Give me a Sign!

Ok, this is waaay longer than my average blog post so grab a cup of coffee and get comfortable. This is a continuation from God (read HOPE) in Schools posted 10/25/2011 and part of a longer/larger conversation that started on facebook. A lot of stuff was covered in that conversation but this post is designed to get back to the core point of conention that started the discussion which is the image pictured left. Comments, and disagreements are very much welcome.

Logic tells us that if A + B = C then whenever A and B are together they will yield C. If however, A and B are together and it does not yield C then we must question our original premise.
Example, Ask and you shall receive. Christians in the United States have long been asking for Jesus to invade the schools and yet we continue to see examples of violence and conflict that very clearly indicate that Jesus has not made his presence known. Logic therefore demands that we question our premise by saying “Either God does not exist, God does not answer prayers or God does not hear prayer.” Christians meanwhile, are loathe to accept either of the three explanations as possibilities and insist that the real reason there hasn’t been an outbreak of signs and wonders in the halls of the local junior high school is the result of “evil” secular authorities refusing to advocate or endorse Christianity as the faith of the school.

A thought on Evangelism

Someone very important to me recently informed me of his/her intention to start going to church.  Only it was in a very simple and matter of fact kind of way that didn’t even mention being born again or finding Jesus or any of those “I’m a fool for Christ” kind of things you might hear.  This person said,

“I really should know what songs we’re singing on Sunday [since I’m part of the choir] but I’ll go anyways.”

#ICSEX: Slavery week – 146

This is part of a blogging series that the Idea Camp with help from Dan King put together leading up to their conference in Las Vegas.  I’ve written about all the subjects so far and each topic has a link to a list of the other blogs in the series.  On my blog, all posts for this topic are marked with the hastag #ICSEX.

He went into a brothel with an undercover cop to see the operations.  They were escorted to a room with a two-way mirror behind which a number of girls were sitting or standing with numbers around their necks.  The idea was to “order by number” as it were.  Complete anonymity for the client and complete dehumanization of the prostitutes.  He looked at the girls and saw dead eyes, empty expressions and a complete loss of life, except for one: girl 146.  She had fight in her eyes.  She had life still.  At most, she was eleven years old.

Star Wars and the Holy Spirit

Don’t ask me why I’m on a sci-fi binge, I just am.  I think I’ve been neglecting my inner geek lately and he’s demanding some attention.

Anyways, I saw someone on Facebook ask the question “ Discuss: What is your conception of the activity of the Holy Spirit in personal faith, in the community of believers, and in responsible living in the world?”

She’s preparing for ordination in a main stream denomination that requires her to come up with the “right” answer.  Now I know that Malachi 3 states “I am the LORD and I never change.”  Or something like that, but out of curiosity, how do you define “change” for the being who created all things, was, is, and is to come, AND, is everything for every circumstance?  How can there be a “right” answer for something like that?

One thought on Purity

In the book of Exodus, before the ten commandments, before the book of the covenant, and shortly after the successful crossing of the Sea of Reeds (or Red Sea depending on your version, translation, and the age of the manuscript you’re looking at) Moses brings the Israelites to the foot of Mount Sinai (chapter 19).  There the Lord speaks to Moses.