generation brats does not respect

Here's the deal--for the cause of their "greater good" or whatever they choose to call their agenda, the folks of Generation Brats will not let things like respect of private property, access to things like parks and shopping malls, and of course the ability to drive down the road get in their way. This is true for the religious side of Generation Brats as well, if not more so, since they can cloak their brattiness in spiritual garb.

Prayer and Meditation Flash Mob Upsets Officers

A group of occupiers and flash-mobbers in Salt Lake City organized an impromptu gathering in which protesters sat outside of the Gateway shopping mall in silent meditation and prayer. As you can see from this video, the mall officers weren’t too keen on the idea.

So, yes, never mind Christ's teachings about going to a private place, so that you don't do your praying for public show. Why, if you can do it for show, protest capitalism and shopping malls, and tick off mall security, you will get mega-brownie-points in heaven/nirvana/pick your afterlife destination. Not sure where that is in the Bible or whatever supposedly sacred text you choose, but hey, I'm sure Sojo can dig it up somewhere. It may be in Rules for Radicals, for all I know, a sacred text indeed among such, I would suppose.

peter rollins spews nonsense about prayer

I think it is becoming more and more apparent that nothing is safe from whatever passes through the mind of Peter Rollins, that he can take the most holy and sacred things, and make them profane. Quite the accomplishment.

Take, for example, prayer. Here's what he has recently had to say on that matter.

Prayer Works

This little story can perhaps help us to understand the underlying structure of prayer. In prayer we speak out to another and yet there is a second form of communication taking place simultaneously: we are also speaking to ourselves.

You can go to his page to read his little story, but the point behind it all is right there. And I would contend that, as the article progresses, his little nod to the idea that we may be speaking to another (God?) is set aside.

The question of prayer so often revolves around specifically religious issues such as whether there is a being to hear the prayers or why one needs to say anything at all (after all, if God exists, then God would know already what we want). But by bracketing these questions out for a moment and examining the underlying structure of prayer – a mode of communicating to an other (real or imagined) that results in a revelation of our feelings to ourselves – we can see that this is a universal act, one that transcends the theistic/atheistic debates.

May I translate that? Basically, he's saying that the question of whether or not there is a God or god who hears our prayers is irrelevant, that the main point all can agree on is that when we pray we are really praying to ourselves, revealing things to ourselves.

I am a great advocate of this form of communication; indeed it has been a lifeline to me many times over the last few years. Every day has been filled with prayer as I take time to speak out in order to come into contact with what lies within. It has provided the backbone of my intellectual project over the years as well being invaluable to my emotional wellbeing

So, we see what is valuable for Rollins in prayring--it helps him find what is in himself, to "come into contact with what lies within". Actually speaking to a God who may or may not be there is, at best, secondary.

When we speak out to the divine, or to those from whom we are distant, the ones we have lost to death or misunderstanding, those who we long to communicate with and yet cannot, we speak to something deep within ourselves. In doing this we bring into language that part of us which otherwise would continue to fester within our being and poison us. We bring light to something that would otherwise continue to lurk in the darkness of our unconscious and continue to plague us. And so, regardless of ones belief in the supernatural, we might be able to all agree that this kind of prayer works.

So, prayer is a lot like imaging a conversation with someone else. Yeah, right.

And, of course, when you see prayer merely as a form of therapy and self-enlightnement, well, it doesn't really matter what you think about the supernatural, whether there really is a God to whom you're praying to, or if the god to whom you are praying is merely yourself. Even atheist can pray to themselves.

nonsense

One of the most frustrating things about Charismatics today is the sheer amount of vapid nonsense they not only swallow whole-cloth, but attribute to the Holy Spirit and claim to have had revealed to them. Case in point...

Redeemed Students Pray: Kentucky to Texas, USA

As I crossed the border from Ohio to Kentucky, the Kentucky state sign jumped out at me. It had a picture of a horse and read "Unbridled Spirit." The Lord spoke to me in that moment… I knew that the spirit of religion had bound up the Holy Spirit in the state of Kentucky. I knew that the Lord wanted to unbridle the Holy Spirit to run free across the state. A timely realization as I was on my way to the first ever gathering of students and campus leaders who felt called to see a movement of prayer sweep Kentucky.

Wow. All that, from the sign greeting people as they cross into the state.

Nonsense. I'm going to say this...the Lord didn't speak a thing to her from that sign.

First, what is this "spirit of religion", and how is it strong enough it "bound up the Holy Spirit"? Considering that the Holy Spirit is God, by definition nothing is strong enough to bind Him; thus, the notion that anything like a "spirit of religion" has the Holy Spirit bound up is nonsense.

Second, what does it mean for the Holy Spirit to "run free across the state"? Really, what on Earth does that mean? It sounds spiritual, no doubt, but it's essentially meaningless.

And, third, doesn't it strike one as ...interesing, that the paragraph ends with a little plug for herself, people like her, and the things she and they are trying to do? Like, maybe those thing are the things that end up someone unbounding the Holy Spirit from the spirit of religion, so that it could run free, or whatever?

And what would this spirit running free look like?

I looked across at David, who was a student at Eastern Kentucky University last year. He's a brilliant percussionist whose life got wrecked by Jesus this last year. Since September he's lived in his car with the legend known as Curt, traveling around the nation, praying on campuses, leading worship, and preaching the gospel.

So, for one thing, I guess it means a life that could have been spent following the biblical command to live quietly and work, which a percussionists sure could do in his musical trade, is now spent living in his car. May we ask how he and this "legend known as Curt" make their living; you know, get food, get gas money, and the like?

I looked across at Chris, who graduated from the University of Kentucky a few years ago, and Jordan, who is a student at Eastern Kentucky University. Both of these guys have been experiencing more and more of God’s transformative power in their lives recently and spent spring break down in Florida loving on college students with the gospel.

Wow, Spring Break ministries. That's new...

Oh, wait, it's not. College ministries have done it, or an excuse for it, for years. I know of college groups that have gone to places like Hilton Head and Panama City Beach during Spring Break to minister, such as it was. I'll give them credit for trying, and even some success, though also some things done were a bit iffy, too.

Methinks this woman is not so informed. She really should try to find God's Word in more sure places than, say, roadside signs. Like, maybe, the Bible.

peter rollins demands what he already has

It's amazing, really, the kinds of things people can whine and complain about. I've heard of instances where a child can be in a room filled with toys, and for reasons only speculated on begin to cry. Perhaps it's because the one kind of toy they wanted wasn't among the riches they had before them, maybe it's because there were so many option that they simply couldn't figure where to begin, but just like those kids, some people will cry about the wealth of things about them.

Peter Rollins does that here.

Please Give Me Freedom From The Pursuit of Happiness

Something that I am exploring at the moment in my writing is the way that the pursuit of that thing which we believe will satisfy our soul is deeply destructive. It is a common belief that society will function best when its population is able to pursue what they desire. A pursuit that is constrained in only minimal ways (protecting others, making sure that contracts are honored etc.). The idea is that a happy society is one in which we have the ability, hypothetically at least, to gain the fame, money, relationship, creative venture, lover etc. that we seek. If these dreams are not even unlikely but practically impossible to achieve then, whether we realize it or not, we effectively live in a type of oppressive, totalitarian society that will lead to nothing but a discontented, depressed and angry population.

So, considering how Rollins likes to rip things inside out--turning traitors into heroes, making defiance and disobedience the marks of true love for God, and the hope for Heaven into a selfish desire--we can imagine where he's going with this.

What we see here is the way that the freedom to pursue our highest ambitions is not experienced as a freedom from some oppressive system but is itself often felt to be deeply oppressive. This is something that Mother Teresa noted when she visited the US. During her time she noted a poverty and oppression that hid in the material wealth and political freedom enjoyed here. For such political freedom often leads to a society with greater material wealth and better opportunities for the population. Things that are to be valued highly. However unless we also have the freedom from the pursuit of our highest ambition this political freedom, far from offering us an escape from oppression, can be experienced as one of the most psychologically powerful forms of oppression.

Oh, so, the right to pursue happiness is actually a type of oppression and totalitarianism. Gotcha.

Coming up, how the right to life actually makes death a good thing, and the right liberty is actually slavery. How freedom of speech actually curtails speech, how the freedom to assemble peaceably actually means we can't assemble at all, and how the right to bear arms means we are all defenseless.

Hey, it's Peter Rollins' world, you're just not ripped open enough.

What if we had sites in our life where we could be free from the pursuit of our highest ambition?

This is amazing illogic because, quite simply, he just mangles the whole concept of the right to pursue happiness. He bring down to such things as money and fame, and that's about it. But the right to pursue happiness is not a guarantee one will find happiness, or for that matter that one will get money or become famoues or achieve the things one wants, and it certainly doesn't mean one will find happiness in money or fame or goals.

And the right to pursue happiness also means that one does not have to pursue money or fame or achievement.

That is the freedom Rollins already has--he doesn't have to pursue riches, fame, achievement, if he darned well doesn't want to. He's the one who's been putting himself forwards, speaking before groups, writing books, and basically trying to make a name for himself and get his ideas out there.

If Peter Rollins wants to stop pursuing these "highest ambitions", I'm all for him doing that. He can not write any more books, he can not go on any more speaking tours, he can not preach any more sermons in churches or bars where he spreads his unbiblical teachings, and I'd be pleased as can be if he were to do so.

So, Mr. Rollins, quit whining, and if you're not going to repent of thinking you're smarter than God, than at least fade away. We'll all be happier if you did so.

One more thing.

This is one of my visions for the reconfigured church – a community that is not a place where we go to pursue some highest pleasure (heaven, ecstatic experience, an escape from our everyday life) but rather the place where we lay all that down and learn how to smile deeply about the here and now.

What an absolute waste of church service that would be. Church is not about us, Mr. Rollins, and it's not about living in the here and now. It's about God. It's about Christ, who died as a sacrifice for our sins, even yours Mr. Rollins, even mine, so that through repentence and faith in Him we can have forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Church isn't about the here and now, except insofar as "today is the day of salvation, now is the accepted time".

sojo supports filth

And not just any old Sojrone, either, but the Head Sojrone himself.

Statement from Jim Wallis on Friday’s “Cleaning” of NYC’s Zuccotti Park

Bloomberg’s office has said that this “cleaning” action, scheduled for Friday (10/14) morning, is not a shutdown of the protest and that Occupiers can return after the cleaning and if they agree to follow a set of rules. But these rules ban sleeping bags or tarps from the park and it is not clear if even laying down will still be allowed.

This is effectively a shutdown of the #OccupyWallStreet demonstration, which the Mayor Bloomberg promised just a few days ago not to do.

A group of clergy has decided to join that circle and is planning a press conference at 11 am at Judson Memorial Church to report on the morning’s events at the #OccupyWallStreet demonstrations in Zucotti Park, as well as to issue a multi-faith statement of support for the Occupiers.

Abuse of power should never be met with violence. We urge demonstrators to continue their principled and peaceful actions.

Sooooo...

The notion that asking or even telling the protestors to leave the park for a while, so that it can be cleaned up of the filth they have scattered about, is an "abuse of power"? A threat to shut down the protests, even if they will be allowed to return after the cleaning?

This is one of the sickest examples of illogic I've ever seen. But, then again, things like liberalism and postmodernism are founded on irrational philosophy. They couldn't survive in a world where people actually tried to make sense, so they have to try to create a world of nonsense.

Well, for what it's worth, this protest against cleaning has succeeded. The protestors are free to lie in their own filth, even as they deny others the freedom to enjoy the park they are trashing, cause traffic problems for others, and basically make brats of themselves.

Here's an addendum to the battle cry for Generation Brats, "Don't you dare change our diapers!!!".

that's not what happened

24-7 Prayer vigils have always been used powerfully by God:
2000 years ago the church was born in a 24-7 prayer room.
2020 Vision, 24-7 Prayer, p 6

This seems to be something these 24-7 Prayer people seem to hold on to and believe. But is it true?

Acts 1
12Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is nigh unto Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey off. 13And when they were come in, they went up into the upper chamber, where they were abiding; both Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. 14These all with one accord continued stedfastly in prayer, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

Now, this passage does say that they were steadfast in prayer. But it doesn't say that they established some kind of all-day-and-night prayer vigil, or what have you. Furthermore, Christ had already promised that the Spirit was coming to them, before they entered this upper chamber and began waiting and praying.

1000 years ago Celtic monasteries prayed 24-7 and transformed Europe.

300 years ago Moravians prayed 24-7 for 100 years and took the gospel to many nations.

104 years ago a multi-racial 24-7 Prayer Room on Azusa Street in Los Angeles sparked the global Pentecostal and charismatic renewals.

I can't claim to know much about Celtic monasteries and Moravians, so I'll leave that be. But I'm kind of caught in a curious spot in regards to the charismania of today. On the one hand, I simply haven't found a good biblically-based argument against the spiritual gifts like tongues still being for today. The Bible does not explicitly say that it will end when John finishes the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

On the other hand, given how far too many of the leaders in the various forms of the charismatic churches are mindlessly following the words of charlatans, false prophets, false healers, false apostles, televangelists who preach more of people fulfilling their own desires than repentence and faith in Christ, I would contend that what came from Azusa Street has at least been perverted to an incredible degree, to the point even where too many in the charismatic churches, especially the leaders, are actively against God, even as they blasphemously use the names of God and Jesus to give their bizarre and false teachings a thin veil of legitimacy.

So, simply linking what their doing to Azusa Street may not mean much.

Finally, we simply have this plain fact--nowhere in the New Testament is any church commanded to set up some kind of all-day-and-all-night prayer thingy. Paul never mentions such a thing in any of his letters, the epistles of James and Peter and John are resoundingly silent on such a practice, and Jesus Himself doesn't mention the supposed need for it. There is nowhere any promise that if the churches were to put such a notion into practice, they would be blessed and their churches would grow and they would be cool.

So, I would contend that the notion that God has used such things powerfully is a bit of a stretch.

sojo idolators condemning supposed idolatry

#OccupyWallStreet: Playing with Fire and Corraling the Golden Calf

And the biblical allusions were clear, even to those who hadn’t attended the church service at Judson beforehand: Wall Street (with its massive, raging bronze bull) is the idol of the day, and people of faith stand in solidarity with those who have had enough of such idolatry.

In her sermon, Schaper, Judson’s senior minister, went a little deeper. The Golden Calf is not only Wall Street, she said, but also all of capitalism. And we, the people, have helped erect this massive false god with our own treasures — the best and most valuable parts of ourselves.

I'm not going to put more of the article here than I have to, so you'll have to go there to do some reading, sorry about that. But this Sojrone is going on about how during her church service, I suppose this past weekend, the church had some effigy of the Wall Street bull on display, and had some ominous music playing, like in a movie I suppose (here that march, boys and girls, that's Darth Vader's theme, and we don't like Darth Vader, do we).

I don't know the story behind the Wall Street bull. I do know that a market doing well is called a bull market, while one doing poorly is a bear market, though maybe that's a simplistic understanding.

But this is mostly about another form of simplistic understanding--equating the golden calf in Exodus to the Wall Street bull, and saying that somehow means that Wall Street and capitalism have become idols.

Now, this is especially hypocritical of Sojo, because it is becoming plain that they are themselves idolators--they worship socialism; they consider it to be the economic system most in line with their version of the kingdom of god; they are the ones who are continually crying for what they consider to be 'economic justice', which is basically take from the rich and give to those who haven't earned it; they are the ones who are replacing God with something that is against Scripture, a god made of ideas they themselves consider good, a god of their own creation.

Consider this, from the article.

Later that day, dozens of church members marched with the papier mache golden calf to Zuccotti Square where they participated in a prayer vigil with faith leaders and faithful (of various religious traditions) from around the city.

"Varios religious traditions". Would I be correct in thinking that this means non-Christian religions? Maybe Muslims, Hindus, those of the Jewish religion, not to meniton heretical 'christians' like Unitarians?

But I am glad that this Sojrone saw fit to give the reference for the passage her pastorix misused, because context is revealing.

1When the people saw that Moses(A) delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him,(B) "Up, make us gods who shall(C) go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." 2So Aaron said to them, "Take off the(D) rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." 3So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4(E) And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden[a] calf. And they said,(F) "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!" 5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron(G) made proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD." 6And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And(H) the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up(I) to play.

Odd, isn't it--Aaron responds to pressure from the people, like these OWS folks expect people to cave to their demands. Aaron takes the gold from the people, like OWS expects gold to be taken from others. The people made offerings to their false god, just like OWS expects people to make offerings to their false gods and ideas. And, finally, the people descended into debauchery, like OWS has and will continue to do.

Occupy Wall Street: Darker Side Emerges

An article in the New York Post takes Occupiers to task for drug use, strewing litter and copulating in the out of doors. "Zuccotti Park," says the paper, smells "like an open sewer—with people urinating and defecating in public. "

ABC News reports that a faction of the computer hacker group Anonymous has threatened, in a gesture of sympathy with Occupy, to launch a cyber attack against the NYSE. In a YouTube video posted last weekend, a computer-generated voice warns, "Many people refuse to accept that Operation Invade Wall Street is a reality."

There still are postings that talk about taxing the 1 percent more severely or even throwing them in jail. "But then," says Schiavone, "there's an increase in 'let's kill' them. We see 'eat the rich,' 'kill the wealthy.' There are images circulating of senior executives being decapitated, images of blood. Artists are releasing images of banks on fire."

Oh, and should I also mention violence?That article mentions some, and here is another example of these people engaging in violence.

generation brats being bratty

You ever been in a grocery store, and they may have a spot or two where they are giving out free samples of stuff, maybe chips or sausages? If you agree to have a sample, being considerate you likely limited yourself to, say, one piece of sausage, or one small cup of chips. And if someone were to try to take advantage of it, and either grab a handful of toothpicks with sausage pieces attached, or even take a couple of boxes of sausages that weren't prepared for the samples, you would likely consider such a person to be, at best, rude.

Consider that, then consider these antics by Generation Brats

D.C. Protesters: 'Freedom Plaza Is Now Ours, And We're Never Giving It Back'

When protesters refused to leave Freedom Plaza in downtown Washington on Monday after their permit expired, the U.S. Park Police extended that permit for another four months.

"Freedom Plaza is now ours, and we're never giving it back," said a protest organizer at the October2011 website: "We have not said that when the four months are over and the American Spring is here we will leave."

Why am I now hoping for a really serious winter? Something that would make parts of northern Siberia look tropical?

And why not? After all, it's not like these protestors are hurting.

We intend to make it possible for anyone to visit D.C. with free accommodations," says October2011l.org. "Just bring a sleeping bag and agree to work with us to pressure Congress, the White House, K Street, the Pentagon, and all the lobbyists and profiteers for peace and justice. We have free food, we have free drink, we have free trainings and seminars, we have tents, we have peace keepers, we have a big victory under out belts, and we welcome all peace makers for they shall inherit Freedom Plaza. We own it. It is ours. It shall remain ours world without end."

Oh, wow, what a liberal dream! All that free stuff, just for the taking!

Kinda makes you wonder who's really paying for it all. A bit of wisdom I heard some time ago said that nothing is really free. If they have food, how are they getting it? Are they breaking into grocery stores, and just taking what they want? I doubt it, though they do seem the types. If they aren't doing that, though, where is the food coming from?

sojo celebrates the tasteless

Which isn't even mentioning that this things is put out by heretical Unitarians Universalists. I'd say it says something about UUs, but given how gimmicky and trend-following seeker and purpose churches have become, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if something like this winds up coming from such a church.

Actually, it does say a lot about UUs--their disregard for biblical morality and teachings about decence, for example. And the real fear that other types of churches would follow suit says a good bit about them, too.

Naked Before the Lord: Unitarians Have More Fun

A dozen men from First Parish (Unitarian Universalist of Framingham, Mass.), ages 64 to 87, got naked before the Lord (and everyone else, for that matter), for a fundraising calendar called “Celebration 2012.” The calendars, which sell for $15 apiece, feature “a year of dashing, accomplished First Parish gentlemen — Leo, Holly, Tony, John, Steve, Dick, Stan, Glenn, Larry, Ed, Walt and Jim,” according to the parish web site.

The church calendar is tastefully rendered, thanks to a strategically-placed bag of golf clubs, banjo, laptop computer and what appears to be a large-mouth bass. The eldest pin-up dude is a retired minister who says there is a “certain elegance” to the older male form.

This is simply pathetic logic. Let's look at another example, of sorts.

Bozell Column: Unzipping the Male 'X Factor'

“Idol” always airs wacky and untalented oddballs in its audition phase, but has featured nothing like the contestant named Geo Godley at the “X Factor” auditions in Seattle. As he began performing his own ridiculous song called “I’m a Stud,” he dropped his pants and displayed his male parts for the studio audience. Fox playfully covered his crotch with the show’s red X logo.

When the Parents Television Council filed a complaint against Fox with the FCC, a new line of defense emerged. The blog Reality Blurred claimed Godley wasn’t even naked. An audience member reported he was wearing a leopard-print thong. The blogger also noted Godley wore a thong in his...YouTube audition video, further removing the idea that anyone at Fox didn’t know what kind of indigestion they were manufacturing for the folks at home.

So now Fox is elaborately faking male nudity? That’s going to be their defense? They will do anything, including sending Abdul to fake-vomit over the fake-flasher.

So, by the definition of "tastefully rendered" given by the Sojrone above, strategically-placed stuff to cover certain areas, what X-Factor did fits in squarely in that definition.

But, hey, UUs are liberals, it would have been news if Sojo had been critical of them.

generation brats

A bit ago, I wrote a bit about how someone wanted to call youth today "Generation Compassion". My own contention was that youth today are rather shallow and ostentatious. I may have been too kind.

Washington's Air & Space museum shut after protesters storm in

Washington's National Air and Space Museum was closed Saturday afternoon after sign-wielding demonstrators tried to storm the building on the National Mall.

Protesters included people from the October 2011 Stop the Machine group and Occupy D.C., an offshoot of the larger Occupy Wall Street movement in New York.

Ann Wilcox, a lawyer working with Stop the Machine, said a 19-year-old woman from Madison, Wisc., was arrested by police. She paid a fine and was released later Saturday. Wilcox said the protesters went to the Air and Space museum to demonstrate against a military drone exhibit.

So, there you have it--if you show anything that doesn't toe there line, they think themselves free to simply disrupt it, assault guards, and basically make a pest and even menace of themselves.

Plus, you may have a look at their 'demands', to get an idea of how bratty they are.

Demand one: Restoration of the living wage. This demand can only be met by ending "Freetrade" by re-imposing trade tariffs on all imported goods entering the American market to level the playing field for domestic family farming and domestic manufacturing as most nations that are dumping cheap products onto the American market have radical wage and environmental regulation advantages. Another policy that must be instituted is raise the minimum wage to twenty dollars an hr.

Demand three: Guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment.

Demand four: Free college education.

Demand nine: Open borders migration. anyone can travel anywhere to work and live.

Demand eleven: Immediate across the board debt forgiveness for all. Debt forgiveness of sovereign debt, commercial loans, home mortgages, home equity loans, credit card debt, student loans and personal loans now! All debt must be stricken from the "Books." World Bank Loans to all Nations, Bank to Bank Debt and all Bonds and Margin Call Debt in the stock market including all Derivatives or Credit Default Swaps, all 65 trillion dollars of them must also be stricken from the "Books." And I don't mean debt that is in default, I mean all debt on the entire planet period.

This is sad and pathetic. So, the gubmnts suppose to make sure you live comfortably, even if you're not working? The gubmnts suppose to make sure you can spend like a drunken sailor, max out your credit cards, get mounds of student loan debt, and you won't have to pay for it? Oh, and make sure just anyone can enter the country, no passport or screening needed?

Well, people, say hello to Generation Brats. Hear them whine and whimper, see them beg for handouts, watch them demand that anything they don't like not exist.

The battle cry of Generation Brats: WAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!! WANNAWANNAWANNA!!! GIMMEGIMMEGIMME!!!

couldn't agree more

Herman Cain: Wall Street Protesters 'Should Go Figure Out What America Is All About'

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain on Wednesday called the Occupy Wall Street protesters anti-American and anti-capitalistic.

"Don't be jealous, don't be envious," Cain said as he signed copies of his memoir. "I don't have much patience for someone who does not want to achieve their American dream the old-fashioned way."

When asked about the thousands of people that have been protesting in lower Manhattan, Cain said, "They're basically saying that somehow the government is supposed to take from those that have succeeded and give to those who want to protest. He added: "That's not the way America was built."

He added that the protesters "should go figure out what America is all about."

There's more in that article, go read it, it's great. Outside of a few hiccups, Cain has been spot-on for much of his campaign. I'm glad he's getting some success, and may even win the nomination. Romney's been a waffler, and while Perry has a lot going for him, his associations with KC-IHOP types is troubling to me.

Cain is right on with those remarks. The Occupy Wall Streets brats need to grow up and stop being used by the left push an agenda they'll come to regret.

so they emphasize the point, again

Hey, Sojo, I think your marxism is showing, again.

Yep, scroll down that page, and you'll see a photo of a guy, sitting down (what kinda wussa protester is that, anyway), holding a sign, saying the exact same thing that was the Sojo photo from last week said. You know, the convenient fiction that Jesus was a socialist who gave out free health care and was anti-war, even though He wasn't, He didn't, and seemed to have a fondness for soldiers.

Which tells me that, if these Occupy Wall Street shenanigans have any religious aspect to them, it based on lies and really bad teachings. Just the sort of thing Sojo would be all in for.

now Rush is right, too

Last week, Sojo got a bit miffed when they took a statement by Limbaugh, one that Media Matters of course took out of context, and put it on their site.

On his radio show today (9/27), Rush Limbaugh ranted against … wait for it … COMPASSION. “If i had to say one word that has had the most disastrous effect on the advancement of everybody in this culture, that word would be ‘compassion.’ “The crap that has been done in the name of compassion in this country has robbed people of their dignity, of their chance, or their opportunity at their own greatness, and using their own ambition and desire. It has taken it from them,” Limbaugh said. Really. He did. Out loud. Listen for yourself (via MediaMatters):

And today, they prove Rush right.

WARNING: No Compassion. Proceed with Caution.

Compassion, he says “is the thing that holds society together,” and what our society is sorely lacking.

Why?

Because it “brings the powerful down to the level of the weak,” Sachs says. There is no room for compassion in an economy where “everything is for the top,” he says.

This is rather telling. "Compassion", how people like the Sojrones define it, isn't about helping people up, helping them stand on their own, helping them not be dependent on some kind of all-benevolent government; rather, it's about taking people down, making everything level, no blade of grass rises higher than any other.

Socialism--the equal distribution of poverty.

Where is the compassion in our economy and our politics? It says much of the economic system that Sojourners even needs to campaign for a “moral budget.” How do we, as Christians, challenge structures that allow billions of dollars to be wasted via tax loopholes while 1 in 6 Americans live in poverty?

Umm...all it says is that Sojo wanted a name for their campaign, and that is the one they chose. A campaign, btw, that seems to have less to do with morality than with making sure people continue to be dependent on government handouts.

And, as one commentor to this entry said, how is the fact that people keep more of the money they themsselves earn "wasted"? Only if one thinks it should be taken by the government is it in any way wasted.

So, Sojo proves that Rush is right, that their definition of "compassion" really is the thing that robs people of dignity, incentive, the desire to better themselves, and makes them dependent, helpless, and most of all, liberal.

YWAM focusing on the unimportant

At the 1988 YWAM International Strategy Conference held in Kona, Hawaii the 71 leaders present recognized that God was giving the Mission a specific new mandate: they were to actively work to release more nonwesterners, women and youth into greater leadership and decision making roles in Youth With A Mission (Thompson 1988). The understanding was that the inclusion of these groupings within more senior leadership levels in the Mission would bring a broader diversity of gifts and a better representation of the constituency of YWAM. But this integration would not just evolve into being: due to the fact that YWAM was born in North America in the 1962s and grew up in Europe in the 1970s, it was understandable that many of the current senior leaders were Caucasion males in their 40s and 50s. The achievement of this goal to involve more nonwesterners, women and youth--though fully embraced at the heart--would require intentional and possibly radical efforts.
Dawn E Gauslin, Principles Made Practical: a handbook for pioneering U of N courses, p 10

I'm really starting to find this kind of thing...odd. Weird. A little off. Maybe more than a little

Let's take, for example, what the Bible itself says about leaders in the church.

Titus 1
5For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that were wanting, and appoint elders in every city, as I gave thee charge; 6if any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having children that believe, who are not accused of riot or unruly. 7For the bishop must be blameless, as God’s steward; not self-willed, not soon angry, no brawler, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; 8but given to hospitality, as lover of good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled; 9holding to the faithful word which is according to the teaching, that he may be able to exhort in the sound doctrine, and to convict the gainsayers.

I Timothy 3
1Faithful is the saying, If a man seeketh the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. 2The bishop therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, orderly, given to hospitality, apt to teach; 3no brawler, no striker; but gentle, not contentious, no lover of money; 4one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; 5(but if a man knoweth not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) 6not a novice, lest being puffed up he fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7Moreover he must have good testimony from them that are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

8Deacons in like manner must be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; 9holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. 10And let these also first be proved; then let them serve as deacons, if they be blameless. 11Women in like manner must be grave, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. 12Let deacons be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. 13For they that have served well as deacons gain to themselves a good standing, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

When I take a look at these things that should be characteristic of church leaders, there are things I do not see. Paul, a Jewish man, does not tell either Timothy or Titus that they must make sure that they try to find non-Jewish men to fill those positions, or even Jewish men since they were in Gentile cities. He does not tell them to make sure that they find people from the various Gentile peoples to lead the churches. In fact, race plays no part all in any of the things he lists.

When it comes to gender, well, Paul makes it rather clear that the leaders are to be men. Women are mentioned in I Timothy 3:11, but that likely refers to the wives of the deacons. Church leadership is limited to men, but God's own Word. It's certainly not because men are such grand creatures, but that is how God has set things up for the church to be run.

And concerning their ages, while nothing is explicitly said about that, there is a good bit said about thier spiritual maturity. They are not to be novices, I suppose that means recent converts, which may mean young or old, but should most definitely mean the young, since in almost all things the young are indeed novices. There is also the criterion that they be good husbands and fathers, who rule their homes well, have children who believe and have been taught to honor and obey them and not act like wild animals. They are to be sober-minded, even grave, along with many other signs of maturity.

In other words, the shallow postmodern goal of making sure that a certain, often unspecified, quota of all given races should be shoehorned into church leadership is absolutely foreign to anything in the Bible. Throw in as well the goal of making sure that women and youth be in these positions, and we can kind of get the idea that YWAM is going beyond anything taught in Scripture, and that this supposed "mandate" they claimed to receive from God was really not something from God.

I remember hearing or reading something a few years ago, along the lines of how YWAM had finally elected the first non-American or non-European to lead their mission, and where likely they would never again select anyone from the US again for that position, but rather would continue to find Presidents from among the non-western nations. Why is that so important? Isn't that rather a form or racism? A spiritually mature man who is from the US is passed over, simply because he's from the US, no other reason?

If we were to say that it would be unjust to say that a Chinese man who is Christian, spiritually mature, and meets the criteria Paul writes about to Timothy and Titus, is not fit for leadership because he is not American or European, why is it just to reverse that discriminatory practice?

Church leadership positions are not to be used for such shallow political maneuverings, nor should they filled based on race or skin color simply because it may "bring a broader diversity of gifts" (whatever that means), and may somehow better represent YWAM's racial make-up. It is spiritual maturity and how it is shown in things like family life that are the things that should be used in deciding who shall be church leaders, not other things.

I will say this here and now--these 71 YWAM leaders received no such mandate from God. It strikes me more as something with roots more in postmodern quota-making with a dash of charismanic nonsense thrown in.