Originally posted by Aaron:
Missionaries?
What is your Scriptural criteria for making this judgment?

not really sure what you asking. Of course the Great Commission is to take spread the gospel to everyone in the world. The Word doesn't have "missionary" anywhere in it, but my definition of a missionary would be ANYONE who takes God's love to a people group that is unsaved. POD is taking God's love to a group of people that is basically just ignored and criticized by the church. Here's one of the quotes from the Sonny interview:
HD: If there was one thing you'd like to leave someone with after hearing P.O.D.'s music, what would it be?
Sonny: Just that God loves them. It's your choice to accept it or not. Christ surrendered his life to prove that to us. It's a lot easier to believe than people think. I'm just trying myself to live my life for God the best that I can and the cool thing is that all God expects from us is to just love him back. But it seems like that is too simple for man to comprehend.
Originally posted by Aaron:
Show us either in the texts of the Scriptures or from the example of the Apostles that POD's examples on stage are Christlike. ?
Ok. First, everyone raise your hand if you've seen POD in concert.
What, am I the only one? Then I guess there won't be any opposing view on what POD does onstage, but if you can find a web page with a concert review, please post it. POD's message is that God loves us. This is quite evident from their concerts. The entire time they show their love for God and for their spectators, their songs are filled with it. They're the only band who I've heard tell people to show love to each other by helping someone up if they fall in a mosh pit. This may seem trivial, but if your on the bottom of the pit, it's a life saver!! Have you ever been somewhere and there just seemed to be an atmosphere of God's presence and love? POD's concert had that atmosphere. Hard to explain it if you haven't experience it, and I'm sure most will be skeptical/cynical, but that is my experience. Now do I really have to show in the Bible where we're told to love? As for the other actions, lets see
Psalms 33:3 "Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy."
So we should play skillfully (POD is IMO the best band musically), and we should shout with joy, POD definitely does that!!! The only other thing they do on stage is Sonny does some dancing, Psalms 150:4 "Praise him with the timbrel and dance..."
Originally posted by Gina:
I hope they do. If I'm giving off false impressions of what Jesus is like with my life and actions CALL ME ON IT, judge me, so I can fix it.
Ok, but only because you asked. We'll start with slandering fellow Christians:
1 Colossians 3:8 "But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth."
You have slandered POD, laughed at them because they dared to admit that they struggle daily walking with Christ.
Next we'll go on to not having love:
1 John 3:11 For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;
1 John 3:23 And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.
You have repeatedly insulted POD, even calling them morons. Not what I would call love. Even if you don't think they are Christians, Jesus commands us in Matthew 5:44 to love our enemies.
Umm, how about judging others:
James 4:11 "Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother, or judges his brother, speaks against the law, and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge of it.
12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?"
You have judged POD repetedly. Calling them "psuedo Christians" because they're different from what you think a Christian should look and sound and act like. James pointedly asks, who are
YOU to judge POD?
Originally posted by Gina:
the most basic, simple, Christian theology will tell you if it looks like a punk, walks like a sinner, and talks like a saint it's probably a deceiver and still not a saint. Anyone can say the words.
Where on this planet did you pull that from?? They look like punks? So? As I said earlier, I wear the same style of clothes, if I were any of the 6 or so races that they are I would blend right in. Where in the Bible does it say that looks have ANYTHING to do with being saved? Walks like a sinner? Because they said that they want their style of music to feel good and because they work with non-Christians? Huh? So what, are we not allowed to work in any venue that has sinners in it? Of course POD is going to base their style on what feels good, isn't that what you base your musical taste on? Oh no, you base your style on music that "pleases God because it doesn't have a drumbeat."

Well, at least your right on your last assumption, they DO talk like saints. Guess you and me are both deceivers too huh? I mean, we both talk like saints.
God bless,
~JD
[ December 19, 2002, 08:21 PM: Message edited by: JonathanDT ]