Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and the late Christopher Hitchens (and others) have inspired a new generation of atheists.  They are smart, they are sharp, and they are… grumpy.  At least according to author Mitch Stokes.  I agree with him.

Intended as a resource for believers, A Shot of Faith to the Head is Stokes’ attempt to show that Christians stand on solid philosophical ground as they face the rising tide of Neo-Atheism that is often characterized as not just unbelief, but belligerent unbelief.

Overall, Stokes does a fine job.  I especially enjoyed his treatment of natural selection, which Dawkins in particular employs as a favorite argument against the need for a god.  Stokes’ counter is how can the atheist know for certain that natural selection has indeed given us the correct faculties for determining whether or not belief is rational.  The honest answer is that the atheist cannot know if this is so.  His other arguments, including the counter to the neo-atheists’ clamoring for evidence (what’s the evidence for the evidence, and so on…), are strong.

This book isn’t meant to convert nonbelievers.  It is meant to show that Christians can be confident that their faith is reasonable.  Although I found the book refreshing, it does wade into some deep philosophical waters at times.  Thus many believers may find the reading dry.  But overall, a solid effort.

Thomas Nelson gave me a complimentary copy of this book.

Until Monday night, that word described my thoughts on Amendment 1, a proposed amendment to the NC state constitution that would define marriage between one man and one woman as the only domestic partnership that would be recognized in the state.

I did my homework.  I studied the reasons for and against the amendment.  Most of all, I prayed for wisdom.  Regardless of the outcome, there are potential consequences for the citizens of our state.  I finally came to a decision late Monday night.

I voted against Amendment 1, and my faith had everything to do with it.

Some of you reading this, who have been my friends for years, are undoubtedly disappointed in that decision.  A few of you may question the legitimacy of my faith.  Some of you may be surprised.  Why did I vote this way, and how did faith have anything to do with voting against something that supposedly protects marriage?

There are the insignificant reasons:  it’s legislative overkill, bigger government, the secular government sticking its fingers in what is largely a religious issue, the church getting involved in politics.  But these reasons pale to the main reasons I chose to vote against Amendment 1.

I know what the Bible says about marriage.  I still believe what the Scripture says is true, that marriage is between one man and one woman.  I am not for homosexual marriage.  I realize that voting against this amendment may open up the door to that possibility and that it carries some eventual potential risks for churches and faith-based professionals (thus I understand the reasons that supporters voted for it).

But I also know that the Bible says much more about caring for the helpless, the abused, and those who cannot speak for themselves than it does about marriage.

The wording of Amendment 1 opens up a Pandora’s Box of issues that could potentially rob such people of rights.  Here are just a few:

• Children of unwed parents could lose much-needed health insurance that is provided to their parent, who is now covered by their domestic partner’s benefits.
• Victims of domestic abuse could lose some protection as this amendment could lead to lesser charges being filed against the abuser.
• Custody proceedings could become more muddied and complicated, and the main ones who suffer will be the children involved.

I chose justice for the helpless, the abused, and those who could not speak for themselves over legislative “protection” for marriage.  Scripture is full of such injunctions, and Jesus lived this to the full.  That’s what I am called to do.

And regardless of how we voted, this issue doesn’t end at the ballot box.

If you chose to vote for the amendment, then spend time everyday protecting your marriage.  Pornography, adultery, lack of communication, abuse, and apathy are way more dangerous to marriage than whether or not the government eventually sanctions homosexual unions.  (This goes for those of you who voted against Amendment 1 as well).

If you chose to vote against the amendment, actively pursue justice for those who need it.  Serve the poor.  Mentor the fatherless.  Love those who do not live like you. (This goes for those of you who voted for Amendment 1 as well).

Legislation can never change hearts.  Only the gospel can do that.  Christians, regardless of how we voted on Amendment 1, let that change begin in us.  Because the kingdom comes, not through the ballot box, but through lives radically changed by grace.

The comments have been turned off for this post.

Jim Gaffigan is the funniest man on the face of the earth.  No one can talk about laziness, cake, bacon, and Hot Pockets with the same wit and humor as The Pale One can.

Today’s RLT Cinema feature shows Gaffigan taking on the Pope.  Very funny stuff.  Gaffigan can talk about religion in a way few people can.  Many of the things he says border so close to offensive for many people, yet you walk away laughing so hard you want a Hot Pocket.

Enjoy.

I’m going to miss her.

We bought her back in January 2002, a month before our oldest daughter was born.  We needed a new car with a little more room for a baby.  She outlasted three other cars (plus three years of our mommy van).  In the past year, I’ve essentially paid a car payment each month replacing old parts.  Last week, I pulled into the driveway and smoke started pouring out of the hood.  Antifreeze was everywhere.  I suspect a weak head gasket, which I’ve been nursing for several years.  As badly as I want to fix her and keep her going, I can’t do it anymore.

Although I’m a little frustrated at the inconvenience, I’m not worried.  If this would have happened five years ago, I would have freaked out and worried as if God did not exist.  I know better now.  This isn’t worth worrying about.  I’ll say my good-byes, and hopefully trade her in on one of these bad boys:

Aw, snap!  The ultimate in octogenarian luxury.  The definition of “Chaplain Car”.  And the standard in dependability (my father swears by these Buicks).  I’m past the age where I care about what my car looks like.  I just want something that’ll stay out of the shop.

Although some 26′s with spinners and a sub in the back would thug it out.

On April 24, 1996 at 10:20 PM, we started dating.  She was wearing her Smashing Pumpkins T-shirt, her red hooded seatshirt, her cut-off jeans, and her Chucks.

On April 24, 1997 at 10:30 PM, I asked her to marry me.  She said, “I can’t believe you!  I can’t believe you!”  I had to ask if that was a yes.  It was.

On August 1, 1998, we got married.  It was a storybook wedding.  Over twelve years later, we still have people telling us it was the coolest wedding they’d every attended.

In April, we’ll have been together for fifteen years.  In August, we’ll have been married for thirteen years.  They’ve been the best years of my life.  I’m the luckiest guy on earth.  All you fellas should be jealous.

I love you, babe.  Thank you for loving me, way more than I deserve.  Yoda one for me (always have been, always will be).

The RLT Cinema player is located in the widget sidebar to the right.  Simply click the video, which is the feature of today’s post.

This is simply the greatest TV commercial of the last thirty-five years.  And maybe the greatest advertisement ever.  To the geniuses of Volkswagon, I salute you.  The force is strong with this one.

So head on over to The New Inklings. Here’s a clue to our first musing:

I realize I’ve had a lot of music videos featured on RLT Cinema recently, but these have really struck me in one way or the other.  Today’s feature comes from the coolest Jewish dude since Jesus, Matisyahu.  I’m not a huge reggae fan, but Matisyahu is off the hook.  His “Live at Stubbs” live CD is ridiculous.

Today’s feature is an acoustic version of a song he previously did with Akon called “One Day.”  I personally think this version is much better.  The lyrics speak of looking forward to a day when we no longer have to worry about wars, violence, and the things that tear our world apart.

What are you (as the lyrics say) waiting and praying for?

I want to plug a site that I’m involved in called Stake.  I was asked to participate on the editorial board of this site.  The purpose, as the tag line says, is to challenge Christian risk-takers.

If you’re a Christian leader, you need to check out Stake.  If your simply a Christian, you need to check out Stake.  So…

…go check it out here.

I’m really excited about a new blog project I’m involved in called The New Inklings.  It’s a joint project between myself and my good friend Fran.  About a year and a half ago, Fran and I started a great conversation about God, and this blog is the result.  The coolest thing about it is this:

I’m a Christian.  Fran is agnostic.
We talk.  We don’t want to kill each other.

Thus, a Christian and an agnostic can walk into a bar, pull up a stool, and talk about faith, theology, or being unsure of either and still be great friends.  The creation of The New Inklings has been great fun, and has served to strengthen my faith.

Regardless of your faith view, go check us out.  This week will serve as an introduction to The New Inklings – who we are, how the site works, and what the process will be.

Do yourself a favor and check out The New Inklings.

So while this may technically be more of a “white board session”, I did transfer this silly little poem that I wrote in a shade under ten minutes to the ol’ Moleskine and did a little editing.  So here you go.  For your enjoyment, I present…

“I Have To…”

Between yon’ fertile crescent fields
And ‘neath the emerald tree,
Methinks I saw some wayward boys
Standing there to

Peter, Paul, Bartholomew
Apostles, they are three
But mortals all, like me and thee,
They’d sometimes halt to

Penal codes and papal bulls
Will ne’er forever be
Able to cease that carnal urge
To take time out and

Eat.

Today’s RLT Cinema feature is the trailer to The Rite, which releases today nationwide in theaters.  Nothing says a good movie like Hannibal Lecter vs. Satan.

I’m looking forward to seeing this because (like all exorcism movies before it) The Rite looks like it will explore the dark side of faith and things that pure reason cannot explain.

Insomnia (Psalm 4)

Have you noticed the increasing number of mattress commercials?  All your sleepless nights can disappear with a new memory foam, air-inflated, gravity-defying mattress.  Just try it out for half a year, and if you don’t sleep like the dead you can return your new space-aged mattress with no questions asked.

While a new mattress may help alleviate some causes of sleeplessness, there some nights where sleep won’t come regardless how comfy our mattress is.  Sometimes we’re so exhausted we can’t sleep. Our brains won’t shut down because they keep replaying the events of the day.  We rewind to the events of the past week, or month, or even years gone by.  During those sleepless nights, our brains rarely recall happy memories.  It’s usually the stressful stuff:  how will I pay the bills this month, why did my uncle get cancer, why isn’t my marriage better?  The list could go on and on.

Insomnia.  Welcome to zombie land.

Psalm 4 is an extension of Psalm 3 in which king David again cries out to God to relieve him of his stress over his son Absolom’s rebellion.  He pleads to his enemies to repent of their anger and get right with God.  Look what David writes in Psalm 4:7-8,

You have put gladness in my heart,
more than when their grain and new wine abound.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep,
for You alone, O Lord, do make me to dwell in safety.

Chaos ruled David’s life when he wrote these words.  His son was trying to overthrow him and steal the kingdom for himself.  He had been chased out of Jerusalem and was living in exile outside the city.  Yet, in the midst of his heartache and uncertainty, David found gladness, security, and peace in God’s protection and love.  And thus, thousands of years before our modern sleep technology, David could sleep peacefully.

Sleepless nights usually result from stress, which affects everything from appetite, mood, energy, health, as well as sleep.  We can learn from David’s example in times of stress.  David looked above his dire situation and saw God really was in control, which resulted in joy.  True joy isn’t an emotion, because emotions wax and wane depending on the situation.  True joy finds contentment and peace in God regardless of the situation.  Putting faith in Jesus does not guarantee a safe, comfortable life with a great marriage, steady income, and a home in the suburbs.  In fact, we can be sure that life will be hard at times.  But it does mean that we can find peace in spite of our circumstances because of Jesus.

Jesus did not sleep the last night of his life.  He went through five illegal trials.  His friends deserted, denied and betrayed him.  The next morning, he was beaten beyond recognition and nailed to a cross.  Three days later, God raised him from the dead.  Look at what the Bible says about that in Romans 5:1, “Therefore having been justified (proclaimed innocent) by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Think about the phrase “we have peace with God.”  It implies that, before following Jesus, we were at war with God.  Talk about a losing cause.  The almighty, all-powerful, completely holy God was at war with us because of our sin.  Yet, because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we’re at peace with God.  Forgiveness through Jesus means no longer fearing God’s wrath or punishment because Jesus took those things for us.  Part of having peace with God is knowing that, in spite of all the evil in the world, God will make everything right again.  The final victory has already been won.  Guaranteed.

Yet, we often live like the end of Revelation can be rewritten.  We live like Satan can still pull out a win.  We worry and we stress.  We lose sleep.  We forget that God provides for the lilies and sparrows, and we’re much more valuable to God than they.[1] There’s a huge difference between knowing about God’s ultimate victory and living it out now even though it hasn’t been totally realized.  Like the man who begged Jesus to heal his son, we must say, “I believe.  Help my unbelief.”[2]

In the midst of his suffering, David found peace in God because he believed in God’s goodness.  He knew God was bigger than his problems.  He knew that no matter what, God alone was his protection and provider.  Therefore, he could rest his head in peace.

So when life has your head swirling, and you’re having trouble finding sleep, don’t count sheep.  Count your blessings.

Haunted (Psalm 3)

It is scary how the ghosts from our past come back to haunt us.  I’m not talking about the mysterious apparition of your great aunt Sally that appears at the top of the stairs on dark and stormy nights (if that’s you, then you need to call the Ghostbusters).  I’m talking about the poor de-cisions from the past that caused pain—the hurtful things we said or did that ruined a relationship or destroyed a reputation.  Every time we see or think about that person, the guilt rushes back.   The questions race through our minds:

“Why did I say those things?”

“How could I have approached the situation differently?”

“Can I ever make things right?”

Sin will come back to haunt us.

One of the reasons I’m convinced the Bible is from God and not merely the work of men is the way it portrays its “heroes.”  They aren’t portrayed as perfect people with perfect lives who did no wrong and who always saved the day.  Instead, the Bible portrays them with brutal, raw honesty.  They are people with personality flaws and moral failures.  In many cases, their ghosts return to haunt them.

Psalm 3 reveals the emotional state of a man haunted by his past.  Psalm 3 is King David’s cry to God concerning his enemies, namely his son Absalom.  Handsome, athletic, persuasive, manipulative, and evil, Absalom was both every father’s dream and nightmare.  He murdered his half-brother.  He ran a grassroots political campaign that would make any third-party candidate jealous.  He raped members of his father’s harem in broad daylight in public view.  He rebelled against his father to take the kingdom for himself.[1] He nearly succeeded, but his ambition lead to a violent death.

What is so tragic is David should have known what Absalom was doing.  Even if David did know, he did nothing about it.  David was a great king, but he was a terrible husband and father.  David’s weak parenting skills contributed to Absalom’s rebellion.  In Psalm 3 David reflects on the rebellion while it was in process.  David’s terrible fathering skills and his ignorance of Absalom’s subversive activities came back to bite him.  David was haunted.  Yet, in spite of the dire circumstances, David writes this in Psalm 3:3,

“But You, O Lord, are a shield about me.”

Shields have one purpose:  to protect from enemy attacks.  In ancient times, a soldier without a shield would have been as good as dead, vulnerable to whatever his opponent threw at him.  In a spiritual sense, David called God his shield—his protection.   Even though David was par-tially responsible for Absalom’s rebellion, David knew God would protect and forgive him.  Eventually, God allowed David to return from exile and reclaim the kingdom.

Like David, each of us has ghosts from our past that occasionally haunt us.  Satan uses those ghosts to inflict guilt, shame, and regret.

In the midst of spiritual warfare, when Satan throws everything at us, we can take refuge in God’s mercy.  We can trust in His protection.  Jesus’ death and resurrection secured the final victory over Satan, sin, and death.  Our guilt has been removed.  Our shame has been erased.  Our regret has been forgotten.  Even though the enemy continues to fight with guerilla tactics and even though there are battles to be fought, we can take refuge in God’s protection because the war is already over.

Our ghosts have a way of scaring us when we least expect it.  A song, a scene from a movie, a location, a person—anything that reminds us of the past—can stir memories and dredge up remorse for what we did.  But with God as our shield, our protector, we no longer have to fear.  We can trust in God’s protection and forgiveness no matter the circumstance we find ourselves.  Sometimes, knowing God is our shield is the only thing that keeps us sane and gives us hope.  Other times, when Satan’s attacks have ceased for the time being, we can look back and see God’s protection.  It may have come through a scripture we meditated on, an encouraging word from another follower of Jesus, time spent with our church, or even something as simple as a brief, silent moment.  No matter what He uses, we can in hindsight see God working to protect us in the midst of Satan’s barrage.  We can say what David did in Psalm 3:5-6,

I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.

Rest easy.  Your ghosts don’t have to haunt you any longer.