This is the twenty-fifth installment in The Sounds of Fundamentalism series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a video clip that shows the crazy, cantankerous, or contradictory side of Evangelical Christianity, please send me an email with the name or link to the video. Please do not leave suggestions in the comment section. Let’s have some fun!
Christians play the theory of intelligent design like a philosophical checkmate. It’s chronic actually. Like chest-thumping silverbacks theistic ideologues in my corner of the cosmos swear that “design science” steals the origins debate.
I’ve been a committed, evangelical believer for over forty years. (I’m no outsider just hurling rhetorical stones.) The last ten years I’ve been a full-time pastor. And in that time I’ve found that us fundamentalist types worship our theological certainties nearly as much as we do our God.
And when we’re not worshiping them we’re wielding them like some kind of sacred bludgeon — but I digress.
I’ve seen it! (And done it.)
Christian Pep Rallies
On any given Sunday evangelical leaders will trot out their design science experts to cacophonous “Amen!” choruses. I’ve witnessed the committed masses nearly swoon over Ben Stein’s Expelled. Bring in apologist hero de jour, Michael Behe, and you’ll pack the place.
It’s preaching to the choir at best.
Believers already buy into the arguments; they’re sold. Further, in my experience these events have little to do with education or with understanding the relevant arguments.
They’re about confirmation. They’re about reinforcing what the conservative, evangelical faithful already believe.
They’re Christian pep rallies more than they are honest, scientific inquiries. I’m not mocking. I sympathize with the creationist mindset that undergirds the fundamentalist’s faith.
In fact, I know it very well.
Everywhere I Looked
As an evangelical believer I saw God — everywhere. (My version of God, of course.) Every time I felt small under a starry sky I just “knew” God was there. Every time I trembled at the majesty of a lightning flash; every time I stood silenced by a roaring ocean; every time I cradled an infant or marveled at a sunset—everywhere I looked — I saw convincing evidence for God…for my God.
I suspect I’m not alone.
Even the garden-variety Christian snobbishly contends that her 21st century, fundamentalist, evangelical, contemporary-pop, western, Judeo-Christian version of the creator is the only game in town.
Even more, she’s certain that just about everything she sees proves it. It’s a lesson in confirmation bias for sure. (But that’s a post for another day.)
Here’s the problem: every religion that boasts a creation story believes the same thing! Every sycophant that stumps for a creator — any creator — is certain the existence of the universe proves her highly specialized version of God.
Everyone observes the same universe, but…
Christians think, “Jesus did it!”
Jews believe, “Jehovah did it!”
Muslims insist, “It was Allah!”
And on, and on, and on…
Which Creator?
Same universe, same evidence — opposing creators. Every believer interprets the evidence through the tinged-with-bias lens of their peculiar religion. As such, we see what we want to see. We see what we expect to see.
We see our rendition of a creator.
And why not? I mean, what gives Christian fundies the keys to the kingdom? If Christians can claim the cosmos as proof — why can’t the competition? In the end, however, every religion has as much proof that their specific god(s) created everything as do aliens from another galaxy.
None.
The universe bears no particular authorial stamp. But that doesn’t stop the faithful. They’ll argue their pet theory as if the Almighty himself signed the cosmos like some celestial da Vinci signing the Mona Lisa.
For many of the faithful, this is a new thought. (And it’s a risky thought.) If the seeming design of the cosmos isn’t proof of any specific deity the entire Intelligent Design argument is moot…at least as it relates to validating any specific god(s).
The Missing Link
So, what’s the naughty little secret? What’s intelligent design’s missing link? It’s simply this: Whatever intelligent design may prove — it does not prove enough.
Believers image that it does — but it doesn’t.
It’s smoke and mirrors for sure. Maybe those in the know we’re hoping nobody would notice that their precious intelligent design argument is a few bricks shy of a full load.
Some Christians are so certain that the intricacy of the universe validates their version of God that even suggesting otherwise is like denying gravity.
But here’s the thing…even if it’s true, even if we concede that the existence of the universe sufficiently validates the notion of intelligent design, what does it prove? (It could be used to prove a lot, I suppose.) What it does not prove, however, is that the God of Christianity is the designer.
To get from proving intelligent design to proving the specific identity of the designer(s) the believer must supply several missing links. Proving intelligent design just does not prove evangelicalism’s (or any other isms for that matter) version of God.
When I first admitted this it was a game-changer.
I had to confess that many of the proofs I used to validate my faith were no proof at all. And as far as specific religions go… the design argument equally validates every one of them that claims a creator.
It devastated me when I realized that I could no longer count on the universe to validate my faith. With all of its intricacy, beauty and wonder, I had to admit that I could not consistently and honestly claim the cosmos as proof of my God.
I realized that I had one set of rules with which I judged my faith and a different, stricter set with which I judged all others. How could I consistently claim the cosmos as my God’s handiwork when I had no more evidence of the fact than anyone else?
I couldn’t.
These days, I’m learning to write my “beliefs” in pencil rather than etching them in stone. Have your own experience or opinion? — please, share it. Give someone else the opportunity to think a new thought!
Guest post by Neil. You can read Neil’s writing at Rejecting Jesus.
I didn’t reject my faith so that I could wallow in sin (though I do like a good wallow now and then). I didn’t turn away from Christianity as an act of rebellion against God, nor did I give it up so I could set myself up as Lord of my own life (though why that would be a bad thing, I’m not sure).
Christians like to tell me that these are the reasons I became apostate, but of course they’re not. Rather, I’d become aware that there’s no such thing as ‘sin’. Sin is a peculiarly religious invention with no traction in the real world; there’s only human behavior. I had reached a point where I understood there was no God, certainly not the Christian version and it follows you can’t rebel against something that doesn’t exist, nor, indeed, can you set yourself up as it.
Instead, I’d taken a long hard look at the claims of Christianity and in particular what the Bible had to say about Jesus. I asked myself:
whether human beings can return from the dead (no), can be born of virgins (no), can walk on water (no).
whether Jesus’ claims – that he would be back within his disciples’ lifetime to establish the Kingdom of God on Earth; that he would appear to them in the sky with the heavenly host; that he would bring about God’s judgement, again during his own generation – actually happened. (Evidently they didn’t.)
whether his promises were true – that whatever believers ask of God will happen; that his followers would do even greater miracles than Jesus himself; that they would be as one. (Another resounding ‘no’.)
whether I as a Christian, and whether any other believers anywhere, actually did as Jesus commanded. Did we sell all we had to give to the poor? Love our enemies? Turn the other cheek? Go the extra mile? Give to all who asked? Heal the sick? Forgive repeatedly?
Some might have done so, but by and large, no, we didn’t. We couldn’t even manage not to judge in case we were judged in return. No-one I knew or heard preach or even read about did any of the things Jesus commanded.
I could only conclude that this was because a) Jesus’ expectations were far too demanding and b) Christians don’t believe in him anyway. They may think they do – they like what he appears to say about marriage when they’re up for a little gay-bashing – but really they’re only interested in Paul’s ‘Christ’. Christ, the mythologized version of Jesus, gives them a buzz and – extra bonus – doesn’t expect too much of them. They can even carry on with the gay-bashing if they want. But Jesus? Him they don’t want to know – he’s too demanding, too extreme, too dead.
Every time, then, Jesus came up lacking: his promises were hollow, his prophecies unfulfilled, his morality impossible and his miracles and resurrection more than unlikely. Reason, experience and evidence told me that Jesus as we have him in the gospels is nothing more than the creation of a credulous age; his alter-ego, ‘the Christ’, even more so. Once I realized this – once I had this revelation, my very own deconversion experience – I was free. Free to live my life, to think for myself and be who I am. I recommend it to you; let the self-evident truth that faith is nothing more than self-delusion set you free too.
I am convinced that many Evangelical pastors and churches don’t have a clue about the perceived disconnect between what they preach and what they actually do. Take the story of Dennis Erickson, a member of Celebration Church in Lakeville, Minnesota, who died and left his entire estate to the church. In a recent sermon on generosity, Celebration Church pastor Derrick Ross told the congregation, “The Bible says that generosity is also like that, that it will enlarge your world.” Ross said, “generosity will enlarge your world,” yet when asked what the church would do with the proceeds of Erickson’s estate, Ross said the church would build more classrooms and expand its school. Ross proudly crowed, “One year later, his (Erickson’s) impact will be visible from the road.”
Erickson was a lifelong collector of antique and model cars. CBS News reports:
It’s hard not to be overwhelmed seeing, for the first time, all the model cars, trucks, tractors and buses Erickson collected for six decades, ever since he was 9 years old.
There are more than 32,000, believed to be one of the largest private collections in the world. Some are no bigger than an inch long, but together they are quite the treasure.
The 69-year-old engineer designed cabinets and cases to showcase the collection, which he parked in the living room, bathroom, laundry room, closets, basement and even in the bedrooms.
….
And Erickson’s devotion runneth over, filling his two garages — five preserved classics, including a 1959 Edsel and Henry Ford’s second mechanical marvel, the 1931 Ford Model A. Erickson would enter these beauties in car shows with his father.
….
The collection’s likely mid-six-figure price tag will make it possible to build more classrooms at the church and expand its school. Pastor Ross said the congregation has doubled in size in the past nine months.
Erickson, a devoted Evangelical church member, spent 60 years of his life collecting “stuff.” People are certainly free to live their lives as they wish. I am not a collector, so I don’t understand the satisfaction people derive from collecting things. That said, I am sure the things that matter to me might not matter to others. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. That’s the beauty of human existence; we are free to do what we want. However, when Pastor Ross attempts to put a religious spin on Erickson’s $500,000 bequest of model cars, well, it is fair to ask how Ross squares a life spent collecting cars with what Jesus said about material possessions.
Jesus said in Luke 12:15:
And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
Surely the sum of Erickson’s life consisted of the abundance of things he possessed — model and antique cars.
Ross and Erickson’s Savior also said in Matthew 6:19-21:
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
I would love to see how Pastor Ross squares these verses with how Erickson lived his life. Again, I don’t care about how Erickson spent his 69 years of life on this earth. Collect, not collect, it matters not. However, when stories such as this are billed as a marvelous example of generosity that will make a real difference in the world, I think it is reasonable for people to question in what way a difference is being made.
I suspect that Celebration Church could have used the money to meet the needs of the widows, orphans, the sick, the poor, and the disenfranchised. If a church desires to follow in the steps of Jesus, shouldn’t it focus on those with the greatest needs? Instead, the Church decided to enlarge its building. Since Evangelical churches are by and large social clubs, Erickson’s donation will benefit, not the community at large, but his fellow club members. Of course, spending the money on community social needs would not leave a monument to Erickson’s largess, nor would it result in more asses in the pews of Celebration.
Perhaps part of the issue is that Celebration is located in an area where poverty is not an issue. According to Wikipedia, only two percent of families in Lakeville, Minnesota are at or below the poverty line. However, all the Church would need to do is expand their vision to nearby St. Paul which has a 24% poverty rate.Celebration Church was founded in 1996 by well-known Evangelical pastor and musician Lowell Lundstrom. Under Lundstrom’s leadership, Celebration Church hosted annual “Country Christmas” shows. Sun This Week described the shows as follows:
The church became a popular destination for tourists from around the country for its huge “Country Christmas” productions.
Its multiple live shows drew crowds by offering patrons a Branson-styled production that included a mix of Christmas songs, both secular and religious, complete with costumes, dancers, comedians, steppers, singers and musicians.
Lowell Lundstrom and his wife Connie Lundstrom sometimes ended the show by waving to the crowd as they and other family members traveled in a horse-drawn sleigh across the stage.
Just what Jesus would have done, right?
Perhaps I am expecting too much from Pastor Ross and the people of Celebration Church. According to a 2014 Sun This Week article, the church is looking for ways to make a “difference” in the community. Here’s the examples the article gave:
Under his(Lowell Lunstrom) daughter’s leadership, the church last year hosted “The 99,” a massive tent theater production intended to portray real consequences of deadly behaviors before presenting a gospel message; the elaborate production required hundreds of volunteers from the church.
….
Londa Lundstrom Ramsey (former pastor who abruptly resigned due to charges of financial irregularities by her pastor husband Brent) appeared before the Lakeville City Council on Aug. 4 to accept recognition for the church’s agreement to dedicate $20,000 over the next four years for a DARTS program in the city that provides transportation to seniors.
From the stories highlighted in this post, we can conclude that Celebration Church’s idea of making a meaningful difference in the community is:
Adding on to their church building
Putting on a Country Christmas show
Hosting a “massive tent theater production” meant to scare sinners into getting saved
Giving $5,000 each year for four years to a program that provides transportation to seniors
Celebration Church, Lakeville, MinnesotaLonda Lundstrom Ramsey, airbrushed pastor of The Father’s House
According to an October 2014 Sun This Week article, pastor Londa Lundstrom Ramsey and her husband Brent abruptly resigned over charges of financial impropriety. The Lunstrom’s deny these charges and have picked up their toys and moved nine minutes down the road to start a new church, The Father’s House. According to the aforementioned news article, Celebration Church averages 900 in attendance. While it took me a bit of time to find the seating capacity of Celebration Church, I did stumble upon a conference page that stated the auditorium could seat 1,000 people. I suspect, thanks to the Lundstrom’s bolting and starting a new church a few miles away, that average church attendance is now less than 900. When a pastor feels “God’s leading” to start a new church near her previous church, the new testimony to the factional nature of Evangelical Christianity will siphon off members from the old church. Sometimes, hundreds of people can switch pews, resulting in tremendous financial pressures for the old church. My gut tells me that all is not well at Celebration Church. What better way to take congregants minds off reduced attendance and accusations of financial improprieties than to add unneeded space to the church building. New “stuff” excites saint and sinner alike, and Erickson’s donation being used to enlarge Celebration’s church plant will certainty create a buzz. But alas, as with all buzzes, the new building buzz will fade, and what will remain is a troubled church with a nearby predator who is ready and willing to swallow them alive. Or as I like to call it, just another day in the alternate universe called Evangelical Christianity.
While I am sure Pastor Ross, Celebration Church, Pastor Londa Lundstrom Ramsey, and The Father’s House will likely object to how I have characterized matters in this post, I think I have accurately stated what can be gleaned through news reports and internet sleuthing. I have no objection to how Celebration Church plans to use the monies derived from the sale of Erickson estate. What I do object to is Pastor Ross painting what the church will do with the money as something that will make a meaningful difference in the world. While having new digs will certainly make the congregation happy and give them a delusional sense of doing something “important,” the fact remains that this building program will do very little to make a difference in the lives of the people who suffer in silence outside the doors of Celebration Church. Perhaps Pastor Ross — as planned — will restart the Country Christmas gala. And then church members can seek out the poor and homeless and give them tickets to the big show. Woo! Hoo! Hungry, hurting, and alone they will remain, but at least they will get to see a horse-drawn sleigh as it slowly traverses the stage. I am sure Jesus — if he were still alive — would be proud.
I know there’s no way you would remember me. I’m just some random woman at one of the churches in Virginia that held a deliverance ministry weekend taught by you and the members of your church many years ago. I’m the one who our overbearing pastor’s wife forced to make all those fancy half round flags for your church as a gift from our church. I’m still several hundred dollars out-of-pocket for the materials, and I’m still annoyed at that even if you had nothing to do with it.
You and your church pushed the deliverance ministry that your church did, telling tales of people set free from all sorts of weird demonic infestations. Your goal was to get people to sign up to come to your church — Vineyard, in Wilmington, North Carolina.
During that weekend I had the chance to speak to you several times. I found that I liked you. Maybe it was the fact that you walked away from a high dollar career to preach, I don’t know. You are personable.
But, I know you don’t have a clue about the damage you and your fellow church members do. I suspect, seeing that the name of your church and the deliverance ministry has been changed more than once, that you have some small inkling that others think it sucks. Did you guys get sued by those you victimized while pretending they are demon-addled and need an exorcism? Something obviously happened.
For my husband and I, the damage was limited. We just lost some time, hotel and gas money, and spending time with our family for Thanksgiving. I feel pretty certain that your deliverance ministry likely did lots of damage, wreaked havoc, and destroyed marriages and few families. Let me explain why I think your deliverance ministry — that you now call a ‘prayer ministry’ at your renamed church, Global River Church — is a bad thing.
You preyed on my husband who was going through a long, horrible depression. Thanks to competent doctors, medical tests and therapy, we know his entire problem was that he had cancerous tumors on his parathyroid glands. He wasn’t under spiritual oppression, nor did he lack faith. He wasn’t filled with demons and in need of deliverance ministry. He was sick. With cancer that would have killed him if we hadn’t tossed aside the compete and utter bullshit that the church was saying and sought legitimate medical treatment.
Jim told me a few days before Thanksgiving in November of 2005 that he had scheduled a weekend deliverance that weekend, that you had arranged for a team of deliverance-ministry trained staff to remove our evil spirits and cleanse us. This meant that we had to abandon our children to others for the holiday, make the long drive from Northern Virginia to Wilmington North Carolina, and stay at a local hotel for several nights while the deliverance was going on.
I remember how angry I was, because even while at that time I was still a hard-core believer, I didn’t believe in what you guys did or your claims of demonic infestation. I was angry at the ruined holiday, angry I could not be with my kids, and angry that you insisted that I take part in the deliverance ministry too. Jim was told that you wouldn’t help one spouse without de-demonizing the other. I wanted no part of it.
One of my clearest memories of that weekend was waking up at 3 am on the Saturday morning before the first sessions. I felt fearful and angry, and l was suffering from extreme pain in my right arm due to an injury I was waiting to have surgery on. I sat in that ocean front hotel room, contemplating the Atlantic ocean in the moonlight while listening to praise music on my iPod, waiting for opioid pain medication to kick in. I wondered what the day would bring.
What the day brought was us being met at your church by the deliverance team. Jim and I were separated, and the sessions started. I wasn’t in Jim’s session so I can only imagine what happened. For mine, I was confronted quite starkly over things the two ‘counselors’ had received from God during their prayer time that week. The information that the women claimed to have heard from the Lord was wrong on so many things. They told me I was having an affair with someone named ‘Walt’, which made me laugh because, at the time, the only Walt’s I had heard of were Walt Whitman and Jim Walter Homes — a dead man and a corporation. No, I was not and have never had an affair.
I was also told that my husband was having an affair — again not true. I don’t know much, but I know that about him. He’s not the type, and he didn’t have enough downtime with his commute into DC on public transportation to have an affair.
Imagine how such false revelations might have affected a married couple having problems? We both were told this and neither of us believed it about the other person. If someone in a shaky relationship was told an outrageous lie like that, it would have blown apart their marriage. Somehow, I don’t think any of this is something Jesus would approve of.
The personal details and ‘problems’ listed on both of our prayer sheets were beyond wrong, right down to the smallest details. For example, Jim was told he loves ‘Star Wars’ and fishing, both of which he hates. I was also told Jim had a ‘demon of rage’ in him that would physically kill me if they didn’t exorcise it from him.
The women attempting to ‘deliver’ me gave up after about two and a half hours, realizing that I was highly skeptical, thought their words of knowledge were ridiculous, and I was not cooperating like they wanted. I was told by the staff to go back to the hotel and wait for a phone call to come back and pick up my husband. He was held and brainwashed a total of nine hours. Ten years later, he still hasn’t told me what happened during his session. I do know that when I picked him up he clung to me and would not let go for many days (either holding my hand or hugging me).
We went home; it was anti-climatic by that point. We spoke very little about what had happened and things continued as normal until the point Jim was diagnosed with parathyroid cancer and had the first of several surgeries.
I get it. You somehow think you are ‘helping’ people by doing this type of prayer and deliverance ministry. But you’re not. You are, at best, confusing people, and at worst blowing up homes and families and/or causing people with serious medical conditions to die because they believe their conditions are demonic. You take advantage of desperate people.
This is the twenty-fourth installment in The Sounds of Fundamentalism series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a video clip that shows the crazy, cantankerous, or contradictory side of Evangelical Christianity, please send me an email with the name or link to the video. Please do not leave suggestions in the comment section. Let’s have some fun!
Today’s Sound of Fundamentalism is a clip of a service conducted by Chris Oyakhilome.
This is the twenty-third installment in The Sounds of Fundamentalism series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a video clip that shows the crazy, cantankerous, or contradictory side of Evangelical Christianity, please send me an email with the name or link to the video. Please do not leave suggestions in the comment section. Let’s have some fun!
Today’s Sound of Fundamentalism is a clip from a sermon preached by Fundamentalist Mark Driscoll, pastor of the now defunct Mars Hill church in Seattle, Washington. Driscoll’s ugly, abusive behavior led to the implosion of Mars Hill — a church that had 10,000 attendees. Driscoll is now pastoring a new church — The Trinity Church — in Phoenix, Arizona.
Jentezen Franklin, pastor of Free Chapel in Gainesville, Georgia; Gwinnett, Georgia; and Orange County, California
Jentezen Franklin, a writer for CHARISMA and pastor of Free Chapel in Gainesville, Georgia; Gwinnett, Georgia; and Orange County, California, wants to know if Christians have developed a demon-free zone over their lives. According to Franklin:
Scripture tells us that spiritual battles are taking place all around us because we live in two atmospheres at the same time. One is a physical atmosphere that we can see, smell, hear, touch and taste. The other is a spiritual atmosphere that we cannot see with our natural eye or experience with the rest of our natural senses but which is very real.
The devil knows the power of atmosphere, and as believers, we need to know it as well. Whenever possible, Satan will try to tempt you into the wrong atmosphere in order to make it easier for you to fall into sin.
Channeling Frank Peretti, Franklin believes that there is a physical atmosphere (world) that consists of what we can see, smell, hear, touch, and taste. Most people call this reality. Franklin believes that there is also a spiritual atmosphere (world) that cannot be seen or experienced with our senses. Most people call this insanity. In this beyond-reality world, Satan and God are busy fighting to the death over the lives of Christians. God wants winners, Satan wants losers. If God is all that Christians such as Franklin say he is, why doesn’t God tell Jesus’ brother to knock it off? Surely the creator of the universe has the power to stop Satan from molesting his children. And if he does has this power, why then is it up to Christians to have demon-free lives? What good is God if he can’t at least be the Orkin man of the spiritual realm, ensuring that Christian lives are demon free.
According to Franklin, yes God is everywhere (omnipresent), but he doesn’t manifest his presence equally. If Christians want God to manifest himself, they need to be living in the “right” atmosphere. The reason that most Christians have demon-infested lives is because they are living on the wrong side of the tracks. If Christians want to be demon-free they must be willing to change where they live.
Franklin reminds Christians that they are at war with Satan, and this war cannot be won through education or money. Instead, poor and stupid Christians are called on to wage war against Satan in the power of Spirit. Franklin must not have a TV in his home. When I turn on any of the dozen Christian channels I am “blessed” to receive with my DIRECTVpackage, all I see are $1,000-suit and Rolex-wearing modern-day Elmer Gantrys attacking Satan’s strongholds. These mighty men of God have no need of more soldiers. Cash, MasterCard and Visa will suffice.
Franklin gives Christians a surefire way they can know whether they are battling demons:
A sure sign of demonic possession is someone empowered with incredible strength. Demons will often energize people in this way (Mark 5). Those who are demon-possessed may have spontaneous reactions of uncontrolled cursing when the name of Jesus Christ is spoken. An evil spirit can cause contortions in facial features and countenance. People’s eyes can become glazed and even roll back in their heads. Their appearances and even their voices will change. When people are set free, they will usually come immediately back into their “right minds.” Their voices will normalize, and you will see a total change in demeanor.
Wait a minute. I thought Franklin was concerned with Christians demon-proofing their lives? If demon-possessed people are the problem, wouldn’t it just be easier to form Demon-Free Colonies® and avoid contact with the demonic denizens of the world? Perhaps Franklin — a seasoned charismatic pastor — knows that there are just as many demons in the church as there are outside. Demons, demons, demons, everywhere. What’s a Christian supposed to do?
Franklin reminds Christians that they are to be demon molesters:
Satan and his demons prefer to do their work without being exposed. They definitely don’t like to be identified and cast out. Demons will resist exposure and will resist anyone who attempts to bring the light of God upon their hidden works. Once the enemy has gained ground and set up the kind of culture he desires, he wants us to buzz off and leave him be.
According to Franklin, the best way to hassle Satan and expose his works is to create a climate of light. In other words, megachurches needs to quit dimming the lights when the praise and worship team strikes up the band. Evidently, when the lights are dimmed Satan and his merry band of demons are free to attack those who are watching the show. Want a demon-proof church? Turn on the damn lights!
Franklin concludes his post with advice for demon-proofing one’s life:
We are to fast, pray, praise, worship, intercede, and stand and wage war in the spiritual realm so that our enemy, the devil, cannot work his way into our lives and squeeze the life out of us, rendering us ineffective for God.
Why, this is what Evangelical pastors have been preaching for as long as I can remember. Generations of Evangelicals have heard that they need to do these things, yet Christians remain every bit as “worldly” and “sinful” as the unwashed, uncircumcised Philistines of the world. Perhaps it is time for the Franklins of the world to change their message, admitting that the real problem is not Satan and his demons, but human want, need, and desire. Evangelicals continue to “sin” because they are, above all else, human. Instead of blaming negative (sinful, bad) human behaviors on Satan, perhaps it is time to put the blame where it belongs — me and thee. Satan isn’t the problem, humans are. Instead of focusing on mythical beings such as Satan, Franklin would better serve his readers by challenging them to alter their own their behavior.
This is the twenty-second installment in The Sounds of Fundamentalism series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a video clip that shows the crazy, cantankerous, or contradictory side of Evangelical Christianity, please send me an email with the name or link to the video. Please do not leave suggestions in the comment section. Let’s have some fun!
Today’s Sound of Fundamentalism is a clip from a sermon preached by Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Steven Anderson, pastor of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona. This sermon clip is rich in irony, complete with the uneducated Anderson giving his congregation a lesson in the Bible’s Greek language.
This is the one hundred and fourth installment in the Songs of Sacrilege series. This is a series that I would like readers to help me with. If you know of a song that is irreverent towards religion, makes fun of religion, pokes fun at sincerely held religious beliefs, or challenges the firmly held religious beliefs of others, please send me an email.
Today’s Song of Sacrilege is The Devil is My Friend by Jazz Butcher.
The Devil is my friend
The Devil is my friend
Wherever I go, the Devil goes
The Devil is my friend
I went out one spring morning
To find myself a friend
Someone I could believe in
Until the very end
I found myself the Devil
He was sitting in a bar
He bought me fifteen Rum and Cokes
And then he went too far
Now
Chorus
And now it’s Easter
I’m feeling mighty low
That dirty rotten Devil
He said he had to go
Dirty stinking Devil
I’ll shoot him with my gun
The Devil’s bad, he made me mad
The Devil is a bum
But
Chorus
And Godzilla is my friend
Godzilla is my friend
Wherever I go, Godzilla goes
Godzilla is my friend
And Frank Sinatra is my friend
Frank Sinatra is my friend
Wherever I go Sinatra goes
Frankie is my friend
Chenenko was my friend
And Brezhnev was my friend
And Andropov he just dropped off
Now Gorbachev is my friend
And Love And Rockets are my friends
Love and Rockets are my friend
David, Kevin, Daniel
Everyone of them round the bend
And the Queen is my friend
Harvey Dean is my friend
And Idi Amin know what I mean? –
Was someone they met at a party
Celebration Church was founded in 1996 by well-known Evangelical pastor and musician 
