Andrew Peterson is one of my very favoritist artists. Using only words - the same kinds of words I use - Andrew can create a picture that tells a story like very few songwriters can. Today's video turns the tables.
Bad People. That's how a 61 year-old woman described her neighbors, the Los Angeles Scientologists. In an attempt to avoid being picketed, they got permits to close the sidewalks around their offices. This lady, without knowing it, demonstrates clearly how militant some Scientologists can be.
Bible skeptics sometimes like to point out the fact that the fulfillment of a prophecy always comes after the prophecy itself, giving 'true believers' plenty of opportunity to make the prophecies come true. There are a couple of problems with this kind of reasoning:
Some have erroneously asserted that God is dead. Many who believe that have also lumped apologetics and theology into the same category. They might be surprised that there's a resurgence of both in the Western world.
I'd like to even give Brown credit for being imaginative...but I can't. I read Holy Blood, Holy Grail in 1986 or so, and it would be kind to only say that Brown plagiarizes heavily from it. That book was interesting fiction too, despite its claims.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I recently spent some time discussing Landmark Education with one of their leaders. I'm meeting him for coffee in the morning, so their teachings are on my mind. I also fielded a phone call from one of their follow-up guys...
Every once in a while I hear a Christian say that they're "not into theology". They say that they "just love Jesus". Even one of my pastors told me that he took theology classes only so that he could be ordained. Sometimes these kinds of statements depress me.
Some say that the secret to always having your prayers answered is to always pray for things that God wants. They say that God always says yes to those kind of prayers. Bologna.
There is no truth, no meaning, no value. That's what I learned at last night's Landmark Education meeting. My friend invited me because she's excited about what Landmark has done to help her. I spent a couple of hours with her and a mutual friend and the gentleman who led the discussion.
Imagine you're a healthy young man. Now imagine that you've been in an auto accident, and that you're now a paraplegic. That would be sad and difficult, of course. Now, imagine the Roman Catholic church rubbing salt into your wounds.
In most places in the world, paying for sex is illegal. However: paying someone to have sex on camera, making millions of copies of the video, and selling it all over the world isn't.
Charlene asked: "Am I alone on this? I don't see pot smoking as ok. I also don't want to cast stones, but...am I missing something?" Thanks for asking, Charlene! When it comes to smoking pot, I have three points of view: practical, legal, and theoretical.
