Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Almost Beyond Comprehension...
...but not really.
Justin Taylor points to this church website and asks
This quote is, as I hope all my regular readers know, what Satan says to tempt Christ during his 40-day fast in the desert. So not only is this bad proof-texting, it's the word of the Evil One himself.
This is making the rounds, needless to say. Most people are bemused. I am horrified. This not just a "cute mistake." To pass this off that way is to deny the reality of real evil.
We don't talk about it much, but the devil is real and the tempter is oh so active. It is rare that he shows his hand this blatantly. But I can't blame him, think of the opportunity to pass off his words as the declaration of the church. Oh the giddy excitment he must feel at the thought of so many thinking they are accessing the Lord when in reality they are accessing him.
There are so many points that could be made in a situation like this, but there is only one I want to make. The devil is most real - we ignore that at our peril.
UPDATE 8:45AM: The verse has been removed from the website in question, without comment. (thanks Rebecca for the comment!) I am glad it is gone, but I think my point stands.
Related Tags: Satan, devil, Christianity, worship, evil, temptation, Christ
Justin Taylor points to this church website and asks
Anyone see a problem with the Scripture quote in the banner of this website for a United Church of Christ Church?The scripture in question? Luke 4:7 - King James version
If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.No doubt, this church emphasizes its worship. The web sight designer did a word search using Bible software to come up with this magic formula, and did not bother with the context, then it went through the "approval" stage with everyone excited about what the quote said and no one with enough biblical cognition to recognize the context - which, of course, dozens of comments at Justin's blog have noted.
This quote is, as I hope all my regular readers know, what Satan says to tempt Christ during his 40-day fast in the desert. So not only is this bad proof-texting, it's the word of the Evil One himself.
This is making the rounds, needless to say. Most people are bemused. I am horrified. This not just a "cute mistake." To pass this off that way is to deny the reality of real evil.
We don't talk about it much, but the devil is real and the tempter is oh so active. It is rare that he shows his hand this blatantly. But I can't blame him, think of the opportunity to pass off his words as the declaration of the church. Oh the giddy excitment he must feel at the thought of so many thinking they are accessing the Lord when in reality they are accessing him.
There are so many points that could be made in a situation like this, but there is only one I want to make. The devil is most real - we ignore that at our peril.
UPDATE 8:45AM: The verse has been removed from the website in question, without comment. (thanks Rebecca for the comment!) I am glad it is gone, but I think my point stands.
Related Tags: Satan, devil, Christianity, worship, evil, temptation, Christ
