Its hot... in Topeka.

unimaginableyou:

surrealcamille:

elli-mae:

iwantnothingless:

So this is making the rounds, and I really freaking I had actually recorded Fr. I’s sermon yesterday on the passage from St. John’s first epistle that “God is love.”

This is not Christianity. This is not the gospel.

Pastor Mark, does your God hate you, or just the rest of us?

Ugh.

IT’S BEACAUSE HE’S A PHARISEE.

WHOAH WHOAH WHOAH HOLD UP. Let’s go through the problems here:

1.) RIDICULOUS ANTI-INTELLECTUAL STRAW MAN & AD HOMINEM ARGUMENTS. He hates on people who “studied a bunch of philosophy” or “are going to translate the Bible and tell me that ‘wrath’ really means ‘lollipop.’” With one hand-waving insult, he discredits any intellectual, academic investigation into the Christian faith. He glibly dismisses anyone who might have anything to say that goes counter to his points, even if they’ve done serious, rigorous, scholarly research into the topic. It now no longer matters how much someone knows or what kind of foundation in theology, history or linguistics someone has because he just said they’re wrong and that’s the end of that.

This kind of argument is completely fallacious and intellectually dishonest because it’s totally impossible to attack. He’s made himself completely bulletproof by rejecting out-of-hand any idea that contradicts his, based on no evidence but instead an appeal to anti-intellectualism and a huge, broad put-down of any and all Biblical scholarship he doesn’t like. This is lazy, dishonest rhetoric.

He also builds a massive strawman with his wrath/lollipop comment. Find me a Biblical scholar or translator who’s literally claimed that wrath should be translated as lollipop. There isn’t one. Investigations into Biblical language, context and translation are not as flippant or nonsensical as Driscoll would have his audience believe. Depicting them as drooling toddlers scribbling on Biblical manuscripts with glitter crayons is a dirty trick Driscoll employs here to discredit his ideological opponents without any solid proof or counterargument. He’s using lies and cheap tricks instead of working out a defensible position.

2.) TWISTED, MISCONSTRUED AND UNSOURCED CLAIMS. Those word counts on “wrath” and “love” mean absolutely nothing without the context for every single verse he’s counted those words from. It’s not like the Bible says “God is wrath” over and over 600 times and “God is love” only twice. The language of the Bible is rich, deep and complex and spans thousands of years, both in terms of its actual writing and the interconnected prophesies and webs of symbols.

If you actually look at the New Testament, you find a good number of verses that talk about Jesus coming to free people from the law, get us out from under the wrath of God, and restore humanity to a right relationship with God. The wrathful, jealous God of the Old Testament is reimaged through Jesus into a God of love, grace and forgiveness. Driscoll is conveniently ignoring verses like John 3:17, Matthew 5:17, Galatians 3:25, Ephesians 4:32, and Romans 7:4. Even in the Old Testament, God was not defined exclusively in terms of wrath. See Psalm 30:4 and 145:8.

3.) QUOTES THAT MAKE NO SENSE EVEN IN CONTEXT. “We have ten thousand people today, which means…more frustration that could be created by telling the truth. If you’re going to be a Christian, I want you to really be one, not just another Judas who hangs out with the team and then hangs themself. To do that, you need to know who the real God is and how the real God feels.” I’m sorry but what does that even mean?

4.) DISGUSTING, HATEFUL, JUDGMENTAL, NON-BIBLICAL, WESTBORO-BAPTIST STYLE FILTH AND FALSEHOOD. He says, around 4:45: “some of you, God hates you.” Do I even have to go into the reasons that it is completely inappropriate, unacceptable, and sinful for a person who claims to be Christian to say that to other people? Let’s review:

Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? James 4:11-12

And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. Romans 14:1

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Galatians 6:9

And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. 2 Timothy 2:24

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:1-5

5.) APPARENT MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE CONCEPT OF ENDLESS FORGIVENESS AND GRACE. Driscoll goes on to say, “God is sick of you. God is frustrated with you. God is wearied by you. God has suffered long enough with you. He doesn’t think you’re cute. He doesn’t think it’s funny. He doesn’t think your excuse is meritous. He doesn’t care if you compare yourself to someone worse than you, he hates them too.” Let’s review:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Luke 15:1-5

If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you…Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love Psalm 130:3-4/7

Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. John 1:16

The LORD appeared to us in the past,saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. Jeremiah 31:3

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10

But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 1 Timothy 1:16

6.) HE SAYS HE KNOWS THAT GOD HATES SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS. “God hates, right now, personally, objectively, hates some of you.” Driscoll thinks he knows the mind of God. Does he? Let’s review:

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Romans 11:33-34

For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 2:11

7.) DID I MENTION HE MAKES NO SENSE? “I’m not the judge, I don’t decide who goes to heaven or hell, I’m not saying where Gandhi’s at, I’m saying apart from Jesus, I know exactly where he’s at.” So we’ve already established that Driscoll thinks he knows God’s mind when he doesn’t, and now we have him saying, basically, “I’m not saying Gandhi’s in hell, I’m just saying Gandhi’s in hell.” Thanks for clearing that up, Mark. Guess what? Hedging on saying a nasty thing doesn’t absolve you from saying the nasty thing.

8.) HE SAYS HEARTBREAKING LIES THAT WILL ONLY DRIVE PEOPLE AWAY FROM THE LOVE OF JESUS. “God doesn’t hate what you do. He hates who you are.” I’m not even going to cite verses that contradict this. I’m just going to let it sink in for a moment that there’s a man up there in that video holding a Bible and claiming to speak for our just, loving, merciful, compassionate Savoir and telling people “God hates who you are.” Imagine hearing that at your most vulnerable, doubting, difficult, painful moment. Is that what any human being needs to hear? Don’t people wrestle enough with lies like this that drive us into isolation and alienation from God’s love? Is there any way this is going to bring people in instead of convincing them that they’re unworthy and God could never love them? Would this have turned any of your hearts toward God?

Mark Driscoll is a false prophet. He is hurting the Kingdom of God. He tells lies that sound a lot more like Satan than Jesus to me. Any Christians who claim that Mark Driscoll speaks for them and speaks for God need to take a serious look at what he’s saying in this video and imagine what it would be like to be on the receiving end of this diatribe. Mark Driscoll does not speak for me and he does not speak for my God. Mark Driscoll is nothing but a a hate-filled, self-righteous modern day Pharisee.