Best-Selling Books of All Time

Here's an interesting list of the best-selling books of all time.  Some of these might be a bit of a surprise.  We all know that the number one best-seller is the Bible.  But my guess is that numbers 5, 6, 7, and 33 will come as a pleasant surprise.  Numbers 31 and 34 will not be a surprise--sad to say.  We've been cleaning up after them for years.

One thing is clear, J. K. Rowling must be making a pile of money.

Here's the list.  Click here: List of best-selling books - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Who Said That?

Who said that?

"I turned around and there stood Jesus Christ in all his glory!  It is one thing to see Jesus, but its a different thing altogether to see Jesus with all of his glory and all of his honor.  Many people have asked me what Jesus looks like.  He's 5 feet 11 to 6 feet tall, and he's got sandy brown hair.  It's not too long and its not too short.  He is a perfect man, that's what Jesus is.  Whatever you picture as a perfect man, that's what Jesus is.  He's perfect in everything--the way he looks, talks--everything."

Leave your guesses in the comments section below.  No google searches!

Update on Sunday, May 20, 2007 at 07:10PM by Kim Riddlebarger

These are the words of Roberts Liardon, from the booklet I Saw Heaven.  Since Liardon claims to have had this vision when he was just 8, this probably means that he wasn't smoking crack.  The question I have is this:  "is Liardon delusional, or just plain making this vision up?"  Liardon is the author of God's Generals (detailing the ministries of the pentecostal greats) and is associate pastor at a church here in Orange County.  The senior pastor?  His mother!  BTW--I didn't quote the really wacko stuff from I Saw Heaven.  That might come later.

Oswald Did It, Acting Alone . . .

If any of you still think Oliver Stone did a better job of investigating the Kennedy assassination than the Warren Commission, there's a new book which will set you straight.  Vincent Bugliosi, the famous LA prosecutor who put Charles Manson and his family away for good, has completed his magnum opus, a 1,600 page book in which he sets forth the case that Oswald shot JFK acting alone (Click here: Amazon.com: Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy: Books: Vincent Bugliosi).

A Good Reason Why Hal Lindsey and/or Jack Van Impe Should Follow Frank Beckwith to Rome

I saw this headline and immediately thought that this might be great incentive for one or more of the "end-times prognosticator" club to make the jump to Rome.

"Vatican Denies Hiding the Full Truth About the End of the World" (Click here: Vatican denies hiding the full truth about the end of the world-Comment-Faith-TimesOnline)

Since things in the Middle East and with the ten nations of the European Confederacy (the revived Roman empire) haven't panned out as predicted, this might give Lindsey, Van Impe and others a whole new angle.

According to the article:

"The Vatican tried yesterday to draw a line under a conspiracy theory that has dogged the Catholic Church for decades – that it was harbouring details of the predicted apocalypse.  The Pope’s second-in-command, Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, denied that the Church was suppressing a vision of the end of the world said to have been revealed by the Virgin Mary to three shepherd children on a hillside at Fatima in Portugal exactly 90 years ago.  The three `Secrets of Fatima' were written down by one of the children, Lucia Dos Santos – who became a Carmelite nun – and sent to the Vatican in a sealed envelope. Two of the `secrets' were made public, apparently predicting the inferno of 20th-century world war and totalitarianism and the eventual reconversion of Communist Russia to Christianity. Pope John Paul II suggested that the third `secret' predicted the 1981 attempt on his life. He failed to satisfy conspiracy theorists however, with many accusing the Vatican of disclosing only part of the last Fatima secret."

Think of the fun Lindsey and Van Impe could have with the "third secret."  A whole series of books and novels, DVDs and TV specials . . .  But they'd have to follow Beckwith to Rome.    

Preach It!

Carl Trueman recently made a great point on the Reformation 21 blog (5/4/07):

"In the US (and it is the US -- I have not seen this so much in the UK) , I have lost count of the number of women I have come across, particularly in presbyterian circles, who feel the need to conform to some Reformed cultural norm.  You can tell them on the Sundays: the exhausted and haggard mothers whose husbands expect them not only to cook and to clean, but also to home-school the kids. For every omnicompetent wife who seems to be able to run the world and then some, and still look like a million dollars when hubbie gets home for dinner (already on the table, of course), there are ten or more who look crushed and dispirited, who really need to send their kids out of the house in the morning so they can get some rest and some mental sanity, who need their husbands to see the problem and take steps to help them.  Are they inadequate as Christian mothers?  No.  They are crushed by a `Christian' culture that demands their all and gives no slack.

I am no feminist (my wife will confirm my impeccable Neanderthal credentials); I have strong views on women's ordination; but I am saddened by the way Reformed church culture so often tramples its women underfoot with its mindless identification of biblical manhood with something akin to John Wayne and its assumption that all Christian women should make Mary Poppins look domestically incompetent."

Click here: Reformation21 » Reformed Church Culture and Women

Preach it! 

Who Said That?

Who said that?

"Christianity will go.  It will vanish and shrink.  I needn't argue with that; I'm right and I will be proved right.  We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first — rock and roll or Christianity."

You know the drill.  No google searches!  Leave your guess in the comments section below. 

Note:  To see all of the old "who said that posts," you can click here: Click here: Riddleblog - The Latest Post

Update on Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 06:48PM by Kim Riddlebarger

This is a quote from John Lennon from the The Evening Standard (London, 4 March 1966).  This quip prompted a huge outcry!  Not only did the Beatles have long hair (remember how big a deal that was at the time), they were atheists too!

Is Your Church's Liability Insurance Current?

A warning to all pastors and church workers!  Make sure that your church has paid its liability insurance in full, because if someone cracks their noggin when you slay them in the Spirit, they just might sue you!

According to an article which appeared in the Lansing State Journal (Click here: Lansing State Journal: Pastor testifies he was told woman suing church appeared coached,)  

"Judith Dadd, 52, of Lansing is suing Mount Hope Church, based in Delta Township, and Williams. She says she went to the altar during a July 18, 2002 rally for church leaders and was `slain in the Spirit' according to testimony. She fell backward and struck her head on the floor. Dadd claims she still suffers from the effects of the fall, including depression, memory loss and difficulty concentrating."

This is a warning to all of us.  Make sure your "catchers" are up to the task!   If not, you might end up in court!

The Reality of Romanism

Reading Francis Beckwith's interview with David Neff in Christianity Today, reminded me of how idyllic the Roman church can seem in the minds of those who embrace it (Click here: Q&A: Francis Beckwith | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction).

But then this news report appeared today which gives a much different picture of the supposed glories of Romanism (Click here: Pope to canonize first Brazilian saint - Yahoo! News).

All discussion of justification, the authority of Scripture, and reciting the Creed aside, the Pope is heading to Brazil to canonize Antonio de Sant'Anna Galvao, a Franciscan monk who is credited with 5000 miraculous healings.  Over 1 million people are expected to be in attendance. The healings supposedly come as a result of swallowing rice paper pills prepared by the monk over two hundred years ago.  According to the AP news report . . .

"The Vatican has officially certified the medical cases of two Brazilian women as divinely inspired miracles that justify the sainthood of Galvao.  Both of these women spoke of their faith with The Associated Press, claiming that their children would not be alive today were it not for the tiny rice-paper pills that Friar Galvao handed out two centuries ago.

Although the friar died in 1822, the tradition is carried on by Brazilian nuns who toil in the Sao Paulo monastery where Galvao is buried, preparing thousands of the Tic Tac-sized pills distributed free each day to people seeking cures for all manner of ailments. Each one is inscribed with a prayer in Latin: `After birth, the Virgin remained intact.  Mother of God, intercede on our behalf.'

Sandra Grossi de Almeida, 37, is one such believer. She had a uterine malformation that should have made it impossible for her to carry a child for more than four months. But in 1999, after taking the pills, she gave birth to Enzo, now 7. `I have faith," Grossi said, pointing to her son. I believe in God, and the proof is right here.'

Nearly 10 years before that, Daniela Cristina da Silva, then 4 years old, entered a coma and suffered a heart attack after liver and kidney complications from hepatitis A.  `The doctors told me to pray because only a miracle could save her,' Daniela's mother Jacyra said recently. `My sister sneaked into the intensive care unit and forced my daughter to swallow Friar Galvao's pills.'"

So, if you "return home" to Rome, you get the whole ball of wax, including the beatification of saints who give out Tic-Tac size rice-paper pills which supposedly heal.  And Pope Benedict XVI will be there to bless it all. 

By the way, confessional Protestants affirm the historical evangelical doctrine of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone, and the full authority of Scripture.  And yes, we even recite the Creed every Lord's Day and we use a biblical-text based liturgy which is quite similar to that described by Justin Martyr in the second century.

Too bad Dr. Beckwith didn't consider a confessional Protestant church before embracing Romanism.  Now he's stuck with Antonio de Sant'Anna Galvao and his rice-paper healing pills.

Who Said That?

Who said that?

"I fully adhere to the fundamental tenets of the Christian faith for myself and my ministry, but as an American, I respect other paths to God."

You know the drill!  Leave your guesses in the comments section below.  Please no google searches! 

Update on Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 06:53PM by Kim Riddlebarger

Sadly, these words come from Billy Graham, Parade Magazine, from October 20th 1996.

The Sorry State of American Evangelicalism

Many of you have heard the recent news that Dr. Francis Beckwith, president of the Evangelical Theological Society, has returned to the Roman Catholic Church in which he was raised.  Beckwith will resign as president, but remain in the society as a member.

Obviously, there are a number of important issues here which relate to things we have discussed on the White Horse Inn for many years.

First, you should read Dr. Beckwith's own reasons for returning to Romanism.  Click here: Right Reason: My Return to the Catholic Church.

Second, you should read the thoughtful and excellent responses by Dr. Carl Trueman Click here: Reformation21 » Professor Beckwith and Dr. Scott Clark Click here: http://www.oceansideurc.org/ - The Heidelblog (Scott Clark) - - ETS President Converts to Rome and Click here: http://www.oceansideurc.org/ - The Heidelblog (Scott Clark) - - Of "Evangelical" and "Catholic"

For years you have have heard us on the White Horse Inn lamenting the current state of evangelicalism.  As Drs. Trueman and Clark point out, the old evangelical alliance is now in tatters.  ETS (of which I am a member--although I never have actively participated) is made up of everything from staunch Calvinists to open theists.  Its doctrinal statement is one line--“The Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety, is the Word of God written and is therefore inerrant in the autographs.”  As Drs. Trueman and Clark have done, I too will let my membership expire--not out of anger or protest, I am just not interested in the work of ETS anymore . . .

As Clark and Trueman point out, the evangelical movement is now ahistorical, attracted (it seems) to every new theological fad, and largely disinterested in doctrine--especially confessional Protestant doctrine.  Defections to Rome, while lamentable are not a surprise and make sense in the current theological climate.

How many times has our Lutheran brother--Dr. Rosenbladt--told us of the direct connection between Luther-Calvin and Wesley-Rome?  Says Rod:  "If you don't get justification right, Rome makes perfect sense."

After reading Dr. Beckwith's explanation, Rod, it appears, is a prophet. 

Update on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 at 10:12AM by Kim Riddlebarger

Dr. Beckwith has also resigned from his membership in ETS and ETS has responded.  Click here: ETS on Beckwith | Liveblog | Christianity Today