The No Kool Aid Zone

This Free for Coming on the subject of the presidential candidates and life:

Smokin’ Barry and John McCain met in L.A. at Saddleback on Saturday, as every sentient human adult in America now knows. I didn’t watch the performances (though I’m given to understand that McCain smoked him pretty good), but a key topic was abortion. Further, McCain has weighed in on the possibility that he’d select a pro-choice running mate. Several posts on these topics:

Doug Groothuis says that McCain would be committing political suicide to select a Tom Ridge as his veep (Doug’s right):

Senator, Come to Your Senses!

Sorry, but there’s no permalink, so you gotta just scroll down to that August 15 post.

Next, Warren Throckmorton wonders whether Smokin’ Barry was telling the truth regarding his vote in the Illinois legislature on a bill similar to the “Infants Born Alive” Act. The Messiah claimed that the National Right to Life Committee was lying about his record.

Did Barack Tell the Truth?

Hmmm…turns out NLRC was right, and Smokin’ Barry was lying:

Obama’s Cover-Up

And the NY Sun’s article on the controversy:

Obama Facing Attacks from All Sides over Abortion Record

Smokin’ Barry dodged the question as to when human life begins, saying that the question was “above his pay grade”. Nice answer, Messiah-Boy…but here are what a few folks who are “above his pay grade” have to say about the simple fact:

When Does Human Life Begin?

Further yet, Obama claimed that abortions hadn’t gone down under the Bush administration, but had gone up…uhh, Barry, before you say something stupid on such an issue of fundamental importance to millions of Americans, perhaps taking a moment to actually check the facts would be helpful. From the (liberal) Alan Guttmacher Institute comes:

Abortion Rates: A Thirty-Year Low

For fans of the Ronald Weinland and Harold Camping posts comes this newly-received email! Turns out both Ronnie the Phony and Harold are wrong in their calculations; we’ve got another 11 years! Verbatim, the email I got from “Carlos Humberto”:

Dear Beloved,

C H
15740 SW 139 Avenue
Miami FL. 33177 - 6848

Well, I guess that settles it…

Some good reads to bounce around in your brain this week:

First, on the supposed phenomenon of Barack Obama stealing away some of the “evangelical vote” usually reserved for Republicans:

Obama Attracts Young Evangelicals

Telling quote #1: “We did what they said to do. We elected all these people, we got conservative justices appointed at the bench, and nothing happened,” said Tony Jones, the 40-year-old leader of Emergent Village, a national group that often speaks for more liberal Christians from an evangelical background.

Note to Tony: think a little longer before you say such (foolish) things. To say “nothing happened” is, first, incorrect, and second, fundamentally misunderstands the critical nature, balance of power, and direction of the Supreme Court. One more justice who actually believes in the Constitution, to replace one of the five who do not, and the dreadful Roe v. Wade decision is overturned, throwing the question back to the several states, where it belongs. So, since it hasn’t happened as quickly as we might like, we declare defeat right on the verge of victory? Nice strategy, Tony…

Telling quote #2: “I’ve only met one person in my travels in recent months who has said he is voting for McCain, and that was because he was an admittedly single-issue voter,” Mr. McLaren said. “Nearly all the vocal people I’ve met are enthusiastic about Obama. Based on the people I’m in front of as a speaker, I’d never guess the poll numbers are as close as they are.” (The Rev. Brian McLaren, a nationally known speaker and author who represents a more liberal branch of evangelicalism and has endorsed Mr. Obama, said he thinks Democrats are succeeding.)

Note to Brian: um, seems to me that that says a whole lot more about the folks you’re speaking to these days than it does anything else. Sort of like the media member who said, shortly after the 1972 presidential election where Richard Nixon trounced George McGovern, “I can’t believe Nixon won; I don’t know anybody who voted for him.”

Next, a few thoughts on the “Lakeland Revival”, a charismania phenomenon that defies description, coming unraveled, apparently, because the individual at the forefront, one Todd Bentley, turns out to be a guy better at punching the people he’s “healing” than keeping his marriage together (very, very sadly). First response is by Lee Grady, himself the Charisma magazine editor…

Life After Lakeland: Sorting out the Confusion

Telling quote #1: “Why did so many people flock to Lakeland from around the world to rally behind an evangelist who had serious credibility issues from the beginning?

To put it bluntly, we’re just plain gullible. ”

Telling quote #2: “A prominent Pentecostal evangelist called me this week after Bentley’s news hit the fan. He said to me: ‘I’m now convinced that a large segment of the charismatic church will follow the anti-Christ when he shows up because they have no discernment.’”

And the second by John Piper:

Test Revival with Doctrine

Breakpoint is daily reminding the world that, while the Olympics carry on in Beijing for 16 days, China is still one of the worst human-rights violators in the world:

16 Days of Atrocity

A great article posted sometime back by Christianity Today made its way into my laptop this week, on crossing racial barriers as evangelicals:

Exit Interviews: Why Blacks are Leaving Evangelical Ministries

5000 or more miles after I was warned that the Toyota needed new tires, I decided the other day to take her in to Sam’s Club and get, as my Nascar fan friends might call ‘em, four brand new Mr. Feel-Goods. This procedure would take about an hour, I was told, leaving me with some time to kill at Sam’s. What to do, what to do. I decided to redeem the time (well, after wasting a little of it, admittedly), and so I sauntered over to the book section, where I was confronted with a book by the name of The Faith of Barack Obama, written by Stephen Mansfield and published, unfortunately, by Thomas Nelson Publishers (perhaps you’ll get the “unfortunately” after reading this post, Nelson being known, at least loosely, as an “evangelical” publisher). Knowing I couldn’t polish off the whole thing in the time allotted, I perused the chapters a bit before settling on Chapter 3, entitled “Faith Fit for our Age”. This is, apparently, the “money chapter” of the book, where we are introduced to the substance of Barack Obama’s “Christian” faith.

You’ll note the quote-marks around the word “Christian”.

To the author’s credit, he tags the chapter well: “Faith Fit for our Age”. Unfortunately, the faith of Barack Obama, as described by the author, is not what most evangelicals–wait, hold that…what most historic evangelicals…would describe as “Christian”. Without giving away the whole thing–I’d encourage you to read it for yourself if you wonder what the man believes–there are several things I’d point to. One, Barack Obama is a universalist. Two, he has, at best, a poor view of Scripture, evidenced by his dismissal of Romans 1 in favor of his (mis)reading of Jesus’ “red-letter” words (”Lord, deliver us from ‘red-letter Christians’”). Three, the author majors on the honest doubts that Obama has, which might not be a problem in one sense; I think that there are some of us who come off too cocksure on some of the finer points of theology. Problem is, the theme of “doubt” seems to occupy Obama’s beliefs more than faith in the finished work of Christ. The reader is left somewhat befuddled as to what Obama actually believes (granted, there are fleeting references to placing faith in Christ, but precious little by way of explanation as to what, for Obama, that term might exactly mean).

One thing which is clear, though, if this book is accurate: Obama’s faith is massively influenced by the spirit of the age in which we live, as though his entire take on Scripture and faith is funneled through the grid of his (hyper-liberal secular) worldview, instead of the events/issues of the world being funneled through a Christian worldview. Now in one sense, I recognize that Obama is, in this regard, not unlike a whole lot of professing Christians, including some who’d label themselves “evangelicals” (if we water down the term far enough). But to the author–and apparently, to Thomas Nelson–this is not a problem, but rather only that which is “fit for our age”.

A far cry, it seems to me, from “the faith once delivered…”

For some time now, I’ve had a “catch all” category I’ve called “Free for Coming” (members of churches I’ve pastored will recognize that title, believe me!). I think that I’m going to periodically, perhaps several times a week, post some links that I’ve found and want to pass on under this category heading. And so, without further ado, Free for Coming, Installment One!

Here’s a great post I was alerted to by my little buddy Don; it’s a little dated, but it’s a post written by one Michelle about another Michelle:

Two Michelles, Two Americas

John Frye gives us some food for thought about the “miniaturizing” of the glorious gospel of grace:

The American Sound Byte Gospel

Want to read a straight-on, unapologetic apologetic for unrestricted abortion-on-demand, right from the mouth of a true blue liberal? Here’s one:

Unnecessary Evil

All I can say is, “woe to those who call evil ‘good’, and good, ‘evil’” (Isaiah 5:20).

How deep and wide is the grace of God?

Son of Hamas Leader Turns Back on Islam and Turns to Christianity

Skye Jethani (how do you get a name like that?) gets it right when he asks, regarding pastoral ministry,

Great is Thy Effectiveness?

Here’s the money shot from Internet Monk’s latest post on church membership: “Jesus followers who wish to eliminate, reinterpret or reduce the church face the problem that nothing in the New Testament is on their side.” Amen and amen; read more at

Church Basics

And a double-dip on church membership from IMonk, this

An Interview with Pastor Kevin Hash

Justin Taylor blogs about Smokin’ Barry’s 100% commitment to abortion:

Obama and the Freedom of Choice Act

One poster had it right: Barack Obama apparently “has never heard of a baby at any stage of development that he didn’t want to ensure that women would be free to kill.”

Finally, Jollyblogger David Wayne is one of many who passes on this wisdom

On Passing on Bad Reports

Thhhhaaaaaat’s all, folks!

Yeah, I confess; I don’t think I’ve posted any original writing on this blog in what seems like months. I haven’t had much to say about the Smokin’ Barry and the Travelin’ Messiah Show, the Least-Qualified, Most-Liberal Nominee in History. I haven’t changed my mind; the fact that this man is considered, at least at this point in his life/career, to be presidential timber by a lot of Americans is a real telling indictment on the state of our nation. “Mediocre” (that’d be John McCain) still trumps “unqualified” and “unprepared” by a long shot. One of these days I’m going to cut loose on the whole deal, but that day is not today, and tomorrow’s not looking too good either.

Nor have I opined about the Olympics, or Brett Favre (what a silly charade that whole episode has been), or Nascar. I haven’t had much to say about the church (other than linking to some good stuff other folks have written) or about being a Christ-follower, or about Red Oak, or about the EFCA’s great new doctrinal statement. Frankly, if I were a regular reader of this blog, I’d be bored with it at this point, unless I were following the seemingly-interminable debates re end-times events, posts on false prophet Ronald Weinland and aberrant evangelical Harold Camping.

I’ve just had a lot going on, a lot of uncertainty in our lives, what with the sale of our home in Powder Springs for a new place in Marietta that hasn’t closed because for two weeks now, we’ve lacked one piece of paper that some (apparently inept) attorney seems loathe to provide. So we’ve been living like vagabonds, hopping around hither and yon, spending nights with two different church families, in three different motels (if you count vacation in Gatlinburg), and who knows when this ends. Our original contract on the home says we’re supposed to close by tomorrow, and I guess after tomorrow (and it won’t close tomorrow), we could opt out. No, we don’t want to do that; we found a foreclosure bargain three minutes from the church, and the whole fam is jazzed about it, so we still plan to purchase that home, but this is getting annoying. In the grand scheme of things, this isn’t a train wreck, I guess, and “this too shall pass”, but that doesn’t make it any less emotionally wearying.

So, dear reader, I’m hoping to soon get back into the groove; I’ve got several things I want to write about, and it could happen sooner or later. In the meantime, Dan Schaeffer is stopping by in a few days, and I hope that SOMEBODY out there has some questions for him about heaven; his book, what I’ve read of it thus far, is a good one and worthy of consideration.

Back atcha soon…