Fascination with Celebrities

In the past week or so, we’ve witnessed the death of several celebrities such as Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and even pitchman Billy Mays. First and foremost, we need to remember that these were real people with real families that we need to keep in our prayers. Many celebrities, despite their fame and fortune, tend to be very sad and lonely individuals, usually a far cry from their public images.

It’s very interesting, and revealing to watch the reactions to these events from various sources within our modern society. The so-called “mainstream” media virtually ignored the others in preference to Mr Jackson, since he was arguably the most popular and bizarre. Not including commercials, each major network typically broadcasts 22 minutes of what they call “news” during their nightly newscasts. The Media Resource Center reported that, on Friday evening (the next day after Mr Jackson’s death), ABC devoted all but 1:03 to Mr Jackson. NBC gave us 1:22 of other news while Katie Couric over at CBS managed to squeeze in 34 seconds for a total of 2:59 vs 63:01 devoted to Mr Jackson. "OK, right after this station break, we'll bring you an exclusive interview with a man who once petted a dog that was owned by a person who lived in the same town as one of Michael's third-cousins, and how this encounter changed his life."

Read the entire Fascination with Celebrities article including what drives our obsession with the rich and famous.

How to Approach a Bible Study

During a recent Sunday School class, a lovely lady made the comment that when we study the Bible, we should do so with no presuppositions, disregard the interpretations by others, and rely entirely on the Holy Spirit for our understanding. Now, this lady has a high view of the Scriptures and is very orthodox in her beliefs, but having encountered many liberals who take a similar stance in their attempt to validate whatever meaning is convenient to justify their agenda at the time, I jumped in with both feet. I immediately pointed out that presuppositional neutrality was a myth, and that we ignored the interpretations of the saints throughout history at our own peril.

So, which of us was correct in our assertions? After much prayer and contemplation over the past few days, I’ve come to the conclusion that, according to our respective intentions, we both were. Discussions in class are usually time-limited, so we often don’t adequately explain our intended meaning. I’m convinced that she was referring to the initial phase of study where we read the Scriptures and attempt to observe and interpret the author’s intended meaning. On the other hand, I was referring to the entire process of Bible study. I think we can clarify the issue with a brief overview on how to approach studying the Bible.

Read the entire Approaching Bible Study article, including discussions on Presuppositions, Bible Study Methods, Church Traditions, and Resolving Disputes.

Compromising Our Principles

President B Hussein Obama recently completed his second international apologizing tour. This time he covered most of the Islamic countries. Am I missing something here? Aren't we the ones who were attacked? Has anyone heard even one Muslim ruler apologize to us? In his trip to Latin America, he sat quietly listening to dictator after dictator bash America, then when it came his turn to speak, rather than defending America by pointing out the many sacrifices that we've made for other countries, he thanked them that they didn’t blame him personally. BHO is perfectly happy with foreign dictators hurling insult after insult on America as long as they continue to praise him publicly. He has gotten so obvious that the foreign media is questioning, “Why does he hate America so much?”

Just as Obama regularly throws his friends, relatives and country under the bus for the sake of his own popularity, many “professing” Christians also throw God under the bus for the sake of perceived popularity with others. We’re afraid that if we stick to our beliefs and principles, people won’t like us as well, or will even subject us to ridicule. We sometimes compromise our morals and ethics in order to be more popular.

As we’ve seen, when Obama ignores the principles and traditions which made our country great in order to enhance his own ego, his actions have a much different effect on other international leaders than intended. Instead of garnering admiration, our nation loses respect and he is merely seen as a useful pawn in their agenda to destroy us. Likewise, when a Christian compromises his or her principles, rather than causing people to like and respect us (and our faith), this action produces an opposite effect. We merely confirm the presuppositions of those around us that think, “I knew they weren’t really a Christian. Look at the way they’re acting. If Christians aren’t any different from others, why should I become one?”

Many well-meaning Christians misinterpret 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (Paul becoming like those to whom he was attempting to preach the Gospel) as a license to act according to the unbeliever’s standards in order to reach them. We must follow the example of Jesus, who sought out and associated with the worst of sinners, but never compromised His integrity or standards, watered down His message, or participated in their sins. We must yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit in order to maintain our principles and win others to Christ. We must seek to please God rather than men.

Honor Their Service - Troopathon 2009

In our country, we've come to the point where we call evil good and good evil (Is 5:20). While many far left groups such as Code Pink, the ACLU and our current administration and their Department of Homeland Security are busy protecting the "rights" of Muslim terrorists, they often vilify our troops who are attempting to protect us from the real extremists.

Fortunately, we have many good organizations within our country who are working hard in support of our troops. On of the most active is Move America Forward, who on June 25th, will be holding their 2nd annual “Troop-a-thon” with the theme “Honor their Service.” This cutting edge live webcast event will bring together talk radio hosts, megastars of film and television, musical guests, journalists, military and Gold-star families, pro-troop groups and many more. The goal of this charity fundraiser is to send the largest ever shipment of care packages to our brave men and women of the armed forces serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay.

We are encouraging our readers to sponsor care packages (donations are tax deductible) for the troops and each one includes a personalized message and items that our troops have requested that make their life a little easier while they are far from home, such as sun-screen, Gatorade, deodorant, coffee, cookies and much more. Please click on the "Honor Their Service" banner above for more information.

Setting Up

Thanks for visiting our new blog. We're still setting up, but in the meantime, we invite you to visit our main website at

ad Dei Gloriam Ministries

We'll be posting here in a few days.