Category Archives: Christianity

February 5, 2010 · 7:20 am

Why All The Outrage To Pat Robertson’s Remarks About Haiti? (Part 6)

Click on the following for earlier articles in the series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.

On January 13, 2010, Rev. Pat Robertson spoke these words on the 700 Club television show:

Something happened a long time ago in Haiti and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French. Napoleon the Third and whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, “We will serve you if you get us free from the prince.” True story. And so the devil said, “OK, it’s a deal.” They kicked the French out, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free.

But ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after the other, desperately poor. That island of Hispaniola is one island. It’s cut down the middle, on the one side is Haiti, on the other side is the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is prosperous, healthy, full of resorts, etc. Haiti is in desperate poverty. Same island.

They need to have, and we need to pray for them, a great turning to God. And out of this tragedy I’m optimistic something good may come. But right now, we’re helping the suffering people and the suffering is unimaginable. (See full video here.)

First, let’s look at the comments of people who have voiced their disagreements with Robertson’s remarks:

Robert Jeffries, First Baptist Church of Dallas, TX: “It is absolute arrogance to try and interpret any of God’s actions as a judgment against this person or that person. We can only go as far as the Bible goes. And the Bible is clear and it says, “I am the God who creates calamity and causes well-being.”

Keith Olbermann, MSNBC: “Sir [Pat Robertson], because of your tone deafness and your delight in human misery and your dripping self-satisfied holier-than-thou senile crap, I am now likelier to believe that you are the devil.”

Franklin Graham, Samaritan’s Purse: “I don’t agree with what Pat Robertson said…and I’m sure he misspoke. It’s unfortunate, but we need to get on with the task of helping the people right now…God loved the people of Haiti. He hasn’t turned His back on Haiti.

Mike Potemra, National Review: “…how do you explain all the sinful nations who have not been punished in any conspicuous way?”

Robert Gibbs, White House Press Secretary: “It never ceases to amaze in times of amazing human suffering, somebody says something that could be so utterly stupid…”

Donald Miller, author: “Robertson’s comments divide people of faith from, well, people of faith…Many controlling personalities are drawn to the idea of a severe, vengeful God…

Cynthia Tucker, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “…If the New Testament is any guide, Christians are supposed to be non-judgmental and compassionate. Robertson is anything but. He’s also a dunce…”

Other random comments: “Robertson’s a nutcase.”…”Is he just senile or insane?”…Pat Robertson needs to shut up. For years this man has used his show to promote out of date ideas.”

Out of thousands of possible articles, I have selected just a few comments which are representative of those being said on TV, radio, newspaper, magazine and blogs about Rev. Pat Robertson’s remarks concerning Haiti. If you want, you can check out more on Google or whatever search engine you choose to use.

So, are the overwhelming criticisms of Pat Robertson’s remarks justified? Before you give an answer, let’s examine his words.

(Continued in Part 7)

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February 4, 2010 · 7:39 am

Islamic Terrorists Vs. Radical Christians: New Games. New Rules. (Part 3)

An Updated Rerun 2009 Series

Click on the following for earlier articles in the series: Part 1 and Part 2.

Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant, legendary football coach at the University of Alabama, once said, “It’s not the will to win that matters – everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”

The days of unskilled shoe bombers are almost over. Instead, America can soon expect to see Mumbai-type terrorists. Radical. Dedicated. Trained. Armed. Willing to die. Filled with hate. Hoping to kill large numbers of innocent men, women and children before they exhale their last breath.

These terrorists want to win. And they are prepared.

To counter these radical terrorists, America needs radical Christians who are dedicated, trained, armed, filled with love, willing to die for their family and neighbors and hoping to be life-giving witnesses to terrorists and others until their last breath.

I wish I could say that all of us Christians are prepared and ready to go…or even a small fraction of us. But the truth is that most (99%) of us are not dedicated. Not trained. Not armed (with spiritual weapons). We are bogged down with the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things.

But guess what? The radical terrorists will pay no heed to our excuses. They will kill you, me, our spouses, our children, our grandchildren, our neighbors, and whomsoever, if we are not prepared.

So, we need to make up our minds now.

Because when the terrorist attacks hit us, our president, our governors, our mayors, our city council members, our police and the national guard will not be able to help us. They will be too late. Only the DMORT teams will arrive on the scene in time to stuff us and our loved ones into body bags.

Today, I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants might live. (Deuteronomy 30: 19 New Living Translation)

(CONTINUED Part 4)

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February 3, 2010 · 9:58 am

Why All The Outrage To Pat Robertson’s Remarks About Haiti? (Part 5)

Click on the following for earlier articles in the series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

Over the last fifty years, the chief restorational influence on American Christianity came about because of some West Coast hippies. It was called the Jesus People Movement.

The movement’s message was simple: God is love; and He loves you.

It’s an understatement to just say the Jesus People were different than other new Christians of the 1960’s and 70’s. They had long hair, wore jeans, liked rocking guitars rather than organ music, were both enthusiastic and informal at the same time, and came out of communal living environments.

And when the Jesus People attended traditional churches, guess what happened? They didn’t fit in well with the starched white shirt, dark suit and formally dressed crowd. It was like trying to mix oil and water together; each repelled the other.

Thus, the Jesus People Movement spawned their own churches, ones like Calvary Chapel Churches and Vineyard Churches which held laid back, informal services focused on God’s love and building intimate relationships with God and each believer. And also, a new type of assembly came on the scene: Home Groups.

Plus, the music changed. Maranatha Music, Vineyard Music, and eventually today’s modern worship music, all had their origins in the Jesus Movement.

There is no doubt that God’s hand was on the Jesus People Movement. We American Christians needed a fresh focus on God’s love and building relationships without all the hindrances of traditional trappings. Thus, the Jesus People Movement has produced solid fruit in us believers.

But as with all movements throughout the history of the Church, the pendulum has swung too far in one direction. So much so, that today’s Church no longer views Jesus as the Judge or the Holy One who when John saw Him on Patmos , he fell at His feet as though he were dead.

Most of us American Christians now view Jesus as a warm and fuzzy Savior who tolerates all kinds of sin. After all, Jesus is love. And shouldn’t love put up with all kinds of sin?

The answer is a definite NO!

(Love) does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. (1 Corinthians 13:6)

So, with all of this in mind, let’s begin looking at Pat Robertson’s remarks, okay?

(Continued in Part 6)

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February 2, 2010 · 7:47 am

Islamic Terrorists Vs. Radical Christians: New Game. New Rules. (Part 2)

An Updated Rerun 2009 Series

Click on the following for an earlier article in the series: Part 1.

How do you defend a city or a nation against dedicated, radical terrorists like Kasab?

To be honest, there are no fool-proof courses of actions to stop radical terrorists from duplicating a Mumbai-type of incident in our nation. This is especially true if the terrorists have been trained like Kasab and his friends were.

America’s strength is that we are an open society. But sadly, this is also our number one weakness in fighting terrorism. If you couple openness with our national “It won’t happen to us” attitude, we’re sitting ducks, just waiting to be plucked.

For instance, let’s say that you’re staying with your family at the luxurious Beverly Wilshire Hotel, just off Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California. Then, all of a sudden, terrorists burst into the lobby. They begin shooting AK-47’s and exploding grenades, killing and maiming everyone they see. Confusion and havoc reigns.

Somehow, you rush your family into a first floor cafe and hide behind a makeshift pile of tables and chairs. You hear the terrorists walking in your direction.

Who can you expect to help you at this precise moment?

Will the president help you? He’ll make a quick statement on TV, deploring terrorism, and will probably add, “Most Muslims are good people. These are just a few bad eggs!”

After all, the president needs the Muslim vote in the next election and doesn’t want to offend CAIR.

Will the governor help you? This is California, not Texas. So, the Governor will first take a quick telephone poll to discover what the people think. You know, he’s running for senator or some important cabinet position and his competition is tough.

The governor will also appear on TV, deplore terrorism, announce that he is considering all options, may even call out the National Guard, and then will take a helicopter to the scene.

Will the mayor and city council help you? These guys will be relegated to low-level radio interviews. But of course, they will deplore terrorism, violence, yada, yada and more yada.

What about the police? They and their SWAT teams will surround the hotel. Phone calls will be made to the governor, mayor, police chief, and whoever else needs to be contacted about weighing all of the pros and cons before taking action. Valuable time will pass before any decision will be made.

What about a DMORT team? This is the one positive which will happen almost immediately. A Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team from Region IX will be dispatched as soon as they hear about the attack. They will bring victim identification equipment, body bags, and storage units for the expected dead people.

So, what can we do?

(Continued in Part 3)

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February 1, 2010 · 7:01 am

Why All The Outrage To Pat Robertson’s Remarks About Haiti? (Part 4)

Click on the following for earlier articles in the series: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Paul said to Festus, “This has not been done in a corner.”

Paul’s remark referred to the ministry, trial, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. You see, everyone in Jerusalem knew about Jesus and His ministry. It was not carried out in secret. Thus, Jesus’ words were trumpeted via Jewish grapevines into every Jerusalem home.

Now, because of this awareness, the apostles and believers had great favor with the people after the ascension of Christ (Spring, 30 AD). The Apostles taught daily at a Temple colonnade and held healing services in the streets.

This tenuous status quo lasted for almost five years. Then, with the martyrdom of Stephen, Saul and Jewish leaders brutally persecuted the Christians. The bloody campaign caused many believers in Jerusalem to relocate to other cities in Judea and Samaria, but the original apostles stayed behind.

The persecution by Jewish leaders lasted for the next twenty-nine years in an on-again and off-again fashion. Ironically, Saul became the Apostle Paul, and then received the heaviest persecution from the Jews for his work with the Gentiles. And the apostles in Jerusalem – Peter, James and John – eventually achieved a peace of sorts with Temple leaders.

From 35 AD until 64 AD, Jerusalem Christians assembled in home churches, but Jerusalem Christianity still had a distinct Jewish flavor about it. Some writers even refer to Jerusalem’s brand of Christianity as “Temple Christianity” to distinguish it from Paul’s Christianity.

As for the Roman leaders, they paid little attention to Christians and considered them a small sect of Judaism during this time period.

All of this changed in 64 AD when Nero began persecuting Christians and in 66 AD when Jewish zealots openly fought Roman armies.

Okay, all of the above history helps lay the groundwork for a powerful prophecy concerning the siege of Jerusalem:

In 66 AD or 67 AD, depending on what source you read, a Christian gave a prophetic word to the Jerusalem church. In the word, believers were reminded of Jesus’ prophecy and warned anew about the upcoming devastation of Jerusalem and advised to move out of the city.

By early 69 AD, all the Christians heeded the prophecy, left their homes, their livelihoods and their Jewish friends, and relocated to Pella (a city sixty miles northeast of Jerusalem) and other Transjordan cities.

The result of this prophecy was that none of the Christians perished in the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

Let’s look at this prophetic word:

1. Who was the prophecy intended for? People living in Jerusalem.

2. What audience heard the prophecy? Christians.

Remember: According to Josephus, one-third of Jerusalem (population 120,00) converted to Christianity. So, as forty-thousand Christians packed up and left the city, the other eighty-thousand residents watched on.

Even though the prophecy was given to Christians, believers certainly would have explained to their neighbors why they were leaving. They would have mentioned both prophecies and tried to convince their Jewish friends and neighbors to leave, too. The neighbors then would have told others. On and on, until the whole city knew the reason for the Christian exodus: a prophecy about the soon coming destruction of Jerusalem.

But sadly, at the time, the Jewish zealots were winning the war with Rome. And after all, Jerusalem was the City of God and the Jews were God’s chosen people. Thus, very few Jews listened to the Christians.

So, when the Siege of Jerusalem happened in 70 AD, all had been warned ahead of time about the upcoming calamity.

(Continued in Part 5)

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January 30, 2010 · 7:25 am

Islamic Terrorists Vs. Radical Christians: New Game. New Rules. (Part 1)

An Updated Rerun 2009 Series

When you look at the picture of 21-year old terrorist, Azam Amir Kasab, what do you see? A good-looking youth who should be in college, preparing himself for a future career. Maybe having a beer or two with buddies on Fridays nights. Maybe dating a soccer cheerleader on Saturday nights. All in all, he should be enjoying his youth and doing what youths do, right?

But the facts are that Kasab trained for months, gobbled steroids to buff up his body, and dedicated his life, along with his eight dead compatriots, toward the hope of killing 5,000 innocent people in Mumbai, India. 5,000 innocent people. Their dream was to kill and kill until their last, dying breaths.

Admittedly, most soldiers are trained and committed to being warriors. And if occasions should arise and if combat actions are needed, they will fight. Yet, in the back of their minds, they will desperately want to live. This is a rational motive by normal soldiers in times of great peril. Thus, most soldiers’ combat actions will be carefully carried out according to a calculated risk/reward ratio on the battle field.

Not so these terrorists. They are committed to killing and dying! No risk is too severe or too challenging for them. And there are no innocent people – none too old or too young – who are off-limits for their blood thirsty lusts. We are their enemies and deserved to be killed. Period.

How do you defend a city or a nation against dedicated, radical terrorists like Kasab?

Hmm! Maybe, you don’t really want to think about Mumbai-type terrorist attacks happening in your neighborhood. After all, nothing has happened since 911. Why stir up fears and anxiety, right?

(CONTINUED Part 2)

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January 29, 2010 · 8:52 am

Why All The Outrage To Pat Robertson’s Remarks About Haiti? (Part 3)

Click on the following for earlier articles in the series: Part 1 and Part 2.

The Prophecy

On the first Palm Sunday, Jesus rode on a donkey heading to Jerusalem for the upcoming Passover. His journey was a short one which began in the neighboring town of Bethphage.

The road was crowded with people. His disciples. Pharisees and scribes. And thousands of pilgrims from the Jewish diaspora.

For Passover, Jerusalem’s normal population of 120,000 swelled to nearly a million people as Jews from all over the Middle East returned to observe the feast. It was a profitable event for Jewish merchants, much like Christmas for today’s retail merchants.

As Jesus rode along, His disciples began praising God, saying, “Hosanna! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David. Blessed is the King.”

They were excited over His miracles and expected Him to be the King who would return Israel to its former glory and then throw off the shackles of the cruel Romans.They were hoping for an earthly kingdom, not a heavenly one.

Also, the disciples who had been with Jesus at the raising of Lazarus from the tomb were testifying about His miracle to the crowd. People were excited. Jesus was the Man. An Elijah-type of prophet with death-defying powers.

In the midst of the hubbub and excitement, Jesus paused at a spot on the Mount of Olives, overlooking Jerusalem and the Temple. This was the exact spot where Jews throughout history had mourned and wept over the Temple.

So, when Jesus stopped and wept at the overlook, the people would have hushed and anticipated a historic speech. Then, He said:

If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now, they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation. (Luke 19:42-44)

The people were shocked by His words!

The Prophet had prophesied the death of Jerusalem and the Temple. Without both, Judaism was a non-functioning religion. No more altar. No more sacrifices. No more priests. No more City of God. And where would God go? After all, He lived in the Holy of Holies.

Let’s look at Jesus’ prophetic words:

1. Who was the prophecy intended for? The Jews and their leaders.

2. What audience heard the prophecy? The Jews and their leaders. So, the prophecy was given directly to its intended listeners.

3. The Greek word episkope in verse 44 is translated into our English word visitation. Yet, episkope does not imply a visitor stopping by for a friendly visit. Its true meaning suggests God the Judge inspecting a people and deciding whether they will be blessed or cursed.

So, was the prophecy effective?

(Continued in Part 4)

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January 27, 2010 · 9:30 am

Why All The Outrage To Pat Robertson’s Remarks About Haiti? (Part 2)

Click on the following for an earlier article in the series: Part 1.

The siege of Jerusalem which I used as a time warp short story in Part 1 is the New Testament’s clearest example of God’s divine judgment being prophesied to a specific people, and then, falling upon them. The actual siege occurred in 70 AD, nearly forty years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

Let’s look at the facts as we know them today:

In Jesus’ time, the Romans had already been occupying Jerusalem for approximately ninety years. The Roman rule was harsh and exacted heavy taxes from the Jewish citizens. And of course, the Jews hated the Romans. Prosperity for most Jews would have been measured in the simplest of terms: food and a place to sleep.

The average Jewish male in 30 AD lived to the age of 42 years old while females lived to an average age of 38 years. Half of the Jewish children died before they were five years old. 90% of the people could not read and 95% could not write. Fifty per cent of the people in the Roman Empire were slaves and lived to an average age of 25 years old. Malnutrition was the single biggest threat to health.

Also, there was a religious revival going on. Herod was rebuilding the Temple to its former glory. (This was not fully completed until 60 AD.) And the Pharisees woke up the Jews to the importance of loving God, loving their neighbors and returning to the strict edicts of the Law and Prophets. They were known as the “hope of Israel.”

Josephus, the historian, estimated there were 120,000 people living in Jerusalem and a total of 3-4 million inhabitants in all of Palestine.

So, with these facts, we can better understand that when Jesus preached the gospel and performed miracles, the Jews were looking for an earthly king. One who would deliver them from the Romans and their everyday miseries.

However, Jesus preached a heavenly kingdom. A message which was so simple; and yet so hard for most Jews to swallow.

As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. (John 6:66)

Still, Josephus estimated that one third of Jerusalem and Palestine converted to Christianity during this time period. Plus, a large number of Pharisees were converted.

These facts should help us have a clearer understanding of the divine judgment carried out on Jerusalem in 70 AD.

(Continued in Part 3)

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January 25, 2010 · 6:40 am

Why All The Outrage To Pat Robertson’s Remarks About Haiti? (Part 1)

Let’s begin with a time warp short story looking back at the year 70 AD from today’s perspective:

The CBS Evening News opened with a shot of Katie Couric sitting at a desk, checking a laptop computer. As the camera zoomed in for a close-up, Couric turned and looked into the camera. Her face lacked its usual toothy smile, noticeable creases appeared under her blue eyes. She was not her usual bouncy self.

“Hi everyone, I’m Katie Couric,” she said. “Well, it’s over. The siege of Jerusalem has finally ended. For more on this tragic story, we go to our CBS Middle East correspondent, Lara Logan. ” Couric pivots to look at a TV monitor, sitting next to the laptop.

A beautiful blond woman, dressed in combat fatigues, appeared on the TV screen. She stood near a demolished wall, holding a microphone. “This is Lara Logan. I’m standing not far from what was the Jewish Temple, the center of Judaism. Earlier today, Roman soldiers under the command of General Titus, stormed the Temple and burned it to the ground.”

She paused as pictures were shown of grisly scenes. Fires burning out of control. Bodies stacked in heaps. Roman soldiers looting and plundering. Other soldiers toppling walls so that not one stone remained atop another.

“Josephus, the Jewish historian, stated that peaceful, unarmed Jewish citizens raised their arms in surrender to the onrushing Roman soldiers, but were butchered anyway. Pregnant woman had stomachs slashed open and their babies ripped out, and then the babies were smashed against walls. Men, women and children of all ages were slaughtered,” said Logan. “All in all, Josephus estimates that the destruction of Jerusalem resulted in 1.1 million people, mainly Jews, being killed or starved to death during the five-month long siege. Another 95,000 Jews were taken captive, to be used as slaves.”

The CBS Evening News switched back to Couric, sitting at her desk. “International leaders today have voiced their disapproval to the barbarity of this slaughter by the Roman soldiers. And at this moment, the U.N. Security Council is voting on a joint resolution, condemning Rome,” she said, looking down at her notes for a moment.

“But one Evangelical leader, Pat Robertson, is taking heat for his remarks about this tragedy,” she said as her eyes narrowed.

Then, a video appeared on the TV screen showing Pat Robertson talking to a young woman on the 700 Club program. “And you know, Christie,” said Robertson, “something happened a long time ago in Israel and the people may not want to talk about it. They were under the heels of the Romans and made a tough decision. And ever since, they have been cursed by one thing or another. They need to have a great turning to God. And out of this tragedy, I’m optimistic that something good may come. Right now, we are helping the suffering people and the suffering is unimaginable.”

Once again, the camera switched back to Couric. “How insensitive and sad for a so-called religious leader to paint Jerusalem and a whole nation as godless and deserving of destruction in one off-the-cuff statement,” she said, shaking her head. Then she added, “But you know, Robertson has a history of controversial statements like this.”

She collected her notes and looked at the camera. “Thanks for joining us and that’s the news for August 1o, 70 AD. Good night.”

So, in this time warp short story, was Pat Robertson insensitive and over the top with his remarks?

(Continued in Part 2)

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January 2, 2010 · 12:48 pm

Got Humor?

On one occasion a friend burst into President Abraham Lincoln’s office to tell him that a brigadier general and twelve army mules had been carried off by the Confederate Army.

“How unfortunate!” said Lincoln. “Those mules cost us two hundred dollars apiece!”

President Lincoln was a serious man who had a sense of humor. He once stated, “If I couldn’t laugh, I wouldn’t be able to last in this office for fifteen minutes.”

I agree with President Lincoln.

Yes, America has serious problems such as terrorism, unemployment, economics, wars, etc. And many of these may come crashing down on our heads, but this does not mean we should just sit around, waiting with long faces and sour attitudes. Yipes!

It’s healthy to laugh, especially at ourselves.

Maybe politicians can’t laugh (especially at themselves) because they’re worried how the media will report their actions. And maybe other leaders have the same fears.

Well, phooey on them. We don’t have to follow their examples. Each of us can learn how to cultivate a sense of humor now. It will pay huge dividends in the months and years ahead.