Today is a big day

Today, August 20, 2008. is my fourth wedding anniversary. I thank God daily for the gift he has so graciously bestowed upon me - my wife. Mitsouky is so wonderful in so many different ways. She has an outgoing personality. She lights up a room with her charm. She is so very intelligent. God blesses her to accomplish whatever He puts in her. She has wonderful people skills and does her best work in the center of attention without being arrogant or prideful. On top of that she is beautiful - inside and out; physically and mentally. On top of all of that she is a powerful partner and helpmate. I have no idea what I would do without her. She has also blossomed as a mother. Our daughter is blessed to have her as a mother. I love her sense of humor and her abilities to sing and dance. Mitsouky brings the party with her where ever she goes. She loves music and has talents that allow her to explore musical genres.

The Bible says that

Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD. Proverbs 18:22 (KJV)

Mitsouky is my good thing. I love that scripture. It reminds me that no matter what my wife is a gift from God and He gave her to me to show me His favor. Favor is undeserved on my part, meaning it was because of his mercy and goodness not because of anything I have said or done. I thank Mitsouky for choosing to give me the love God has put inside of her for me and for accepting the love God has put inside me for her.

Not that there aren't problems or issues. Not that sometimes neither one of us knows what to do or how to do. But with the help of God we stick to one another, loving and caring for each other's needs and desires just as much as we care about our own individual needs and desire.

The only downside to having an anniversary in the middle of a week is that we can't celebrate that day. So we'll be celebrating this weekend.

The True Meaning of Ambidexterous

I found the picture on the left on the internet and I know it perfectly captures what the word Ambidexterous means to me!

Gemini Division Episodes I & II

A few weeks ago I was reading the blog called Sci-Fi/Journalist and came across a posting about a webisode series called Gemini Division on NBC.com starring Rosario Dawson and Justin Hartley. Both great actors. Although I have seen 2 episodes, each just deepen the mystery as to what is going on. I can't wait to see how it further unfolds. I got all the material on this post from Sci-fi/Journalist and from NBC.com and here is the first episode.

Black Comic Creator - Christopher Priest

Christopher Priest is the first black person to work at Marvel Comics and at DC Comics as a writer and as an editor. Looking at his website shows that he is into music, photography, and the arts. He changed is name in the 1990's and some of his work is under his given name James Owsley. I'd seen his work and enjoyed him for years and never knew he was black. Historically, whenever you are the first black anything you end up dealing with so much racism and obstacles. It was no different for Christopher. Somehow I thought it was different for black comic book creators. I guess it was hopeful thinking. I mean at Marvel I thought that it would be less racist especially in the 1980's because one of Marvel's flagship franchises, X-men, is an unabashed parallel to man's inhumanity to man based on nothing more than difference in appearance or ability. I guess I thought that the people who work there carry those same ideas personally in their lives.

What I liked about Priest's website is his essays on his life experiences and the peers he worked with. He doesn't seem bitter at all concerning the shocking racism he endured. Personally, I wouldn't have made it. Had he given up, I don't think we would have as many black characters or black people working in the entertainment industry as we do today. Priest wrote about his regrets and triumphs. It was so real. He neither painted anyone completely evil or good. Not even himself I was amazed at how he had to constantly prove himself over and over and how few breaks he got. He seemed almost expected to fail and not succeed. One of the things that I love that he wrote was back in the mid-eighties: Spider-man vs Wolverine. He showed a profound understanding of their personality and great action sequences. I liked it a lot and still have a copy. Although set in the background of Cold-War East Berlin, the story makes you feel like you are there.

He was also responsible for great stories in the Black Panther title that was launched in 1998. His website does a great job of documenting the major works he's done in comics. I would also recommend reading his essays about working in the industry. When he edited the Spider-man books, he resisted the idea of Spider-man marrying Mary Jane Watson. He thought that it would ruin the character because Spider-man should be free to date whomever so that young single guys could identify with him. Twenty-Two years later Marvel seems to agree, in 2007 they effectively started to pretend the marriage never happened. I don't agree with him, and at the time he was fired. I think it added more drama and gave him someone to carry the burdens of his life with.

Black Comic Characters - Black Panther

Marvel Comics must have published thousands of characters during its nearly 70 year history. Not all of those characters are as well known as Spider-Man, Wolverine, or the Hulk, especially black characters. Black Panther may not be well known but he's one of my favorite. He's not an African-American character because he is an African. He's a born and raised African monarch in a fictional African nation called Wakanda. Keep in mind that all of Marvel's characters populate the same universe (or multi-verse). This means that they are all connected. That is one of the things that makes it all very interesting. In our world, most (if not all) the nations of Africa are poorly developed, impoverished, and economically exploited for their wealth of resources. (You know writing about that make me want to address that at a future date.)

However, Wakanda is far different. It is one of the most (arguably the most) sophisticated nation on the fictional earth of the Marvel Universe. They had never been subjugated by anyone and this is because of their fighting skills and remoteness. Their King is given superhuman abilities through the use of a herb. This is why the Black Panther can go toe-to-toe with super villains and keep up with his teammates in the superhero team called the Avengers. The Avengers will be made into a movie soon, I hope Black Panther will be included. The Black Panther is not just a great fighter but he is a top-notch military strategist, scientist, and engineer, rivaling Tony Stark (Iron Man), Reed Richards (from the Fantastic Four), and Dr. Doom. Wakanda is almost a Utopia. Wakanda is a sovereign and rich nation independent from the rest of the world.

If you are unfamiliar with the politics and stories Marvel publishes you may wonder why Black Panther has so much conflict and drama? Why would he have to fight so hard to protect his people? (I mean besides racism.) Simple. Black Panther's country contains the only deposits of a fictional metal called Vibranium. It's precious because it can absorb any form of energy thrown at it and reflect it. It's rare. It doesn't take much imagination to see a great many people would want it and not all for ethical reasons, even if it means destroying Wakandans to get it. I mean why pay for it when you can take it. That's is what such people do in Africa in real life. Black Panther however will not all his people to be bullied or destroyed. He does not play and won't cower before anyone not even the United States. He manipulates his enemies staying many many steps ahead of them. Don't get me wrong, if he has to fight he does, like his namesake with moves that Batman would envy.

To give an idea of how important vibranium is consider that Captain America's indestructible shield is made of vibranium alloyed with adamantium, an indestructible fictional metal and the same metal that laces Wolverine's skeleton.

Over much of time he has been depicted more as a superhero than a true monarch -- along side the Avengers, saving the world. More recently they have play up his role as a king. Exploring the politics and culture in his country. Looking at his motivations. How does a guy like this deals with American Foreign policy? All interesting and heavy questions. I love that stuff as much as I like the high-paced action/fight sequences.

Black Panther will be getting a solo animate television series next year on BET. As far as I know, BET's President of programming, REGINALD HUDLIN, is currently the writer of Black Panther's current comic book series. Mr Hudlin is very talented and he's been taking Black Panther is some new directions...for example in the books, Black Panther has gotten married....to Storm from X-men. Good choice. She is very regal and queenly. It also adds all the dynamics that comes from Storm being there. I mean he's got to deal with the fact that I'm sure many of his subjects don't like the idea of their queen being a mutant....oh the drama.

Another writer on the book I admire is Christopher Priest...who was the first black writer/editor at both Marvel and DC Comics. I'll be writing about him in the future as well. I enjoyed his first story arcs when the book was first launched back the very late Nineties. The first stories were told in the first person from one of the supporting characters...a skinny, cowardly white guy in over-his-head and out of his element. I forget the character's name right now. Ross something. He referred to Black Panther as "the Client" and he was assigned as a liaison between the US State Department and Black Panther. He was told basically to avoid incidents and to babysit. Before the end of it, Ross and the reader were in for the ride of our lives. I think the first arc was called "Enemy of the State". I highly recommend it. Marvel collected the entire story into a trade paperback or you should be able to find it at Marvel's digital comics.

Lastly, I'm sure all who have read my blog know I like to play Mugen. As of yet I have not been able to find a Black Panther mugen character but as soon as I do, I will post it here.

Saddleback Showdown: Obama vs McCain

I don't know if you saw the Faith Forum last night on television but I found it very interesting. As one might expect the entire thing is on YouTube. I've created a playlist (unfortunately, not all together in the correct order) and embedded it. I'm not sure when but I'm sure someone will upload the whole 2 hours in one chunk or in 2 chunks. I've got a lot to say about it, but I'll hold off for now because I'm running back to church.

The Gospel According to Chris Nolan

One of the biggest movies of 2008 so far is The Dark Knight, directed and co-written by Christopher Nolan, is not just one of the most highly grossing movies of all-time it is chock full of opportunities for discussing biblical theology. Other folks have commented on the theological ideas behind movie. One blogger whose insight I have enjoyed reading goes by the name "Dr. Ransom". You can read his articles called Heroes, Sin, the Knight's Dark Doctrine and More on darkness, light and 'The Dark Knight'. I'd like to add my own two cents, responding to these articles, the movie itself, and why this is an important subject.

Several Christians and people who don't believe in anything may wonder why or how a film about a man who dresses up as a bat and goes out and hits people, based on a comic book that started in 1939, could have anything meaningful in it about God, theology, and humanity? The truth is that there is so much there. To begin to understand you have to consider why Batman has been continually published for close 60 years and why the movie was made successfully in the first place. This actually breaks into three questions. First, the Batman character and all of the characters that populate his world are extremely popular because they like all of the greatest fictional characters of human history perfectly symbolize different and conflicting aspects of human. Through them we can truly explore what it means to be human. Second, of course the movie was made to explore Batman and his world in as many different genres as possible (to make as much money as possible....oh well what you gonna do?) and the other movies (5 before this one since 1989) made a lot of money. Third, the reason why this film is so successful is because the writers, director, producers, and actors really get the characters and were able to leverage all that makes the comics great. In addition, the story really seems tailor made for our times and culture today.

As Dr. Ransom points out in his articles that many movie critics missed the key Christian concepts of sacrifice and substitutional atonement that filled the movie. He deconstructed their arguments so well that I won't waste the time making the same points he did. He and a few others are very quick to equate Batman's and Gordon's decision to put the blame for Harvey Dent's murders (sins) on Batman himself to protect Dent's reputation and legacy with Jesus sacrificing himself for us so that he bore the punishment for our sins - death; with the Joker cast as Satan. I agree that the comparison has merit but it does fall down. I'm not suggesting that Dr Ransom is equating Batman to Jesus only that there is a symbolic parallel to help understand what the Gospel is and is not. I would say that analogy falls down if pressed on just a little harder. Having spent the last year studying human free choice (Arminianism) and God's sovereignty (Calvinism), I saw the film depiction as being more Arminian. I'll go into this a little further later on.

Batman is Batman because of the choices he makes. He is willing to do whatever he thinks is necessary to achieve his goals to protect innocent people and bring justice to those exploit others. He is driven to keep others from experiencing the horror and pain that was inflicted on him watching his parents being murdered right before his eyes as a child. The Joker's goal in the film seemed to break Batman. Knowing that Batman does not kill, the Joker was determined to push Batman to the point that he would kill the Joker. Batman is heroic because he refused to fall into this trap even when the Joker killed the woman he loved. It was obvious to the Joker that she was special to Batman when he jumped out of a window to save her when the Joker through her out a window. Harvey Dent was also in love with her, but the Joker was able to scar him not only emotionally like Batman, but also physically. Then the Joker was able to twist Dent's mind to get him to kill all those whom he blamed for the death of his lady - even his allies Batman and Commissioner Gordon. He blamed Batman and Gordon because they did not save her and blamed the 5 cops who were bribed to help the Joker kidnap him and the girl leading to his disfigurement and her death. The Joker was so cunning that he was able to get Dent to blame everyone but the Joker. Sounds like the devil.

When Batman was interrogating the Joker in the film, the Joker made it clear he didn't care about money or power. All he wanted was to show that everyone is just as cracked and depraved himself and if given the right circumstances anyone would given in to their baser instincts. He reminded me of the way Satan is shown in the book of Job. Satan challenged God saying that if you let me break him, Job will hate you and turn on you. Like Batman, Job didn't fall for the temptation. Harvey Dent did. I got to say that under the same strain that Harvey Dent was under that most people would fail and some might argue that he was under more psychological trauma than Batman due to the scarring of his face and the falling to a place where he could no longer make decisions without flipping a coin, but I would argue that Batman's scars are just as deep. They go back to childhood. He just chooses to daily deal with them differently...he refuses to kill those he considers responsible.

As I stated I agree that Batman choosing to take the blame for the murder of the five police officers by Harvey Dent is a good analogy for what Jesus did for us. In effect Batman chose to be labeled the villain and allow Dent to be a martyr for Gotham City at the hands of the Joker. Batman offers himself as a scapegoat The reason why the analogy does not fully hold is because everyone knew, even at the time Jesus was crucified, that Jesus was innocent of any wrong doing. They knew that he should not have been executed. The reason why Batman was the obvious choice to take the blame is that the public does not know who he is or what he would be capable of doing. I don't know what the next movie will be like, but when he gets tired of being hounded by the authorities he can take his mask off and be Bruce Wayne - a millionaire playboy. How high a sacrifice will it really be...it'll make it harder to be Batman in many ways but also it could make criminals more frightened of him - a plus. On the other hand, Jesus horribly died.

To accept this analogy of the Gospel with The Dark Knight means symbolizing Jesus with Batman, Dent with us, and Satan with the Joker. This is definitely an Arminian view. The heart of Arminian theology is the thought that all people have it within themselves to choose to follow Jesus or not to follow Jesus. That we are not so depraved that we need a new heart and a new mind than the one we come into the world with. The view is that like Dent, we are all basically good and until the choice is presented to us and we reject Christ our eternal destiny is uncertain. Like Batman, Jesus took our place as taking the blame for our sins. Dent is the sinner. Here things break down more because Dent dies because of the choices he makes. Jesus died because we choose to disobey God. He took not just the blame, but the punishment in our place. Batman only took the blame and not the full weight of Dent's sins.

Apologist James White would say that you cannot be a historically consistent Arminian because they used to reject substitutionary atonement because how could Jesus' death set aside the punishment for sins of those who will not ever be saved from hell. Put another way: when Jesus died did he pay for the sin of everyone who has ever lived and ever will live or just for those who believe in Jesus Christ - the elect? Calvinists like White say Jesus died for only the elect. Arminians say that Jesus' atoning sacrifice has universal scope but applied only to those who choose to accept Jesus Christ. My opinion will be stated in a different article. For the purpose of this article I am going to allow those Arminians to have their cake and eat it too.

Instead, I want to turn attention to a Calvinistic view of the movie. To make it truly Calvinistic would mean changing the movies plot to fit Jesus even more. Joker is actually more like us than like Harvey Dent. We would need to see that the Joker symbolizes us before we are saved - depraved, evil, selfish, and with no hope of reconciliation with society and God. Jesus performed a miracle that Batman could not do when he saved us - turning us from Jokers into Commissioner Gordons. Like Gordon after Batman emerges in Gotham City, he has more freedom to do good. That is what belief in Jesus brings freedom from the consequences of sin and death. Batman's death in the movie was a death of reputation. Jesus actually died and proved his claims of deity by rising from the dead bodily not metaphorically. Because he conquered death, through him we will be raised to life. Batman sacrificed his reputation to make sure the Gotham City does not loose hope because Dent fell from grace. May be in Nolan's trilogy, Batman will be able to "resurrect" his reputation, I don't know what that story will be about, but at least we know that Jesus was raised from the dead for our justification and through him we have eternal life.

Purpose Driven Critique

My pastor recently reminded me that all books that we read must be carefully scrutinized and considered in light of scripture. With the Saddleback church being back in the news because of the Obama and McCain event happening today at that location, he reminded me that we need to view Rick Warren's (his picture is on the right) book Purpose Driven Life with much more discernment than I know I did in the past. It reminded me of 16 page article I saw many months ago on the Berean Call website ran by Dave Hunt and T.A. McMahon . I first came across that ministry because of the work of James White and his ministry, Alpha and Omega Ministries. They are almost constantly at odds, especially on Calvinism and Armenism (much more on that later). I find a lot of problems with Dave Hunt and some of the things he teaches but I he's been around so long and has a platform so he cannot be safely ignored. I really, really liked Purpose Driven Life and although I read through it two or three times nothing really awful jumped out at me. McMahon did write that 16 page critique I mentioned earlier and I felt like it was more written out of jealousy or nit-picking, but I will set aside that judgement and re-read it....maybe he had some valid theological gripes. I'll provide a more thorough analysis later. Read the article here.

Obama, Race, Christianity, and Black Liberation Theology Part 3 - My Dad

As for the comments made by James White on May 6, 2008. I have got to say that I agree with (as I am sure you can tell) his comments concerning the racism and biblical slant Cone advocates in his position. I only think that Dr. White is not able to see Cone from a black stand point. Yes, everyone is equal. Yes, everyone is important. Everyone is loved by God regardless of race, gender, or economic standards. Why? God said so. That should be good enough. However because of life experience no two people are going to view life the same way. Your race does play a role in your world view. It is really easy to accept that when you do not feel the weight of oppression based on something you cannot change - perspectives people hold against you. White was correct when he said that many poor people in this country have elevated their economic status with nothing but their hardwork and the grace of God to help them. It could be argued that this how all success is made in America regardless if God is recognized in it. However the black experience in this country has been far different. I do not even have to go as far back as slavery to find a tenable example. My father (my parents above) is not nor has he ever had to live as a slave to another human being. My father was trained in the Navy during the 1950's to run steam powered engines of the large ocean-going ships that made up our national naval forces. When he got out of the Navy he tried to get a job with the Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)company running the same kind of technology. They would not give it to him because of his race. How did he know it was because of his race? White men of his same age, rank, and experience levels were being hired right out of the military and there were no black people doing that kind of work at PG&E. When my dad could not get a "cushy" job like that he did other things to support his family: janitorial service, door-to-door salesman. Eventually, he was able to go to community college and get an education in carpentry. When he worked in private industry, racism again showed up. He and other non-whites had to do the hard strenuous dirty jobs like laying foundation and the kinds of work no one wanted. Then when the job was easier my father and his peers would be fired and skilled white people would take over (making more money).
My father, through the grace of God, has endured much...survived much just as I am sure James White's father did. My dad is old enough to be his father. I have a brother that is older than James White (not by much). The question is do white people have more advantages over black people based on nothing but what color their skin is. Even today there is racism. Not like it was. I have never had to deal with all the crap my father has. (I doubt I would have made it). My father grew up in south Georgia and he was the one of the first black people to be allowed to go to the 12 grade in the county he lived in. Prior to that, black kids had to stop in the 11th grade. My father was also one of the first black people to serve in the Navy after President Truman commanded the desegregation of the military. The Navy was the first to comply. I did not hear James White agree or disagree that there is still racism in society today. I would say that there is. James Cone and Jeremiah Wright, like my Father, have experienced a racism that I am not all that certain that I can relate to or survive. In their day, a black man did not have to be doing anything and they could be lynched and-or tarred and feathered in broad daylight and the authorities would do nothing. James Cone responds with anger and resentment. I understand that but twisting the gospel into something it is not is not the answer. Funny thing is that my generation is way more angry about it than my father and his generation are. My fathers response: Be the man God has called him to be - love God first and foremost and protect his family (see us on the right - children and grandchildren) and do good to others no matter what color they are, trusting God to make up for what he cannot do, following Jesus where Jesus leads him. I prefer my father's response because it is biblical and it has worked during his whole 75 years. It is what God is calling us to no matter your race, gender, or economic status. White people are not the cause of our problems. The problem is sin. Jesus is the only Cure.

Obama, Race, Christianity, and Black Liberation Theology Part 2 - James Cone

As I noted in part 1, when Obama rose to national prominence the media dug into his background and discovered the kind of church Obama had been attending for 20 years. Because of his name some people tried to make Obama out as Muslim but came to found out that his pastor, Jeremiah Wright, and his church advocate the empowerment and liberation of black people. And they dug up footage of Wright condemning the act of against non-white people. The media has used all of this to paint Wright as a racist cult leader and by extension, suggesting that Obama shares the same views, The white media has also suggested that all black churches think and teach the same thing that Wright does. All of this I chronicled in some detail in part 1.

What I want to do in Part 2 is discuss what exactly Wright is saying that he teaches. I noticed besides trying to make Wright look as bad as possible the media never made any move to address his message and whether or not it lines up with the Bible. The media stayed away from this because it would also shine a light on the depravity of American Society and glorify God. Wright said himself that in order to understand his theology you must be familiar with the works of James Cone. One of my favorite apologists is James White. On his web cast on May 6, 2008 he said he heard Wright make that statement about Cone decide to really look at Cone's seminal work: Black Theology and Black Power. He was horrified. I was too. I thought I understood what Black Liberation theology is and I was wrong. So I decided to read his book too on my Pastor's recommendation so that I don't go on just what others have said. Therefore I will respond to White's comments as well as Cone's work and how it affects the I want to deal with if this theology is racist? Is it Christian?

I think the aims of Black Liberation Theology are noble: end racism and inspire black people to stop looking at themselves as nothing but sub white people. Black people have been beaten up and oppressed by American society so much that some black people don't realize that they are every bit as human and loved by God as White people. The problem is that James Cone wrote that God has chosen oppressed people (black) and has turned against white people. He said that it was okay for black people to hate white people because of the evil black people have suffered. Cone said that we should look to ourselves and not to the White understanding of Christianity. He wants us to stop looking at Jesus as White.

My problem with all of this is that, Cone believes that the worse thing in this world…the thing that that Jesus came to address…is racism. Racism is the result of a larger, more fundamental flaw in the hearts of every man, woman, and child on earth: sin. Sin is anything that God hates and displeases him. Be sure I tend think that racism is on God’s list of No-No’s but we need to look at the Bible to understand how God is addressing these things. Cone is right God addressed this problem by send Jesus to die for our sins, but not just our sins but the sins of those who are racist against us. He came to reconcile us not to ourselves but to God. If we put God first then all those other things fall into place. The problem with the Black Power movement is that many in it thought that if we turn away from the white people’s conception of God (Christianity) we can take control of our destiny. True Christianity repudiates the evil that has been perpetrated in Christ’s name…an understanding of the Bible bears this out. Cone almost seems to thjink that because Black people suffer they are closer to God’s heart than white people. The thing is all people suffer under the crushing weight of sin – in various ways to varying degrees. No matter your color, all our sinner deserving to go to Hell. This is what Jesus saves us from – ourselves. Left to us, we will destroy ourselves, individually and a species, if he did not intervene.

In Black Theology, the black man is glorified not God. White man, his opinions and good intentions are devalued for no other reason that he is white. Women too are also devalued. These ideas make Black theology no different than the errors we claim white people make in dealing with us.

Concerning Jesus we make the same mistake in Black Liberation Theology that the Jews of the First century made. They thought that messiah’s mission was to restore the greatness of Israel and destroy Rome. We make the same mistake today. We think Jesus came to give us material wealth and happiness on earth, or racial and economic equality. Jesus came to give us eternal life and save us from our sins so we can become more like him and please God. This gets into what the Gospel really is.

There are several theological problems with Cone’s theology. For starters he denies the inerrancy of the Bible. This I think is a major flaw. Without the Bible, what guidebook do you use? What standard is there? How do we know what God has really said? Should the guidebook be me? You? Cone? Personally, I’d rather believe what it is God has said. I will cover at another time how to know the Bible is inerrant and how we know it is reliable. It’s not blind faith.

Finally More DVDs to Collect

Two of the biggest movies released this year is coming to VDV and Blue Ray. I really enjoyed them in the theater and I look forward to enjoying them at home this fall. The movies are Iron Man (September 30, 2008) and the Incredible Hulk. I plan to write critiques and analysis of both in light of Biblical theology soon.

I really like ReelComics.com It is where I first read the announcement. Here is the one about Iron Man and the other concerning the Hulk.

The Truth Behind G. Craig Lewis Part 3

Anthony from Hazakim pointed out many historical inaccurate claims Lewis has publicly stated in his "The Truth Behind Hip Hop" series. Toward the end of his first DVD, Lewis stated that Freddie Stone, who was the lead guitarist of the group Sly and the Family Stone , had said that he and other members were high on heroine when they wrote music. This is what Lewis said:



Today Pastor Frederick Stewart (Freddie Stone) has been now saved upwards of 28 years and is now Pastor of Evangelist Temple Church of God in Christ in Vallejo, California. On top of that he is my Pastor and in public and private has made no secret of the life of drugs that God delivered him from. He has said that he never shot up heroine. That means that Lewis is wrong. Pastor Stewart has no reason to not admit it if it were true. He admits to everything else. He boasts not himself but in what God has done for him and through him. If Lewis was right Pastor Stewart would use it as one more proof of what God has delivered him from. Pastor Stewart has not said anything of the kind of things Lewis said that he had said.

Lewis also said that he was instrumental in the conversion of Kevin Thornton. Kevin was a member of the group Color Me Badd. Here is Lewis talking about it:



Then I heard Kevin's testimony. It's a beautiful testimony about what God delivered him from but nothing about Lewis or Lewis casting 49 demons out of him. This is how Kevin answered the question about why and how he became a gospel artist.


I have found some corroborating evidence on the internet. Read this article here. It even has an audio clip of a demon supposedly talking through Thornton. This post references to another post that says the clip was provided by Bob Larson. Bob Larson is not really a credible source. He is spoken of well by Lewis but is debunked by the Christian Research Institute (CRI). Here is an article they published in the CRI Journal. Because of his teachings, they and many ministers do not take Larson's tales as factual. Neither I, CRI, nor orthodox historic Christianity denies the existence of demons or demon possession but I just don't think Larson is being truthful. I will write more on him in another article. Added to the fact that Larson claims to have performed the exorcism on Thornton and Lewis make the same claim without either mentioning the presence of the other I've got to wonder if either one is telling the truth. The picture on the right is of the group Color Me Badd and Kevin is the black man. I cannot find anyplace where Kevin Thornton confesses to have needing an exorcism.

McCain Blows It Again

By now I am sure everyone has seen McCain's advertisement suggesting that Obama's popularity has made him a celebrity and comparing him to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. In equating him to these two young women who have become infamous for bad public behavior, McCain is trying to make Obama's youth a negative suggesting that he is young, inexperienced, irresponsible, and only pandering for attention. Here is the ad below:


Today, I ran across Paris' mother's response to the ad. She said the following:

"I've been asked again and again for my response to the now infamous McCain celebrity ad. I actually have three responses. It is a complete waste of the money John McCain's contributors have donated to his campaign. It is a complete waste of the country's time and attention at the very moment when millions of people are losing their homes and their jobs. And it is a completely frivolous way to choose the next President of the United States."

I think that she makes a lot of sense. To tie this mess with McCain's attack on Obama concerning his plans to solve our energy crisis McCain's spokesperson, Tucker Bounds, said that Paris is deeper than Obama and:

"Sounds like Paris is taking the 'All of the Above' energy approach that John McCain has advocated -- both alternatives and drilling. Perhaps the reality is that Paris has a more substantive energy plan than Barack Obama."

I didn't like the comment. It made no sense. From what I have heard Obama has good plan for the energy crisis. I like his better than McCain's plan. Off-shore drilling can only have a negative impact on the environment no matter how careful we try to do it. Tucker was referring to the below comments Paris made as political satire (obviously someone wrote this for her). I posted the video below and if Tucker is so right about Paris being being more substantive than Obama that means that she is also better than McCain. Maybe she should be running and we should vote for her then. Nah!

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Obama, Race, Christianity, and Black Liberation Theology Part I - Jeremiah Wright

America has always been divided by race. I must admit thast the Presidential Election of 2008 really underscores this reality more that anything that has happened during my lifetime. It has personally caused me to re-evaluate my view of race and how Christianity should be expressed. When Barak Obama began running for President the press started picking apart his life. I hesitate to say that they were being racist or evil because whoever runs for President of the United States gets picked apart and scrutinized like a bug under a microscope. They look for something to sensationalize and to gain ratings by being the first to present it. The first major thing reported on was that Obama had been a member of a Church of Christ for the last 20 years under Reverend Jeremiah Wright. The problem to white journalist was that the church was predominantly African-American (the denomination is not) and that a message black empowerment was encouraged. Check out this clip from Wright on Fox News' "Hannity and Colmes".


This interview got my attention for many reasons. The question why does every time someone talks about empowering black people, its taken to mean that the goal is to de-power white people instead of equipping black people equally sharing power and resources? And why when a black person consistently and accurately represents the attrocities and evils the United States has done, that person is racist and unpatriotic? As Hannity was interviewing Wright he was personally offended and acted as if Wright was being Racist. Upon looking at some things that Wright has said, I cannot agree with everything but I agree with what is on this clip that he said. One part of it escaped me at the time I first saw this, but I had to come back to it later. In this clip write said that you had to read James Cone's work to understand his church's theology and what he teaches. I ignored the comment because I thought Wright taught what I believe is taught in all mainstream, historical christian churches. I'll comment on this point further later on.

Fast forward a few weeks when the following clip was played on Fox News edited together with what was really said by Jeremiah Wright:



As you can remember the press had a field day ith the beginning of the above clip. They treated if not actually said that Jeremiah Wright was a racist, ignorant, uneducated, unpatriotic, backwater cult leader. Asking questions like if Wright said things like this all the time? If so, did Obama know he taught this or believe this? Does Obama agree? They said that he must have agreed because he had been there for twenty years. Do all black churches teach and believe this way? In a around-about-way this attack on Obama had many casualties including the black church.

I am sure that you agree that Wright did not say anything that was untrue or damning (pun intended). Any one who knows anything about American history knows that there is much to be angry about. I don't think profanity of any kind should be used over a pulpit in a ministerial role. Better words could have been used. Also I don't think a Sunday morning sermon is the best time and place to discuss these issues. The goal of a sermon is to equip a congregation to be better followers of Christ and call those who are not in Christ to Christ by proclaiming the Gospel. The second part of this post will explore what all of this has to do with black church and James Cone.

I want to end this part discussing exactly Jeremiah Wright in all of this. Because I disagree with him on major theological issues if he really does parallel James Cone's ideas, I cannot endorse him or his ministry. For a while he was the face of the Black church and America did not like what it saw. The media has tried to lynch him and I have problems with that. So what if I don't particular enjoy his style of preaching it doesn't take away from the good things he has done and the true things that he said. Which causes me a great difficulty when I consider how far Obama has distanced himself from Wright. I mean he left him out to dry. Does Obama disavow Wright and everything he says...even the things that are true? Below is a clip of Obama talking about Wright from a few months ago.

T-Shirts W/Messages That Matter

As a Christian if I were to wear a T-shirt that quickly encapsulates the gospel it would read:

Jesus was born,
taught us how to live,
healed the sick,
fulfilled the law of God perfectly,
persecuted and mistreated,
crucified and resurrected for us all.....

And then on the back of the shirt:

...and all I got is eternal life and peace with God!!!!

I'd like to try to make this shorted and more "catchy" but this is what the message would be.
If Jesus wears a T-shirt when we see him by definition his shirt will be different

I was born, walked 33 yrs in your shoes,
taught you how to live,
healed the sick,
fulfilled the law of God perfectly,
persecuted and mistreated,
crucified and resurrected for you all.....

And then on the back of the shirt:

...and all I got to show for it is you!!!!

Black Comic Characters - Spawn

I'm sure that many have seen or heard of the character Spawn. You have seen the comics, the HBO shows, and the movie. Yes, some might say that such a character that has been popular in all the media of our society that happens to be a black superhero shows how far we have come in terms of race relations, but I think that closer scrutiny is needed. I have to point out that Spawn was created by a white man, Todd McFarlane. I'm not saying that is a bad thing. For example, the character Blade was created by two white men in the 1970s and I have very little negative things to say about Blade and how he is characterized. Spawn on the other hand is so disfigured that it's hard to tell that he was black. I use the past tense that he's also dead and gets his super powers from the devil. This bring us some theological and racial problems. There are a few other characters out there who's powers are demonic but none have had the same success as Spawn. This is why I single him out. If you are familiar with the story, the devil recruits Spawn to lead his army to fight and conquer heaven. Tis is definitely an anti-biblical plot contrivance. Why would the devil give Spawn supernatural powers and then allows Spawn to use those powers against him?

I have three other problems with the back story of Spawn. One is that no where in the story is Jesus or God even remotely brought up as having to do with the story. The devil is depicted with all of the power and Heaven is on the defensive. This is also opposite to what the Bible says.

Two, in the comics Spawn's best friend that ended up marrying Spawn's wife, Wanda, after Spawn died. They had child when Spawn and Wanda never could. I admit that this added a lot of drama when Spawn shows up after 5 years to find out that his wife married to his best friend and with the child he could never give her initially not knowing that he had been in hell five years. Ouch. Thing is in the comic books and cartoon Spawn's friend is black and in the movie he is white. What were the producers of the movie trying to say about black men and black families? Let me blunt. They were saying: Look at this black man - he wasn't able to protect himself or his family so a white man had to step up and do it. Make it worse...he can't protect Wanda without power the devil gives him.

Third, the movie glamorizes hell and paints a picture that hell is fun not torment. That you have super powers if you go and can go and leave whenever you want. More religious heresy. I realize that a lot of people did not look at Spawn these ways. They look at it as entertaining fiction. But the way it expresses itself can't be ignored and points to a worldview we must be aware of. I like the character visually....he look cool in full costume and his power set is interesting, but don't forget that we must always look at truth and think about what is really being said. There is a mugen character for Spawn. Here is a demo of Spawn fighting Spider-man and with both characters being computer controlled. Spider-man owned Spawn as it should be!

The Truth about G Craige Lewis Part 2

As promised in the last part of this article, I want to spend part 2 discussing the response to G. Craige Lewis' ministry against hip hop. I particularly want to use the response from the gospel Hip Hop group known as Hazakim. I like these brothers. Their work that I have heard is very spiritual, intelligent, clever, apologetical in nature, theologically sound. I gained even more respect for them after reading a response to Mr. Lewis' claims about Hip Hop and Gospel Hip Hop by Anthony. The response is so well written and reasoned I was so grateful to God for inspiring him and his brother the way God has done. I thought that Anthony was gracious and right on target. Anthony also quoted a lot of scripture skillfully and rightly. I can't say the same of Lewis. He pointed out that Lewis is correct in pointing out that mainstream Hip Hop does corrupt some people. It does glamorize sin. However it is a sin to slanderize people in the church for being hip hop artists who also live God-glorifying lives that are trying to use the Hip Hop music style to win souls. This is seen doing with great zeal. He refers to the past sins of McClurkin and Franklin that have long been repented of to God. They publicly repented. If God has forgiven them, why should anyone still be chastising them for it? Lewis is saying that God cannot use Hip Hop to reach people when everyone who looks at the issue can see that He can and does us Hip Hop to talk to some people. Hip Hop as a tool. It's an art style and has become a life style. The life style we see shown on videos and depicted in the mainstream music is definitely god-less, wicked, and evil. The life style cannot be reconciled with the Biblical Christianity we are supposed to be living by.
Here is an example of the kind of music Hazakim releases and tell me if Lewis' message does more to build the kingdom of God on earth.

Hybrid Conspiracy?

Yesterday, I had a disturbing thought - a questions really. It's only disturbing because I did not know what answer is. I was gazing at a hybrid vehicle and I wondered at the fuel cell. How do you dispose of the battery? Can you just throw it away when it is no longer being used? Does it get recycled? Is it toxic like nuclear waste? I mean you can't just can't throw away an alkyline battery without polluting the environment. Could the batteries that power our cars be worse? More disturbing to me, why isn't anyone in the media talking about it? Could some people be hiding dangers in order to make more money.
The good news is that there are answers. I read a couple of articles online and found out that Honda, Toyota, and Ford all claim that their batteries last for the life of the car (160,000 miles). And that the batteries are not rechargeable nickel cadmium (which are toxic to life) but NiMH batteries that can be recycled. The problem is that I only found references to Toyota having a comprehensive recycling program and no comment from Ford or Honda. I'm not saying that they don't have one but that I didn't find anything. So according to the articles I read, I guess there is no concern. I might write later about this. I want know why the media is not talking about any of this.

Here are the articles I found:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/06/should_we_be_wo_1.php#ch02
http://www.hybridcars.com/faq.html

Things I wish I had said! (Part 1)

I heard this quote on GodTube the other day:

"'Ignorance' can be fixed, but 'stupid' is forever!"

I think it is very interesting and so very true.

Jesus said many great things. Wonderful things that we need to live by....everything we know that he said. The Bible does not record everything he said and did...but everything that it does record we must obey and adhere to. When I try to pick just one thing he said this one comes to mind first:

"That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Luke 12:47,48

I think it resounds within me because its the creed that Spider-man lives by, first stated in his first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15:

"With great power comes great responsibility"

The Truth about G Craige Lewis Part 1

No doubt that many people in the church today have heard about a minister named G Craige Lewis (his picture is at the right). He recently (past 2 or 3 years) have been teaching about the horrors and evils about Hip Hop Music and Culture. How its crept into the church and that we must take responsibility and do what Gods has called us to do. I agree I mean like the rest of society, mainstream Hip Hop is godless. But he goes as far as saying that all rap/hip hop music is from the devil and cannot be used to glorify God or bring people to Jesus our lord and savior. He has put out his teaching on DVDs available through his ministry: EX Ministries. He seems to be targeting my generation - Generation X, but many of us are now in our thirties and are not following Hip Hop like we were in our 20's and teens. He has said that he came up with "EX" because he wants to change generation X. He has 4 DVDs. The first one is available from Google video (I'm streaming it below). He has many good points. No doubt about it the devil is using hip hop to lie, steal, and destroy lives. But to label it all evil and bad mouth people is a too much.This guy's presentation had much sensation and shock value. He talked about the worse the industry offers and about casting out demons and conversing with them. Unfortunately there was very little documentation and proof of his claims. To be honest listening to him reminded me of Kenneth Copeland and other Word-of-Faith ministries. There was very little teaching of theology in the first recording. There was a lot of denunciation of hip hop artists even gospel artists - so many in fact that it makes me wonder if he really knows the walk of the people he slandered. His argument is basically So-and-so did a song or an album with _____ (insert famous secular hip hop artist here), therefore so-and-so backslid or was never saved in the first place.
His second presentation is also on the internet on GodTube. It is called "Truth Behind Hip Hop 2: Exodus Back to Egypt. I liked this one better than "The Truth Behind Hip Hop I" because you get hear more about what he believes about God and the Bible actually says. I hate to say it but it seems very Word-of-Faith like. He said that God stepped back and gave control over the earth to humanity and for God to intervene in the earth He "needs our bodies". Sound familiar? It should to anyone who has heard the heresies coming from hell today. This so biblically untrue. God needs nothing or no one. He chooses to use whatever he wants to use to fulfill his own purpose. God is sovereign and complete all by himself! I have not reviewed the whole of material readily available yet, but I intend to do so.

G Craige Lewis said:


The Bible says (Here and in many other passages):

34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.
His dominion is an eternal dominion;
his kingdom endures from generation to generation.

35 All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
or say to him: "What have you done?"

Daniel 4:34,35

I'd say that it is a lie just as bad the sexually explicit, women defiling, violent lies that populate secular media today! Don't be deceived, God don't like it. Here is G. Craig Lewis saying exactly that God needs us. It needs to be pointed out that the majority of Hip Hop music and culture is destroying our very existence and future by drawing people away from Christ, but there are those in the industry who seek to do better and draw people to Christ. They have a real God-given, God glorifying ministry. Lumping them all together is wrong. Calling dirty what God has called clean is wrong. Here is a great article about how EX Ministries message affect the church: 7 Reasons Why Craig Lewis and Ex Ministries Has Duped the Church into Believing Him.

Many articulate Christians have stepped up to refute this guy. In part 2, I will take a good look at one of their responses. Hazakim.

Here is The Truth Behind Hip Hop.