I had thought (my bad) that Elena had a passing knowledge of the religion of the adherants that she was defending.

Elena said (in her post on Discernment), "...a Christian is faced with lots of opinions and situations that may seem like they are "good" on the surface, but the truth is they are really not "Christian" values. One has to be able to discern what is true and what is not.

This evening, Elena spent some time here on this blog

I offered the "Friendship with the World" award (after Elena offered me "Mountain out of a Molehill" She agreed that the award ..."would be fine Ellen."

Among her comments:

I know how to discern between what is true and what is false. (8:47)

After a week of vigorously defending the ability and willingness of all women in the blogospere to discern and recognize false teaching, Elena said:

The amount of what I could tell you about what mormons believe wouldn't even take half a minute! I honestly don't know much about them at all.

and

I simply don't care. I also don't care what it means to be "Reformed" vs. "truly Reformed." Just not interested.

and

I don't have to know Mormon doctrine to know Christian doctrine. One only needs to know the truth to be able to discern a lie.

Prior to this exchange, just after Elena graciously accepted my "Friend of the World" award, I followed up with this:

James 4:4
You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

Here is my point: If you don't know the Bible well enough to know that "Friend of the World" is not a good thing - how are you going to know it well enough to see when false doctrine from other religions is slipped in?

Or, if you don't know (or care) what other religions teach, are you going to know (or care) when you are exposed to their teaching?

Do you know (or care) that when you stand shoulder to shoulder (or keyboard to keyboard) with a Mormon and praise Jesus...Do you know (or care) that one of you is praising the spirit-brother of Lucifer?

When you stand in prayer together with a Mormon, do you know (or care) that one of you is praying to a being that once was as human as you are today?

With that, I'm done. I will answer comments to this blog, but only if the commenter demonstrates an interest in knowing the doctrine of the adherants that are being defended.

If you don't know what Mormons believe, don't come here asking me to give them a pass.

"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you will surely die,' and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself." Ez 33:7-9

...We cannot blink at the fact that gentle Jesus meek and mild was so stiff in his opinions and so inflammatory in his language that he was thrown out of church, stoned, hunted from place to place, and finally gibbeted as a firebrand and a public danger. Whatever his peace was, it was not the peace of an amiable indifference."

This t-shirt is part of their message:

"ARE YOU BRIGHT ENOUGH TO BE A TARGET?"

How bright does your light shine? Are you the "City on a Hill? (read these lyrics, they say something important - given the last week, this is a new song, not yet recorded).

I went to a concert with my kids (and a spare) last night.

The first band was really bad. The second wasn't good. The third band was "interesting". They list their style as "tribal" and they sound sort of like "middle eastern- punk" with an accordian.

The fourth band is the band we went to see.

This band is brothers, their dad is manager (but the blonde is not related, he just plays bagpipes and mandolin).

They have a message. Their "Amazing Grace" is quite something. It was also something to hear a room full of teenagers singing. I could tell those who sang the meaning. Half the kids rolled their eyes and moved to the back of the room. The other half got up on the stage with the band and stood shoulder to shoulder, arm in arm.

Before their last number, the leade singer (all 6 feet, 9 inches of him) talked for a few minutes about Jesus and following Him. Those who know Him: walk it. Those who don't: accept Him.

But here is what he ended with: Do the right thing. Don't back down.

Here are some of their lyrics:

My favorite (been there, done that have the t-shirt):

An eye for an eye, and everything in between,
an eye for an eye, and we’ll pay the price.
An eye for an eye, you defied your maker,
an eye for an eye and we’ll all be blind.

And I like this one, too:

We’re the scallywags of Archer Street, we don’t know when to quit
We go to shows, we sing out loud, we scuttle every pit.
But when it comes to praisingGod we always bow our knees,
We go to Him, we sing out loud, it’s him that made us free.

From the depths of Sheol to the heart of shalom,
we will stand strong together, we will never be alone.
Fill our cups full of courage, may our face hit the floor,
when we are at our lowest point, we stand at heaven’s door.

They are pro-life

FIGHT TO LIVE

It’s not a kid, it’s just a thing, selfishness is the song you sing
It’s your body, it’s your choice but the life inside you have a voice
The news has pulled your pride wall down
Now you’re not the stud in town
You gave him life don’t kill the child
just because your pride’s defiled
Fight to live fight to save a life
The life you gave this child within her
He’s a gift not a curse

So be a man don’t be a quitter
Protecting life is so much better
be a man don’t be a quitter,
fight, be a man don’t be a quitter
just because this child’s within her
be a man don’t be a quitter