I agree, but beware of crossing lines you never meant to cross. That's my point. God is holy and He is not pleased with sinful worship. What I see in churches these days is exactly that. They are not influencing the world creatively. The world is influencing them. It is desensitizing them, so much so that they are not even bothered by language and nudity. No. You will hear them criticize fellow Christians for being too "pure" before you will hear them criticize sin. At a church near me -- I call it First Church of the Holy Cinema -- they went to see Along Came Polly for a wednesday night church service (the youth group). They had month after month of lessons based on The Matrix, Signs, and some other movies. These people are obsessed with movies. But they issued warnings about The Passion and its violence, Ryan Dobson's book was criticized as being "too anti-culture," etc...
Jesus said to "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If a man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in Him....for all that is in the world, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh... these are not from the Father but from the World....and the World is fading away...but whoever keeps doing the will of God will live forever." We are also told to let our minds dwell on "whatever is true, whatever is right....." God is holy. He wants us to pursue holiness, not entertain ourselves to death.
Agree totally. And I have never said anything even remotely opposed to that.
Wearing a WWJD shirt or bracelet or making a joyful noise to the Lord with a guitar or wearing a shirt that says you love Jesus in a way that people your age can relate to are not sinful worship. But all of those are condemned by those who have ALL the answers.
Regarding your comment about nudity, what do you think about "david?"
Also, as a Christian musician, I take very seriously this scripture:
Psalm 33
1 Sing joyfully to the LORD , you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2 Praise the LORD with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
How do we define "new song?"
You wrote: I agree, but beware of crossing lines you never meant to cross. That's my point. God is holy and He is not pleased with sinful worship.
You might be careful about crossing another line, as God seems also not to be pleased with this kind of judgment of another's worship. Notice Michal was offended with the very same thing you point out, the lack of modesty.
2 Samuel 6:20-23
When David returned home to bless his household, Michal, daughter of Saul, came out to meet him and said, "How the King of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of slave girls and of his servants as any vulgar fellow would." David said to Michal, "It was before the Lord who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his household when he appointed me ruler over the Lord's people Israel. I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this and I will be humiliated in my own eyes, but in these slaves girls you spoke of I will be held in honor." And Michel daughter of Saul had no children till the day of her death.