Segregated beach?

I took this picture while on vacation in Florida.
If you enjoy interesting pictures, check out the website of Joe Thorn. He has a thought-provoking picture of a sign on a recent blog post.

Ridiculous Religion

Unfortunately, many religious practices are pretty ridiculous. This can be true, whether it is a fanatical terrorist who wants to blow things up in the name of his God, or a movie star like Tom Cruise who thinks you should pay some fee to a Scientology therapist to get things straight with your past lives that are bothering your psyche.
Isaiah the prophet wrote a long time ago about ridiculous religion. In fact, he pointed out three examples:
1) To worship what you make. Isaiah 44:9-20 ridiculed the carpenter who would take a piece of wood and put part of it in a fire to warm himself, and carve the rest into a god and bow down to it, saying "save me." But anytime somebody worships what they make, they doing the same thing. It is popular in American culture to take bits and pieces of belief from this church and that and come up with your own brand of religion that is comfortable for you. But if you made it, how can it be any bigger than you? The wonderful thing about the gospel of grace by faith in Jesus Christ's death on the cross, is that no person would have dreamed up such a message. It came from God.
2) To reject the One who made you. Isaiah 45:9-12 points out how absurd it would be for the clay to say to the potter, "Why did you make me?" or for the child to say to the mother, "Why did you give birth to me?" Likewise, the prophet says, how silly to reject the Creator of the universe. The astronomer Kirschner had an atheist friend who visited his lab and saw a globe. He said, "Who made that?" Kirschner replied, "Nobody made it, it appeared of its own accord." When the atheist friend said "that's ridiculous," Kirschner went on to say, "How is it that you are convinced that this globe must have been made by an intelligent being, but you cannot accept that the beauty of nature all around you was made by an intelligent being?"
3) To trust in ways that cannot save you. In Isaiah 45:20-23, the prophet points out how ridiculous it is to bow down to "gods that cannot save." Then he appeals to his hearers: "Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no other." Today that would be called narrow-minded. Call it what you will, but he is a fool who knows which door to open to escape a burning house, and refuses to go that way for fear that somebody will call him narrow-minded.

Tattoo or not tattoo?

With her permission to share, below is a question about tattoos from Suzanne Shurling, a college student and one of our church members, followed by my reply:

Hey Brother Bob! How are you doing?
We were just having a discussion up here
and I wanted to get your opinion. We were discussing whether or not it is a sin
to get a tattoo. One of the verses brought up was about keeping your body holy
and the thought process was that any permanent markings (piercing of any kind,
tattoos, etc) was making the temple unholy. Another thought process put on the
table was that tattoos were ok except memorial tattoos because that is
specifically what Leviticus said the pagans did to mourn their dead and we
shouldn't do that. Another thought was even Christian tattoos (i.e. crosses,
Jesus fishes, etc) weren't cool because its too much like trying to be
like the world. The other thought was that as long as it was easily
coverable (so as not to offend and turn off the lost), you didn't do it because
everyone else was or it became an obsession and it was something you really
thought about and talked to God about, it was ok. Lastly, the thought that
it was just like picking out clothes, not that big of a deal and no need to even
consult Scripture... I just wanted to ask you how Scripture spoke to this
issue...

My reply to Suzi: "On the subject of tattoos, I would basically agree with the second view, that "memorial tattoos" violate Leviticus 19:28: "'Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD."
We have to be careful about projecting our cultural viewpoint on this issue, and make sure that we are following scripture, not tradition. The views that permanent markings make the temple of your body unholy, or that it is too much like trying to be like the world, are viewpoints that make an assumption that all tattoos are unholy and worldly. What evidence is there of that all tattoos are unholy and worldly, other than tradition? Similarly, some would point to Leviticus 19:28 and say the Bible says not to put tattoo marks on yourselves, but if you read the context, it is referring to tattoo markings as a memorial to the dead in pagan practice, just as you mentioned in your email. If someone insisted on a blanket ban on all tattoos based on Leviticus 19:28, to be consistent he would also have to ban all haircuts based on the previous verse, which says "do not cut off the hair at the sides of your head..." Without looking at the background, one might assume this forbids haircuts, but from Leviticus 21:5, 1 Kings 18:28 we can determine that this was a pagan practice, and the concern was to avoid a pagan practice.
Most people would agree that haircuts are permitted, but if there was a haircut commonly done to worship some false god, then we should avoid that. For example, Christians in Thailand would want to avoid getting haircuts that look like Buddhist monks.
If you apply this same logic to Leviticus 19:28, then you would have to say that the Bible is not necesssarily banning all tattoos, but it is warning against pagan tattoos. Deuteronomy 14:1-2 and Jeremiah 48:37 also refer to cutting of the body as common in pagan religion, so it would appear that this was the problem with tattoos in Leviticus 19:28. So basically, I would agree with the second viewpoint in your email."

I did not include this in my original reply, but I need to add two other comments about tattoos:
1) Tattoos should be done by a professional, to avoid health risks. (Remember, the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.)
2) I would also add the caution that scripture teaches us not to do something which would cause your brother or sister in Christ to stumble (see Romans 14, especially verse 21.) That's why, in my personal opinion, tattoos that can be covered by normal clothing are preferable. In a follow-up email with Suzi, I discovered that this subject came up because of a desire to put a tattoo on the foot with the words "Send Me" as a reminder to go where God would send, based on Romans 10:15. Certainly a tattoo like this that reminds a person of his or her calling and is covered and does not call attention to oneself cannot be said to be unholy. In fact, it sounds very holy to me!

Church member to pitch for the Braves!

I just received word from his mother that church member Jason Shiell, former Red Sox relief pitcher who is currently pitching with the AAA minor-league Richmond Braves, will be called up for a "spot pitch" to replace an injured pitcher, and will be the starting pitcher for the Atlanta Braves in St. Louis tomorrow night, Wednesday, July 19.
Jason and his wife and his parents are all members of First Baptist Church of Rincon. Jason pitched as a relief pitcher for the Braves, was later traded to the Red Sox, where he was also a relief pitcher, and then suffered an injury. After rehabilitation and some playing time in the independent leagues, he signed with the Braves again this year, and he has been pitching with the AAA minor-league Braves team in Richmond, Virginia.
Jason has an "Athlete's Prayer" typed on paper and laminated that he reads every time he pitches, and he will be wearing it under his cap tomorrow night. It was on engraved on a cup that his grandmother gave him before she died. Now his mother types it up and laminates it for him each year. Here is the prayer. Let's lift him up in prayer, that he will do his best and have an opportunity to glorify the Lord through his talents.

"The Athlete's Prayer"(Unknown author)

Lord, please clear my head of all distractions
And my heart of burdens I may bear
So I may perform my very bestKnowing you'll be there
With great courage I will meet this challenge
As you would have me to
But keep me humble and remind me
That my strength comes from knowing you.
Then when all eyes are upon me
At the end of this big game
I will turn their eyes to you, O Lord,
And to the glory of your name.
Amen.

UPDATE: Jason pitched four innings, but was taken out of the game as he got tired and the Cardinals took the lead. I thought he threw accurately. He was throwing a lot of pitches that were on the edge of the strike zone that the umpire was calling balls. Altogether, he threw 81 pitches and had six strikeouts, while allowing three walks, four hits, and four runs. He faced Albert Pujols, one of the greatest hitters in the game, twice. Both times he threw on the edges, refusing to give Pujols anything easy to hit, and Pujols laid off the pitches and walked both times. According to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, Jason said, “I was pleased with the way I threw, but not satisfied."
The TV commentators were impressed with Jason's ability and said so several times on the air. Let's hope Braves manager Bobby Cox feels the same way. Now I've got to find a picture of him in a Braves hat and get rid of that Boston picture!

Guest column: "Anti-Christian Culture?"

As I promised a while back, I'm running a guest column by one of my frequent readers and blogger himself, Jesse Perry, on the subject of Christianity and the "anti-Christian culture." Jesse calls the article "Cultural Interface."
I basically agree with what Jesse is saying below. My one concern, and I think he states the same concern in this article, is a caution that efforts to engage the culture must not dilute our Christian beliefs. While we do not need to give deliberate offense, the fact is that the gospel will offend. As the apostle Paul said, "But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles" (1 Corinthians 1:23, HCSB). I feel that leaders in the "Emerging Church" movement such as Brian McLaren have been so eager to engage the culture that they have been unwilling to speak truth to the culture. Other leaders of the Emerging Church movement, such as Mark Driscoll, have been a better example of sticking to scripture.
Below is the beginning of the article. Read the whole article by clicking on "Comments" below and going to the first comment:

Cultural Interface by Jesse Perry
Lifeway lists “Anti-Christian
culture” as the number one issue facing families in the May/June 2006 issue of
Facts and Trends. I think I understand what that means, but what exactly is
“anti-Christian culture”? Is there some conspiracy? Is the simple answer that
Satan is behind it all? There is a predominant pattern of thought on the issue
of culture among evangelicals that basically assumes this, and I think that’s a
little too simplistic. When we say that it’s all because of Satan, we give the
wrong implication that it’s useless to try to change things. I believe that we
are unwittingly participating in that so-called “Satanic conspiracy” when we
refuse to ask questions and delve deeper into this issue. The point can be made
that mainstream American culture and evangelical subculture are purposely very
dissimilar, and that this is a good thing because mainstream culture contains
many negative elements… but then so does the evangelical subculture. Does that
mean that Satan is the architect of the evangelical subculture as well? No? Then
neither is he the architect of “secular” culture either. It is more complicated
than that...

[Continue reading this article by clicking on "Comments" below and reading the first comment.]

This little light of mine...

I took this picture in the Dow House in Old St. Augustine Village in St. Augustine, Florida, while on vacation this past week.

Happy Independence Day!

Here's a picture of our church's award-winning float in the Rincon 4th of July parade. Congratulations to Dr. Bill Gammon, our associate pastor, for doing a super job in designing and constructing this float. The float received the Eagle Award for the float that best represents freedom, and the Alpha Battery Award for the float that best honors Alpha Battery, our local Army National Guard Unit that recently returned from service in Iraq.

Super man or super bad Dad?

The new Superman Returns movie is getting mixed reviews from Christian bloggers. Here are two interesting blogs on the subject. One sees this Superman as a "Christ figure" while the other seems him as a superbad dad. Readers, have you seen the movie? Do you see Jesus in Superman? Are you offended by his illegitimate fatherhood?
LATER NOTE: This subject was hotly debated on World magazine's blog recently.

I gave up my StarTac

Last week I finally gave up my StarTac cell phone. For several years, I would get an interesting reaction when people saw me pull out my StarTac. People would often say, "I used to have a StarTac. That was a good phone." Others would say, "Why do you still have that ancient thing?" But I loved my StarTac. It got good reception, so why change? So what if I didn't have caller ID? It was beginning to get worn from years of use, and I wondered recently if the hinges would soon fall off, but that didn't seem like reason enough to change.

Anyway, my wife's cell phone tore up and needed replacing. When she went to the Alltell store, they told her that she could replace hers with a great LG camera phone and get another one free, so she asked the question that caused me to have a personal crisis: Should I give up my trustworthy StarTac and get a new LG cell phone? It was a scary thought, but I knew I had to make a decision. After asking a barrage of questions about the reliability of the phone and getting good answers from my wife, I took a leap of faith and told her to switch me over. I have been amazed. The LG is a camera-phone with all kinds of easy-to-use features that my StarTac either did not have or were hard to figure out: caller ID, different ring tones, voice memo, a hands-free driving mode, contact lists, alarm clock, note pad, calculator, speed dial, etc. Wow! Now I wonder why in the world I kept the StarTac so long. When I showed up at a church event with the new phone, one member said, "I thought you were the last person alive who still had a StarTac." I promptly told her that I knew a funeral director who still has one. (Hmm, I wonder if that should have told me something?) This reminds me of the experience a person has in accepting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Life in Christ is so much better than life without Christ-- there is hope and peace and purpose, not to mention eternal life in Heaven. As the apostle Paul put it, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old has gone, and the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Yes, becoming a Christian offers so much more to life, that a Christian would wonder why anybody would resist making the change. Yet changing over and giving up your old life is still a scary thought, and still requires a leap of faith. Kind of like giving up the StarTac. It's a little frightening until you do it, but then afterwards you wonder why you didn't come to Christ years before.