Wow. It seems that interview I posted about on challies.com has caused quite a ruckus.

Now I’m not going to start pointing fingers but it is the extremists on both sides that give the “sane” group a bad name. All sorts of comments from calvinists in an uproar because Richard calls himself a calvinist but calls limited atonement and irresistable grace how he sees it in the Scripture. Fellow Christians hurling words like, heresy, heretic, false doctrine, etc etc…at each other. In addition, anti-PDL people throwing stones at Tim just for posting the interview, as if Richard was some sort of anti-Christ.

Well I call it like I see it too. I am definitely against Richard Abanes and his support for the PDL and you can read part 2 of Tim’s interview with him to see why. However, Richard claims to be a brother in Christ and you have to respect some of his comments in the interview. Why would I throw out everything he has to say just because he is a Rick Warren supporter? Give me a break. His comments on Harry Potter, as well as much of what he had to say seems pretty right on (and Scriptural) to me. In case some of you die hard (or hyper-)calvinists weren’t aware, “limited atonement” as held by many is a very weak position Scripturally.

What we are seeing displayed here friends is not Christianity. It is the same scoffing and “hatred” we are warned against in the Scripture. Perhaps some of these so-called “Christians” who are speaking so harshly should step down off their pedestal and spend more time in the Scripture.

John 8:7
Matthew 7:3-5

P.S. Since I brought up PDL, I should probably mention that my objections may not be the same as most people that constantly bash it (and Rick Warren). However, that is for another post if I ever feel it is important enough to go into more detail about the issue. My general comments on it can be found here.

Addendum 7/31:
Phil Johnson at PyroMania comments on the Richard Abanes interview.

What I find interesting in all this is that Richard Abanes is associated with Saddleback Church / Rick Warren (whom he is defending) and Phil Johnson is associated with Grace to You / John MacArthur (whom he is defending). Both the interview and Phil’s post are worth reading if you have the time. At the very least you get to see some well written defenses/analysis of certain statements/issues.

Addendum 8/1:
One last comment on all this. Tim posted his opinion on the interview and I have to say I think he hit the nail on the head. Below is a reproduction of my comment on Tim’s blog.

Just wanted to say I think you hit the nail on the head here Tim. The question is, why is Richard defending Rick at all (because he goes to his church?). Yes, I know Richard claims it is because he is defending “truth” but that is irrelavent as far as I am concerned. The only “truth” worth “defending” is the Word. Defending some man’s ministry (apart from the Scripture) is pointless IMO. Both Richard and Phil are guilty of defending a third party in this instance. Let the person speak for themselves if they wish, otherwise, it is just hearsay.

Greg Koukl and Ken Silva’s response on the ever growing discussion. This should be my last comment/update on this issue. You can follow the rabbit trail as far as you like with the links provided thus far.

AMDG

You can see my original comments on this subject here.

I ran across this interview with Richard Abanes at challies.com and I wanted to reproduce some of his comments because I really liked what he had to say on the subject.

The above interview shed some light on Richard and where he stands on certain issues that I was unaware of. Up until reading the interview I had only disagreed with what I have read from him (specifically about Rick Warren, which isn’t much). Apparently, Richard has written a book titled Harry Potter, Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings : What You Need to Know About Fantasy Books and Movies that touches on the Harry Potter subject in more detail.

In addition to the quote below, I liked what he had to say in regards to “soft calvinism”. If need be, I personally don’t have a problem shedding the label of a “calvinist” because of my differing opinion on a few “points”. However, I also don’t have a problem with the term he uses and how he explains it. You can read the full interview (linked above) if you want to see what he has to say on that.

We happen to be doing this interview only days after the release of the latest book in the Harry Potter series. I know you’ve written a book about this subject. Here is a quick chance to pitch your book! What are your thoughts on Harry Potter and whether Christian children and adults should read it?

Regarding the Harry Potter books, I have tried very hard to avoid telling people to either read them or not read them. My newest book Harry Potter, Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings is primarily about fantasy literature in general, which I happen to support. In fact, I am a major fan of fantasy, so what I have tried to do is simply show that fantasy, like so many things, can be “good” as well as “not so good.” To illustrate the differences between such types of fantasy I take an in-depth look at the Harry Potter series, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings. I also examine/discuss Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy (which is excessively anti-Christian) and R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series (as well as Goosebumps). Additionally, I cover marketing to children through TV and movies, consumerism, child development, and culture’s influence on kids.

My concern about the Harry Potter books is two-fold: 1) by J.K. Rowling’s own admission, the books contain references to real-world occult symbolism, lore, subjects, practices, and beliefs that she has gleaned from her hobby-like study of things like occultism, witchcraft, and magick (this is verified and documented); 2) the ethics and morality in the series exalt relativism—i.e., there seems to be no objective standard of right and wrong. If the good characters in the book feel like something is just fine (or fun), then they simply do it, even though it may be bad/wrong (e.g., the good characters habitually lie, steal, cheat, use foul language, break laws, deceive each other, behave hypocritically, and have no problem pursuing revenge). The books do not strive to show kids a better way, they instead, appeal to their most basic/naturalistic instincts: e.g., crass/gross humor, the desire for revenge, the want for power over adults.

Some people say, “So what?” But my worry is that children—who we all know tend to copy what they think is cool, or fun, or exciting—will begin emulating some of the poor ethical/moral behaviors exalted in Harry Potter as well as some of the occult aspects of the books. This is not a far-fetched concern. Kids are already copying various aspects of the series: e.g., registrations for boarding schools in England have sky-rocketed; a surge in buying owls for pets has taken place; and one group of kids had to be rushed to the hospital after mixing a poisonous “potion” and drinking—all in direct response to Harry Potter. We also have a 2002 Barna survey that found 12% of kids who saw the Harry Potter movies were more interested in witchcraft. And, most alarming, is how REAL wiccans/occultists/neopagans are writing their own pro-occult and pro-witchcraft books (both fiction and non-fiction) and using the popularity of Harry Potter books to lure young readers to their materials. Clearly, concerns about Harry Potter are not misplaced.

My book also debunks the absurd view of Harry Potter offered by the likes of John Granger, Connie Neal, and Francis Bridger, and John Killinger—i.e., the claim that Harry Potter is actually a Christian series in the tradition of The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. In a nutshell, their assertions are plagued by a myriad of flaws that can be distilled down to two main issues: 1. The plainest reading of Harry Potter reveals that it is not a depiction of anything Christian, but instead, is a depiction of the magick worldview. (This has been confirmed by Witches, occultists, and neopagans.) 2. Rowling herself has explained both her work and her faith in ways that clearly contradict the assertions being made by the “Harry-Potter-is-really-Christian” group of supporters.

Should Christian children and/or adults read them? Well, what adults do is between them and God. I could no more tell an adult Christian to not read the books than tell them to not go see an R-rated movie, or not have a glass of wine with spaghetti. Reading Harry Potter as an adult, I think, would fall into the category of a freedom not explicitly discussed in scripture. Children, on the other hand, need guidance. But guiding someone else’s child is not my job. My job is to get good, solid, documented information about Harry Potter to parents, then, it is their decision. Personally, however, I do think it is a very poor idea to have some kids, particularly younger ones (e.g., ages 6-10), reading the books—especially the latter volumes (4, 5, 6, 7), which become progressively darker and more violent.

I think Richard did an excellent job commenting on the subject matter above and I thought it worthy of reproducing here. In addition, I differ with Richard on other things he has written about and I had no problems writing about those particular issues. I may even have to pick up his book (linked to above) on the subject.

Addendum 7/29:
Ran across another good article on the subject so I am just adding the link to this post.

AMDG

Tim has posted an article entitled The Proper Use of Scripture in Books that I wanted to comment on.

Before we go any further, let’s establish the purpose of using the Bible in a book. The goal in prooftexting or quoting from the Bible is to accurately represent and interpret God’s Word. We do not use the Bible to prove what we want it to say. Rather, we turn to the Bible to learn from God Himself, and then share what we have learned with others. We must have our priorities straight.

I am not sure if I disagree with this or not (because of the way it is worded). I think that your position should always be backed by Scripture. If it isn’t, then it is just a subjective opinion that really doesn’t hold much weight and consequently it doesn’t matter if someone differs. Now, I don’t think someone should formulate a position and then find Scripture to support that position. If that is what Tim is trying to say then I agree with him. However, if I am writing a book and I make a statement, I think backing that statement with Scripture is warranted. In fact, I should find Scripture to back all of my positions so they become more credible and don’t fall under the “mere opinions” category. If I cannot find Scripture to back my position then I should abandon it in favor of a Scriptural one.

Again, you have to ask yourself the importance of stating an opinion without Scriptural support. The problem is that someone may differ from that opinion and there is nothing to counter with, they are just as much right as you are. It becomes a circular discussion of one subjective opinion against another.

Obviously, people can still disagree with your position even if you use Scripture to support it. However, the big difference is that you have something as a basis that both parties can reference. I personally would like to see all “Christian” books grounded in Scripture.

I will admit the above would force the reader to be more familiar with the Scripture but I don’t believe that is a bad thing.

AMDG

Ran across the below blog entry and wanted to comment as the subject has been coming up quite a bit.

PyroManiac: Harry Potter and the Dark Maven of BlogSpotting

First off, let me state that one thing that I have been noticing in Christendom is the lax attitude towards secularism. Even more alarming is the brethren that bash (or try to put in a negative light) those who speak out against things such as Harry Potter and witchcraft. If you read the comments on Phil’s blog you can get a sample of such attitude.

For example, “If your child’s grasp of Christianity is so tenuous that Harry Potter can turn him to the dark side, then you have failed in your covenant duties as a parent. Further, Hogwart’s is little more than a fanciful adaptation of British public school life.” Now I ask you, does that comment cast a negative light on the brethren who have decided they are not going to let their children read Harry Potter? Does that comment make it seem that there is absolutely nothing wrong with Harry Potter? Has the person making the comment investigated the claims made about Harry Potter books and their ties to witchcraft?

The problem with the lax attitude mentioned above is that it eventually leads to crossing the line. Can you picture John Calvin (I use him as an example because many people are familiar with his writings) endorsing works along the lines of Harry Potter and telling his fellow brothers and sisters that it is ok to support such works? The fact is, Harry Potter glorifies witchcraft for young children. Now for the mature Christian, I don’t see much harm in reading anything. However, for baby Christians and especially for children, the things Harry Potter glorifies could be detrimental.

So to all those who think there is nothing wrong with Harry Potter, I challenge you to ask yourself if Jesus would approve of it. You may find that your answer could possibly be “yes” in certain situations but I highly doubt that anyone can honestly answer, “Jesus doesn’t mind if I let my children read books that glorify witchcraft”. In addition, I challenge you to search the Scripture on the subject of educating your children and see if there is room for books that glorify witchcraft (because they are written well). Does the author of the Harry Potter books stand for Christ or against Him? Is her message meant to glorify God? Should Christians be supporting her?

Deuteronomy 6:5-9
Proverbs 22:6
Ephesians 6:4

AMDG

I have seen a few good articles on Christian/church marketing lately. I had to comment because the state of church and/or “Christian” marketing is disturbing. Marketing directed at Christians has become quite popular and it appears a lot of Christians are just eating it up.

Phil Johnson posts PyroManiac: More on the Fad-Driven® Church. This is an excellent post. I don’t always agree with Phil and sometimes his posts have a bit too much filler for my taste, but I like the fact that he approaches issues head on. His willingness to write bluntly about “touchy” subjects is one of the reasons he is listed in my blogroll. Hopefully one of these days he will add trackback capabilities (i.e. changing his comments to haloscan if he insists on staying at blogspot).

I had some other links to challies.com that touched on similar subject matter, however, Tim’s site appears to be down right now. I will add those links once his site is back up.

AMDG