Introductory Blog and Ronnie James Dio?

Laodicean

This word is the reason I'm starting this blog. It was the winning word in the 2009 national spelling bee. It means lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics. It's a reference from the book of Revelations speaking of a church that was neither hot or cold, in fact this attitude bothered God to the point he would "spit thee out". Great lessons come from this passage of scripture, but let me get back to my original point.

I would have never have known that was the spelling bee's winning word had it not be shown on ESPN, the world wide leader in sports. Now from time to time ESPN shows programs that aren't really sports. Poker, strongman contest, pool, soccer, just to name a few, but a spelling bee? I think this is God trying to get our attention, with all the words that could have closed out the bee, it was that one.

To me it seems pop culture can be used to reach a lost and dying world. Instead of being afraid of the world, we should be trying to save it.

Which brings me to Ronnie James Dio. He became the lead singer of Black Sabbath after Ozzy Osbourne left the band. Dio passed away May 16 at the age of 67 after a bout with cancer. This morning before leaving for work I saw a facebook link that disgusted me. (See it here http://www.nme.com/news/black-sabbath/51188)

Apparently a church wants to picket and protest Dio's funeral. Wow, where do I begin? Picketing? Really? Are you on strike? Fighting for civil rights? What is picketing going to do for the man himself? At this moment he is either in Heaven or Hell and no amount of signs or chants is going to change that fact. However, others could be reached, but in this fashion it won't happen. Any time someone passes those who are left behind let their thoughts wonder to eternity and the afterlife. In this time of need people need comfort and these so called Christians want to go to the funeral and stir up hatred. According to these protesters those who listen to heavy metal are destined to hell.

I'm not so sure about that. I'm not a big fan of Dio. In fact the little I do know about Sabbath was more or less from Ozzie's time with the band. I do know I can crush "Paranoid" on Rock Band, and it's also a great song to lift weights too, but what do we really know about the man personally. Is it possible Dio could have been a born again Christian? Does listening to metal send one to hell? No more than listening to gospel will send you to Heaven.

So why write all this. After looking at these post I've seen Christians taking a beating across ed the board, and I just want it to be known that this group of wackos does not represent the entire body of Christ.

A few closing things to think about; 1 John 4:8 "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." God loved Ronnie James Dio, he loves his family, he loves his fans. Instead of shouting angry lines about hell and only irritating and turning others away from he gospel, if one wants to crash the man's funeral they should try to mirror that love of God.

James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." An even more specific example of what God wants from us, an entirely different picture from what is actually going to happen when the funeral is crashed.

So if we hear of this in the next few days let's resist the urge to try to judge, because really we don't know. Even if things are the worst as Christians we should always remember Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." If anyone is reading this who isn't a Christian, when you see this kind of insane behavior know not all of us are like that, and in times of trouble and you think you've reached a breaking point I hope this words from 1 Peter 5:7 find their way into your consciousness, "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you."