Dying liberal mainline churches have made it a regular practice in recent years to blame “the Holy Spirit” for their suicidal abandonment of biblical teachings which has resulted in a steady decline in membership. Jesus identified the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of truth” (John 14:17), not the spirit of confusion. However, the mainline churches which claim to be following “the Holy Spirit” in blessing same sex “marriages,” opening ordination to transvestites, and celebrating the “blessing” of abortion bear a far closer resemblance to Babylon than to New Jerusalem.

Not to be outdone, apparently, the ultra-conservative Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has lately taken to invoking “the Holy Spirit” to justify what would appear to be, on the surface, actions diametrically opposed to those of the liberal mainline but are, in fact, equally misguided.As I note today in Examiner.com, the SBC-owned LifeWay Christian Stores chain has caved to pressure exerted by a Florida pastor, Rodney Baker, and pulled DVD’s of The Blind Side because the movie, based on the true story of a Christian family which adopts a homeless youth, contains “objectionable” language.

Contacted June 11, Baker told the Witness, “I praise God that the week before an historic Convention that LifeWay has followed the Holy Spirit’s leading to remove” the movie.

“I know our God who is holy is pleased with this action,” he said.

Baker noted his actions to express concerns about the sale of “The Blind Side” were prompted by the Holy Spirit.

Yes, you read that right. In pressuring a Christian bookstore chain to ban a movie about a devout Christian family which extends the grace and mercy of God to rescue a troubled youth from a life of poverty, drugs, violence, and (most likely) an early death, Pastor Baker was merely following the promptings of “the Holy Spirit.” To make matters worse, he throws in some self-congratulatory remarks about God being pleased.

There is a fine line between being filled with the Spirit and being filled with one’s own grandiose sense of self-importance. One is hard-pressed to find much difference between invoking the Holy Spirit to justify this kind of arrogant Pharisaism and the similar outlandish claims of libertine mainliners.

Pastor Baker, please do the Christian community a big favor. Stop blaming the Holy Spirit for your own bull-headed stupidity.