Here, in excerpts, evangelist Dwight Smith delivers some of the standard fundy fare on the oft addressed topic of bitterness. (Because if you really loved Jesus and were busy winning souls you wouldn’t have time to notice what jerks your fundy brethren are)
Discussion question: how exactly does one “plunge their hurt beneath the blood”?
For all of their aversion to the evil in popular culture, fundamentalist preachers still somehow manage to bring it up fairly frequently in their sermons — often in unintentionally humorous ways. For whether it’s a warning against a TV show that went off the air ten years ago or rantings about the evil lyrics of “that rapper fellow, Snoopy Dog Dog,” the fundamentalist pastor rarely gets the details of his target exactly right.
In fact such is the regularity of these mistakes that one almost has to wonder if these flubs are intentional. For when the pastor is too accurate in his observations the obvious question is: “where is he getting his information?” Is there a designated person deemed spiritual enough to spend hours in a bunker deep below the church watching reruns of Will & Grace looking for sermon fodder? If there is no good Christian is watching, listening, or reading this the worldly filth he’s preaching against, then how does he know about it at all? We certainly know that he doesn’t keep unsaved friends around who might fill him in on what’s popular.
If you’ve ever spent 30 minutes trying not to laugh while listening to someone preach against the evil rock and roll of “The Jonah Brothers,” you might be a fundamentalist.
If you believe that the only thing preventing God from pouring out his wrath of fire and brimstone on the entire country is the few righteous people left in your church…you might be a fundamentalist.
Once upon a time a missionary returned from service on the mission field and brought with him many strange and curious artifacts with which to shock and awe the people in his supporting churches. But as it happened among the colorful maps and other knickknacks which the missionary purchased at a local tourist shop for $6.99 there was also an evil statue which had been cursed (blessed?) by a local witch doctor. And that evil remained.
So it came to pass that when the missionary set up this statue upon his missionary display it caused many strange things to begin happening in the church building. Lights began to flicker, toilets would flush spontaneously, and the huge portrait of the senior pastor which hung in the vestibule would randomly be found upside down.
Thankfully there was a wise associate pastor in this church who recognized these as the sure signs of demon activity. Upon inquiring of the missionary about his artifacts, they removed the offending statue and set it ablaze in the parking lot whereupon were observed billows of green smoke, fiendish screams, and the neighbors calling the fire department.
So heed this lesson well and bring not back to these shores items blessed by the heathen. For St. Paul may have told us that an idol is nothing but they can still makes for a great story.