Islam throughout the earth. They do not believe He died on the cross but was called to heaven by Allah before His death and was perhaps replaced by Judas Iscariot or someone else who looked like Jesus.

Holy Spirit. Islam denies the deity and personhood of the Holy Spirit, whom the Koran describes as “the angel which brought revelation,” according to Mualana Muhammad Ali in The Holy Koran with English Translation and Commentary. The Koran also calls the Holy Spirit “Gabriel” (2:97) and the “Faithful Spirit” (26:193).

The gospel. Islam teaches that Christ was neither crucified for our sins nor resurrected; therefore salvation cannot possibly be attained through faith in Christ. In fact, sin is not man’s problem. Man is sinful by act only, not by nature. Original sin is viewed as a “lapse” by Adam. People are not really fallen in their nature; they are merely weak and forgetful. Sin is thought of in terms of rejecting right guidance. It can be forgiven through repentance. No atonement is necessary. Salvation in Islam is a combination of works and fate. Muslims pursue the five Pillars of Religion and hope Allah is kindly disposed toward them.

Mormonism

Jesus. Jesus preexisted in heaven as a spirit child of Heavenly Father (Ehohim) and one of his goddess wives (as did Lucifer and all pre-existent human beings). He then took on a human body through sexual relations between Heavenly Father and Mary. Jesus is one of three gods in the Mormon godhead, although Mormonism recognizes the Trinity only as one in “purpose,” arguing instead for a multitude of gods.

Holy Spirit. Mormon.org says the Holy Spirit “witnesses, or testifies of the Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and reveals and teaches truth.” Sounds orthodox, but historically Mormon leaders have offered more disturbing views of the Holy Spirit. For example, founder Joseph Smith taught that:

  • The Father, Son and Holy Spirit “constitute three distinct personages and three Gods.”
  • “The Holy Ghost is yet a spiritual body and waiting to take to himself a body as the Saviour did or as the gods before them took bodies.”

The gospel. Jesus’ atonement secured “salvation” (meaning resurrection) for nearly all people, but “men will be punished for their own sins” (Article of Faith #2 by Joseph Smith). People may earn “eternal life” (godhood) by “obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel,” meaning works (Article of Faith #3 by Joseph Smith).

Godhood is the goal of Mormonism. According to fifth LDS President Lorenzo Snow, “As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become.”

The Watchtower

Jesus. According to Watchtower teachings, Jesus was the first and direct creation of Jehovah God. Jesus then created all “other” things (Col. 1:16 New World Translation). Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the Trinity, speaking of Jesus as “a god” or “mighty god” but not divine. They deny His incarnation, death on the cross (he died on a “torture stake”) and physical resurrection. Jesus returned invisibly in 1914 and is working today to overthrow Satan’s kingdom.

Holy Spirit. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that “holy spirit” (always lower case) is the invisible active force of God that moves His servants to do His will. They deny the personhood and deity of the Holy Spirit, proclaiming such beliefs to be inspired by Satan.

The gospel. Salvation in the Watchtower is a combination of faith and works, but there is no eternal security and virtually no hope of today’s Witnesses ever entering heaven, which is reserved for the 144,000 in the “anointed class.” The “other sheep” may, through faithfulness to Watchtower teachings and hard work, be brought back to life after an indefinite period of soul sleep and populate Paradise Earth. Jesus’ death is seen as a ransom paid to Jehovah that removed the effects of Adam’s sin on his offspring and laid the foundation of the New World of righteousness.

In each of his roles, Ferdinand Waldo Demara, “The Great Impostor,” was confronted with the truth – in some cases by the persons whose identity he had stolen – and exposed as a fraud. For Christians who encounter an array of false teachings today, our best defense is the truth of God’s Word.

The writer of Hebrews put it best: “For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints, and marrow; it is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the heart.  No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him  to whom we must give an account” (4:12-13).

Did Jesus really rise from the dead?

Jeremy Howard

Each spring Christians around the world gather to celebrate Easter, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His victory over sin and death. The Bible provides convincing evidence of Jesus’ resurrection, yet even Scripture records that some people in Jesus’ day doubted His return from the grave.

Today, skeptics echo these sentiments. Some even provide alternative explanations for Jesus’ 40 days on earth following His crucifixion. So the question remains: Did Jesus really rise from the dead?

Yes, says Jeremy Howard, managing acquisitions editor of Bibles, reference books and commentaries for B&H Publishing Group and author of such books as “The Holman QuickSource Guide to Understanding Jesus.”

Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Howard for an “Inside LifeWay” podcast. In the interview, Howard said there are many good reasons to believe that Jesus died, was buried and rose on the third day.

“One thing everyone agrees on is that Jesus’ tomb was empty on the Sunday morning after His crucifixion,” said Howard, arguing that the best explanation is that Jesus in fact rose from the dead. Even though doubters raise alternative theories – someone stole Jesus’ body, for example, or the disciples went to the wrong tomb – Howard said the evidence for Christ’s resurrection is solid.

“The resurrection matters,” said Howard. “If Jesus did not rise from the dead, Christianity is untrue, the Bible bears false witness and humanity is left searching for answers. But since He did rise from the dead, we have a word from God, by faith we have forgiveness from God, and we’re left neither in our skepticism nor our sins.”

Listen to the complete podcast.