Digital Cowboy

I promised Res Ipsa I would try to do a post on “testing spirits” and how it’s done.

This isn’t it… really. Really it’s not. This is more of an introduction. That one’s gonna take some time and effort; it’s a hard subject to address in this kind of media.

But, I just finished watching on TV a Methodist church service. It was their Easter service and it was a local church being broadcast on a local TV station. You also should know, if you don’t already, that I live in north Texas. I get the station as part of my “local” stations package on my satellite, but it’s a Dallas based station and a Dallas based church. I tell you this because Dallas is big and so is the church. It’s pure speculation, but I would estimate that if it’s a Methodist church in downtown Dallas and on TV, it’s probably one of the largest in the nation. I don’t think it’s unfair to call it representative.

Since I’ve recently been in a little tiff over the Methodist church, specifically, and since I’ve not been in a Methodist church in around 25 years or so, I decided to watch.

My conclusion about testing these spirits has not changed. They are very good people being completely distracted from the reality of what God’s clearly expressed will is. The pastor of that church is referenced as “Doctor” and I assume that means he is a doctor of theology, though I don’t know that. (You should also note that I include him when I say “very good people being distracted.” I’m not attacking him.)

Watching it, two related things kept running through my mind. The first was II Timothy 3:5 and 7. I’ll quote the whole first part of the chapter here so that you can have context, but don’t take this to mean that I’m accusing the Methodist church leadership of all of this:

2Ti 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2Ti 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2Ti 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
2Ti 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
2Ti 3:6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
2Ti 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

The second thing going through my mind was that the charge of “wild emotionalism” by those who deny the power of the Holy Spirit and His manifestations is just projection. I’ve never witnessed more emotionalism than I have in religious churches. Watching the Methodists this morning confirmed that. The protagonists of manifestations of The Spirit use “emotionalism” as a charge to purport that it’s all just man-made. Without the willingness or the knowledge to yield to The Spirit, you’ve got nothing but man-made crap.

I found some, but few, scriptural errors in the service I was watching. It was an hour long show and, leaving out the scriptural contentions, at least 60% of it was worthless ritual and ceremony that had nothing to do with God. Parade processions with flags. A huge, robed choir. Everyone that approached the pulpit in a costume of robes and scarves. (I’m sure they all mean something.) Prayers being read from a page; most of the sermon as well. All clearly pre-written and/or rehearsed. The bulk (and closing) of the “sermon” was based on a Bret Harte short story about 19th century gold prospectors. The rest was mostly anecdotes about his own childhood. It was a well written speech, but nothing that I would classify as preaching.

It’s well rehearsed and well done performance art and a conscience soother disguised as church. I include the “sermon” in that description and I know (a little bit) whereof I speak. I’ve been “behind the scenes” in the respect that I was mentored as a very young man by someone who taught me homiletics instead of how to find God. I learned how to pick a text and write a sermon from him, but he couldn’t teach me how to find the anointing. He couldn’t teach me because he didn’t know. Was he evil? No. He was a good man and a good pastor. He was sidetracked by religion, which is evil.

I’ll get to the testing spirits thing, I promise. In the meantime, I leave you with this:

Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. – Mark 7:13

(That’s also mentioned in Matthew 15:6.)

Jesus hated religion and so do I.

I have to say I laughed out loud when I read this report on WND.

If you rebel against God’s authority and worship at the altar of government, this is where you may end up, too.

Government has no natural right to either create or destroy a marriage. Unfortunately for the tiny minority of homosexuals that care, government’s all they’ve got because God has made no provision for such a thing and they’re in open rebellion to Him anyway.

My question is: Why is government involved in marriage at all? It’s none of government’s business, period. Government’s involvement in marriage has done nothing but corrupt it and ruin countless lives.

Anita, Lane, play with fire and you’re gonna get burned. Divorce is hell but I sure would hate to be court ordered that I must “remain both unmarried and un-divorced.”

I finally got around to watching the ESPN original movie “3″ last night. It’s a movie about the life of Dale Earnhardt. I’ve had it on the PVR ever since it premiered in, I think, December. I have no problem confessing that I cried when Dale was killed. (When I watched it live in reality – not in the movie.) It was like losing another part of my father. Not that I thought that much of Dale, but it was something my daddy and I shared. I experienced the same thing when Johnny Carson died recently. (I lost my daddy almost 23 years ago at 12 and I sometimes wonder if I’m ever going to “finish” losing him.)

The movie was pretty lame. It was typical TV movie of the week fare. I was pretty disappointed, really. It explored nothing and glossed over a lot that was important. I kept waiting for it to get good and then realized there was only fifteen minutes left and we had only just gotten to the ’98 Daytona 500 win.

His tragic death and the amazing circumstances around it were almost an afterthought. I guess they were making a movie about his life, but still, his death had significance in a number of ways that they chose to ignore. I’m not so sure it was such an accurate portrayal of his life, either.

Oh, well. Thanks to modern tech in the form of the PVR, it didn’t cost me two hours because I skipped through all the commercials.

I’m glad I got to see Dale and his son racing together in person. The first time that happened was also the only Cup race that Adam Petty ever ran before he was tragically killed. It was at Texas Motor Speedway. Somewhere around here I still have a qualifying day ticket for that weekend with Adam’s picture on it, celebrating his entrance into Cup racing. He was killed just a few weeks later at Hew Hampshire.

I’m not a fanatical NASCAR fan in relative terms, but I’ve been privileged.

cZja says:

(Psssst. We rented Tombstone and loved it. I love anything about Cowboys and the wild West. Have you read “Lonesome Dove” by Larry McMurtry. It’s the definitive western epic. You’d love it. You’ll be a changed man by the end of the book.
Sometime I’ll tell you about the time I met Val Kilmer if your up for it. I’m all for discussing the movie, but I don’t want to hi-jack your post)

I’m glad you liked the movie, cZja.

You’ll like it even more if you take time to do some research and watch it again. It was impeccably well written and directed. The subtle detail is fascinating. Of course, I’m always far too willing to discuss it. (Maybe I need to create a Tombstone category here.)

I’ve not read “Lonesome Dove.” I’m a voracious reader, but I don’t read much fiction. I’ve never been able to find the time; if I’m reading I want to be learning something overtly. I know, I know – I could have read lots of fiction during the time I was watching Tombstone a hundred plus times.

I think nothing of thread-jacking around here. Don’t ever sweat that. Maybe one of these days I’ll post an email address here. I’ve been meaning to actually do a site design ever since the night I threw this blog up, literally in about 15 minutes. It never seems to make it to the top of the priority list. In the meantime, you can send email to digitalcowboy at mac.com if you want to communicate with me outside of this venue.