Other "Thinking Drafts" and writing by Keith Drury -- http://www.indwes.edu/tuesday .

RESPONSES to "FCC WARNING!!!!"

The column addressed the alarmist warnings some Christians freely circulate VIA their (free) E-mail. The question: What if all the bad things they warn of actually happened... would they ruin Christianity's true strain?

From: "JOHN MURPHY" (effgraph@email.msn.com)
Great piece. Quite frankly, I have always felt the church would explode in this country under persecution. We just celebrated the national day of prayer for the persecuted church back in November. Seeing these our brothers and sisters faithfulness under such circumstances makes me feel very small in comparison. In 1945 china kicked all the missionaries out. When they were finally let back in after Nixon opened the door, they did not expect to find many of the one million Christians they had left behind. instead they found some 100 million. Praise god. Even the death of Stephan and the persecution that followed played a major part in the expansion of Christianity. Conclusion: we would grow. How sad it would take such extreme measures. -- John Murphy Elder, South Shore Christian Church

From: Claude Reeder (boondock@rocketmail.com)
When Christianity in America comes under real persecution we will then have real Christianity.

From: dixon34@juno.com (Timothy S Dixon)
For some time now that has been bothering me about the church world and finally someone has put it into words. Thanks Again. Every now and then someone will come into the church with one of those campaigns for us to rally around. It has been hard for me to deal with because it is almost always individuals in the congregation who are drawn to a cause. Keep up the good work... Rev. Timothy S. Dixon, Senior Pastor Winfield Church of the Nazarene

From: steven.smith@sap-ag.de (Steven Smith)
I'm one of the forwarders of your column, and wanted to let you know how much discussion it generates and how much I appreciate the time and effort you put into writing the column. And I really appreciate the heads-up about the ban on religious E-mail. I got that letter out immediately. ;-) My response? One of the sticking points that a friend of mine has about Christianity is the assumption that Christians hold certain moral and political positions. When I bring this up in certain circles, they really don't understand what the point is - a Christian should hold those positions, shouldn't they? We attended a church in former city where the pastor often used the 'us against them' theme to motivate the troops. In our case, it was the local Southern Baptist (our denomination) association that "was against what we were doing." It was never fully developed exactly "what" it was that "they" were against, and how, if we were a member of the group, "they" (us?) could be against us. But it worked. Steven Smith Marietta, GA

From: Steve Eccles (SteveEccles@XC.ORG)
I saw Elvis. He lives in Lae, Papua New Guinea. Never mind that he is a Papua New Guinean and has very dark skin. I just thought you and your readers would want to know. Great column this week. On the lookout on this side of the world. Steve Eccles, Lae, Papua New Guinea

From: MKjergaard (MKjergaard@aol.com)
I chuckled while reading your column. We Christians are often so gullible. The old adage is true, "The more outrageous the lie, the more apt we are to believe it." The FCC ban rumor has been making the rounds for years. Every now & then, the rumor that Proctor & Gamble's logo is Satanic resurfaces (Its President supposedly proclaimed his Satanism on a Donahue show -- Never happened, besides, Phil has been off the air for years). When members ask me to print this stuff, I try to educate them as diplomatically as I can. I appreciate zeal, but if it is unaccompanied by knowledge, it's useless. What bothers me most is that this behavior perpetuates the negative stereotype so often applied to Christians (ignorant, out-of-touch, reactionary, etc.) Maranatha! Mike Kjergaard

From: "Carolyn Fowler" (carolyn.fowler@bangate.tek.com)
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Keith for addressing a subject that is right on. I can remember as a child hearing about the communists taking over and the unbelievable fear that nearly sickened me. I heard a guy named Billy James Hargis at some kind of citywide rally tell us the communists were taking over -- and the target year was 1968 (I think this was in 1966 or 67). Man, talk about depressed and scared. Then a few years later BJH went down, but not to the communists; as I recall it was something to do with sex and young boys. Hmmm... Now it seems like very few weeks go by without someone pointing out some terrible or unbelievable thing that is happening or has happened and my first thought is "oh no," and my second thought is "are you really sure that's true?" Many times the source is questionable or information is untrue or has been passed down incorrectly. What gets me is that "stuff" like this totally zaps the energy out of many people who should know better. Anyway, THANKS! You touched a nerve. I think we have met the enemy . . . and it is us. Keep crankin' em out, we love it. Carolyn Fowler

From: SAINT SAM (SAINTSAM@aol.com)
I think it is sensationalism when you send out a false scare message to make a point against false scare messages. You're right, we should be careful of our illustrations.

From: jdhowell@juno.com (John D Howell)
...On one side of the coin we can see the benefits... First and foremost, persecution would get rid of a lot of dead weight that has been holding back the church for centuries. Secondly, persecution would sound the call to true commitment. No longer could someone be a borderline Christian, now they would have to consciously choose whom they would serve. If a persecution such as what you described did take place, the people who stuck with the church would most definitely be the ones who carry Christianity's true strain. Therefore, it would promote Christianity. However, on the other side of the coin, we have the negative aspects... Families would be torn apart, lifestyles would be shattered, in fact everyday events that we as Christians take for granted would come to a grinding halt. As Christians we would have to make a choice each and every minute of every day to follow Christ. Every action and thought and deed would have to go through the mill of Christ in order to direct us in what we do. We would have to become dependent upon Christ. We would see in a very real and radical way the sacrifices that we as Christians had and have to make in order to follow Christ. ...Maybe, we've lost the true strain of Christianity already and the only hope for getting it back is persecution. Hmmm.

From: "C. G. White" (whitecg@netins.net)
The column for Jan 11 is right on target except for one thing: You write: "The Russians are coming! The Communists! Madeline Murray O'Hare! The Democrats! The FCC! The IRS! ... You left out the Republicans, who are just as insidious as any of these groups. (If not more.) CG White

From: COVBC (COVBC@aol.com)
When Christianity ceases to be tax deductible, we will find out who the true Christians are. HM

From: DwMikesell (DwMikesell@aol.com)
Keith, Just this Sunday a Senior High girl gave me a photo copied warning about the FCC that I had seen over and over again since the early '80's. It was even the same type style. This was a 50th generation copy of the original that someone gave me in Atlanta a decade and a half ago. I explained to her that I appreciated her concern for Christian values, and told her that I had seen this same message a number of times in the last 15 years, and asked her if she would like me to throw it away for her. However, on your closing comments, some of the events you depict are possible, and we should not just say they are inevitable without a fight. We get the government we deserve in a democracy, and as long as we have a democracy we should do the best we can to protect our religious freedoms. The best answer is almost always somewhere between the 2 extremes. Don't believe everything you read and hear, but don't take a defeatist attitude about our culture. Let's use every tool available in the technological age to reach as many people for Christ as we can, as long as we can. Dwight Mikesell

Jim and Lois Watkins (watkins@noble.cioe.com)
WARNING: KEITH DRURY REVEALED AS THE ANTI-CHRIST! If one assigns each letter of "Keith Drury's Tuesday Column" a numerical value (635), plus adds seven for the years of tribulation (7), adds the seven seals, seven bowls and seven trumpets of God's judgment (21), and then three for the holy Trinity (3), THESE ADD UP TO 666! -- Jim Watkins ===For more conspiracy theories: www.noblecan.org/~watkins

From: Terry (TerryD@webzone.net)
Great article Keith. Maybe this points to the fact that a segment of the Church lives in fear and needs to constantly be "against" things rather than "for" things. I think the best thing as a pastor, when a lay person hands us one of these things, is to be informed and be able to give out the information rather than spreading the "untruth". A friend recently emailed me the one about O'Hare's supposed efforts. I emailed right back that I was sure the IRS would be interested for her to proceed since she has been missing for a couple of years. To the other issue, it seems history bears some credit that often persecution and adversity seem to bring the Church back to purity and to her mission of reaching the lost rather than re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. --Terry From: "Jonathan B. White" (holy3x7@ncats.newaygo.mi.us)
It's so true. I've had a file in my office for years entitled, "Rumors. Spurious and Uninformed." The problem with people like me is that we're "hot reactors." I NEVER take action within 48 hours on something that inflames me, but sometimes I spout for 48 hours. Maybe my covenant needs to be, "Don't shoot your mouth off when you've heard an outrageous thing for at least 48 hours." Better yet might be the old axiom, "If you can't say something good about someone, don't say anything at all." Thanks for the column. You've made me think. - Jon White

From: karlewis@juno.com (Karl M Lewis)
Regarding the FCC plan to have a per minute fee for internet access..........I have since found out that the FCC decided NOT to do it back in May 1997. ...So we can all RELAX about that issue !!

From: larry101@juno.com
I think the guy who wrote "1001 Sermon Illustrations" is now in charge of sending spam . . . and he's got the same audience.

From: PstrBob (PstrBob@aol.com)
Maybe we love the Christian tabloid news because the truth really is stranger and more terrifying than fiction. Truths like 35 million babies being aborted in the last 25 years, the unstoppable wave of secularism which doesn't attack Christianity but rather relegates it and us to irrelevance, the declining moral standards despite the *new conservatism, declining church and Sunday School attendance, rising divorce and rising cohabitation practices, the disintegration of the family, legalized assisted suicide in Oregon, homosexual marriages in Hawaii, etc, etc. These truths are much more difficult to deal with emotionally and practically than the threat of laser beams and the mark of the beast. Bob Gray, Richmond, IN

From: "Geraldine B. MacNeil" (gbm@worldpath.net)
I have to admit you got me! I almost deleted the message after the first paragraph: "Oh, no! Not him too??" Funny thing is, it has made me aware how few people I trust to get the joke. I'd like to forward the column to some friends, but . . . Great writing! I was getting scared that all "Christians" were crudely lettered.

From: "R. Mark Thornton" (mthornto@cub.kcnet.org)
...I personally struggle with those who want to "reclaim America for Christ" because they are making the assumption that America was, at one time, a Christian nation. While it is true that many of the laws and principles on which this country was founded did come from Scripture, it never was a "Christian" nation -- it was founded as a place where anyone, regardless of their religious beliefs, could practice them freely. It should not be surprising, then, when our efforts to re-Christianize society fail, because it doesn't want to return to something it never was. I fear that too many of us feel more comfortable as American citizens who are also Christians, than as Christians who also happen to be Americans... R. Mark Thornton

From: "Richard Lively" (randk@lively.vladimir.ru)
Interesting final paragraph to your FCC column, since those exact events have taken place here in Russia and are threatening to take place again! So what do we do?? We continue sharing the light until we are stopped! The western press has especially "sensationalized" the news concerning the new law on religion, and we know that the results COULD be grave, but this does not make us retreat or throw up our arms in despair. There's too much to do, so we keep right on doing it... -- Rich Lively Vladimir, Russia

So what do you think?

To contribute to the thinking on this issue e-mail your response to Tuesday@indwes.edu