Sunday Night Viewing

It is (was Easter) so here goes a little religious post. If you don’t know this, I was raised (not literally) in an Assembly of God church. My great grandfather helped start it so there’s a great deal of family history there. We went to church, Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday night. That’s a lot of going to church. I love theology. In college, I almost had enough credits to declare it as a minor. We had some great professors at my college because the Grace Brethern Church founded the university.

Normally on Sunday nights, I end up being up and of course there’s nothing else on television so I end up watching Jack Van Impe Presents. When I was a kid, I didn’t know who he was. I thought he was some crime fighter but when I’d tune to the channel there was some guy talking about religion. I thought “how many times can the TV Guide mess this up?” I digress. Dr. Van Impe talks a lot about the end times and the rapture. If you don’t know much about this, check out the book of Revelations. You’ll also need some support from the Internet because it’s one of the most difficult books in the Bible to understand. There’s a lot of symbolism there. Dr. Van Impe’s show is at times a little over the top, however, it’s entertaining and informative. During each show, his wife, Rexella, reads news headlines and then Dr. Van Impe explains how they relate to the Bible and the Lord’s return. Dr. Van Impe is known as the walking Bible because of his extensive knowledge. He’s almost memorized it. He claims to use no teleprompters or notes while on the air. You’ll hear him quote verse after verse after each of Rexella’s stories. He prefers to have his shows air later at night rather than the day because he noticed more people watch it during the late hours than earlier in the day. There’s nothing but paid programming on up against him. You should check him out and see what you think. If nothing else, it’s like getting credit for going to church.

Also tonight, I wanted to watch Joel Osteen and see first hand why everyone is talking about him. During his visit to Cleveland, he packed Quicken Loans Arena. Newschannel 5 anchor Ted Henry has even done several stories on Osteen and his Houston church (it was the former home of the Rockets, the Compaq Center) It’s now called Lakewood church. Unfortunately I got a phone call so I didn’t get to see his entire message but I will tell you, he preaches faith and positivity. He must be doing something correct because he packs that arena each and every Sunday. Wikipedia says some Christians don’t agree with his methodology. Pentecostal scholar Gordon Fee wrote a series of articles denouncing both the health and the wealth gospels which Osteen preaches. I’m going to watch Osteen a couple more times and I’ll report back on what I think. I will say there’s nothing incorrect with teaching positivity and faith. I believe positive thinking breeds positive outcomes. God does not want us to be a negative people. If you do not have faith, do you really have a future?

This has been one of my more extensive blog posts. Like my description says, you never know what I’ll write. God Bless!