on scooters and heresy

these days, the scooter pictured is my transportation means of choice. well, choice, sort of. four drivers live in my house and i can't afford another car, much less the gas - so i ride the scooter. i do love it - it's the ultimate convertible: wind in the face and all that. and i love spending only about $7 a week in gas.

but then there are days like today...

i knew the weather was coming when i headed out around noon. i was just hoping that the rain wouldn't get here til about 2:30, since i was going to be about 10 miles from home for a lunch appointment. so much for hoping. by the time i was done it was raining pretty well, so i ordered up a triple espresso to wait it out a while. by the time i finished the caffeine fix, the rain had let up some - down to a sprinkle. i had a light jacket and my helmet, so i headed home.

the first 7-8 miles weren't so bad. it was raining lightly, but the windshield blew most of the rain over or around me. little did i know that i was just about to ride into the teeth of the storm. 

the last 2 miles soaked me! better rain gear and my full helmet sure would have helped. and paying a little more attention to what i was up against...

before i left for the appointment, i received an email asking me why i dissed a book last sunday in my talk. the book is called, "a new earth: awakening to your life's purpose," by eckhart tolle.  maybe you've seen the stacks of this book in the stores. if you watch oprah, you know it's her new 'bible.'

i did dis it. to pick up this book and buy into its message is like riding a scooter into the teeth of a rainstorm. there's plenty there that looks and sounds good - and frankly, i agree with some of the premises. the author freely speaks of god and quotes jesus. but if you're not watching, you're headed into the teeth of a storm.

on one hand, i hesitate to dissuade you guys from reading things and making up your own mind. after all, if you follow Christ, read the scriptures, pray, etc., you can see the heresy on your own.

on the other hand, in my ordination vows, i agreed to be a shepherd to my people, to sound the warning when danger approaches. the scriptures call me to this. so that's why i'm writing this. in case any of you might just buy into "a new earth" as truth.

the book teaches several things that oppose biblical Christianity: it sets up each of us as gods; it equates Jesus with buddha and others as merely a good teacher; it uses bible verses out of context; and minimizes the effects of sin and the need for a savior. and that's just for starters.

if you want to read further, i recommend you check out this link: http://biblicalspirituality.org/newearth.html

to some of you, all of this may seem like much ado about nothing. may be. 

but at the risk of being redundant, i remind you of a quote from last week's blog:

what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.

knowing what the bible teaches about God is so crucial. for that reason, i will be teaching a series on sundays in june called, "GOD."

riding a scooter in the pouring rain isn't a real good idea. but if you're gonna do it, be prepared.

same goes for what you read these days...