Please stop. Stop being arrogant and self-righteous. We are all sinners. Stop acting like “we” are godly and “they” are sinful and deserve judgment. We deserve God’s judgment. I deserve God’s judgment. All people deserve God’s judgment. There is no one who is righteous, there is no one who is good, not even one (Romans 3). These disasters are simply the consequences of living in a fallen world. Be grateful that the calamity was not where you live. Pray for those who are affected and are suffering. Help those who are in need in crisis. When the hurricanes blew through south Florida five years ago, we were very grateful for the prayers, generosity, and support of Christians throughout the country. Prayers, generosity, and support should be offered for any disaster in any place around the world.

The message is not that God is trying to kill or judge the sinful right now. Such an idea breaks far too many scriptures like 2 Peter 3:9. However, one message ought to be clear: we never know when our time on earth is over. Do not assume that we have next year, next month, or next week. Turn to Jesus and live for him while you can.

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”– yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. (James 4:13—14; ESV)

At the 56 minute mark of the Discovering Ardi program and the 1 minute mark of the Understanding Ardi program, the narrator states these words:

“Ever since Darwin, we have bought into the idea that humans evolved from ancient, chimp-like creatures. That’s because modern chimps seem to share a lot of anatomy and behavior with we humans. So the idea that we evolved from something like chimps seems to make sense. But now, the discovery of ardipithecus shows that this is totally and completely wrong.”

I hope you read that slowly and carefully. Now the show goes on to show how macro evolution is still certainly true. But there is one key point that must not be missed.

For about 150 years science has declared that humans evolved from chimps. Science was wrong about what was considered concrete, indisputable fact. One discovery in the sands of Africa has overturned 150 years of scientific knowledge. The show also admitted that “Lucy” is not the missing link between humans and apes, though school textbooks all over the country still claim this as fact.

We should never assume that science is always correct. We must never contort the Bible to fit current scientific knowledge.

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight! Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right! (Isaiah 5:20-23; ESV)

I didn’t know that Thriller was so important to this world.

I am able to weigh in on this because I remember when my parents were together (now divorced) all of the arguing that took place. I remember hearing yelling, door slamming, and other clamor. Eventually it led to divorce. So which is better? I think most will agree that heated arguments and fights should not be done in front of the children. Those are bad memories that can be burned into the young mind. But I think we cannot overlook the benefit of showing children that even though mommy and daddy may have arguments, they will still stay together. We are in a society, unfortunately, that has taught children that arguing parents will be divorced parents within short time. While parents need to keep their arguments away from their children’s eyes and ears, it is useful for children to know that mommy and daddy will stay together even when things are not going well or are not perfect.

Many radio psychologists say that it is better to get divorced and have peace (as indicated in the Jon and Kate Plus 8 episode) than fight in front of the children. But I have many responses to this new line of thinking.

1. God says to stay together. Fighting is not a scriptural cause for divorce (Matthew 19:6). Fighting is an acceptable cause for counseling.

2. Children would rather than their parents together, even with the fighting, than apart. What most couples, including Jon and Kate, fail to realize is that the fighting between them will not stop. The children will still be exposed to their fighting. But the fighting is much worse. While the fighting will be less frequent, the fighting is worse because now it IS over the children. Fighting over visitation times. Fighting over custody. Fighting over how the other acted around the children. Fighting over activities planned or neglected with the children. Fighting over holidays and who spends time with who.

The situation is worse not better. Before, the fighting was between the spouses over many other things, from clothes on the floor to coming home late from work. Those things are no longer the issue once divorced. However, the resentment, anger, and hurt still remain toward each other. So now there is only one thing in common over which to fight: THE CHILDREN. And the children know it. They will hear the arguments over them and this is far worse emotionally than the arguing that took place while married.

3. Divorce brings greater instability to the children’s lives than arguing. Arguing is temporary. The children can go play and forget about what they heard. Divorce is permanent. The children cannot go play and forget. Now they will always be reminded that mommy and daddy are no longer together. They will be reminded of this painful fact when they wake up, when they eat dinner, when they get baths, when they go to bed, in every small and large life event because one parent is always missing. This is not better for the children than arguing.

Let me be blunt. Divorce is selfish. Divorce is not for the children; it is for the parents. They do not want to work it out. They do not want to be civil. They no longer want to try for the children. If you really love your children, as every parent says they do, then stay together for your children. Once you have children, you cannot get away from your spouse until they are out of the house. So divorce is futile. Divorce is trying to get away from your spouse, but you cannot if you are going to maintain fatherly and motherly relationships with the children. Sadly, Jon and Kate are going to see this for themselves. Though divorced, they will not be able to get away from one another any more than they already were.

Constant, heated arguing is better than constant, heated divorce.

The eight year old twins are really stepping up and helping out with the sextuplets and with the household chores. This is not something to be praised but to be saddened over. The eight year old twins are sacrificing their childhood. They must become “parents” to the younger six because Jon and Kate are not together. Since one parent needs help, rather than play and enjoy a child’s life, the older children are forced to step up and act like parents. This is not praiseworthy but shameful. There can be future resentment when these two get older, when they look back and realize they could not be kids like they wanted because mommy and daddy could not get along.

“If you can be friends and get along, whether you are married or not married, and they can see the relationship is important and we are coming together for them, then it is really benefiting them (the children) in the long run.” No, in fact this is more confusing to the children. If you can be friends, civil, and come together for your children, then be together for your children. If you can pull this off for a few hours a day, then pull it off a few more hours a day, and then go to your separate rooms after the children are asleep. To think that you can provide the same stable, loving environment, married or not, is a terrible deception. The children will not see it like this at all. The children will not see the relationship is important when the parents are not under the same roof.

“None of this is their (the children’s) fault.” No child understands this nor feels this way. Parents can tell their children until they are blue in the face that it is not their fault. But children always project divorce upon themselves. Children cannot help but think if they had been a little more obedient or acted a little bit differently that their parents would still be together. They cannot help but think of all the times that they caused problems or stress through their actions and think that their parents might still be together if they had only been better. Children will go through this emotional anguish even when told it is not their fault. This is certainly be true in the Jon and Kate situation with 8 children. Because there are so many of them, they will think that they caused their parents to get a divorce.

We must get away from thinking that children are going to thrive and flourish under a divorce. They will be okay because children are resilient. Sure they will survive this. But is that what we really want for our children? Do we want them just to survive the pain that we as parents inflict on one another? We want to give them the very best in life and meet their emotional needs. Yes, the children will be okay. But that is not the goal of parenting. Otherwise we could lock children in their room with food and water and declare successful parenting simply because the children “survived.”  The scriptures tell us that the goal of parenting is to teach, train, nurture, discipline, love, and build up our children. Divorce does not do this for our children.

The reason I am bothering to write about this is because I am child of divorced parents. My parents divorced while I was in elementary school, the same general age frame of the older twins of the television show, give or take a year. I was very disturbed to hear the words Jon and Kate said about their marriage problems and its impact on the children. So I am going to address (perhaps each week after each episode) the false garbage and deception that is often spewed by parents who are considering divorce. So I am going to say things that divorced parents, separated parents, and parents considering divorce do not want to hear. They don’t want to be told the bad news about what the decision of divorce will do to their children. I expect plenty of hate mail and strong disagreements from this series of posts. But I am going to try to speak from the perspective of a child who went through his parents’ divorce.

“We will come together for our kids.” This was stated in the context that both Jon and Kate were at their children’s birthday party. But this is utterly meaningless. Children want their parents together permanently and being together for a couple hours is no consolation with the knowledge that daddy is not coming home. Even one of the children said that in the show. It is amazing to me how often psychologists and others feed the garbage that it is better for parents to be apart and civil than together and fighting. This is not true. Children often do not see the problems in the marriage and wise adults can often keep many of those problems out of the children’s sight. Even married couples have arguments but are able to conceal those disputes from their children on most occasions. To truly “come together for the kids” would mean that Jon and Kate would decide to endure the marriage until the children left the home. Put up a facade and do your best together because the children need both parents together. Sleep in different bedrooms if you have to. Yes, maybe it would be fake, but so is being together for two hours at a birthday party. But the children need the security that comes from a marriage that stays together for the children, even with all of its problems.

“As long as our kids are safe and happy, that is really all that matters.” This statement suggests that they can be emotionally safe and happy with divorced parents. But divorce is damaging to children. Unfortunately, parents are too selfish to realize the immense pain and damage that divorce inflicts on children.

Children cope with divorce. It is not in their best interests and they do not thrive under such a situation. I will be interested to see what other justifications are given to soothe their guilty consciences.

Joel Osteen Wins First Ever ‘Worst Easter Sermon Award’

INDIANAPOLIS, April 28 /Christian Newswire/ — Chris Rosebrough, captain of internet based Pirate Christian Radio and host of the Fighting for the Faith Radio program announced on Monday that Joel Osteen is the winner of the “Worst Easter Sermon Award” for 2009.

“Every Christmas Christians whine and complain about secular and atheistic efforts designed to take Christ out of Christmas yet more and more Christian pastors have committed an even worse offense and have removed Jesus Christ and His victorious resurrection from the grave from their Easter sermons,” said Chris Rosebrough. “Far too many pastors have played the role of Judas and have betrayed Jesus. Rather than being paid 30 pieces of silver, these pastors have sold Jesus out for the fame and adulation that accompany having a ‘growing, relevant ‘man-centered’ church’.”

Said Rosebrough, “These Churches have stopped preaching the offense of Christ Crucified for Sins and His resurrection for our justification and have traded the Biblical Gospel for empty feel-good platitudes, and self-help mythologies that scratch itching ears.”

Rosebrough decided that it was time to raise awareness of this serious and growing problem within Christianity and to call these pastors to repentance by holding a contest on his radio program whereby his listeners would decide which sermon was the Worst Easter Sermon of 2009.

In preparation for this contest, Rosebrough screened nearly 100 sermons from churches across America and picked the 5 worst ones to be contestants for this new ‘award’.

The sermons Rosebrough picked for this year’s contest included:

A sermon that explored the “deep” spiritual lessons of the movie Slumdog Millionaire .

A sermon entitled “Beer Babes & Baseball”

A sermon entitled “Livin’ Venti” that encouraged people to live life to the fullest.

A sermon entitled “You Have Come Back Power”

And a sermon entitled “Easter in the Octagon”

This year’s winner of the first ever, Worst Easter Sermon Award went to Joel Osteen’s sermon “You Have Come Back Power”.

Commenting on Osteen’s sermon Rosebrough stated, “Jesus didn’t die and rise again on the cross so that you can have ‘come back power over life’s set backs’. Osteen completely missed the point of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and as a result he missed the entire point of Christianity.”

Said Rosebrough, “I wasn’t surprised that Osteen was the first winner of this award. Osteen is like the Tiger Woods of heresy, he takes false teaching to a whole new level.”

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There are a lot of “winners” in that list. I am always mystified at church’s that teach spiritual lessons from movies. How about teaching spiritual lessons from the Bible? A movie may be a good illustration of a point, but must not be the source material of a lesson. “Easter in the Octagon” shows how influential mixed martial arts have become. While there is a necessity for marketing, I believe that the world can see through most of the gimmicks that churches push (Beer, Babes, and Baseball???, come on!).

From what data I have read, atmospheric density on Earth has not measurably increased in the last 100 years. Had compressed air and air with miniscule amounts of CO2 been used to equal pressure, it would have been a fair test. The amount of CO2 in the CO2 bottle would have made a good experiment to explain why Venus is warmer than Earth but was grossly inaccurate for Earth conditions.

False data is being used to explain away global warming when (scientifically) solar and oceanic cycles are the big players in climate changes. There is a whole other side to the global warming argument that is being buried mainly to indoctrinate young people. For the last 20 years Earth has experienced warm oceanic cycles in the Atlantic (AMO) and Pacific (PDO) oceans. That is why those of us in Florida have experienced so many more hurricanes in the last 15 years. The warm Pacific (PDO) cycle began in 1982 and ended in 2007. The warm Atlantic (AMO) usually lags behind the Pacific and started in 1995. Those same cycles happened in the 1930′s – 1950′s when Florida was hit far worse than this time. As these warm oceanic cycles shift to cold, there will be cooler times ahead especially in North America and Europe.

The fact is, these are the natural cycles that GOD put into nature to regulate Earth’s temperatures so we can live here. Those pushing “man made climate change” simply want to put God out of the picture. The God I read about in the Bible is very forgiving but does not tolerate those who put themselves above him. If your children start talking about climate change or “going green,” they may have been influenced by these false teachers. They need to be emphatically taught that God is in control, not man. The only way we can stop the agenda of those behind these lies is to make sure we closely pay attention to what is taught to the young people.

“I am going to unpack this verse.”

“Let me unpack this word.”

Can we just explain the text? Can’t we just offer more details? Can we just say what this verse means? Can we stop unpacking?

It is time to retire “unpack” just like we need to retire the phrase, “thrown under the bus.”

“Unpacking” is not original. It is a tired, worn out slang that suggests the superiority of the evangelist over the congregation.