Rush Limbaugh was back in action today, and he was discussing the reaction to the story of one of the President’s “czars” who had resigned amid controversy.  The reaction on NBC News centered around the fact that the revelations of this guy’s past came from the Internet and not from “trusted” news sources.  Here’s a portion of Rush’s comments from today’s show, regarding statements by Thomas Friedman of the New York Times:

FRIEDMAN:  The Internet is an open sewer of untreated, unfiltered information, left, right, center, up, down, and requires that kind of filtering, by anyone.  And I always felt, you know, when modems first came out, when that was how we got connected to the Internet, that every modem sold in America should actually have come with a warning from the Surgeon General that would have said “judgment not included.”  That you have to upload the old-fashioned way, church, synagogue, temple, mosque, teachers, schools, you know, and too often now people say and we’ve all heard it, “but I read it on the Internet,” as if that solves the bar bet, and I’m afraid not.

RUSH:  So you people are idiots, you don’t have the capacity to understand what you read, whether it’s true or not, you need filters, you need the professionals, you need the experts like Tom Brokaw and Tom Friedman and so forth.  The Internet is an open sewer . . . So I guess it’s an open sewer for them, too.  They just can’t stand it.  Their monopoly is gone, they just can’t stand that they are not the ones anymore to get to determine what’s news and what isn’t.

You’re not supposed to have the opportunity to be this informed, that’s the real problem.  You know too much.  This is threatening democracy in their arrogant, conceited view.  Every modem sold in America should come with a warning from the Surgeon General?  Who uses modems anymore, for crying out loud?  Do you use a modem, Brian?  I’m sure some people do, but every modem should come with a warning from the Surgeon General that says “judgment not included”?  That’s right, and you’re not capable of making your own judgment.  We have to let Tom Friedman and Tom Brokaw make judgments for you.  They’re the ones that are qualified; they’re the ones that are highly trained; they’re the professionals.  You’re just a rube, an idiot.

Such is the elitist mentality of those who think they know better than others because of their “education” or their “position”.

Translate that same attitude into church and you get the elitist attitude that the “common” person in the pew cannot possibly understand Scripture without the “enlightened understanding” that can only come from one of the “educated elites”.  I don’t mean to paint with too broad a brush here, but many preachers I know and have read or heard possess this mentality.  They, and they alone, or others of their “intellectual level”, are the only ones truly qualified to read, understand, and interpret the Bible.  Those who attempt to do so on their own risk falling into doctrinal heresies such as befell several in the 1800’s who began spin-off denominations with some peculiar semi- or extra-biblical beliefs and practices.  I recently read something by a current seminary professor and some who agree with him that reinforces this attitude.

I’m sorry, but I have to totally reject that position.  As a member of the “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9) I have unfettered access to my Heavenly Father with intercession by His Holy Spirit, who, according to the Lord Jesus, was sent specifically to “guide [me] into all truth” (John 16:13).  Granted, without prayerful consideration of the Book, and without careful study of the context, the history, and the meanings of the original words behind the translations, it is possible for *anyone* to fall into error.  Studying is certainly easier now with the availability of many fantastic online and computer-based study tools (I like e-Sword and Bible Explorer).  With such fine study helps, with a prayerful and reverent attitude, and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, anyone can understand what God has to say in His Word.

But, like Mark Twain, many reject the Bible for personal reasons.  Twain reportedly said, “It ain’t what I don’t understand in the Bible that bothers me, it’s what I do understand in the Bible that bothers me.”  So the choices are to ignore it, reinterpret it to say something else, or change your opinions to match what is written.

I’ve made my choice.  What’s yours?

We spent the Memorial Day weekend in Panama City, Florida.  Our good friend Karl Silva was ordained as a Baptist minister on Sunday, and Lori and I wanted to attend.  So we packed up the boys and drove down there.

Now, the “Rev” has his “official” papers declaring him to be qualified as a preacher.  He is already lined up to fill the pulpit of a local church for the next several weeks.

May God bless your ministry, Karl.

He sat silently in the barracks, staring numbly at the gold coins in his hands. His confused mind replayed over and over the events of the last few days – the most unreal days of his life.

Somehow he had avoided being placed on the execution detail last week. Good thing, too. His fellow soldiers brought back some fairly decent loot from the crucified victims, but no one was interested in anything but the story. THE story. The one criminal that had been executed in the middle between the others was different somehow. He didn’t fight, curse the soldiers, return insults to those who paraded past him and mocked him, or react negatively in any way. In fact, he was actually heard praying to the Jews’ god to forgive all those around. Then there was the darkness in midday. Then, after only six hours, the guy yelled and died. At that instant the earth shook violently, frightening even the most hardened soldier among them. Even the centurion in charge fell down and called the guy a god. Weird. Really weird.

But self-congratulations on missing the unpleasant duties were short-lived. The stupid Jewish priests demanded a security guard over that guy’s tomb. An all-nighter! And he had the misfortune of being one of the overnight guards the the governor sent to the priests for instructions. Then he got picked to be on station during the dark hours. He hated the morning watch. Boredom. Night noises. Animals. Rebels. Hours of absolutely nothing except wondering when the next surprise was coming.

Last week I went to The Wilds Christian Camp and Conference Center in Brevard, NC, for their annual music conference.  It was fantastic.

The main speaker was Dr. David Innes, pastor of the Hamilton Square Baptist Church in San Francisco.  his messages were very timely and effective.  I found out that he and my uncle Ralph were roommates at Bob Jones!  What a small world!  I also saw a former pastor and his wife, Larry and Linda Curtis, who have moved from Panama City, FL, to NC to work with their son who is pastoring a church there now.

The other sessions were great as well.  The workshops were very informative.  As usual I went to the “Composition and Arranging” specialty class with Mrs. Joan Pinkston of the BJU faculty.  I had 3 new hymn tunes that the class reviewed (and bled red ink upon) and a solo that she and I polished up in a private lesson.  There were three in the class that expressed an interest in one (or more) of the new works.  I hope they can use them and that God can use them for His glory.

Probably the best part of the whole week (and that includes the wonderful food!) was the fellowship with others and the friendliness of everyone around.  It is so different from the “real world”.  I was flattered to discover that there were some who expressed that they missed me last year when I did not attend.  Mrs. Pinkston also told me that she missed having me in her class, and she referred to me as the “life of the party”.  Hoo boy.  Where’s my lampshade?

Of course the week ended too soon.  I hope to return next year.

You know, that seems like such an inadequate thing to say.

This time of year has become so inundated with the greed and selfishness that is increasingly escaping from the corrupt human nature.  And the forced secularization of our culture continues in open warfare against Christianity and all of its traditions, standards, and beliefs.

Yet the incredible, undeniable truth still exists:

God Himself took on human form in order to pay the unpayable debt that we all owe.

And then He told us that we could have the receipt if we would only ask for it.

Perhaps that’s part of the reason for the animosity towards the simple message of eternal salvation:  mankind is just too proud to admit that maybe something can be done FOR him instead of BY him.

Jesus came.  That is fact.  Jesus lived and was cruelly murdered (talk about torture!).  Jesus rose from the dead.  Jesus is alive today.  Jesus will someday come back.

These are undeniable truths.  And they all started in a feed trough in a backwoods town in Judaea over 2,000 years ago.

Merry Christmas, indeed.

Thank you, Lord.

I had a thought (which in itself is a scary event!).

In the Bible, prophecy says that at the end of time a leader will arise who will deceive everyone with his slick talking and promises.  I always wondered how that could be possible.  Certainly someone would see through the guy’s disguise and spill the beans about him.  But the Scriptures say that he will deceive many, including the Jews.

Now, I am not (I repeat NOT) trying to say that Obama is the Antichrist.  I am merely observing that he is a deceiver, making all kinds of empty promises and glibly denying any past events or associations that could harm his goals.  Watching this political campaign, it becomes apparent that it truly is possible for someone, with the encouragement of a fawning mass media, could be vaulted into prominence and have anything remotely damaging to his reputation be disregarded or ignored.

A parallel to this would be from over 70 years ago in Germany with a young socialist named Hitler (No, I am NOT comparing Obama to Hitler!!!  Stop it!!!).  Hitler was able to unify the majority of the German people with his fiery rhetoric and his promises of Aryan superiority.  We all know how that turned out.

Anyway, this is just an observation.  The Antichrist could be around now, or he could still yet be unborn.  Only God knows for sure.

And again, this is not intended as an insult to Obama.  Though I do not like him or his policies, I am not going to insult anyone like this.

A survey was recently released about religion in America that had some disturbing data. From Townhall.com’s Eric Gorski:

Nearly across the board, the majority of religious Americans believe many religions can lead to eternal life: mainline Protestants (83 percent), members of historic black Protestant churches (59 percent), Roman Catholics (79 percent), Jews (82 percent) and Muslims (56 percent).

By similar margins, people in those faith groups believe in multiple interpretations of their own traditions’ teachings. Yet 44 percent of the religiously affiliated also said their religion should preserve its traditional beliefs and practices.

“What most people are saying is, ‘Hey, we don’t have a hammer-lock on God or salvation, and God’s bigger than us and we should respect that and respect other people,’” said the Rev. Tom Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University.

Just before this poll was released, I began reading Faithfulness and Holiness: The Witness of J.C. Ryle by J.I. Packer. In it I found an interesting quote written by Bishop Ryle in 1898 in a treatise entitled Knots Untied. It is eerily prophetic. Or it just proves that history really does repeat itself.

Here’s the passage, taken from an online copy of Ryle’s work: