eZine 03.31.2009

Main Point of Discussion: If we truly believe in Heaven and Hell, we absolutely MUST share our faith.

Discussion Starter: Penn the magician gets a Bible

Penn Jillette is an entertainer as well as an outspoken atheist. Despite his skepticism of God and Christians, Penn was able to look honestly at an encounter with a Christian and respect the individual.

If you don’t know much about Penn, he has recently stated that he may consider himself to be an Anarcho-capitalist as well as adhering to Ayn Rands Objectivist philosophy, according to his Penn Says podcast. Being a religious skeptic, Penn had no problem taking the “Blasphemy Challenge” sponsored by the Rational Response Squad. By so doing, he publicly denied the existence of the Holy Spirit. Additionally, one of his car license plates reads “DOG ON” (“NO GOD” backwards).

The discussion clip is taken from Penn’s vlog recounting his response to an incident where a stranger approached him to gave him a Bible.

Introducing the Clip:
I’m going to show you two clips from the same person. His name is Penn Jillette, and he’s part of the comedy duo known worldwide as Penn and Teller.

This first clip is part of a movement sponsored by an atheistic group who tries to get as many ?blasphemies of the Spirit’ as possible posted on the Internet. According to this group’s theory, by blaspheming the Holy Spirit ? which the Bible says in an unpardonable sin ? they are assuring themselves a place in hell. Of course they don’t believe in God, the Holy Spirit, hell, etc., so it’s obviously a mockery of Christianity. Let’s take a quick look.

So given what we now know about Penn’s rejection and outright scorn for Christianity, let’s take a look at this next clip.

Transitional Statement:
As you can see, Penn’s reaction was not what we might have expected from someone who is so outspoken and even militant about his atheism. And even more perplexing was his positive description of the Gideon representative. (Youth leader- you may need to explain The Gideons and their calling http://www.gideons.org/Splash.aspx) But EVEN PENN knows Christians should be sharing their faith!

Divide into Small Groups:
Let’s go ahead and split up into our discussion groups, and then afterward we’ll come back together for a final word.

Episode #23 (3/14/2009)

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Episode Highlights:

• Get a breakdown on which social network your teens are really using, Facebook or MySpace
• Listen to Todd and Jonathan talk about the shirts they’re wearing
• Learn what to do when a skateboard gets stuck into the drywall at your church
• Catch some fantastic ideas on how to attract teen girls to your ministry and manage the teen guys in your ministry

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