Lyrics for the g_orey of ….?

Guess who's lyrics these belong to?

I’m so dope I’m impressing myself
Challenging rappers of my status dogg is bad for your health
It’s like swallowing rat poison straight of the shelf
Or slitting your wrist then changing ya mind
But ain’t no one around to help, dudes hear spit they like holy Toledo
Cuz when it comes to this rapping, I’m the one like Neo
I’m Jackie Chan, bet a hundred grand I could take out five
of ya man’s with one wave of my hand
Your whole caravan get smacked right in front of ya fans
I’ll have screaming “No Mas” like Roberto Duran holla
They call me Boney Soprano, Young Luchiano, Bone Guevara
Raps Sammy the bull Gervano, I’m sick wit tha flow
Lyrical tactics and back flips, spitting ridiculous mathematics
Like it’s gymnastics, when I die, be sure to place in my mic in my casket
And tell the world that I was fantastic, and that’s it!

For the answer please go to Real Clear Theology blog where Dr. Svendsen has a very interesting discussion on rap groups, rap lyrics and how they might not square with anything recognizable with the gospel. Now, I know that many, many will object saying:

1. You don't understand the nature of rap music.

2. You need to be relevant to today's culture.

3. You are not spiritual.

4. You cannot judge the artist.

5. Look at all of the converts he is bringing.

6. There is nothing wrong with showing yo lifestyle to the world to show how much you are blessed.

…among many other objections.

However, it really comes down to two questions: How much is too much and do the ends justify the means? We are much more pragmatists than we care to admit, buying into this whole "all for the glory of God bit;" when in fact, what we are trying to do is fit is into the patterns of a secularized mindset.  Dr. Svendsen really took a lot of words out of my mouth, so I advise you to head over there and take a look. Oh, and about the above objections:

1. Yes I do. But at the expense of being relevant, how much is too much. Please look up the fallacy of the beard on this one.

2. See answer 1.

3. Err, this doesn't nullify the argument and my spiritual thermometer is broken and therefore cannot visibly be seen. :/

4. Yes I can. What I cannot do is judge the artist unrighteously while I have a huge hummer coming out of my eye. <– it's all about the bling.

5.  Ends do not justify the means. Also, what kind of idea will people get when they "come to the kingdom of God?" Can they believe that they are emissaries of God to shoot people with a Holy Ghost machine gun?

6. Again, who is the one that is supposed to be impressed here: God or the rest of the world? I vote for A and if all you are worried about is how people in the world perceive you then we have misplaced our priorities.

Enough of me. Go to his site. 

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Where Do the Candidates Stand on Life?

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ARCA Article: Mitt Romney & Mormonism | The facts!

"Just the facts ma'am" sounds archaic and cliché-ish, but is critical to evaluate a position, idea or statement based on the facts. Sound bites, clichés, emotional charges, and personal opinion run amok whenever there is a political race for the presidency. Consequently, these very elements obscure the precious essential facts surrounding our candidates. Whatever ideas you have, whether they are economic, public or foreign policies, etc., you have to evaluate them to see if they carry serious consequences to the christian worldview.

However, this process is rendered useless when there a false dichotmy between what is rendered to Cesar and what is rendered to God. This could be largley due to the misunderstanding between the separation of church and state ideology in general and Christian naivette in particular. As I have mentioned before, Artistotle's remarks about what is virtuous or right is found in moderation; and while on one extreme we have a Christian nation (Theocracy) and on the other we a striclty secular one (false humility, isolationist), I think that our interaction with politics should be specifically that, interacive. Interactivity is the middle ground between isolationism and dominionist ideas. Now, how much this influence should be and what it contains are subject matters that could be further developed. 

Nevertheless, we must recognize that many ideas have consequences and we would be amiss to think that these ideas could become part of a political candidate and not have any effects whatsoever on his constituents. While all candidate have ideas that carry some effect on any particular religious belief, let us take a look at one of them to see how his specific ideas about ethics, religion and politics play out when analyzed through the lens of a Christian worldview. This is where Apologetics Resource Center comes in. I think that Craig Branch does a very good job of pointing out specific differences between the Mormon (Mitt Romney) & Christian worldview and the impact it has on us as Christians. I invite you to spend some time and read the article carefully, especially when it comes to the statistics. Let me point out some notable quotes from this article to wet your appetite:

…But along came Jerry Falwell and The Moral Majority. Conservative Christianity and conservative politics became a major focus of time and hope for Christian influence in culture. The concept has some legitimacy. There has been a neglected theological dimension of the role of the Church or believers as activists in shaping our culture. It is important to note that the baseless cliché, “you can’t legislate morality,” is without merit. All laws and ethics are based on someone’s morality.

So Christians work to influence lawmakers and even to become lawmakers, but not to make the country into a Christian theocracy. Our first priority is to see people converted to Christ via the gospel and to prioritize the spiritual kingdom, realizing that the Law can restrain evil (and provoke it) and can have some positive effect on the consciences of image bearers of God, but cannot convert people. Our priority and ultimate goal in the Kingdom is to make disciples of Jesus Christ, minister to those truly in need, and to promote mercy and justice. Our ultimate and proximal trust is in the triune God – not the Republican or Democratic parties. 

To complicate the issue more, there are a number of evangelicals who have openly stated that Romney’s faith should not be a factor. Chuck Colson, Ralph Reed, Southern Baptist leader Richard Land, and others have all said, “We are electing a Commander-in-Chief, not a Pastor (or theologian)-in-Chief.” Incredibly Pat Robertson had Romney come to Regent University to give the Commencement address last year! Fundamentalist Bob Jones III of Bob Jones University endorses Romney. The Roman Catholic conservative talk show host, Sean Hannity naively proclaimed that since Romney said he accepts Jesus Christ as his personal savior, it should be enough.

But it is precisely because of these perspectives that we need to seriously discuss this issue. Let’s take a moment to lay some foundations and to clarify and define the issues for this controversy.

More  

You can also look at Ray Ciervo's excellent article on the same issue here  

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Slate.com has more discernment than some of our churches?

and not Churches Fried Chicken…

Article Here

"I'm not called to explain every minute facet of Scripture or to expound on deep theological doctrines or disputes that don't touch where people live," he writes dismissively in Become a Better You. "My gift is to encourage, to challenge, and to inspire."

If this is the depth of anything evangelical, then that is why we have failed so miserably to convince anyone of the truth of the Gospel. What they think when they hear the word "Gospel" is nothing but a modified yet complex form of snake oil and prosperity business.

Now let me tell you what I really think.

Oh, and for those of you that think that doctrine is not that important:

Chris Wallace introduced Joel Osteen as a teacher of “Personal growth and positive thinking” – buzzwords that make biblical thinkers wary but exploring that must wait for another time. Before long, the discussion turned to presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee and the controversy concerning Romney’s Mormon beliefs. It was then that the supposedly Evangelical pastor of America’s largest congregation declared that Mormons are Christians and that Mitt Romney is himself a “Christian.” Here is the transcript. (1)
 
 

Wallace: “Is a Mormon a true Christian?”
 
Osteen: “Well, in my mind they are. Mitt Romney has said that he believes in Christ as his savior and that’s what I believe. So, you know I’m not the one to judge the little details of it. So, I believe they are. And so I, you know, Mitt Romney seems like a man of character and integrity to me and, ah, I don’t think anything would stop me from voting for him if that’s what I felt like.”
 
Wallace: “So, so for instance when people start talking about Joseph Smith, the founder of the church and the golden tablets in upstate New York and ah, God assumes the shape of a man; do you not get hung up in those theological issues?”
 
Osteen: “I probably don’t get hung up in ‘em because I haven’t really studied ‘em or thought about ‘em. And ah, you know, I just try to let God be the judge of that. I mean, I don’t know, I certainly can’t say that I agree with everything I’ve heard about it. But, from what I’ve heard from Mitt when he says that Christ is his savior to me that’s a common bond."…

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Memo to Mr. Osteen from John Wesley | By Ben Witherington

Memo to Mr. Osteen from John Wesley

posted by Ben Witherington at 1:36 PM  

Found here

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If the Church Doesn’t Clean Its Laundry, the World Will Do It For Her

And that's not good…

CBS News has learned Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, is investigating six prominent televangelist ministries for possible financial misconduct.

Letters were sent Monday to the ministries demanding that financial statements and records be turned over to the committee by December 6th.

According to Grassley's office, the Iowa Republican is trying to determine whether or not these ministries are improperly using their tax-exempt status as churches to shield lavish lifestyles.

The six ministries identified as being under investigation by the committee are led by: Paula White, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long, Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn. Three of the six - Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar - also sit on the Board of Regents for the Oral Roberts University.

A spokesperson for Joyce Meyer Ministries provided CBS News with an IRS letter to the ministry dated October 10, 2007, that stated: "We determined that you continue to qualify as an organization exempt from Federal income tax." The letter could not be independently verified in time for this story. The ministry also pointed to audited financial statements for the last three years that are posted on the organization's Web site.

In a statement, Benny Hinn's spokesperson, Ronn Torossian, said the ministry was in the process of determining the best course of action in response to the Senate investigation. "World Healing Center Church complies with the laws that govern church and non-profit organizations and will continue to do so," Torossian wrote.

In a statement to CBS News, Creflo Dollar called his ministry an "open book" and said he would comply with any "valid request" from Grassley. But he noted that the inquiry raised questions that could "affect the privacy of every community church in America."

The other three ministries did not respond to requests for comment from CBS News on Monday.

Because they have tax status as churches, the ministries do not have to file IRS 990 forms like other non-profit organizations - leaving much financial information largely behind closed doors.

The letters sent Monday were the culmination of a long investigation fueled in part by complaints from Ole Anthony, a crusader against religious fraud who operates the Dallas-based Trinity Foundation, which describes itself as a watchdog monitoring religious media, fraud and abuse. "We've been working with them for two years," Anthony told CBS News. "We have furnished them with enough information to fill a small Volkswagen."

Anthony said after twenty years of working with media organizations to expose televangelists, he saw little reform. He says that's why he turned to another tactic, going straight to Grassley. He is confident that Grassley's inquiry will be different, "What we hope is that this will lead to reform in religious nonprofits."

The structure of many televangelist organizations - in which the leadership is often concentrated in one person or one family - has itself been the target of criticism. "Churches like these are ruled as a dictatorship," says Rod Pitzer, who directs research at Ministry Watch in North Carolina, which provides advice for donors to Christian organizations.

Pitzer welcomes the Senate committee investigation. Ministries lacking accountability, he says, "give a black eye to churches and Christians who are trying to do things in the right manner."

By Laura Strickler © MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Found Here

Well, at least someone is doing something about it.

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What the church needs now, is love, sweet love…

No amount of theological enquiry, seminars or admonition could get one over the starboard bow like media can - and funny media at that. These two videos pretty much describe the state of the prosperity crowd now a days, including those meddling is soft porn prospertiy gospel.

AND

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