The OOC

NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens, whose football-catching talents are only exceeded by his propensity to ensure that everyone knows about them, once again put himself in the headlines this weekend, not by appearing in a contraversial Monday Night Football ad or self-aggrandizing end-zone shenanigans, but but remarking on God’s will for his life:

“I think God put me on this stage for a certain reason,” Owens said. “I got hurt for a reason. I understand that. A lot of people don’t. A lot of people are questioning my ability and probably the risk that I take playing this game 6½ weeks after surgery. But it doesn’t really matter what people say about me, I know what I can do. I know how my ankle feels and that’s all that matters.”

When asked the reasoning behind his injury, Owens went on to say: “I think God is using me [and] put me on a platform to really show the world how great he is. God has put me in the position, and I’m welcoming that challenge. Just by the timing of me getting hurt, he had to sit me down and put things into perspective for me. And that’s what he’s done. He put me on the biggest stage of my life to show people how great he is.”

As intriguing as Owens’ comments are, I was struck more by how the media have jumped on — piled on — them in their own self-righteous and sanctimonious columns, none of which I’ve read demonstrate more than a superficial or conventional understanding of Christianity:

• T.O. goes too far claiming recovery miracle
• Is God Owens’ orthopedist, too?

Surely, Owens is off-base when he makes claims like “God made me controversial,” as are these columnists when they sarcastically say, “God stepped in and made everything better … Do I hear, ‘Amen?'” Perhaps God is using Owens, all right: to push into the public sphere the discussion of God’s purpose and inscrutable ways and decisions, including healing of everyone from Tsunami victims to obnoxious professional athletes.

Well, I don’t suppose this will bother “Mr. ASV” Ron Lutjens, but it always seems newsworthy to the Christian when a new Bible translation is released. To wit, the TNIV (Today’s New International Version) from Zondervan (yes, this is the same one in the Rolling Stone kerfuffle). Zondervan is a reputable publishing house (as far as I know), and the company’s spokesman makes some reasonable arguments for some of the changes:

“In situations in the Bible where it is very clear from the original language, and also from the context, that the writer or the speaker was talking to men and women, that is simply provided accurately and specifically in the TNIV,” explains Paul Caminiti…

And, as the article points out, “God remains a ‘he’ in the TNIV,” which is too often a casualty in new translations. As it turns out, though, I also trust the comments of the “critic” quoted, Wayne Grudem, research professor of Bible and theology at Phoenix Seminary in Arizona (his son, Eliot, and I helped start an alternative newspaper in college). Anyone have more information on this?

Since Pope John Paul II’s recent sickness and trip to the hospital, many Catholics around the world have been dreading the worst. When this pope does enter eternity, how will the next pope be elected? Time.com has the answer.
The pope is supposed to be considered infallible by all Catholics. If that is true, how is that they have a completely fallible process for choosing him? Or a better question is; How can Catholics around the world continue to believe in an infallible pope who is chosen by fallible men? (Who, mind you, are not popes due to the fact that they were not chosen and therefore not infallible.)

Rolling Stone has apparently seen the light (well, so to speak) and reversed its decision to ban an ad from Bible-publisher Zondervan:

Lisa Dallos, a spokeswoman for Rolling Stone publisher Wenner Media LLC, said Tuesday that the company had “addressed the internal miscommunications that led to the previous misstatement of company policy and apologize for any confusion it may have caused.”

Ah, anti-Christian bias sounds so benign when it’s described as “internal miscommunications,” doesn’t it? I wrote a bit on this on my blog when it first broke; OpinionJournal.com had a similar take.

Please renew my RS subscription, after all!

The Academy Award nominations were announced today, and (as predicted) The Passion of the Christ did not get nominated in any of the major categories. It did receive three nominations, in “safe” categories:

• Cinematography
• Makeup
• Music (Score)

So, the message is that it’s okay to compliment the artistic merit of a movie about Jesus, but it’s crossing the line to recognize the movie itself or its director or actors, no matter how good it might have been. It’s not really surprising that the Hollywood elites would be afraid to lift this movie up (as if they actually believed what it said), but it would have been really interesting if the movie or Mel had been given proper respect.

What was surprising to me is that Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 did not get a single nomination. Not one! Does this mean that Moore’s honeymoon with Hollywood is coming to a close? Even more interesting: would the nominations have come out differently if Kerry had just been inaugurated instead of Bush?

I’ll be watching the Academy Awards on February 27th…I always do. Generally, I don’t really put too much stock in what these people think or how they vote. So why do I care? Hard to say…I guess I just see the Oscars as a barometer for American culture and conventional wisdom, and I like to keep up with the message that’s being sent out there. On some basic level, though, I’m just fascinated with these people who live in such a different world from the rest of us; I can’t resist watching them in this competitive environment to see how they react. Something unpredictable always happens.

So, what was nominated that you really liked? I see that The Incredibles got several nods…that is a great movie. Most of the others I haven’t even seen.

Anyone familiar with this church or pastor?

Jan 10, 10:43 PM (ET) – OVIEDO, Fla. (AP) – A Presbyterian minister collapsed and died in mid-sentence of a sermon after saying “And when I go to heaven …,” his colleague said Monday.

The Rev. Jack Arnold, 69, was nearing the end of his sermon Sunday at Covenant Presbyterian Church in this Orlando suburb when he grabbed the podium before falling to the floor, said the Rev. Michael S. Beates, associate pastor at Covenant Presbyterian.

Before collapsing, Arnold quoted the 18th century Bible scholar, John Wesley, who said, “Until my work on this earth is done, I am immortal. But when my work for Christ is done … I go to be with Jesus,” Beates said in a telephone interview.

We released the slightly redesigned version of the OOC web site and publicly announced the blog this week, so I’l like to give everyone the opportunity to provide feedback — good, bad or ugly! — on either one. Please post your comments or (constructive) criticism to this topic. Thanks.

p.s. The site is best viewed with a Mozilla/Firefox/etc. browser. If you’re using Internet Explorer, you’re not only missing out on the full beauty of the OOC site (cough, cough), but you’re putting yourself at a higher security risk (seriously).

I have to admit: I love when we do Indelible Grace songs in worship. If you’re not familiar with their music, the following site will get you there (from byfaithonline.com):

RUF Music Site
Reformed University Fellowship, the college ministry of the PCA, has a music section on its Web site. You will find the RUF Hymnbook, sheet music, samples of hymns and tunes, ability to order CDs from churches and RUF groups, and more. Go to http://www.ruf.org/sounds/sounds.htm.

Today’s WSJ has an informative book review of Naomi Schaefer Riley’s “God on the Quad” (St. Martin’s, 274 pages, $24.95) about the rise of religious — and, in particular — Christian colleges:

It’s not news in academia, although it may come as a surprise to the rest of us: America’s 700-plus religiously affiliated colleges and universities are enjoying an unprecedented surge of growth and a revival of interest.

Wheaton College (alma mater of Seth D., John E. — others? — and current school of Elizabeth J.) gets some props:

The evangelical Wheaton College in Illinois and the Reformed-affiliated Calvin College in Michigan now rank among the nation’s leading liberal-arts institutions.

Go Crusaders, er, Thunder!

PENNSYLVANIA CHRISTIANS FACE 47 YEARS IN PRISON FOR READING THE BIBLE IN PUBLIC
Philadelphia charges Christians with hate crimes, inciting a riot, and using a deadly weapon.
Bill O’Reilly reported on the situation on Fox News Channel.
What we have been saying has now happened. You cannot quote what the Bible has to say about homosexuality in public or you will be charged with a “hate crime.” Philadelphia is only the beginning. If we fail to take a stand here, this “crime” will soon be applied across America.In the 27 years of this ministry, I have never witnessed a more outrageous miscarriage of justice than what is happening in Philadelphia. Four Christians are facing up to 47-years in prison and $90,000 in fines for preaching the Gospel on a public sidewalk, a right fully protected by the First Amendment.On October 10, 2004, the four Christians were arrested in Philadelphia. They are part of Repent America. Along with founder Michael Marcavage, members of Repent America—with police approval–were preaching near Outfest, a homosexual event, handing out Gospel literature and carrying banners with Biblical messages. When they tried to speak, they were surrounded by a group of radical homosexual activists dubbed the Pink Angels. A videotape of the incident shows the Pink Angels interfering with the Christians’ movement on the street, holding up large pink symbols of angels to cover up the Christians’ messages and blowing high pitched whistles to drown out their preaching. Rather than arrest the homosexual activists and allow the Christians to exercise their First Amendment rights, the Philadelphia police arrested and jailed the Christians!They were charged with eight crimes, including three felonies: possession of instruments of crime (a bullhorn), ethnic intimidation (saying that homosexuality is a sin), and inciting a riot (reading from the Bible some passages relating to homosexuality) despite the fact that no riot occurred. You may think I am exaggerating. I’m not. Our AFA Center for Law and Policy is representing these four individuals at no cost. We will take this case all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary to get justice. There is so much more about this case I don’t have room for it in this letter. We have prepared a 25-minute VHS/DVD in which two AFA-CLP attorneys discuss the case in detail.Please help us with our expenses in representing these committed Christians. With your tax-deductible gift of $15, less than the cost of a cup of coffee once a month for the next year, we will send your choice of either the VHS or DVD. Watch the VHS/DVD, then share it with your Sunday school class and church. This VHS/DVD should be required viewing in every church in America.
Thanks for caring enough to get involved. We must not allow this travesty of justice to continue.
Sincerely,
Don
Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and ChairmanAmerican Family Association