# ABC Story: Child Preachers



## Theoretical (Oct 14, 2007)

Link




> *Pint-Size Preachers*
> 
> *Young Preachers Say They Save Souls, but Should Someone Save Their Childhoods?*
> 
> ...


----------



## JonathanHunt (Oct 14, 2007)

How sad.

And, how annoying that they get a stock screaming liberal to give a 'contra' slant. Why didn't HE read the rest of HIS Bible and not JUST Matthew 7.1?

*sigh*


----------



## BJClark (Oct 14, 2007)

JonathanHunt;



> How sad. And, how annoying that they get a stock screaming liberal to give a 'contra' slant. Why didn't HE read the rest of HIS Bible and not JUST Matthew 7.1?
> 
> *sigh*



Because that is the gospel He preaches..

Don't judge anyone, in other words, don't tell them their sin is wrong...don't tell them they believe in a false Jesus..
because they don't want to hear it..it's offensive, oh yeah, and it's Arrogant to think that there is only ONE WAY to Heaven...


----------



## DMcFadden (Oct 14, 2007)

*". . . they get a stock screaming liberal to give a 'contra' slant."*

How sad, indeed.

Balmer, who has served as an editor-at-large with _Christianity Today_, began as the son of an Evangelical Free Church minister and district superintendent. Balmer has made a career out of offering high level academic critique of conservative Christianity in America. Graduating from Trinity College, Trinitiy Evangelical Divinity School, and Princeton University (masters and PhD), he has been a historian of religion in America with guest gigs at just about everywhere. More recently he took a M.Div. (2001) and took orders as a priest in the Episcopal church last year. In one of his books he tells the story of his EVFree father officiating at Randall's second marriage, only the first time in a 40 yr ministry he officiated at a remarriage following divorce.

For a flavor of his attitude, and a clear view of the considerable chip still perched on his shoulder, consider . . .

_One of the benefits of being reared within evangelicalism, I suppose, is that you understand the workings of the evangelical subculture. I know, for example, that when my new book on evangelicals appears, the minions of the religious right will seek to discredit me rather than engage the substance of my arguments. The initial wave of criticism, as an old friend who has endured similar attacks reminded me, will be to deny that I am, in fact, really an evangelical Christian. When that fails — and I'll put up my credentials as an evangelical against anyone's! — the next approach will be some gratuitous personal attack: that I am a member of the academic elite, spokesman for the Northeastern establishment, misguided liberal, prodigal son, traitor to the faith, or some such. Another evangelical friend with political convictions similar to mine actually endured a heresy trial.

The evangelical subculture, which prizes conformity above all else, doesn't suffer rebels gladly, and it is especially intolerant of anyone with the temerity to challenge the shibboleths of the religious right. I understand that. Despite their putative claims to the faith, the leaders of the religious right are vicious toward anyone who refuses to kowtow to their version of orthodoxy, and their machinery of vilification strikes with ruthless, dispassionate efficiency. Longtime friends (and not a few family members) will shuffle uneasily around me and studiously avoid any sort of substantive conversation about the issues I raise — and then quietly strike my name from their Christmas-card lists. Circle the wagons. Brook no dissent._
The Chronicle: 6/23/2006: Jesus Is Not a Republican

Balmer is also a member of the controversial "Red Letter Christians" organization with folks like Jim Wallis and Tony Campolo.


----------



## Anton Bruckner (Oct 14, 2007)

children preachers=gross. it really shows the level of reverence and seriousness that we have for the word whereby we relegate the exposition of God's word to untrained prepubescent folks, who can merely imitate.


----------



## Bandguy (Oct 15, 2007)

There is a lot to be troubled about not only with the children preachers who don't know the Bible well enough, but also with the liberal detractors who are adults and know even less about the Bible. The quote from the first kid that made me want to puke:



> Like many, Samuel said he became a preacher after he was "saved" by Jesus -- he just happened to be 3 years old at the time. "After I got saved, I knew I could try to reach more people to try to get saved," Samuel said. His sin against God? Disobeying his mom. And so the boy turned to Jesus.



Yep. Try to get saved indeed. Works salvation anyone?


----------

