“What would things look like if Satan really took control of a city? Over half a century ago, Presbyterian minister Donald Grey Barnhouse offered his own scenario in his weekly sermon that was also broadcast nationwide on CBS radio. Barnhouse speculated that if Satan took over Philadelphia (the city where Barnhouse pastored), all of the bars would be closed, pornography banished, and pristine streets would be filled with tidy pedestrians who smiled at each other. There would be no swearing. The children would say "Yes, sir" and "No, ma'am," and the churches would be full every Sunday...where Christ was not preached.”
Hell on earth does not look like the darkened streets of prostitution, drugs, broken men and women. No, hell on earth looks just like the author said above. It looks so good we do not need a real god and we do not believe in one.
I am not disputing the relative vulgarity of the allegedly-uttered word. Further, I am not suggesting that we remove filters. Finally, I don't know for certain how God feels about the alleged word.
But I do believe - as have others much smarter than me - that there is a time and a place for language that moves men to action. Indeed, If the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? (1 Cor. 14:8).
That was his idea.
I think it was too shallow.
I think it would be a lot of squalor that was loved even to the death.
And the first step of loving it is to love talking about it.
This isn’t a sentiment. This is a factual warning we get from Philippians.
And your “clear call” reference doesn’t negate Philippians or other warnings about what we do with our minds.
In fact Satan has his own “clear calls” and that’s to wallow in the mire.
Why can’t we just take Donald’s disclaimer at face value and proceed on that plane? This is pitiful — are we trying to be more “righteous” than Donald here?
A great problem with one-word wrap-ups is that they don’t tell us the multifarious dimensions of a situation.
And Barnhouse is implicitly putting the whole of the evangelistic movement of God on the preacher’s shoulders.
I think that’s egotistical. The bibles are still there and they say what they say. They are sufficient. Such a place may not be as good as one with better preaching, but it’s not yet at the bottom.