Love Truth Blog

Many professing Christians have been lured into the enticing message of the Word of Faith movement, which promises health, wealth, and prosperity, all by the power of words, spoken through the power of faith, by little gods. Hank Hanegraaff has addressed this extensively in Christianity in Crisis 21st Century (Thomas Nelson). Recently, I came across the following piece, which is both provacative and insightful on the problematic spread of deadly Word of Faith doctrines to overseas missions... Theology Group Reflects on Impact of Prosperity Gospel The growing prevalence of the prosperity gospel around the world, and particularly in Africa, has prompted a group of theologians to release a statement of concern and a call for further reflection. While recognizing that "there are some dimensions of prosperity teaching that have roots in the Bible," the Lausanne Theology Working Group says its overall view is that "the teachings of those who most vigorously promote the 'p...

As I was scanning though some emails, someone asked me “Will Jesus be sitting at the right hand of the throne of God?” The words “will Jesus” really stuck out since in reality Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God. On the day of Pentecost Peter testified, “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear” (Acts 2:32-33). Elsewhere, the author of Hebrews wrote, “And He [Jesus Christ] is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3). These two passages indicate that Jesus’ position at the right hand of the throne of God is a present reality. What is really significant is the idea being communicated in the image of Jesus be...

Tis wonderful lyrics from an old saint... All creatures of our God and King, Lift up your voice and with us sing, Alleluia! Alleluia! Thou burning sun with golden beam, Thou silver moon with softer gleam! O praise Him, O praise Him! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia! Thou rushing wind that art so strong, Ye clouds that sail in heav’n along, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice, Ye lights of evening find a voice! O praise Him, O praise Him! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia! And all ye men of tender heart, Forgiving others, take your part, O sing ye! Alleluia! Ye who long pain and sorrow bear, Praise God and on Him cast your care! O praise Him, O praise Him! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia! Let all things their Creator bless, And worship Him in humbleness, O praise Him! Alleluia! Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, And praise the Spirit, Three in One! O praise Him, O praise Him! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia! Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creat...

Here is some food for thought... There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." - C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce

Last Sunday as I was getting my groceries totaled up, the checker asked if I would like to make a donation to Haiti, which I did. The amount was practically nothing, but it did remind me that for the entirety of the previous week, it seemed as if the entire world zeroed in on what was going on that half of the Island of Hispaniola, which was devastated by a massive earthquake on January 12, 2010. News sources consider this the largest earthquake that country had experienced in the last 200 years, and many report an estimated 50,000 lives perished. Events like this always remind me that human life is so precious, yet at the same time, one can never know when life’s flame shall be extinguished. There were lots of voices chiming in on the Haiti situation, and many of them were quite helpful, instructing people on what they could do to help survivors. I even had an acquaintance share his intention to travel to the island to do some aid work. I say Godspeed! I also heard a few disheartening...

The Book of Eli is an incredible sci-fi feature set in a post-apocalyptic earth, and a thought provoking exploration into the authentic transformational power of Scripture in contrast to use of the Bible to give leverage to abusive ideology and social control. It is a wonderful allegory, speaking to modern issues of religious ideology and the goodness of the Good Book. As the story goes, earth has been all but destroyed by war and weapons of mass destruction, and survivors must do their best to live in a world of scarce resources under anarchy. In all the mess, Eli (Denzel Washington) receives a divine calling to take his Bible westward. Although he is unaware of all the details of his quest, the end of the journey is Alcatraz Island, where there is a printing press though which the Good Book can be duplicated, yet this detail is hidden from Eli. What he does know is that The Bible he possesses is to the best of his knowledge the last one in existence, since after the nuclear holocau...

During Christmas vacation, I had the opportunity to hang out with some of the homeboys in CA., and we went to see James Cameron’s Avatar in 3D. Up until now I have been somewhat preoccupied with other things and unable to jot down my thoughts, but I did keep my nose to the wind to sense what others voices had to say about the movie. The reviews out there are typically positive, and some even dub Avatar, at least in the 3D format, a ground breaking film and the shape of things to come in the world film production. Avatar is, in my opinion, a well-done edge of the seat sci-fi action flick, and a thought-provoking story for mature audience. Avatar takes viewers on a spectacular journey into the deep reaches of outer space to a planet called Pandora. Like many other well-designed sci-fi classics, it also takes contemporary issues and plays them out in the storyline. In the case of Avatar, the movie adventure serves as a social critique of Western Imperialism, particularly the issues o...

I think Bono captured—eerily foreshadowed—the spirit of the first decade of the 21st century singing… The heart is a bloom, shoots up through the stony ground But there’s no room, no space to rent in this town You’re out of luck and the reason that you had to care The traffic is stuck and you’re not moving anywhere You thought you’d found a friend to take you out of this place Someone you can lend a hand in return for grace It’s a beautiful day the sky falls And you feel like it’s a beautiful day It’s a beautiful day Don’t let it get away Melancholic yet still always finding something beautiful in the moment—It’s a beautiful day…don’t let it get away.” And this decade certainly, at least from where I am sitting, had a hefty dose of this paradox. We had crashes…9/11, Enron, Shuttle Columbia, Katrina, wars in Afghanistan & Iraq (at least for America), and the Wall Street crash. Yet, it all this, people in general still yearn change for the better. CD recordings are going the way of t...