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“The reviews are in of last night’s Republican presidential debate at the Reagan Library. The short of it is that the debate was all about Texas Gov. Rick Perry — the newest in the field and presumed “front runner” — and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
Our friend Frank James at It’s All Politics has analysis. But here’s what others are saying this morning:
— Politico’s top take-away is that Perry has now emerged as the “clear frontrunner”: The Texas governor got the most questions from questioners Brian Williams and John Harris, but he also absorbed the most punches from his competitors. When all the energy is concentrated in one direction, it underscores who is dominating the field – and last night it was Perry who was at the center of attention. Perry himself acknowledged the focus on him, saying at one point, “I feel a bit like a pinata.”
— The conservative National Review polled experts after the debate and the views were mixed to say the least.
Hadley Arkes, a professor of jurisprudence at Amherst College, wrote that the debate brought out one thing of importance for him. “Rick Perry persuaded me that he was not scary, and that he won’t be seen as scary by the vast public,” he wrote.
Republican media consultant Alex Castellanos could not disagree more: He said that during the debate Perry stuck to his claims that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme” and that is “scary stuff for seniors.”
— The New Republic’s John B. Judis makes the case that Perry will be the Republican nominee, saying he “appeared tough, confident, able to deflect criticism, and to fire back when fired upon.”
Here’s what he said about Romney: Romney is the Nelson Rockefeller of today’s Republican party. Rockefeller, elected four times as governor of New York, was one of the most able politicians in America, but he was too liberal for the Republican party of his time. He backed civil rights and the welfare state, he was a big spender, he was pro-union. And he was also divorced. He might have won the presidency in 1960 or 1968, but he could never win the Republican nomination for president.
— Not everyone jumped on the Perry bandwagon. The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza gave the night to Romney: … Romney showed his experience and steadied himself as the proceedings wore on — repeatedly giving answers that sounded reasonable and, dare we say it, presidential. Romney continues to execute his strategy: focus on President Obama and the economy while avoiding too much back and forth with his Republican rivals. It worked (again) tonight.
— The New York Times’ Nate Silver concurred. He scored Perry’s performance a B-minus and gave Romney an A-minus. He called Perry’s “Ponzi scheme” remark “unwise” saying, “This particular remark is not likely to sit exceptionally well even with Republicans, conservative though they may be. A CNN poll published last month found 57 percent of Republicans opposed to major changes in Social Security and Medicare.” – NPR
Both Oppenneimer and Lizza have attacked Francis Schaeffer’s view, but the way to know his views best is to take time to watch his film series. I said that in my first post and I will continue to show all ten episodes of his film series “How should we then live?”
This is a series of posts concerning presidential candidate Michele Bachmann and her religious beliefs. Particularly I will be looking at the identity of Francis Schaeffer who Michele said had major impact on her views. I also would say that Francis Schaeffer was the greatest christian philosopher of the 20th century.
In 1979 I first watched the film series “How should we then live?” and it was so impressive to me that I returned to my high school with permission from my former teacher to view the series again. In fact, Mr. Brink would tell the seniors at Evangelical Christian School in Cordova, TN something to this affect: “I hope you realize how important this film series by Dr. Francis Schaeffer is. Here we have Everette Hatcher who is in college now, but he is coming back to see this film again because he knows how valuable it is.”
The best way to understand Michele Bachmann’s worldview is to watch the film series “How should we then live?” by Francis Schaeffer. I have provided a 30 minute episode at the end of this post with a written outline. In this film series the humanist worldview is seen as weak because it is not able to give adequate answers to life’s tough questions while the christian worldview can. Humanism has a finite base because it is limited to finite man while the Christian worldview is based on information provided by the infinite-personal God of the Bible.
I often tease my friend who will run for president some day that our friendship will end up costing him dearly. Reporters will dig up our connection and will explain what a freak I am and how that disqualifies him to be president. That’s kind of how it goes now if you run for office, apparently, no matter where you fall politically.
We see this kind of guilt by association throughout a new piece on Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) from The New Yorker, a much talked-about profile that includes some bizarre connections and strange inferences.
Apparently this is the week for targeting Bachmann, as there is much talk about the notorious Newseek cover, which we’ll deal with in a later post. Some of you may resonate with Slate’s Jessica Grose when she says, “I hate it when Michele Bachmann makes me defend her,” but hold on to your hats for a Leblancian edit (bolded phrases are my own) of the religion-related parts of New Yorker’s smear by Ryan Lizza.
Bachmann belongs to a generation of Christian conservatives whose views have been shaped by institutions, tracts, and leaders not commonly known to secular Americans, or even to most Christians.
Oh really? What’s his basis for this claim?
Her campaign is going to be a conversation about a set of beliefs more extreme than those of any American politician of her stature, including Sarah Palin, to whom she is inevitably compared. Bachmann said in 2004 that being gay is “personal enslavement,” and that, if same-sex marriage were legalized, “little children will be forced to learn that homosexuality is normal and natural and that perhaps they should try it.”
Bachmann wasn’t the first to consider sin enslavement, even if you might agree or disagree with her interpretation. How does Lizza know that her campaign will be focus on a set of beliefs? Is the media making this the focus?
…The trip [to Israel] gave her a connection to Israel, a state whose creation, many American evangelicals believe, is prophesied in the Bible. (St. Paul, in the Letter to the Romans, says that Jews will one day gather again in their homeland; modern fundamentalists see this, along with the coming of the Antichrist, as presaging the Rapture.)
Who are modern fundamentalists and what do they have to do with Bachmann? Is there any evidence that Bachmann holds the idea of pretribulation, midtribulation, or posttribulation rapture? Or maybe she’s postmillennial or even amillennial.
These ideas get complex, so things get muddy while trying to summarize an entire belief system on eschatology in a paragraph when the reporter doesn’t offer evidence for those beliefs.
In the fall of 1975, Bachmann enrolled at Winona State University, a small school in southeastern Minnesota, where she became more devout and tried to lead her dormmates to Christianity.
Regular readers know we hate the d-word. And, of course, part of being an evangelical often means evangelism, so this isn’t exactly breaking news or terribly unusual.
Then the reporter examines the beliefs of the late Francis Schaeffer, who was kind of a big deal for many evangelicals. Now, Bachmann has said before that Schaeffer has strongly influenced her views, so the association here makes sense. What’s strange is how the reporter portrays him as fringe. Here’s the reporter’s explanation for part of a video Schaeffer produced.
In the sixth episode, a mysterious man in a fake mustache drives around in a white van and furtively pours chemicals into a city’s water supply, while Schaeffer speculates about the possibility that the U.S. government is controlling its citizens by means of psychotropic drugs.
How much of that video consisted of speculation? Is there any indication that Bachmann holds this belief?
Lizza uses Schaeffer’s son Frank to explain his father’s beliefs, but he should at least acknowledge that Frank has also taken his own ideological shift. For example, Frank recently blamed the shootings in Norway on conservative evangelicals and warns that evangelicals could be planning similar attacks in the U.S. Hmm.
In 1981, three years before he died, Schaeffer published “A Christian Manifesto,” a guide for Christian activism, in which he argues for the violent overthrow of the government if Roe v. Wade isn’t reversed.
Oops. You don’t have to agree with Schaeffer to wonder whether he is unfairly maligned in this piece. The reporter then jumps to Bachmann time at Oral Roberts’ former law school.
For several years, the school could not get accreditation, because students were required to sign a “code of honor” attesting to their Christian belief and commitment.
Does anyone know whether this is really the reason why the school couldn’t get accredited? This surprises me, considering that lots and lots of colleges that have variations on a religious “code of honor” are accredited (BYU anyone?).
The law review published essays by Schaeffer and Rousas John Rushdoony, a prominent Dominionist who has called for a pure Christian theocracy in which Old Testament law—execution for adulterers and homosexuals, for example—would be instituted.
Here are more attempts to prove guilt by association. I’m guess that, for example, our friend Mr. Brad Greenberg does not believe everything a professors who write for a law review from UCLA produces, but maybe he does. Did the law review publish essays calling to execute homosexuals and adulterers? Did she believe these claims in any way?
Lizza quotes professor John Eidsmoe whom Bachmann worked for at Oral Roberts (ORU).
When I asked him if he believed that Bachmann’s views were fully consistent with the prevailing ideology at O.R.U. and the themes of his book, he said, “Yes.” Later, he added, “I do not know of any way in which they are not.”
That’s a pretty generic question he’s answering. It doesn’t get into if she believes in criminalizing adultery or homosexuality, which seems to insinuate. Then Lizza touches on Bachmann’s foster parenting.
Bachmann’s motivation seems to have been to save the girls, in the same way that she had been saved.
Again, not terribly shocking for a Christian foster parent, but even if this was her motivation, how she did this would be more relevant. Is there any evidence that she coerced the children in any way?
In the late nineteen-nineties, William Cooper, a wealthy bank executive and conservative activist, became chairman of the Minnesota Republican Party, and started to demand more ideological purity. “He began a purge of people like me,” Laidig said. “No abortion, so if your daughter is raped or if you find out your child is going to be permanently a vegetable you have the kid. Not every abortion is birth control, O.K.? So really hard-core stuff.”
Maybe he did, but did this Republican leader really want to “purge” people that supported abortion in cases of rape and if child is a permanent “vegetable?” How does this apply to Bachmann?
Here’s another journalist using guilt by association with a very tenuous basis on reality to take shots. I could go on and on about the problems in the piece and how it could have been improved, but for now, we’ll ponder why these sections weren’t edited more thoroughly.
Pieces like this do little to illuminate Bachmann’s beliefs or how they apply to her policy stances, but NPR doesn’t mind highlighting it (audio will be available later today). Better watch out who you’re friending on Facebook. You never know what they said 20 years ago that will come back to haunt you in your next job interview.
I am sharing with you a film series that I saw in 1979. In this film Francis Schaeffer asserted that was a shift in Modern Science. A. Change in conviction from earlier modern scientists.B. From an open to a closed natural system: elimination of belief in a Creator.1. Closed system derives not from the findings of science but from philosophy.2. Now there is no place for the significance of Man, for morals, or for love.C. Darwin taught that all life evolved through the survival of the fittest.1. Serious problems inherent in Darwinism and Neo-Darwinism.
This is probably one of the most important episodes in the series.
I. Church Attacks on Copernican Science Were Philosophical
Galileo’s and Copernicus’ works did not contradict the Bible but the elements of Aristotle’s teaching which had entered the Church.
II. Examples of Biblical Influence
A. Pascal’s work.
1. First successful barometer; great writing of French prose.
2. Understood Man’s uniqueness: Man could contemplate, and Man had value to God.
B. Newton
1. Speed of sound and gravity.
2. For Newton and the other early scientists, no problem concerning the why, because they began with the existence of a personal God who had created the universe.
C. Francis Bacon
1. Stressed careful observation and systematic collection of information.
2. Bacon and the other early scientists took the Bible seriously, including its teaching concerning history and the cosmos.
D. Faraday
1. Crowning discovery was the induction of the electric current.
2. As a Christian, believed God’s Creation is for all men to understand and enjoy, not just for a scientific elite.
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Francis Schaeffer- How Should We Then Live? -6- The Scientific Age
A. Oppenheimer and Whitehead: biblical foundations of scientific revolution.
B. Not all early scientists individually Christian, but all lived within Christian thought forms. This gave a base for science to continue and develop.
C. The contrast between Christian-based science and Chinese and Arab science.
D. Christian emphasis on an ordered Creation reflects nature of reality and is therefore acted upon in all cultures, regardless of what they say their world view is.
1. Einstein’s theory of relativity does not imply relative universe.
2. Man acts on assumption of order, whether he likes it or not.
3. Master idea of biblical science.
a) Uniformity of natural causes in an open system: cause and effect works, but God and Man not trapped in a process.
b) All that exists is not a total cosmic machine.
c) Human choices therefore have meaning and effect.
d) The cosmic machine and the machines people make therefore not a threat.
IV. Shift in Modern Science
A. Change in conviction from earlier modern scientists.
B. From an open to a closed natural system: elimination of belief in a Creator.
1. Closed system derives not from the findings of science but from philosophy.
2. Now there is no place for the significance of Man, for morals, or for love.
C. Darwin taught that all life evolved through the survival of the fittest.
1. Serious problems inherent in Darwinism and Neo-Darwinism.
2. Extension of natural selection to society, politics and ethnics.
D. Natural selection and Nazi ideology.
E. The new authoritarianism: not the crudely dictatorial regimes of Hitler and Stalin. New regimes will be subtly manipulative, based on sophisticated arsenal of new techniques now available.
1. To obtain organs for transplants forces acceptance of new definition of death. Possible abuses.
2. Without the absolute line which Christianity gives of the total uniqueness of Man, people have no boundary line between what they can do and what they should do.
3. Moral and legal implications of Artificial Insemination by Donor (A.I.D.)
4. Skinner’s social psychology and the abolition of Man.
5. Tell people they are machines and they will tend to act accordingly.
6. Each theory of conditioning leads to social application.
a) Koestler: tranquilizer to cure human aggression.
b) Clark and Lee: controlling aggressions of politicians.
c) Kranty: control reproduction through the water supply.
7. Who controls the controllers? —The unasked question.
a) The basic question begged: the psycho-civilizer as King?
b) If people are machines, why should biological continuation have value?
V. Need to Reaffirm That Which Was the Original Base for Modern Science
Questions
1. Explain the important contributions to science made by biblical principles.
2. How should our knowledge of the biblical view of work and nature affect our own attitudes to research, study of the Bible, and the use of our minds?
3. Does this segment help you to understand how and why men of great intellectual refinement in Nazi Germany could accept what was going on?
4. “Without the absolute line which Christianity gives of the total uniqueness of Man, people have no boundary line between what they can do and what they should do.” Discuss.
Key Events and Persons
Copernicus: 1475-1543
Francis Bacon: 1561-1626
Novum Organum Scientiarum: 1620
Galileo: 1564-1642
Pascal: 1623-1662
Isaac Newton: 1642-1727
Principia Mathematica: 1687
Michael Faraday: 1791-1867
Charles Darwin: 1809-1882
Origin of Species: 1859
Herbert Spencer: 1820-1903
Albert Einstein: 1879-1955
Russel Lee: 1895-
Heinrich Himmler: 1900-1945
B.F. Skinner: 1904-1990
Arthur Koestler: 1905-
Kenneth B. Clark: 1914-
Murray Eden: 1920-
Kermit Kranty: 1923-
Skinner’s Beyond Freedom and Dignity: 1971
Further Study
Robin Briggs, ed., The Scientific Revolution of the Seventeenth Century (1969).
E.A. Burtt, The Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science (1932).
Arthur Koestler, The Watershed. A Biography of Johannes Kepler (1960).
Arthur Koestler, The Ghost in the Machine (1967).
C.S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength (1945).
C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man (1972).
D.M. Mackay, The Clockwork Image (1974).
Mathematical Challenges to the Neo-Darwinian Interpretation of Evolution. Wistar Symposium
E P I S O D E 1 0 How Should We Then Live 10#1 FINAL CHOICES I. Authoritarianism the Only Humanistic Social Option One man or an elite giving authoritative arbitrary absolutes. A. Society is sole absolute in absence of other absolutes. B. But society has to be led by an elite: John Kenneth […]
E P I S O D E 9 How Should We Then Live 9#1 T h e Age of Personal Peace and Afflunce I. By the Early 1960s People Were Bombarded From Every Side by Modern Man’s Humanistic Thought II. Modern Form of Humanistic Thought Leads to Pessimism Regarding a Meaning for Life and for Fixed […]
E P I S O D E 8 How Should We Then Live 8#1 I saw this film series in 1979 and it had a major impact on me. T h e Age of FRAGMENTATION I. Art As a Vehicle Of Modern Thought A. Impressionism (Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, Degas) and Post-Impressionism (Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, […]
E P I S O D E 7 How Should We Then Live 7#1 I am thrilled to get this film series with you. I saw it first in 1979 and it had such a big impact on me. Today’s episode is where we see modern humanist man act on his belief that we live […]
I have made it clear from day one when I started this blog that Francis Schaeffer, Milton Friedman, Ronald Reagan and Adrian Rogers had been the biggest influences on my political and religious views. Today I am responding to an unfair attack on Francis Schaeffer’s book “A Christian Manifesto.” As you can see on the […]
E P I S O D E 6 How Should We Then Live 6#1 I am sharing with you a film series that I saw in 1979. In this film Francis Schaeffer asserted that was a shift in Modern Science. A. Change in conviction from earlier modern scientists.B. From an open to a closed natural system: […]
E P I S O D E 5 How Should We Then Live 5-1 I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Francis Schaeffer noted, “Reformation Did Not Bring Perfection. But gradually on basis of biblical teaching there was a unique improvement. A. […]
How Should We Then Live 4-1 I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer makes three key points concerning the Reformation: “1. Erasmian Christian humanism rejected by Farel. 2. Bible gives needed answers not only as to how to be right with […]
How Should We Then Live 3-1 I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer really shows why we have so many problems today with this excellent episode. He noted, “Could have gone either way—with emphasis on real people living in […]
How Should We Then Live 2-1 I was impacted by this film series by Francis Schaeffer back in the 1970′s and I wanted to share it with you. Schaeffer points out that during this time period unfortunately we have the “Church’s deviation from early church’s teaching in regard to authority and the approach to God.” […]
How Should We Then Live 1-1 Today I am starting a series that really had a big impact on my life back in the 1970′s when I first saw it. There are ten parts and today is the first. Francis Schaeffer takes a look at Rome and why it fell. It fell because of inward [..
Adrian Rogers – [1/2] How to Come Back When You’re Down
Adrian Rogers – [2/2] How to Come Back When You’re Down
Here are 5 thoughts by Adrian Rogers:
Many have asked how should Christians respond to what happened in America on September 11. And after much prayer and reading through God’s Word, I’d like to share you five things God has placed on my heart as to our response to current affairs of our nation and the war on terrorism.
The first thing I want to tell you is to trust God. He will see us through this. His anchor hold in the storm. Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” Psalm 20:7 says, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” America may go to war with manmade weapons, but our safety and ultimate victory comes from the Lord.
Second, we need to gather and pray. Gather your family and pray. Go to your neighbors and pray. We need pray for God’s kingdom to come and God’s will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. God’s word says, “I exhort therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, then giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.” (1 Timothy 2:1). We need to pray for and we need to work for peace.
Third, all the prayer in the world is not going to do any good unless we repent. Second Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” We, as a nation, must repent. We, as Christians, who have stood back in apathy and allowed our nation to slide into a cesspool of immorality, need to repent for our sins, as well.
Fourth, we need to reach out in love. Let the terrible wickedness committed on September 11 be the dark velvet upon which the diamond of God’s love can be seen in your life. This is an opportunity for you to share the love of Jesus with everybody – whatever their race, whatever their nationality, whatever their religion.
This is a time for a mighty baptism of God’s love. Romans 12:21 says, “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” There is no person on the face of this earth that you have the luxury of hating and no person that you can rejoice when he falls into misery.
Finally, we need to speak up. As the night grows darker, the saints need to grow brighter. The attacks on September 11 were based on a philosophy and we can’t shoot down a philosophy with a bullet. The only thing that will overcome an idea is a better idea. And that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I challenge you to move out of your comfort zone and into your neighborhoods to share the love of Jesus. Oh, that we would live the truth, tell the truth, speak the truth, believe the truth, love the truth.
We need, with all of our heart and soul, to preach the glorious Gospel of Jesus to a lost and dying world. If all we’re doing is enjoying our pursuit of happiness, we’re just making America a better place to go to hell from. Each of us needs to go to our family, neighbors, friends, coworkers, and business associates – and get them lashed to the cross.
We need to help them understand that there’s a God in glory who rules over all and come what may, “neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
If you need resources to help you share God’s plan of salvation, Love Worth Finding can help, just give us a call at 1-800-LOVE-GOD or visit our web site at www.lwf.org. We’re praying for God to use you in a mighty way for His glory!
The recent events in Little Rock concerning KARK TV’s top weatherman Brett Cummins and his experience of drinking alcohol and snorting coke has left a lot of people asking questions. Since the evening ended in the tragic death of one of Brett’s friends, Dexter Williams, many questions have centered on the use of illegal drugs. Some has wondered why KARK in their press release failed to even mention Cummins’ drug use.
I am hoping that those that I know who are involved in drugs will think long and hard also about the recent addition to the “27 Club” of Amy Whinehouse.
Dave Hope and Kerry Livgren went on a journey in their life together. They both were founding members of the rock group Kansas. Dave Hope actually got heavily involved in the drug scene as his rock band made it to the top. His story of deliverance through Christ is in the two video clips later in this post. First I want to take a look at the story of Kerry Livgren. Step by step in this 8 minute video clip he tells about his journey and how he found the answer he was searching for by putting his faith alone in Christ. I want to challenge those who have chosen to escape through drugs to watch this video and I wound love to have your feedback.
Kerry Livgren( music group Kansas) testimony and promotion of film The Imposter starring Kevin Max(DC Talk) and Jeff Deyo.
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At this point I am posting a portion of a previous post I did earlier this year. It deals with the search for satisfaction that Woody Allen, Coldplay, Kansas and King Solomon all went on. It includes the video clips of Dave Hope and Kerry Livgren of Kansas.
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Here is an article I wrote a couple of years ago:
Solomon, Woody Allen, Coldplay and Kansas
What does King Solomon, the movie director Woody Allen and the modern rock bands Coldplay and Kansas have in common? All four took on the issues surrounding death, the meaning of life and a possible afterlife, although they all came up with their own conclusions on these weighty matters.
Let me start off by pointing out what they all had in common. First, they were very successful and rose to the top of their fields. Second, they were very famous and of course, thirdly they were wealthy and experienced the privileges that fame and wealth brought. Finally, they were still seeking answers to life’s great questions even though it seemed they had experienced all the world had to offer.
Unlike many the past grammy winners of “Best Rock Album,” Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends by Coldplay is filled with songs that deal with spiritual themes such as death, the meaning of life and searching for an afterlife.
Leadsinger Chris Martin notes, “…because we’ve had some people close to us we’ve lost, but some miracles — we’ve got kids. So, life has been very extreme recently, and so both death and life pop up quite often” (MTV News interview, June 9, 2008).
Russ Briermeier of Christianity Today observes that this album is “often provocative, spiritual, and seemingly on the verge of identifying a greater truth, asking and inspiring many questions without providing the answers.” It reminded me of King Solomon’s search for answers in the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament. Solomon also dealt the subject of death a lot. Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 asserts, “It is better to spend your time at funerals than at festivals. For you are going to die, and you should think about it while there is still time. Sorrow is better than laughter, it may sadden your face, but it sharpens your understanding.”
The subject of death is prominent in the songs “Poppyfields,” “Violet Hill,” “Death and All His Friends,” “42,” and the “Cemeteries of London.” Then the song “The Escapist” states, “And in the end, We lie awake and we dream, we’re makin our escape.” In the end we all die. Therefore, I assume this song is searching for an afterlife to escape to. The song “Glass of Water” sheds some more light on where we possibly escape to: “Oh he said you could see a future inside a glass of water, with riddles and the rhymes, He asked ‘Will I see heaven in mine?’
Coldplay is clearly searching for spiritual answers but it seems they have not found them quite yet. The song “42“: “Time is so short and I’m sure, There must be something more.” Then the song “Lost“: “Every river that I tried to cross, Every door I ever tried was locked, I’m just waiting til the shine wears off, You might be a big fish in a little pond, Doesn’t mean you’ve won, Because along may come a bigger one and you will be lost.”
Solomon went to the extreme in his searching in the Book of Ecclesiastes for this “something more” that Coldplay is talking about, but he did not find any satisfaction in pleasure (2:1), education (2:3), work (2:4), wealth (2:8) or fame (2:9). All of his accomplishments would not be remembered (1:11) and who is to say that they had not already been done before by others (1:10)? This reminds me of the big fish in the little pond that Coldplay was talking about. Even if you think you are on top, are you really? Also Solomon’s upcoming death depressed him because both people and animals alike “go to the same place — they came from dust and they return to dust” (3:20).
In 1978 I heard the song “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas when it rose to #6 on the charts. That song told me thatKerry Livgren the writer of that song and a member of Kansas had come to the same conclusion that Solomon had. I remember mentioning to my friends at church that we may soon see some members of Kansas become Christians because their search for the meaning of life had obviously come up empty even though they had risen from being an unknown band to the top of the music business and had all the wealth and fame that came with that. Furthermore, like Solomon and Coldplay, they realized death comes to everyone and “there must be something more.”
Livgren wrote:
“All we do, crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see, Dust in the Wind, All we are is dust in the wind, Don’t hang on, Nothing lasts forever but the Earth and Sky, It slips away, And all your money won’t another minute buy.”
Both Kerry Livgren and Dave Hope of Kansas became Christians eventually. Kerry Livgren first tried Eastern Religions and Dave Hope had to come out of a heavy drug addiction. I was shocked and elated to see their personal testimony on The 700 Club in 1981 and that same interview can be seen on youtube today. Livgren lives in Topeka, Kansas today where he teaches “Diggers,” a Sunday school class at Topeka Bible Church. Hope is the head of Worship, Evangelism and Outreach at Immanuel Anglican Church in Destin, Florida.
The movie maker Woody Allen has embraced the nihilistic message of the song “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas. David Segal in his article, “Things are Looking Up for the Director Woody Allen. No?” (Washington Post, July 26, 2006), wrote, “Allen is evangelically passionate about a few subjects. None more so than the chilling emptiness of life…The 70-year-old writer and director has been musing about life, sex, work, death and his generally futile search for hope…the world according to Woody is so bereft of meaning, so godless and absurd, that the only proper response is to curl up on a sofa and howl for your mommy.”
The song “Dust in the Wind” recommends, “Don’t hang on.” Allen himself says, “It’s just an awful thing and in that context you’ve got to find an answer to the question: ‘Why go on?’ ” It is ironic that Chris Martin the leader of Coldplay regards Woody Allen as his favorite director.
Lets sum up the final conclusions of these gentlemen: Coldplay is still searching for that “something more.” Woody Allen has concluded the search is futile. Livgren and Hope of Kansas have become Christians and are involved in fulltime ministry. Solomon’s experiment was a search for meaning to life “under the sun.” Then in last few words in the Book of Ecclesiastes he looks above the sun and brings God back into the picture: “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: Fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
You can hear Kerry Livgren’s story from this youtube link:
(part 1 ten minutes)
(part 2 ten minutes)
Kansas – Dust In The Wind
Ecclesiastes 1
Published on Sep 4, 2012
Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 2, 2012 | Pastor Derek Neider
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Ecclesiastes 2-3
Published on Sep 19, 2012
Calvary Chapel Spring Valley | Sunday Evening | September 16, 2012 | Derek Neider
Why not pass the Balanced Budget Amendment? As you know that federal deficit is at all time high (1.6 trillion deficit with revenues of 2.2 trillion and spending at 3.8 trillion).
On my blog www.HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com I took you at your word and sent you over 100 emails with specific spending cut ideas. However, I did not see any of them in the recent debt deal that Congress adopted. Now I am trying another approach. Every week from now on I will send you an email explaining different reasons why we need the Balanced Budget Amendment. It will appear on my blog on “Thirsty Thursday” because the government is always thirsty for more money to spend.
Many of the politicians in Washington, including President Obama during his State of the Union address, piously tell us that there is no way to balance the budget without tax increases. Trying to get rid of red ink without higher taxes, they tell us, would require “savage” and “draconian” budget cuts.
The Congressional Budget Office has just released its 10-year projections for the budget, so I crunched the numbers to determine what it would take to balance the budget without tax hikes. Much to nobody’s surprise, the politicians are not telling the truth.
The chart below shows that revenues are expected to grow (because of factors such as inflation, more population, and economic expansion) by more than 7 percent each year. Balancing the budget is simple so long as politicians increase spending at a slower rate. If they freeze the budget, we almost balance the budget by 2017. If federal spending is capped so it grows 1 percent each year, the budget is balanced in 2019. And if the crowd in Washington can limit spending growth to about 2 percent each year, red ink almost disappears in just 10 years.
These numbers, incidentally, assume that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts are made permanent (they are now scheduled to expire in two years). They also assume that the AMT is adjusted for inflation, so the chart shows that we can balance the budget without any increase in the tax burden.
We also have international evidence showing that spending restraint – not higher taxes – is the key to balancing the budget. New Zealand got rid of a big budget deficit in the 1990s with a five-year spending freeze. Canada also got rid of red ink that decade with a five-year period where spending grew by an average of only 1 percent per year. And Ireland slashed its deficit in the late 1980s by 10 percentage points of GDP with a four-year spending freeze.
Sixty Six who resisted “Sugar-coated Satan Sandwich” Debt Deal (Part 36)
This post today is a part of a series I am doing on the 66 Republican Tea Party favorites that resisted eating the “Sugar-coated Satan Sandwich” Debt Deal. Actually that name did not originate from a representative who agrees with the Tea Party, but from a liberal.
Rep. Emanuel Clever (D-Mo.) called the newly agreed-upon bipartisan compromise deal to raise the debt limit “a sugar-coated satan sandwich.”
“This deal is a sugar-coated satan sandwich. If you lift the bun, you will not like what you see,” Clever tweeted on August 1, 2011.
Washington, DC — Congressman Steve Scalise today issued the following statement after the House passed the Budget Control Act, a two-step proposal to cut and control Washington spending, provide permanent accountability with a balanced budget amendment, and an increase in the debt ceiling to preserve the full faith and credit of the United States.
“The Budget Control Act marks the beginning of the critical process to cut and control Washington spending so we can ensure accountability by getting back to a balanced budget while also preserving the full faith and credit of the United States,” Scalise said. “While this is far from the final solution to our debt problems, this vote begins to change the culture of Washington and the broken system of spending. Achieving a solution to Washington’s spending problem should not be about what’s best for the President’s next election, it should instead be about what’s best for America. It is long past time for the President and the Senate to take up this common-sense agreement and stop playing games with America’s future
These are some pictures of Dexter Williams. Unfortunately his life was cut short while drinking and snorting coke with KARK weatherman Brett Cummins. (Cummins has resigned as of Friday.)
The Democrat-Gazette reported this morning: Man in Maumelle tub asphyxiated, police say By Sean Beherec LITTLE ROCK — The state Crime Laboratory determined a 24-year-old man found dead in a bathtub with a Little Rock meteorologist in a Maumelle home died from asphyxiation, police said Thursday. The manner of death of Paul Dexter Williams of […]
I have been asked and I don’t have an answer for why there has been no updates whatsoever since September 9th on the investigation concerning Dexter Williams death. KATV had a story dated Sept 9th and updated the 15th. Here is the last story from KTHV channel 11: Dexter Williams (Photo from family) LITTLE ROCK, […]
I welcome the input from those that read my blog. Recently I received some criticism from readers and Jordan is probably more of the most vocal. He wrote today, “I hardly see a ‘tragic’ death as you call it, a morally sound reason to throw in people’s faces what drugs do to people…You know as […]
In today’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Linda Caillouet wrote: LITTLE ROCK — When news broke of the death of Dexter Williams over the Labor Day weekend at a Maumelle home visited by then-KARK meteorologist Brett Cummins, most local news media reported details from the police report. This newspaper, KATV and KTHV reported that police said the body of […]
What started out on Sunday night September 4 as a local story now has grabbed national attention through both CNN and Fox News. Brett Cummins, 33, is seen in a photo on the website of Little Rock station KARK-TV. Cummins works as a meteorologist for the station. Police Probe Death of Arkansas Man Found in […]
KATV reported: Ark. weatherman quits after found with body in tub Posted: Sep 09, 2011 5:45 PM CDTUpdated: Sep 09, 2011 6:00 PM CDT By JEANNIE NUSS Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – An attorney for an Arkansas meteorologist who was found in a hot tub with a dead body earlier this week says his client […]
I have mentioned before that I thought it was sad that KARK ignored the fact that Brett Cummins was snorting coke with the young man, Dexter Williams, on Sunday night and that Williams died as a result. Now at least the other stations in the Little Rock Market have been covering the story. Rival Stations […]
KARK’s website includes these words: Thursday afternoon, Brett Cummins released the following statement to CNN through his attorney: Brett Cummins is devastated by the tragic death of his friend Dexter Williams and extends his sincere condolences to Dexter’s family. They remain foremost in his thoughts and prayers. Mr. Cummins deeply regrets the grief this incident […]
Today’s THV channel 11 in Little Rock reported: MAUMELLE, Ark. (AP) – An attorney for a local meteorologist says no foul play was involved in the death of a 24-year-old Mountain Pine man. Little Rock-based lawyer Mark Hampton said Thursday that KARK meteorologist Brett Cummins is innocent. Authorities say Cummins and the body of 24-year-old […]
Drugs and alcohol have always been a pitfall that many of the wealthy fall into. We see rock bands that become famous have lots of temptations thrown their way and many fall into these traps. Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and Barry McGuire fell into these traps. One joined the “27 Club” and the other left the […]
The recent events in Little Rock concerning KARK TV’s top weatherman Brett Cummins and his experience of drinking alcohol and snorting coke has left a lot of people asking questions. Since the evening ended in the tragic death of one of Brett’s friends, Dexter Williams, many questions have centered on the use of illegal drugs. […]
These are some pictures of Dexter Williams. Unfortunately his life was cut short while drinking and snorting coke with KARK weatherman Brett Cummins. Dexter Williams (Photo from family) Dexter Paul Williams (facebook photo) Related posts: Pictures of Dexter Williams September 7, 2011 – 10:22 pm These are some pictures of Dexter Williams. Unfortunately his life was […]
These are some pictures of Dexter Williams. Unfortunately his life was cut short while drinking and snorting coke with KARK weatherman Brett Cummins. Dexter Williams (Photo from family) Dexter Paul Williams (facebook photo)
Youtube video about Brett Cummins story posted. TV weatherman awakens in hot tub next to naked dead man with ‘dog collar’ around his neck after drug and alcohol-fueled party By Thomas Durante Last updated at 7:24 PM on 7th September 2011 It may be part of his job to predict when a storm is […]
Brett Cummins has risen to be the top tv weatherman in the evening at KARK News 4. However, something is missing in his life. (I wish Brett would just take the time to read the story of Marvin A. McMickle | Senior Pastor, Antioch Baptist Church, Cleveland, Ohio at the end of this post). I […]
Brett Cummins and his friends were drinking heavily and taking drugs on Sunday night and all three of them went to sleep under the influence of alcohol and drugs and only 2 of them woke up. This reminds me of a few verses from the Old Testament. (There is hope, check out testimony of one who […]
This is a link to the full police report. (There is hope, check out testimony of one who has been delivered from drugs and alcohol and his name is Marvin.) Dexter Paul Williams (facebook photo) There is a youtube video about Brett Cummins and the link is here. Here are related posts: Brett Cummins turns to […]
Details concerning what happened are coming out now. It seems that KARK can no longer ignore the fact that Cummins was snorting coke. (There is hope, check out testimony of one who has been delivered from drugs and alcohol and his name is Marvin.)Here is a Democrat-Gazette article on the incident: Man, 24, found dead in […]
Brett Cummins was snorting coke but you could never tell it from this statement from KARK: KARK-TV anchor Bob Clausen said on the air today, “Our meteorologist Brett Cummins was at the home at the time of the death and we felt we should share this with you our viewers. Brett will not be on […]
It may be part of his job to predict when a storm is on its way, but he never saw this one coming.
Police in Arkansas said Tuesday that they are investigating the death of a man found in an unfilled hot tub with a sleeping TV weatherman.
In a storm: KARK-TV weatherman Brett Cummins awakened in an unfilled hot tub next to the body of his friend
Maumelle police officers were called to the home of Christopher Barbour Monday morning where they found the body in the hot tub.
Mr Barbour, told cops that the dead man and meteorologist Brett Cummins of Little Rock station KARK, were guests at his home Sunday night for Labor Day weekend party.
Police were told that the trio was drinking and snorting drugs.
Mr Barbour said that he awoke the next morning to Cummins’ loud snoring, and found the weatherman in his hot tub with the nude body of Dexter Williams lying next to him.
Williams’ face was discoloured and he had with a chain around his neck – described by police as a ‘dog collar.’
There were also traces of blood in the hot tub, police said.
Upon awakening, Mr Cummins became ill and vomited on the carpet. He later left the home, but returned to give his statement to police, which was not released.
Maumelle police Lt Jim Hansard said investigators haven’t ruled out foul play in Williams’ death.
The 24-year-old’s Facebook page lists partying among his interests.
Lt Hansard told MailOnline that an autopsy has being conducted on Williams’ body, the results of which are pending.
No arrests had been made in the case.Victim: The body of Dexter Williams was found curled in the fetal position in a hot tub with Arkansas weatherman Brett Cummins
According to a report from Maumelle police, the Mr Barbour said he invited Mr Cummins to his home Sunday evening.
He showed up with Mr Williams, a friend from Mountain Pine, Arkansas, and they started drinking and snorting drugs, Mr Barbour told police.
At some point, they got into a hot tub and continued drinking, according to the police report.
Police are working with local prosecutor JaNan Davis to determine what charges, if any, might be filed.
Davis said any charges in the case hinge on the results of the autopsy.
Grisly discovery: Police were called to the Arkansas home of Christopher Barbour, where an alcohol and drug-fueled Labor Day weekend party turned deadly
Revelry: Dexter Williams’ Facebook page lists ‘partying’ as one of his interests
Cummins did not respond to a phone message left Tuesday.
Mike Vaughn, the general manager for KARK, said Cummins reported to work Monday, but never went on the air.
He said the station received the report about Williams’ death and was working to figure out what happened, but he declined to comment further.
During a Tuesday news broadcast, KARK-TV anchor Bob Clausen said: ‘Our meteorologist Brett Cummins was at the home at the time of the death and we felt we should share this with you our viewers.
‘Brett will not be on the air while he is mourning the loss of his friend. Our thoughts naturally are with Brett and of course with the family and friends of Dexter Williams.’
Officer’s account: A police report details what officers found as they entered Christopher Barbour’s home in Maumelle, Arkansas
The recent events in Little Rock concerning KARK TV’s top weatherman Brett Cummins and his experience of drinking alcohol and snorting coke has left a lot of people asking questions. Since the evening ended in the tragic death of one of Brett’s friends, Dexter Williams, many questions have centered on the use of illegal drugs. […]
Brett Cummins has risen to be the top tv weatherman in the evening at KARK News 4. However, something is missing in his life. (I wish Brett would just take the time to read the story of Marvin A. McMickle | Senior Pastor, Antioch Baptist Church, Cleveland, Ohio at the end of this post). I […]
Brett Cummins and his friends were drinking heavily and taking drugs on Sunday night and all three of them went to sleep under the influence of alcohol and drugs and only 2 of them woke up. This reminds me of a few verses from the Old Testament. (There is hope, check out testimony of one who […]
This is a link to the full police report. (There is hope, check out testimony of one who has been delivered from drugs and alcohol and his name is Marvin.) Dexter Paul Williams (facebook photo) Here are related posts: KARK Brett Cummins was “snorting…illegal narcotics…” according to friend September 7, 2011 – 7:15 am Details concerning what […]
Details concerning what happened are coming out now. It seems that KARK can no longer ignore the fact that Cummins was snorting coke. (There is hope, check out testimony of one who has been delivered from drugs and alcohol and his name is Marvin.)Here is a Democrat-Gazette article on the incident: Man, 24, found dead in […]
Brett Cummins was snorting coke but you could never tell it from this statement from KARK: KARK-TV anchor Bob Clausen said on the air today, “Our meteorologist Brett Cummins was at the home at the time of the death and we felt we should share this with you our viewers. Brett will not be on […]
These are some pictures of Dexter Williams. Unfortunately his life was cut short while drinking and snorting coke with KARK weatherman Brett Cummins. Dexter Williams (Photo from family) Dexter Paul Williams (facebook photo)
Youtube video about Brett Cummins story posted. TV weatherman awakens in hot tub next to naked dead man with ‘dog collar’ around his neck after drug and alcohol-fueled party By Thomas Durante Last updated at 7:24 PM on 7th September 2011 It may be part of his job to predict when a storm is […]
Are we supposed to understand and accept that Mike Huckabee is in hell where he has official duties as a greeter,welcoming Osama bin-Laden?
We all suspect strongly, of course, that bin-Laden will spend eternity in hell, whatever his form and whatever hell’s. But we should not embrace a politician’s seeking electoral gain by dictating and announcing after-life dispositions. Those we should defer to a higher power, whose divine authority no mortal man should dare usurp, even for TV ratings or votes, or both.
I really am uncomfortable with all this kind of lighthearted talk about hell. The traditional Christian view of hell is a very serious doctrine. It is a necessary doctrine and today I want to show why.
Take a look at this portion of the article “Hell:The Horrible Choice,” by Patrick Zukeran of Probe Ministries. Here is the fifth installment:
Why Hell Is Necessary and Just
Is hell necessary? How is this doctrine consistent with a God of love? These are questions I face when I speak on the fate of unbelievers. The necessity and justice of hell can be recognized when we understand the nature of God and the nature of man.
Hell is necessary because God’s justice requires it. Our culture focuses mostly on God’s nature of love, mercy, and grace. However, God is also just and holy, and this must be kept in balance. Justice demands retribution, the distribution of rewards and punishments in a fair way. God’s holiness demands that He separate himself entirely from sin and evil (Habakkuk 1:13).The author of Psalm 73 struggles with the dilemma of the suffering of the righteous and the prosperity of the wicked. Joseph Stalin was responsible for the death of millions in the Soviet Union, but he died peacefully in his sleep without being punished for his deeds. Since evil often goes unpunished in this lifetime, it must be dealt with at a future time to fulfill God’s justice and holiness.
Notes1. Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli, Handbook of Christian Apologetics (Downers Grove, IL.: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 282. 2. Bertrand Russell, Why I Am Not a Christian (New York: Touchstone Books, 1957), 17 – 18. 3. Charles Darwin, The Autobiography of Charles Darwin, ed. Nora Darwin Barlow, with original omissions restored (N.Y.: W. W. Norton, 1993), 87. 4. C. S. Lewis, Screwtape Letters (New York: Macmillan), 69.Woody Allen’s movie Crimes and Misdemeanors does a great job of showing that if God does not exist then people like Stalin and Hitler were “home free” in that they were never going to be punished for what they did. “Existential subjects to me are still the only subjects worth dealing with. I don’t think that one can aim more deeply than at the so-called existential themes, the spiritual themes.” WOODY ALLEN
Woody Allen’s 1989 movie, CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS , is an excellent icebreaker concerning the need of God while making decisions in the area of personal morality. In this film, Allen attacks his own atheistic view of morality. Martin Landau plays a Jewish eye doctor named Judah Rosenthal raised by a religious father who always told him, “The eyes of God are always upon you.” However, Judah later concludes that God doesn’t exist. He has his mistress (played in the film by Anjelica Huston) murdered because she continually threatened to blow the whistle on his past questionable, probably illegal, business activities. She also attempted to break up Judah ‘s respectable marriage by going public with their two-year affair. Judah struggles with his conscience throughout the remainder of the movie. He continues to be haunted by his father’s words: “The eyes of God are always upon you.” This is a very scary phrase to a young boy, Judah observes. He often wondered how penetrating God’s eyes are.
Later in the film, Judah reflects on the conversation his religious father had with Judah ‘s unbelieving Aunt May at the dinner table many years ago:
“Come on Sol, open your eyes. Six million Jews burned to death by the Nazis, and they got away with it because might makes right,” says aunt May
Sol replies, “May, how did they get away with it?”
Judah asks, “If a man kills, then what?”
Sol responds to his son, “Then in one way or another he will be punished.”
Aunt May comments, “I say if he can do it and get away with it and he chooses not to be bothered by the ethics, then he is home free.”
Judah ‘s final conclusion was that might did make right. He observed that one day, because of this conclusion, he woke up and the cloud of guilt was gone. He was, as his aunt said, “home free.”
Woody Allen has exposed a weakness in his own humanistic view that God is not necessary as a basis for good ethics. There must be an enforcement factor in order to convince Judah not to resort to murder. Otherwise, it is fully to Judah ‘s advantage to remove this troublesome woman from his life.
The Bible tells us, “{God} has also set eternity in the hearts of men…” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV). The secularist calls this an illusion, but the Bible tells us that the idea that we will survive the grave was planted in everyone’s heart by God Himself. Romans 1:19-21 tells us that God has instilled a conscience in everyone that points each of them to Him and tells them what is right and wrong (also Romans 2:14 -15).
It’s no wonder, then, that one of Allen’s fellow humanists would comment, “Certain moral truths — such as do not kill, do not steal, and do not lie — do have a special status of being not just ‘mere opinion’ but bulwarks of humanitarian action. I have no intention of saying, ‘I think Hitler was wrong.’ Hitler WAS wrong.” (Gloria Leitner, “A Perspective on Belief,” THE HUMANIST, May/June 1997, pp. 38-39)
Here Leitner is reasoning from her God-given conscience and not from humanist philosophy. It wasn’t long before she received criticism. Humanist Abigail Ann Martin responded, “Neither am I an advocate of Hitler; however, by whose criteria is he evil?” (THE HUMANIST, September/October 1997, p. 2)
The secularist can only give incomplete answers to these questions: How could you have convinced Judah not to kill? On what basis could you convince Judah it was wrong for him to murder?
As Christians, we would agree with Judah ‘s father that “The eyes of God are always upon us.” Proverbs 5:21 asserts, “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He ponders all his paths.” Revelation 20:12 states, “…And the dead were judged (sentenced) by what they had done (their whole way of feeling and acting, their aims and endeavors) in accordance with what was recorded in the books” (Amplified Version). The Bible is revealed truth from God. It is the basis for our morality. Judah inherited the Jewish ethical values of the Ten Commandments from his father, but, through years of life as a skeptic, his standards had been lowered. Finally, we discover that Judah ‘s secular version of morality does not resemble his father’s biblically-based morality.
Woody Allen’s CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS forces unbelievers to grapple with the logical conclusions of a purely secular morality. It opens a door for Christians to find common ground with those whom they attempt to share Christ; we all have to deal with personal morality issues. However, the secularist has no basis for asserting that Judah is wrong.
Larry King actually mentioned on his show, LARRY KING LIVE, that Chuck Colson had discussed the movie CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS with him. Colson asked King if life was just a Darwinian struggle where the ruthless come out on top. Colson continued, “When we do wrong, is that our only choice? Either live tormented by guilt, or else kill our conscience and live like beasts?” (BREAKPOINT COMMENTARY, “Finding Common Ground,” September 14, 1993)
Later, Colson noted that discussing the movie CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS with King presented the perfect opportunity to tell him about Christ’s atoning work on the cross. Colson believes the Lord is working on Larry King.
(Caution: CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS is rated PG-13. It does include some adult themes.)
Brett Cummins has risen to be the top tv weatherman in the evening at KARK News 4. However, something is missing in his life. (I wish Brett would just take the time to read the story by Marvin A. McMickle | Senior Pastor, Antioch Baptist Church, Cleveland, Ohio at the end of this post).
I grew up a fan of the Rolling Stones and have read quite a bit about the death of Brian Jones. I remember like yesterday when I first heard the song “I can’t get no satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones. I immediately thought about Solomon’s search for satisfaction in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon went to the extreme in his searching in the Book of Ecclesiastes for satisfaction, but he did not find any satisfaction in pleasure (2:1), education (2:3), work (2:4), wealth (2:8) or fame (2:9). Finally he turned his attention to serving God in the last chapter.
The impact on the music scene in the 60’s was immeasurable as British bands soaked up the influence of American Blues artist, Muddy Waters , Howlin’ Wolf, B.B.King, and John Lee Hooker conquered our shores, and over a 1000 full time working bands in the 60’s was spawned. The Yardbirds, Eric Clapton, Them The Rolling Stones, Manfred Mann absorbed the sound and headed to the States with their own brand of Blues.
The Rolling Stones Satisfaction (rare)
Galatians 5:19-21
A message by Marvin A. McMickle | Senior Pastor, Antioch Baptist Church, Cleveland, Ohio.
As you may know, Cleveland, Ohio, is the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That’s because back in the 1950s, there was a disc jockey by the name of Alan Freed who worked for an AM radio station in Cleveland. He began referring to the music of Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley as “rock ‘n’ roll music.” Even though the inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame take place in New York City, the origin of the term rock ‘n’ roll music began in Cleveland.
In keeping with that 50-year legacy, a poll was taken of radio listeners and disc jockeys across the country concerning the No. 1 rock ‘n’ roll song of all time. I was not especially interested in the outcome—I have a preference for the rhythm and blues music of Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin and The Temptations—but I must confess I was somewhat surprised when it was revealed that Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis or even Elvis Presley was not associated with the No. 1 rock ‘n’ roll song song of all time. Instead, the poll revealed that the No. 1 rock ‘n’ roll song song of all time was by the British band, The Rolling Stones, titled “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.”
It occurred to me that the popularity and longevity of that particular song can be attributed to a simple observation: That song speaks to the fundamental dilemma of so many people in our society who are in a constant quest for something that can bring them satisfaction. The song has a refrain that says, “And I tried—and I tried—and I tried—and I tried—I can’t get no satisfaction.”
You can almost see the history of the last 40 years of American life and culture written through the lens and lyrics of that song: “I have tried sex and orgies, and I can’t get satisfaction.” “I have tried LSD and cocaine, and I can’t get satisfaction.” “I have tried alcohol and amphetamines, and I still can’t get satisfaction.” “I have tried money and materialism, and all I can say is I can’t get no satisfaction.”
Perhaps the reason the song has remained so appealing to Americans is because the song speaks to an aspiration that reaches deep into our psyche and to a frustration that burns within so many of our fellow citizens: “I tried, and I tried, and I tried, and I tried—but I can’t get no satisfaction.”
The search for satisfaction can take at least four different faces in our world today, and most of us have gotten stuck trying to find satisfaction in one of three distinct ways. The things we keep trying in our vain attempts to find satisfaction are called happiness, pleasure and thrills.
How strange that all three of these things are referred to in one way or another by the apostle Paul in Galatians 5:19-21 as being related to the works of the flesh or the acts of the sinful nature.” Paul refers to them by such names as drunkenness, debauchery, discord and dissensions. We can refer to the same impulses of the human spirit by different names, but the motivation and the desired outcome are the same; we are trying to create satisfaction for ourselves.
Some people are obsessed with the quest for happiness. They want to find that time and place in life where there will always be a smile on their face and no tears in their eyes. They want to live in Disney World all the time, forgetting that Disney World is a great illusion, as life for the executives and employees of the Disney Corporation reveal every day.
Jesus tells us in no uncertain terms, “In this world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). In our hearts we know that to be true, but still we behave like the lyrics of the song by The Rolling Stones: I tried—and I tried—and I tried—and I tried, but I can’t get no happiness, because happiness does not and cannot last.
Sometimes, after we discover that happiness does not last, we try something else; and that next thing might be thrills. There is an obsession in this country with thrills. It is why we buy cars that can be driven faster than any highway in America would allow us to drive. It is why we jump out of airplanes and free-fall from thousands of feet in the atmosphere. It is why some people want to bungee jump, or go plunging down the steep and twisting hills of roller coasters.
We want that adrenaline rush. We want that sensation of living dangerously. We want what some people call the rush that comes when we live close to the edge of death itself. The richest among us buy a seat on the space shuttle, not because they care one iota about science or space research; they do it because they are attempting to buy for themselves the ultimate thrill.
For other people the thrill is linked to the allure and excitement of gambling of one kind or another. Whatever the thrill of gambling might be, we should not lose sight of the sorrow it produces. How many people have lost their rent or mortgage money as they got caught up in the thrill that the next roll of the dice or the next pull of the lever on the slot machine might bring a big payday? People go into casinos knowing the house always wins, yet are willing to risk their paycheck on a game of chance. It is not a rational decision; it is the mark of a society that has embraced the thrill as a way to approach how they live their lives.
However, just like happiness, people soon discover that thrills cannot satisfy because they cannot be made to last. They come and go with equal suddenness. Blues singer B.B. King is world famous primarily for the lyrics of his song that says, “The thrill is gone, the thrill is gone away.”
Of course, what happens to a thrill seeker when the present thrill is gone? Like the song says, they just try something else. There are many in our society whose lives are driven by the pursuit of satisfaction, and they try one thing after another trying to attain that goal.
For some, the quest for satisfaction leads down the path of pleasure. Let’s be clear about this—I am talking about sensual things. I am talking about the fact that pornography in the form of videos, magazine and Web sites now grosses more revenue than the money Americans spend on all professional sports combined.
I am talking about our national fascination with sex and the fact that some people are preoccupied with the cheap, fleeting, loveless encounters that are so much a mark of our present culture. It is why commercials for such products as Viagra, Levitra and Cialis are as popular and as frequent as they are; for some people it is all about pleasure.
Never mind the fact that our country is overrun with teenage pregnancy, unwanted births, a staggering use of abortion as a means of birth control and once-solid marriages that are destabilized by extra-marital affairs. There is a high price to be paid for our fascination with the pursuit of pleasure, and our society is paying that price right now. This, too, is part of what The Rolling Stones meant when they said, “I tried—and I tried—and I tried—and I tried, and I can’t get no satisfaction.” We try the pursuit of happiness, thrills and pleasure, but something is always missing.
Many search for satisfaction attempting to combine all three devices—happiness, thrills, pleasure when they turn to illegal drugs and other things that can help them get high. Americans are the most chemically dependent people on earth—we take more prescription drugs than any other nation, though that simply could be a sign of an advanced medical system. Good medicine does not explain why we are also the world’s largest consumers of illegal drugs or the fact that one out of every six Americans is an alcoholic.
Here is the truth about all of our pursuits for satisfaction, be it in the form of happiness, thrills or various pleasures: At best, all those things can do is bring us a little bit of peace for a short period of time!
There is a reason none of these things can bring us any lasting satisfaction. It is because all of these things that fuel our futile pursuit of satisfaction are things that work from the outside in. All of these things are behaviors or experiences that must be drawn from the world around us and then brought into our lives. As a result, whenever the world around us shifts or changes in even the most negligible way, we are made to realize over and over again that satisfaction—that sense of being completely content—once again has eluded us. The works of the flesh or the acts of the sinful nature are forever unsatisfying because in order for any of them to work there is something outside ourselves that must occur.
Thankfully, that is not the case with the fruits of the spirit as found in Galatians 5:22-23. Satisfaction is found in such things as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. These qualities work from the inside out. These are the spiritual formation issues that take root inside the followers of Jesus Christ that sustain them even when the conditions around them are being turned upside down. In this season of Advent, let me make the case that I would rather have the joy of the Lord than the satisfactions of the world any day of the week. Here are the reasons why:
First, joy comes as a result of the faith and trust that resides within me and not in relation to the material or sensual things going on around me.
It is important that we talk about joy vs. happiness and pleasure during the Advent and Christmas seasons, because it is so easy even for us as Christians to get caught up in the shopping and materialistic observance of Christmas. We so easily can forget that the “glad tidings of great joy” spoken to the shepherds of Bethlehem by the angels of heaven was about the birth of a Savior and not about the discounted prices at Wal-Mart or the luxury items available from a fashionable boutique.
The joy of Christmas is about the love of God Who sent a Savior into our world to redeem us from the behaviors that constantly pull us away from God. After all, the song says, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come.” It does not say that Santa has come, or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has come; the joy of Christmas is centered in the fact that the Lord has come. God is with us. Immanuel. Our joy is anchored in that knowledge. I may not receive any of the material gifts that so many people point to as the center of Christmas; but when I receive the Christ of Christmas, I can find the joy that will forever elude those who are searching after satisfaction.
Second, the joy of the Lord is available to us even though none of us is deserving of God’s love. The gifts God offers—love, joy, peace and the others—are not reserved for those who have proven themselves deserving of God’s attention. They are the freely given and freely received signs of God’s amazing grace.
From a theological point of view, it is important to remember that God does not wait until we become the people He would like for us to be before He acts on our behalf. God loves us, and Christ died for us while we were the sinful and rebellious people we are. There is no need to get right with God before we can enjoy the fruits of the Spirit. The wonder and miracle of Christmas is that it is done on behalf of people deeply entrenched in the works of the flesh or the actions of the sinful nature. That is the knowledge that brings me an unspeakable joy.
The third thing I want to say about joy is something I learned in a profound way from my wife last year. (I share these with her permission and her blessings.)
Late last year, Peggy and I sat in a doctor’s office where we talked about how to treat the breast cancer with which she had just been diagnosed. It was surprising and unsettling enough that she was diagnosed with cancer just a few years after I had gone through a battle with prostate cancer. However, life was not through with us so far as surprises were concerned. Later that afternoon, while we were away from the house, Peggy’s mother fell while coming down the stairs. She had been doing so well in recent weeks, but now was bed-ridden with a fractured pelvis.
Wanting to comfort Peggy, I remarked how ironic it seemed that, on the week when our faith directs us to the word of joy she had so much hardship and stress placed upon her. I thought maybe she would break down and cry; instead she said, “Oh, I still have my joy.”
That response reminds me of the gospel song that says, “After all I’ve been through, I still have joy.” That is what separates joy from the false gods of happiness, pleasure and thrills. When you have joy, the devil can throw everything he has against you and you just keep on pushing—not because you are that strong, but because God is bigger than anything that life can do to you.
Every year at about this time, I remind you of the difference between the phrase all is right and all is well. The first phrase suggests everything in your life is in order and under perfect control. It suggests everything is going exactly as you desire and you do not have a worry in the world. I cannot think of many days in my life when I can say with a straight face that all is right.
However, the phrase all is well suggests something very different. All is well suggests that things may not be going according to my plan. Things may not be right with my body. My finances and my relationships may not be right according to the standards of this world. Nevertheless, I can still sing the song that says:
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say,
it is well; it is well with my soul.
Things have not been alright this week, but it is well with my soul. In the words of the commercial by Nationwide Insurance Company, “Sometimes life comes at you fast”—but it is well with my soul. After all I’ve been through, I still have joy and it is well with my soul.
I have some advice for those still saying, “I can’t get no satisfaction”—they need to look somewhere else for their contentment. They should consider Isaiah 55:2, 6 which says, “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?…Seek ye the Lord while he may be found.”
This is the gift of the Advent season; it is a season when we are reminded that the best things in life work from the inside out, not from the outside in. Life is not about happiness, pleasure, thrills or highs. Real satisfaction in life comes from the themes of Advent, three of which are also listed among the fruits of the Spirit—love, joy and peace.
There is a song I learned in the devotional services of the Baptist church that says:
“This joy I have the world didn’t give to me,
The world didn’t give it, and the world
can’t take it away.”
This is what separates joy from the cheap thrills, the fleeting happiness and the temporal pleasures associated with this world; only joy can say, “The world didn’t give it, and the world can’t take it away.”
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This paper by Marvin McMickle about the song “I can’t get no satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones makes me think of Dave Hope of the rock band Kansas. He was in the drug scene and it consumed his life. However, he found meaning in his life when he put his faith alone in Christ. He was able to get away from the drugs and he is still serving Christ today. I have written also about his bandmate Kerry Livgren and the song he wrote, “Dust in the Wind,” and that was the beginning of Livgren’s journey to Christ.
Co-founder, spiritual leader and aesthetic conscience of the Rolling Stones, Brian Jones was the band’s resident R&B purist, and, though it’s hard to imagine now, rival to Mick Jagger for the role of band face. When the Stones first arrived, it was as a blues band. The group’s origins lay in Jones’, Jagger’s, and Keith Richards’ passion for obscure American race records. But as the novelty of five skinny white Brits singing and playing like black men wore off and Mick and Keith started writing originals, Jones resisted the urge to go pop. He also developed a heroic appetite for narcotics and hallucinogens, leading him to be fired from the group he helped create. Depending on which story you believe, Jones either drowned or was forcibly drowned in his own pool July 3, 1969.
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The person who died as a result of taking drugs with Brett Cummins:
The recent events in Little Rock concerning KARK TV’s top weatherman Brett Cummins and his experience of drinking alcohol and snorting coke has left a lot of people asking questions. Since the evening ended in the tragic death of one of Brett’s friends, Dexter Williams, many questions have centered on the use of illegal drugs. […]
These are some pictures of Dexter Williams. Unfortunately his life was cut short while drinking and snorting coke with KARK weatherman Brett Cummins. Dexter Williams (Photo from family) Dexter Paul Williams (facebook photo) Related posts: Pictures of Dexter Williams September 7, 2011 – 10:22 pm These are some pictures of Dexter Williams. Unfortunately his life was […]
Youtube video about Brett Cummins story posted. TV weatherman awakens in hot tub next to naked dead man with ‘dog collar’ around his neck after drug and alcohol-fueled party By Thomas Durante Last updated at 7:24 PM on 7th September 2011 It may be part of his job to predict when a storm is […]
Brett Cummins has risen to be the top tv weatherman in the evening at KARK News 4. However, something is missing in his life. (I wish Brett would just take the time to read the story by Marvin A. McMickle | Senior Pastor, Antioch Baptist Church, Cleveland, Ohio at the end of this post). I […]
Brett Cummins and his friends were drinking heavily and taking drugs on Sunday night and all three of them went to sleep under the influence of alcohol and drugs and only 2 of them woke up. This reminds me of a few verses from the Old Testament. (There is hope, check out testimony of one who […]
This is a link to the full police report. (There is hope, check out testimony of one who has been delivered from drugs and alcohol and his name is Marvin.) Dexter Paul Williams (facebook photo) There is a youtube video about Brett Cummins and the link is here. Here are related posts: Brett Cummins turns to […]
Details concerning what happened are coming out now. It seems that KARK can no longer ignore the fact that Cummins was snorting coke. (There is hope, check out testimony of one who has been delivered from drugs and alcohol and his name is Marvin.)Here is a Democrat-Gazette article on the incident: Man, 24, found dead in […]
Brett Cummins was snorting coke but you could never tell it from this statement from KARK: KARK-TV anchor Bob Clausen said on the air today, “Our meteorologist Brett Cummins was at the home at the time of the death and we felt we should share this with you our viewers. Brett will not be on […]
In a storm: KARK-TV weatherman Brett Cummins awakened in an unfilled hot tub next to the body of his friend
Grisly discovery: Police were called to the Arkansas home of Christopher Barbour, where an alcohol and drug-fueled Labor Day weekend party turned deadly
Revelry: Dexter Williams’ Facebook page lists ‘partying’ as one of his interests
Officer’s account: A police report details what officers found as they entered Christopher Barbour’s home in Maumelle, Arkansas
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