I tend to get riled up about some things, so this place is my outlet. Sometimes, I just like to point out the obvious (at least it's obvious to me). I also have a blog that I post on a little more often. From time to time, some of the blog topics will show up here, too.
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Hang 'Em High
Purpose Driven Opinion
Left Behind
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HANG 'EM HIGH
(Originally posted January 2007)
Considering the following "Saddam Timeline:"
- 12/13/03 - Captured by US forces.
- 10/19/05 - Trial for crimes against humanity begins
- 11/05/06 - Sentenced to death
- 12/26/06 - Appeals court upholds death sentence
- 12/30/06 - Execution
There are 168 inmates awaiting rulings on appeals to their death sentences in the state of Oklahoma. Eight are awaiting retrial
or new sentencing hearings. One of those inmates is a sleazebag named Corey Hamilton (pictured right). The Oklahoma Court of
Criminal Appeals recently set a Jan. 9 execution date for 37-year-old Tulsa County killer. Hamilton was convicted of the Aug 17,
1992 killings of four individuals, each of whom were shot in the back of the head at point-blank range, during a robbery of the
restaurant where they worked. The four men stole $2100 before killing the employees.
Co-defendant, Donnie Eugene Daniels testified against Hamilton, naming him as the sole gunman. Daniels recieved five life sentences for his part in the robbery/murders. Another co-defendant, Hamilton's brother, received four no-parole life sentences and one-life sentence; the fourth defendant in the case is serving four life sentences. Corey Hamilton is in the fifth stage of appeals.
Before I make my point / finish my rant, I'd like you to "meet" Hamilton's victims:
Joseph Gooch was an only child; he was 17 when a bullet to the head cut short his life. Gooch was a junior at Edison High School who liked working on cars, was second-chair trumpet in the band. He had hoped to join the U.S. Air Force and become an aerospace engineer. It was his third day at the restaurant.
Ted Kindley graduated from Rogers High School and was attending Tulsa Junior College. He took a second job to pay for college, but was given a raise at Lee's so he could quit the second job. He was 19 when he died.
Sendy Lara was 27 and a young mother who left behind three children: Amanda, 6; Gilbert Jr., 3; and Miranda, 18 months. She was not scheduled to work that evening- the restaurant called her in.
Stephen Lee Williams' mother, Janice Ramsey wonders what her 24-year-old son would have been like had he not been shot that night.
None of these people were given an "appeal"; instead they were herded into the restaurant's freezer, and shot execution style. No second chance. No nothing! And now I hear that poor little Corey Hamilton is claiming "cruel and unusual punishment" should the execution by lethal injection be carried out. Hamilton's attorneys asked the court to delay the execution, contending Oklahoma's injection procedure creates a severe and unnecessary risk of failure and conscious physical suffering. FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD! He murdered four people in cold blood-- didn't ask them if THEY thought it was cruel or might cause "physical suffering!!!!" (Note: I have never experienced it, but I have to imagine that being shot in the head with a gun at close range would cause PHYSICAL SUFFERING!)
Personally, I don't give a hoot about Hamilton's (or any of the other convicted killers on Oklahoma's death row) Eighth Amendment rights. It's been too long! Hang him. Inject him. Put him in front of a firing squad OR all of the aforementioned. This appeals mess where a murderer sits around for years crying about their "rights" is ridiculous (in Hamilton's case 14 years)!
Where's the number for that Iraqi "hanging squad?"
(Biographical sketches of victims and details of Corey Hamilton's crime take from various articles in the Tulsa World)
Postscript: Corey Hamilton was executed by lethal injection on January 9, 2007
PURPOSE DRIVEN OPINION
(Originally posted July 2005)
We left our church. We had been going there over 14 years, so needless to say, leaving wasn't easy. We got up Sunday
morning as usual and went to church. As we sat there we realized we couldn't "do it" anymore-- we couldn't do
the "Purpose-Driven" (PD) thing anymore. So we left.
The PD movement has taken the Church by storm. Rick Warren's Purpose-Driven Church (PDC) started it all, followed by Purpose-Driven Life (PDL) and the accompanying study 40 Days of Purpose. Go into any Christian bookstore and they haveeverything from PD books to journals to pens to paperweights to you name it. Drive down most any street in any town in America and some church will be advertising that they are doing the "40 Days" study. Lots of people love it, but believe it or not, there are a lot of people that don't.
I won't try to address all the things in PDL or PDC that make me uncomfortable. There are plenty of websites (a few listed below) that say what I've been feeling for a long time--and they say it better than I can, so I'll leave you to look at those things for yourself.
For me, the main issue is the shift from preaching to things like dramas, skits, contemporary music, "interpretive dance", etc. The trend I see in churches that adopt Warren's methods is that they do everything possible to keep from looking and sounding like a church. Many have even changed the name of their congregation to EXCLUDE the word "church" -- they are now "fellowships." The modern church has been convinced that expository Bible teaching cannot nor will not save people. We must cater to their "felt needs", provide them with entertainment, fellowship and recovery groups, donuts and coffee DURING the worship time, and whatever we do, we must never come across as "churchy!" No ties allowed. In every case I've seen the PD model implemented, there as been a de-emphasis on the Authority of Scripture, repentance, obedience, or changed behavior empowered by the Holy Spirit. But you can join our "Family Volleyball Night" on Thursdays or be a part of the "Creative Arts Ministry" (I think we used to call that Choir, but then I'm not sure that having a Choir is allowed anymore.)
I know wearing a tie won't get me into heaven. Neither will some of the things Rick Warren advocates. Warren and others say things like: "We're not changing the message, just the method." Really now. When did God change the method or declare that other methods were adequate? First Corinthians 1:21 states God method very simply: "...God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe." There it is; God's method of saving people is the faithful preaching of His Word. No gimmicks, no skits, no "hook", no "felt needs." Jesus told the Apostles to "go and make disciples...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you..." (Matt 28:19-20) Just good old-fashioned teaching (preaching) of the Word will/does save people. Hebrews 4:12 says so, too.
I want to hear that God loves me, that he cares for me, and that He has a plan for my life. That plan is to save me, and to change me; to give me a repentant heart and an obedient life-style. I also want to hear that God hates sin and expects me to turn from it and on those occasions when I don't do so well, to confess my sins and ask for his forgiveness. That is the purpose for my life.
We left our church. We left because they wanted to look less like church and more like Rick Warren's book.
www.seekersensitive.com
Grace to You FAQ's
Purpose-Driven Church and Related Reviews
PS: By the way, we didn't quit attending church. We are now members of a church that more closely matches our doctrinal beliefs--and they aren't planning on going through 40 Days of Purpose.
LEFT BEHIND
(Originally posted January 2004)
I dropped by the Christian bookstore the other day to pick up a new cover for my Bible. While I was there, I decided
I'd browse the "best sellers" display. Now, I didn't actually count, but it appeared that the majority of the
titles dealt with "revelation" or "end times", dominated mainly by the Left Behind series
by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, which brings me to the point of this post.
I don't have anything against "Christian fiction" (I actually enjoy the works of Frank Perritti and Randy Alcorn), but I am a little disturbed by the trend that I've been seeing. It's obvious that a lot of people are spending a lot of time reading these fictionalized accounts of Christ's return. Reading is good...but, I have a couple of concerns/questions:
- Are people spending as much time reading the Bible, as they are reading Mr. LaHaye's interpretation of scripture? The Psalmist said "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you" (Psalm 119:11). David knew that it was the power of God's Word, memorized and locked in the recesses of his mind, that would correctly direct thethoughts and actions of his life. You can't know what the Bible has to say if you don't take time to read it--and apply it.
- Some readers of this material assume that the Bible says the same thing as the work of fiction. Believe it or not, there are other, reasonable interpretations of "end-time" events. Everyone in church isn't a premillennial dispensationalist. Not all Christians believe that the Church is going to be secretly removed from the earth prior to the emergence of a one-world government and its leader known simply as the "anti-Christ." (That's a another topic all together.)
- I've actually heard people quote from the Left Behind books during a Bible study as if they were some kind of inspired writing. Just because a Christian wrote it, doesn't make it "inspired" or "true." Readers of this material would do well to keep these books in perspective. They are not equal with Scripture nor do they carry the personal endorsement of God Almighty himself.
For the record, I have read only the first book in the Left Behind series. I was raised being taught basically the same theology re: the rapture of the Church and Christ's ultimate return to earth. Over the past few years, I've struggled with all of this obsession with "prophecy" and trying to pinpoint the time of Jesus' return (don't forget that Jesus himself said that He didn't know when he was coming back - Matthew 24:36). No one knows for sure when Jesus is coming back and I'm not so sure that it's going to happen like the Left Behind books say it will...which is really the point. It doesn't matter what Tim LaHaye, Jerry Jenkins, Hal Lindsey, or anybody else says or teaches. The Bible said to "be ready." Way too much time is being spent trying to "prove" whose interpretation is right. What matters is "know[ing]...Jesus Christ and him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2:2)
Disclaimer: The above opinion is simply that- an opinion. It is not intended as an "attack" on any person(s) or theology.
GOD BLESS AMERICA
(Originally posted early 2002)
Right after the September 11, 2001 attacks on America, I noticed that there where an awful lot of religious and/or patriotic
people around me. Folks who, a few weeks prior to the events of 9/11, wouldn't have given patriotism or God a second thought
were now flying the American flag (attached to their homes, cars, etc.) and singing the National Anthem or "God Bless
America".
And speaking of "God Bless America", that phrase began appearing all over the place. Within days of the attacks,
an eating establishment near my house changed their marquee sign to read: "Try our chicken nuggets. God Bless America."
Many businesses in town and across the nation did the same. For whatever reason, everyone jumped on the "God Bless
America" bandwagon. For me, the most interesting participant is the GBA campaign was a bar not too far from my office.
(See photo below) 
I'm having a hard time making the connection with this one. If you haven't noticed, the sign reads:
"Wet T-Shirt Monday Nite...God Bless America." Is it just me, or do those two things have NOTHING
in common?!
Lots of people use the phrase "God Bless America", but do they really contemplate what they're saying. In my mind, "GBA" is essentially a prayer asking God to bless our country, especially during this time of national crisis. Nothing wrong with that until you start asking God's blessing in the middle of what many (at least the people I hang around) would consider immoral behavior.
God's blessing is not dependent on us. "...He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous." (Matthew 5:45) God blesses people everyday; good people, bad people, Christians and non-Christians alike. What I think some, maybe most people, are saying when they invoke the phrase, "God Bless America" is: "God please don't let anything bad happen to me." Sadly enough, God doesn't hear the prayers of people that don't know Him. "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." (Isaiah 59:2)
Furthermore, how can we, as a nation, expect God to bless us when we've removed any reference to Him from our public schools or our government offices? How can we expect God's blessing when we abort millions of babies every year or continue to rape, maim, abuse, and kill each other? Are we deserving of God's blessing when we sell and abuse illegal drugs? Surely we cannot expect God to be pleased with our society's obsession with illicit sex and perversion. I could go on, but won't.
The fact is that none of us are deserving of God's blessing. He blesses us because he created us and He loves us in spite of our disregard for Him and His commandments. His plan from the beginning of time has been to bless us and ultimately save us. But it is equally arrogant for us to think that we can continually live in opposition to Him and still receive His blessing. The solution is for us to turn away from sin and turn to God. Drugs, sex, money, power; none of these things can bring us true blessing. Only God can do that.
"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."(2 Chronicles 7:14)