How Now Shall We Live? By Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey

This is a MUST read for all Christians.  It is an incredibly powerful book that I highly recommend.  There is also a study guide for this book that I recommend as well.  This book examines the great spiritual battle today that is a cosmic struggle between competing worldviews.  The authors utilize true stories and compelling teaching to demonstrate the following:

– Expose false views and values of modern culture

– Live a more fulfilling life the way God created us to live

– Contend for the faith by understanding how nonbelievers think

– Build a society that reflects biblical principles

I ran across a review on amazon.com that I thought really did a great job of capturing the core of the book.  It is below.   

5 out of 5 Stars – The Way We See The World Can Change The World, June 21, 2006

“Centuries ago, when the Jews were in exile and despair, they cried out to God, “How should we then live?” The same question rings down through the ages. How shall we live today? Pearcey and Colson’s primary observation is that “the way we see the world can change the world.” (pg. 13) This is because our choices are shaped by what we believe is real and true, right and wrong, or good and beautiful. In short, our choices are shaped by what Pearcey and Colson call our “worldview.”Every worldview attempts to answer three basic questions: (1) Where did we come from and who are we? (2) What has gone wrong with the world? And (3) What can we do to fix it? According to Colson and Pearcey, the culture wars are not about extraneous issues like abortion or public education. Fundamentally, they are about worldviews–between competing secular and spiritual answers to those three basic questions.

The demise of objective truth, profoundly expressed in the halls of academia, also extends into the popular press and culture. The result has been a postmodern worldview which embraces relativism and reduces all ideas to social constructions shaped by class, gender, and ethnicity. Under this view, the world is just a power struggle for meaningless prizes. Their one absolute is that morality is not absolute. Other existing worldviews include “traditionalism,” found in many small towns filled with churches; and modernism, found among pragmatic social and business leaders interested in personal material gain, but less interested in philosophical questions and social issues. Against this backdrop, Christians are challenged to provide answers to those three basic questions in a compelling manner.

C. S. Lewis observed, “The Christian and the materialist hold different beliefs about the universe. They both can’t be right. The one who is wrong will act in a way which simply doesn’t fit the real universe.” Thus Colson and Pearcy observe that choices are not without consequences. The Christian worldview says we were created by God. Compelling evidence that life does not have a random origin can be found in the current arguments for intelligent design. Christianity claims that God created the universe with a material order and a moral order. If we live contrary to that order, we sin against God. Thus, what has gone wrong with the universe is human sin.

The way to redeem our culture is to help people realize which universe they’re living in. If it’s a materialist’s universe, then the answers don’t revolve around taking moral principles seriously. But if the real universe was made with a moral law (as Colson and Pearcey argue), then it stands to reason that the solutions to our problems begin with recognizing that fact, and taking steps to educate people in ways that will help them live lives that are not inimical to the way we were designed to live. This, Colson and Pearcey argue, is how we should live.”

For more information on Charles Colson visit his website at www.breakpoint.org and for more information on Nancy Pearcey visit her website at www.pearceyreport.com.

Former ‘Korn’ member details life before and after Christ in new book

From Allie Martin and One News Now.

“The former lead guitarist and founder of a popular rock band has released a best selling book that details his life before and after Christ.

As founding member of the heavy-metal band Korn, Brian Welch found fame, money and drugs at a young age. In 2005, Welch shocked the entertainment world when he announced during a concert that he was leaving the band because he had found Christ.

Now, Welch details his life in his New York Times best selling memoir, Save Me From Myself. In the book, he talks about the stresses that came with his wealth and fame.

“I didn’t have to worry about paying rent for an apartment anymore,” says Welch. “I got rich. But then all these other things — there’s different pressures. There’s life, we’re all humans we’re all messed up. No matter if you’re rich or poor, you’re in the same boat. You’re struggling in this life.”

During his time with Korn, Welch became addicted to drugs and went through a divorce. Finally the lifestyle brought him to a point where he desperately cried out to God for help and deliverance in 2004, and he has not been the same since.”

To read more click here.

Twisting in the Wind

From Bill O’Reilly and BillOreilly.com.

“Twista” and his twisted brethren may seem to be a minor annoyance but, in reality, they are negatively impacting the entire country. Their garbage helps no one.

Yo, have you heard of a rapper named “Twista?” As with many in the hip-hop industry, his chants are full of violence and ho, ho, ho’s, with no connection to the Yule season. He liberally throws around the “N-word,” which I believe the NAACP wants banned, and often mentions shooting people to death with guns. He’s quite a fellow.

So, naturally, the McDonald’s corporation, which features a clown as a pitchman and has installed playgrounds in front of many stores, hired “Twista” to appear on a promotional concert tour. But many people were not “lovin’ it.” They loudly protested the hiring so, after a few days, McDonald’s fired the guy.

At first glance, this is no big deal. A major corporation makes a dopey decision and then wises up. Happens all the time. But looking deeper, there are some very troubling things in play here.

There is no question that McDonald’s markets its food to families and younger people. “Twista” appeals to a young demographic, but his product is so disturbing that you have to wonder what kind of corporate executive could possibly think it would be appropriate for any mass market presentation.”

To read more click here.

Brian ‘Head’ Welch Hits NY Times Bestseller List with Conversion Story

By Kevin Jackson and Christian Post.

After only one week, a new biography written by the former lead guitarist of Korn, Brian “Head” Welch, has become one of the top 20 books on the New York Times Bestsellers list.

Save Me From Myself: How I Found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Drugs, and Lived to Tell My Story, released on July 7 (7/7/07), is a reflection of the ex-band member’s amazing conversion story. In it, he shows how God can work inside even a hardcore rocker.”

To read more click here.

The Summer of Love

An excellent article from Bill O’Reilly.

“Forty years ago the United States was a much more conservative place than it is today. Even though the civil rights movement had won some tough victories down south, and Vietnam dissension was heating up, most Americans were still tied to the traditional values of their parents.

For example, in my heavily ethnic neighborhood of Levittown, New York, if an unmarried girl got pregnant it was a huge scandal. Rarely was abortion even discussed because most of us were Catholic. The young girl usually got married to the father quickly and quietly. This happened to my cousin and two of my friends. An unwanted pregnancy was a major deal.

Drugs, also, were not acceptable. Addicts were shunned like lepers, and even marijuana was considered way out of bounds. In 1967, while some of my high school friends were drinking beer whenever they could, nobody in my crowd was even thinking about dope.

But out in San Francisco the “summer of love” was unfolding. Young people streamed into that city and congregated in the parks, where they were introduced to pot and hallucinogenic drugs by local dealers. According to a recent series of reports by the San Francisco Chronicle, thousands of young Americans spent the summer stoned and having sex with a variety of their compatriots. This led to an epidemic of overdose situations and social disease problems.

The press, however, did not concentrate on those negatives. Instead, the media immediately branded the summer of love crew as “hippies” and proclaimed the era of “flower power,” thereby creating a glamorous subculture. The glorification and marketing of that subculture forty years ago swept the nation and remains with us today.

Almost immediately, the music industry hopped on the hippie bandwagon and rebellious, drug-addled pop stars soared up the charts. The names are now icons: Joplin, Hendrix, Morrison, Slick, Garcia, and so on. No question, the summer of love changed America’s attitudes towards drugs, sex, and rock ‘n roll.

The unintended consequences of that summer are staggering. Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison all died at age 27 from drug and/or alcohol activity. Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead lasted longer, but his heroin intake ultimately did him in. All told, the damage the drug scourge has done to America is incalculable.

But you’d never know that by the media, which generally continues to glorify our permissive culture. There’s little mention that 70% of African-American babies are now born out-of-wedlock, while the overall birth rate outside of marriage has gone from eight percent 40 years ago to 37% today. Single mom homes, of course, are the major driver of poverty in America.

So, call me a fogy, but I’m not real nostalgic about the summer of love. I like the music it engendered, but you can have the acid trips and the poor hygiene. Certainly, love is a good thing in any season. But it must be accompanied by responsibility to truly flower. “

Largest Free Outdoor Concert in America Gearing Up for Over 200,000

From Christian Post. 

“Celebrate Freedom 2007, the largest free outdoor concert in America, will be kicking off its festivities on Friday.

Held at the historic Southfork Ranch – also known as “America’s most famous ranch” – in Parker, Texas, the 17-year-old concert series is bringing in a huge number of Christian artists and speakers together.

Last year’s event brought in more than 210,000 attendants, and organizers are expecting at least the same or more since this year’s event will be the first two-day series.

“Our 17th annual event marks a huge milestone as we now host a multi-day event!” explained John L. Peroyea, vice president and general manager of 94.9 KLTY, a co-sponsor of the concerts, in a statement. “We are delighted with this expansion of Celebrate Freedom and pleased to offer many excellent family-friendly additions to the event this year, which everyone is sure to enjoy.”

Performing over the two days are about 40 of today’s most recognizable Christian bands including Casting Crowns, tobyMac, Skillet, Natalie Grant, Rebecca St. James, Avalon, Nichole Nordeman, Superchic[k], Aaron Shust, Barlow Girl, and Thousand Foot Krutch, among others.”

To read more click here.