Activists Now Targeting Christian Colleges

In their unrelenting efforts to normalize perverse sexuality, a group called “Soulforce” will be touring Christian college campuses around the country.

According to Focus on the Family, “The purpose of the "Equality Ride" is to challenge policies they say discriminate against homosexuals.”

The group’s opposition will be focused on codes of ethics that require students to refrain from all sexual sin, including homosexuality.

So it’s not just enough that they demand the right to have their perverse moral views accepted; an individual is not even allowed to hold to his own moral, religious views for theirs alone are acceptable. The sexually obsessed advocates of “Soulforce” cannot fathom that, just possibly, there are some people in the world who do not wish to engage in sex for any and every reason with whomever or whatever they wish. Who’s intolerant?

Bottom line? The only acceptable reality to the sexually obsessed is that Christians forfeit their right to hold to their own religious convictions and dogma. This includes not only issues of homosexuality, but all sexuality for anything less is deemed religious and political oppression.

None of this is a surprise. I have been writing on this issue for 15 years and I predicted this sort of cultural invasion over a decade ago as the homosexual juggernaut was just beginning to build momentum. Everyone scoffed at such notions insisting they just want to be tolerated.

So, the bus tour of Christian colleges in underway. Wheaton College in Illinois is scheduled to be targeted this April. College officials responded by giving “Soulforce” an invitation to come and discuss the issues in hopes of discharging one of their cannons; namely, that schools like Wheaton don’t have academic freedom. Soulforce accepted the opportunity—why wouldn’t they?

The invitation is one way of handling this and might even be a wise way in light of the cultural paranoia to the charges of intolerance and bigotry.

But personally, I think it is wrong headed. Wheaton is a private institution; a Christian institution and they need not succumb to this type of coercion under some pretense of open and honest dialogue in the name of tolerance and understanding. Homosexual activists have demonstrated every step of the way, that tolerance and understanding is a one-way street and they are the traffic cops.

Engaging in conversation and exchanging ideas is beneficial in situations where there are two parties who 1. are ignorant of the other’s position and 2. are willing to honestly consider the other’s position. Neither of those is true of the circumstances here.
The presumption is that the Christian view is flat wrong, hostile and oppressive, while the homosexual position is the only viable one where granting acceptance and affirmation is the only just and fair view.

Since I have studied such views at a graduate level and have had dialogue with advocates of such views, and I know their position too well. And I know my position will not/cannot change without a wholesale denial of the very foundations of the rest of my faith; indeed I would have to deny the God who delivered His views on the matter clearly and consistently. And that, just isn’t going to happen.

Old Testamental Perspective on War

Often times, we run into concepts or ideas in Scripture which are somewhat baffling to us or down right offensive to our ways of thinking. If you read the Old Testament, you run across many such elements which are quite puzzling; like all the warfare and taking of other people’s land which are not merely allowed by God, but commanded and even facilitated by God.

For example, my reading this morning took me to Deuteronomy 31.

“The LORD your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land…”

“The LORD will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

How does this square with our notion of justice? Well, it probably doesn’t. But it isn’t our sense of justice that is important, only God’s. Remember, God is the owner and ruler of the whole Earth. We may not like His decisions but He is not subject to our approval.

But the fact is, God was not capricious in His dealings with the nations either. He never displaced the people who were faithful to him—unless for purposes of discipline; only those who—by choice—worshipped other “gods.” God is pretty clear that is something He will not tolerate.

“When the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites, he commanded them: "Do not worship any other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them.”
2 Kings 17:35

“Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” Exodus 34:14

What we cannot do however is assume that we can do the same. Remember the one important caveat; God was/is the Supreme Ruler and Authority of the Jewish nation directly and the other nations indirectly.

There is no political situation in our experience that compares to that. And so while, principles of Old Testament life, which are born out of the very heart and character of God remain intact, we must never use such historical precedents to justify the cruelty and greed over the centuries perpetrated against others—unless, and until--God once again assumes the role of King as He was then. But we know that will not happen until that day when He returns. But that will be quite a different story.

Know God in the Whole of the Bible

“Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.

For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Deuteronomy 30:11-20

Too often we chose to ignore the Old Testament relegating it to an ancient culture and is therefore irrelevant. Big mistake. While we do not operate under a theocracy as they did then, (that means God was actually the political leader of their nation) the principles, which derive from the very character of God, do not change, regardless of space and time and political forms. I suggest you meditate on that a while, you endeavor to get to know God from the beginning to the end of Scriptures lest you be swayed by whim, by feeling and by experience. That’s never a good thing.

I Can't Afford to Tithe (part 2) (read previous entry first)

In my last commentary I was talking about the excuse Christians give for what is—across the board—a pretty feeble observance of the Lord’s planned blessing called tithing. Tithing is the privilege of giving 10% of one’s income to the work of the Lord.

No this isn’t something some preacher made up to get him into the country club; it is a long standing practice and command of the Lord designed to be a real blessing and benefit to the faithful.

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse… Test me in this,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.’”

It is one of those commands that comes with a promise from God Himself. The rest of the passage reveals just how God might bring about such a blessing.

“I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.” Malachi 3:10-12

It means that if you honor God in this way, He will actually intervene in the affairs of your life and will prevent certain things from happening that would decrease your available income.

So why do so few Christians tithe? Like I said—good old-fashioned greed—that is, desiring and pursuing things that you really can’t afford.

Did you know in that New England we hold the highest amount of debt per family than anyone else in the country? And with rare exception, the reason for the debt is simply spending money you don’t have.

Have two cars--probably a convenience more than a true necessity; Cable TV or Satellite? What about magazine subscriptions? How many trips a week do you make to Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks; how many pairs of shoes in your closet? How many toys do you own like sleds, sporting equipment, recreational equipment, and how many activities are you and your children involved in all which cost money?

Now, none of these things are necessarily wrong—unless you are withholding what is rightly God’s saying, “But I can’t afford to tithe.”

Friend, You cannot afford NOT to give God what is His. It IS that simple.

But I Can't Afford To Tithe!

There’s a commercial currently playing which opens with a teen aged- girl asking her dad for $80 for a pair of jeans. The Dad asks, “Are these designer Jeans?” To which she answers yes. Then he asks if many of her friends are wearing these jeans to which she says, “Yeah, everyone.”

He walks over to his laptop and buys up 100 shares of stock in the company. It’s an ad for internet trading. As the commercial ends, the girl says, “Uh, Dad, did you forget something?” And he forks over the $80 for a pair of stinking BLUE JEANS.

Now let me be clear; there is nothing inherently wrong with spending $80 on a pair of jeans provided you can afford them; and provided that all your other financial priorities are in place. For the person of faith, that means—in the words of Solomon-- honoring the Lord with the first fruits of all your produce…

In our context, it means giving to the Lord’s work on earth and not some token $10 in the offering plate. The clear pattern of Scripture is that 10% of one’s income is the starting point and yet only about 2 1/2 % of those who describe themselves as “Born Again” actually follow this teaching. (That explains tons about why the church is always barely limping along in their work on earth and why missionaries have to spend 2-3 years on average raising support from many churches to get to the field.)

And I’m here to tell you from God’s Word first, and from personal experience that the excuse, “I can’t afford it” doesn’t really hold up under scrutiny.

One of the biggest reason Christians “can’t afford” to give God the minimum of what He asks is because of good old greed.

Whoa! Greed? I am barely staying a float, my car is 6 years old and my meager $30 a year doesn’t go far enough with my family of five.

I hear ya; but I hear the Word of the Lord and it drowns out such protests. The fact is our spending habits are consumed much more by wants than legitimate needs.

You can spit and fume and get all worked up but listen for my next commentary; I think it will put your protests to rest.

Gender Confusion Confuses More Than Gender

No matter how weird things get, I know I am not going to get used to the weirdness. I know that in so many ways we are living in the days of Sodom but even perversion is getting perverse.

I saw an article in the Sports section of the local paper about Kelly Godsey who is a “weight thrower” for Bates College. She decided she wanted to take on a male identity and so changed her name from Kelly to Keelin. Frankly, with such a name, why bother but she went on to demand that “…professors, coaches and teammates use the male pronoun in athletic department releases and casual conversation.”

You could easily predict the school’s response which was, of course, to embrace it.

According to NCAA rules, Kelly is a female based on her physiology and anatomy so she is breaking no rules by competing as a female even though she wants to be a man. Just reading the press account of this story was bizarre and difficult to decipher due to the change of gender pronouns part way through the story.

Kelly, said, “I still want to compete. This was the only way I was going to do it.” “There are no rules being broken. I’m not doing anything illegal, anything wrong.”

Well, nothing wrong accept turning language upside down, standing sensibility on its head, and defying her God-given nature, role and personality. Other than that, I see her point.

Well, Kelly is applying to graduate school as a male desiring to be a Physical Therapist. I’m sure she’ll have no problem either getting in or being recognized as a guy.

So, you know, I have to say that if this is such a non-issue I believe we need to revisit or taxonomic classifications of species since science is being rewritten with respect to gender identity. It can no longer be legitimate to call a male frog “male” simply because it displays certain anatomical patterns. I guess we’ll have to figure out a way to have the frog tell us whether it’s a “he” or a “she.”

Get out those erasers teachers and get to work. Somebody slap me out of this stupor I am in. I have to be dreaming.

Dobson Under Fire--Undeservedly So

Dr. Dobson, a true giant of integrity in a culture of moral pygmies, is getting shredded for allegedly supporting a piece of Colorado legislation being described as civil unions legislation dressed up as a “drag queen in proper conservative blue blazer, button down shirt and red tie.”

First I have to say from personal experience as a public figure who has been airing opinions through the print media and radio for about 15 years, that I feel Dobson’s pain. There’s nothing worse than being attacked and defamed by those who are supposed to be partners in the cause of Christ. Unfortunately, Dobson can now identify first hand with the everyday world of the men who faithfully minister in Jesus’ name being shredded by those they serve.

The issue at hand is this: In the Colorado legislature two bills are pending. The first is a civil unions bill sponsored and supported by the liberal majority of the Colorado legislature. It seems they have the votes, if they so choose, to put Colorado on the map of states endorsing what is essentially, a homosexual marriage bill.

The second bill in the legislature would allow what are called “reciprocal benefits” something that is already allowed under current law. (That will be repeated lest you miss it.)


James Dobson, in typically astute fashion, understands politics—something which I contend, most Christians do not.

So what are reciprocal benefits? They are rights or benefits given to two individuals out of proper “need” arranging--by contract—for—among other things--visitation rights in a hospital setting; rights to a person’s medical information, and dissolution of property upon the death of an individual, to mention only a few of the rights currently in force.

For example, if a grandparent had custodial care of a grandchild, reciprocal benefits would enable the grandparent to obtain medical care for their grandchild. Remember—these things are already allowed under current law.

Why is this important? Because homosexual’s driving argument is that they are deprived of such basic rights as these.

The fact remains, any two people already have such prerogatives if they seek them by contract.

The beauty of this is that the homosexual argument is empty. Never-the-less, such arguments still play well in the public arena where ignorance is king and facts are merely the hand-maid of red faces and pounding fists.

So why does FOF support this legislation? Because this law—already in force albeit in pieces, has no relevance to one’s sexual orientation. The law, which Focus supports, if passed, effectively pulls the rug out from under homosexual activists who like to play the equal rights card which is always their trump card in the game for homosexual marriage.

Dobson knows what he’s doing. In Hawaii, homosexual marriage legislation has gained no advance precisely because a reciprocal benefits bill was passed first.

So you see, Jim Dobson isn’t selling out. This is a brilliant political move emasculating the bulldog of belligerence prohibiting homosexuals from gaining still more ground toward their ultimate goal of gay marriage.

C’mon Christian—use your head for once; does it make sense that a man like Dobson with his history and record would suddenly throw in the towel or make a blatant misstep of such cataclysmic proportions that would play right into the hands of those who stand against everything for which Dobson has dedicated his life?

Doesn’t a track record count for anything? Hang in there Dr. Dobson; God doesn’t call us sheep for no reason.

The "Book of Daniel" In the Dumpster--Yeah!

The Book of Daniel was a new television series that went belly up after three appearances. There is much to be said about what the airing of such a program says about our culture.

This show, starred Aidan Quinn, as a vexed, pill-popping Priest married to an alcoholic wife. Together they were raising a sleeping-around 16 year old son, a drug pushing daughter, and the priest’s secretary was sleeping with the Bishop’s sister-in-law. That was bad enough but interspersed throughout the show, Jesus would pop up in the most unlikely places giving advice that was anything but Biblical.

The show’s creator, Jack Kenney, called his work, “A solid family drama, with lots of humor…” The “humor” if you can call it that, was at the expense of devout Christians who take their faith seriously. But the Christians didn’t start setting buildings on fire, stampeding through the streets and trampling people to death shouting death to the United States.

I am referring of course to Muslims who are rioting over a vapid cartoon portrayal of a man even if he is an esteemed holy man by Muslims worldwide.
Comparing the offenses is, frankly, offensive; there really is no comparison.

In the Book of Daniel, we had, not just one badly drawn image of a Christian icon, we had hour-long dramas depicting Jesus as a 60’s Haight-Ashbury type with the brain power and moral compass of a sewer rat.

And Jesus, unlike Muhammad, isn’t just an important religious figure; He is very God and said, “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.” (John 12:48) The Muslims of the world have a lot more to be concerned about, it seems, than a silly cartoon.

Ah, but the “Book of Daniel” was cancelled, “due to many reasons” said Kenny.

Baloney! It was cancelled because sponsors recognized what a piece of trash the show was and heard from Christians. Not the fear of the loss of life, but the loss of the almighty dollar and NBC lost millions as sponsor after sponsor pulled out.

Well, sports fans, the world is indeed heating up and it is indeed getting curiouser and curiouser. Are you ready for what lays ahead?

Peanut Gallery Heard From At King's Funeral

This past week the nation said good bye to another great American. Coretta Scott King, wife of murdered civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, went to meet her husband after many years of separation due to the bullet of a racist executioner.

Over 10,000 people attended King’s funeral among them, many dignitaries of all walks of life including past president James Earl Carter, one of the nations least memorable leaders and currently an aged loud mouth who has apparently forgotten or lost all decorum for conducting one’s self in public.

Carter has been outspoken about the current president in ways that tramples on general civility, deference to a sitting president, as well as common courtesy for another Christian brother. There is an unwritten law that says past presidents will keep their mouths shut concerning the presidents who succeed them. Clinton and Carter both, violate that with abandon.

But this latest outburst by the one term president goes beyond a breach of propriety; it was down right rude and nasty.

As Carter mounted the pulpit at what was a celebration of King’s remarkable life, Carter, in true despicable fashion, used the somber and reverent venue to take an outrageous shot at the President’s use of wire taps to protect this country from another 9-11. He mentioned at one point how the King’s civil rights had been violated by “secret government wire-tapping…” (Courtesy of the Kennedy’s-by the way) and the crowd—just as irreverent as the former leader of the country, hooted and hollered. Very sensitive; very classy.

But what the heck; when you’re a Democrat first and a human being somewhere further down the list, who cares about a silly thing like mourners at a funeral.

Carter was a terrible president, he’s been a terrible former president and he’s a pretty terrible senior citizen.

But President Bush, in typical Bush fashion, used his sense of humor and down to earth demeanor with a side order of graciousness, put the thousands at ease.

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 15:1

Thank you Mr. President.

Insipid Cartoon Reveals Much About Islam

I suppose you have heard about the world wide rioting being carried out and all because of a cartoon.

Many scholars of varying faiths have tried to show from the Koran that actually, the militancy of the insurgent terrorists is quite consistent with the tenets of Islam but such statements are viewed as bigoted and certainly not politically correct in this environment.

But the fact is, the violent sieges currently taking place against embassies, police stations and anyone near by, is being done by the “peaceful” adherents of Islam. Islam forbids any likeness of the prophet who, I remind you, was a mere human being even if a “great prophet” according to Islamic faith.

Four people have been killed thus far by the peace loving Muslim’s reaction to a stupid cartoon depicting Muhammad wearing a turban with a bomb in it.

Now here is what is absolutely demonic. These religious people, so insulted over this breach of their faith, are many of the same people who, disparage, defile and denigrate Jehovah and the Jewish faith on a daily basis worldwide.

And now there is a contest—sponsored by the peace loving Muslims of Iran--to see who can do the best cartoon mocking the holocaust. These are the same people calling for the annihilation of Israel and teach that Jews are blasphemers who should all be killed.

But here’s what’s interesting; virtually all your liberal, Christian bashing, Jew bashing media outlets, who can’t offend Jews and Christians often enough--won’t touch this cartoon with a ten-foot turban. These same people who ridicule and endorse, as artistic expression and freedom, as blasphemous a show as there has ever been on television called the *Book of Daniel, are scared to run the cartoon of Muhammad. And guess why that is?

Because unlike Christians who are taught to expect, and endure mocking and ridicule, and to pray for our enemies, Muslims are taught to kill those who offend. And the liberal press is quivering behind a wall of sensitivity on this one.

In all honesty, the cartoon published by a Danish newspaper, was insensitive but for crying out loud, the peace loving Muslims of the world really need to rip that old beam of hypocrisy and hatred out of their own eye first and then they might see clearly to remove others’.

*The show called “The Book of Daniel” has been cancelled but not because of its offensive portrayals of all things Christian including Jesus, Himself, but because it was a lousy show which couldn’t get sponsors.

Spellbound--part 1

I received notice by way of E-mail this past week concerning a demonstration being planned in the near future to protest the use of live models at the lingerie shop in Augusta called Spellbound. I was surprised to turn the T.V. on one evening and see the story on Fox News.

After seeing numerous photos from various sources and having seen the footage from the news, my thought was, how silly and cheap it made the “models” look who somehow, I suppose, feel like they are in show business. Pity.

But I was also surprised by what a big story this has been. It’s not like the girls—again from what I have seen—are scantily clad after the fashion of a Victoria’s Secret manikin. The young women were wearing more—much more--than what you see everyday on the beaches of coastal USA.

So when this E-mail expressed indignation over the “display of public nudity,” I winced a bit. It’s not that I don’t sympathize with the sentiment about what a shame it is that we stoop to such lows, but I winced more that some well meaning Christians are only going to look foolish—not for righteousness’ sake, but for flailing our swords of morality at so many windmills.

I just think we waste a great deal of legitimate righteous capital on puny battles that are not worth the effort. And the worst part is that the more we rattle our sabers of indignation over the miniscule matters of a warped society, the more marginalized and irrelevant we become to the very masses we are trying to reach.

When a truly large matter arises—like homosexual unions and abortion, and sexual abuse, our rattling is no longer even heard.

This same E-mail did note that a convicted sex offender was strongly in favor of this type of “advertising.” As far as I’m concerned, that says more about the morality of this type of thing than anything we could say. And his words just may be heard if anything will; certainly more than some kind of organized picket.

And NO, it’s not that I’m getting soft or throwing in the towel, on the contrary, I’m just weary of firing wildly into the air making a lot of noise--and hitting nothing.

Maybe some instruction on spiritual marksmanship is in order…

Spellbound--part 2

Wednesday my commentary mentioned the lingerie shop in Augusta, Maine which has become a national news event and ya know, I’m “spellbound” by the inconsistencies of the human heart and mind.

I stated that the plans to organize a peaceful protest may serve to do more harm than good. I have to admit that while, I still fear that may be the outcome, there are times when you have to take a stand no matter what.

It seems that the depths of depravity have only worsened with regard to Felicia Stockford –owner of the lingerie shop—who employs live models who stand in a window of the shop called Spellbound.

Apparently it wasn’t enough just to passively abuse these girls who are 20-25 by having them display their wares for everyone including school children who pass by on the school bus. Stockford has now taken topless photos and published them to her web site.

In a real stroke of marketing genius, Stockford is holding a “Win a Date with Nikki Contest” run by WTOS radio. “The winner gets a date with 21-year-old Nikki Hunt, the most well-known of the Spellbound models.”

Call me old fashioned, square and a prude but who is looking out for this naïve young girl when she has to go on a date with who knows what? Will it be supervised? Will Ms. Stockford shoulder any responsibility if the date turns sour or worse? One of the strong proponents for Spellbound is a convicted sex offender; gee, maybe he’ll win the contest, won’t that be special?

What really galls me is the lack of outrage by the normally loud-mouthed feminists who decry any notion of sexual harassment—real or imagined--and spit and fume at any sense of women being packaged as nothing more than meat to be thrown to the carnivorous males of our wicked culture. Where are their protests? They’re non-existent.

There will be protests though and you can be a part. February 11th from 10:30a.m. to 5:00p.m. in front of the store on Water Street, people will be gathering to make their sentiments known that exploiting young women with a few bucks and a hollow illusion of importance is unacceptable.

And Christian, if you attend, for heaven’s sake, conduct yourself as if this breaks your heart to see these girls so exploited and abused. They all need a different heart and different mind and only Jesus can accomplish that. Do Jesus a favor and leave your nasty signs at home.

Christians Adept at Choosing Wrong Battles (part 1)

Christians may be in danger of shooting--uh, make that, “spearing” themselves in the foot if their reaction to the new movie “End Of The Spear” escalates. I received one of those mass mailing e-mails from one woman who saw the film. After expressing her initial excitement about the film’s subject matter, this was her reaction after having seen it.

She writes: “The average believer should be embarrassed at the dumbing down of the Gospel or anything Christian for that matter.” She went on to express her displeasure with the casting which includes gay actor, Chad Allen, as martyred missionary, Nate Saint, the film’s focus. I will deal with these two criticisms in two commentaries, this being part 1. Make sure you read part 2 below.

The story, if you are unaware is based on the martyrdom of the 5 missionaries who were trying to break into the culture of the Auca Indians in South America. Their reward was to be killed by the very people they were trying to reach with the Love of Christ.

While I have not yet seen the film, here is a different perspective on the movie coming from two seasoned Wycliffe missionaries who have seen it.

They write, “I can see how some would say that the Gospel is not clear in that nobody lays out the Romans Road or the 4 Spiritual Laws during the movie, however there is a clear depiction of what happened in the hearts of the Indians in the way that they generally communicate, using very vivid verbal pictures and a simple sharing of how their hearts have changed.”

Christian, God is really BIG, much bigger than tightly wound formulas like the “Steps to Peace with God” or a well orchestrated altar call to bring someone to Himself. I assure you after listening to hundreds of salvation testimonies over the years, I thank God routinely for His magnanimity in not saving us on the basis of our ability to articulate our journey from condemnation due to our sin to our eternal confidence of being with Him in heaven. Remember we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus not by perfect theology.

As for the selection of a gay actor for the movie, remember to read part 2 below, it might surprise you.

Christians Adept at Choosing the Wrong Battles (part 2)

Friday you heard part 1 of this commentary regarding criticisms of the new movie, End of the Spear. The movie is based on the story of the 5 missionaries who were killed by the Auca Indians—the people to whom they hoped to bring the good news of Christ.

I received some e-mails from Christians who were distressed over the casting of Chad Allen as missionary Nate Saint. Their issue you see, is that Allen is Gay.

Okay, I understand the consternation, and even sympathize with it to a point. How Allen’s sexual orientation even became public information is curious but what if we were privy to other sins of actors? Would we have the same heartburn if we found out for instance, that the lead actor in our favorite movie beat his wife, or was the father of a “love child” or walked out on his wife and kids for a “newer model”?

I don’t remember any flap at all when Ian Charleson, wonderfully portrayed Christian Olympian and missionary Eric Liddel in the Oscar winning movie “Chariots of Fire.” Or maybe you didn’t know. Charleson, who was Gay, died at age 40 from HIV.

Christian—get a grip! We’re to be “in” the world, not “of” the world! See another perspective about using Gay actors is that landing a role as a solid follower of Jesus could be used by God to bring someone into saving faith.

In preparation for his role as Olympian Eric Liddel, Charleson read the Bible cover to cover. I’d like to believe that someone like Charleson could not read the entire Bible and study to portray the life of an admirable Christian like Eric Liddel and not be moved.

Maybe we need to get down off a couple of our inconsistent and hypocritical high horses, and rather than boycotting what could be a very good movie, hope and pray that Chad Allen is so moved by his portrayal of a Christian martyr that he would turn his life over to Christ. Imagine; evangelism through the tool of cinematography.
Sometimes we shoot ourselves in the foot fearing that if we are not railing against sin, we are condoning it. There is a time for speaking out—(don’t I know that) and there is a time to shut up and pray! Guess what time I think it is?