Haiti disaster brings out best, worst in Christians

The disastrous earthquake in Haiti seems has brought out the best and worst in Christians. True compassion, grief, selfless actions, and earnest prayer have unfortunately been accompanied in some quarters by the false theology of "it's their own fault". Others try to excuse why they selfishly don't want to help God's children who are in desperate need.

Pat Robertson's recent comments appear to show that he has an angry heart fixed on vengeance rather than Christian love. He even seems to enjoy living in the ancient world mindset that did not even understand the weather or other natural happenings on God's earth. In the modern world, an attitude such as Pat Robertson's is like gangrene on the body of Christianity. The cloying stench of its rotting effect is a warning that Christians need to cure or excise this dangerous infection before it spreads to the rest of the body.

But what's the cure? How do we cut out the dangerous infection? Certainly not in a violent way. That's not the way of Jesus. And when someone's mind is so entrenched in evil darkness, mere words likely will have no effect. But God has given us prayer. And Jesus has commanded us to love and help others.

"It matters a great deal how we think about other people. ... The more we are able to keep in mind that the people around us are susceptible to grace and truth, as beings made in the image of God, the more likely we will be to treat them that way..."

... "We need to think like Jesus thinks, ... regard others as Jesus does, and to love them as He would." -- T.M. Moore, "Regarding Others: Why Do People Matter?"

Pray that Pat Robertson, his thousands of duped followers, and other dark souls like him will come out of their darkness into the light of Christ's love. Pray that they all truly "see the light". Pray for their eternal souls. Pray that God will blunt their attempts to abuse Christianity for personal and political gain. Pray that they turn from harmful to helpful words and actions.

"And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me'." - Matthew 25:40 (NRSV)

"... we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" - Acts 20:35 (NRSV)

Related links:

• Please do not listen to Pat Robertson
• Pat Robertson blasted by White House (and it also criticized Rush Limbaugh)
• Pat Robertson calls Haiti earthquake a 'Blessing in disguise'
• Slideshow of Haiti earthquake photos

WordLive

Scripture Union, a UK organization, now has up and running "WordLive". It's a multimedia Bible experience that lets you interact with the Word in whatever form you like.

• Choose the Bible translation you prefer
• Listen to music
• Listen to podcasts (voice)
• Look at images
• Look at video
• Download and print a Bible study

WordLive is now offering a five-week Lent study for small groups or individuals. As of January 5, Parts 1 and 2 area available.

Check out this nifty resource. As Scripture Union says, "Grab a God moment".

Christian magazines online

If you have not read an online magazine listed below, give it a try. Some are new and some are ones never linked here before.

• CCM. Christ, Community, Music. Modern christian music. Includes audio and video.
• Christian Computing magazine
• The Christian Pulse. "The place where cutting-edge faith meets the global community, without shame and without reservation. Take Action, Get Involved, Share Life, Be A Light..."
• Christianity today online
• Christian Women Online
• Christian Women Today
• Collide."Where media and the church converge"
• Grace Centered
• Guide. A story magazine for kids.
• Guideposts. The familiar magazine with inspiring stories of inspiring people.
  The web site logo shows as "Beta" but the magazine is colorful and links work.
• Heartlight
• Lookout
• New Man
• Plugged in Online. From the Focus on the Family folks.
• Precipice. For and about the emerging church.
• PRISM. By Evangelicals for Social Action (ESA)
• Relevant
• Sojourners. Faith, politics, and culture. Winner of 22 awards.
• TheOOZE. The desire of TheOOZE is to create environments where church leaders (traditional teachers/theologians as well as emerging storytellers/artists) can converse about and collaborate on resources and experiences for the broader faith community. This is done by providing places for people to gather and communicate both online and offline about how to be the story of Christ to our emerging culture."
• Virtual Christian. By the United Church of Christ (UCC) .

ReligioNews blog changes

The "sidebar" (right column) items on this blog are not set in stone, nor is the design for that matter. Over the past months I have moved the order of the sidebar sections as well as added and deleted some links.

Today I added "The Revealer", a daily review of religion and the press, to the "Methodist, Other Blogs" sidebar section. For example, today's main feature at The Revealer is "Fundamentalism's Colonial Drag", which also links to the original "Newsweek" article.

So remember to check the sidebar links for changes now and then.

I'll try to remember to plug new features in the blog. For example, I'm excited about some new features being tested by Google right now, including an install poll (survey).

The problem with 'The Da Vinci Code'

Mark Gudgel, reviewer for Relevant magazine, says that the problem with the Da Vinci Code movie is that it is a movie. Movies let people not think ... just experience. Many people may blindly assume that the fiction is based on fact.

"Just as it is somewhat terrifying to realize that many people’s primary understanding of the final days of Christ, of the crucifixion and atonement, came to them courtesy of Mel Gibson, so is it equally frightening to think that perhaps The Da Vinci Code, in all of its mass-media splendor, may be some people’s foundation for understanding Church history or Christian belief." -- Mark Gudgel

Tis the season: Matzah ... Holy week

The Religion & Ethics part of the PBS web site has a story on Passover Matzah. A video is also available online.

The site also has an extract of In the company of Christ: A pilgrimage through Holy Week.

UCC blog supports mainstream churches

The United Church of Christ has a new TV ad, one again rejected by the networks. The UCC says this is part of a pattern of catering to the religious Right by the TV networks. Read more and see the video of the ad at their blog, Accessible Airwaves.

Credenda Agenda worth a read

An online magazine called Credenda Agenda is well worth reading. It's written from a classical Protestant perspective. Each issue is available as a separate web page for each article or one PDF.

The magazine isn't skimpy -- the issue current as of March 2006, with a cover theme of " Weather", is 36 pages long.