Tom and I pre-empt our scheduled Hollywood & The Vine podcast on “Hollywood’s Crazy Christians” (which will air next week) to discuss the big story out of Hollywood this week, the arrest of Roman Polanski for a crime he committed 30 years ago. Just when you think Hollywood couldn’t sink any deeper, they top themselves again, this time in defense of a man who admitted to drugging and raping a 13 year old girl. We also take on Harvey Weinstein for his statement that, “Hollywood has the best moral compass”. Be sure to tune in.

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Rifqa Bary is a 17 year old girl from a Muslim family in Columbus, OH. She secretly converted to Christianity 4 years ago and she had to hide the fact from her family. She had to go outside to pray. She had to hide her Bible. When her father found out about her conversion to Christianity, she says he threatened to kill her.

Rifqa says her local mosque found out about her conversion through clues on her Facebook page and ratted her out to her parents, so she fled to Florida to stay with a pastor and his family that she had contacted on-line. They agreed to give her shelter. Her parents have been trying to get her sent back to Ohio where she fears she will become the victim of an honor killing. So far, the State of Florida has agreed to give her protection and placed her with a foster family.

There have been a slew of honor killings by Muslims in the West over the last few years, both here and also in Great Britain and Europe. The last one to get any media attention was the story of the two girls murdered by their father in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area – the father has never been caught.

This video will break your heart, but I urge you to watch it and listen to it. Listen to Rifqa Bary and ask yourself, ‘Is my faith this strong?’. Pray for this poor girl, this sister in Christ. And remember while you’re watching the video – this isn’t happening overseas in some far away country. This is happening in Ohio and Florida.

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Here’s a great post from Internet Monk on atheism. iMonk addresses atheism in the context of evangelicalism, but just about everything he says can be applied to the entire church as a whole. Our churches are failing to teach our youth how to respond to the new atheism and its clever and appealing facade, its shallow and deceptive arguments, and its hostility and belligerence. We are also failing to address the very serious and real questions our youth have, as iMonk points out, on subjects like evil, suffering, prayer, the Bible, etc. Read the whole thing, he says it better than I could:

Internet Monk – Atheism

iMonk includes this YouTube video of British comedian Ricky Gervais (the fellow behind “The Office”) speaking on the subject and it completely makes iMonk’s point.

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Well, we’ve finally gotten it together and our first podcast for Hollywood and the Vine, Episode 1, is in the can. Tom and I are looking forward to bringing you an interesting series of shows in the coming weeks, and we hope you’ll tune in. This episode we’re reviewing the film The Stoning of Soraya M., a really powerful film that we hope you’ll check out. You can read my review of the film on the Hollywood and the Vine website.

You can listen to Hollywood and the Vine on the Crossroads Radio Network where it airs at 11:00 a.m., 7:00 p.m., and 2:00 a.m. Pacific Time, or you can subscribe through the On-Demand page of the Crossroads Radio Network.

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My new review is up at Hollywood & the Vine. Check it out…

Review: The Stoning of Soraya M.

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One of my favorite Christian bloggers is Michael Spencer, who runs the excellent blog Internet Monk. He’s been reading the Lutheran Confessions and has an outstanding post today:

Why So Serious?: A Short List of Gospel Contradictions

Read the whole thing. You may not agree with everything Michael writes, I don’t, but he always makes you think, and that is always a good thing, in my opinion.

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Reaction from around the blogosphere:

Rev. Albert Mohler has an excellent piece up on Christianity Today about the Episcoplian descent. The Orthodox Are Finished.

Lutheran Church Missouri Synod member Professor Gene Veith also blogs about it. Episcopalians defy world Anglicanism with new pro-gay actions.

And the comments at Stand Firm say a lot about what traditional Anglicans are feeling. Episcopal vote on gay clergy widens Anglican split.

Sad times, my Christian friends. Keep in mind there are still many faithful in the Episcopalian Church and I’m sure their hearts are broken today. Keep them in your prayers.

Update: N.T. Wright, Anglican Bishop of Durham, weighs in too:

The Americans know this will end in schism.

Granted, the TEC resolution indicates a strong willingness to remain within the Anglican Communion. But saying “we want to stay in, but we insist on rewriting the rules” is cynical double-think. We should not be fooled.

Indeed, Bishop Wright. Indeed.

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Well, as predicted the other day, it’s a done deal. The Episcopalian Church in America has gone over the cliff…

Episcopal body gives final ok for fully inclusive ordination

“Fully inclusive ordination” – that Orwellian corruption and twisting of language by the radicals is just stunning. Apart from the tragedy this is for all Christians to see a once great denomination like the Episcopal Church descend into heresy, it’s a very personal issue for me. Though I am a Lutheran, my great-great-great grandfather was an Anglican priest who received his doctorate of divinity degree when he was 70 years old. He was the first of my family line to come to North America – first to Canada, then to the United States. The family still has letters from him written to the Church Standard where he argues brilliantly against the “higher critics” who were leading the church astray with their liberal theology (and this was at the turn of the last century).

In his letters, my g-g-g-grandfather warned about the dangers of this approach to the Scriptures, and given this move by the Episcopal church his words seem eerily prophetic and prescient today. I’m sure he would be stricken to see this happen to his beloved Anglican Communion. This event should stand as a dire warning to each and every denomination about what happens when a church body, desiring to follow the whims of culture and society – desiring to please men rather than to please God – places itself over and above the clear teaching of Scripture.

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We’re going to be touching on many cultural issues that are on a collision course with orthodox Christian faith, and no subject is more volatile, right now, than the issue of gay clergy and same sex “blessings” within the church. First the news, which isn’t really a surprise considering the trajectory the Episcopalians have been on for some time: Schism closer as US Anglicans vote to overturn ban on gay ordinations

Clergy and laity in the US backed a motion that “acknowledges that God has called and may call any individual in the Church to any ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church, in accordance with the discernment process set forth in the Constitution and Canons of the Church”.

The article goes on to explain that this motion opens the door and that the bishop’s vote, expected in the next few days, will seal the deal on a formal schism in the Anglican Communion.

The Episcopalian Church in America is about to go over the cliff and descend into outright and open heresy. This situation with the Episcopalians is representative of the terrible path many Christian denominations are on as they reject orthodoxy in favor of following the culture and allowing the “social gospel” of liberal theology to completely blind them to their own error. This is the consequence when Christians stop listening to the Word of God and start following their own “itching ears”(2 Timothy 4:3) and the “doctrine of demons”(1 Timothy 4:1). And make no mistake, there are many mainstream denominations in the United States that are just one step behind the E.C.A. on this one – maybe even just a half-step.

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First, thanks to everyone who has been listening, both our live listeners and our on-demand listeners. We appreciate you tuning in. Here’s an update on the Crossroads Radio Network:

We hope to have our first edition of Hollywood and the Vine up next week. We apologize for anyone who’s been waiting on it. Also, we’re going to be introducing two 60 minute music programs – one featuring sacred music and the other featuring Contemporary Christian music. We have lots of things in the pipeline so keep checking back and keep listening!

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