WELCOME TO THE FREAK SHOW! THIS GUY IS TOTALLY AN IDIOT! HE ACTUALLY SAID THAT IRAN DOES NOT POSE A THREAT TO US. WHAT?!

Glen Beck On Spanking

Spanking
OCTOBER 11, 2007

GLENN BECK PROGRAM
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

GLENN: From Radio City in Midtown Manhattan, hello, you sick twisted freak. Welcome to the program. So glad that you're here. My name is Glenn Beck. I had one of the rougher nights of my life last night. I have never spanked any of my children. I have -- I don't know. I grew up getting spankings as a kid. I'm not against spankings, but my kids, generally speaking, have not crossed -- there's just a line, and one of my kids crossed the line yesterday, last night, and I looked at my wife and I said, I mean -- and she said, spanking? And I said, I've never spanked any of the kids. And I had the hardest night. I had the hardest night. I just, I don't know. You know, I never really understood. I always mocked my father on, you know, this is going to hurt me more than it's going to hurt you. I know it didn't hurt my dad that much but, boy, it hurt me. That just killed me last night looking at my son and explaining it to him and explaining that I was going to, you know, spank -- he didn't know what spanking was. Explain that to him, explain why. You know, that we have choices and that was a bad choice and there's consequences to your choices.

Last night I don't think I -- I didn't sleep very much. I kept seeing his eyes look at me. He looked at me differently beforehand. He knew how much trouble he was in, and his -- for the first time he looked at me -- I don't know how to explain it -- with fear. He had fear. I have never seen fear in my child's eyes and it killed me to introduce fear into his life. And I actually went into the other room and I said, come on with me; you're getting a spanking. I put him over my knee and I must have sat there for three, four minutes just praying. And he just, he didn't even move. And I brought him back in the other room and Tania was there and she said, did you spank him? And I said, no, I think Mom needs to be there. So we went in together and, ooh. You know, I didn't sleep. I didn't sleep last night. And, you know, I said to my wife. I said -- because she was the one, she was like, honey, spank him; not a bad thing. I said, I know that. I'm not against spanking. I just feel like his innocence went away yesterday. It's bound to happen, but to see fear in a child's eyes for the very first time, especially when I do this for a living, you know, looking at all of the stuff that, you know, fear and what -- I don't want my kid to live in fear. I don't want my kid -- you know. It's weird.

STU: Wait a minute. Hold on one second.

GLENN: What?

STU: First of all we can go over the, there needs to be consequences. The body has a mechanism for pain. So don't put your hand on a hot oven.

GLENN: Don't think I didn't think about that about 3:45. The Lord made pain for a reason. What is pain for? Yeah.

STU: It's to remember not to do the same thing over and over again.

GLENN: Right.

STU: I'm interested, though, to see because you have this webcam in the studio that you have -- it goes back to your house and you have conversations with your family in the morning and you watch each other during the day, you watch Rafe play all day on that thing. At one moment I think I noticed you have your first reunion with Rafe after this occurred. What, can you disclose what occurred?

GLENN: I said, good morning, Rafe. And he looked up and he said, morning, Daddy. I stayed in my bed all night. I said, I know you did.

STU: Bet he did.

GLENN: Good boy. And it wasn't about getting out of bed but that was the last thing I said to him: You move out of your bed, don't you even think about moving out of this bed. I mean, it was -- I mean, you know, and I don't want to get into everything. But Stu, I told you this morning.

STU: Lord God.

GLENN: I mean, is there any -- was there any -- are you a spanker? I mean, if you had kids, are you a spanker?

STU: Personally I would be an, in extreme cases. You couldn't want to do it.

GLENN: Would you agree this is an extreme?

STU: Holy God, yes.

GLENN: I never walked in -- with any of my kids, I've never walked in and went, spanking. I mean never.

STU: You single-handedly delayed my family by two years by telling me that story this morning.

DAN: We don't get to hear it? It was that bad?

GLENN: I've got Stephen Moore coming up in just a minute.

STU: Unless Stephen wants to talk spanking.

GLENN: I'll get into that -- it's not, it is bad. Don't get me wrong. It's horrific. It's horrific.

STU: Poor man.

GLENN: But yeah, you felt bad for me, didn't you?

STU: Bad for you and bad for me that that might be coming.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh. I'll get into it tomorrow but I'm just, I'm so tender about it today. And I know I did the right thing. It's just --

STU: Yeah, the only question --

GLENN: Have you spanked yet, Dan?

DAN: No, I'm sitting here listening to this. In theory I'm for it but I don't know that I could do it.

GLENN: I think there's a time for spanking and that was clearly a time for spanking, but it's just --

DAN: It's coming for me, Glenn. My daughter's 2 and she's starting to test more and more and more and there's just less -- you can only say I'm counting to 3 so many times.

GLENN: And here's the thing on spanking. It's -- I feel, I think a lot smaller, a lot lower level but I feel like I would -- you know I'm for guns, you know I'm for defending myself. You know if somebody is killing, you know, the family or threatening the family or coming into the house and threatening the family, I will shoot you dead.

STU: Obviously.

GLENN: I will shoot you dead. But you know what? I'm not going to sleep well.

STU: No.

GLENN: You know what I mean? And that's the way I feel about spanking. I believe -- I mean, it's at the very end of the scale on the opposite direction of a gun, but is it --

STU: You care about the person more.

GLENN: Yeah. But it is, it is a consequence of action and it is a lot easier to just blow off that consequence because it hurts you. It really -- I mean, I understood my father more than I ever have before. "This is going to hurt me more than it's going to hurt you." I remember getting spanked by my father. It hurt but it wasn't like that. Last night I cried my -- I really did. I cried myself to sleep last night. I woke up in the middle of the night. I started crying again. It tore me apart to spank my son, and I'm not going to tell him that. Last night I mastered that look, man. I mastered the look of, you don't even want to mess with me. I mastered that look last night.

STU: Yeah. You know, this is the part of parenting, when they learn that actions have consequence. That's, when they're going to be better people for it.

GLENN: Yeah. So we'll go into that a little more tomorrow, maybe.

END TRANSCRIPT
Insiders, click here to listen to this transcript...




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Landmark study: Change for homosexuals is possible

Posted on Sep 14, 2007 | by Michael Foust
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--In what some are calling groundbreaking research, a new four-year study concludes it is possible for homosexuals to change their physical attractions and become heterosexual through the help of Christian ministries.

The data was released Sept. 13 at a news conference in Nashville, Tenn., and is published in the new book, "Ex-Gays?" (InterVarsity Press) by psychologists Stanton L. Jones and Mark A. Yarhouse. Thirty-eight percent of the subjects followed in the study said they had successfully left homosexuality, while an additional 29 percent said they had had only modest successes but were committed to keep trying. In another significant finding, Jones and Yarhouse said attempts at conversion do not appear to be psychologically harmful.

Experts in the field call it the first scientific study performed on a sample of individuals undergoing Christian counseling, monitoring their successes and failures from the beginning. A follow-up study is being conducted and will be released in the future.

"These findings contradict directly the commonly expressed views of the mental health establishment that change in sexual orientation is impossible, and that if you attempt to change it's highly likely to produce harm for those who make such an attempt," Jones, professor of psychology at Wheaton College in Illinois, said at the news conference.

Although the study simply affirms biblical truth, it nonetheless could have a significant impact in the professional realm, where such research carries much weight. A Q&A portion of the American Psychological Association’s website says homosexuality "does not require treatment and is not changeable."

The research is certain to be criticized, particularly by homosexual activist organizations. Yarhouse, professor of psychology at Regent University in Virginia, said their literary agent tried for 10 months to find a secular publisher but "no one would touch it." IVP is a Christian publisher.

The study followed 98 subjects -- 72 men and 26 women -- over a period of between 30 months and four years. Interviews were conducted three times, although by the third interview several subjects had quit the study, leaving the sample with 73 subjects. Some of them quit because they believed they had successfully changed and didn't want to participate anymore, while others quit because they no longer wanted to change, the study said.

All the subjects were being counseled by various ministries of Exodus International, a Florida-based organization that seeks to help people leave homosexuality through faith in Christ.

At the end of the study, the subjects were placed in six categories, in order from success to failure:

-- 15 percent reported their conversion was successful and that they had had "substantial reduction" in homosexual attraction and "substantial conversion" to heterosexual attraction. They were categorized as "success: conversion."

-- 23 percent said their conversion was successful and that homosexual attraction was either missing or "present only incidentally or in a way that does not seem to bring about distress." They were labeled "success: chastity."

-- 29 percent had experienced "modest decreases" in homosexual attraction and were not satisfied with their change, but pledged to continue trying. This category was labeled "continuing."

-- 15 percent had not changed and were conflicted about what to do next.

-- 4 percent had not changed and had quit the change process, but had not embraced the "gay identity."

-- 8 percent had not changed, had quit the process and had embraced the "gay identity."

[Malfunctions in the taping of interviews accounts for the remaining 5 percent.]

The study was released as an American Psychological Association task force is examining the organization's policy on counseling homosexuals. The task force reportedly is stacked with those of a more liberal perspective, and Christian psychologists fear the APA will change its policy to one that officially condemns the idea that change is possible. The report is due next year.

Said Jones, "We hope our research will say to people, 'Slow down. Let's have a civil dialogue. Let's talk about people who are making autonomous adult choices about what they do.... Let's give people the opportunity to exercise their religious freedom."

Bob Stith, the national strategist for gender issues for the Southern Baptist Convention, said he hopes the study will impact churches.

"It is important for the church to recognize that [changing] is difficult," he told Baptist Press. "The first time I went to an Exodus conference, my wife and I were stunned with the level of struggle that many of the people were still having. We had to reevaluate our whole perspective on that. I've worked with drug and alcohol addicts for years, and I've seen the same thing.... I've sent some to live-in rehabs, and they leave because it's too hard. Personally, I have seen more people walk away from homosexuality than I have from drug and alcohol addiction."

He added, "We know that Christ changes lives. You can't quantify that."

Many of the subjects had been sexually promiscuous prior to the study. Of the initial group of 72 men, 33 percent had been involved with more than 30 male partners, while 21 percent had had 10 to 30 such partners. The females were far less promiscuous, with only 4 percent having had more than 30 female partners and 8 percent having had 10 to 30 partners. The large majority of females, 80 percent, had had between one and nine female partners.

In addition, 67 percent of men and 69 percent of women reported having been touched sexually prior to age 13.

Yarhouse said it's difficult to understand why some people are more successful than others in changing. He speculated it could be because some people are "making the decision in isolation." Although such a homosexual would be embraced by their own community, "when they turn to the Christian community they often don't feel the same embrace of, 'We're going to walk alongside you as you go down this path.’"

Jones and Yarhouse also said skeptics should not dismiss the research simply because the researchers are Christians. Much research in the field, they noted, is conducted by researchers who are homosexuals and is nonetheless considered reputable.

Warren Throckmorton, associate professor of psychology at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, called the study groundbreaking.

"I think this is going to set the standard for research in this arena," he told BP. "It's significant because it does address the skepticism among mental health professionals that living by your faith is going to be harmful in some way.... [Jones and Yarhouse] did not find the kind of harm that has been predicted.

"The fact that it is a long-term study makes it superior to the most recent other work in this field. So I believe it does break ground."
--30--
Michael Foust is assistant editor of Baptist Press.

Detailed information about the study is available in the book "Ex-Gays?" and at http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=2846

On Tuesday, my wife's great-grandmother passed away. The obituary is below:

Helen M. Snyder
Born in Schoharie County, New York on May 26, 1915
Departed on Sep. 18, 2007 and resided in Canton, OH.

Visitation: No Visitation
Graveside Services: Private
Cemetery: Private



Helen M. Snyder age 92 of Canton, Ohio, went home to be with the Lord, passing away Tuesday September 18, 2007 in the House of Loreto. Born in Schoharie County, New York on May 26, 1915 she was the daughter of the late, Walter and Pearl Stockman. She had lived the greater portion of her life in Canton and was a member of the Whipple Ave. Baptist Church and a teacher for the Eager Beaver Youth Group. Besides her parents, she was preceded in death by two brothers, Frank and George Stockman, her daughter, Kay Frances Smith and also by her husband of 64 years, Guy B. Snyder Sr. who passed away August 1, 1998.
Survivors include three sons and daughters-in-law, Guy Jr. and Mary Snyder of Massillon, Gary L. and Sheila Snyder of Norwalk, OH., and Arthur L. and Vivian Snyder of Akron, OH. Two daughters and sons-in-law, Mary Ellen and David Boring of Canton and Carol and Mike Stump of Canton. Son-in-law, Lewis Duane Smith of Canton. Her sister, Alcy Bonham of Millersburg, OH. and brother, John (Millie) Stockman of Tuscon, AZ. There are 15 grandchildren and 31 great grandchildren.
Private graveside services and burial will be held Friday at 11 a.m. in the Eden Church Cemetery. There will be no calling hours and the REED FUNERAL HOME CANTON CHAPEL is in charge of arrangements. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to the House of Loreto or Whipple Ave. Baptist Church. The family would like to express a special thanks to the House of Loreto for their care and labor of love to Helen during her residency. Those wishing to share their condolences or a fond memory may sign the Reed On-Line guestbook at our website www.reedfuneralhome.com.

I'm not sure if this is legit or not, but a friend forwarded it to me. I have been thinking a lot about the poor and our call to help them and I have had to repent of some of the attitudes that I have had in the past regarding them. Just last night, my wife and I had to make a run to the pharmacy to pick up some supplies for her and there was a homeless man that was sitting on the curb asking for bus fare. I was annoyed at first, as I always am, and I turned my pockets inside out to show him that I had nothing on me. Then I remembered that I had $2 in my wallet and I opened up my wallet and gave him one of them. "God bless you, sir," he said. I replied, "God bless you."

It was not much but for me, to give out a dollar was a huge step and a move toward obedience. Here is a theological note: Repentance does not simply mean turning from something; it means turning toward something. Theologically, it means turning from sin and turning toward obedience to Christ.

Anyway, here's the story:

TO MEET SUCH A MAN
I sat, with two friends, in the picture window of a quaint restaurant just off the corner of the town-square. The food and the company were both especially good that day.
As we talked, my attention was drawn outside, across the street. There, walking into town, was a man who appeared to be carrying all his worldly goods on his back. He was carrying, a well-worn sign that read, "I will work for food." My heart sank.
I brought him to the attention of my friends and noticed that others around us had stopped eating to focus on him. Heads moved in a mixture of sadness and disbelief.
We continued with our meal, but his image lingered in my mind. We finished our meal and went our separate ways. I had errands to do and quickly set out to accomplish them. I glanced toward the town square, looking somewhat halfheartedly for the strange visitor. I was fearful, knowing that seeing him again would call some response. I drove through town and saw nothing of him. I made some purchases at a store and got back in my car.
Deep within me, the Spirit of God kept speaking to me: "Don't go back to the office until you've at least driven once more around the square."
Then with some hesitancy, I headed back into town. As I turned the square's third corner, I saw him. He was standing on the steps of the front of the church, going through his sack.
I stopped and looked; feeling both compelled to speak to him, yet wanting to drive on. The empty parking space on the corner seemed to be a sign from God: an invitation to park. I pulled in, got out and approached the town's newest visitor.
"Looking for the pastor?" I asked.
"Not really," he replied, "just resting."
"Have you eaten today?"
"Oh, I ate something early this morning."
"Would you like to have lunch with me?"
"Do you have some work I could do for you?"
"No work," I replied. "I commute here to work from the city, but I would like to take you to lunch."
"Sure," he replied with a smile.
As he began to gather his things, I asked some surface questions. Where you headed?"
" St. Louis "
"Where you from?"
"Oh, all over; mostly Florida "
"How long you been walking?"
"Fourteen years," came the reply.
I knew I had met someone unusual. We sat across from each other in the same restaurant I had left earlier. His face was weathered slightly beyond his 38 years. His eyes were dark yet clear, and he spoke with an eloquence and articulation that was startling. He removed his jacket to reveal a bright red T-shirt that said, "Jesus is The Never Ending Story."
Then Daniel's story began to unfold. He had seen rough times early in life. He'd made some wrong choices and reaped the consequences. Fourteen years earlier, while backpacking across the country, he had stopped on the beach in Daytona. He tried to hire on with some men who were putting up a large tent and some equipment. A concert, he thought.
He was hired, but the tent would not house a concert but revival services, and in those services he saw life more clearly. He gave his life over to God.
"Nothing's been the same since," he said, "I felt the Lord telling me to keep walking, and so I did, some 14 years now."
"Ever think of stopping?" I asked.
"Oh, once in a while, when it seems to get the best of me But God has given me this calling. I give out Bibles. That's what's in my sack. I work to buy food and Bibles, and I give them out when His Spirit leads."
I sat amazed. My homeless friend was not homeless. He was on a mission and lived this way by choice. The question burned inside for a moment and then I asked: "What's it like?"
"What?"
"To walk into a town carrying all your things on your back and to show your sign?"
"Oh, it was humiliating at first. People would stare and make comments. Once someone tossed a piece of half-eaten bread and made a gesture that certainly didn't make me feel welcome. But then it became humbling to realize that God was using me to touch lives and change people's concepts of other folks like me."
My concept was changing, too. We finished our dessert and gathered his things. Just outside the door, he paused. He turned to me and said, "Come Ye blessed of my Father and inherit the kingdom I've prepared for you. For when I was hungry you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me drink, a stranger and you took me in."
I felt as if we were on holy ground. "Could you use another Bible?" I asked.
He said he preferred a certain translation. It traveled well and was not too heavy. It was also his personal favorite. "I've read through it 14 times," he said.
"I'm not sure we've got one of those, but let's stop by our church and see" I was able to find my new friend a Bible that would do well, and he seemed very grateful.
"Where are you headed from here?" I asked.
"Well, I found this little map on the back of this amusement park coupon."
"Are you hoping to hire on there for awhile?"
"No, I just figure I should go there. I figure someone under that star right there needs a Bible, so that's where I'm going next."
He smiled, and the warmth of his spirit radiated the sincerity of his mission. I drove him back to the town-square where we'd met two hours earlier, and as we drove, it started raining. We parked and unloaded his things.
"Would you sign my autograph book?" he asked. "I like to keep messages from folks I meet."
I wrote in his little book that his commitment to his calling had touched my life. I encouraged him to stay strong. And I left him with a verse of scripture from Jeremiah, "I know the plans I have for you, declared the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you; Plans to give you a future and a hope."
"Thanks, man," he said. "I know we just met and we're really just strangers, but I love you."
"I know," I said, "I love you, too." "The Lord is good!"
"Yes, He is. How long has it been since someone hugged you?" I asked.
"A long time," he replied
And so on the busy street corner in the drizzling rain, my new friend and I embraced, and I felt deep inside that I had been changed. He put his things on his back, smiled his winning smile and said, "See you in the New Jerusalem."
"I'll be there!" was my reply.
He began his journey again. He headed away with his sign dangling from his bedroll and pack of Bibles. He stopped, turned and said, "When you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?"
"You bet," I shouted back, "God bless."
"God bless." And that was the last I saw of him.
Late that evening as I left my office, the wind blew strong. The cold front had settled hard upon the town. I bundled up and hurried to my car. As I sat back and reached for the emergency brake, I saw them... a pair of well-worn brown work gloves neatly laid over the length of the handle. I picked them up and thought of my friend and wondered if his hands would stay warm that night without them.
Then I remembered his words: "If you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?"
Today his gloves lie on my desk in my office. They help me to see the world and its people in a new way, and they help me remember those two hours with my unique friend and to pray for his ministry. "See you in the New Jerusalem," he said. Yes, Daniel, I know I will...
If this story touched you, forward it to a friend!
"I shall pass this way but once. Therefore, any good that I can do or any kindness that I can show, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again."
My instructions were to send this to four people that I wanted God to bless and I picked you. Please pass this to four people you want to be blessed.
This prayer is powerful and there is nothing attached. Please do not break this pattern. Prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another. God bless and have a nice day!
"Father, I ask you to bless my friends, relatives and e-mail buddies reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask you to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through your grace, In Jesus' precious Name Amen."
I sent this to more than four, but this story is so touching I felt each of you would enjoy it greatly.
GOD BLESS YOU MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY!!!
Wendy R. McMackins
Patrol Division Secretary
Jackson Police Department

(731) 425-8555
fax: (731) 425-8480

This was originally posted on my blog on September 11, 2003, four years ago today. I thought it was worth a re-post:

"As I came into work this morning, I noticed that they were playing the move "Patton" downstairs in a training area in memory of what happened two years ago. If you've never heard the opening monologue that is done by the late George C. Scott in this movie, it is fantastic. It is an actual speech made by General Patton to some American troops in England, just before the D-Day invasion. I have posted this speech below, somewhat edited because of some blunt
language used:

'Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country. Men, all this stuff you've heard about America not wanting to fight, wanting to stay out of the war, is a lot of horse dung. Americans traditionally love to fight. ALL REAL Americans, love the sting of battle. When you were kids, you all admired the champion marble shooter, the fastest runner, the big league ball players, the toughest boxers . . . Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in Hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost and will never lose a war. Because the very thought of losing is hateful to Americans. Now, an army is a team. It lives, eats, sleeps, fights as a team. This individuality stuff is a bunch of crap. The bilious bastards who wrote that stuff about individuality for the
Saturday Evening Post, don't know anything more about real battle than they do about fornicating. Now we have the finest food and equipment, the best spirit, and the best men in the world...Now there's another thing I want you to remember. I don't want to get any messages saying that we are holding our position. We're not holding anything, we'll let the Hun do that. We are advancing constantly, and we're not interested in holding onto anything except the enemy...Thirty years from now when you're sitting around your fireside with your grandson on your knee, and he asks you, 'What did you do in the great World War Two?' You won't have to say, 'Well, I shoveled s--- in Louisiana.' Alright now...you know how I feel. . . . I will be proud to lead you wonderful guys into battle anytime, anywhere. That's all.'

"Patton was a no-nonsense fighter. To me, this speech embodies the spirit of the fighting soldier. As a former infantryman, it makes me want to scream 'Hooooaaaah!' He is the type of General that I would want to be under.

"But I am often torn between my want to win this war that were in with being an instrument of grace. The truth is, I would really like to see Osama bin Laden strung up on a tree somewhere, but could I do that and be an instrument of grace? Would I rejoice if I saw that knowing that he will most likely, outside of the grace of God, go to a sinner's hell? What should my response be? Two years later and I still want to respond like Patton does here. And the truth is, I'm just not sure what's right. I realize that I could take it apart with theology and philosophy, but I want much more than that. I want the heart of Christ. So, what would Jesus do?

Some interesting words on tatoos on body piercing:

Tattoos and Body Piercing: What's a Christian to do?
Sam Storms
Aug 30, 2007



On a recent broadcast at DesiringGod.org, John Piper briefly addressed the issue of tattoos and body piercing among Christians. I especially appreciated the spirit in which John took up this subject. He did not come down in a heavy-handed or judgmental fashion, insisting in some legalistic way that such actions are altogether and always a sin. He mentioned the prohibition on tattoos in Leviticus 19:28 and suggested that although there were probably unique historical and religious circumstances in the ancient near east that evoked this prohibition, we should still seek to learn from it. Whereas not everything in the Levitical code is binding on the believer today, we still must ask if there is some underlying principle in the OT prohibition that might find application to us in the present day.

But Piper mentioned two additional factors to take into consideration, to which I would like to add a third. First, he asked the all-important question that every Christian contemplating getting a tattoo or body piercing should ask: “Will this exalt the Lord Jesus Christ? Is this going to draw attention to him or to me? Will his beauty and splendor and all-sufficiency be highlighted in this action? Will the gospel itself be adorned or obscured in what I’m doing?”

Second, John also said that we should carefully monitor our motives for getting a tattoo or body piercing. In particular, he suggested that often times (not always!) people get tattoos in an effort to establish for themselves an identity that they have failed to find in Christ alone. In other words, each person needs to ask: “To what extent does this tattoo or body piercing reflect my failure to find full satisfaction in Christ alone? To what extent is this an attempt to ‘be’ or ‘become’ something that until know I’ve failed to find in who I am in Christ and because of what he has accomplished in grace on my behalf?”

It may well be that the person contemplating getting a tattoo feels fully established in Christ and is keenly aware of who they are in him, and thus the issue of identity simply does not factor into one’s motivation. But it is an important matter to keep in mind.

To these excellent observations, I’d like to add a third. I think a Christian needs to ask himself/herself whether or not the tattoo or body piercing expresses respect for the human body as the temple of the living God. Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. He abides in us, not in buildings or tabernacles or anything else as the unique expression of his saving and sanctifying presence. The apostle Paul makes this clear on a number of occasions (see especially 1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 6:16-18; Eph. 2:21-22). I think particularly of 1 Cor. 6:19-20 where Christians are exhorted to “glorify God in your body” (v. 20). I’m not saying that people with tattoos and body piercings can’t glorify God in their bodies. I’m not the judge of that. I’m simply asking Christians to think and pray about it before they engage in this activity.

Needless to say (or perhaps it does need to be said), this text in 1 Corinthians 6 would apply to a number of issues other than tattoos and body piercing. I suspect that many reading this article are guilty of gluttony and have become excessively obese. This is only one example of what undoubtedly are any number of activities in which we may fail to glorify God in our bodies. We must be careful, therefore, lest we single out tattoos and body piercing and ignore the many ways in which we might potentially fail to glorify the Lord in how we treat our physical frame.

The fact is, the Bible is not as explicit and unyielding on this issue as some might like. If there were a specific and undeniable commandment in the NT that addressed the point, we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation. So I encourage everyone to be gracious and gentle at the same time we give full consideration to the principles set forth in God’s Word. For those who’ve already been tattooed, perhaps the question should now be to what extent and in what ways, if any, can I turn this for the good of the gospel and the glory of God. I’m certainly not prepared (or qualified) to answer that question, but it is one that needs to be addressed.

May God grant us wisdom and patience with one another as we seek to understand how best to glorify God in our bodies.

Sam

Lately, there has almost been one singular theological thought in my mind that I am having an extremely hard time escaping. In my search for another church home (something I seem to perpetually do) I cannot escape this nagging and obsessive thought that is slowly turning into belief that American churches are completely doing everything wrong.
I have made several references about this to my wife whom I think I am beginning to scare. Perhaps this passion, this thought, this nagging burning in the pit of my stomach, is a reaction to the religious fundamentalism of her parents, or perhaps it is God preparing me for something. This obsession over ecclesiology makes me want to forget everything I have ever learned and simply hit the streets. The thought that keeps me up at night (literally) is what I perceive as untapped power of the gospel, a gospel that not only saves us from a sinner’s hell, but calls us to live an abundant life of Christian Hedonism, to borrow from John Piper. The loud call I am hearing from God is that it is time to “take it to the streets.” Never in my life have I felt this passionate about something that I am so sure about, that we still have God in a box, that He wants to break through and permeate every aspect of our lives, our homes, our families, our churches, our workplaces, and these shells and brittle walls that we have created.
I want the church walls to fall down. I want to invite the world in to see and hear about the God that I serve. I want the world to know that I do not hate them and I am not called to hate them. My God calls me to serve the world, not in the essence that I am slave to the world’s desires, but that I am called to lay down my life as a living sacrifice to reach my family, my church, my workplace, and my culture for a living Christ.
This obsession is calling me to a radical obedience, a radical lifestyle, a radical faith, a working faith that combines the beauty of Pauline grace with the works of James. What wretched people we are to sit in our stained-glass churches with the padded pews and condemn people we would never stoop to reach! What sinful pride we have when we condemn others that we think are beneath the gospel! What is the church doing? Where are we going? What kind of crazy faith allows us to remain still and prideful? What kind of wretched man am I to ignore the plight of thousands of people destined to die without Christ? What kind of faith allows me to ignore the poor? What kind of faith allows me to coddle the rich? If the church should truly be “purpose driven,” then tell me what kind of purpose are we going for? If the church has a destination, tell me what it is!
We have oversimplified the gospel. We have dumbed it down to fit with our wimpy view of God, that He is less than sovereign, that He is less than in control, that He does not want everyone to come to repentance, that He raises His elect to a position of power and prestige above a world that He does not care about.
The bum on the street? Get a job! The single-mother? Get a husband! The alcoholic? Stop drinking! The drug addict? Stop smoking crack! The homosexual? Turn or burn! Our gospel is one of conformity and not one of gracious love. We have all the answers to all the wrong questions, questions that we are afraid to ask, questions that if asked, would demand an answer and demand action, and might even demand love.
But our church is too pretty, the carpet too clean, the pews too soft, our suits too pressed, our shoes too shiny, and our lives too separate. We pretend the problems are not there, that they will go away if, in our minds, the world would “turn to Jesus.” The problem is that the walls of our churches are too hard to climb, too thick to breach, and too hard to break. Our doors are shut, the peepholes covered. We see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, and ignore the evil around us, safe and sound in Fortress Community Church. We want to defend our doctrine, but there is no defense for it. Our doctrine is wrong because without works, faith is dead.
Our beliefs do not exist as something to be defended. They exist to be advanced. What would the world look like if the people that claim that they have “right doctrine” would stop simply believing and start doing and being the body of Christ. Are bums welcome in our churches? Are single mothers? Alcoholics? Drug addicts? Would we stoop to love a homosexual? Would we hug a person with AIDS?
When I am left without excuse, I am left without defense. My wait is over. My life of faith has just begun. I cannot deny what is around me anymore. It is time to tear down the walls and advance.

Incredible Words From John Piper Regarding the Minneapolis Bridge Collapse

I am told that when a person has doubts about his/her faith, that that is a good thing. It shows that a person is wrestling with issues and their faith is not an unhealthy faith. In other words, they do not stand on something that is clearly there...they stand on something that they cannot see or understand.

On a sidenote, I often wonder about current views on Scripture. I hear pastors, denominations, and churches "stand on the inerrant, infallible Word of God." But is that faith? Is it really faith when I can point to it in the Bible and say there it is; I believe it. This gets down to the nitty-gritty. Is the Bible inerrant?

My favorite way of explaining Scripture is the Westminster Confession. It states that the Bible is infallible in all areas of faith and practice. It stops short of saying that it is inerrant. I do not like the term inerrancy. Most people assume that it means "without error," not necessarily a bad assumption. The dictionary defines it as "free from error" They usually use it interchangably with the term infallible which means

1 : incapable of error : UNERRING
2 : not liable to mislead, deceive, or disappoint : CERTAIN
3 : incapable of error in defining doctrines touching faith or morals

So is the Bible without error or incapable of error and does this accurately define Scripture at all?

My opinion is that the Bible is infallible in the second meaning of the definition, but not inerrant in the true sense of the word. I cannot depend upon the Bible to be scientifically accurate. One example of this is that it clearly states that the average life span of a man is seventy years. This is really no longer the case. The average life span is approaching 80, and even if it isn't that high, it is certainly higher than 70. What about the fact that the Bible accepts as science the idea of a three-tier universe? It often talks of heaven above, hell below, and earth in the middle, and we now know that that is not true. What about the passage where the sun stands still? We know now that the sun does not revolve around the earth; the earth revolves around the sun. But here's the better question: If the Bible is not scientifically accurate, then does that nullify it's authority?

Again, my opinion is that the Bible's authority rests upon itself. It stands alone. If we are depending on the Bible being scientifically accurate in order to validate its authority, then what does that say about a person's faith? They are placing their faith in the scientific accuracy of the Bible rather than in Christ. My faith should never lie upon the accuracy of the Bible, but rather upon the finished work of Christ on the cross.

Now, again, the Westminster Confession says that the Bible is infallible in all areas of faith and practice. My opinion is that the Bible was probably scientifically accurate from the understandings at the time that each book was written. I only say probably because I am a self-described theologian and not a scientist and I do not believe I am qualified to make that statement definitively. I will say that I believe that in all the areas of faith and practice, the Bible is to be taken as the Word of God.

I guess this was more than a sidenote, huh? I wonder how many emails I will get.

So I’m sitting here at my computer in Orrville, Ohio, finishing up the last twenty minutes of my lunch break and wondering, like I have so many times in the past few months, where this strange journey is taking me. At the end of February, I made a painful decision to leave the seminary that I had been attending for what I thought was only going to be a quarter. My wife has had some serious medical issues and I was simply not sure if I could go on in school full-time without providing meaningful income to my family. It turns out, I was more than right.

Leaving the seminary created a ripple effect that I had not anticipated. Because I was no longer a student, student loans could not cover my rent. My wife exhausted all of her short-term disability and we had to COBRA her health care. All of a sudden, I had over $1100 a month going out and not near enough income to cover it all.

I felt punched in the stomach. I felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me and I was left in the air waiting to fall flat on my butt. My wife’s stepfather stepped in and offered us some much assistance in living with them and helping me some with finances and setting up a budget. I had secretly vowed never to move in with them. I mean, really, who wants to live with their in-laws? My wife contends that we had no choice. I reminded her that we always have a choice, but sometimes the options that you have make it very obvious the route that you should choose. So here I sit, working for Smuckers in a position that was not even on the radar two months ago. I still wonder where all of this is going to take me. It has legitimately left me looking at the sky asking God why. I think that many people think that questioning God is wrong. I am not one of those. Questioning God is not the issue. It is when your faith is so weak that you no longer trust in God. To pray to God and ask Him what He is doing is simply not wrong. It is a product of our humanity.

Almost every morning when I get in the shower and that hot water hits my back, I begin to think about the day and what it might bring. Sometimes I am quiet and just let the water run down my back. Sometimes I get vocal, questioning what in the world is going on. Sometimes I cry. Sometimes I question my calling, question what on earth I am doing. I confess, sometimes I worry. I mean, after all, when you look at this messed-up situation from a human perspective, there is a lot to worry about. Job security, making enough to pay the bills, forming a budget, making enough money that I am no longer living with my in-laws, Kandice’s health, our marriage, my health, my stress, the war in Iraq, deaths in the families of friends, politics, religion, Christianity…I could go on and on. I guess when all the conjecturing is through, you come down to only one issue: Where do you place your faith?

If I place my faith in anything but God, I am just simply wrong. The whole thing would be pointless then, wouldn’t it? Most of these things I cannot control even if I wanted to. I guess I really do not have to worry after all. Despite what some would believe, even former pastors of mine, God is in control…of everything. Did it ever occur to you that nothing ever occurred to God? It’s not an easy belief, is it? To think that God knew that almost 3,000 people would die on 9/11 and He seemed to do nothing about it is hard, isn’t it? To think that thousands lost their life from a tsunami and God seemed to do nothing is hard. You often want to ask just what in the world is going on?

I offer no answers, no conjecturing, no speculation, only some wise words from the Apostle Paul: “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?”

As always, especially after every shower I take and prayer I make, I am left with no further answers that the ones I started with.

Awesome link about the merging of country and rock music:

Praising God for 35 Years with Ann!
Sam Storms
May 26, 2007

Today, May 26, 2007, is my thirty-fifth wedding anniversary. I simply had to take this opportunity to break from my regular series of biblical meditations and say something about the most awesome woman in the world, my wife Ann.

I first laid eyes on her at the University of Oklahoma at a Campus Crusade for Christ meeting in early October of 1970. Actually, I was gazing with admiration at two young ladies, Ann (although I didn’t know her name at the time) and one of her sorority sisters. I was trying to figure out which of them was prettier and therefore deserving of my calling and asking for a date. Yes, I know that’s immature and prideful and countless other things, but I was an immature and prideful young man of 19 at the time! Later that Wednesday night, I called Ann and asked her out. Praise God, she said Yes! For our first date, we drove to Oklahoma City to watch the movie, Dr. Zhivago.

As many of you have heard, Yes, it’s true, I proposed to her later that evening! No, I do not recommend this to anyone else. Yes, it was silly and arrogant and unwise. No, she didn’t say Yes immediately. She was too stunned to take it seriously.

If that first date wasn’t weird enough, it got even stranger in the weeks that followed. When Thanksgiving arrived, Ann returned home to Tulsa and I to Duncan, Oklahoma. I called her and asked if I might drive to Tulsa and bring her back to school at Norman. She said yes. What I didn’t know at the time was that upon returning to Tulsa for the holiday break, her former high school sweetheart had called her and asked if she would be willing to drop out of school at OU and transfer to in-state rival OSU. That was bad enough, but he then asked her to get engaged with a view to marriage the following summer. Worst of all, she said Yes! You’ll have to ask her why, but I think it had something to do with not believing the sincerity of a young man silly enough to propose on the first date!

Her plan, following my phone call, was to break the bad news to me during our drive from Tulsa back to school at OU. But before she could inform me of her recent engagement, I told her that I wanted to solidify our commitment and begin a more steady dating relationship. Lo and behold, she said Yes again! But No, she never told me about having said Yes to her high school boyfriend, at least not until many years later (a wise decision, indeed).

Needless to say, we made a lot of mistakes along the way, but God was gracious and forgiving and probably got more than a few laughs out of us as well.

On May 26, 1972, we sealed the deal. Not once in these thirty five years have I regretted the decision (although I certainly can’t speak for Ann!). What an unspeakable blessing she has been. She has given me two beautiful daughters and a lifetime of love and sacrifice and support.

I read Proverbs 31 and say, “Sorry lady, but you ain’t got nothing on Annie!” She has given herself to her family and to others in need in ways that I can’t begin to describe. She is a true servant and revels in the opportunity to hide away behind the scenes and do whatever unpleasant tasks everyone expects but few fulfill. If you want to get a good definition of the spiritual gift of “helps”, look it up in the dictionary and you’ll see Ann’s photograph. She embodies mercy and kindness in ways that remind me, fittingly, of Jesus himself.

But best of all, she loves her Lord Jesus more than anyone or anything. What more could a man want in a wife? I thank God daily for her presence in my life, for her words of counsel and wisdom, for her undying support even when I’m stupid and reckless and say dumb things.

Sadly, I’m in Scotland today on a lengthy ministry trip and unable to share this anniversary with her except by way of e-mail and a brief telephone call. But we’ll celebrate together soon. In the meantime, Ann, thank you for everything: for your love of God, for your love of me, our children, our grandchildren, and countless others, many of whose names you didn’t know but whose lives were forever transformed because of your kindness and tender-hearted compassion.

Grateful for thirty-five years and expectant of many more,

Sam

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Jerry Falwell dies At 73

By Lisa Anderson
Tribune National Correspondent
Published May 15, 2007, 1:02 PM CDT
NEW YORK -- Influential conservative televangelist and Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell died at a Lynchburg, Virginia hospital early this afternoon after being found unconscious in his office at nearby Liberty University.He was 73.

Falwell had "a history of heart challenges," according to Ron Godwin, the university's executive vice president. "I had breakfast with him, and he was fine at breakfast," Goodwin told the Associated Press. "He went to his office. I went to mine, and they found him unresponsive.

"Falwell was found unconscious and unresponsive in his office, located in a stone cottage on the campus grounds, at about 10:45 a.m, said Goodwin.Falwell's death came just days before Liberty University will graduate its first law school class on May 19.

Born and bred in Lynchburg, Falwell came back after college to found the Thomas Road Baptist Church in 1956. That church currently has 24,000 members.The church is on the same property with Falwell's education complex that includes schools from pre-K through PhD programs.The law school was the most recent addition, opening in the fall of 2004.

In an interview at his Liberty University office on May 1, Falwell spoke to the Tribune about his dream."More than 40 years ago, I had already been pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church here in Lynchburg for 10 or 11 years and I began building a dream. The dream was a Christian institution of education providing preschool, kindergarten, elementary, high school, liberal arts university, graduate schools, seminary, law school, engineering school, medical school. Well, the engineering starts this fall and the medical is five years down the road," he said proudly.

"We bought 5000 acres of land over the years. It's called Liberty Mountain," he said.

Falwell is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, three grown children and eight grandchildren.

Jonathan Falwell, one of his two sons, is the executive pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church.

Here is a statement regarding Beckwith's resignation from the Evangelical Theological Society written by the editor of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Dr. Andreas J. Kostenberger:

"May 8, 2007

"On May 5, 2007, Dr. Frank Beckwith resigned as President of the Evangelical Theological Society. This resignation has come as a result of his decision to be received into full communion in the Roman Catholic Church, which he did on April 29, 2007. Dr. Beckwith has informed the Executive Committee that this was a decision he came to “after much prayer, counsel, and consideration.” Subsequently, after further prayer and reflection, Dr. Beckwith has voluntarily withdrawn his membership from the Society as well.

The members of the Executive Committee wish Dr. Beckwith well in his ongoing professional work. We have come to appreciate him as a scholar and a friend. On behalf of the Society, we want to express our gratitude for his work organizing and coordinating the 2006 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., with the theme, “Evangelicals in the Public Square.” No one, perhaps, appreciates how much labor is involved in such a task, except those who have undertaken it in the past, as is the case with most of the members of the Executive Committee. And so, we thank Dr. Beckwith for his service to the Society.

At the same time, the Executive Committee recognizes Dr. Beckwith’s resignation as President and subsequent withdrawal from membership as appropriate in light of the purpose and doctrinal basis of the Evangelical Theological Society and in light of the requirements of wholehearted confessional agreement with the Roman Catholic Church.

The work of the Evangelical Theological Society as a scholarly forum proceeds on the basis that “the Bible alone and the Bible in its entirety, is the Word of God written and is therefore inerrant in the autographs.” This affirmation, together with the statement on the Trinity, forms the basis for membership in the ETS to which all members annually subscribe in writing. Confessional Catholicism, as defined by the Roman Catholic Church’s declarations from the Council of Trent to Vatican II, sets forth a more expansive view of verbal, infallible revelation.

Specifically, it posits a larger canon of Scripture than that recognized by evangelical Protestants, including in its canon several writings from the Apocrypha. It also extends the quality of infallibility to certain expressions of church dogma issued by the Magisterium (the teaching office of the Roman Catholic Church), as well as certain pronouncements of the pope, which are delivered ex cathedra, such as doctrines about the immaculate conception and assumption of Mary.

We recognize the right of Roman Catholic theologians to do their theological work on the basis of all the authorities they consider to be revelatory and infallible, even as we wholeheartedly affirm the distinctive contribution and convictional necessity of the work of the Evangelical Theological Society on the basis of the “Bible alone and the Bible in its entirety” as “the Word of God written and . . . inerrant.”

In recent years, Evangelicals and Roman Catholics have often labored together in common cause addressing some of the critical social and moral issues of our contemporary culture. We welcome this and fully expect it to continue. A number of publications have appeared comparing Evangelicalism and Roman Catholicism. Certainly, the two traditions share many common Christian doctrines. However there are important theological differences as well. We expect that the events of these days will bring a renewed discussion of these matters. We welcome and encourage this as well.

Finally, regarding the Presidency of ETS, Dr. Hassell Bullock, President-elect will also serve as acting President until the annual meeting at which time elections for the officers for 2008 will take place.

We are grateful for Dr. Beckwith’s past association with ETS, and we pray that God will continue to use his considerable gifts.

C. Hassell Bullock, President-Elect (Wheaton College)
Bruce A. Ware, Vice-President (The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Edwin M. Yamauchi, At-large member (Miami University)
Craig A. Blaising, At-large member (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Gregory K. Beale, At-large member (Wheaton College)
David M. Howard, Jr., At-large member (Bethel Seminary)
James A. Borland, Secretary-Treasurer (Liberty University)
Andreas J. Köstenberger, JETS Editor (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary)