tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105628952012-02-16T03:57:33.601-07:00In this blog I primarily share my thoughts and concerns about contemporary Christianity in America. More specifically, what I've noticed for a long time to be a disconnect between some of the currently popular themes and practices in Christendom and what the Bible actually teaches (and just common sense). Occasionally I come across fellow Christians who tell me they've had the same observations. My hope is that this blog will help stimulate thought and examination of some of these things.Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.comBlogger451100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-62603110708313626622010-04-13T12:17:00.002-06:002010-04-13T12:23:59.305-06:00

Last Thanksgiving I visited my uncle's family and got into an argument over theology. They're Jehovah's Witnesses, and I'm a conservative Lutheran Christian. The conversation began with me asking them why they feel it's wrong to celebrate Thanksgiving. I told them my kids had asked, and I didn't know the answer. I roughly know why they object to Christmas. But Thanksgiving strikes me as

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-8986133192529476372009-06-27T23:55:00.018-06:002009-06-28T09:30:27.255-06:00

I saw the movie Fireproof a few months back and wasn't as impressed as the greater Christian community seems to be. Although I know it set out to do the opposite, I think it leaves the audience with a distorted view of the nature of marriage.People I've talked to are inspired by the movie, expecting the main characters to stay married. But to me, it's not at all clear that their relationship

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-89646212992691541332008-04-09T18:46:00.010-06:002008-04-09T19:23:45.356-06:00

I recently visited a LCMS Lutheran church where the pastor proudly showed the following video:Welcome to Our ChurchWhat do you make of it?There are good points, to be sure. But what I notice is that there's no Savior. Jesus is an ill-defined icon. And the church's historic message of salvation from hell is one this church is proud to say it considers unimportant.Welcome, my friends, to the era of

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-79122810548800819302007-04-01T01:21:00.003-06:002009-10-25T12:39:21.978-06:00

I was in a class recently at my church. The fellow teaching the class said he believes Scripture teaches that Jesus was sacrificed "from the foundation of the world." Revelation 13:8 states, "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship [the beast], whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb [Jesus] slain from the foundation of the world.""So," he concluded, "this is really

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-46646118972347972692007-03-16T12:20:00.013-06:002009-12-22T13:50:17.420-07:00

I have an uncle and aunt and cousins who are Jehovah's Witnesses. I visited them recently and we got to talking about their beliefs. Not expecting to hit on something particularly profound, I told them how I have difficulty with their prohibition on government involvement (such as voting) -- that I think government involvement is a virtue. Interestingly, I found out I hit upon a fatal flaw in

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-2413047018988402842007-03-12T12:52:00.000-06:002008-12-11T08:39:59.566-07:00

I went a saw the Amazing Grace last night, a movie based on the life of antislavery pioneer William Wilberforce. A devout Christian and Member of Parliament, Wiberforce brought an end to the slave trade in the British Empire. I highly recommend it! It is engaging, touching, and documents the life a true hero.About the characters (from the movie's website): Elected to the House of Commons at the

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1163547933767901792006-11-14T16:44:00.000-07:002006-11-14T16:55:12.013-07:00

The popularity of paraphrases of the Bible has struck me as a negative development in Christendom. When I say paraphrase, I mean the reworking of Biblical texts, (rather than merely translating them from one language to another), and then marketing the reworking as "a Bible." Often times in the process, the length of the text is increased to make it more descriptive or colorful for the reader. (

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1153665971739539812006-07-23T08:41:00.000-06:002006-07-23T17:58:03.663-06:00

Below is something my pastor wrote last week for a study of Matthew we're doing. This was for chapter 7. I thought it was worth sharing.Judge Not. For generations the most famous Bible passage was Jesus' beautiful summary of the Gospel in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave Hi only begotten Son, so that whoever believed in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1152637895067875572006-07-11T11:03:00.000-06:002006-07-14T07:22:42.896-06:00

Today Dennis Prager is questioning where the idea came that unconditional love is a desirable quality in people. It's an interesting question. I suppose it depends on how you define unconditional love. But in its strictest sense, it seems to me that even God does not exhibit unconditional love. The Bible describes God as hating some people. And I doubt He loves Satan.However, being a father, I

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1150077579169733662006-07-10T01:39:00.004-06:002009-12-22T13:26:30.921-07:00

Last month contained the day in the church year called Trinity Sunday. My pastor included these statements in his sermon that day:First, what is the teaching of the Trinity? There is one God in three persons. The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God, but there are not three gods but one God. We worship the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity. Who can understand this? One + one

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1148428433820244622006-05-23T17:51:00.000-06:002006-05-23T17:54:57.260-06:00

From this and other reviews of The Da Vinci Code, it sounds as if the book got the movie it deserved.

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1148426133410058442006-05-23T16:32:00.001-06:002008-12-11T08:39:59.784-07:00

In researching the Gnostic gospels, I came across gnosis.org, a web site (I think) run by this a guy in Hollywood, Stephan Hoeller, "the sole American bishop consecrated by the Duc de Palatine, mysterious bearer of the English Gnostic Transmission." The site links to an interesting story about Hoeller in LA Weekly. Reading it, I can again see why early Christians rejected Gnostism. It's a

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1147284498896223662006-05-10T11:18:00.000-06:002006-05-13T00:30:04.333-06:00

It's insightful to read the actual text of the Gnostic gospels. What's striking is, they aren't very large, they don't read anything like the Biblical gospels, they don't say very much, and they sometimes don't made a whole lot of sense. It's obvious why they never gained legitimacy with the early Christians.The books may be interesting from a historical perspective. But it escapes me why anyone

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1147281127176357862006-05-10T11:02:00.000-06:002006-05-10T12:25:19.720-06:00

Stand to Reason has a very good article explaining what junk history is contained in The Da Vinci Code. It doesn't take much knowledge to realize how outright false the work is. It's disturbing that something like The Da Vinci Code can gain any footing whatsoever. I'm really disappointed Tom Hanks is doing the film. It seems like any movie he stars in anymore is nothing less than outstanding.

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1145421003055158562006-04-18T22:17:00.001-06:002009-06-30T00:36:46.224-06:00

Here's a critique I wrote a while back on a book by a popular Christian author and retreat speaker, Ken Gire. It's a good example of a guy teaching mysticism within the Christian community.What's wrong with Ken Gire's book Windows of the Soul?

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1137974269758162972006-01-22T16:52:00.000-07:002006-05-10T11:01:43.080-06:00

I found out over Christmas that my wife has been having an affair since before we separated. That explains a lot as to why she has had no desire to work things out. The pain I feel from the deception, the infidelity, and the kind of future I face, goes beyond words. I never imagined a thing like this could happen to us.Here's an article that explains what happened in our marriage: The Walkaway

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1123865277275159712005-08-12T10:39:00.000-06:002006-01-22T21:08:56.120-07:00

Here's another post that's off topic.As alluded to below, my life this summer has been tied up with trying to revive my marriage without my wife's participation. I have been reading a lot of books. Some have been better than others. If you know anyone whose marriage is having trouble, (or if you want to prevent such a thing), here are some books I would definitely recommend:Whoops! I Forgot My

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1120088549129109272005-06-29T17:05:00.001-06:002008-12-02T06:45:04.022-07:00

This is off topic. It has something to do with what I'm facing in my own personal life.Yesterday my wife filed for legal separation. In the state in which I live, that means all the property is divided, child custody is determined, financial interests severed, etc. -- everything a divorce is, just without the name.This was very unexpected.Evidently my wife has been feeling beat up by me

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1117575480379035012005-05-31T14:59:00.000-06:002005-06-03T13:43:09.626-06:00

I am going to put the blog on hold for a while. I have some issues to address in my life that are a higher priority right now.

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1115825309713755532005-05-11T08:53:00.002-06:002009-06-27T23:40:14.361-06:00

I just read what seems to me like a good analysis of McLaren's A Generous Orthodoxy, characterizing it as "a religion of perpetual doubt" and tying it in with Francis Schaeffer's teaching on what he termed "the line of despair." I haven't read A Generous Orthodoxy, but I am certainly on the same page as the author of this critique in regard to the nature of truth and such, so my guess is my take

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1115503769922070442005-05-07T15:58:00.000-06:002007-01-09T01:29:18.156-07:00

I got a thank you letter from Stand to Reason today, a ministry I support monthly. The letter partly ties in with the principles I was discussing in my Steve Camp posts:If the recent cultural clash over the fate of Terri Schiavo teaches us anything, it's that there is a difference between law and power on the one hand, and morality on the other. God gave government for one reason: justice, "for

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1115349710638405112005-05-05T21:07:00.000-06:002007-03-16T13:23:54.329-06:00

I thought this was great the other day. It's from Primitive thoughts of a Christian philosopher (or at least a modest philosopher -- I think he's very good).Punting to mysteryI'm bothered by how often Christians punt to "mystery" when they can't resolve a contradiction in their own worldview. They do it so often, it's tempting to think "mystery" is just a synonym for "contradiction."If there is a

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1115091632679577012005-05-03T21:15:00.000-06:002007-08-13T21:35:27.830-06:00

In the book of Isaiah, God says, "Let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me."This idea isn't one that would strike most Christians as unusual. But it might surprise them what God wants them to understand about Himself:But let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1115093408683426342005-05-02T21:45:00.000-06:002006-05-23T17:39:25.480-06:00

These are answers to a comment on the last post. I'm happy to have the opportunity to clarify my points.Q: If Isaiah is to the community of God to clean house in the community of God, then what application does that have for a secular government? It has tons for the Church within the Church, but where do you see God telling Israel to clean someone else's "house."A: Since when is America someone

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1115059718195838352005-05-02T12:31:00.000-06:002006-05-23T17:35:15.990-06:00

I sent a comment to former CCM artist Steve Camp on his website, and he actually e-mailed me to ask me to explain myself. (Very cool!) (Also see the entry on this blog: My Rebuttal to Steve Camp.)Mr. Camp and I have been going back and forth a little, and his latest response referred me to an essay he's written entitled, "God Directs the Heart of the King." I'd encourage you to read it, and then

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1114834047690898862005-04-29T21:53:00.000-06:002005-05-07T16:17:42.200-06:00

Today I listened to three lectures on line by D.A. Carson, author of a new book called Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church, which I plan to order tonight. The lectures were very good. The first two are posted at Apologetics.com. The third one, someone sent to me. I don't know if it's posted anywhere but here.The three lectures are here:DA Carson: What is the Emergent Church - Pt. 1,

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1114574255004179972005-04-26T20:43:00.000-06:002006-05-23T17:37:45.666-06:00

I hesitate to discuss this because I don't want to provide additional publicity for former CCM artist Steve Camp's recent essay against Justice Sunday. However, I've seen it mentioned on a couple of other blogs, so I guess it's out there.Justice Sunday is an effort by Christian leaders to challenge people from various religious backgrounds to put pressure on the U.S. Congress to vote up or down

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1114399324038934022005-04-24T21:00:00.000-06:002005-05-07T16:18:03.376-06:00

While apologetics isn't the subject matter of this blog, I will probably throw it in from time to time.I really liked a few recent posts on the Primitive thoughts of a Christian philosopher blog which present an argument for the existence of God which goes like this:1. If there is no God, then there are no objective moral values.2. There are objective moral values.3. Therefore, there is a

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1114019934382947602005-04-20T11:07:00.000-06:002005-05-07T16:18:21.076-06:00

I found this Charles Spurgeon essay on the Emergent No blog. I don't agree with Spurgeon on everything concerning entertainment. (In another of his pieces Emergent No posted, he sounds like he was a "don't go to the theater" type, which I'm not.) However, I do think he raises some good points for consideration.How prominent a role, if any, should entertainment take in the local church? (I grew up

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1113845577510838152005-04-18T10:49:00.000-06:002005-05-07T16:18:34.946-06:00

There's another point to be made regarding my Bible As Silly Putty posts. In the first post, I discussed a teacher at my church who took a historical account and drew from it a principle for behavior that wasn't contained in the text itself. Specifically, the teacher said that Christians should try to get themselves involved in ministries that are in line with their passions. This he derived from

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1113589728266532772005-04-15T12:05:00.000-06:002007-01-08T23:50:42.696-07:00

Another example from this same church was when the pastor was teaching about the Wedding at Cana where Jesus turned the water into wine, near the start of Jesus' ministry (John 2:1-11). This pastor asked his students, "Jesus transformed the water in six clay jars into wine [actually, the account says the jars were stone]. What was the significance of the number six?"Of course, no one knew the

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1113434149338554902005-04-13T16:41:00.001-06:002011-01-19T07:25:59.526-07:00

I got an e-mail from a friend a couple days after Terri Schiavo's death. It included this comment: My pastor said in church this morning, that with the events of this past week, his only answer to other people about how he feels is that he loves Jesus with his whole heart, and Jesus is the only one who knows the whole story. Pretty good words of wisdom in this whole horrendous family matter.

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1108701138082192912005-04-08T21:31:00.000-06:002007-01-08T23:50:10.786-07:00

One thing I've noticed in recent years is how many people read into the Bible things it doesn't say, thinking they're obtaining a "deeper meaning" from it. I'm sure most of it is done with good intentions, but nevertheless, it's a practice that treats the Bible's meaning as something we can be creative with, molding it into new shapes, so to speak.I used to go to a church where the leadership

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1110158638159224032005-03-06T17:58:00.000-07:002005-05-07T16:19:34.563-06:00

"No one has ever been argued into the Kingdom." Or, "No one was ever converted by an argument." Or, "An argument will never convert anybody, the Holy Spirit has to do it." I've heard statements like these in numerous Christian circles, most recently from my pastor in a Sunday morning class. I'd almost classify it as a Christian urban legend.As I questioned my pastor, I got the impression that by

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1109102513093426982005-02-22T11:37:00.000-07:002005-05-07T16:22:12.543-06:00

My personal friend A.J. Murray posted the following comment:The thought that keeps leaping to my mind when reading through some of these [posts] (especially relating to comments on Rick Warren's church and his books) are two-fold.First, having been on mission trips with a sole purpose of reaching out for new believers I recognize two things...I'm not Christ and I do not have His ability/eloquence

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1109057504919283042005-02-21T22:41:00.000-07:002005-05-07T16:22:27.423-06:00

Tonight I spoke on the phone with a good friend of mine from twenty years ago who is almost the last guy I would have predicted would become a Christian. Not that he was antagonistic to the faith, but when we were close, he just seemed to have an attitude of self-sufficiency -- no need for God. (Actually, I was pretty much of the same mindset, so I probably shouldn't talk. But isn't it easy to

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1108879821386621202005-02-19T21:58:00.000-07:002005-05-07T16:22:53.316-06:00

Randall Terry wrote a quite discerning book in 1993 titled Why Does a Nice Guy Like Me Keep Getting Thrown in Jail? How theological escapism and cultural retreatism has led to America's demise. The purpose of the book was similar to this blog's: challenging fuzzy ideas within the church.In one chapter, The Idol of Reputation (Are You Nicer Than Jesus? Just Don't Speak the Whole Word of God!),

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1108611637486462312005-02-16T20:25:00.000-07:002006-12-05T10:18:54.050-07:00

Someone posted a comment recommending the following two books (thank you!) :Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down: A Theology of Worship for This Urgent TimeMarva J. DawnThe Market-Driven Church: The Worldly Influence of Modern Culture on the Church in AmericaUdo W. MiddelmannI'll have to pick them up. Amazon also popped up these ones that look good on the "seeker sensitive"/megachurch movement:

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1108530559108435012005-02-15T21:57:00.000-07:002006-12-05T10:18:08.106-07:00

Last year I read most of the book Law & Gospel by C.F.W. Walther, first president of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. The book is comprised of transcripts from a series of lectures Walther gave in 1884. While I'm not in full agreement with the book, I think Walther's perspective on so called "sensitive" approaches to communicating the Gospel has merit. It's interesting that these techniques

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1108418086408581542005-02-14T14:18:00.000-07:002005-05-07T16:21:28.653-06:00

Can Christianity be viewed as a group of product features that can be deliberately emphasized and de-emphasized and still remain the same religion? I guess that goes to the question of what exactly is a religion.What delineates a false religion from a true religion? If the content of the teaching is a distortion of the truth, shouldn't it at some point cease to be considered a true religion? (How

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1108875171083294142005-02-13T09:51:00.000-07:002005-02-22T11:02:35.910-07:00

We see in Rick Warren's presentation below an assurance that the listener will enter heaven. But can a person really have such assurance when the message presented is so ambiguous? Is not the sinner's prayer being treated here as something akin to a magic incantation -- repeat the right words, and you're automatically in? What are the possible consequences to the hearer if such an assurance is

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1108189767804418432005-02-11T22:16:00.000-07:002006-07-21T00:35:36.640-06:00

An example of what I think is God's message being changed for the sake of greater acceptance comes from the current epicenter of "seeker sensitive" ministry, Saddleback Church of Orange County, California. What follows is actually the content of a letter I wrote to a friend to discuss the issue:Before I begin, let me just state that my fundamental fear/concern here is that the message of the

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1108060439929271142005-02-10T11:06:00.000-07:002005-05-07T16:21:04.403-06:00

Like I said, marketing messages generally emphasize the important attributes of a product and de-emphasize the unimportant attributes -- important being defined as the level of appeal to the target audience. The purpose of marketing is to increase audience receptivity.Do Christians have a desire for people to be receptive to God's message? They most certainly do.Are they at liberty to put a

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1107659911454386672005-02-05T19:33:00.002-07:002008-12-11T08:40:00.419-07:00

This week I bought a CD that happens to have a song about not trying to improve upon Jesus' message and/or public image (how timely!). It was written over 30 years ago, but it's probably even more applicable now.Say It Like It IsDon't dress up my Gospel in fancy clothesDon't gloss up my Jesus for the London showsHe'll take care of himself wherever He goesYou just say it like it isYou say it like

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10562895.post-1107303561264242042005-02-01T16:23:00.000-07:002005-05-07T16:20:52.150-06:00

Last year a childhood friend of mine used the term "Christianity Lite" in conversation. I asked him what he meant. Basically, he said the contemporary practice of teaching the Christian religion in such a way as to de-emphasize (or ignore) the stuff that's complicated, challenging or unappealing.I've noticed the same thing myself.There's a push I think, that's unmistakable, to make it all easier

Mike - HotFudgeSunday.comnoreply@blogger.com5