On Fodder for the Cannon
Just a few hours ago, I decided to begin brainstorming for my next preaching class assignment. We are to address a topic pertaining to social issues. I want to avoid the cliches, so I thought I would need some time to get the creative energies flowing. Five minutes ago, the creative juices boiled over at the following article:
Blackaby says tsunamis God's judgment;
missions experts question theology
By Ken Camp
DALLAS (ABP) --"Experiencing God" author Henry Blackaby believes the tsunamis that hit South Asia were God's punishment of an area where Christians have experienced particularly intense persecution. But some missions experts with links to the region question both his theology and his assertions about persecution.
Blackaby told a Kentucky pastors' conference workshop he recognized God's hand of judgment in the tsunami after he saw a map published by Voice of the Martyrs showing areas of intense persecution of Christians worldwide.
Many of the areas highlighted on that map "match to a T" the tsunami's impact, he said.
He later told a reporter for Baptist Press: "If you read the Old Testament, especially, God is very concerned how the nations treat his covenant people. The nations that persecuted, offended and killed his people, God came down and destroyed them. And he's the same God today. He's just as concerned about his people."
I edited the article here due to space, but I encourage you to check out the full text on my "Baptist hot sheet" link. I am gonna let this fester for a while and see if a great sermon does not result. Feel free to fester with me, and give me some feedback or suggestions.
PS> For the record, I think Blackaby's comment ranks right up there in the "Stupid Things Southern Baptists Have Been Too Eager to Say" Hall of Fame.
Blackaby says tsunamis God's judgment;
missions experts question theology
By Ken Camp
DALLAS (ABP) --"Experiencing God" author Henry Blackaby believes the tsunamis that hit South Asia were God's punishment of an area where Christians have experienced particularly intense persecution. But some missions experts with links to the region question both his theology and his assertions about persecution.
Blackaby told a Kentucky pastors' conference workshop he recognized God's hand of judgment in the tsunami after he saw a map published by Voice of the Martyrs showing areas of intense persecution of Christians worldwide.
Many of the areas highlighted on that map "match to a T" the tsunami's impact, he said.
He later told a reporter for Baptist Press: "If you read the Old Testament, especially, God is very concerned how the nations treat his covenant people. The nations that persecuted, offended and killed his people, God came down and destroyed them. And he's the same God today. He's just as concerned about his people."
I edited the article here due to space, but I encourage you to check out the full text on my "Baptist hot sheet" link. I am gonna let this fester for a while and see if a great sermon does not result. Feel free to fester with me, and give me some feedback or suggestions.
PS> For the record, I think Blackaby's comment ranks right up there in the "Stupid Things Southern Baptists Have Been Too Eager to Say" Hall of Fame.
posted by matt at 7:30 PM
3 Comments:
ach...the Jews are God's people and He has covenant with them. We (being the church) are not and he does not deal with us in the same ways...i.e. wrath agianst the foes and what not. Sure we are grafted in to fulfill a purpose, but Israel is still God's nation....not the states. God is the same God today, but Christians are not and never will be the same people as the Jewish nation. This is one point where my Southern Baptist minister in Stillwater has things right in deviation from the convention.
Thanks, John, I forgot that one. :-)
On one of the Sunday's after the tsunami our pastor talked about the passage in Luke 13:1-5 which I know I've read before, but never really paid much attention to. He then read us what the major religions in the world were saying about the tsunami-here's what he said:
1. Jewish
Sholmo Amar, Israel’s Shephardi chief rabbi: “This is an expression of God’s great ire with the world. The world is being punished for wrongdoing.”
2. Christian
Bill Koenig “The Biblical proportions of this disaster become clearly apparent upon reports of miraculous Christian survival (he calls this Christian Exceptionalism) Christian persecution in these countries is some of the worst in the world. Eight of the 12 countries hit are among the top 50 nations who persecute Christians.” The idea is that God is judging those nations for their persecution of Christians. Of course I also wonder, “What about the Christians who weren’t spared and what about all the others who died as well?”
3. Muslim
Mahdi Bray a Muslim cleric, executive director of the Freedom Foundation a public affairs arm of the Muslim American Society “This is a test of people faith.” (That’s all he has to say about it)
4. Buddism
Sutadhara Tapovanaye a Buddhist monk “According to Buddhist explanations, life is very short. That means, we have to think about this death as inevitable, but at the same time, we have to rethink about life.”
So I find it kind of interesting that the group that came the closest to what Christ had said in Luke were the Buddists, not the Christians....Just something to think on.
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