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Christian authors on TV 'Commandments’ series Print Email
Written by Eric Tiansay   
Monday, 12 October 2009 02:35 PM America/New_York
A couple of Christian authors have appeared on ABC News' Nightline as part of the program's "Ten Commandments" series.

Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle and co-author of Vintage Church: Timeless Truths and Timely Methods (Crossway Books & Bibles), recently appeared on Nightline to discuss celebrity culture and the worship of false idols.

Driscoll defined an idol as "someone or something that occupies the place of God in your life. (It) gives you identity, meaning, value, purpose, love, significance, security."

He pointed to the reaction many around the world felt when superstar Michael Jackson died. "When his face is on your T-shirt and when you listen to his music for hours, when you give large sums of money to him personally, when his death causes you to go into a steep depression and you have a collection of memorabilia--I think if you walked in from another culture, you would say that's a very curious god they've chosen," he said.

Not only does idolatry affected the worshiper, but it also has an impact on the one worshipped, Driscoll said. "It destroys them," he added. Instead of considering the second commandment out of date, Driscoll said it "might be the most relevant commandment of all."

In another Nightline show, panelists--including Ed Young, pastor of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, which hosted the discussion--faced off on another of the commandments, the seventh on adultery.

The author of several books, including The Creative Leader: Unleashing the Power of Your Creative Potential (B&H Publishing Group), Young told Nightline that God is "pro-sex." He played off of a comment from panelist Noel Biderman. "I like Noel's line: 'Life is short. OK, 'Have an affair,' but I would add three words: with your spouse," Young said.