Protected: Gratitude
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On Jihad and Burning Things – Part 2
I try to be as serious about these topics as possible. Giving real helpful insights. The one I wrote two days ago positively encouraged some of you, but others wanted more. The "real stuff." I think that meant things like "No seriously, Carl. What do we do about...
On Jihad and the Burning of Holy Books
You could only imagine how many times in a week (or day) I get asked questions like “Do you think we should bomb Iran?” Or... “Do you think Iran is going to get nuclear weapons and then will bomb Israel?” Or... “Why do the Muslims get so angry when we accidentally...
Protected: My words of Wisdom
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Jerry Jenkins, bad theology and my Repentance
I mentioned this on Facebook Sunday evening. Chris and I went to the final meeting of a Christian Writers Conference that Jerry Jenkins hosts every year and met him. If you don’t know who Jenkins is – let me just say LEFT BEHIND. That series have sold over 60 million copies. He’s also written 150 other books.
If you are a dispensationalist Christian who believes that the modern nation of Israel is the direct fulfillment of God’s Old Testament prophecies and that the End Times are an inevitable clash of civilizations that take place in Armageddon, with the believers being raptured out at the last minute – then these books are for you.
Not only do I not believe that story line as being biblical, I think believing that is dangerous. It encourages an escapist mentality that leaves the unbelievers and non-Jews in a precarious place eschatologically. It may even lead to wishful self-fulfilling predictions of these very end-times and clashes between religions.
An Israeli Peace Plan
The Israeli Peace Initiative (IPI) – in response to the Arab Peace Initiative (API)
Proposal – April 6, 2011
The State of Israel,
Reaffirming that Israel’s strategic objective is to reach a historic compromise and permanent status agreements that shall determine the finality of all claims and the end of the Israeli Arab conflict, in order to achieve permanent and lasting peace, lasting and guaranteed security, regional economic prosperity and normal ties with all Arab and Islamic states,
Fulfilling the Great Commandment in 5 Easy Steps
Remember how Jesus summarized everything? Love God. Love your Neighbor. And basically the “loving your neighbor” part is how you know if you love God (read the book of James to have that thought reinforced). So the Great Commandment could read – You will know how much you love God by how you treat your neighbor. Yikes!
Now I happen to believe Jesus is talking about our actual neighbors. These verses have been used with every good intention in mind, but we often forget about our physical next-door-neigbors. It’s easier for me to love “my neighbors” than to actually love my neighbors. I don’t want quotes around this word – I want it to be real. Physical. Actual. So how can we do this? (By the way, if you come to my neighborhood you could go door to door and find out that I WANT to do this more than I actually am – so no high-and-mighty over-confidence here).
Here we go:
Jesus Plus Nothing!
My good friend Tim Timmons has a new book out – Jesus Plus Nothing. Fresh. Insightful. Provocative. That’s why I like it. Here’s his recent blog about one of the takeaways of this great book. Read it carefully….
carl
JESUS PLUS NOTHING–ANYONE ANYWHERE CAN BEGIN TO FOLLOW JESUS
One of the top takeaways from my new book JESUS PLUS NOTHING stirs up so much emotional response. In other words, there is more heat than light at first. It’s tough enough to separate Jesus from Christian ownership. Now, this insight sounds even more foreign and out of bounds from what we’ve been taught. No matter how much evidence is offered or how many people are produced from non-Christian cultures who are followers of Jesus, it’s still stifling to the brain.
Reuben Bidez
I don’t do this often – but here’s a guest blog from my new friend Reuben who writes and sings some amazing music. I think you’ll appreciate his heart when you hear it…
carl
Two years ago I started writing songs for this record. It’s a concept record covering the 7 major stories that both the Qur’an and the Bible share. For years Christians and Muslims have fought and argued over their differences without ever looking at what they have in common. Most Christians would be surprised to know that many of the Bible stories we’ve been taught since childhood are also found in the pages of the Qur’an. But both Muslims and Christians know that these are not just stories. These are expressions of God’s mercy for mankind!
As you read these stories in the Qur’an you find a theme running throughout. The writer refers to these moments in time as “Signs of God”. I love this terminology. It is as if God is saying, “look at this moment, there is something of great importance here.” This phrase “Sign of God” became a motif throughout the songs I wrote, hence the title of the project, “The Signs of God”.
Why I hate Religion, but love Jesus
Surely you’ve seen the You Tube video by now. It’s crazy how many have watched it – maybe 16 million or so. It’s good. Really really good. I posted it on my Facebook as well….
But something’s funny about it – and the reactions it’s received. Let me try to explain:
The ones who loved it are Christians.
The ones who hated it were Christians.
He (the dude who did this) hates religion.
But he loves Christianity. He mentioned several times about “being a Christian.” I mean, he mostly loves Jesus (which is good), but he also seems to love “being a Christian.”
And thus….the confusion for so many. Why can’t we get this?
