Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee

[From Christian Post]

Chris Sligh who was booted from American Idol this week admitted he was kicked out of the Christian fundamentalist college, Bob Jones University, for attending a contemporary Christian concert featuring the group 4Him.

Read about it here.

[From me]

Wow! You know how wild those 4 Him Concerts are. Good thing he didn’t get caught attending an Evie concert. I went to see Molly Hatchet and 38 Special when I was in high school I guess that is why I didn’t get a scholarship to BJU.

What other concerts might have gotten him kicked out?

Those of you who read this site on a regular basis have read the thought provoking responses of FRANCOISE.  Unfortunately Francoise had her feelings hurt by another poster and she said she would no longer post.  I never asked her to stop posting.  I appreciate her insight.  It is important to me to have people who have other ideas post on this site.  I think we can all learn from people like Francoise who is an atheist.    I know she is still reading because I see her IP address on my stat counter.

If you would like to see Francoise come back on post her ideas please sign the comment section to let her know we all miss her.  Francoise please come back.

Yesterday someone named Mike posted the following on my post called I don’t get it.

FYI, Clinton confessed to his church in 1998 and repented as reported by Baptist Press http://bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=25273

That means no more Clinton infidelity comments or jokes, right?

I read the article and I think Mike has a good point. According to the Baptist Press article President Clinton expressed repentance to his church. Here is what Rex Horne President Clinton’s former pastor said:

In October 1998, Clinton wrote a letter to the 4,500-member congregation, asking for forgiveness. Horne at the time told the Arkansas Baptist news magazine that the president had expressed repentance and sorrow. He said he “sensed an affirmation of the president’s request for forgiveness” from “the great majority of the people” attending the service when the letter was read.

Horne has never publicly disclosed the contents of Clinton’s letter to the Little Rock church, citing it as a personal matter between a pastor and his congregation.

Many pastors and other religious leaders have fallen in recent years. Naturally most followers of Jesus want to be forgiving. But does that only include those in the “Evangelical” or “Religious Right” community? I admit I’ve been hard on President Clinton in the past. My hockey stick is somewhat bigger when it comes to liberal democrats.

Was President Clinton playing his pastor and his church? I don’t know. But I feel I need to give him the same benefit of Grace that I would to Ted Haggard or Rick Ousley. Who knows if someone is truly repentant? I think only God knows for sure. But as followers of Jesus we are to keep on forgiving even if it is someone we disagree with.

Matthew 18:21

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times

I guess I have seventy more hockey sticks to pull out.

What do you think?

II Kings 23:25

Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did— with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.

I was reading this verse this morning & it made me think about all of the failures of the Kings yet Josiah finished well. It can be done.

What do you think?

[From NY Times]

T-shirts of a Mormon angel with coffee flowing into his trumpet are selling well at a coffee shop in this central Salt Lake Valley city. But they do not have the blessing of religious leaders.

The shirts have upset the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“They’ve been the best-selling T-shirts we’ve ever done,” said Ed Beazer, an owner of the coffee shop, which is called Just Add Coffee.

“If they provide proof, we’re going to comply,” Mr. Beazer said. “We don’t want to break any laws or anything.”

“It was a spoof,” Mr. Beazer said. “It was meant to be fun.”

Read about it here.

[From me]

I would like to invite all Mormon Elders to meet me for at Starbucks to talk Theology over a cup of Venti Verona. I’ll buy!

Have I mentioned that “I Love Mormons?”
What do you think?