Opus 2011-270, Counterfeit

I had a five dollar bill examined for being counterfeit the other day.  The clerk held it up to the light and acted like she knew what she was doing.  For a moment I had this terrible fear that I was passing counterfeit five dollar bills.  Would they confiscate my money?  Would I go to jail?  Would my friends shun me?  She gave it her seal of approval so I am still free to write.

Wouldn’t it be good if believers would learn to hold what they read up to the light?  Remember how the world was going to end a few months ago?  People believed it.  If the perpetrator lives long enough he will try again in a few years.  Have you seen a sale catalog of Christian books lately?  The one I get was about 50 pages long.  It had pages labeled “Favorite Women Authors” and pages of books about Christian exercise videos.  There were authors I had never heard of that had a whole page of titles in print.  I would like to think that all of this was genuine but I doubt it.  Much of it is fluff.  Some is harmless fluff.  Biceps for Jesus is not going to send you to Hell.  But much of it borders on the heretical. 

Just because you read it on the internet doesn’t mean it is true.  Just because you read it in a “Christian” publication does not mean it is Biblical.  Just because they put it in a book doesn’t mean it is accurate.  Just because the latest, hot-off-the-press, warm fuzzy Bible “translation” says it also doesn’t make it trustworthy.

We are talking discernment.  Some people have a special gift of the Spirit in this regard.  They need to speak up more, even if it makes them unpopular.  Even if you don’t have the gift you are expected to exercise the discipline.  Tomorrow when you get up, turn on your brain and punch the “discernment” button.  It is like turning on a black light in a dark room.  You will be amazed.

homo unius libri