John Piper Challenges Oprah on Her Interpretation of Bible’s Psalm 37:4

-
0
John Piper Challenges Oprah on Her Interpretation of Bible’s Psalm 37:4

Christian Post Report – John Piper, founder of Desiring God and chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary, speaks from the book of Revelation at the Passion 2016 conference Sunday morning, January 3, 2016, in Duluth, Georgia.

Media magnate Oprah Winfrey recently interpreted her favorite Bible verse, Psalm 37:4, for “The Late Show” host Steven Colbert, but Minnesota-based Bethlehem College & Seminary Chancellor John Piper questions Winfrey’s understanding.

In a podcast last week for his website DesiringGod.org, Piper highlighted four major differences between the way he and Oprah explain the meaning of the verse.

1. Piper Focuses on Jesus, Oprah Focuses on Virtues

Oprah said, “Lord has a wide range: compassion, love, forgiveness, kindness.”

In her interpretation, Winfrey referred to the “Lord” as a set of character traits and not ” … the specific person of Yahweh,” said Piper. He added, “I think the emphasis here falls not on aspects of virtue or character, but on the person of the Lord himself.”

When God reveals something about Himself He is helping man to know Him, Piper explained. “He is helping me know him, the true God, a person, so that my delight can be in him and not in anything abstracted from him that could somehow be united, then, to another religion … Oprah’s mind and my mind, are moving in two opposite directions … ”

2. Piper Points to Jesus, Oprah Points to Commonalities Among World Religions

Piper next pointed out that Oprah’s interpretation of the verse moves away from the specificity of Yahweh. Oprah said, “If you focus on being a force for good, then good will come,” and she likened this principle to the third law of motion, the Hindu concept of karma, and to the Golden Rule.

The pastor concluded, “So by moving away from the specificity of Yahweh, she is able to move toward the unification of all religions and all science as having the same basic message. And, of course, that is the opposite of what I think the psalms are doing.”

3. Piper Says to Delight in God by Receiving Jesus, Oprah Aligns Jesus With Eastern Religions

Oprah connected Psalm 37:4 with Jesus Christ only to try to align him with the principles of physics and eastern religions, said Piper. He added, “I think delighting yourself in the Lord is another way of saying: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart,’ Jesus’s words in Matthew 22:37 … Jesus taught that no one can truly love the Lord God, no one can truly delight in the Lord God of Israel, who does not receive Jesus himself as the Son of God and the Redeemer of the world … ”

Piper surmised, “Oprah’s effort to make this text serve the unification of religions is the opposite of its biblical intent.”

4. Piper Says Delight in God Shapes One’s Desires, Oprah Says Doing Good Brings Good

“Her way of handling the relationship between the two halves of the verse is to simply say it is cause-effect,” said Piper. “If you delight, then you get your desires. Or if you devote yourself to good, then you get good.”

The pastor said the relationship is more than cause-effect. “I think delighting yourself in the Lord is what shapes the desires of your heart so that it will be good for you for God to grant them,” he said. “In other words, there are a lot of desires in our hearts that are impure and unwise, and this is not a promise that, if you delight in God, then you get all those evil desires in your heart.”

“And the best way to bring the desires of our hearts into conformity with God is to put all of our energy and all of our effort into enjoying God himself. When we enjoy God, not just his gifts, but God himself, then the desires of our heart are shaped, are defined and created, in accord with our delight in him.”

Piper concluded that Oprah “leans away” from distinct dimensions of biblical reality and more towards abstractions in an attempt to find unity among the world’s religions and sciences. “I think that is the opposite of what the Bible was written to do and I think it is the opposite of why Jesus came in to the world,” he said.

Oprah Winfrey (Photo: Reuters/Brijesh Singh)

Entertainment maven Oprah Winfrey poses for pictures in front of the historic Taj Mahal during her visit to the northern Indian city of Agra, January 19, 2012.

Source : Christian Post

Tim Tebow’s Christian Fanbase Keeping Him Out of NFL?

-
0
Tim Tebow’s Christian Fanbase Keeping Him Out of NFL?

Christian Post Report – Tim Tebow arrives at the 48th Country Music Association Awards in Nashville, Tennessee, November 5, 2014.

Tim Tebow’s crazed Christian fanbase might be keeping him out of the NFL – at least that’s what one sports commentator believes.

During a recent Fox Sports 1 report, “The Herd” host Colin Cowherd complimented the 27-year-old Christian athlete’s abilities. In the next breath he blamed Tebow’s Christian fans for the reason he has not played in a regular season NFL games in close to four years.

“I think he’s one of the best 50 football players — on any team in the league, you could use him… I think with Tebow, his fans ended up hurting him,” Cowherd said, according to Breitbart News reports. “I think Tebow’s fans hurt Tebow more than Tebow. Nobody wants Tebow because his faith-based, crazy fans that take over the stadium.”

While Cowherd went on to call Tebow a “good enough athlete to be on every roster in this league,” he believes the quarterback’s fans have kept him from playing in a regular season game since 2012. Tebow has proven to be a strong college football player after he helped the University of Florida Gators win a national championship as the team’s starting quarterback in 2008.

He was also on the team when it won a championship in 2006 and was the first college sophomore to win a Heisman Trophy in 2007, which honors the best football player of a season.

Although he has struggled to find his place in the NFL after being drafted to the Denver Broncos in 2010, Tebow signed to the New York Jets in 2012, before getting picked up by the New England Patriots in 2013, followed by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2015.

Earlier this year, country singer Blake Shelton questioned if Tebow’s Christianity had something to do with the halt of his NFL career.

“Just saw the 2011 playoff game with Steelers vs. Broncos. Can someone please give me a good reason [why] Tim Tebow isn’t playing in the NFL,” Shelton questioned. “I mean are you telling me that there’s NOT a team that needs him out there? Look at the problems so many teams have at quarterback!”

After one follower told Shelton that Tebow’s religious beliefs may have something to do with Tebow’s inability to get picked up by a team in the league, Shelton expressed his shock.

“Is that seriously the reason?! That’s pretty sad …,” Shelton responded. “Glad they don’t hold country singers to that standard.”

While Tebow, now an SEC football analyst, has expressed interest in wanting to return to the NFL, he has also spoken about being defined by more than just football.

“In the end, football is just a silly game. Greatness comes from serving,” Tebow told a crowd of students at a Liberty University convocation in 2013. “… You want to be great? Be a servant. You want to be great? Humble yourself.

Source : Christian Post

Erica Campbell Defends Yolanda Adam Against Critics of Cleavage-Baring Dress

-
0
Erica Campbell Defends Yolanda Adam Against Critics of Cleavage-Baring Dress

Christian Post Report – Erica Campbell is defending her fellow singer Yolanda Adam’s decision to wear a cleavage-baring dress to the Stellar Awards last month.

The Mary Mary singer took to Twitter to question her followers if they took issue with Adams’ teal Marc Bouwer red carpet dress which exposed a bit of her breasts.

“Did the saints really have a problem with Yolanda Adams dress at the Stellars,” the 43-year-old singer questioned on Twitter.

When her followers responded with messages saying Adams looked “beautiful” and “amazing,” Campbell approved.

“Loving your responses today!! We have to focus on our souls and not get caught up in the exterior of a person,” she tweeted, defending Adams against critics. “Y’all are awesome!!”

Three years ago, it was Adams, 54, who defended Campbell who received some backlash for wearing a white hip-hugging turtleneck dress that accentuated the gospel singer’s curves.

“I know for a fact that Mary Mary — because I’ve known them for years — they don’t try to be sexual,” Adams previously told Think Positive Magazine. “Some of the things that they want to wear, they’re in style.”

Adams insisted that she could easily fall under the same criticism because of her body type, not the choices of clothes that she wears.

“I’m tall. I’m thin, but I have hips. A gown my graze me in a place where somebody may find it offensive, but it’s not sexual,” Adams told the publication. “That was not my intent. We can’t walk around with sheets on and moomoos. Then, they’ll talk about [that].”

The gospel singer spoke about how she handles criticism by saying, “you have to take criticism with a grain of salt because you’re never going to please everybody.”

After her Instagram photograph received some backlash, Campbell spoke about people recognizing their beauty in God.

“This is about confidence and realizing that God made you and that you are beautiful just the way you are,” she told ESSENCE.com previously. “I think that young girls shouldn’t only get sexy images from people who are not proclaiming Jesus. But I am. And I’m cute too.”

While others disagreed with Campbell’s choice to showcase the picture, the gospel singer defended herself.

“I’m taking it in stride and I’m keeping it moving,” Campbell told ESSENCE.com. “When we took the picture I felt beautiful, I felt confident, I felt sexy and I felt strong.”

Source : Christian Post