More evil in the love of money

Jesus said "woe to you rich for you have your consolation (Luke 6:24).  Paul said that "love of money is the root of all evil" (1 Timothy 6:10). It is kind of odd, perverse even, that so much attention is given to sexual ethics by some Christians while saying next to nothing about the ethics of wealth and power.

Here is a hint of just how perverse it is to neglect greed. Jesus followed his condemnation of the rich with a dire warning. If you are fat and happy now, you will be hungry and wallowing in despair for an eternity. And let's not forget those who lust for riches. Paul completes his "root of evil" statement by declaring,"some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." In other words, lust for wealth causes you to walk away from your faith. Remind me again why the faithful are condemning sexual behavior and all but ignoring the unequivocal threat from greed.

Let me connect a few dots for you. First, let's ask a basic question. Are there reasons to believe that pessimism about Mammon worship is justified? Here is one. Paul Piff and colleagues at the University Michigan just published a study of wealth and ethical behavior in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Seven studies using experimental and naturalistic methods reveal that upper-class individuals behave more unethically than lower-class individuals. In studies 1 and 2, upper-class individuals were more likely to break the law while driving, relative to lower-class individuals. In follow-up laboratory studies, upper-class individuals were more likely to exhibit unethical decision-making tendencies (study 3), take valued goods from others (study 4), lie in a negotiation (study 5), cheat to increase their chances of winning a prize (study 6), and endorse unethical behavior at work (study 7) than were lower-class individuals. Mediator and moderator data demonstrated that upper-class individuals’ unethical tendencies are accounted for, in part, by their more favorable attitudes toward greed.

The researchers used data from a national survey and a series of field studies. Each analysis yielded strong evidence that people higher up the socioeconomic status ladder are prone to all sorts of unethical behavior in business and social settings. Much of the effect was accounted for by their attitudes about greed. The more they valued money and the trappings of materialism, the more likely they were to behave unethically in their dealings with others. Love of Mammon carries with it a contempt for others.

Maybe the rich are possessed by demons. I am sure you know that greed and unethical behavior collapsed our economy and cost millions their jobs, houses and dreams in 2007. You no doubt remember this collapse came 6 years after tax rates were lowered on the rich. Despite all the promises that supply side economics would produce job creation and prosperity for everyone, unethical behavior in the financial and corporate worlds created the worst economic period since the Depression. That is a lot of suffering produced by a few thousand Mammonites.

Instead of having to fear for their freedom, the rich got richer. They made a few hollow promises to behave themselves if we give them another chance. The politicians, Republican and Democrat alike, "reluctantly" accepted those promises and even bailed them out. Meanwhile, all rules against the rich corrupting our democracy with money were thrown out by the US Supreme Court.

And what did the rich learn through all of this? Steal harder.

In the financial sector, JP Morgan Chase just lost 2 billion dollars in a flash (and the loss will be closer to 3 billion by the time the dust settles).

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said the firm suffered a $2 billion trading loss after an “egregious” failure in a unit managing risks, jeopardizing Wall Street banks’ efforts to loosen a federal ban on bets with their own money. The firm’s chief investment office, run by Ina Drew, 55, took flawed positions on synthetic credit securities that remain volatile and may cost an additional $1 billion this quarter or next, Dimon told analysts yesterday. Losses mounted as JPMorgan tried to mitigate transactions designed to hedge credit exposure.

Jamie Dimon and JPMorgan Chase have been carpet-bombing Congress with lobbyists and cash to get rid of the few pathetic regulations that were put in place after the crash of 2007. So Mr. Dimon, how did this massive failure happen on your watch if regulations are not needed because the banks can police themselves. That sounds freaking stuppppiddddd!!! Let the foxes guard the hen houses because what could possibly go wrong. Really, trust us.

“There were many errors, sloppiness and bad judgment,” Dimon said as the company’s stock fell in extended trading. “These were egregious mistakes, they were self-inflicted.”

Oopsie. Tee hee hee. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge. I am so sorry (we got caught).

The only mistakes were losing money and getting caught. Another elaborate check-kiting scheme known as derivatives trading blew up and billions disappeared in the blink of an eye. And these are not nickel and dime ethical misdemeanors. No, these were capital crime level felonies.

Bloomberg News first reported April 5 that London-based JPMorgan trader Bruno Iksil had amassed positions linked to the financial health of corporations that were so large he was driving price moves in the $10 trillion market.

Trades worth $10 trillion. In other words, we could pay off the federal debt with what these clowns were betting in the Wall Street Casino.

Or how about Chesapeake Energy. It is another warm and fuzzy story about unbridled greed.

Chesapeake Energy is the second largest gas producer in the US. Their CEO, Aubrey McClendon, was just ousted when some of his financial shenanigans came to light. Improper personal loans. A little hedge fund on the side. A wicked compensation deal that paid MeClendon a fat salary, fatter bonuses, hog-worthy stock options, and a piece of every single gas well operated by the company. Think about that for a second. McClendon received four sources of revenue for doing one job - serving himself.

Now comes word of another financial irregularity.

A US report contends that the embattled Chesapeake Energy has “previously unreported liabilities” summing to $1.4 billion resulting from a programme that allowed it to exchange future oil and gas production for cash up front.  

 The Wall Street Journal analysed 10 of the company’s Volumetric Production Payment agreements and projected that the costs associated with the arrangements was far higher than $600 million over 10 years previously estimated.  

The liabilities raise questions about the company’s ability to manage its cash flow, the newspaper said, among the concerns about the No. 2 US gas producer among investors and analysts.

Another oopsie. An $800 million accounting mistake. No worries, mate. Goldman Sachs to the rescue. A $3 billion unsecured handshake loan. Problem solved. Whew. That was close.

Here is a little icing for the cake in case you doubted the ethical bankruptcy of these titans of industry. The CEO of Yahoo just resigned after being exposed for padding his resume.

Good thing we Christians are preoccupied with sex. We do not want the faithful casting aspersion on the greed and corruption of the rich and powerful. That would spoil all the fun.

Mother's Day proclamation

Here is the original Mother's Day proclamation by Julia Ward Howe:

Arise, then, women of this day! 

Arise, all women who have hearts, Whether our baptism be of water or of tears! 

Say firmly: "We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies, Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience. We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs. 

From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own. It says: "Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice." Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession. As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war, Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. 

Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead. Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means Whereby the great human family can live in peace, Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar, But of God. 

In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask That a general congress of women without limit of nationality May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient And at the earliest period consistent with its objects, To promote the alliance of the different nationalities, The amicable settlement of international questions, The great and general interests of peace.

In other words, blessed are the peacemakers. Mothers understand what it means to care for the children of God.

In response to a question about homosexuality

stasisonline was kind enough to comment on the post about Matthew Vines.

But he is asking for special status. Having now made & disseminated this video, he's asking the broad church to ignore the disingenuous nature of this one-sided account of a difficult issue that has already caused division. He's increasing the division by misleading people into thinking his video is balanced. He's also asking for special status in the sense that generally, open sin is not welcomed in churches. For those that think my comments make no sense, I recommend they research both sides of this issue, eg, after watching the video, review a critique of the video such as this one: http://stasisonline.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/homosexual-marriage/

Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment.

Friend, let me challenge you on several points.

First, the reality is every congregation is filled with sinners. I am a sinner. You are a sinner. The person next to you in the pew is a sinner. Every member of the congregation is a sinner. The choir is filled with sinners. The person in the pulpit is a sinner. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All of us. Not a single one deserves grace. Search your heart, friend. You know that to be true.

Homosexuals are part of the broken and come to church seeking God's glory. They are called by God to seek his company. Let me remind you that churches are merely the houses of God. If you think God will be pleased to see sinners humbly seeking his grace turned away, think again. I promise you that the Lord will be displeased to see those called by the Spirit to HIS body cast out. I guarantee those responsible for discouraging members of HIS flock will be called to account for it.

Most of the sinners in your congregation manage to keep their sins secret. They do not come to Bible study, worship services, or social hours and publicly announce that they cheated customers or committed adultery with a co-worker. They do not stand in front of the congregation and say they spent four hours this week watching porn. No one hears about the lies we tell, the greed we practice, or the harm we bring to others. Unlike homosexuals who announce their presence only when they bring someone they love to church, the other sinners get to keep their sins a secret. Now that is special status.

Understand this clearly. The homosexuals that you know about are the ones that want to be in a committed relationship. They do not want promiscuity. They want to be faithful to their partner. The sexual component of that relationship is confined to a single loving relationship rather than promiscuous or purely hedonic. Do you seriously want to turn away these people while those in your congregation that engage in sex outside of a committed relationship or worse, as a violation of trust of a committed relationship, hide their sexual misdeeds and are welcomed with open arms?

Here is another issue to be very, very, very careful of. Leviticus states homosexuality offends God. That makes the sin between them and God to work out the accommodation. Congregations and pastors are not God. Jesus makes it clear that HE is the judge of HIS flock. Remember that Jesus said he came for the sinners for the saints do not require his help. If He, Lord of Lords, King of Kings, loves these homosexual sinners, then rest assured that he expects the same from the other members of HIS flock. Churches that think they get to make choices about who deserves His grace are broken. Some are even filled with demons.

While homosexual acts were common in the ancient world during the time of the writing of the Old and New Testaments, homosexual relationships were never ever public. Homosexual acts were a common form of recreation, especially for men. Those were not controversial because the men were not viewed as being unfaithful to their heterosexual spouse. Now we have people who want to be a committed homosexual relationship rather than engage in meaningless sexual gratification. I can say with certainty that the scriptures tell me that God is not fond of sexual promiscuity, whether those acts are between members of the same sex or members of the opposite sex. I am far less certain of how God views homosexuality in the context of a loving relationship. That never happened in the ancient world for the Old and New Testament writers to comment on.

I am a sinner. While I try not to make the same mistakes, I find ways of making new ones. That means I have no authority to play judge or jury to the sins of others. I do not get to throw rocks if I truly believe in Jesus. He makes it clear that unless you are perfect, you too are neither judge nor jury. The church is HIS body. We are His eyes, ears, hands, feet, and mouth. We serve Him, not the other way around. We are part of a flock in which no sheep is more valuable than another. All are equal. All are sinners. All have fallen short of the glory of God. ALL. Each and everyone prized.

James 2:8 sums it nicely:

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right.

Yours in Christ

Republican circle of protection for the poor is a death panel

For months, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has been calling for a "circle of protection" for the poor, sick, aged, and disabled in the federal budget. And they have been repeatedly ignored. Well, actually, House budget chair Paul Ryan has all but given them a middle finger salute.

Monsters are nothing if not audacious and vicious. Last year, Ryan and his budget plans were criticized as not in keeping with Catholic social teachings as he called for deep cuts to the social safety net while protecting tax cuts for the rich and subsidies for the most profitable corporations. This year, Ryan decided to double down on taking from the poor to pamper the rich by claiming it was guided by Catholic teachings. When that sparked a flurry of letters from the USCCB, Ryan dismissed their authority. And despite 5 letters to Ryan and company over the past two months, the budgetary bills put forth by Ryan's committee and passed by House Republicans can only be described as morally bankrupt. Instead of letting the poor eat cake, Ryan wants them to eat dust.

If this bill were enacted, estimates suggest that nearly two million Americans would lose food stamps and 44 million others would find them reduced. The bill would eliminate a program that allows disabled older people to live at home and out of institutions. It cuts money that helps low-income families buy health insurance. At the same time, the House bill actually adds more than $8 billion to the Pentagon budget.

All the pro-life, family values rhetoric coming out of these people is nothing but a lie. Half of all Americans live below the poverty line or within spitting distance above it. These budget initiatives will cause tens of millions to suffer or even die from hunger, homelessness, lack of heat or air conditioning, or disease. It will shackle more with fewer and fewer opportunities to escape poverty. All the while, it creates the largest military budget in human history. Here is a timely reminder from Ezekiel 16:49.

"Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy."

At least we know who the real Sodomites are.

Southern Baptist's Richard Land does the right thing

From the Religion News Service:

Southern Baptist leader Richard Land has issued a lengthy public apology for his racially charged comments about the Trayvon Martin case, and said he has sent a personal letter to President Obama seeking forgiveness.

He goes on to say:

“It was unchristian and unwise for me to have done so,” he wrote, adding that he sent them letters of apology asking for forgiveness. “God alone is the searcher of men's hearts. I cannot know what motivated them in their comments in this case.”

Peace.

Thank God I am a heretic

For it has become heresy to love others as you would wish to be loved. To fulfill orthodoxy, I must despise and mistreat those out of favor with the orthodox. Only then will God love me more than others.

Did you hear the one about Bob Jones University?

Sounds like a setup for a joke. Actually, it is, in a sad and sick way.

What do you get when you mix a callous pastor, an abusive administration of a supposedly Christian college, and a young man who thirsts for justice and righteousness? Proof of why young people are walking away from church.

For those who have not heard this story, let me fill in a few details.

"Pastor" Chuck Phelps. Remember that name. He is a ravenous wolf pretending to be a shepherd.

Our story begins in 1997. A 14-year-old girl named Tina Anderson was hired as a baby-sitter by Ernie Willis, a deacon in the church she attended. That church was Trinity Baptist Church in Concord, New Hampshire, lead by "Pastor" Chuck Phelps. On two occasions, Willis managed to get the girl alone and raped her. One of those encounters got her pregnant. Already the story is sordid, but it gets worse.

Anderson told "20/20" that she confided her pregnancy to Willis. His reaction, she said, was to offer to pay for an abortion. When she rejected his offer, he presented another option, she said. 

"He asked me if I wanted him to punch me in the stomach as hard as he could to try to cause a miscarriage," she said. "I told him, 'No, leave me alone.'"

Tina Anderson then gets the courage to tell her mother what happened, who then consults "Pastor" Chuck Phelps. Phelps, ever the loving shepherd, demanded that the girl go before the congregation and confess her "sin."

Anderson said that after being sexually assaulted twice by Willis, she was forced to stand before her Baptist congregation and confess her "sin" -- that she had become pregnant. She said she wasn't allowed to tell the group that the pregnancy happened because she was raped by Willis, a man twice her age.

Phelps decided to emotionally abuse an already traumatized girl while protecting the church from scandal by hiding the fact that the predator was a respected member of the congregation. He then helped further hide the mess by sending the girl to live with another family in the same denomination and away from any potential investigation of the case.

The church's then-pastor, Chuck Phelps, helped arrange for Anderson to move thousands of miles away from home to live with an IFB family and give her child up for adoption. 

Concord police said they couldn't find Anderson to investigate the rape allegations in 1997, the Associated Press reported. Police reopened their investigation after a former member of Trinity Baptist Church posted a message about Anderson's case on Facebook.

Just in case you are tempted to give "Pastor" Phelps any benefit of the doubt, you need to know that Tina Anderson was sexually and physically abused by her stepfather as a young girl. Phelps was well aware this girl had been victimized as a child. According to Tina, Phelps even forced her to "forgive" her stepfather. Forgiveness is a vital part of our life in Christ, but is a difficult concept for a child to comprehend and employ, particularly one traumatized by physical and sexual abuse. Inducements to forgive can be interpreted by a child as meaning the adult has not done anything really bad.

Trinity Baptist Church is part of the Independent Fundamentalist Baptist movement.           

The organization of a New Testament church is simple. Christ is the head of the church, (Eph. 5:23) and its Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4). The local pastor is the under-shepherd (bishop), overseer, or leader of the congregation. (Heb. 13:17, Acts 20:28, Eph. 4:11) The Independent Baptist church has a congregational form of government with each member equally having the right of to vote on all the affairs of the church. The pastor and members of the New Testament church directs and rules its actions following the guidelines of the New Testament.

Independent Fundamental Baptist churches have fellowship one with the other and often cooperate in such endeavors as evangelism. They will not participate, as a church, in any outside function with churches which do not also strictly base their faith and practice on the New Testament. They will not engage in joint meetings, or evangelistic endeavors, with Protestants, Catholics, or other doctrinally unsound church groups, who do not hold to the fundamental teachings of the New Testament. Fundamental Independent Baptists churches will remain separate from unsound churches, as well as other Baptists groups who join in with the unscriptural churches.

As you can see, IFB churches think highly of themselves. The Tina Anderson debacle shows they also know how to cover up a scandal. And she is not alone. Others have come forward with similar stories of sexual and psychological abuse, all carefully concealed behind a veil of secrecy.

Which brings us to Bob Jones University (BJU). Chuck Phelps was a member of the advisory board of the school until the Tina Anderson case attracted national attention. A number of BJU current and former students were outraged to learn that Phelps was on the Board.

One of those students was Chris Peterman. Peterman got into serious trouble with the BJU administration for publicizing the Chuck Phelps - Tina Anderson story on social media.

When Peterman heard news of the initial allegations against Chuck Phelps, he was outraged that Phelps was allowed to continue to hold his chair as a Board member, Peterman said. He posted links about the story on his personal Facebook account, and was called into a meeting with BJU's Dean of Men, Jon Daulton. The Deans of Men and Women are gender-specific assistants to the school's Dean of Students. 

"I was told that I'd have to stop posting that stuff, or I would be expelled," Peterman said in an interview with CNN. The Dean of Men "said that the administration was upset with what I was saying. He said that the public relations department was following everything because it was giving Bob Jones a bad name."

It is a testament to the perversion of the administration that they think it is acceptable to have Chuck Phelps on the advisory board, but it is unacceptable for anyone to call attention to his history.

Peterman has strong feelings about sexual abuse, in no small part because he witnessed an attempt to cover up abuse in his church while growing up. He created the Do Right BJU Facebook site and organized a protest to pressure the school to remove Phelps from the board. Peterman continued his efforts despite pressure from the administration. Phelps eventually resigned from the board in December 2011 after Ernie Willis was convicted of rape.

When Peterman returned from Christmas break in January, BJU amped up the pressure.

When Peterman returned to BJU in January 2012 for his final semester, he claims he was called in for special weekly counseling with the Dean of Men. "I had questioned the authority of the university, so by association, I had questioned the authority of God himself," he said. "Therefore, I had a deep spiritual problem he needed to fix."

"I would go into these meetings, two to three times a week, for an hour or more at a time, sometimes even at midnight. He would have a printout of my Facebook, and have things highlighted and starred. If anyone appeared in the picture with me, he would have their names highlighted and their faces circled," he said. 

"I felt like I was being harassed and followed. ... He would also call my friends in and question them about me, all in an effort to isolate me and shut me up."

The so-called Christian university demonstrated its fidelity to the teachings of the Lord by finding excuses to suspend and finally expel Peterman a week before he was supposed to graduate from BJU. Among his demerit-worthy offenses included watching Glee at a local Starbucks, posting the lyrics of a contemporary Christian song on his Facebook page, and tweeting a comment about the length of a required BJU prayer assembly before it began. After he appealed the demerits, the review board sided with him, and he was told he would be able to graduate.

The BJU administration was not finished with Peterman. Because he told his story to CNN before the review board hearing, they expelled him for attempting to "intimidate BJU."

"I wanted to cry," he said. "I thought that God had answered my prayers, everything's gonna be alright. So, everybody starts to leave the room, and it's just me, the Dean of Students, and the Dean of Men. Then the Dean of Men says that they're kicking me out because I tried to intimidate BJU."

Apparently intimidate means embarrass by telling the truth. What a stellar witness for Christ and God's love.

You can find more detail on the abusive treatment of Chris Peterman here.

You can read about Chuck Phelps being 'victimized' by Tina Anderson and Chris Peterman here.

And here is the reprimand from BJU of everyone that publicized this case:

“A biblical approach would be an attitude of forbearance toward a Christian brother – not recklessly making accusations of crime or cover up against a man of good reputation before gathering the facts. The biblical principle is to go to the person directly and get facts before reaching a judgment. Dr. Phelps has offered to talk to several of his critics and even shared his phone number, but not one has called to talk with him directly.”

The real "sin" is that people have dared question the authority of organizations like BJU and pastors like Chuck Phelps. They are supposedly our betters and anointed by God. If we do not submit to their dominion, we are violating biblical principles of discipline. Funny thing. Jesus did not model blind obedience to religious authorities. BJU unjustly denied a degree to Chris Peterman that he earned through four years of hard work. Chuck Phelps unjustly treated Tina Anderson, a girl that was twice sexually molested by members of his congregation. Respect needs to be earned and unjust authorities need to be mocked as hypocrites, vipers, and whitewashed tombs.