VCY America – Meditations for Moonies (UPDATED)
Sometimes the truth is so much better than anything you could make up. Tonight, we can witness a case in point.
First, just to establish some context: As many readers may know, one of the frequent “discernmentalist” sites we take to task for injurious action toward the Body of Christ is Slice of Laodicea (SoL). Slice’s primary mode of operation is to place itself in a position of sanctimonious judgment over anyone/anything its primary author deems to fall short of her shallow, externalist view of Christianity. Unfortunately, Sol’s author is also a radio personality with a larger-than-average platform from which to spew her “discernment” on unsuspecting masses.
Frequent readers of SoL will recognize that one of its author’s primary sources of scorn against the modern church is its lack of older hymns and “proper” externals (with “proper” being defined as 1950’s idealized church culture). And so it is no surprise that SoL would publish an article like this one (here is a link to a screen-capture (and a full one), since it is highly probable that its author will attempt to make it disappear into the ether, as if it never happened).
In this article, SoL’s author begins by staking out a “moral” high ground:
I have heard hip, healthy young Christians laugh about the musical format at VCY America during the wee hours of the morning. Over the night hours our radio network airs quiet hymns and instrumental music interspersed with Scripture readings and devotional thoughts from the host, Vic Eliason. Oh, if only these young people could read the mail that we get.
Before we go on, it should also be noted that the author trumpets, with great pride, her vastly over-inflated ability of “discernment”. With this “gift”, she is able to spitefully trash all sorts of Christian brothers and sisters – Rick Warren, Ravi Zacharias, Rob Bell, Bill Hybels, Mark Driscoll and many more – along with casting aspersions at entire bodies of believers all over the world. For instance, her magnified powers of ‘discernment’ have recently been raking Ravi Zacharias over the fires of hell for not mentioning the name of Jesus in a prayer during a program on the National Day of Prayer.
But let’s continue with Ms. Schleuter’s discerning piece on the superiority of soft hymns over the “booty shaking” (her words in previous articles on the subject, not mine) music performed by most contemporary Christian artists:
I want to share a card, written in child-like handwriting with many cross outs that we received today. I am posting it exactly as it was written, without edits.
“Dear Station Manager:
How are you. I hope your doing OK. Anyway, I want to thank you for putting together your program Music Til Dawn. I listen very often to your program and wanted to express my gratitude. I am so glad to have found a good radio station like yours. I also do send gifts to your cause. I am just crazy about Jesus. Besides what else is there to talk about but the truth. Theres so much wisdom in the Bible. I also have the old, new and completed testament on cassettes. I just love to here about Jesus. I also work for a church and I also have to work alone in the basement. However I have a radio to keep me company so its not so bad. I wrap and sell flowers for Unification Church. But I’m hopeing some day to work full time. So If your working alone alot there’s people who are thankful for it. I know I am. So anyway you have my best wishes and keep up the good work.
Truly,
R.
Sounds touching, yes? No? Before we go on, perhaps a little bit of actual discernment is in order. Let’s note that the author of the letter, lovingly quoted by Ms. Schleuter, writes:
I wrap and sell flowers for Unification Church.
Now, I realize that I’m probably not a good test subject for “the average guy” when it comes to recognizing theological underpinnings, but I still remember my junior high school youth group’s short course on cults (circa 1982), and this little ditty should have sprung some alarm bells from anyone with even the slightest inkling of what ‘discernment’ entails.
From the Wikipedia article on The Unification Church:
Unification Church beliefs are based on Moon’s book, Divine Principle, and draw from the Bible as well as Asian traditions. These beliefs include a universal God; in the creation of a literal Kingdom of Heaven on earth; the universal salvation of all people, good and evil as well as living and dead; that Jesus did not come to die; and that the second coming of Christ is a man born in Korea in the early 20th century. This Messiah is believed by Unificationists to be Sun Myung Moon.
That’s right, boys and girls, Ingrid’s case study on the superiority of hymns on the radio above other types of Christian music is that it gives aid and comfort to the Moonies! Now, my first thought was to give Ingrid the benefit of the doubt, that she missed the Unification Church reference. However, I then read in her next paragraph:
Those like this person who labors alone in a basement, getting paid to wrap flowers in night hours for the Unification Church, are being pointed to the truth of the Bible through the airwaves. [emphasis mine]
So, it’s now obvious that she read this and repeated it on purpose. This brings up all sorts of questions – ones like “If Slice can’t discern the difference between the Moonies and the Christian Church, why should we trust what is says about Rick Warren, the emerging church and other targets of its slander?” Really.
So, the next time you see one or more Moonies handing out flowers on a street corner or in the terminal of the airport you’re traveling through, remember that VCY America, host of Slice of Laodicea, is the Moony station of choice.
And when you do so, also consider that perhaps it would be better to leave true biblical discernment in the hands of professionals.
Like Ravi Zacharias.
[NOTE: I believe that ALL types of music can and do honor God, and that no one style/type is superior over another. There are a large number of hymns I love, so don't take this as me "dissing" them.]
HT: Rick Frueh
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UPDATE: As expected, there is a certain crowd that is pathologically incapable of understanding nuance and humor. As such, they’ve taken this article seriously, rather than as a demonstration of absurdity by being absurd. So, I will briefly explain.
This is an article of satire. (look it up)
Do I actually believe that Ingrid supports (or approves of) the Unification Church?
Please.
I believe this as much as I believe that Rick Warren denies the gospel.
That such folks can’t “discern” the difference between a straw man argument they like and one they don’t speaks in FAR LOUDER volume than anything I could write.
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