After having spent the last 5 years in the entertainment business as an out-of -the -closet Christian , I know full well the feeling of being attacked for having a Judeo/Christian worldview.
I have had my name and character libeled on a regular basis by secular relativists and bloggers of every ilk. I have accepted this fate as the cost of being in the public eye and as a Christian. Even Jesus said I should expect persecution.
That being said, it still isn't easy considering I am, after all, a human being. But nothing could prepare me for the amount of judgement and attacks from fellow Christians that I have received. This arrogance and Phariseeism in attacking our own is apparently the status quo for many believers in the blogosphere. People who don't know you personally still believe God Himself has entrusted them with the responsibility to malign and criticize fellow believers as though they have some insight that we don't ourselves possess.
This is why we, at Godmen, have made it a point to refuse legalism as an appropriate Christian character trait. We also believe that everyone in our "tribe" ( Christians ) should first be given the benefit of the doubt and then be pro-active in DEFENDING our own when they are under attack for a moral stance. When we heard of the hate-mail Dr. Mohler received based on erroneous information we felt a kinship in protecting a fellow brother but not, I might add, without some irony.
When we started Godmen it was to try to encourage men to blend their masculinity with their Christian spirituality. To show a balance that often men don't find in church and also to form some unorthodox ways to engage men to bond like brothers. The Los Angeles Times wrote an article about us and actually took the liberty to falsely accuse me of saying that Christian men SHOULD curse and then had me uttering a scatalogical word, bull####.
This was a LIE as they married a JOKE I used saying Christians don't have curse words but NEED something to say when we hurt ourselves. The word used was in reference to Phil.3:8 when Paul said his previous life he considers dung compared to Christ. The original word being much more "earthy".
I was talking to men about what God thinks of anything we hold more important than Him. Much to our chagrin we came across this radio program accusing us of being heretics and condemning our work as not of God. Now months later we see a Christian man in the same boat being ridiculed and attacked for a false news article. Why were we never once approached by your staff to first inquire if the story upon which you based your criticism was accurate? The biblical mandate is to approach a brother first and THEN if they do not receive council, we discipline.
We believe we are owed an apology and retraction. Whatever the outcome, let this be a lesson to all Christians out there. When Christians are accused of something why not get in the habit of approaching them personally first and in the meantime pray for them. THIS is why Jesus hated legalism so much. It teaches Christians to fight each other instead of fighting FOR each other.
Please feel free to count on us to defend you, as this is a Christian mans purpose and character. THAT is what Godmen is about.
Sincerely ,
Brad Stine - comedian/author/actor, co-founder
GodMenLabels: Albert Mohler, BradStine
Boromir sounds the Great Horn in the New Line film
