SynchroBlog List for July 12th, 2007

This month's SynchroBlog is a series of discussions on Utopian ideas. As is a perfect Utopian concept, we have not mandated the topic on Utopia to be specific to any one concept, or dogma. So, come back Thursday, July 12th. and follow the links to check 'em out.


Steve Hayes at Notes from the Underground
John Morehead at John Morehead's Musings
Nudity, Innocence, and Christian Distopia at Phil Wyman's Square No More
Utopia Today: Living Above Consumerism at Be the Revolution
Nowhere Will Be Here at Igneous Quill
A This-Worldly Faith at Elizaphanian
Bridging the Gap at Calacirian
The Ostrich and the Utopian Myth at Decompressing Faith
Being Content in the Present at One Hand Clapping
Eternity in their Hearts by Tim Abbott
Relationship - The catch-22 of the Internet Utopia at Jeremiah's Blog
U-topia or My-topia? at On Earth as in Heaven
A SecondLife Utopia at Mike's Musings
Mrs. Brown and the Kingdom of God at Eternal Echoes

Missional Concepts Consulting

John Smulo and I are forming a consulting group with the vision of helping leaders, non-profit organizations, businesses, churches, and community groups navigate the difficult to follow and often misunderstood world of New Religious Movements (NRM's), and similarly help give guidance toward becoming missional in the 21st century.

Missional Concepts Consulting has the following goals: mapping popular trends in occult and NRMs among youth and adults, allaying fears and misunderstandings surrounding unique religious expressions, giving sensitivity training toward religiously diverse individuals, and groups, identifying legitimate concerns attached to occult practices, understanding the worldview and the subculture of NRMs, and creating an effective evangelistic model towards the occult and NRMs.

We will be making ourselves available to denominational groups, churches, schools, and any group or organization which has concerns about the rise of NRMs and desires to form a healthy response to those who are involved with them.

Although New Religious Movements are our specialty, we also will be working to help churches navigate the issues of defining what it means to be missional in the 21st century, and engaging emerging church culture. Pastoring a small church with an enormous evangelical outreach in Salem, Massachusetts has given me a unique perspective on retaining a missional stance while navigating the turbulent waters of change.

Should you know churches whose needs and concerns can be addressed by this service feel free to contract us:

John Smulo - jjsmulo@yahoo.com
Phil Wyman - pastorphil@salemgathering.com

A Response to "RESPONSES TO SOME QUESTIONS REGARDING CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE DOCTRINE ON THE CHURCH"

So, Benedict is once again stating clearly what he (and the church he serves) has always believed, and people are getting a bit upset about it. On the one hand, I wonder why they are upset, because nothing has changed in his doctrine, or that of the Catholic Church of which he is the head. On the other hand, this is a move toward asserting the late doctrine of papal infallibility which was not defined dogmatically until 1850.

In the release of the paper "RESPONSES TO SOME QUESTIONS REGARDING CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE DOCTRINE ON THE CHURCH" Pope Benedict XVI asserts some things, which we non-catholic Christians thought they still believed all along, such as: 1) Roman Catholicism is the only, one and true church established by God, 2) Other Churches are either faulty, or they are not really church at all, because they do not have the necessary apostolic succession in leadership.

As to the second point, Orthodox Denominations are considered faulty because they "lack something." Protestant, and other non-Orthodox Churches fall short of even being worthy of the title church, because "[a]ccording to Catholic doctrine, these Communities do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament of Orders, and are, therefore, deprived of a constitutive element of the Church. These ecclesial Communities which, specifically because of the absence of the sacramental priesthood, have not preserved the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic Mystery cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be called "Churches" in the proper sense.

Otherwise, Protestant churches may have some semblance of Christian behavior in them, but they have no chance of being real churches according to Catholic doctrine.

A real Church according to Catholicism exists on the basis of these points: 1) Peter laid hands on some guy in the first century and passed apostolic authority on to him. This in turn has happened successively through the generations down to today. and 2) Because this occurred today's priests have the ability to say the words of Jesus over the bread and the wine, and turn the elements into his literal body.

Because Protestant, and non-Orthodox Churches are not really churches they do not have the ability to offer true salvation to people according to the Catholic Church.

I am not sure I would call myself a Protestant, but I do call myself a Christian, and I do believe the church I pastor opens a clear pathway for people to find God, and salvation. I also believe that the doctrine of apostolic succession places the Will of God into the hands of failing men, and negates it power. Furthermore the teaching of transubstantiation appears as a form of magic, and I do not find sufficient support for it in scripture.

Having said this, I have wonderful committed Christian friends who consider themselves Catholic. As for Benedict: His words make me want to take up the word Protestant. Now I know what Luther was mad at. Does anyone wonder why we held a conference entitled, "God for People Who Hate Church?" Perhaps it's time for some good ol' apostolic secession.

Whadaya think?

Emergent: Too Utopian?

The SynchrBlog release in two days deals with the subject of Utopia. This set of articles from Kevin Brewster asks if the Emergent Church is too utopian. A good read as we start writing on utopian ideas.

Things Look a Bit Different Around Here

Hi Friends,

Yep, there is a slightly new look to this blog. I am far too bumbling in figuring out these new things, but I finally discovered how to get three columns instead of the typical two, and I've been wanting to do that for awhile. I also figured out working with Amazon so that I can recommend books, and even make a few pennies from the process if you think the book looks like something you should buy. You know how it works - if you click through to Amazon and buy the book on that click I get credit. Then the money can be used to buy more books, or can just come to my bank account. I am sure some of you should be signing up with Amazon to try and cover your own book habits. Please note the book to the left "Wicca and the Christian Heritage." I recommend it as a quite scholarly and fine read. It is a unique perspective on the historical origins of modern Wicca written by a Methodist lady. Want to understand what's going on in Neo-Pagan circles? Then click on the box and check out the book. It's brand new and hot off the press, so you won't find any used copies around.

Let me know if this page layout is acceptable and readable to you, or if I have confused what was once a simple to read layout.

In the World?

Among the most common quoted references which is thought to be in the Bible is this quote which tells us we should be "in the world but not of it." It is extrapolated from John 17:14-15, but as quoted is not in the Biblical text. A quick Google search of the phrase highlights some interesting groups which utilize this quote as wisdom from their own religious tradition: Christianity, Sufism, evolutionary spirituality, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjal, and even a Channeling Course.

So, how does this concept apply to us? How does it relate to our engagement with the cultures of this world? and how do we understand it in respect to being missional?

Brain Cool Down

So, I was sitting here yawning, and I came across this interesting piece of news. My problem is not that I am exhausted, or that I need more oxygen. The problem is that my brain is overheated, and needs a cool down. So I am yawning to cool down my overheated brain, and to keep myself alert. Well, that's what researchers at the Unversity of Albany tell me. See full report here.

Next SynchroBlog - Thursday, July 12th

All Synchrobloggers Unite! Put on your idealistic headgear.

On July 12th we will do a release of the next SynchroBlog session. The topic this month is Utopia. John Morehead posted about this topic last week, and it has become the rallying point for all of us to write about the subject. "The guidelines for posting about Utopia," you ask? None other than make it something about Utopia. It might be nice to tie it into your Christian worldview. So - start greasing up your brains on the subject of Utopia, Shangri-La, Eden, Heaven, or California - whatever you discover as your Utopian theme.

Discussion at The Ooze

I have started a discussion at The Ooze on topics related to engaging those who are involved in the occult. It has been going for a few days, and has hit the hot topic level. Come on in and join the discussion at The Culture Discussion Board at The Ooze. I'd love to see you there.

Reading the Scriptures Through the Eyes of Experience

Just under two months ago I had a conversation with John Armstrong. We discussed our similar experiences of being accused falsely, and how that has caused us to read the Bible differently. Now that is not to say that I have changed my theology, but I certainly have added something to it. It is as though I have seen Jesus responding to hypocrites a little more clearly than I had seen it before. I began to see His defense of humble God searchers, against the forces of legalistic religion, and it has enlightened my path, and encouraged my heart.

Oh, and by the way, read John's blog on Bobby Cox record for getting ejected from games. It's a great post.

I'm talking with John about having him come to Salem for a conference in November. I'll let you know more about the details should this come together.

Josh on Freedom, Witches, and Christianity

Josh has been on a book reading assignment which I gave him some time back. I asked him to blog on this book written by a Pagan about Paganism. Back in April he posted an insight about Freedom as foundation search in both Paganism and Christianity. I think it's worth a read - check it out.

Post-op Elijah News

This is how Elijah is doing: He played his first show since having surgery two weeks ago today. The show was Monday Night in Newburyport. So Dan didn't have to fill in for him - sweet. You know they were thinking about Dan filling in.

The Truth War - My Last Few Thoughts

I wanted to conclude my thoughts on The Truth War. I previously made observations on MacArthur's use of "the excluded middle," which he mentions, and then displays in the book as one of his primary forms of argumentation throughout the book. The "excluded middle" most often is a classic logical fallacy, and he use it liberally as a method of argumentation to promote the concept that the Emergent Conversation is a postmodern influenced heresy, and to recruit believers to stand up against it. My first 2 posts on this book covered the fallacy of the excluded middle, which has also been known as Black and White Fallacy (under the assumption that there are only two choices, and therefore no middle), False Dichotomy, False Dilemma, and Bifurcation.

In my third post I dealt with the logical fallacy of Hasty Generalization, and identified a few of the many places in which MacArthur used a small test sample of Emergent individuals and quotes to create his overarching opinions about the movement as a whole.

Although I believe these observations do not come close to identifying all the fallacious arguments presented by MacArthur, I do feel that they have covered the most significant fallacies in logic, and place his opinions on the Emergent Conversation into the category of wild exaggeration.

Here I simply wanted to list a few more favorite quotes which further point out the exaggeration which is employed for means of sensationalism, or are an example of the pot calling the kettle black.

Many evangelical seminaries are now aggressively recruiting women for pastoral training programs. Numerous once -conservative evangelical churches are ordaining women as elders, encouraging them to teach adult classes filled with men, and even appointing them to pastoral and preaching roles.
Such feminism has gnostic roots...."

Reading before and after this quote on page 153-154 one will find MacArthur using 1 Timothy 2:12 used to support the idea that the Bible rejects women as teachers of men, or leaders in the church. I wholeheartedly disagree with his opinion, but even if MacArthur's assessment of that passage were to support a wholesale rejection of women in church leadership positions, his unsubstantiated conclusion that it has "gnostic roots" certainly needs some evidence to be considered anything more than a blustery Santa Ana wind.

"Still overzealousness is clearly a danger we need to guard against carefully. There are indeed some full-time critics operating today, always looking for a fight, taking fleshly delight in controversy's sake, and making judgments that may be too harsh or too hasty." (page 135)

Who woulda thought! Sorry, I couldn't resist. To me it seems as though MacArthur defines his own book - in fact a few of his books, and a significant portion of his own ministry with this quote.

"Proof that ungodliness is rampant in evangelical circles today is evident in megachurches that purposely cater to the preferences of the ungodly-furnishing entertainment and amusements in the place of authentic worship and Bible teaching." (page 140)

Wow! I guess we had better be careful to avoid being humorous, presenting drama, allowing quality music in the church, or showing movie clips, because it is "proof" that we are ungodly. I am ashamed of myself - I laughed at church this week.

On page 167 MacArthur quotes 1 Corintians 9:20-22 in which Paul states he becomes "all things to all men" that he might save some, and MacArthur responds to this quote by saying, "He was not saying he adapted the Gospel Message...He did not adopt methods to suit the tastes of a worldly culture."

MacArthur apparently is convinced that becoming all things to all men means neither adapting one's presentation of the Gospel for the hearer's sake, or difference in the meaning of words from region to region, nor adopting methods appropriate to cultural distinctions, and differences. Paul apparently became all things to all men by not changing a thing. I want to learn that trick.

I am of the conclusion, that this book has been written as a knee-jerk reaction to a movement gaining some degree of popularity, and having high impact on current Christian thought. One might conclude that John MacArthur wrote it as a response to the latest fad in theology, and therefore a way to draw attention, and sell more books, and therefore is an example of the very thing he berates. I am assuming the writing of the book had more noble intentions, but for whatever reason he wrote the book, the illogical blunders were not well advised.

That's what I think about The Truth War.

Rebuttals, responses, agreements, cheers, rebukes, and trying to get the pea-soup to rise from within me are all welcome.

Loose Lips - A "SinkroBlog" (SychroBlog on Untouchable People - How we create them with gossip and lies)

During the Second World War posters, and reminders to keep quiet about military information was posted for all to see. "Loose lips might sink ships" people were told.

Loose lips still sink ships today. Gossip, lies, and selfish ambition dressed up as serious concern work together for the purpose of demoting someone else, and making ourselves look good. I wish Christianity was free from such sick ambition, but it is not. Such behavior is among the 7 things God hates, and I am sure that lying gossip spread for selfish ambition must cover all 7 of those things He hates.

"A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness [that] speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren."

Interested in WW2 memorabilia? How about a simple reminder to save someone's reputation by speaking truth, and keeping humble? If someone is a scoundrel on the other hand, you ask? Be sure to follow the guidelines found in Matthew 18. They are your safety valve for the loose lip syndrome.












June 15th SynchroBlog on The People We Consider "Untouchable"

Mike Bursell muses about Untouchables
David Fisher on Touching the Pharisees - My Untouchable People Group
Adam Gonnerman with Quickened Pen
Michael Bennet writes Nothing more than the crust life
Jeremiah at Models of church leadership and decision-making as
they apply to outreach
John Smulo talks about Christian Untouchables
Sally Coleman shares on The Untouchables
Sam Norton talks about Untouchables
Steve Hayes on Dalits and Hindutva
Sonja Andrews asks Wouldn't Ya Like Ta Be A Leper Too?
Fernando A. Gros speaks up on Untouchability And Glocalisation
Tim Abbott finds some Untouchables in disguise
Josh Rivera does his stuff with the Untouchables

A Few News Notes

Ruth Graham dies - read this great article in Christianity Today. A moment of silence is highly appropriate.

Gay Marriage decision in Massachusetts. Yep, this is where I live. What are your thoughts?

Dopers really are dopes? That's what the Brits are saying. Read this report.

The Discipline of Inconvenience

On Sunday morning at The Gathering Episcopal Priest Beth Maynard who with her husband leads a neo-Maonastic community in Bevery, MA spoke on Inconvenience. It's just under a 20 minute message. I reccomend listening to The Discipline of Inconvenience.

Create Your Own Theology!

That's right you have the opportunity to create your own convenient theology!

My favorite convenient theology is "tangential (or was that tangental?) eschatology." Tangential eschatology works like this. If you are concerned about world affairs, oppression, conservation, helping the poor, learning to live like Jesus now, or matters of personal holiness my tangential eschatology jumps in, and I say, "Jesus is returning soon anyway, none of that stuff is going to matter."

Create your own personal theology. Name it, use it, abuse it for the glory of God - or at least for personal convenience. Go ahead and leave your personal self-created convenient theology by clicking "comment" below.

Thoughts from the Philosophy Professor on The Truth War

Bruce is a Philosophy Professor locally, and responded to me by e-mail on John MacArthur's book The Truth War. I loved his intelligent, well informed response, and thought I'd post it here. So here's Professor Bruce:

There's a whole class of fallacies of oversimplification.* Your example of the Reformed tendency toward rigidity (see end of first paragraph at this link) is excellent, since some of America's most forward thinking and active evangelists have been dyed in the wool Calvinists, e.g., Spurgeon.

*Dicto Simpliciter--the rule excludes exceptions
"special case"--the exception becomes the new rule
composition--what is true of the part must be true of the whole
division--what is true of the whole must be true of the part
black-and-white-- what we've been calling the excluded middle
quoting out of context-- we all know this one, and it is a favorite of Christians trying to Reclaim the Culture
stereotyping--the distinctive accidental characteristics of the group must be assumed to be the traits of the members without exception or nuance. There are enough members who have the trait to make it plausible, and enough who don't to make it seriously wrong.

Falling into Fallacies of Oversimplification is a particular
"occupational hazard" for cultural critics. I count myself as a
cultural critic/apologist, and have committed it enough to shoot
myself in the foot, if that makes sense. It's a hazard because the
apologist is an expert in most-things-Christian, but has to show a
passing knowlege of all the challenges to the faith, or at least an
awareness of the subtleties that belong to the challenge du jour.
The mistake of this kind that I remember most clearly was one uttered
by D. James Kennedy, staunch Calvinist and energetic leader of many
missional Christians, on his radio show. He was speaking about Neil
Postman, and cited him as one of the disasterous influences in public
education today. As proof, Kennedy quoted the title of Postman's
book, "Teaching As A Subversive Activity." End of story. Damn.
It turns out that the late Prof. Postman is one of Christianity's best
allies in both the non-Christian religious world and in academia. For
one thing, he wrote another book entitled "Teaching as a Conserving
Activity" which was meant as a sequel to the first, by way of saying
"...and vice versa." For another thing, he wrote a wonderful,
wonderful book called Amusing Ourselves to Death, in which he analyzes
televangelism (among other things) and suggests that the serious and
sober-minded practice that Christianity surely is and must be, is not
represented by televangelism, mainly because of the nature of the
medium. (He mainly attacks the network news.) He also wrote a book
that I understand as pro-Christian education, pro-homeschooling,
called "The End of Education," arguing that if education doesn't
promotes its proper ends, then the institutions of education will
collapse. And that religious ed has the advantage of promoting the
proper ends of education.

BCM

The Truth War - The General of Generalization?

Response to The Truth War Part 1
Response to The Truth War Part 2

Generalization is a nasty, hasty habit for many of us. We all become captured in the over-simplification of making hasty generalizations at times. This is a classic fallacy in argumentation. For example: During my time as a Christian I have discovered that Christian leaders who believe reformed theology are overly dogmatic and judgmental toward those who do not hold their positions, because the ones I have met. or read have been that way. Of course, this is not true. It is not even true that all reformed theologians I have met are overly dogmatic. But even if it were true, it is an over-generalization to say that all reformed thinkers are overly dogmatic, and judgmental. That is a hasty generalization, and jumping to conclusions.

Hasty generalization is the formation of an opinion from an insufficiently small test sample group of a larger body. Insufficient evidence used as a basis for conclusions leads to hasty generalization, and logical fallacy.

Enter stage right The Truth War.

From a mere handful of leaders, from a narrow range of denominations, and miniscule number of writings, a series of accusations about the apostate nature of the Emergent Church is presented.

Rob & Kirsten Bell, Brian McLaren, Tony Campolo, and reformed theologian John Armstrong are among those listed and quoted in the book. A small smattering of their quotes are given.

John Armstrong most particularly is of interest. On three counts information provided about him is illogical. Armstrong's friend P. Andrew Sandlin has provided a solid defense against the accusations here in an excellent article. The accusations against Armstrong are provided as an example of the Emergent Church's slide into empty relativism. They are false on these counts: 1) John Armstong is a reformed theologian. He once taught side by side with John MacArthur, and still holds to the reformed traditions and theology with minor variations on his previously held beliefs. He does not typically fit the Emergent Church category. 2) As shown by P. Andrew Sandlin's article, MacArthur chooses statements from Armstrong from only two sources among his many writings - one blog, and one article. 3) His responses to citations from John Armstrong are inaccurate.

Two of three points illustrate hasty generalization perfectly. First, John Armstrong is quoted from a miniscule sampling of his greater works, and his beliefs are inaccurately assessed. Assumptions about John Armstrong are made with insufficient evidence. Secondly, these quotes from this single source become an example of postmodern relativism infiltrating the church at large. MacArthur also lists quotes from such authors as Brian McLaren, and Rob & Kirsten Bell, Donald Miller, and Stanley Grenz. The small sampling of quotes frm each are presented as authoritative comments from what is a complex and diverse movement. They are generalizations about the larger group from a small sampling of ill read quotes. Generalizations are made about John Armstrong, which in turn are used as a sampling of generalizations about the larger group called Emergent.

The premise of the book is based off hasty generalization. John MacArthur shows no complete understanding about the nature of the Emergent Conversation, and similarly no clear comprehension about the basic critiques which postmodernism holds toward its predecessor modernism.

Whether as a tool for creating the larger scope of the book, or in details of the book MacArthur shows himself to be a master generalizer. After quoting Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz with story about "Mark the cussing pastor," MacArthur goes on to say, "Obscenity is one of the major trademarks of the Emerging style. Most authors in the movement make extravagant use of filthy language, sexual innuendo, and uncritical references to the most lowbrow elements of postmodern culture...."

I don't know which books he's been reading, but my guess is that either they weren't Emergent books, or that he's become the General of Generalization. Logical fallacies are presented as sound doctrine in this book.

(Part 2) The Truth War - John MacArthur and the Fallacy of the Excluded Middle

Bifurcation, or the fallacy of the excluded middle is a common fallacy among Christians, and particularly among Christian leaders and preachers. The scriptures themselves appear at times to validate the use of the excluded middle, and set all issues of doctrine, morality, and Gospel presentation into black and white, us versus them positions. The Truth War by John MacArthur is a classic example of this Christian tendency toward bifurcation.

"He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad." (Matthew 12:30 see also Luke 11:23) In this passage Jesus appears to present a radical excluded middle argument, which sets all actions, and all beliefs into two categories: Those for God, and those against God. If indeed it can be shown that Christ views all actions, and beliefs in this radical dichotomy then we as Christians may have no choice, but to view our response as a warlike battle against all things in this world. This is the stance John MacArthur appears to take in The Truth War. Christians are divided in to the obedient warriors for truth, and the disobedient who refuse to rise up against every postmodern idea, and everything in the Emergent Conversation as error to be battled and condemned. There is no serious potential for identifying ideas of postmodernity or Emergent as accurate critiques of modernity, or modern church culture.

"For he that is not against us is on our part. (Mark 9:40 see also Luke 9:49-50) Strangely, perhaps paradoxically, we find Jesus saying what appears to be the opposite of His previous exclusion. The disciples have seen men who did not follow Jesus casting out demons in Jesus' name, and want to know if they should be stopped. Jesus appears to have no interest in their doctrinal purity, or the methods and style of their ministry. Instead Jesus tells the disciples to let them be. If they are not against Him they are working on His behalf. The Truth War appears to give no place for people of different doctrinal stances, or those questioning the practices of today's contemporary evangelical church culture. In MacArthur's worldview those who are not with him are against him. 20 years ago it was Charismatics. Today it is Emergents.

MacArthur gives tacit approval for people to think differently on non-essential issues, and outlines the essential issues - on page 47 MacArthur says, "These nonnegotiable evangelical doctrines include the doctrine of justification by faith, the principle of substitutionary atonement, and the absolute authority and perfect sufficiency of Scripture...(...included in that short list are a number of other vital doctrines including Christ's deity, His virgin biirth, and His bodily resurrection.)" Yet a few paragraphs later MacArthur berates the evangelical movement for "acting for a long time as if our main duty is just to keep in step with the fads of worldly culture." (emphasis his)

On page 155-156 he says, "...we're forbidden to pick fights with one another on secondary issues." Citing Romans 14:1.

Once again on page 157 the author lists the historic basics of the faith: Biblical authority containing truth for God's glory, salvation, faith, and eternal life; humanity's fall, the bondage of sin, Jesus' deity, His full humanity and sacrifice for sin, salvation by grace and not by works, and the Great Commission.

Immediately following his list of essentials and his insistence that only essentials are points for warring, he begins to berate those who practice things not found in his own list of essentials, showing us that in John MacArthur's book of life few actions fit into the non-essential category.

He lists the following items as examples of a denial of the Lord's "headship over the church": Open Theism, human psychology, self-help therapy, the idea of 'recovery', twelve-step programs, and entrepreneurial styles of church leadership. Whether I agree with any of these items or not is not of importance, yet to describe them as good for nothing eternal but destined to be burned is a judgment of non-essential doctrines, and personal and corporate behavior without discretion. For example - although I too have seen the horrors of CEO corporate leadership in the church, I do not assume that every action taken by every leader working under that model is corrupt and hellish. Such absolute statements on nonessential values create a sense of making those values fundamental issues of the Christian life, and is not a good model of critique, or logic for any Christian to follow.

I believe in sound doctrine and truth. I believe that there are times in which there is no middle ground, but to remove middle ground which does exist makes an argument a fallacy. MacArthur's critique of the Emergent Church might have better been served if he kept his own advise on page 155. "Now, obviously, we cannot righteously be dogmatic about every peripheral belief, or matter of personal preference."

to read Part 1 of a response to The Truth War

The Truth War - John MacArthur and the Fallacy of the Excluded Middle

It's late. I can't really sleep now, even though I've spent the day at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, and my son was getting a kidney transplant. So after having sent out messages, and thanks for prayer, and updates, I thought I might respond to the book I read yesterday, since that is a goal over the next week anyway.

I read The Truth War in a day. It is easy reading. I do not recommend it to any undiscerning reader, and wouldn't have bought it except that I felt compelled to respond to it.

I did not come to this book unbiased. I am from a Pentecostal background, and have seen the writings of MacArthur, and heard his diatribes on my own variation of Christianity slammed by faulty logic before. Since I identify with the Emergent Movement to some degree currently - jokingly calling myself a PentEmergent, but really thinking of myself as some combination of Pentecostal, Anabaptist, and Emergent, I thought it would be best to respond in some way to his critiques of a movement I am beginning to find some identification with.

I will respond in a short series of posts, and try to keep each post a simple refutation of one of the many fallacies I have observed in his (what I view as) pontifications.

In MacArthur's attacks on Charismatic Christianity 20 years ago, I observed a solid Biblical teacher (excellent on some issues, and dreadful on other issues), commit a series of ad hominem attacks on Pentecostal Christianity. This is a fairly easy thing to do, since Pentecostals include a spectrum of wild to mild, and charlatan to honest characters. With some frequency in print, and on air he used examples of the most extreme, and sensational characters, and their behavior to make broad sweeping statements about the entirety of the movement. These attacks on individual behavior were even used as proof of the doctrinal error in teachings concerning the current usage of the gifts of the Spirit, and the doctrine of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. In Logic this is a fallacious argument called Argumentum Ad Hominem. The bad behavior of an individual, or even a group of individuals does not prove that a doctrinal position they hold is automatically false.

Having seen this otherwise decent Bible teacher utilize poor logic in the past against those with whom he disagreed, I assumed the same might be true in his attack on the Emergent Conversation. I was unfortunately more correct on this point than I had imagined, and will therefore take a short series of posts to cover these thoughts.

So, here's my first observation:

John MacArthur's lack of understanding, and shallowness of knowledge on the Emergent Conversation causes him to create a potentially false dichotomy. This is called the fallacy of the excluded middle.

"Excluded Middle (False Dichotomy, Faulty Dilemma, Bifurcation):
assuming there are only two alternatives when in fact there are more. For example, assuming Atheism is the only alternative to Fundamentalism, or being a traitor is the only alternative to being a loud patriot."

For more examples of faulty logic see this list of Fallacious Arguments.

Even a reading of some basic material such as Scott McKnight's article in Christianity Today, (I posted on this sometime back here) would have shown MacArthur that the Eemrgent Conversation was far more divergent in thought than he assumes in his book. He might have understood that it included liberals and conservatives from most denominations of Christianity. That people were joining it for reasons doctrinal, and for reasons primarily evangelistic or missional. I fall into the latter category, and so the statements of apostasy and heresy are gross generalizations concerning someone like myself.

Here are a few examples of MacArthur's inability to see that the Emergent Church is more complex than he understands, and is not simply a truth evading, fad chasing, corrupt movement - as he tends to demonize it:

"As always, a war is being waged against the truth. We are on one side or the other. There is no middle ground." Introduction page xxiii By itself this is a fine statement. Placed in context of assaulting an entire movement without clarification of the complexity of the group this is a fallacy of the excluded middle.

"We will examine why defending the faith inevitably requires warfare, rather than the gullibly sanguine stance many Christians seem to favor today." Introduction page xxv Here we are given the opportunity to be a part of one of two responses, without consideration that there might be a third option. Otherwise we join John, or we are gullible.

...by suggesting that contemporary Christianity needs to reimagine, update, or simply jettison some supposedly obsolete doctrine...They are actually working toward the wholesale demolition of the entire structure." page 80 The context of this paragraph hints that something as innocuous as updating a service is on par with challenging fundamental doctrines, and is an assualt on the basics of the faith. This theme is repeated a number of times in the book.

MacArthur's faulty logic makes itself fully known early in the book with his own observation on the "excluded middle." On page 14 he says, "The reason behind postmodernism's contempt for propositional truth is not difficult to understand. A proposition is an idea framed as a logical statement that affirms or denies something, and it is expressed in such a way that it must be either true or false. There is no third option between true and false. (This is the "excluded middle" in logic.)" At this point MacArthur idenitifies the pattern of attack he will continue throughout the book. His insistance that the Emergent Conversation, and the Seeker Sensitive Churches (which he erroneously lumps together throughout the book - perhaps not purposely, but certainly by inference, and repetitious connection) are regularly on the wrong side of "The Truth War" establishes his use of the excluded middle as a logical argument. With his ignorance at best, or at worst his outright pretention that a more complex community of commited believers does not exist in the Emergent Church, he repeatedly makes the mistake of using the fallacy of the excluded middle, and even trumpets his pleasure in using it as a solid logical argument. With his use of the argument of the excluded middle MacArthur proudly displays his faulty logic as though it were sound intellectual supremacy, and allows this fallacy to rule the basic premises of his book.

I am amazed that an otherwise solid theologian can make such a basic error in logic, but this certainly is not the first time for John Boy.

Update on Elijah's Surgery

For an update on Elijah's Kidney Transplant go to The Why Man.

Elijah's Kidney Transplant - Wednesday Morning - Updated

Our son Elijah is going in to Beth Israel Hospital in Boston on Wednesday morning. Sometime around 9:30am he is scheduled to have the transplant. His friend Jason is donating the kidney, and will be in for the surgery about an hour before. Your prayers for Jason and Elijah would be greatly appreciated.

For those who have asked about donating to the Elijah Wyman Kidney Fund - click here.

For more info on what is happening Tuesday the 5th see The Why Man Blog.

Global Peace Index - US ranked 96 out of 121

Australian entrepreneur Steve Killelea came up with this peace index idea, and it's getting kudos from around the world. Check out the rankings of nations on his peace index.

Brian McLaren on the Worship Industry

Check out this cool short video by Brian McLaren about his concern over the worship industry. I found it through Tony Jones' Emergent Village site. Wow, Brian says this better than I could. I download the loop, but it being offered by the group "The Work of the People" and it costs $250/year to sign up. Now that's ironic, isn't it?

Beyond the Pall (Part 5): Emerging From Outer Darkness

She screamed from inside the locked vault. I closed only one of the two massive doors of our double-doored vault. As I turned the handle, the gentle clicking noise accompanied the narrowing of the thin crack of light until it disappeared altogether. Then she screamed all the louder, but these were faint and distant cries to us.

Within the locked vault a person can not see their hand before their face. Complete and utter darkness envelopes you, and no amount of time will allow your eyes to adjust to see even faint images.

I allowed her to scream a short time - short for me, but perhaps an eternity for her. After about 45 seconds I spun the handle counter-clockwise, and the gentle clicking gave way to the fine crack of light, and then to the opening of the door.

She was free again. A Witch who was a mother of two young children emerged from the Vault. She was cursing, and shouting, and confessing sins, and saying she did not deserve this.

We listened. We laughed. We discussed the experience with her.

She described the utter feeling of isolation, and the sense of truly understanding the concept of Hell as outer darkness.

She said thank you - repeatedly.

After she left, we scratched our heads, and considered this strange, but remarkable interaction.

She had come into our church meeting space. It is a 200 year old bank, with a massive vault directly opposite the entrance. She came with her friend. Both dressed mildly witchy in black, with tall shoes.

We discussed our plans for an event which we are planning for the Halloween season in Salem. These Witch friends of ours were publicizing, and helping sponsor the event for us. We described elements of this event, which we call "The Brimstone Chronicles." "The Brimstone Chronicles" will walk through the history of the Christian concepts of death, and the afterlife. It will include an experience of outer darkness. People will be asked to consider outer darkness as they are locked into the old vault for a short time.

She was excited about the idea, and asked to be locked in the vault. We asked if she was sure she wanted to do this. She was insistent. We obliged, and the strange story of screaming, cursing, confessing sins, and thanking us for the experience unfolded.

A couple weeks later she returned on a Sunday afternoon. She was walking downtown Salem with her mother.

"Mom. this is Pastor Phil," she smiled proudly, "Pastor Phil this is my mother."

"I've heard so much about you. It is nice to be able to put a face with the name." Her mother replied.

We spoke awhile, and even reminisced about the experience with outer darkness. My friend the Witch had asked for Hell. We gave it to her, and we were still friends. Her Roman Catholic mother thanked me for being a positive influence. They left.

I scratched my head again.


To read parts 1-4:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Beyond the Pall (Part 4) Dancing in the Battle Zone

Three silver knives were stuck in the turf at my friend's gravesite. They were evidence that someone hoped to keep his spirit from tormenting them from beyond the grave. After the death of my friend the Witch, Pagans from near and far had divided into friend and enemy status. I care little for the battle lines of men, and prefer to befriend everyone while carelessly navigating the battlezone. Someone was crucified millennia ago for dancing in the battlezone. He sat with drunkards and religious leaders, came to break down the partition between Jew and Gentile, and the cross He bore is still my model for action.

Similarly I don't respond to superstitious fears. Silver knives, incantations, or chants seem powerless to soothe the demons of bitterness or fear in our own hearts. Those personal sins are the real ghosts of which we should be wary.

So as the battlelines were drawn. I ignored them. Pagan stood against Pagan, and of course Christians joined the fray as well. There are Christians who have a need to mention eternal torment to those who are not Christians at every possible opportunity. These pitched their tents on the side of Hell, and lobbed their morter in my direction. They believed that I was somehow compromising my faith by not emphasizing Hell during this season of my friend's death. Once again I danced in the militarized zone, and let the bombs fall around me.

Witches and occultists were accusing other Witches of being Satan worshippers. Of course, Witches don't believe in Satan, and so it looked more like a politically motivated accusation. At stake was licensing for Tarot Reading, and Psychic Readings in the city of Salem. If one group could make another look bad, perhaps it meant more money, more customers for them during the tourist season.

Meanwhile Christians made similar accusations of Satanic worship. I wondered quietly if such unfounded accusations against Neo-Pagans (which is a broad category including Witches, and Wiccans) were a way for the Christian church to develop a much needed visible enemy. A visible enemy gives us a more adventurous message, and maybe even an upperhand in fundraising.

Having been asked to speak at, and/or create workshops for Pagan events, I met with Witches to discuss upcoming teachings. I passed my ideas through them, and they were excited about these lessons on the Christian message which I was preparing.

During this time the battlezone became more active.

I have seen Witches lie about one another, and I have seen Christians lie about one another. I have seen Witches posture for position for personal gain, and I have seen greed in Christian leadership too. I have seen Witches dishonor those among their spiritual family who pass away, and I have seen Christians speak ill of the dead as well.

I have seen Christians who have chosen to speak the truth even if it cost them, and yes I have seen Witches do the same. I have seen Christians act mercifully toward those who do not deserve mercy, and I have seen Witches do the same.

Often my little world of Christianity prides itself in being the model of ethical behavior. I am not sure that we can honestly wear those shoes, because they do not always fit us. Instead I think we are called to dance gracefully in the battlezone.

We are called to avoid choosing sides in personal struggles for the sake of loving all people. We are called to navigate the places of strife with the words of peace. We are called to help the defenseless in the moment of their greatest need, and to cease throwing stones even when stones are deserved. We are called to speak words of truth even if those words defend non-Christians, and call Christians to repentance. I believe that this is what dancing in the battlezone looks like, and I believe we are all called to such a ministry.

Unfortunately, even Christians are saving their silver knives to join the fight instead of dancing in the battlezone.


To read parts 1-3:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Why I like the Title Pastor

Because I don't like self appointed Apostles.

Because Prophets think they're all that.

Because Teachers always know it all.

Because Evangelists can't take a breath to listen.

Okay, those really are not the reasons. Those are just stereotypes I have come up with.

The real reason is that Pastor is the only title among the the list in Ephesians 4:11 which carries an automatic connotation of relationship. It is a title which reminds us to be friends, and caregivers. Of course, we've seem to forgotten that the title is a caring title, but I still like it because it reminds us (if we remember its meaning) that we need to return to friendship in the church.

So, if you have a problem with the fact that every position in a church is a "Pastor" remember that it should be a reminder to get back to the basics of caring for one another.

Leadership as a Familial Model and Acceptance of Sinners

We had a rather interesting discussion last night at church, which moved to a discussion of homosexuality, and then to outreach among fringe people groups. We had been foraging through some follow-up from our Conference "God For People Who Hate Church."

Jim Henderson, Jay Bakker and Tony Jones all emphasized in some manner reaching out in love with no agenda, and this became a point of challenge which included wondering if there was a place in which the Gospel was being compromised in order to show acceptance to those outside the church.

As an afterthought concerning this discussion I have had some thoughts based upon a discussion with one of our members following the evening dialogue.

I believe the model of Christian leadership outlined by Paul is one of familial interaction. Nowhere are potential leaders asked to measure up to some corporate or militaristic model of leadership, rather they are expected to be family men and women, who run their family well, and peaceably. This means that way Christian leaders treat people should be like the sacrificial love and patient longsuffering we show our family members. If we really lived like this in church, I wonder if it would significantly reorganize or transform our experience and our leadership patterns?

Westboro Baptist Church to Protest Jerry Falwell's Funeral

So, Westboro Baptist Church is at it again. This time they are going to protest the "false prophet Jerry Falwell". SAY WHAT!? Wow this is sick, but I guess anyone who changes the words to pop songs so that "God Hates the World" has got to be willing to disassociate themselves from common sense, and be willing to desecrate a memorial service for the dead.

see story at Fox News here
see "God Hates the World"

Post SynchroBlog Post - Getting the Most Out of Your SynchroBlog

Just a few thoughts on the backside of our SynchroBlog on Christianity and Film:

First off kudos to Steve Hayes who came up with this month's topic, and generated the interest - even among some people who had not been part of a SynchroBlog for awhile, or had not been participants before. Which leads me to welcome, and say thanks to:

Cobus van Wyngaard, Lance Cummings, and Dr. Kim Paffenroth; and welcome back for this one time Blog-brilliance to John Morehead.

Then I found someone Synching who I didn't even know was doing it until afterwards. And it was a killer post! So, thanks for hopping in Rev. Sam.

I have found that over each of the SynchroBlogs we have done since this started in December, I have seen a spike in the number of visitors to my blog on the day the Synchroblog runs which has been anywhere from double to triple the average daily visitor count, and following each SynchroBlog I have seen a slight increase in daily readership as well. So, for you SynchroBloggers, here are my suggestions for getting a little more traffic: 1) Get on the list early so the other Synchies know you're coming. 2) Post a little earlier than the expected time of release - maybe the evening before. If someone else posts early, the traffic coming from their site will find you up and running, and they'll stick around. 4) If you have some sort of mailing list, send out a bulletin about the SynchroBlog release, and give some information about the topic. 5) I keep my SynchroBlog up all day before I post another topic so people find it easily. 6) I respond to the people making comments on my blog by commenting back to them. 7) You might want to add "SynchroBlog" as a tag/label as well, especially if you are hooked up with Technorati.

So that's my way of Synching up with each of you.

My interest in getting this going was believing that we had something to say, and that we could get more people to read our deep wisdom (dislocating arm by patting myself on the back) with some coordination. Plus I can relate to Pinky and The Brain - "What are we going to do today?" "Take over the world."

Here's my list of surprising moments in the SynchroBlog for May: Dang! I was sure that Jenelle was a professional film critic with her observations on Dancer in the Dark. I had no clue that someone knew as much about Buffy: The Vampire Slayer as Steve Hollinghurst. Marieke gets the bravery award for suggesting that Jesus loves Borat in a very cool post - this just might get the postmodern/emergent nod of the day as well. For being able to pull allegorical content out of movies in a way I just can not do, I have to give some serious kudos to Sonja for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, and to Adam's work on Spiderman. Greatest Surprise? Someone else loves Babylon 5! Yeah David. You rock!

SynchroBloggers, did you have some favorites this time around? Perhaps you want to respond with a post on your Blog.

Frisbee: Time to Toss it Back

This is supposed to be a SynchroBlog on the subject of Christianity and Film. (For info on SynchroBlogs see The Original SynchroBlog Post from back in December.) I know the original idea of this SynchroBlog probably was to discover places where heaven met the secular silver screen, or to challenge the idea that it does, but I thought that I would write something about a good Christian flick, because finding one is a miracle in itself.

The movie is Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher. Our church owns the film. Of course, we also own Marjoe, which I believe every preacher ought to see.

Okay I've spent two paragraphs saying nothing about Frisbee, so here we finally go.

It is a documentary about Lonnie Frisbee. Most people today have never heard of Lonnie. I saw him preach in 1981, and he was quite a celebrity in certain circles. Those circles were Calvary Chapel, and Vineyard Churches. He was a little hippie dude, who by 1981 looked less the hippie, and held services in which people experienced lots of radical charismatic God things - you know, speaking in tongues, healings etc.

I did not know at that time that he was responsible for the early miraculous growth of both the Calvary Chapel and Vineyard movements. Later the historical connection between the church movements and Lonnie would be kept quite silent in most circles. Why? Because Lonnie contracted AIDS through homosexual relationships which he had over the same years he was in ministry, and died in 1993.

Two movements had their genesis, and thrived under his passion, and his impetus. Yet today few people in those movements know his name. He has been tossed out as an unclean leper, and his legacy is forgotten. Perhaps it is time to toss his name back into the discussion, and work through the questions his life challenges us with.

At our recent church conference God: For People Who Hate Church we showed the movie, and followed it up for a discussion. Perhaps you should consider buying the DVD, and creating a discussion group around it as well. Thanks to David Di Sabatino for putting this postmodern Bible story together for us.

May 16th SynchroBlog - Christianity and Film

Steve Hayes was the impetus behind this month's SynchroBlog topic about Christianity and Film. I don't watch enough movies to even have come up with this topic, so I needed a more movie-manic personality to get me to post about it. Below are the links to the people who will be writing about this subject. As expected Spidey rules the web here as he does elsewhere. Links should be connected to stories by Tuesday PM, or Wednesday AM.


Steve Hayes ponders The Image of Christianity in Films
Adam Gonnerman pokes at The Spider's Pardon
David Fisher thinks that Jesus Loves Sci-Fi
John Morehead considers Christians and Horror Redux: From Knee-Jerk Revulsion to Critical Engagement
Marieke Schwartz lights it up with Counter-hegemony: Jesus loves Borat
Mike Bursell muses about Christianity at the Movies
Jenelle D'Alessandro tells us Why Bjork Will Never Act Again
Cobus van Wyngaard contemplates Theology and Film (as art)
Tim Abbott tells us to Bring your own meaning...?
Sonja Andrews visits The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Christ in Spaghetti Westerns
Steve Hollinghurst takes a stab at The Gospel According to Buffy
Les Chatwin insists We Don't Need Another Hero
Lance Cummings says The Wooden Wheel Keeps Turning
John Smulo weaves a tale about Spiderman 3 and the Shadow
Josh Rivera spells well with Christian Witchcraft
Phil Wyman throws out the Frisbee: Time to Toss it Back
Sally Coleman is Making Connections- films as a part of a mythological tradition
Dr. Kim Paffenroth investigates Nihilism Lite
Rev. Sam escapes with Apologia pro video sua

Jerry Falwell Dies

and with his passing, perhaps the passing of an era in American Christianity. See the story here.

SynchroBlog for May

Steve Hayes over at Methodius gives us the update on this month's SynchroBlog. Interested in joining the topic about Christianity and film? See Steve's Post on the subject.

Dang! I want to see the Check!

Okay, I'm not sure how they rate dollars to technorati rating, but I look pretty decent for all this blog work, and that's only this site. It doesn't include The Church Site, or The Why Man.

So here's what Dane Carlson's Site says the value of my blog is:

My blog is worth $49,114.98.
How much is your blog worth?

Go to How Much is Your Blog Worth?.

I found this on Beyond the 4 Walls.

Beyond the Pall (Part 3): Fellowshiping with Darkness?

Should I have said that I would pray about it? Should I have asked for advice from my ministry peers, and considered their wisdom first? Should I have weighed out the factors, and considered how it might look to other Christians? I don't know. But I did do what I usually do. I saw a door crack open, and rushed through it headlong.

"I would love to teach a workshop!"

It was set in motion, and I, an evangelical Pastor was headed to being one of the workshop presenters at a festival with 1,500 Pagans. In turn she hoped to give my name to some national coordinators, and wanted to see if she could get me connected at a national level, taking my message on the road.

It was the end of my friend's memorial service. My friend the Witch had died, and I became a larger part of the lives of his friends who were left behind. Speaking at his service, I hailed back to the Celtic Christians, and referred to the Thin Places where Heaven meets earth. The death of a friend is a Thin Place, because it blindingly reminds us of our own mortality, and captures our fears, and our hopes, our joys, and our sorrows in one anarchic clash, and we meanwhile squint in the light of eternity. I ended my short message by calling everyone to consider making their own lives a Thin Place where people could capture Heaven through interacting with us. It was not a Gospel message, but it was one rooted in the source of my faith, and it reverberated gently among the Pagans in attendance that night. You see, I am convinced that what we give people is often indicative of where we are headed. If we show them heaven by treating them graciously, then it is heaven which is flowing from our hearts. On the other hand, if we give people Hell by treating them poorly, that speaks for itself. I was encouraging people to live in such a way as to give away pieces of Heaven.

After the memorial I worked on developing a workshop idea for this Pagan festival. Over the next couple weeks this is what developed:

The Circle and The Cross Talk:  Re-visioning Pagan/Christian Relationships

"Looking back to the Caesars, and to the Burning Times misconceptions and urban myths have had deadly results for both Pagans and Christians.  In our own times, though mild in comparison, Pagans have been on the receiving end of the religious persecution.  Some have chosen to remain in the broom closet, and others have faced the struggle head on - sometimes to bitter disappointment with family, friends, and work associates.  This workshop is designed as a deeper look into the worldview differences between Christian and Neo-Pagan thought with a focus upon deconstructing, and re-visioning some of the beliefs which cause the greatest pain.  Come learn to navigate this battlefield of philosophical tension. Topics of frustration to be covered include judgment, conversion, spiritual dissonance, and sexuality."

I am going to be giving a workshop discussing Heaven and Hell, Salvation, Spiritual Warfare, and Sex from a Biblical perspective at a Pagan gathering, and people are excited about it. Someone pinch me and wake me up.

Paul spoke of his love for the Jews. I have this same deep appreciation, and love for Neo-Pagans. Over the last 12 years of getting to know them, I have learned that this much-maligned group is filled with beautiful people. In our Christian tendency to reduce every person to simply a sinner, we sometimes lose sight of the imago dei which simmers gently in the every person. In our tendency to demonize cultural and religious groups we do not understand, we sometimes loose sight of legitimate critiques they may have against our own culture, and our ways. I have found my Neo-Pagan friends to be among the brightest, and the most concerned, and also the ablest critics of our own Christian culture. Yet, here I was being accepted as a voice of legitimacy on their own turf, and I am a man of the cloth they choose not to weave their garments from.

Did this support the old adage that it is not what you say, but how you say it? Has my work in deconstructing, and redefining Christian doctrine missionally for alternative spiritualities had its effect in making me a more gentle Christian to those I really loved? Had I found a way to express Jesus to people who seemed to have no problem with Him, but struggled mightily with His followers? Perhaps it was simpler than that. Perhaps it was that when my friend died, I showed myself true - as a friend to him, and to his friends, and did so without worry of whether my reputation would be sullied by hanging out with Witches.

Perhaps I am actually compromising my faith, as my detractors warn, or I am being subtlely deceived by the wiles of the devil, and moving into unprotected territory where I would be subject to the devil's attacks and deceptions. One pastor had suggested as much when he asked me the rather sophmoric question, "Have you ever heard the term fellowshiping with darkness?"

"Uh, yeah..." 'Gee, It's not like I haven't been a Pentecostal Pastor for 20 years,' I thought.

"Well what does it mean to you?" He querried deeper, as though he was trying to mine some deep-seated unrepentant condition from my heart.

I wanted to answer, "It looks like sitting in a room with a bunch of cowards screaming at demons, while people who need Jesus are out on the streets during Halloween. That looks like fellowshiping with darkness to me," but I held my sarcasm, and remained gentle before his inquisition. Halloween in Salem is a month long, and while we made friends, served the community, and shared our faith, this man had critiqued our outreach projects, while he sat in holy huddles inside the safety of the church.

I guess if Halloween outreaches have been a problem, teaching at a Pagan Festival is going to be a bigger problem for some people, but for now I will prepare, and see what the upcoming months moving toward the conference bring.

As I draw deeper into the culture of these people I love, will I find deeper expressions of the imago dei? Will I find people earnestly seeking authentic spirituality? Will I find other Christians who are willing to join me in a quest to share Shalom? or will I find myself fellowshiping with darkness, turmoil, and succumbing to deception? I think I know the answer, but who can read the map of the untrod paths of the an adventure yet untried?

Only one Person can read that future which does not yet exist.

First Podcast From "God: for People Who Hate Church" - Jim Henderson (Friday, May 4th)

You can find the first Podcast from our conference here in Salem, MA at our church website.

Jim Henderson pushes some boundaries of our thinking about church life, and incarnational ministry. If you like Jim, this may be an opportunity to here him speak more freely than you have heard before. Heck, when you speak at a conference entitled "God: for People Who Hate Church" it 's a bit difficult to get much more provocative than that! So, Jim says he felt pretty free to speak up. Check it out!

So it Begins - God for People Who Hate Church

Hi Friends,

Our conference begins tonight. People are beginning to show up now. Karen Ward is in Town, Jim Henderson is here, Jay Bakker will be here in a couple hours. The Christian Science Monitor will be here today and tomorrow to talk to Jim henderson and I. Of course, Tony Jones is too emergent to get here when everyone else does, he'll arrive at 11pm.

So, we are off and running. For those who will be here, see you soon. If you haven't registered and want to come, you can just come as you are, and register or any of the events tonight through Sunday morning.

View our flyer for the event here.

You can also follow live blogging of the event for those who can not make it at The Gathering Blogsite.

Gwyn eich byd, White your world!
Phil

CONFERENCE TIME! God for People Who Hate Church is Here

Today, I met Agent B who flew out here form Abilene, TX. I took him around Salem, and he met real live Witches - at least five of the locals. He got a feel for our beautiful New England city, and felt the cool breezes and the warm sun of late spring. Then Don Rylander from Jackson, MS - my old buddy who was there on the first day I began pastoring a church I Carlsbad, CA 22 years ago arrived in town, and we spent some time together this evening.

Tomorrow at 7pm the event officially begins. There will be people blogging live from the conference, and you can follow their writings. The live-bloggers will be linked in the right-hand column of the church blog site. There will also be a variety of people guest blogging from the church blog.

Our guest speakers include Jay Bakker, Jim Henderson, and Tony Jones.

Guest panelists include Karen Ward, John Smulo, Ken Nelson, and Beth Maynard.

We will also hear from Lou, Jonas, and Michael on our Humanist/Christian discussion panel, and from Teri Kalgren, Suzy Wade, and Krista Grillo during our Pagan/Christian discussion.

So for the next three days you will find us at The Gathering's Blog Site.

This conference is charting some new territory for us, and we hope to discover how we might become better servants to the variety of people around us.

Gwyn eich byd!
Pastor Phil

Beyond the Pall (Part 2) at Relevant

A previous post Beyond the Pall (Part 2): Standing Between the Worlds has been published at Relevant Magazine online, and just came up today - 5/2/07.

Here is the link to the article at Relevant.

The original without the editing is found here.

Check it out at Relevant, and leave a comment. I am hoping to create a series based upon my growing interaction with the Pagan community, and have a larger audience like the readers of Relevant follow it. I have presented the idea to the editors of Relevant, and they are willing to look at it an article at a time right now.

Are We Americans Really This Stupid?

I wonder if it is a peculiar American passion to offend entire countries, or have we learned this only recently from our movie star role models. I am appalled at the lack of consideration for a culture as this story about Hollywood meeting Bollywood.

How do we learn from this kind of negative role model, and gain insight for missions?

Live Blogging from God For People Who Hate Church

May 4-6th - yep that only 3 days away! - we will provide some live blogging from our conference. Topics and themes of teachings and panel discussions will be provided by various observers. Carly Menasco, Kevin Menasco, Josh Rivera (see His blog rivera's Blog), and others will take a hand at some live commentary. If you follow the blogging at the blog site for The Gathering, you can send some questions from distant places and get involved.

If you want to find the schedule for the conference, and follow along, go to our church website and follow the link to the conference flyer. Of course, you will need to add or subtract hours to adapt to Eastern Standard Time US.

Vampire Lynched?

Tell me it ain't so!

Is our world so superstitious that we lynch little old ladies, because they look and act strange. Do their peculiar behaviors become a reason for accusing them of unimaginable evils, simply because we can not understand them?

Of course Christians in a Christian nation would never become superstitious and do strange things would we?

Hmmm...what are these interesting items?

Guidance for Human Service Workers
A Free Guide to Get Rid of Those Demons Inside You

Could it be that there is superstition in Christianity? What do you think?