Leap of Faith

I think this may actually be the most controversial thing I ever say in this blog, but I just watched a movie that opened my eyes to something I've never seen before. I just finished watching Leap of Faith starring Steve Martin from the way back year of 1992. It is the story of a faith healer and his troupe of con-men, showing some of the backstage acts and how they create these "miracles." Now up until tonight, every time I saw Peter Popoff, Benny Hinn, or Don Stewart, my immediate reaction was "Satan." Not only do they resemble how you could conceivably picture Satan, but that they willingly trick and deceive people out of their money and belongings by faking miracles and wonderful sights. No more will I actually see them this way though, the movie really made me see something totally different about it, and in the end, one question remains. Does the end justify the means? These faith healers reach millions of people at a time, every time their infomercials come on, and every time they hold events in every city they visit. By seeing what they believe to be a miracle, millions of people find faith and religion because of it, and may contribute the the numbers of saved individuals. Now, what separates a Faith Healer from a Minister, a Priest, or a Pastor? I think the answer is very slight, in the end, all churches use separate means of deception, and I don't think that there really is one single guiltless church body in existence. In every body, there will be disagreement between each other, the Catholics will be molesters and condemners, the SDAs will be a cult, and the Mormons will be the ones that use their own story in their own book. The questions is: is it wrong to show something untrue to people, when you know that it will inspire faith? Now, I'm not saying that Popoff, Hinn, Stewart, or any other crooked church leaders are good people, because they profit greatly from all of these people that believe in them. But if you were to do this as a non-profit organization, would it be wrong? To put on a show, where you have inspirational music, where you show people the joys of what could happen with faith (because anything is possible with the Lord), and you make no promises of real miracles, but instead make it more like a play/skit/act, would it be right? Would you have to announce that no real miracles will be performed, to make it right? Or does the end (a multitude of new believers) justify the means (a show of "miracles" or the use of fear or claims of the truth)?

The CCC of the CCC

Barney and I have come up with an idea and a general plan for the newest adventure we will be embarking on. Even though it shouldn't be called the Collage of Collegians in Churches of the Central California Conference, its all I have come up with at the moment, and as you will see very soon, I feel like making abbreviations. We will (as you may have surmised from the title) be creating a collegiate group that has no singular ties to any church, but instead is a collage (or melting pot, depending on what you would prefer to call it) of all the area churches. We also are just the ones beginning and organizing this, we are not the leaders, because we don't want it to be a Leader/follower relationship, but a group of friends that can meet together and study the bible together, and find truth based on what they find instead of what they are told. We are just beginning the planning process and haven't formed anything solid yet, but we will be having a brainstorming session to get as many details as possible down. As reluctant as I feel about this idea, I don't think I can deny the idea anymore. The sign from the Big Guy Upstairs has been given and its has become an undeniable requirement to start this up. After this past church service, Tyrone and I were standing in the parking lot with The Red Baron and her friend 30 Credits, when we noticed a few people we had never seen before and wondered about. 12 seconds later, the guy we had seen and wondered about had approached us and asked, "Do you guys have an older youth group that does anything together?" Clear enough for you? I don't think it gets any clearer to me.

This has also inspired another idea that i will credit to Barney, but has been improved by my own brain. There was a movement in the Nerdfighter circles called BEDA, which stands for Blog Every Day, April. It was started by the author Maureen Johnson and quickly caught fire. In the spirit of this, I have taken the idea Barney gave me which was to wake up every morning and do a solo bible study for a week, and turn it into BSEMM or Bible Study Every Morning, May, starting on the 4th, but if I make it all the way through May, then I may end up HayleyGHoover-ing and making it BSEMEA (Bible Study Every Morning Ever Almost). This idea was spawned by the need of strengthening our own faith before attempting to help strengthen other's faith. So thats the Dizzle for Rizzle, it has been writ and therefore I must accomplish it or have to admit that I failed.