Comments on a Valley Real Life sermon entitled A Will to Live

The church my in-laws go to posts its sermons each week for people to download. It also broadcasts these sermons over a local radio station. I try to listen to the sermons once in a while because I find that it helps me predict my in-laws' attitudes toward my family. If the pastor preaches about them there evil atheists, my in-laws are more likely to treat us negatively. On the contrary, if the pastor preaches about reaching the unsaved, they will try to act loving and give us books etc to convert us.

I usually just listen and then forget about it. But, I've noticed MANY problems with these sermons and I'm appalled that nobody stands up to this pastor when he makes mistakes. So, I'm going to try to add a regular section to my blog that analyzes these sermons. Each time I do this, I will also post the link to the download so that people can listen to the sermon themselves.

Today, I listened to this sermon after I had read my regular blogs. On the Richard Dawkins website, I found an article rebutting comments from a Bishop Boteach. One part of this article speaks of preacher shrieks and R.D aptly points out that many preachers resort to screaming to get their point across and perhaps this stems from the low substance within the sermon. He argues that "there is some kind of inverse relationship between the sensible content of a speech and the decibel level needed to sway an audience."

After reading this, I sat down to listen to the sermon from a couple of weeks ago. I've noticed before that the pastor at Valley Real Life gets louder as the sermon progresses. But, I also noticed this time that he is louder in the parts that really seem pointless or that are utterly ridiculous. Maybe Richard has a point.

So, on to the sermon from May 4 entitled, A Will to Live. This church preaches in sermon series and this series is about the four seasons. Being the first sermon of the series, it focuses on spring.

The first point he makes is that all creation has a will and can speak to you. At first, I thought he couldn't mean this literally. But, he goes on to say that when he's fishing with his dad he often wonders if the trees are talking to each other or what the rocks are thinking. Why does he think this? He provides the Bible verses: Romans 8:20-21. I looked this up online and found that he is using the New Living Translation...one which I've noticed seems to water things down quite a bit compared to other translations. What do these verses say?
(New Living Translation) "Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God's curse. All creation anticipates the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay."

Wow...talk about depressing. One week people are told how loving their god is, now they're being told he cursed all creation and that their only hope lies in the god that cursed them. And nobody thinks to question this? OK, now guess why he says god cursed us....you're right, it all goes back to original sin. So, according to this pastor, ALL of creation is cursed because of the curiosity god gave us when he created us.

At this point, I'm wondering what this has to do with spring. So far, it is just depressing and I would have walked out. Who wants to waste a Sunday morning listening to this crap? But, I keep listening to see if he attempts to bring it all around.

Then the pastor speaks of 3 people who suffered because of other people's mistakes. Joseph (sold into slavery by his brothers), Paul (shipwrecked, whipped, stoned, beaten because of his beliefs), and Jesus (forced to die on the cross because the loving god would not forgive Eve's curiosity which he gave her). OK, OK...but what does this have to do with spring. So far, all it shows me is that your god is a sadist.

Well, all of these men had a will to live and that is why they kept going. Spring represents life and hope...these men kept going because they wanted to live. They're like seeds. WARNING: CRAZY PART. According to this pastor, scientists are baffled by seeds. Yeah, he says they've analyzed them under microscopes, they study them and they've determined that seeds are dead. Then, they put them in the ground and these scientists are AMAZED that they sprout! It's mind boggling.

Alright, sorry buddy, but all you need to do is a tiny bit of research to discover that this is not true. Seeds can die and when they are dead they DO NOT sprout. Only seeds that are viable can sprout. Here is a definition from Fact Monster--the search engine my children use
"Seed: fertilized and ripened ovule, consisting of the plant embryo, varying amounts of stored food material, and a protective outer seed coat.

OK...do you consider a human embryo to be dead? I highly doubt it. This has not baffled scientists....only this pastor. Actually, this pastor should go back to elementary school to learn some basic biology. And still...nobody questions him!!

Alright, to finish things up, he says that god wants his people to praise him in the midst of all of life's turmoil. He claims that when people worship god through hardship, non-believers will look at them in awe and know god is real. Sorry, but that's not true. I look at those people and feel sorry for them for being so delusional. In fact, often times, they suffer needlessly because of the rules their god makes. It is very sad. It seems to me that it is only other believers who look at them in awe.

To end the sermon, this pastor makes a few statements that should be offensive to any thinking person. He says Christians should be "looking forward to the great day in heaven when all of this is done." "If you're not looking forward to heaven, I don't know how you're going to make it."

Those statements are so desolate...why would a loving god want you to feel that way? Maybe people should try changing their outlooks. This is the only life you get...make the most of it and stop being so negative! I don't need to look forward to heaven, I have so many positive things in this life that I cherish each day. I find it odd that the people who are supposed to be looking forward to heaven are often the most afraid to die. Maybe their lives would be happier if they learned to accept reality and stop relying on fairy tales to help them feel better....I know mine is!