**Update: Christianity Today has been shilling for Harry Potter since 2000. Their blog features this post with a Christian author enthralled by the latest Harry Potter book. It should not surprise me that these evangelicals are now openly praising books about the occult. It still does. I encourage you to leave a comment on the site.**

Read the complete post here.

As you read this story keep in mind I teach my kids theology directly from the Word of God and they love it. They don’t even know what the word relevant means or who the Simpsons are. The Church is in a sad state of affairs when the leader of a major denomination actually likes to watch this junk and advocates its use as a means of teaching biblical principals to our children.

The Church of England believes that the beer-drinking Homer Simpson and his street-wise son, Bart, have addressed religious issues in a way that makes them interesting to teenagers who would normally be bored by long sermons from the vicar. This from the same church who has developed the “Alpha in a Catholic Context” course for the apostate Roman Catholic Church.

The Church continues its downward spiral. Lord may we return the Word of God to its proper place in our churches.

Consider the following portion of scripture and Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the same.

Isaiah 29:9-16

9Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.
10For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.
11And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:
12And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.
13Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
14Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
15Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?
16Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary: The security of sinners in sinful ways, is cause for lamentation and wonder. The learned men, through prejudice, said that the Divine prophecies were obscure; and the poor urged their want of learning. The Bible is a sealed book to every man, learned or unlearned, till he begins to study it with a simple heart and a teachable spirit, that he may thence learn the truth and the will of God. To worship God, is to approach him. And if the heart be full of his love and fear, out of the abundance of it the mouth will speak; but there are many whose religion is lip-labour only. When they pretend to be speaking to God, they are thinking of a thousand foolish things. They worship the God of Israel according to their own devices. Numbers are only formal in worship. And their religion is only to comply with custom, and to serve their own interest. But the wanderings of mind, and defects in devotion, which are the believer’s burden, are very different from the withdrawing of the heart from God, so severely blamed. And those who make religion no more than a pretence, to serve a turn, deceive themselves. And as those that quarrel with God, so those that think to conceal themselves from him, in effect charge him with folly. But all their perverse conduct shall be entirely done away.

By Eric Young, Christian Post Reporter Tue, Jun. 26 2007 01:46 PM ET (Online Source)

LONDON – The Church of England is getting help from the Simpsons to provide a more relevant way of teaching children about theology and to give a boost to dwindling congregations.

Mixing it Up with the “Simpsons”, a book to be released by the Church of England’s publishing company, will be sent to youth advisers in every diocese across the country next week, the Sunday Telegraph reported, with the hope of showing how Christianity is relevant to life today through issues tackled in the popular U.S. TV cartoon series. Clergy will be urged to show episodes of “The Simpsons” that focus on Christian themes such as love and punishment.

The book’s author, Owen Smith, is a youth worker in the Kent Diocese of Rochester and insists the cartoon series is filled with biblical references. He looks to illustrate this in the book with quote comparisons.

Smith told the Sunday Telegraph: “’The Simpsons’ is hugely moral, with many episodes dealing with issues and dilemmas faced by young people. The willingness of the show’s writers to deal with questions of both morality and spirituality makes the program an ideal tool.”

Mixing it Up with the “Simpsons” has been made specifically to help keep youth interested in church, as the number of under-16s attending worship in the Church of England on Sundays has decreased by 12 percent over the five-year period between 2000 and 2005.

The initiative has received backing from the Church, with Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams speaking of his adoration of the show.

The Church of England head said that the cartoon was “generally on the side of the angels and on the side of sense,” and also explained that beneath the dysfunctional image of the animated family lay an example of “remarkable strength and remarkable mutual commitment.”

“For all that Homer is a slob and Bart is a brat and Lisa is a pain in the neck, you know there’s real affection and loyalty,” Williams said.

According to Church House Publishing, the official publisher of the Church of England, Mixing it up with The Simpsons is split into two parts each with six sessions; the first part is for those who are newer to church and the second part is for young people who have been coming to church for a little longer.

T.D. Jakes has just released a new book, ‘Reposition Yourself, Living Life Without Limits‘ and Ed Young, Jr. is giving the book a mighty praise.

“Bishop” Jakes is the quintessential leader with a heart for people in the now and an entrepreneurial vision for the church of tomorrow. Without hesitation I believe that “Bishop” Jakes is one of the best communicators in the world today. His ability to connect with people is God given, and I am personally inspired, encouraged, and challenged each and every time I am in his presence. — ED YOUNG

I must say, Mr. Jakes is entrepreneurial, no question about it. How much of a heart he really has for the people is in serious question. If Jakes had a heart for people, he would share the truth with them at all cost, even if it cost him worldly fame and fortune. Jakes’ vision for the church of tomorrow is this, more products to sell and more people to deceive.

In the name of Gospel truth, please warn others about what is going on in the church today. I am convinced that if religion was not paying big dividends for the likes of Young and Jakes, they would close the doors to their ministries. Lord, we pray, break the delution from the minds of these men that they might rediscover authentic ministry in You and for You, Jesus.

I am reminded of Paul’s words, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. — 1 Cor. 2:1-3

The following links will help you in your search for truth within this tragedy we call ‘New Evangelicalism’:

ED YOUNG, JR. HAS ALREADY SHARED HIS PULPIT WITH ONENESS PENTECOSTAL DR. T.D. JAKES AT C3 2006

TWO-TIME PRESIDENT OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION DR. ED YOUNG ON THE HOLY TRINITY

OUTRAGEOUS, CONTAGIOUS APOSTASY WITH CELEBRITY CHASER ED YOUNG, JR.

BUT SOUTHERN BAPTISTS SAY OK TO “BISHOP” T.D.JAKES

Fellowship’s Ed Young defends appearance of non-trinitarian T.D. Jakes at Creative Church Conference

T.D. Jakes on the Trinity

Families across the country will celebrate their children’s graduations from high school and college. As a father of a graduating senior, I look back and am amazed at where the time has gone, and how fast it goes.

My daughter has attended school under the threat of the Beltway Sniper, suffered through the loss of a close, teen-aged friend to suicide, and watched her high school community grieve the loss of a former graduate in the Virginia Tech tragedy.

She also has watched her SBC church transition to the seeker sensitive model. She watched how men surround and protect their pastors, out of fierce political loyalty, void of Biblical authority. She watched her father plead for doctrinal purity. She watched her family struggle to recover from the public shame of her father being removed as a Sunday School teacher. She watched her family leave the very church she was baptised in 7 years earlier.

When my daughter looks back on these disturbing memories, she will also see the Hand of God in each situation. His grace and mercy. His truth and love. His power and might.

My daughter can testify to the reality and power of Jesus Christ as revealed in His Word, and as demonstrated by His indwelling Holy Spirit. She also knows when someone is pretending the do the same. She knows how smoke and mirrors can be used to create the illusion of God’s power and presence.

Why would any pastor spend what precious little time there is on anything but teaching the whole counsel of God to fight the very real giants that threaten our children and our churches?

Joel 2
28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
30 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.

As I read this article from Watcher’s Lamp, I was struck with several parallels in my own church life.

1. Although not in as direct a manner, I was removed from my role as a College and Career sunday school teacher. I was basically asked to stop teaching and schedule others to teach on various (non-confrontational topics).
2. I have discussed at length with church leaders, to no avail, my concerns over serious doctrinal issues in the church I attend.
3. I have seen the pretentious in my church all to often.
4. I have seen leaders in my church protect pastors at the expense of the church body and it’s biblical mandate.

Lord, bring our pastors and church leaders to their knees. May they see the error of their ways, repent and move forward with Your mandate and not their own.

What is ArkALMIGHTY?

ArkALMIGHTY is a good deeds program that matches up the needs in your congregation and community with the talents and skills of the members of your church. After gathering the needs of church members, these requests are compiled on a Craigslist-type website, easily administered by your church. Then, the members of your church can simply search through the needs and find ways they can help.

The ArkAlmighty.com website is designed to enable youth groups and churches to easily get involved in practical and tangible volunteer outreach. Can you balance a checkbook? Can you hang a picture frame? Can you throw a spiral? You might not think of these everyday activities as volunteering, but for the people around you who can’t do them, your ability and your willingness to help is exactly what they need. You’d be amazed how a simple act of kindness can change lives.

Since when did the Church need movies and programs based on movies to motivate Christians to do what the Holy Spirit should be leading them to do every day. Christian, if you need motivation consider being obedient to the words of Jesus in Matthew 5,6,7 (the Sermon On The Mount) or consider Pauls description of love in 1 Corinthians 13. Just read the bible, it’s all you need.

The actors we see here are ’spiritual giants’ right, think again. Our youth know these guys all to well as having played questionable roles in the past. Imagine bringing John Goodman into your church or youth group for a 4 week DVD series. John Goodman host the DVDs from what I can tell.

This program, in my humble opinion, is just another social gospel experiment.

It should come as no suprise to see Youth Specialties and Willow Creek Association as sponsors of this effort.

Finally, the media company on this project, Grace Hill Media, boast of past campaigns on some of Hollywood’s most successful movies and television shows. Click on campaigns above and you will notice titles like The Exorcism, Constantine, and The Notebook (all family friendly shows, not).

– Shane Trammel