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Saturday, November 11, 2017

My Supplier is Not Entertained

Things are not going well in the Spiritual world. I had a note from Himself - He does that occasionally, leaving a note tied to the neck of a bottle in a shipment brought to the Tavern by His Angel carter. He has His ways. He is not a Happy God at the moment and much of His day is busy making Good all that we make bad. And we are seen to be doing pretty badly. Thankfully, we are limited to stupidity with the occasional period of malice.


He hears the prayers for the fallen in wars. "Remember, on this day, that I sacrificed for you, too." 

My friend James was in supping a glass and pounding away on his keyboard as we spoke. He is apt from time to time to join the chorus of wailing about Religion, although I do have to say that he tries to be even handed.  He had been talking of the abuse claims and the billions of dollars compensation paid out by various Diocese. He was saying,
One cannot [or must not] coerce people back to the Church using force, one can only attract them due to a clean bill of health .
The way to good health is to clean up one’s act first and face up to reality.  This is the most crucial decision the Catholic church must face up to today, otherwise the exodus will accelerate.
I am not sure what he meant about 'coercing' when it comes to Catholics. If we were, as a Church, doing that, we are failing risably. I replied and acknowledged that the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church is in dire straights.  
"James", said I, "One has Faith despite the failings of men. And that is ‘some’ men, not all. A clean bill of health in the Church is NOT the path to attract. Love of God and His Son, Christ, is The Way. “I am the Way, the Truth and the Light”. Not ‘a clean bill of health’.
I have said it before and will continue to say it. In War there are casualties. The City of God is under sustained attack. Even prelates, captains and troops fall under the barrage. Do you blame the fallen soldier on this particular day? Do you blame the generals when the enemy generals are in ascendance? 
Maybe our Catholic generals and troops are at fault but when they have a spiritual bullet in the leg, expect them to fall with much wailing and gnashing of teeth. The field surgeon has his work cut out. Help him.

Did anyone suggest that only a clean bill of health for London during the blitz was the only way to attract victory? If we are going to measure the success of the battle and Victory in dollars – how much the Church has had to pay – how much did that blitz clean up cost? You paid for a generation or more and so did I. 
But we had Hope. And Faith. We were Charitable to one another instead of carping.

It is an ongoing human effort in a war between Good and Evil. Both sides have immense forces in play.

Expect more bad news from the Front – ask not for whom the bell tolls – and hope for successes in the coming times.""
He at least considered the response 'Dignified'. 

I think he deserved his pint.



Down here the  Catholic Church faces many enemies, including those who should take a place on the battle lines facing the enemy alongside us, but instead steal our troops off to the entertainment tents when they should be cleaning their weapons and souls. False churches. False christians. False 'pastors'.

Anything the bad Catholics can do, the Heretics can do better.

Take the 'Hillsong' mob. Cashed up and attracting pop-'stars', they take people who are passionate for Christ and turn that passion to crassness and dust. The Catholics have played with this 'attract the young' lark, to its detriment.

 Naomi Tsvirko told us of the Oz effort.
It's not just Bieber who's a believer:
Hillsong Church 'makes $100 million a year tax-free' as its ranks swell

The Australian Hillsong church makes $100 million a year, and it's all reportedly tax free. 
With over 34,000 members, the evangelical church continues to attract believers since its establishment in the early 80s, reported the Daily Telegraph.
As well as attracting celebrity members like Justin Bieber, the church has expanded to 15 countries and has reportedly increased its revenue by $10 million last year.

Justin Bieber climbed up a tree to sing to his fans after the Hillsong conference in Australia

Operating as a religious charity, Hillsong receives tax breaks and employs over 500 staff as well as thousands of volunteers.
Senior pastor Brian Houston told the Daily Telegraph that the church had a weekly increase of 8.5 percent parishioner attendance.

‘We’ve been encouraged this year with the number of new people joining our church,’ said Mr Houston. 

‘We’ve been encouraged this year with the number of new people joining our church,’ said Senior Pastor Brian Houston.
I know little enough of the strange charlatan running Hillsong, but see him as the updated version of the wild-west pastor in a wagon, intent on selling bottles of 'Dr Good' while pretending to sing hymns. It is a dead certainty that they do not listen to my Supplier, but by the Lord Harry do they like to do the talking.

And it ain't christian even with a little 'c'.

Matt Walsh had some things to say too. He had seen a particularly nasty bunch of 'entertainer' women who have a 'show' called 'the View'. I have seen some of it m'self but  cannot claim any sort of familiarity with the crass, loud, ill-mannered women who appear. But a 'Hillsong' 'pastor' was invited to share their view the other day, and he certainly did ! 

He had just one job to do. One question to answer.
To All Pastors Afraid Of Condemning Abortion: 
Find A New Job. 
You Aren't Qualified.

Carl Lentz, pastor of a giant pseudo-church in New York called Hillsong, recently went on The View and refused to label it a sin to kill babies.
The View seems to specialize in locating Christian squishes of this sort. They aren't hard to find, of course, and the producers obviously knew going in that they'd hit a goldmine of squishiness with Lentz. All the Squish Indicators are noticeable here, and they've been helpfully summarized in the author's bio for his new self-help book, "Own The Moment":
When you think of a Christian pastor, you probably don’t envision a tattooed thirty-something who wears a motorcycle jacket, listens to hip-hop music, references The Walking Dead and Black Lives Matter in his sermons, and every Sunday draws a standing-room only crowd to a venue normally used for rock concerts.

Sadly, these days, that's exactly what I envision.

Unsurprisingly, the tough guy in the motorcycle jacket proceeded to cower in the corner when questioned by Joy Behar. She didn't have to exert much effort. 
Lentz disavowed the Gospel of Christ and betrayed the unborn without resistance or hesitation. 
All Behar had to do is ask a very simple and very straightforward and very, very, very easy question
"Is abortion a sin?"

The complex theological issue of child murder sent Lentz into a babbling panic
“That’s the kind of conversation we would have finding out your story, where you’re from, what you believe," he stammered. "I mean, God’s the judge ... People have to live to their own convictions ... That’s such a broad question, to me, I’m going higher. I want to sit with somebody and say, ‘What do you believe?"

Lentz clarified that abortion is an open and shut case "to some people," but, "me, I’m trying to teach people who Jesus is first, and find out their story. Before I start picking and choosing what I think is sin in your life, I’d like to know your name.”

One wonders if Lentz would be so circumspect in his answer had he been asked whether racism is a sin. 
What if Joy Behar inquired as to the sinfulness of joining the KKK? Would the good pastor have insisted that Klan members are merely "living their convictions" and we ought to get to know them and their story before we start "picking and choosing"?

That's the thing about these warm and fuzzy Christians who are allegedly too focused on loving people to bother denouncing evil: they seem rather selective. 
You'll notice that they never, ever hesitate to call out bigotry, "homophobia," "intolerance," etc. They're quite eager to rebuke Christians like me, who, in their opinion, are too forceful and "divisive" in our approach. I can't tell you how many times I've been personally and viciously condemned by the same Christians who are too "loving" to condemn child murder. 
It's an odd thing, isn't it? They seem to have developed this magnanimous and overriding tolerance only for the kinds of sins that are most popular in our culture. What a coincidence.

After the interview, many Christians, including me, called Lentz to task on social media. He sparred with us but still refused to give a clear-cut answer to the question. Finally, after several days of pushback, Lentz did eventually concede that abortion is sinful. The original interview was on October 30. He issued his statement on Tuesday of this week. It took Lentz — a famous pastor of a huge church with thousands of followers — eight whole days and lots of not-so-gentle nudging to admit that killing babies is wrong.

A pastor who takes eight days to come to the conclusion that you shouldn't murder kids is like a doctor who has to retreat into the woods and meditate for a week to figure out if it's a bad idea to contract Ebola. 
It's nice that he finally landed on the right answer, but is he really qualified to be a doctor if he was stumped by that inquiry in the first place? Either the man has no understanding of medicine at all, or he harbors some strange sympathy for the Ebola virus. Whichever is the case, find a new doctor, pronto. Likewise, we must either conclude that Lentz hasn't the slightest clue about what the Bible actually teaches, or he's too fearful and cowardly to speak the most basic and important Biblical truths publicly. Whichever is the case, he should not be a pastor.

Of course, there are those who say that we ought to take it easy on Lentz and his ilk. Perhaps they don't get all the theology exactly right, the argument goes, and perhaps they aren't the best moral guides, but they still do quite a lot to bring people to Christ. Look at the size of his church! He must be doing something right!
Heaven's not above here.

Yes, he obviously appeals to a lot of people. 
So does internet porn. 
Yes, he makes people feel good. 
So does heroin. 
Yes, he gives his followers a vague sense of spiritual fulfillment. 
So does Buddhism. 
Yes, he spreads happiness, sort of. 
So does Disney. 
But shouldn't a pastor deliver a message completely distinct from what a person can already gain through internet porn, heroin, Buddhism, and Disney films?

Here is the distinct message: Christ's redemptive sacrifice on the cross, which opened up the doors of salvation. 
In his mea culpa statement, Lentz said that his goal is to tell the story of "God's redemptive grace." That's a great story and exactly the one he should be telling.

However, it's exactly the one he refused to tell on The View. You cannot separate the story of redemption from the story of sin. You cannot talk about salvation without talking about why we so desperately need to be saved. You cannot talk about Christ's sacrifice without talking about the evil that necessitated it. You cannot talk about Christ's cross without talking about the sin that nailed Him to it.

You cannot skip right over the hard stuff, the dark stuff, the challenging stuff, and go right to "hope." What use is the cheap and easy "hope" of a person who has not acknowledged their own wickedness? 
You cannot see the stars during the day. You cannot appreciate the light of Christ's love until you have seen and confronted the darkness of your own sin. 
Hope is found in the triumph of good over evil, not in the denial of evil itself.

Trying to teach a person about the hope of Christ without teaching him about sin is like trying to teach someone how to use a parachute without teaching him first about gravity.

"Here, just pull this cord and you'll be fine."
What happens if I don't?
"Don't worry about that! It's too icky to think about!"
There are a lot of people who never pulled the cord because nobody ever told them what would happen if they didn't, and now the hope the parachute afforded them is of little consequence as they lay splattered all over the pavement. 
This is the story of modern man, thanks in large part to "Christian leaders" like the good pastor Lentz. 
We want to be saved without ever having to think about or acknowledge what exactly we're being saved from. We want Christ without His cross. Joy without suffering. Forgiveness without repentance.

It doesn't work that way.

I have said nothing groundbreaking or especially insightful here. 

This is basic Christianity. 
It seems there are many pastors in America who struggle with these basics, either because they are ignorant or cowardly or all of the above. They are doing far more harm than good. They should all step down from their positions. But they won't, of course, because they are more interested in fame and accolades than leading people to Christ.
No, they won't step down. They do not even realize that they are the Devil's Fifth Column. They purport to be christian but are far, far more interested in the applause of the crowd, the flashing lights and the sound of coins clinking in their cash-cans.

And tens of thousands of souls are 'Pied-Pipered' away from salvation.



That does not make my Supplier happy at all.

Believe me, you will not like it when He shows just how unhappy He is.

Drink deep. 

Pax



8 comments:

  1. Fine essay on those "pastors" who are desperately trying to 'change' the true laws of even Moses.

    "Thou shalt not kill"

    A no brainer, unless of course you are enticed to become rich with the NWO of rewriting the Christian religion.

    If the Catholics want their church to survive, then I would start with your communist Pope Francis, who was certainly picked and placed by global elites to further promote crony capitalism at the top, and communism at the bottom.

    So, do you obey your Popes and Bishops, or do you search for the church who has a pastor that remains true to the teachings of the Catholic tradition?

    Enjoyed this very much amfortas.

    And I'm glad I'm not Catholic. I'd be seating on the seat next to you at the tavern saying "Pour me another one."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Start with Frank? How do you think he got there? We Catliks do not 'obey' the Pope as such. He has 'authority' to speak Truth from his Seat but most of what he says is from his hip. The Truth is not a 'legal' 'enforced' issue but of the nature of nature. If you jump off a cliff, he might say, you will fall to your death. That is a truth, not an instruction to obey, with a punishment if you don't.

      I search for a Priest who remains true. I have one. Splendid fellow.

      Catholic or not, you may sit next to me anytime and I shall pour my Suppliers Good Grace into a pot of your choice. You are well loved.

      Delete
    2. "I search for a Priest who remains true."

      In the same way that I search for teachers who remain true to the teachings of Jesus. I have been blessed recently with a few, some by reading and some by friendship, although I have yet to find that local priest...

      Delete
    3. You are indeed a Blessed woman, CherryPie. And you spread it around. Perhaps some local priests should be finding you.

      Delete
  2. or he's too fearful and cowardly to speak the most basic and important Biblical truths publicly.

    There is another possibility. And it may be a partial explanation for much of the squishiness of modern Christianity. Being a clergyman is a nice safe comfy undemanding job. If you're lucky enough to be a pastor in one of these fast food churches, or if you're lucky enough to be a bishop in a supposedly more traditional church, it's not just nice and safe and comfy and undemanding, it's also well-paid with nice fringe benefits. Who wants to put a nice gig like that at risk for something as trivial as an actual religious principle?

    It's also a great job for men who are weak, incompetent and generally unemployable. No matter how otherwise unemployable you might be you can still be a bishop.

    The sad truth is that for the past hundred years the clergy has attracted weak ineffectual girly-men who could never survive in the real world. No heterosexual man with a trace of testosterone is going to want to become a clergyman. So you not only get homosexual clergy, or women clergy, you find that the few heterosexual men in the job are the absolute bottom of the barrel.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are severe, sir, and probaly not without cause and insight. It is obsered that too many are 'girly-men' as you say, but amongst them are men of great strength of purpose, courage and holiness, so let us not throw the good in with the bad. Or out.

      It is not finacially a great 'gig' for, say, Catholic priests, even at Bishop level. Most have few enough pennies to rub together at the best of times. Most priests I know live on the smell of an oilt rag.

      But the pseudo-mega-church, rahrah singalong hand wavers who preach 'prosperity' (especially their own) are definitely raking in the cash and will not rock the pledger-vote. They are cowards. They are charlatans. What thay are not is christian, even with a small 'c'.

      The past hundred years has seen a huge influx (in the Catholic Church) of marxists and homosexuals. But there still existed men like Sheen and today we still have very strong and powerfully 'orthodox' prelates. Pray for them and support them, but do not shoot at them. They have enough bullets flying their way without you and I.

      As for the pseudo churches and their self appointed 'pastors', they follow a long tradition of 'protestantism' and those that were, in the past, at least sincere, even if wrong, and were Good men, have been overtaken by the spivs and crooks and pied-pipers whose interest is almost entirely in wallets and not souls. But behind them is a diabolical Master who rubs his firey hands in glee for every soul so diverted.

      Delete
  3. Again, an instructive read, glad I still get my pint. :)

    ReplyDelete

Ne meias in stragulo aut pueros circummittam.

Our Bouncer is a gentleman of muscle and guile. His patience has limits. He will check you at the door.

The Tavern gets rowdy visitors from time to time. Some are brain dead and some soul dead. They attack customers and the bar staff and piss on the carpets. Those people will not be allowed in anymore. So... Be Nice..