Christian Dissension

Romans 13:1

Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.


We must remember, always, to weigh everything against Scripture.

I have no doubt that speeding is a sin: nowhere does it say in Scripture that I am entitled to drive 56 in a 55, or that I have to drive 54. In this case, the authority that God has established should be submitted to because Scripture is silent on this issue.

Every four years or so, a new group of so-called American Christians use Romans 13 to protect their candidate against other groups of American Christians who are either too conservative or too liberal for the first group's taste.

However, we must remember the story of Daniel, who remained a man of God by disobeying the established authority. An authority which, according to Romans 13, God himself established. This is, to me, is a perfect argument against the idea that Romans 13 is a catch-all for governmental authority.

Our country has a long and growing history of anti-Christian actions and though I am not happy about that, I also do not see any end in sight. As long as that is the case, I think that we must continue to use Scripture as our ultimate authority.

I don't know that obeying the amoral decrees of a 'God-established' authority will ever be a good idea.

Green Bible

Well, as you can probably tell by the date on my previous post, I've been really busy. As a student at UT, I can honestly say that I have never had a harder or more challenging semester than this one; but enough excuses, on with the post.

Although, I have done little to contribute lately, I have been cruising the blogosphere and I recently ran across this over at the New York Times.

I really enjoy seeing all the new types of presentations that people use to repackage the Scriptures. I like checking out the new translations, new study systems, new paraphrases; they all interest me. But this, The Green Bible, is something completely different.

The Green Bible is printed on recycled paper, has a cotton/linen cover, and is printed using soy-based inks. The feature that really sets The Green Bible apart, however, is the fact that all the verses that reference the Earth are printed in green (like the Bibles that have Jesus' words in red).

On first glance, I think this is very cool and would definitely pick it up if I saw it at McKay's (the only place I ever buy books). But this Green Bible made me think: Is it really a good idea to set certain verses apart? Our nature as humans seems to cause us to pick a short-list of our favorite Scriptures and then cling to those 10 verses; never venturing out of our little box. Would this Bible just be one more tool to help us segregate our Scriptures?

I know that I'm over-thinking this; and the Bible-hoarding side of me really wants a Green Bible. But what do you think? Is this a great new tool to dive even deeper into God's word, or is it one more Bible to make the publisher ten more dollars and leave us all clinging to ten green scriptures?

Building a House

Proverbs 24:3-4

A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense. Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.

In our world today, the pursuit of knowledge is marketed to youth by institutions of 'higher learning' and numerous people who once called themselves by the name 'Christian' have been led astray by the notion that knowledge is the god to which we should all bow. However, this sort of blind pursuit of knowledge does not fulfill. I have seen this sort of empty pursuit lead to the use and abuse of drugs, as well as other self-destructive behaviors. But why? Surely God does not want us to all be uneducated sheep. I agree. I believe that an education and a good measure of knowledge can exponentially help our ability to communicate the message of Christ. The problem with making the pursuit of knowledge your primary goal is that it's backwards. Look at the scripture. A house is built by wisdom and then filled by knowledge. The scripture makes it clear that knowledge without wisdom is a recipe for problems.

Being A Tool

Isaiah 10:15

But can the ax boast greater power than the person who uses it? Is the saw greater than the person who saws? Can a rod strike unless a hand moves it? Can a wooden cane walk by itself?



For me as a worship leader and for all of us that call ourselves 'Christian', what a great life lesson this is. No matter what great thing we do, it is through God's power and the urging of the Holy Spirit that we accomplish anything noteworthy.

Jesus In the Media

I will interrupt our normally scheduled content to bring you a feature that I like to call 'Jesus In the Media' where I will periodically highlight a reference to Christ in the so-called popular media.

A lot of people say that you should not mix religion and politics. I have never subscribed to that belief. I have always thought that, as Christians, unless we allow our religious beliefs to influence our political beliefs that our political beliefs are garbage. The reason I say that is because I believe that our Christianity ought to spill over and infiltrate every aspect of our lives. With that said, today's clip is not necessarily the sort of religious-political mix that I was hoping for. I hope you will view the clip and share your thoughts afterwards.



Is this appropriate? How does this make you feel as a Christian? Does it motivate you to align yourself with the congressman's beliefs?

If you're interested, here is an article containing a little more background information.

Wisdom That Hurts

Proverbs 22:15

A youngster’s heart is filled with foolishness, but physical discipline will drive it far away.

Remind me again of the argument against spanking children?

I Need More...Or Do I?

Proverbs 21:26

Sinners are always wanting what they don't have; the God-loyal are always giving what they do have.


I always enjoy what the guys over at LifeChurch.tv have to say on their blog especially when it coincides so well with my daily readings.

What do you think? Do you find yourself wanting things for your personal or professional ministry that you don't need?