Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee

[AJC]

Barack Obama and John McCain are scheduled to make a joint appearance Saturday at Saddleback Church in Orange County, Calif.

No other candidates have been invited, which has ticked off Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr.Russ Verney, campaign manager for the former Georgia congressman, has just sent out a mass e-mail saying Barr will seek a court order to require the church to invite him, too.

Which perhaps is an odd thing for a Libertarian to do — asking a judge to determine whom a church should invite into its sanctuary.

Read more here.

[From me]

Bob Barr used to be my congressman.  He lived in a subdivision down the street from us in Canton, GA.  I saw him at a Starbucks in Town Lake and introduced myself to him.  No kidding, he sent me a card later that week.  I always liked him.  But when did he become a Libertarian?  

Do you think he should have been invited?  I wonder if he considers $150K middle class like one candidate did last night.  If that is middle class then I’m in the lower third!

What do you think?

[USA Today]

Bradley LaShawn Fowler of Canton, Mich., is seeking $60 million from Zondervan, based in Cascade Township, and $10 million from Nashville-based Thomas Nelson Publishing.

Fowler filed the suit in federal court against Zondervan on July 7, the same day U.S. District Judge Julian Abele Cook Jr. refused to appoint an attorney to represent him in his case against Thomas Nelson.

Fowler filed a suit against Thomas Nelson in June. He is representing himself in both claims. 

“The Court has some very genuine concerns about the nature and efficacy of these claims,” the judge wrote.

Fowler, 39, alleges Zondervan’s Bibles referring to homosexuality as a sin have made him an outcast from his family and contributed to physical discomfort and periods of “demoralization, chaos and bewilderment.”

Read more here.

[From me]

Why don’t overweight people sue for the references on gluttony?  How about the National Enquire suing for the verses on gossip?  Why not have Budweiser sue about the verse on being drunk?  Why not Mothers Against Drunk Driving sue for the verses where Paul tells Timothy to drink a little wine?  

I get convicted daily when I read the Bible.  I’m not going to sue–I’m going to change my life to become more like Jesus.   I hope the ACLU backs the publishers!

What do you think?

[HT] Bill Grandi & Ruth Turner

[Smoking Gun]

Matthew Lincoln was attending an evening service at his nondenominational Tennessee church when he approached the altar where a visiting minister was offering individual prayers for parishioners. Assigned “catchers” were present on the altar in case congregants fainted, fell, or otherwise lost control. When the minister, Robert Lavala, slightly touched his forehead, the Knoxville-area man “received the spirit and fell backwards.” Except nobody was there to catch him, Lincoln charges in a $2.5 million lawsuit filed yesterday against Lakewind Church and its pastors. Lincoln, 58, claims that he fell backwards, striking his head against the “carpet-covered cement floor,” according to the Circuit Court complaint, which was first reported by Courthouse News Service.

A copy of Lincoln’s lawsuit can be found here.

[From me]

Man, you can’t make this stuff up! The worst thing that could happen in our church is someone falls in the baptistry.

What do you think?

Ever since the Mitchell Report came out a few months ago we have seen numerous ways of responding to the charges made in the report.  The report claims that many baseball players have used illegal performance enhancing drugs improve their playing and make their career last longer.  

Most of those named in the report acknowledged that they did use the drugs.  Some apologized. Others have kept quiet.  But Roger Clemens has gone on the attack to clear his good name.  I want to believe Roger.  I was never a Red Sox, Blue Jay or Yankee fan but I admired the way he played the game.

When Roger was named in the Mitchell Report there were many people who said he should come out swinging.  And swinging he has.  He has gone on 60 Minutes, made a You Tube video, held press conferences and testified before Congress that he did not use performance enhancing drugs.  He came across to me as believable.  But here is the problem.  His best buddy Andy Pettitte who was named in the Mitchell report and was trained by Brian McNamee.  Pettitte admitted that he used HGH.  But Roger flatly denies that he has taken drugs or any performance enhancements.  So what is it?

Then Roger files an anti-defamation suit against Brian McNamee.  Now team McNamee are pulling out all of the stops.  They are saying that Roger Clemens had a long time affair with Mindy McCready, a country music singer who has had her own illegal drug problems.  Truth is stranger than fiction.  You couldn’t write a more juicy story in Hollywood.

Here is the problem for me.  If Roger had admitted he took the performance enhancements would this have just blown over?  What if he had just kept his mouth shut?  Instead he makes a big deal and I think it is making him look worse.

What does this mean for us?  I usually can tell when my kids get defensive about something, they probably are guilty. When they calmly deny something, they usually are telling the truth, but when they get vocal, they are “usually” guilty.  It is probably the same for me.  How many times to we angrily argue with the police when we get pulled over for speeding (hypothetically, of course)?  I’ve found myself getting defensive with my wife and my kids and usually it is when I’m wrong.  I’m ashamed to admit that but it is true.

So what do we do?  I think the Bible gives us the best advice.  We should share our sins with one another.

James 5:16

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Had Roger just said, yes I took the HGH and steroids this story would have probably passed.

Sometimes it is best to keep our mouths shut.

Proverbs 18:2

A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.

Proverbs 10:10

He who winks maliciously causes grief,  and a chattering fool comes to ruin.

Proverbs 17:28

Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.

Had Roger just kept quiet the rest of the junk about his personal life would probably stayed out of the news.  This whole incident is sad because he is married and has children who are probably hurting.  

What do you think? 

[ABC News]

Displaying a portrait of Jesus in the foyer of a Louisiana courthouse is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled this week, siding with civil libertarians who sued over the display. But inserting Jesus within a group portrait of historic figures at the courthouse is permissible, the judge said.

In a ruling filed Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle awarded “nominal” damages plus attorneys’ fees and costs to the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana in its case against Slidell City Court, Judge James Lamz and St. Tammany Parish, which partially finances the court.

Read about it here.

[From me]

As a follower of Jesus I wouldn’t want a picture of Buddha or Muhammad on the wall of a courthouse.  I don’t need a picture of what people think Jesus looked like to remind me to live for Him.  I’m reminded daily as I read His word. 

What do you think?