Comments on: The IM Weekend File: 11:24:07

By: Baptists in a dust up over tea | lingamish

Baptists in a dust up over tea | lingamish — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:49:16 +0000

[...] HT: Michael Spencer [...]

By: Ken

Ken — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 17:33:03 +0000

Do we take positive experiences unbelievers might have with us, experiences that actually might be leading them closer to faith alone in Jesus alone, and turn them negative by “jamming Jesus down their throats”? — Scott

Check IMonk’s “Why Do They Hate Us?” essay on this site.

By: Ken

Ken — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 17:26:59 +0000

I posted the link to that “Tea Drinking is a SIN” essay on a YahooGroup list I belong to, with a note about its background in the Missouri SBC’s Battle of the Booze (again!).

The most spectacular response (from one of the other listers) was a fiery sermon denouncing its BLASPHEMY! and carrying on about Demon Rum. (Welch’s at Cana? WTF?)

The Battle of the Booze will never end…

By: Ali

Ali — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 09:13:59 +0000

Okay, dud link. Instead go to Parableman (http://parablemania.ektopos.com/) and put “Piper” “Glory” in the search engine. The post, “Why I’m no longer a Piperite” is good.

By: Ali

Ali — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 09:20:27 +0000

Michael,

You may have already seen these, but Jeremy Pierce at Parableman has some posts that discuss and disagree with Piper’s theology that I found very good.

http://movabletype.ektopos.com/cgi-bin/mt-search.cgi

By: Perry Robinson

Perry Robinson — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 03:46:18 +0000

Good. I am glad Roberts got nailed. After being wrongfully terminated from CRI via Hank, and watching dozens of others being terminated also, I am still waiting for a bit of justice there too. Hank lives the same lavish lifestyle that he decries in the TBN crowd-Lexus for his kids, superdooper house, all the while his employees live off pretty much poverty level wages. He ghost writes or worse yet plagiarizes. All of these “ministries” are businesses. It isn’t a matter of if they are but how much they are. I used to compare horror stories with a romemate who worked for Focus when I was at CRI. It is amazing how loyal people are to these personality cult leaders. They follow these people around as if they were movie stars and then they wonder why they produce Christians who are so quackadox, lacking in virtue and have the spiritual lifespan shorter than natural gestation. They are atheist breeding grounds. So I say with St. Paul, expose the deeds of darkness.

Have a nice day.

By: Sharon

Sharon — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 18:14:57 +0000

Michael, it’s Smarmy, not swarmy.

Good post.

By: Scott

Scott — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 18:08:51 +0000

Commenting on the affect the Catholic “Convert Crew” has had on you has made me think. Are we evangelicals guilty of the same tactics? Do we take positive experiences unbelievers might have with us, experiences that actually might be leading them closer to faith alone in Jesus alone, and turn them negative by “jamming Jesus down their throats”?

Yes, we must proclaim the gospel and that does risk affecting someone negatively. But I think there is a difference between “holding forth the Word of Life” and stuffing him down someone’s throat.

Maybe we can learn a thing or two from the “Convert Crew.”

By: + Alan

+ Alan — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 18:01:34 +0000

Just for the record, I’m not the Alan they’re talking about up there. I think it’s cool that his name is spelled right but I’ve never been close to being a Calvinist I don’t think.

I wanted to connect to Tope’s comment and say a big hearty “I hear you” on the online Catholic thing. Being a Catholic myself, the only time I’m ever going to be talking to anyone about converting or reverting to Catholicism is if they were to ask me what I thought personally, if they asked me to help them sort through some things. I’m still sorting through my own business with the Catholic Church presently so I very much get a lot of the questions people have. I have no desire to put any notches on my Vatican flag wall.

Most of my correspondence with you, Michael, about anything Catholic have been in private e-mails. Lord knows that hasn’t taken the shape of my trying to turn your spiritual head. Personally, I have no fear for your salvation. I’m not sure what’s up with people making it their “job” to worry about the salvific state of folk they don’t know on the internet. It’s just odd. My guess is that it makes them feel like they’re doing something holy or good. Unfortunate. So many things are unfortunate.

You are my brother in Christ. We certainly don’t agree on everything. There’s a lot of overlap though. Everyone is sort of funky in some way, so yeah, you’re funky. I’m funky. Rome is funky (can you smell it?) And the holy Church headquartered in Nashville is some kind of funky herself. God loves all of us, His whole Bride. I’ll sign up for a back down from the “team sports” mentality for sure. Peace to you.

By: Michael Spencer

Michael Spencer — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 17:40:04 +0000

Jared,

I appreciate that, but Alan’s turning psycholoigist on me- commenting on my “hidden” motives and lack of honesty in posting- has a familiar ring.

I certainly don’t care if he is a Piper supporter or not. I’ve been trying to be a Piper supporter for several years, but as Alan’s comments exemplify, it’s extremely difficult to discuss critically without being told you’ve got some underlying problem. I wouldn’t call it “touch not the Lord’s anointed.” I’d call it “critics of Calvinism are up to something” syndrome.

I don’t have a personal relationship with Alan. Thanks for the information, but all I know is that within two posts suddenly I’m the topic of discussion in terms that sound like “The Frank Turk Files.”

peace

MSpencer