Eight Ways to Get Famous

Got an overwhelming need to be famous? You probably already know that's not a goal the Bible encourages Christians to chase too hard. Jesus said the ultimate for His followers would come in the form of self-denial. Solomon warned that the fame game left him cold and empty.

But if you just can't let it go, the guys at lifehack.org might be able to help. Check out their Eight Cheap Ways to Become Famous without Killing Anyone. Their ideas are actually very good, but I like their warning at the end of the post:

You need to ask yourself, why do you want to become famous? Before you go out and kill yourself putting in a lot of effort, maybe consider if fame is something you really want to achieve. If you look at some of these above examples, it seems these people, except for maybe William Hung, were not trying to achieve fame. That is part of the magic.

Not sure fame is "magic," but I agree it's a much better life goal to set out to do something that matters, something you care passionately about, than it is to set out to "be in the news." If you happen to get famous for doing something worthwhile, cool. But if you just get famous for doing something worthless, that's worth, well, not so much.

(HT: Evangelical Outpost)

Bubble Wrap!

One of those bubble wrap OCD types who just. can't. quit. popping. those little air filled bubbles designed to keep your valuables safe from less-than-careful FedEx employees? Well, today's your day.

First, a Japanese toy company has created virtual pocket bubble wrap to go:

Puchipuchi in Japanese is the sound of a little pop as well as the name for bubble wrap, so the toy basically named itself! Designed to mimic both the sound and feeling of popping little plastic bubbles, PuchiPuchi can be carried around as a key chain for popping. Their slogan “Anytime, anywhere, forever…you can puchipuchi” basically says it all.

Thanks to the folks at mentalfloss.com for that story, as well as the fascinating history of bubble wrap available in their post.

Finally, this has been around for a while, but now it's available from virtual-bubblewrap.com right here in our blog. If you've got Flash working on your machine, you can pop to your obsessive little heart's content.

Virtual Bubblewrap © www.virtual-bubblewrap.com
virtual-bubblewrap-distv1.1

Porn Not a Problem?

The Evangelical Outpost blog has a regular series called "Family Facts." This one from a Swedish study contains a surprising stat:

Seventy-one percent of adolescents surveyed believed pornography consumption influenced others' behavior, and 29 percent believed it affected their own behavior.

So 42 percent of teens in the study are convinced they have an ability others do not have -- to "consume" porn with zero impact on how they live. How revealing! And it's not just Swedes or teens who don't seem to notice the 2x4 stuck in their eye sockets. Nearly all of us have built sinful and/or dangerous habits on the idea that "I can manage this, even though most people have a problem with it." Our enemy deceives us with lies our flesh really wants to believe.

God calls Jesus-followers to be ruthlessly honest and brutal with ourselves, especially in this area: "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people." (Ephesians 5:3)

Evan Already

Evan Almighty opens tomorrow. You'll find a review on our Movies page sometime in the next few days. Director Tom Shadyac -- who also headed Bruce Almighty, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and Patch Adams -- is becoming known in the Christian community as a director of biblically flavored comedies.

We're reserving judgment on Evan until we see it, but this new Shadyac Q&A on ChristianityToday Movies is interesting. I love the idea of telling a hilarious story as a "spiritual act."

Do you have any kind of a personal mission statement?

Shadyac: I want to be a servant of the higher idea. And my particular way is to use laughter to break down walls, so you can tell stories that engage. I won't make a movie just for entertainment value. There's validity to that, but I'm looking to do something else.

It's a highly spiritual act to tell a hysterical story. If you create laughter, I think you've created something very spiritual. You've for a second brought people back into a childlike state. That's a high calling. But I want a movie to have another layer that engages people in thought, discussion.

The movie is being promoted by Universal, in part, through a faith-based PR firm's web site that offers churches an online tool for reaching out to people in their community who are in need of help. We're on record in this blog as being a little skeptical about the connection between movie marketing and church outreach. Here's an article on CT's site breaking down exactly how well the Ark Almighty site is working at one church in Missouri, thank you very much. (Still, does anyone else have a problem with the idea of "random" acts of kindness? Sounds like these folks are doing very thoughtful and intentional acts of kindness. Minor quibble.)

Let us know what you end up thinking of the movie, the marketing, and the messages. And tune in by early next week to see how it plays out for Steven Harrell, our reviewer.

APA Rejects ID

The American Psychological Association has rejected the teaching of Intelligent Design as “science.” In other words, the official position of mainline western psychology is that biblical creation is a lie and the only valid way to understand human behavior and mental processes is through the lens of “evolutionary theory” (their words).

This long, involved, excellent post from the Society for Christian Psychology breaks that news down. I really urge you to read it if you’re currently studying psych (or thinking about it) in high school or college. Most Christian students walk into their biology classes aware, at least, that their prof might be basing his/her teaching on a worldview contradictory to that of the Bible. But far too many jump into psych courses without ever wondering about the evolutionary biases of their teachers and textbooks.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not on the bandwagon with those who feel that as Christians we should throw out the whole field of psychology because its dominated by theories and practices that don’t mesh with Scripture. I still believe it’s valid (and fascinating!) to study the human mind and human choices -- as long as we filter our understanding of what we find through the lens of a biblical worldview. An excellent biblical and Christian psychologist can be a huge help for some in applying God’s life-changing truth to specific life circumstances.

Having said that, I do think hurting Christians should avoid looking for significant mental, emotional, and relationship help from anyone who denies the God of creation, the reality of sin, and the transforming power of redemption through Jesus and sanctification by His Spirit. I also think Christian students need to think hard before choosing to study (and esp. major in) psychology with unbelieving teachers. Those who do so anyway really need to find outside help with comparing/contrasting their studies with a biblical perspective.

You just can’t have it both ways and come to a right understanding of the truth. Either God created the human mind and body or He did not. Our human minds and bodies are either devastated by sin or they are not. Becoming a Christian is either the key to a transformed mind or is isn’t. Mental and emotional healing are either available through obedience to God and the power of the Holy Spirit or they are not.

If those things are true, any study of psych that denies them can't help but come to lots of wrong conclusions. In officially rejecting a Designer (and the story of creation and the Fall), the APA has rejected both the original source of and the ultimate hope for many psychological problems.

Plant Siblings

This just in: plants are nicer to their sibs than to other plants. From LiveScience.com:

After plants are potted, roots branch out to suck up water and nutrients. But when several plants of the same species are potted together, things get a little nasty: Each plant flexes its muscles, so to speak, by extending its root growth to try and snatch up valuable resources.

Unless, that is, the plants are siblings—each having come from the same mother plant—in which case they become very accommodating, allowing each other ample root space.

The implications of this news are obviously staggering. I'm not sure exactly how, but it feels quite significant. Did you know plants had siblings?

I Dare You

I dare you to watch this YouTube vid of a British version of one of Simon Cowell's talent shows and not get a little misty. I had to pretend to have something in my eye because people could see me.

Supernatural Beliefs

Brand new numbers are out from Gallup reporting on American beliefs about God, heaven, Satan, and hell.

The latest study found that 86 percent of American adults believe in God which is a drop from 90 percent in 2004 and in 2001. Seventy percent expressed belief in the Devil. Also, 81 percent said they believe in Heaven; 75 percent in Angels; and 69 percent in Hell.

Did you know that a few years ago, Mark and WisdomWorks commissioned the Barna Group to conduct a survey of teens about these areas of belief, along with belief in all kinds of supernatural phenomenon? In response to that survey, Mark wrote a book called Don't Buy the Lie: Discerning Truth in a World of Deception, available on this site.

That survey revealed that only 40 to 60 percent of teens believe in a real spiritual entity called "Satan," while the number who believe in God is closer to 90 percent, even among students. You'll find similar differences between teen beliefs about heaven and hell, as well as angels and demons. Why the big disconnect between spiritual light and the darkness?

For one, the existence of a good God, good angels, and a good heaven -- without any "dark side" to worry about -- would mean that I don't really have to care what God thinks about anything. If He's real, I'll get a great reward. If not -- or if I ignored Him my whole life -- I'll simply cease to exist. If I reject the presence of real supernatural evil, I don't have to think about it's influence on me -- or about a real afterlife of punishment that might be waiting for me. So much easier than wrestling with all that spiritual stuff.

As believers in a real Satan, demons, and hell, we think he'd much rather people "not think about it" than go around freaking everyone out. In fact, getting people to miss the truth is his mission, in a way: "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (2 Corinthians 4:4)

For more about the existence of hell, check out Sean McDowell's latest worldview article called, appropriately enough, "Why Hell?"

Sturgen v. Humans

Thanks to Breakpoint's The Point blog for pointing out this story alerting us to the fact that the prehistoric fish have finally begun their attack.

. . . a leaping sturgeon severely injured a 50-year-old woman from St. Petersburg who was riding a personal watercraft on the Suwannee River. She suffered a ruptured spleen and had three fingers reattached by surgeons, but she lost her left pinkie finger and a tooth.

Yikes! Check out the link to read about the more recent flying fish fracas. Whatever you do, avoid the rivers and seashores in and around Florida. And look out for the bears near any wooded areas. They're bound to be next. This is not a drill, people. The interspecies war has begun.

Random Pizza Generator

Don't want to pick your own pizza toppings? Let this RPG do it for you.

So, does this mean the web has officially run out of good ideas?

(via Kottke)

Lindsay, Brit, and Jessica

What should we make of the supposed Christian faith of controversial pop stars like Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, and Jessica Simpson? At least two began their careers with some connection to Christianity. Britney even grew up in a Southern Baptist Church. More recently, of course, all three have fallen into the scandal cycle, becoming huge tabloid stars based on stories of alleged substance abuse, celebrity hook-ups, divorce, public confrontations, and rehab.

According to a story at ChristianPost.net, Lohan's dad had this to say after his daughter's most recent legal trouble:

"When Lindsay puts God back in her life, things will turn around. Until then, I'll just keep praying."

And Britney supposedly left this message to fans on her web site -- on top of an image of herself topless with her arms across her chest:

"We are all the lights of the world and we all need to continually inspire others and look to the higher power. You are all in my prayers. Godspeed."

In another post, she said: "We will never really understand or figure out life completely. That's God's job. I can't wait to meet him ... or her."

When one group of Christians objected to some of Jessica Simpson's more "revealing" artistic choices, she responded by saying: "I think that if they're really good Christians the judgment wouldn't be there."

What do you think? I don't feel any need to protest against or boycott any artist or celebrity. But I do think we need to respond, in a way, to public figures who claim to share our beliefs while seeming to make choices or statements that contradict God's Word.

First, I think we should avoid giving celebs our attention or loyalty simply because they once declared some connection to Christianity. For better or worse, Christians have become a highly valued marketing demographic. Some savvy PR folks will be all too eager to hype a star's "faith," whether it's real, false, or distorted, in hopes of getting our attention and dollars. It should take a lot more than some pop star's mention of Jesus in a song or acceptance speech to get us to buy her CD.

Second, we should definitely pray for people who may be Christians in the public eye, even if we can't know for sure what's going on in their hearts. Anyone who grabs our attention with their scandals is worth praying for. We know for sure that God loves them -- and that their best hope for peace is to walk with Him through Jesus.

Third, don't gossip. That biblical command also applies to celebrities. Unless you know something to be absolutely true about a person, don't pass it on. We owe that to God no matter whether the person is a "real Christian" or not.

Paradise '08

Mark just sent me info about a huge and very different gathering of Christian students planned for next year. I've never heard of anything like it. The idea is to draw young believers from around the nation to the geographic center of the U.S. for several hours of pure, undistracted, marketing-free worship of Jesus.

Here's part of the organizers' vision for what participants will experience near Paradise, Kansas on Sunday, May 25, 2008:

• As they arrive, they find a grassy field in middle America extending one mile in each direction.

• In the center of that field stands the foundation for a throne. The foundation is immense in size and regal in appearance.

• Circling the foundation are thousands of students. With lifted faces, many can imagine the ultimate throne in heaven. In their mind’s eye, majestic God sits enthroned with the risen Christ at His right hand and the glorious Spirit descending on them.

• With Christ the King as their sole focus, students sing and proclaim praise to Him; they ask for personal and national cleansing; and many receive from Him specific callings for their lives. As never before, they awaken to all His supreme glory means, they adore Him as their King, and they arise to join Him in the greatest adventure of their lives.

• Nothing is sold, no artist or speaker appears, and no performance stage is erected.

What a huge idea this is, to imagine that students and youth groups and college kids would travel all that way to gather in one spot -- only for worship of the King. The event's leaders promise that, in addition to zero product/personality marketing during or after, registration money will be used only to cover costs and any left over will be returned. Whoa. There's already quite a varied list of "advocates" for the event. I'm intrigued. We'll keep you updated as we get more info.