Who Your Friends Are

Dear Evangelicals:

We know you believe you'll usher in God's kingdom in this life without consulting Him. You're so unabashedly zealous, in fact, that you're straying away from the seven mountains to conquer whatever unpleasantness clouds your path -- emphasis on your.

No, God has nothing to do with this.

There is nothing in the Bible commanding you to take responsibility for the decisions your adult children make. Ezekiel 18 says the opposite, but, what the heck? It's only God speaking.

Yet, here you are, riding herd on responsible adults as if you own them.

The latest horror story to cross my desk is that of a perpetually-angry father -- no one would dare be intimate enough with such a monster to call him "Dad" -- who has expressly forbidden his 25-year-old daughter to befriend a certain group of people.

Are they atheists? Pagans? Nazis? Gang bangers? Criminals?

Nope. They're -- dun dun dunnnnnhhh -- liberals.

Oh, the horror!

Enough sarcasm; let's explore (I know how that frightens you; hold my hand. Or don't, unless the door is open, or your wife is in the room).

The Bible has plenty to say about friendship with God, about the characteristics of a true friend, about acting like everyone is your friend, about hanging with stupid people, with liars and gossips, with those who talk behind your back.

It says nothing about avoiding those with opposite socio-political leanings. It is, however, achingly-specific about those you should avoid among Christians. The Bible also tells us exactly whose lives we're supposed to clean up.

In other words, if you haven't taken a good, long look in the mirror, don't bother looking at anyone else.

When You Have To Punch A Child For the Lord

Dear Evangelicals:

You love, love, love stuff like this, don't you?

Well, "love" isn't exactly the word. Your, ah, impulses toward this sort of thing are more like the kind of feverish excitement that, well, secures people a place on the sex offender registry.

If we're lucky.

Oh, but the Bible, the Bible!

We'll discuss what the Bible says about what you are pleased to call "corporal punishment" in a minute. First, let's discuss the legal definition -- you know, the one that's enforced in this great country which we should all love or leave if we don't want to obey its laws?

This is, in fact, physical, verbal, and emotional abuse, full stop. The friend who shared this on Twitter compared this youth minister (How is this ministry? Would you like your pastor to haul off and hit you?) to ISIS and the Taliban.

He's not wrong. Like you said, the Bible. Here we go with your favorite verse on this subject, Proverbs 13:24 (NKJV):

He who spares his rod hates his son,
But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.

And here's a verse from another favorite of yours, Psalm 23, verse 4:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Hmmm. Does the maniac in this video sound as though he was trying to comfort poor Ben? Are we talking about different kinds of rods in each verse? If so, where's your proof? Scholars say they Hebrew word is identical in both cases.

There's another verse that you always fail to consider, Ephesians 6:4, which reads:

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

And another, Colossians 3:21, which says this:

Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

Watch the video again. Does this maniac look and sound as though he's trying to avoid discouraging young Ben? Do you think this maniac managed to avoid provoking Ben to wrath? Or worse?

Me neither.

This video has been around a good while, and has received worldwide media attention. That means nothing without action.

I hope and pray that someone has identified this church and this ... humanoid. I hope that someone with investigative skills -- a journalist, a police officer, a social worker -- has tracked down this criminal and brought him to justice. I hope that Ben is okay, but I know from long experience that, if Ben is still alive, things will get worse instead of better.

I hope they found him in time. I hope, wherever he is Ben is, at long last, part of a real family and beloved by someone besides his Creator.