Friday, May 27, 2011

Reflections on Another Judgement Day Prediction Come and Gone


The link above was an interesting article that critiqued the "Apocalypse predictors" that thought May 21 would be the end of the world. The best of this article was found in this quote below:

"There is no point, they say, in trying to transform humanity, to lead people to the light, to heal wounds, to pray for the lost, or to proclaim a gospel of repentance. In other words, there is no point in doing what Jesus said to do. There is only a fervent need to be right, especially when everyone else is so obviously wrong."

This is the core problem with these types of people who are so focused on wishing some kind of apocalyptic judgement day. They have lost their focus on the true message of Jesus and how he has empowered us to be the light of the world. It is so much easier to judge people rather than get our hands dirty learning to serve and love people. It is much easier to find comfort in having a sense of superiority by claiming to be right or having the corner on all things related to "truth" rather than take a humble and loving approach towards people we may have a hard time relating to.

I am reminded of the passage in 1 Corinthians 13:2 that states, "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing." This is a harsh judgement. And let's not even consider what the Bible also says about false prophets, or how we are to test one who claims to be a prophet and what happens to one who is caught in a prophecy that ends up being false. The world that Harold Camping is living in right now has been much kinder to him with his false prophesies than others would have been during other periods of time. Also, considering his age, it is a shame that he does not use the last remaining years he has left to love on his family, his community, his church and those who are in need. Most people seem to mellow with age. Not Camping. Not his followers. With all the effort and money they put in to predicting the apocalypse how could all of that been better spent fighting against human trafficking, serving the poor, assisting those ravaged by the resent deluge of tornadoes, or helping to start an orphanage in Africa for children affected by AIDS. Instead they choose funnel all their energies to pedal their message of damnation. The reality is they will have to answer to God for that some day. But maybe, just maybe, their hearts of judgement and damnation will be touched by people of love and compassion and they will see the err of their ways and embrace a new path of grace, peace and love towards all.

Friday, May 20, 2011

» Do you have a moment… for pure genius? - Long Views: The Long Now Blog

This is excellent. But I would also like to expand this article to consider the spiritual. Not only are we frequently too busy to appreciate the beauty around us, but all too often we are lost in our own busy-ness to notice God moments throughout our day. I frequently tell my class that if the devil can't make you bad, he will just make you busy. This experiment in a subway station proves on a small scale how we have lost any sense of the transcendence in art, music, nature, and faith.

» Do you have a moment… for pure genius? - Long Views: The Long Now Blog

 The United Methodist Portal

Some interesting thoughts in this article on trying to define our Methodist identity. Are we "mainline" or "methodist"?

The United Methodist Portal

A Rapture Flowchart to Help You Know Where You Stand

For those of you who are worried that you might be "left behind" here is a flow chart that helps spell it all out so that you can have some peace of mind.

Classic Church Sign

Yeah I think this is in the top 10 of best church signs ever.

Super(ficial) Small Groups!

Scary thing is, as funny as this may be, I wonder just how true this is of most small groups!

This Week's Weather Report

Whoa! Interesting weather report. Obviously the people closest to the light installed a rapture hatch in their house. Lucky.



Apocamix! Pure Awesomeness!

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you . . . The APOCAMIX! (Don't blink or you will miss Slim Pickens riding the bomb like a bronco from "Dr. Strangelove". A movie by the way that is much more believable in how the world may end some day.)

Eclectic Method - The Apocamix from Eclectic Method on Vimeo.

Time to Leave Behind the Rapture

Well said. A Must Read
Time to Leave Behind the Rapture

My Take: Doomsdayers not so different from the rest of us – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs

Some good thoughts here. It is easy to point the finger and laugh at the crazy religious people but the reality is our politicians are even worse at cognitive dissonance.
My Take: Doomsdayers not so different from the rest of us – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs

Rapture Ready!

Being that the world may end tomorrow I thought I would work on a little home improvement project with my house. I just hope it doesn't rain tonight. You can never be to ready!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Church sign of the day | Jesus Needs New PR

Classic! A Church sign guy with a sense of humor!

Church sign of the day | Jesus Needs New PR

After Seminary, ‘Lost Boy’ Headed Back to Sudan - Beliefnet News

After Seminary, ‘Lost Boy’ Headed Back to Sudan - Beliefnet News

Wow! This is amazing. I had no idea that one of the Sudan Lost Boys was attending the seminary I graduated from! I just watched a documentary on this group of boys called "When God Grew Tired of Us". This was one of those documentaries that was profound on many levels. In many ways it is
the "anti-Lord of the Flies". To consider how hundreds of boys from Sudan escaped genocide and managed to survive is truly an amazing story. Congratulations GRTS for getting involved with a historic opportunity to educate a "lost boy" so that he can go back to Sudan many years later and be the light of Christ where there was so much darkness. Everyone! I order you now to go to your Netflix queue and watch "When God Grew Tired of Us"! You will be deeply moved and challenged.

Monday, May 09, 2011

Sunday, May 01, 2011

Can We Please (PLEASE!) Stop Trying to Christianize *Everything* « Scotteriology

Great post from Scotteriology! Growing up in the Christian culture you begin to expect a certain level of cheesiness in its art and ability to try and Christianize pop culture. But this is an example of a time that just leaves you wide-eyed and speechless that some group actually put this together and posted it. I think a more appropriate title for their video would be "Creeper Jesus".

Can We Please (PLEASE!) Stop Trying to Christianize *Everything* « Scotteriology

Naked Flying Pig runner arrested | Cincinnati.com | cincinnati.com


Well, I was bummed this year that it wasn't going to work out for me to run in the Flying Pig Marathon. But after reading this article about today's race, I am glad I didn't do it because with my luck, I would have been running right next to this guy. Talk about extra motivation to start running faster!
Naked Flying Pig runner arrested | Cincinnati.com | cincinnati.com