The Gospel for Those Broken by the Church

If you were to ask someone if there are problems in the church today, most anyone you ask will say, “yes!”  There is evidence not only in the news, but in worship services, book shelves, and television.  We can easily see the evidence when we consider all the different ways that church leaders are trying to combat it.  The Emergent Church movement and the Purpose-Driven movement are just two examples of people who are trying to find ways to be “relevant” and “seeker-sensitive” all in an effort to reclaim influence in today’s culture.

Yet even with the mounting evidence, it is a rarity for someone to step up to the platform and declare what the problem really is.

Atheism at the Creation Museum

From an Incognito Christian Among 300 Atheists at the Creation Museum

Scenes with animatronic dinos, wax sculptures of Adam and Eve, audio commentaries, and life-sized murals all testify to the same thing.  But the real subject may not be so obvious.  Hidden among the branches of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil along with the dragon-like serpent hides perhaps a more ravenous evil.

It has been a week since my trip to the Creation Museum where I, a Christian, wore the badge of the atheist.  I have been exposed to the evidence that  young earthcreationists champion as proof of the literal validity of the first chapters of Genesis, so I had certain expectations.  Among them was an expectation that such a facility would be intellectually stimulating, challenging, and solidly grounded.

Instead I was thoroughly embarrassed, and this time I am not talking about jeers and stares.

Scarlet ‘A’ for a Day

… or Creation Among the Atheists

Several weeks ago it came to my attention that the Secular Student Alliance (SSA), a group of people who would be considered atheist and agnostic, were planning a trip to the Creation Museum as a preface to a conference that would occur in the same area.  What started out as a mild curiosity became fascination and eventually action.  What would it be like to be a Christian and a fly on the wall as a group of atheists peered at exhibits that attempted to prove them wrong?  How would the creationist lecturer react to challenges and would he gloat when he wins a point?

I did not decide until the week before to take the day off to go.  So it was that I rode with my wife to the Creation Museum for what may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  I can honestly say that I was not prepared for what we experienced.

My wife had been there before, and as we pulled into the parking lot her first reaction was to how many extra security were visible.  She said that she did not remember  more than one or two officers on her last trip, but even before we left the car there were at least 6 clearly visible in front of the facility.

Top 10 Posts for July

 

Here are the most clicked posts for July 2009:

1. Father Knows Best
2. Godwitter is Dead
3. The Evangelist and the Megaphone
4. Jesus Actually Meant It!
5. ‘Post’ Because of ‘Un’

And the award for most challenging comments goes to:

• ‘Religulous’ is Ridiculous?

As always, thanks for visiting, your challenges, and your encouragement!

Transforming and Responsive Change

Jesus was a change agent, in case you missed that.  He had a certain way with sharing what really needed to be different.  He talked directly to religious leaders and told them that the way that they were living, in spite of following the letter of the law, was sinful.  Harsh!

In Romans 11 Paul writes to the church in Rome about Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice.  The book of Romans has a special emphasis: Jesus’ death opened the door to those who were not Jewish.  Wow! This was actually an incredible difference.  This was something that not only Paul had to learn, but many of the apostles and early church congregations had to learn this as well.  It was such a profound and new idea for everyone, Paul wanted again to be sure that this was clear to the church in Rome and that they would not fall into the trap that others had, thinking that to become a Christian you first had to become a Jew.