showbread
support josh dies at bible college 6/01/09 11:57pm
posted on 06/01/09 by show6 |
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satanism.
posted on 09/27/07 by show6 |
Satanism, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t involve drinking goat blood from iron goblets while praying oaths to the devil. Satanists don’t even believe the devil exists. In Satanism, the devil merely “represents” an idea that Satanists live by, which is basically “You are your own God, do whatever you want”. This is what makes Satanism the antithesis of Christianity, not virgin sacrifices or flaming pentagrams.
Satanism is actually the most basic way of human thinking; most people I know (including Christians) adhere (albeit unknowingly) to Satanic doctrine. According to Anton Lavey’s “Satanic Bible”, here are a few of the “9 Satanic Statements”:
-Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on ingrates!
-Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek!
-Satan represents responsibility to the responsible instead of concern for psychic vampires!
-Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence!
-Satan represents vital existence instead of spiritual pipe dreams!
Where as Christianity is completely based on love for everyone, including enemies and those who deserve love the least, Satanism is based on giving love to those we deem worthy of love. Where as Christianity is based on turning the other cheek and no retaliation against those who harm us, Satanism is based on self-appointed ideas of justice and vengeance. Where as Christianity is based on the notion of faith and believing in what is unseen and spiritual, Satanism is based on physical reality and tangible existence.
Sadly, this is the way most people (including Christians) operate. People are naturally inclined to selfishness, which is the driving core of Satanism, repaying kindness for kindness and evil for evil. We give kindness, love and respect to those who give it to us, to those who “deserve” it. After being violated in some way, our obligation to love and respect a person becomes vanquished. According to the Bible, our obligation to love those who violate, hurt, persecute and destroy us not only remains, so does our obligation to humbly serve them, just as Jesus did and does for those who violate, hurt, persecute and destroy him.
Andrew Murray talked about how humility was the identifying characteristic of Christ, and that all the humility you have within you is straight from God. However much pride you retain however, is completely of Satan. This is why Satanism is what it is. Satan represents the absence of humility, putting oneself before all else rather than putting EVERYONE else before oneself.
Philippians 2:3 says: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
The conclusion is that Satanism isn’t what most people imagine it to be, in fact, there are Satanic “principles” that discourage immoral things like violence and “unwarranted” cruelty. But what it is still embodies pure evil according to Christian theology.
The antithesis of Christianity often runs in conjunction with traditional human pride, which is essentially of the devil himself. This must be what Christ was talking about when he said we’d have to “deny ourselves”. Anytime we ignore the road less traveled and look out for our own interests first, retaliate, seek our own ideas of justice and what is fair… we are following Satanic doctrine.
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about our trip to India
posted on 01/24/07 by show6 |
“…From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” -Luke 12:48
As soon as I step foot outside the airport in Kolkata the smell hits me. It smells like smog. Smog, body odor, and garbage tinged with something else… something pungent. Traffic in India is not like traffic in America. Taxi cabs barrel down the highways with no apparent agenda other than getting from point A to point B while barely avoiding the other vehicles and pedestrians.
The street that was home to our hotel, Sudder Street, was a sad place. Toddlers sit on tarps organizing large piles of boxed cigarettes, adolescent girls carrying scabbed, mud caked infants run barefoot over garbage and filth, desperately pulling at your arm begging for rupees or milk or food. Indian women, old and wrapped in dirt encrusted garments, speaking a breathy, hopeless Hindi, gesturing towards their mouths… asking for food. We tell them “No” and stare forward, pulling our arms away from them, they offer sex and we keep walking, they follow.
Mangled dogs line the sidewalks missing limbs and eyes, covered in infected sores and flies. I noticed as we passed by in a cab, a garbage filled ravine where two naked children bathed. On the shore, the carcass of a disemboweled mutt lay strewn awkwardly as a hungry crow picked at its decomposing intestines, now sun baked and becoming a foul, translucent yellow.
Children and adults bathe in the streets next to vendors and barefoot men openly eviscerating live chickens. A Brahman priest takes us through a Hindu temple where goats are sacrificed to Shiva and pilgrims travel for days by foot to come and worship at the feet of an elephant headed statue named Ganesha. He prays to the statues for us, asking for long happy lives and maybe a wife. The statue remains fixated, stationary, immobile and inanimate.
A countless number of young girls are taken from their homes and sold as sex slaves to slobbering pimps. Pre teens walk the red light district, souls crumbling inside.
We pay something like 70 rupees for a good meal… less than two US dollars. We meander about Calcutta with more rupees in our pockets than some of these people will ever know; it is the money that we brought for souvenirs.
By day, we work in Apne Aap centers for victims of human trafficking or those at risk. Some of these children have experienced more sordid desecration than we will ever know.
Trite but true: words cannot convey the dark truth of these realities. Laying my own eyes on it, I felt ashamed by my life of absolute excess in comparison to the lives of these people. I felt the unmistakable sensation of my savior’s heart… breaking for his true love.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world“ -James 1:27
For most of us, the absolute horror of human trafficking is an illusory concern. It is simply so far away and so unreal that our mind cannot develop a case for its urgency. For most of us, the poverty that lies elsewhere in the world is only a commercial on television or a photo that Bono puts on Oprah. As George Romero presented it in one of his films, we sit in a centralized palace, ignoring the horrible truth that surrounds us, acting as though it isn’t there at all. But it is there, breaking down our doors. The need for compassion, charity and selflessness is some kind of farfetched idealism, a cliché.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” -Matthew 5:3
My God is the epitome of true freedom through true, pure, real love. This love is a love that considers others better than oneself. A love so real that when one asks for the shirt off your back, you hand over your jacket, pants, socks and shoes as well. A love that asks that you love your neighbor as yourself. If we sit in our happy homes, fed and content, safe and sound, and never look out our windows to see the dying, disease ridden, starving, abused, mistreated, raped, tortured, isolated and bleak lives that surround us… we do nothing… we not only fail to love our neighbors as ourselves, we simply ignore them.
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' -Matthew 25:31-45
Learn more about human trafficking and how you can help. www.madebysurvivors.org, www.missiontocalcutta.com
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Saddam Executed.
posted on 12/30/06 by show6 |
Saddam Hussein was executed today. I don’t know much about politics or even the issues surrounding the trial that led to his sentencing, and certainly I did not know Mr. Hussein personally. But, certain friends and family members have discussed the issue in passing and some of this discourse I was startled by. As the conclusion to Hussein’s trial was televised I heard comments from those around me along the lines of: “Good, I’m so glad they’re hanging him”, “He’ll burn in Hell” and “I think they should do to him exactly what he has done to others”… Maybe you’ve heard people say things like this; maybe you’ve said them yourself. There isn’t anything unusual about this line of thought; this is a very instinctual way of thinking for us… an eye for an eye…
“You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also…” – Matthew 5:38-39
In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he talked about the “eye for an eye” philosophy, he said it was wrong. The thing that startled me about the things I heard being said, is that the people who were saying them were Christians. This means they should be more inclined to be deeply saddened by waste of life caused by Hussein and by the loss of his own life… grieved to the core that someone could be lost in such a way and neglect the truth. According to what I believe, Jesus Christ died so that Saddam Hussein could live. Jesus Christ loves Saddam Hussein with a passion I will never understand, and he wanted nothing more than for Mr. Hussein to know the truth so that they might be together forever. Incidentally, myself, being a follower of Christ, I am called to love Saddam Hussein with this same passion. Not his sin, but he himself, surely he was loved by my Jesus. This love of Christ, the love that must dwell in me as a Christian, what love celebrates the death of another human being? What love wishes for another to be separated from God forever? What love neglects Jesus’ very words so stubbornly as to say: “Give me this man’s eyes, he took the eyes of others”…
The sin inside Saddam Hussein, that very same sin is also inside my own heart. I despise this sin, but I also nurture it and let it prey on me daily. However, I have been given privy to a great truth, and this truth has set me free. If, before Saddam hung lifelessly at the end of some horrible rope, he did not accept this freeing truth, my heart is grieved profusely.
“If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow. You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect…” –Matthew 5:40-48
Do not make the mistake of delighting in death of a human being, no matter how great the sin may seem to you. This same sin also lurks inside you… the beauty is this, being fully aware of the sin inside you and me, and the sin inside Saddam Hussein, God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Do not carry yourself in such a way that you say that this death means nothing to you, that this grace is insufficient, that this love is meek. Instead, pray for those whose sin seems so great, celebrate the power of Christ and his love, and grieve in your heart when someone walks away from the truth.
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derailed by the gnat...
posted on 09/20/06 by show6 |
There’s a story in the New Testament of the Bible about a rich man.
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’"
"Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."
Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!"
The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."
What strikes me is what happens in verse 21:
“Jesus looked at him and loved him….”
Now Jesus, being the God of the universe and all, knew this man better than he knew himself. He also knew the outcome of this exchange prior to the man falling at his feet. The disciples were men who instantly left behind their entire lives to literally follow Jesus without turning back, this man did not offer to follow, he only asked what it is that he had to do to earn eternal life, a seemingly selfish inquisition. Knowing this, and knowing this man’s personal inability to let go of his material wealth, knowing that this man would not adhere to what Jesus asked of him, Jesus looked at him and loved him. Before and after the fact, Jesus loved him.
As impossible as it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, this impossibility becomes a reality with God, whom Jesus boldly claims makes all things possible.
There is no way to earn a free gift, it has already been offered to you. What Jesus points out through this experience with the rich man is that there can be nothing you are unwilling to lose…
As Chuck Palahniuk wrote in his debut novel:
“It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything.” |
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the voice of a sinner (reposted)
posted on 09/07/06 by show6 |
Recently it has been brought to my attention that an upheaval of sorts in the way of condemnation being directed at Showbread has been taking place. Along with several nasty letters, fans have pointed out angry blogs being posted by concerned parents and hateful message board posts labeling the band and it's members as stanic, degenerates and other extreme accusations.
I haven't read all the hate mail or blogging myself, but I've seen some of it and have had it mentioned to me often.
Recently we have been condemned for the most over-the-top things imaginable, right down to things like our website looks secular.
As most of you know, and as we point out nightly during our sets, Showbread is a Christian band, so much of the following post has to do with that fact.
First, let me address the two single topics that have been the subject of much scorn lately...
Number one: Dead By Dawn.
Yes, the song Dead By Dawn, the third on the album "No Sir, Nihilism Is Not Practical", is lyrically based around the three Evil Dead films. For those of you who don't know, these movies (directed by Sam Raimi of the Spider-Man franchise) are absurd, low budget, campy horror films about a man with a chainsaw for a hand defending a cabin from the forces of evil deep in the heart of a dark forest.
The song has even inspired several fans to create music videos synching up the lyrics with scenes from the films, one of which was even posted here on our site.
So, herein lies the fiasco.
I suppose that some groups were offended by the lyrics themselves, the idea of us penning lyrics about such a movie, or both.
To those who have followed us somewhat closely I think the fact that some members of Showbread are self-proclaimed film buffs, has been apparent. The thing is, I find it unfortunate that many of the people passing judgment on these films and their content haven't actually seen the films. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they're for everyone, my parents wouldn't even allow me to watch R rated movies until I was like 17 years old. It's undeniable that any movie, secular or otherwise, will possibly have content that someone will find offensive. Some more than others, and when it comes to topics of violence or gore, the likelihood of that happening becomes more expansive.
I have to argue a simple point that the depiction of violence alone is not sinful, otherwise the Bible itself would be sinful. In fact, the bible is filled with graphic violence that many people would find unbearable if rendered in the medium of film, I suppose that's why Mel Gibson's movie about Christ was rated R.
My argument is not made in order to free myself from any repercussions in glorifying violence. Glorification and depiction are too entirely separate things.
Otherwise watching the news or even reading some of the more gruesome passages in the Bible would be glorifying violence.
not all horror movies glorify violence, just as most movies about drug addicts do not glorify addiction. Yes, some movies have no greater purpose and can be seen as worthless to just about anyone, this is true. But the artistic medium of film-making can be just as moving and meaningful as any music can be. Even in the genre of the horror film. Writers and Directors like George Romero and David Cronenberg have been filling their films with intensely relevant issues regarding culture, society and humanism for years. The showbread song George Romero Will Be At Our Wedding mimics classic Romero-Allegory style in weaving a tale a cannibalized wife into scriptures of ever lasting love and forgiveness of sin. The problem is, mentioning these films and their artistic value or (God-forbid) using the approach yourself as a writer, will bring the hammer of judgment down on you faster than you can say "living dead", so will a lot of things, nothing you can do about it.
The movie Evil Dead is a make-believe story about a man battling demons with a chainsaw.
The story of Cain and Abel in the book of Genesis is a tale of a man attacking and killing his own brother motivated by nothing more than shallow jealousy.
I am in no way being a bold as to put the Evil Dead series on level with the Bible, my point is that violence within a story is not evil, violence itself can be evil. Exposure to the depiction of make-believe violence, or actual real life gore is not evil.
I realize many people would say that there is simply nothing edifying or uplifting or God glorifying in purposely exposing yourself to needless amounts of pointless violence. I do not intend to defend violence so earnestly as to advocate it's use or it's importance in any way. Rather, I use it as an example of something widely known as evil but is not so in the mere representation of it.
I do object that violence, even in horror films, is often purposeful and even imperative in conveying an overall idea in it's own way.
Consider the testimony of a former addict, prostitute, or even murderer who has been redeemed by Christ and imagine the sordid, offensive details that will be essential to their biography.
Is that to say that these films, books, etc. I am defending should all lead to a conclusion of salvation and greater good to become permissible? No. Sometimes the lack of a happy ending greater serves the meaningful purpose behind a work of fiction, or non-fiction alike.
Consider the film Night Of The Living Deadthe novel The Exorcist or even Schindler's List. None of which have pleasant, blood-free conclusions, but are all the more relevant for the lack thereof.
Are films like Saving Private Ryan any different than films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre Both of which interpret and portray horrific, real-life instances in human history.
The second issue to be addressed is that of secular band's influence on Showbread, Namely, bands like Nine Inch Nails and Nirvana.
A recent article about secular music by Conrad published at decapolis.com best describes points that I would most likely ramble about in unnecessary length:
Can one separate the music from the band and evil lyrics? The best way to answer this question is with a few examples.
Example ..1:
Food is good. But can be used for evil, such as gluttony. The food is not evil, the sin is.
Example ..2:
Money is not evil. But idolizing money is. The idolization is evil, not the money.
Music by bands singing about evil things, does not make the musical notes evil, but this is where the example takes a turn. Food and money cannot sin, but bands can. So is it wrong to listen to someone sinning? No. We read in the Bible examples of people sinning throughout; we watch the news and they report on sins (murders, etc.) all the time - and we don't consider watching that a sin. But with Food and Money, if it makes you sin, you can then fix that part of your life. If music by bad bands causes you to sin, then don't listen to it. You really can't do the same with Food or Money (if they make you sin) since you need them to live. But that's what makes this music thing easier than those, you can live without music, so dealing with this type of sin is easier.
A more extreme example: Satan has said a lot of evil stuff in the Bible. It is not wrong to read his words. Satan's words in the Bible does not make literature medium or the Bible wrong. Certainly his words are a lot worse than cuss words and anything anyone has ever sung about. Merely listening to evil music (like reading Satan's evil words) is not a sin. Sin enters when the music causes you to sin.
It was previously stated that things like music and food can be used for good - or can make us sin. Although it might not be a sin to merely hear music not intended for the Christian market, listening to it can cause some to sin in other ways. Disobeying your parents by listening to certain music when you've been told not to is a common example of music causing sin. Another example is when listening to music causes others to stumble.
First, I will go over what "causing others to stumble" is not. It is not merely offending someone, or doing something they don't like. If you hate smoking and your friend comes up and smokes around you, you might be offended and annoyed, but you are not being tempted to smoke. Stumbling involves sin.
The example that the Bible uses is in Romans 14: eating meat sacrificed to idols. The Romans, along with much of the world back then, thought that there were many gods. People would sacrifice meat to these gods, who were represented by idols. But sometimes these people converted to Christianity. Many of these new converts would not know some basic Christian doctrines. In their minds, if they bought meat from the market that the seller had "blessed" to some pagan god, this would make the meat sinful to eat.
Of course, the meat was not evil. God made the meat. Meat is good. But the new convert in the above example did not realize that. He or she thought it would be evil to eat this particular meat. He or she therefore believed it would be a sin to eat it. So, would it be a sin if he or she ate it? Yes. Not because the meat was now sinful to eat, but because the motivation for eating it was sinful. It would be like saying, "God I think it's a sin to eat this, but I'm going to eat it (and sin) anyway." That is a sin of rebellion, and not of eating.
How does causing others to stumble come into this? It comes in when you, a stronger Christian who knows that eating meat sacrificed to idols is okay, cause the weaker Christian to sin by eating that meat in front of them, tempting them. If they eat it, you are causing them to sin, and by causing them to sin, you are making them stumble.
Music, movies, alcohol, etc., are things that could make other Christians stumble. What is Paul's command in cases like those? It is to refrain from eating (listening, watching, drinking) in front of the weaker Christian.
Conclusion: We have to be cautious with our motivations and actions. Even the best of things can make us sin (e.g., reading the Bible might make us prideful). We must be careful not only for ourselves, but also for those around us. As it says in Romans 14: 15, we must act in love. So, don't just go around making weaker Christians listen to your music simply because you think it's okay - because it is now you who is sinning by not acting in love.
As I mentioned in reference to horror films, bands like Nine Inch Nails are not for everyone. Based on lyrical content or simply musical style, some people won't like it.
Personally, I do often relate to lyrics penned by secular artists, as anyone could, seeing as how they are humans with human emotions like anyone else. I do however, often disagree with the opinions and beliefs presented by many of these same artists.
Just as I can walk up to someone whose beliefs differ from those of my own and speak with them, I may relate to them in many ways and disagree with them in others. My own beliefs and my own insight will not be hindered, shaken, or harmed in any way by hearing the opinions of others. Even thoughts and ideas that may be offensive to me or contrary to my beliefs.
Showbread is a Christian band. As I tell you from the stage in dark musty concert venues each night, dressed in silly outfits, covered in sweat and in a tired voice. This means that we as a band believe in Jesus Christ, we believe the Bible to be the living word of God, we believe in love. A love that is real and has nothing to do with rules, regulations, condemnation, judgment or standards. It is a love that is unconditional,
It is patient, it is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. It does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres.
Movies and music will pass away, but what Showbread stands for will not. Love endures all things.
-Josh Dies
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