I Have Decided

Recently at the grocery store I saw a lady wearing a tee shirt bearing the following slogan in large bold letters: “I HAVE DECIDED.”

I immediately knew what she was saying but knew that many people would not.  I thought to myself that this was a wonderful evangelistic tool. The shirt was a conversation starter. People might ask her what she had decided and then she would be able to tell them. A wonderful way to unobtrusively fulfill the biblical injunction presented in 1 Peter 3:15. "... but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;"

The quoted phrase is, of course, from the Christian hymn, I Have Decided to Follow Jesus. The hymn was originated in India by the Christian missionary Sadhu Sundar Singh (born 1889, India), a convert from Sikhism. The lyrics are the last words of an Assamese convert to Christianity who was martyred along with his wife for refusing to deny his Christian conversion. His martyrdom led to the conversion of many in his village including the village leader who ordered his execution.

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=WDWPYWNX

(The lyrics used in this video are slightly different from those shown below.)

"I have decided to follow Jesus,

I have decided to follow Jesus,

I have decided to follow Jesus,

No turning back, no turning back.

The world behind me, the cross before me,

The world behind me, the cross before me,

The world behind me, the cross before me,

No turning back, no turning back.

Though none go with me, I still will follow,

Though none go with me, I still will follow,

Though none go with me, I still will follow,

No turning back, no turning back.

Will you decide now to follow Jesus?

Will you decide now to follow Jesus?

Will you decide now to follow Jesus?

No turning back, no turning back."

"Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®,
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,
1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Explode

Sequoyah (born about 1760 - died 1843) was a Cherokee silversmith who, although he did not speak a single word of English, noticed that the white men communicated using “talking leaves.” He thought that this was a wonderful idea and decided in about 1809 to create a way to make “talking leaves” for the Cherokee language.

In his first attempt, Sequoyah created a logographic writing system. He quickly decided that there were far too many Cherokee words for this to be practical. Japanese uses a logographic system, with symbols representing ideas, individual words, and individual syllables. Chinese uses a logosyllabic system with each symbol representing a separate sound. 

What Sequoyah eventually decided to do, rather than copying the English language alphabetic system, was to use symbols for each sound used in the Cherokee language. He created an eighty-five character syllabic system which represented all the individual Cherokee sounds.

The Cherokee Nation had no tradition of a written language and there was some individual resistance but Sequoyah’s syllabary began to spread rapidly among an excited populace. By 1825, the syllabary was declared to be the official written language of the Cherokee Nation. In the span of only sixteen years the Cherokees went from being totally illiterate to almost universally literate. I believe that Sequoyah’s syllabary awakened something which was already there among his people. It just needed a spark to make it explode.

(For more on Sequoyah and the Cherokee language see the end of this post.)

The same principle applies to the unevangelized. Many are aware that someting is missing in their lives, that there has to be more than just living a few years trying to be happy and staying out of trouble ... and then dying. They are like the Cherokee tribe, ready to explode. They just need to hear, they need a spark.

I have seen several people die. The color suddenly leaves their skin and they are gone.

If you have ever seen the spark of the Holy Spirit take over a life you realize that it is also just as instantaneous. The change in the person is immediately obvious. I have seen gasps of breath pulled in in surprise and eyes widened at suddenly seeing the Truth.

" ... since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made ... Romans 1:18-20   (NASB®)

**************************************************

Here is a statement from the Cherokee Nation website:

“Between the years of 1809 and 1821, he accomplished a feat, which no other person in history has done single-handedly. Through the development of the Cherokee Syllabary, he brought our people literacy and the gift of communicating through long distances and the ages. This one person brought to his people this great gift without hired educators, no books and no cost."

Shown below is a Cherokee translation of Acts 28:31, the guiding scriptural reference for this blog. From the Cherokee Bible Project. (Copyright ©2001. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/.)

ᎠᎵᏥᏙᎲᏍᎬᎩ ᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬᎩ ᎤᏁᎳᏅᎯ ᎤᎬᏫᏳᎯ ᎨᏒᎢ, ᎠᎴ ᏓᏕᏲᎲᏍᎬᎩ ᎧᏃᎮᏍᎬᎩ ᎤᎬᏫᏳᎯ ᏥᏌ ᎦᎶᏁᏛ, ᎤᏍᏗᎤᏅ ᎾᏍᎦᎢᎲᎾ, ᎠᎴ ᎩᎶ ᏄᏅᏍᏓᏕᎲᎾ. 

Here is an example of spoken Cherokee.

Bumper Stickers

On America’s highways one will often see a bumper sticker like this on the rear bumper of an eighteen-wheeler truck, a bus, or a utility vehicle.

If the driver exhibits sloppy or aggressive driving behavior, they can be reported to their employer by a call to the provided phone number, usually a toll-free call. This helps to ensure that the majority drive with care.

Recently, while on a long-distance highway trip, I saw a speeding sports car with a bumper sticker which read:

“How is my driving?  Call 1-800- EAT-SHIT.”

This person is displaying contempt for everyone else. He (or she) is basically saying, “I do not care what you think of my driving.  What you think of my driving does not matter. You do not matter. I can do whatever I want, whenever I want.  I am superior to you.”

Contempt and hostility are fueled by disgust at other people’s perceived incompetence and worthlessness. There is an intent to insult and to harm. The type of person who does this is a narcissist: arrogant, dismissive of others, and selfish, with a sense of entitlement.

What is telling is that these same people are also impulsive, immature, restrained only by a fear of being punished, disconnected from other people, manipulative, and hypersensitive to criticism. These are lost people who will be extremely difficult to reach because they will actively reject any attempt to reach them.

“When a wicked man comes, contempt also comes, And with dishonor comes scorn.” Proverbs 18:3 (NASB)

“But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”    2 Timothy 3:1-7 (NASB)

"Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®,
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,
1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation 
Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Christian Tattoos?

This is the well-known Serenity Prayer, first seen in a 1943 sermon by Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971).

  

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
 The courage to change the things I can,
 And wisdom to know the difference.”

Here are photos of an unusual way of presenting the prayer.

http://creativefan.com/serenity-prayer-tattoo/

In the ancient world tattooing was a pagan religious practice but now, many people, including some Christians, see it is no more significant than piercing ears for earrings. Some see tattooing as a way to begin a conversation with non-Christians, in other words, an act of evangelism. Other Christians see tattooing as a horrible offense toward God.

Biblical references:

Leviticus 19:26-29

Romans 7:1-4, 14:23

1 Corinthians 6:12

I believe that tattooing falls into the category of meat offered up to idols.  We are not bound to the Old Testament Law for our salvation, but to the gift of Christ. On this point, Paul was willing to argue with and if necessary to break with Peter (Acts 15:1-5; Galatians 2:3-4,11-21). All things are lawful to us but not everything is profitable; permissible but not beneficial.

We should not become aligned with or comfortable with the shifting and vapid trends of our surrounding culture. Christians are to be a set apart holy people, noticeable because of our differences from the surrounding culture and how we love one another..   

The following links present a variety of opinions about the Christian and body-modifications. The articles run the gamut from hyper-fundamentalism to extreme permissive liberalism. All of them think that they are correct.

http://christianity.about.com/od/faqhelpdesk/f/tattoochristian.htm

http://judaism.about.com/library/3_askrabbi_o/bl_simmons_tatoos.htm

http://carm.org/it-okay-christian-get-tattoo  (Read carefully the last two sentences of this web page!)

http://blogs.christianpost.com/confident-christian/is-getting-a-tattoo-a-sin-12619/

http://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-tattoos.html  (This is always a good site for reasoned answers to biblical questions.)

http://www.raptureready.com/featured/schaefer/tattoo.html

http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/should-christians-get-tattoos-what-does-the-bible-say/

http://www.biblebelievers.com/watkins_tattoos/bible.html

http://www.compellingtruth.org/tattoo-sin.html

http://www.todayschristianwoman.com/articles/2008/july/3.16.html

http://www.emilywierenga.com/on-christians-and-ink-why-i-believe-tattoos-are-not-a-sin/

http://tolovehonorandvacuum.com/2014/05/christian-legalism-real-christians-can-get-tattoos/

http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/faq/should_christians_get_tattoos.shtml

http://www.born-again-christian.info/questions/answers.113.htm

The Church of Body Modification is a non Christian group which finds spirituality in piercing, cutting, and tattooing.

http://uscobm.com/news/back-where-we-started/

http://uscobm.com/statement-of-faith/

Film Comment: It’s Not About the Nail

Watch this short video, It’s Not About the Nail (2013), written and directed by Jason Headley.  The predominant reaction to this humorous film is that it is about relationships between men and women and that it is specifically about marriage.

In my prior film comments, I have taken the stance that films may have applications from a Christian perspective even when that was not the intent of the film’s creators.   Films deal in archetypes and metaphors which can be interpreted in multiple ways.   Films can often be seem as parables.  This is acceptable as long as one realizes that works of art may not fit perfectly into any one philosophical system.

To the Christian, this short film has very stark symbolism.  The woman complains of her headaches.  The man tries to reply, “Maybe it is the nail in your forehead.”  The woman angrily replies that “It’s not about the nail.”

Christians can very clearly see that non-Christians lack Jesus in their lives and that many of their life problems stem from that fact.  The Christian knows that Jesus is right there, right in front of the non-believer’s face.  The non-believer cannot see Jesus at all.

The non-believer will say, :I don’t believe that.  That doesn’t exist.  My problems have to be from some other cause, maybe from you. … It is not about the nail!”

But, to the Christian, everything is about The Nail.

Tell Someone About This Blog

This blog is receiving between 2,000 and 5,000 discrete visits per month.  Why not 5,000 to 10,000?  Tell your friends, relatives, and fellow church members about the blog.  Mention the blog in one of your tweets, on your personal blog, or on your Facebook page.

This is primarily a ministry to Christians but it also is read by persons who are not Christian.  There have been visits originating from occultic and pornographic sites.  Some readers have been followers of non-Christian religions such as Judaism and Islam.

This blog will never intentionally insult anyone but it also will never back away from telling the Truth.  The Good News is for everyone and if only one person comes to Christ because of this blog, the angels will rejoice. (Luke 15:1-10)

Still Singing At Age 103

George Beverly “Bev” Shea was born in Canada in 1909 and began singing with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in the 1940’s.  He turned 103 on Wednesday 1 February 2012 and he still has not stopped singing about his Lord.

http://www.wnd.com/2012/04/george-beverly-shea-singing-gods-praise-at-103/

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Some of those listed may surprise you.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Robert Patrick Ellison: (b. 1942, Ireland) Roman Catholic Bishop of Banjul, The Gambia

Mvemba a Nzinga: (b. ca 1582, Kongo – d. 1663, aka: Afonso I; Nzinga Mbemeba Affonso) A Kongo chieftain who became the Manikongo in 1506, reigning as Afonso I.

Solomon Tilewa Johnson: (b. 1954, The Gambia) Anglican Bishop of The Gambia.

George Beverly Shea: (b. 1909, Canada) Vocalist, evangelist.  Associated with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association since the 1940’s.

Luciano Pavarotti: (b. 1935, Italy – d. 2007) Operatic tenor, humanitarian.  Roman Catholic.

Iranian Pastor Freed

Youcef Nagarkhani (b. 1977, Iran), a pastor of the Protestant evangelical Church of Iran, was released three days ago after spending the last three years in an Iranian prison under the threat of a death sentence.  What was his crime?  Pastor Nadarkhani was originally charged with the capital crime of apostasy; leaving Islam to follow another religion.  The punishment in Iran for apostasy is death.  Though apostasy is not officially a crime in Iran, judges may still level the charge against a person based on religious fatwas.  Nadarkani insisted that he was never a Muslim; even though he was raised in a Muslim family, he never accepted Islam and, instead, became a Christian as a teenager.  He steadfastly refused to convert to Islam.

Youcef Ndarkhani's wife, Fatemah Pasandideh, was also arrested and charged with apostasy.  She received a sentence of life imprisonment but was released after four months.

International criticism of the charges against Pastor Nadarkani was raised loudly from around the world.
United States president barack Obama said, "The United States condemns the conviction of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani.  Pastor Nadarkhani has done nothing more than maintain his devout faith, which is a universal right for all people."  The British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, also condemned the sentence.

During the three years of his imprisonment, the charges continued to change and eventually included charges of rape, extortion, and baptizing converts.  The charges, in the end, became that Nadarkhani had attempted to evangelize Muslims.  The penalty for this crime was set at three years and the pastor was released for the time he had already served in prison.

Christians around the world are rejoicing that their prayers for Youcef Nadarkhani's safe release have been answered.  Pastor Nadarkhani is to be admired for his absolute refusal to betray his faith.

Christian Short Film

I am not sure I actually understand what this short film is trying to convey, except that it may be speaking of what C. S. Lewis called “the good infection.”  The film is entitled Stalker and was made in 2007.

(Some videos will not play properly when you click on the triangle.  Instead,  click on the title line in the picture and the video will begin .  When the video is completed, close the You Tube pop-up window to return to this blog.)

 

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Ozzy Osbourne: (b. 1948, England, aka: John Michael Osbourne; The Prince of Darkness) Heavy metal vocalist and songwriter.  Best known for his song, “Crazy Train.” Anglican.

Dion: (b. 1939, New York, USA, aka: Dion Francis DiMucci) Singer, songwriter best known for his songs “Run Around Sue,” and “The Wanderer.” Evangelical.

Bob Dylan: (b. 1941, Minnesota, USA; aka: Robert Allen Zimmerman) Singer, songwriter, painter, sketcher.  Best known for his songs “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “The Times They Are a-Changin,’” and “Like a Rolling Stone.”  2012 United States Presidential Medal of Freedom winner. He was a convert from Judaism.

Uyaraq: This man was the first Inupiak convert in Alaska (late Nineteenth Century) and spent the last twenty years of his life as an evangelist in Alaska (USA).  He was known to break long-standing social taboos, ridicule the local animist shamans, and hold the Bible up in the air to demonstrate its power.  

Bob Marley: (b. 1945, Jamaica- d. 1981; aka: Robert Nesta Marley)  Singer, songwriter, guitarist. Marley is considered to have been the face of the Reggae music movement.  He was a Rastafarian who, in 1981, was baptized into the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.  His final words were, “Jesus take me.” 

Whether From False Motives or True, Christ is Preached

Just the other day, while I was at work, one of the other technologists brought me some religious materials from the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries which someone had placed on the windshield of his car.  The people I work with know that I attended seminary and am knowledgeable about other religions and about cult groups.

I told him what I knew about Tony and Susan Alamo.  Tony was born in Missouri (USA) in 1934 as Bernie Lazar Hoffman, Susan Lipowitz. A Jewish convert to Christianity, was born as Edith Opal Horn.  When they first met, they were both already married to other people.  After they each obtained divorces, they married in 1966 and had their names legally changed.  As Tony and Susan Alamo, they established a Christian evangelistic ministry in 1969 and also sold Tony Alamo brand clothing.

Tony Alamo was convicted of tax evasion in 1994 and served a four year prison term.  In 2008, he was arrested for possession of child pornography. In 2009, Alamo was convicted of ten counts of carrying minor girls across state lines for sexual activity.  He was sentenced to 175 years in prison.

The Tony Alamo Christian Ministries are still active, with churches in the United States, India, and Africa.  Those of the ministry’s materials which I have seen appear to be orthodox.

I have no idea of the sincerity, or lack of it, of Pastor Tony Alamo but I would believe that regardless of who or what he is, his converts are truly Christians.  The power of the Gospel to save is not dependent on the worthiness of the one who delivers it.  Listen to Paul. 


“It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.   The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.   The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.  But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.”  Philippians 1:15-18

The Bible warns against being deceived by false teachers.  This would be those who teach doctrines contrary to what is clearly taught in the Bible. (Galatians 1:8)

Unworthy teachers may teach true doctrine for insincere, selfish,  or malicious purposes.  The Gospel is more powerful than they are and, when truly preached, is effective for salvation. 

Christian Translation

Christian missions and organizations which have international reach often have need of translation services.  Christian-Translation.com is a Christian-run internet translation service which utilizes only Native Speakers, never a computer translation.  They believe that this helps preserve the meaning of their customer's messages.  They see their service as a ministry which helps others spread the Gospel.

The company will translate "writings, books, teaching materials, bible studies, sermons, messages," and other ministry materials.  The list of languages numbers in the hundreds. and "if at certain point you don't find here the language you're looking for, just contact us and we'll get that language translator for you."

The Dominican Republic based company views itself as a ministry and so, keeps its service costs as low as possible.  Their Statement of Faith on their website shows them to be a traditionally orthodox Trinitarian organization.

Jesus Hats

JesusHats,com is a site which sells Christian baseball hats and T-shirts.  The idea is that the hats and shirts will cause someone to ask about Jesus.  This can be seen as a subtle form of evangelism; "a witness you can wear."

Whenever I visit a Christian website I always gravitate toward the statement of beliefs to see who the people behind the site are.  Dalen (Dale) Garris, of Waxahachie, Texas is the patriarch of this family-owned business.  I found that I can agree with some of Brother Dalen's beliefs and strongly disagree with some others.  This does not stop me from thinking that Jesus hats are a very good idea.

The Early Spread of the Gospel

Christianity began among a very small group of Jesus' followers, many of whom were related to one another.  By about 30 AD/CE, there were probably about 1000 Christians.  In the next few years, the number rapidly grew into about 10,000 and soon, there were Christians even in the household of the Roman Emperor.  It was not until about the year 40 that they were known as "Christians" and the word was probably used by others as an insult word.

Paul carried the Gospel into Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, and Malta during his missionary journeys and into Italy during his imprisonment.  In 52 AD/CE, Thomas carried the Gospel into India.  Thaddeus evangelized Armenia in 66 AD/CE.  By the year 80 there were Christians in Tunisia and France; by 100 they were in Monaco, Algeria, and Sri Lanka; by 196 they were in Persia; by 300 AD/CE it is estimated that 10% of the world's population was Christian; in 341 the Goths in Romania were evangelized.  A form of Christianity known as Nestorianism arrived in China in 635 and survived for several hundred years.

Today there are about 2.1 billion persons who identify themselves as Christian.

What They Think of Us: Do We Flaunt Our Christianity for Profit?

The writer of this atheist web page declares that he has grown "tired of remaining silent" and has dedicated himself to attacking "irrational belief," "anti-intellectualism," "Christian extremism," and "anti-Atheist bigotry."  The name of the site is Atheist Revolution.

The writer accuses Christians of flaunting their religion to promote their business interests .   This is a very thinly disguised insult.  Dictionary.com defines "flaunt" as "to parade or display oneself conspicuously, defiantly, or boldly. "  The post writer resents the implication that a Christian business can be assumed to be ethical and trustworthy and that non-Christians cannot.  He also thinks that Christians may have a secret agenda to proselytize their customers.

I have several "OF COURSES" in response.

1.  Assuming that the business owners are not cynical hypocrites who actually are trying to use Christianity as a marketing tool, OF COURSE they wish for prospective clients to know they are a Christian-owned business.  Christians have no reason to hide who they are.  Since making a profit is the basis for being in business, OF COURSE they are trying to make a profit.

2.  OF COURSE Christian-owned businesses should be assumed to be ethical and trustworthy.  If they are not, their owners have some "'splainin' to do."  Non-Christian owned businesses may be ethical and trustworthy; Christians have no monopoly on ethics, and thinking Christians do not make that claim.

3. OF COURSE, Christian business owners would like to share the Gospel with their customers.  That is known as the Great Commission.  It is our primary purpose in life.  It can be furthered by direct evangelism and by the example we present to the world as Christian laypeople.

"Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words." Giovanni Francesco Bernardone (aka: St. Francis of Assisi, 1182-1226)

4. OF COURSE, Christians are just as intellectually proficient as anyone else.  The charge that Christian belief is irrational or anti-intellectual is, itself, bigotry based on hatred.  The charge is based more on emotion, intellectual arrogance, and snobbery than anything else and ignores the overwhelming documentary, philosophical, historical and scientific evidence that the biblical explanation of things is, at the very least, intellectually defensible.

"...the Devil will get you!"

Just north of Prattville, Alabama (USA) on Interstate Highway 65 is a roadside billboard on which there is painted a gleefully leering red-skinned devil with a pitchfork.  There he stands, with a long pointed tail and little horns on his head.  Just like the little devil who stood on Little Audrey’s left shoulder in the classic cartoons. (A little white-robed angel with a halo stood on her right shoulder.)

On the billboard, is the inscription in bright red, “Go to Church or the Devil will get you!” 

I used to pass by this sign without any serious thought, but, this last weekend, it really bothered me.  I know that the people who put up the sign were well-meaning and devoted Christians and I share their concern.  The primary and overriding task of the Church is evangelism. (Matthew 28:19)

There are several things I see as troubling about the billboard.

1.                     The devil on the sign is cartoonish and stereotypical.  Non-believers will laugh at the supposedly “stupid” Christians rather than be frightened by the Devil whose existence they deny. 

2.                     If we are serious about challenging the world’s evil system and wish to draw others to Christ, we must present arguments which are intellectually unchallengeable, not trite and stereotypical ones which will be dismissed as silly by unbelievers.

3.                     As presented, the message seems to state that        

church attendance will save someone.  Then why does every honest pastor know that, among the people in their churches, some, perhaps many, are totally lost? “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:23 (The full passage is Matthew 7:15-28)

4.                     The billboard's message implies that an action, church attendance, is important in our salvation.  We are told not to forsake assembling ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25) but we are also told that observance of the law and assembling on a particular day will not save us; we are saved by our relationship with Jesus Christ.  (Galatians 2:16, Romans 14:4-8.)  There is nothing which we can do to save ourselves, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast.”  Ephesians 2:8-9

The person(s) who placed the devil billboard on the side of the highway had only the best intentions and, if only one person was moved by the billboard to accept Jesus as Lord, there was rejoicing in Heaven (Luke 15:10).  We must, however, be careful about the unintentional messages we are sending by our statements and actions to be sure that the received message is the biblical one we intended to send.

Chick Publications

Jack Thomas Chick (b. 1924, California, USA) is the most published comic book artist/author in history, with over 750,000,000 of his Christian evangelistic tracts, comic books, videos, and posters having been produced and distributed worldwide.  The works have been translated into over one hundred languages and are included in exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution.

Jack Chick's works are quite controversial.  He is hailed by some as a soul-winner, a genius at evangelistic outreach, and denounced by others as a homophobe, Islamophobe,  and a religious bigot because of his fundamentalist Christian beliefs.  Check out the website of Chick Publications and make up your own mind.

Is Francis Chan a Sell-Out?

Wow! This blog post pulled in a swirling storm of 188 comments.  It must have hit a nerve!  The basic thrust of the post was to question whether Francis Chan , a Chinese-American man born in Hong Kong, was a sell-out because he is willing to speak at evangelical conferences which sometimes are 98% white.

Many people (not just Americans!) cannot get over RACE.  All they have to do is read their Bibles!  The question was settled almost 2000 years ago.

"Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond [nor] free: but Christ [is] all, and in all." Colossians 3:11

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28

David Wilkerson is Dead

Assemblies of God evangelist-pastor David Wilkerson died Wednesday in a head-on crash with a tractor trailer truck on a highway in Texas.  Wilkerson was the subject of the film, The Cross and the Switchblade, about his encounter with the street gang thug, Nicky Cruz, who is now a Christian evangelist.

Here is his seemingly prophetic final blog post: 

"To those going through the valley and shadow of death, hear this word: Weeping will last through some dark, awful nights, and in that darkness you will soon hear the Father whisper, `I am with you. I cannot tell you why right now, but one day it will all make sense. You will see it was all part of my plan. It was no accident."