When it was only a couple months old, someone very close to me criticized my blog site; her observation was that it was generally very negative. That really hadn't occurred to me so I performed a quick review of it's content and discovered that she was right. Because the majority of my posts were critical of foolish beliefs and practices, they were, by nature and definition, negative. I jokingly told her that I thought it was hypocritical of her to criticize me for being critical. But in a few moments of weakness I found myself wondering if there might be something I could change to make this site more positive. I thought I might try posting some articles in which I could use lots of warm, fuzzy words like “wonderful” and “lovely.” You know - the kinds of girlie words that I had banished from my approved vocabulary list a long time ago. But the mere thought of doing that started to make me feel all grossed-out inside so I quickly came to my senses and got over it.
Just for the sake of clarity, I think “negative” was the wrong descriptive adjective. It would have been much more appropriate to describe much of the content of this site as "sarcastic.”
My wife agreed with my critic. She doesn’t appreciate sarcasm as a form of wit either and suggested that I should minimize it. But I really find that hard to do.
Although this blog is my venue for posting stuff that I find interesting or amusing, along the way, this is where I take my best potshots at the things I think are inane, outrageous, and idiotic.
[Warning!!! The next paragraph is intentionally sarcastic and should be understood as humor. Please DO NOT read any further if you are prone to being offended.] Sarcasm is my talent and my gift; sarcasm is what I do best; sarcasm is one of the services I offer; sarcasm is the soul of my humor and the essence of this site. To cut out the sarcasm would be to end my blogging.
But seriously, sarcasm is a legitimate form of humor and a useful tool of literature that I employ to make a point and much of the purpose of this blog site is to lampoon ignorant and liberal religious and political ideologies and to poke fun at foolishness when and where I see it. Admittedly, that in itself is negative. I really don’t know how to do that in a positive way. That would be like a guy I know who once told a girl, “You don’t sweat much for a fat chick.”
So why is the negativity important? At the core of ecumenical, evangelical accommodation (that ideology that drives much of the seeker-friendly, purpose driven, “make everybody feel good,” church programming), is the "name it and claim it," "blab it and grab it," positive confession, self-esteem, me-centered gospel (which is NOT a gospel at all).
The whole concept of positive thinking, by its very nature, excludes all negative thinking. Important terms and subjects such as sin, repentance, judgment, wrath, hell, deception, false prophets, false religions, the Antichrist, the False Prophet, Satan, persecution, wrong, suffering and tribulation are minimized so that people will not be caused to feel uncomfortable. The positive, feel-good gospel is one that attempts to make all people think that they are alright and welcome to come into the presence of God just as they are because He wants to be their best buddy and give them lots of good stuff.
The true Gospel message of the Bible must always be antithetical to the gospel of positive thinking. It is an incomplete, dishonest and unbalanced false gospel that presents the love of God and ignores the wrath of God. There can be no Truth without the identification of error. There can be no forgiveness without repentance. Salvation is impossible without atonement. There is no real Heaven to embrace without a real hell to fear.
This blog is my venue to laff at liberal lunacy, to deride intellectual dishonesty and to ridicule inane religious absurdity so I will just continue with my negative and sarcastic rants. And, just because I can, from time to time I will inject some miscellaneous rhinoceros noise just for the fun of it.
My wife agreed with my critic. She doesn’t appreciate sarcasm as a form of wit either and suggested that I should minimize it. But I really find that hard to do.
Although this blog is my venue for posting stuff that I find interesting or amusing, along the way, this is where I take my best potshots at the things I think are inane, outrageous, and idiotic.[Warning!!! The next paragraph is intentionally sarcastic and should be understood as humor. Please DO NOT read any further if you are prone to being offended.] Sarcasm is my talent and my gift; sarcasm is what I do best; sarcasm is one of the services I offer; sarcasm is the soul of my humor and the essence of this site. To cut out the sarcasm would be to end my blogging.
But seriously, sarcasm is a legitimate form of humor and a useful tool of literature that I employ to make a point and much of the purpose of this blog site is to lampoon ignorant and liberal religious and political ideologies and to poke fun at foolishness when and where I see it. Admittedly, that in itself is negative. I really don’t know how to do that in a positive way. That would be like a guy I know who once told a girl, “You don’t sweat much for a fat chick.”
So why is the negativity important? At the core of ecumenical, evangelical accommodation (that ideology that drives much of the seeker-friendly, purpose driven, “make everybody feel good,” church programming), is the "name it and claim it," "blab it and grab it," positive confession, self-esteem, me-centered gospel (which is NOT a gospel at all).
The whole concept of positive thinking, by its very nature, excludes all negative thinking. Important terms and subjects such as sin, repentance, judgment, wrath, hell, deception, false prophets, false religions, the Antichrist, the False Prophet, Satan, persecution, wrong, suffering and tribulation are minimized so that people will not be caused to feel uncomfortable. The positive, feel-good gospel is one that attempts to make all people think that they are alright and welcome to come into the presence of God just as they are because He wants to be their best buddy and give them lots of good stuff.
The true Gospel message of the Bible must always be antithetical to the gospel of positive thinking. It is an incomplete, dishonest and unbalanced false gospel that presents the love of God and ignores the wrath of God. There can be no Truth without the identification of error. There can be no forgiveness without repentance. Salvation is impossible without atonement. There is no real Heaven to embrace without a real hell to fear.
This blog is my venue to laff at liberal lunacy, to deride intellectual dishonesty and to ridicule inane religious absurdity so I will just continue with my negative and sarcastic rants. And, just because I can, from time to time I will inject some miscellaneous rhinoceros noise just for the fun of it.
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4 comments:
No godly man would ever use sarcasm. That is why this passage must have been inserted into the Bible by someone who enjoys being sarcastic: “And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, ‘Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.’” (1 Kings 18:27, NKJV) What a terrible example this man Elijah is to modern-day Christians. (Please excuse the sarcasm. I couldn’t help myself.)
Sarcasm is a good thing in the right hands. Consider yourself among "the good hands people" when it comes to sarcasm.
Sarcasm is a knife; a simple tool. It can be used to perform a surgical procedure thus saving the body or it can be used as a weapon to kill. The difference is all motive.
Let us now praise caustic Christians,
the champions of justice in all generations,
through whom God has restored the flow of mercy.
Some have nailed theses to the church door
with prophetic power.
Some have started new universities to
challenge the prevailing notions.
Some have overturned tables at the temple,
demanding alms for the poor, the sick,
and the destitute before we buy organs
and stained glass.
Some have worn dresses to be priested for gender justice.
Some have yanked off masks to proclaim their loving gay unions.
Some have demanded of the white authorities, "Let My People Go!"
Some have marched through tear gas and police dogs,
defying orders from prelates and judges.
Some have destroyed draft files
and burned plans for nuclear destruction.
Some have organized unions and cooperatives.
Some have fought to redistribute God's bounty justly.
All these won notoriety in their own generation
and were the scandal of their times.
Many have sat in jails rather than to recant
or to say that the earth as we know it
is at the center of the universe.
Others have died.
Many there are who have left behind them no name,
but a legacy of hope restored, conflict resolved,
injustice rectified, lives redeemed.
Their victories are the inheritance of future generations.
Their line will endure for all times.
Contributed By Chuck Bolton
Attributed To:Louie Crew
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