Posts
My wife and I recently went to see Evan Almighty, and I thought I would give my take on the film, which was enjoyable, but had some pleasant surprises in it. Seeing as how Tom Shadyac directed it, and having seen Bruce Almighty, I had a good idea what to expect. Shadyac is the director responsible for Ace Ventura, Liar,Liar, and Bruce Almighty, So I expected his trademark brand of irreverent humor, but this film has more to it than meets the eye. Steve Carell plays Evan Baxter, a former news anchor who gets elected to congress, and has just moved into his new home in a DC suburb when strange things start happening. It culminates with Morgan Freeman, reprising his role of God, showing up to inform Evan that he wants him to build an ark. Steve Carell is funny, playing Evan, a smart dressing, neat freak who starts growing a beard he cannot shave off, and some of the plot is kind of predictable, but still very funny. I don't watch The Office, but I am familiar with Carell and think he is a good fit for this movie.
The comedy aspect of Evan Almighty was funny, but pretty much what I expected. What I didn't expect was the attitude of the film towards things of God. I did not hear the cynicism I thought I would when topics such as prayer and faith were brought up, but the pleasant surprise was Morgan Freeman's expositions as God. In a scene with Evan's wife, God explains, that "when you pray for patience, I don't fill you with patience, I give you the opportunity to exercise patience. When you pray for your family to be closer, I don't fill you with warm, fuzzy feelings, I create situations that will help your family grow closer together." ( I don't have the quote exactly right, but you get the idea)
This is also a family friendly film with no sexual innuendo or foul language to speak of so I would highly recommend this movie. The closest thing to questionable is a scene where Evan eschews his Noah robe God provided him and puts his suit back on, which dissappears as soon as he steps out his front door, much to the surprise of the female Postal Carrier on the sidewalk. It's a lot of fun. There are some hysterical animal scenes, and John Goodman is a good heavy. Wanda Sykes is actually not as irritating as usual either.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Virtues of Travel
I'm a local guy through and through, but I have gained a new appreciation for expanding one's horizons and seeing new places, after my trip to the Mobile, AL area. The thing that was the biggest and most pleasant surprise was Gulf Shores. I've grown up going to Galveston, and there's a lot about the place that I love, but I don't think I will ever see the beach there in the same way after visiting the beaches in Alabama.
Now, I have been to other beaches, but it's been quite a while. We took a family trip to Florida when I was younger, and I remember the trips to the beach there, but not vividly, so for me when I think beach, the picture that pops into my head is Galveston. Imagine my surprise upon arriving on the beach in Gulf Shores.
For starters, the beach is at least three times as wide, from parking lot to water's edge, than Galveston, but the most obvious thing is how clean and nice the sand is. It's not only very fine sand, but the beach is very clean, both from human debris and natural. They try to do a good job in Galveston of picking up the trash, but the last few times I've been down there, human refuse has not been the main problem. Usually the beach looks like it needs a shave. I'm usually ankle deep in seaweed. If seaweed isn't the problem, then there are dead fish or jellyfish or other weird, unidentifiable things laying around, but in Gulf Shores there's nothing but sand, as far as the eye can see. Strangely enough, there weren't even shells laying around.
The other thing that was refreshing was the water. It was all either blue or green, not brown. They don't call our local body of water the Gulf of Yoohoo for nothing, you know.
I will still love Galveston, of course, but It sure was nice to see how the other half lives
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Why Easter (again)
I want to re-post again a column I posted last year regarding how we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, and again invite your input pro or con.
Why again do we call it Easter? I propose a change, and even offer a couple of alternatives, one of which I have heard others use more each year.Resurrection Day is a perfectly acceptable alternative to Easter and I use it myself frequently, depending on the audience, but my preferred name for this poorly named holiday is Firstfruits. Many of the Jewish festivals have at least some fulfillment in Jesus' first coming, and the Feast of Firstfruits is no exception.
Firstfruits is a part of the Passover celebration, which is itself another column. Passover itself is the beginning of a whole week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, in which observants eat only unleavened bread and no yeast at all. The Sunday after Passover during the feast of Unleavened Bread is the Feast of Firstfruits, an originally agricultural festival when the firstfruits of the harvest were taken to the Temple (or Tabernacle) and presented to the Lord in a wave offering.It is of course no coincidence that Yeshua (that's Jesus to you) rose from the dead on the Sunday after Passover during the feast of Unleavened Bread. Unleavened bread is a symbol of purity and the absence of sin, and Jesus is the Firstfruit of the Resurrection. Believers will all be in possession of glorified bodies like the one Jesus showed off with during his appearances after his resurrection. He is the first one permanently raised from the dead. All those he raised from the dead during his earthly ministry of course died again at a later date.So there you have it. My vote is to celebrate the Feast of Firstfruits or Bikkurim, its Hebrew name, instead of calling it Easter. Easter Bunny? Can't help you there. Don't know where that weirdness came from.Have a Blessed Bikkurim!
Why again do we call it Easter? I propose a change, and even offer a couple of alternatives, one of which I have heard others use more each year.Resurrection Day is a perfectly acceptable alternative to Easter and I use it myself frequently, depending on the audience, but my preferred name for this poorly named holiday is Firstfruits. Many of the Jewish festivals have at least some fulfillment in Jesus' first coming, and the Feast of Firstfruits is no exception.
Firstfruits is a part of the Passover celebration, which is itself another column. Passover itself is the beginning of a whole week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, in which observants eat only unleavened bread and no yeast at all. The Sunday after Passover during the feast of Unleavened Bread is the Feast of Firstfruits, an originally agricultural festival when the firstfruits of the harvest were taken to the Temple (or Tabernacle) and presented to the Lord in a wave offering.It is of course no coincidence that Yeshua (that's Jesus to you) rose from the dead on the Sunday after Passover during the feast of Unleavened Bread. Unleavened bread is a symbol of purity and the absence of sin, and Jesus is the Firstfruit of the Resurrection. Believers will all be in possession of glorified bodies like the one Jesus showed off with during his appearances after his resurrection. He is the first one permanently raised from the dead. All those he raised from the dead during his earthly ministry of course died again at a later date.So there you have it. My vote is to celebrate the Feast of Firstfruits or Bikkurim, its Hebrew name, instead of calling it Easter. Easter Bunny? Can't help you there. Don't know where that weirdness came from.Have a Blessed Bikkurim!
Saturday, March 31, 2007
A New Robin Hood
I just finished listening to the Audible version of Stephen Lawhead's latest book, "Hood", a re-telling of the Robin Hood story. If anyone else had tried what Lawhead did, I'm not sure I would have been interested in a total trans-location of the old, familiar tale seen in so many different versions over the years. If you are anywhere close to my age, then you too, when you hear the name Robin Hood, might just have the same image pop into your head that usually pops into mine, that of the animated, anthropomorphized fox in the Disney version. Along the way, I have also seen Kevin Costner, Carey Elwes, and Daffy Duck portray the noble thief. I've seen stills and short clips of Erroll Flynn as Robin, but never seen the whole movie. The one thing all these versions of the tale have in common is the setting and trappings of Medieval England and the backdrop of the Crusades. Good King Richard is away fighting on foreign soil and John is scheming to take over his throne, aided by the Sheriff of Nottingham and involving all the other familiar names you've heard before.
If you have read Lawhead's Arthur books, then you are familiar with his technique. In that case he took an old familiar story that everyone thought they new and reset it out of its familiar setting and relocated it among the Briton tribes fighting for their survival amidst the Saxon invasion and the withdrawal of the Roman legions in about the 7th or 8th century, with most of the action taking place in what we now call Wales. After much research, Lawhead concluded that based on the scant historical evidence that does exist, there was a real person that the Arthur legends are based on and he was probably a British battle chief who lived at about this time, and won some real, historically significant and recorded battles, namely the Battle of Badon Hill.
In Hood, the author does something very similar. He looked into the Robin Hood stories and concluded that they had an origin prior to their most famous incarnation. There was a whole collection of stories that were circulated all over the Island by wandering minstrels and storytellers that told little bits and pieces of the story we know now in different versions, with an incredible variety of names and locations. These stories were not stitched together into one complete tale until many years later.
This current version of Robin Hood is set in what is now called Wales. The Cymry tribes, consider themselves Britons, as opposed to the English, and especially the Franks (actually they are Normans, but the locals consider anyone from across the Channel a Frank). The time is shortly after the Norman conquest. William II is trying to fill The Conqueror's shoes, and the Franks are dividing up the island among themselves. The Britons are chafing under the yoke of the Franks, and are being overworked and overtaxed to fuel the building of new towns and castles.
One of the other factors the Author cites as to his choice of settings is the fact that most of the forests in England were well-managed business properties, whereas the forests in Wales were still primeval and undeveloped, still a fearsome wilderness, not a well-kept garden preserve like most of the English forests. It would have been possible to hide for years without being seen in the trackless forests of Wales, but not in the dwindling Sherwood Forest.
Enough detail. Suffice it to say, that in my opinion, Mr. Lawhead does, in fact pull it off. The setting makes a lot of sense, and the scenario of the Britons struggling to survive amidst the incursion of this new, alien culture and military power fits the legend well. Without giving anything away, the author paints vivid pictures of the Celtic culture and mindset and its contrast with the Normans who were changing everything. I look forward to more in this series.
Listening to it in audio form was especially instructive, given the plethora of tongue-twisting Celtic names and places, but I still plan on getting it in print.
If you have read Lawhead's Arthur books, then you are familiar with his technique. In that case he took an old familiar story that everyone thought they new and reset it out of its familiar setting and relocated it among the Briton tribes fighting for their survival amidst the Saxon invasion and the withdrawal of the Roman legions in about the 7th or 8th century, with most of the action taking place in what we now call Wales. After much research, Lawhead concluded that based on the scant historical evidence that does exist, there was a real person that the Arthur legends are based on and he was probably a British battle chief who lived at about this time, and won some real, historically significant and recorded battles, namely the Battle of Badon Hill.
In Hood, the author does something very similar. He looked into the Robin Hood stories and concluded that they had an origin prior to their most famous incarnation. There was a whole collection of stories that were circulated all over the Island by wandering minstrels and storytellers that told little bits and pieces of the story we know now in different versions, with an incredible variety of names and locations. These stories were not stitched together into one complete tale until many years later.
This current version of Robin Hood is set in what is now called Wales. The Cymry tribes, consider themselves Britons, as opposed to the English, and especially the Franks (actually they are Normans, but the locals consider anyone from across the Channel a Frank). The time is shortly after the Norman conquest. William II is trying to fill The Conqueror's shoes, and the Franks are dividing up the island among themselves. The Britons are chafing under the yoke of the Franks, and are being overworked and overtaxed to fuel the building of new towns and castles.
One of the other factors the Author cites as to his choice of settings is the fact that most of the forests in England were well-managed business properties, whereas the forests in Wales were still primeval and undeveloped, still a fearsome wilderness, not a well-kept garden preserve like most of the English forests. It would have been possible to hide for years without being seen in the trackless forests of Wales, but not in the dwindling Sherwood Forest.
Enough detail. Suffice it to say, that in my opinion, Mr. Lawhead does, in fact pull it off. The setting makes a lot of sense, and the scenario of the Britons struggling to survive amidst the incursion of this new, alien culture and military power fits the legend well. Without giving anything away, the author paints vivid pictures of the Celtic culture and mindset and its contrast with the Normans who were changing everything. I look forward to more in this series.
Listening to it in audio form was especially instructive, given the plethora of tongue-twisting Celtic names and places, but I still plan on getting it in print.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
New Tolkien
reprinted from the Independant
Tolkien Jr. Completes Lord of the Rings
The last, unfinished book by the 'Lord of the Rings' author has been completed by his son. Can a film version be far behind?
By Jonathan Thompson
Published: 25 March 2007
The first new Tolkien novel for 30 years is to be published next month. In a move eagerly anticipated by millions of fans across the world, The Children of Húrin will be released worldwide on 17 April, 89 years after the author started the work and four years after the final cinematic instalment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, one of biggest box office successes in history.
The book, whose contents are being jealously guarded by publisher HarperCollins - is described as "an epic story of adventure, tragedy, fellowship and heroism."
It is likely to be a publishing sensation, particularly as it is illustrated by veteran Middle Earth artist Alan Lee, who won an Oscar for art direction on Peter Jackson's third film The Return of The King. Lee provided 25 pencil sketches and eight paintings for the first edition of the book, one of which is reproduced here for the first time in a national newspaper.
Tolkien experts are already tipping The Children of Húrin - which features significant battle scenes and at least one major twist - for big budget Hollywood treatment. Takings from the Lord of the Rings trilogy box office takings to date total some £1.5bn.
Chris Crawshaw, chairman of the Tolkien Society, said: "It would probably make a very good movie, if anyone can secure the film rights.
"Tolkien saw his work as one long history of Middle Earth: from the beginning of creation to the end of the Third Age. The Children of Húrin is an early chapter in that bigger story."
The author's son Christopher, using his late father's voluminous notes, has painstakingly completed the book, left unfinished by the author when he died in 1971. The work has taken the best part of three decades, and will signify the first "new" Tolkien book since The Silmarillion was published posthumously in 1977.
"It will be interesting to see how it stands up today alongside all the Tolkien-alike literature that we've become familiar with," said David Bradley, editor of SFX magazine.
Tolkien Jr. Completes Lord of the Rings
The last, unfinished book by the 'Lord of the Rings' author has been completed by his son. Can a film version be far behind?
By Jonathan Thompson
Published: 25 March 2007
The first new Tolkien novel for 30 years is to be published next month. In a move eagerly anticipated by millions of fans across the world, The Children of Húrin will be released worldwide on 17 April, 89 years after the author started the work and four years after the final cinematic instalment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, one of biggest box office successes in history.
The book, whose contents are being jealously guarded by publisher HarperCollins - is described as "an epic story of adventure, tragedy, fellowship and heroism."
It is likely to be a publishing sensation, particularly as it is illustrated by veteran Middle Earth artist Alan Lee, who won an Oscar for art direction on Peter Jackson's third film The Return of The King. Lee provided 25 pencil sketches and eight paintings for the first edition of the book, one of which is reproduced here for the first time in a national newspaper.
Tolkien experts are already tipping The Children of Húrin - which features significant battle scenes and at least one major twist - for big budget Hollywood treatment. Takings from the Lord of the Rings trilogy box office takings to date total some £1.5bn.
Chris Crawshaw, chairman of the Tolkien Society, said: "It would probably make a very good movie, if anyone can secure the film rights.
"Tolkien saw his work as one long history of Middle Earth: from the beginning of creation to the end of the Third Age. The Children of Húrin is an early chapter in that bigger story."
The author's son Christopher, using his late father's voluminous notes, has painstakingly completed the book, left unfinished by the author when he died in 1971. The work has taken the best part of three decades, and will signify the first "new" Tolkien book since The Silmarillion was published posthumously in 1977.
"It will be interesting to see how it stands up today alongside all the Tolkien-alike literature that we've become familiar with," said David Bradley, editor of SFX magazine.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
RIAA Tries to Shut Down Internet Radio
If you enjoy listening to Internet radio stations, take note, the RIAA is trying to put them out of business. This is a reprint from radioparadise.com:
Future Uncertain For Internet Radio
The US Copyright Office has released their new set of rates for the payment of royalties by Internet Radio, and they ignored all of the facts presented by webcasters (including RP) and gave the record industry exactly what they asked for: royalty rates so high that they will put RP and every other independent webcaster out of business. See Kurt Hanson's newsletter for 3/2/07 for the details on how the rates work and what they will mean to stations like RP. You can participate in the discussion about this issue in our Listener Forum. For some time, we've suffered with a system where we pay a large chunk (10%-12%) of our income to the Big 5 record companies - while FM stations and radio conglomerates like Clear Channel pay nothing. Now they want even more. In our case, an amount equal to 125% of our income. Our only hope is to create as much public awareness and outrage about this staggeringly unfair situation as possible. Neither the record industry nor Congress are ready to listen to us at this point. But members of the media may well be, and we need to get their attention. If you have a blog, write about it. Feel free to quote anything I've written in the Listener Forum. If you find a good blog post about the subject, Digg it or Slashdot it. If you work for a media outlet, look over the facts of the situation and see if you don't feel the same sense of outrage that we do. Write a letter to the editor of your favorite magazine or newspaper. Let everyone you can know what a loss it would be to you personally if your favorite Internet radio stations, including RP, were no longer available. The RIAA can, at any time, agree to strike a deal with independent webcasters to allow us to pay a more realistic royalty, one based on a percentage of our income. We're hoping that if all of you make enough noise they'll be more inclined to do so. We'd also like to hope that at least one member of Congress will take a look at this situation and become willing to propose ammendments to the deeply flawed 1990s pieces of legislation that are responsible for the unfair treatment of Internet radio. Thanks a lot for reading this, and for considering the idea of taking some action on it. We'll be posting new information and links here as they become available.
Future Uncertain For Internet Radio
The US Copyright Office has released their new set of rates for the payment of royalties by Internet Radio, and they ignored all of the facts presented by webcasters (including RP) and gave the record industry exactly what they asked for: royalty rates so high that they will put RP and every other independent webcaster out of business. See Kurt Hanson's newsletter for 3/2/07 for the details on how the rates work and what they will mean to stations like RP. You can participate in the discussion about this issue in our Listener Forum. For some time, we've suffered with a system where we pay a large chunk (10%-12%) of our income to the Big 5 record companies - while FM stations and radio conglomerates like Clear Channel pay nothing. Now they want even more. In our case, an amount equal to 125% of our income. Our only hope is to create as much public awareness and outrage about this staggeringly unfair situation as possible. Neither the record industry nor Congress are ready to listen to us at this point. But members of the media may well be, and we need to get their attention. If you have a blog, write about it. Feel free to quote anything I've written in the Listener Forum. If you find a good blog post about the subject, Digg it or Slashdot it. If you work for a media outlet, look over the facts of the situation and see if you don't feel the same sense of outrage that we do. Write a letter to the editor of your favorite magazine or newspaper. Let everyone you can know what a loss it would be to you personally if your favorite Internet radio stations, including RP, were no longer available. The RIAA can, at any time, agree to strike a deal with independent webcasters to allow us to pay a more realistic royalty, one based on a percentage of our income. We're hoping that if all of you make enough noise they'll be more inclined to do so. We'd also like to hope that at least one member of Congress will take a look at this situation and become willing to propose ammendments to the deeply flawed 1990s pieces of legislation that are responsible for the unfair treatment of Internet radio. Thanks a lot for reading this, and for considering the idea of taking some action on it. We'll be posting new information and links here as they become available.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Conservatives Speaking Out
I never thought I would be reprinting an article from the Boston Globe, but...
At conservatives' conference, little love is expressed for GOP
By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff March 2, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Leading conservatives yesterday attacked the Republican party as big-government, free-spending coddlers of illegal immigrants and said the country's conservatives should withhold support from the GOP's current slate of presidential nominees to force them to the right.
"I feel very angry and betrayed" by the GOP, some of whose elected officials have backed a "guest worker" immigration plan, abortion rights, and tax increases, said Richard Viguerie , chairman of Conservative-HQ.com . "We should withhold support from all major Republican [presidential] candidates today. Not one of them deserves our support today," he told a ballroom full of activists at the Conservative Political Action Conference's annual meeting yesterday.
Further, he said, conservatives should withhold "all support" from GOP national committees, which Viguerie said have not produced federal candidates who adhere to conservative principles.
Ken Blackwell , a failed GOP candidate for Ohio governor last year, agreed that conservatives should at least wait to endorse a presidential candidate. "The Republican Party -- our natural home in a two-party system -- is in disarray," Blackwell lamented.
At least one conference participant sported a sticker that featured a circle with a line drawn through the words "Rudy McRomney" -- broadcasting the wearer's opposition to the early leaders in polls for the GOP nomination, former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani , Senator John McCain of Arizona, and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney .
Conservatives said they are frustrated and angry, and blamed the GOP's massive losses in the 2006 elections on Republicans who deviated from a hard-line conservative agenda. The mood puts added pressure on a slew of GOP presidential candidates set to speak to the meeting today.
Social conservatives are leery of Giuliani, who supports abortion rights, and of McCain, who authored a campaign finance law that limits interest groups' financial influence in political campaigns. Romney's evolution to a socially conservative agenda pleases some religious conservatives, but some are still unhappy with his earlier, softer positions on gay rights and abortion rights.
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee has disappointed fiscal conservatives for signing tax increases on gas and cigarettes, while Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas has been criticized for his support of an immigration bill that conservatives insist would give amnesty to illegal immigrants. Phyllis Schlafly, a longtime opponent of gay rights and the Equal Rights Amendment, won loud cheers yesterday when she derided programs to provide bilingual drivers' license tests and to offer low-wage jobs to immigrants instead of "our own high school dropouts."
All of the GOP candidates except McCain are scheduled to appear today before the conference. Representative Duncan Hunter , a lesser-known California Republican running for president, will also speak before the conservative activists.
Kevin Madden , a spokesman for Romney, acknowledged that conservatives are frustrated because of the election losses of 2006. But he said the party -- including its conservative wing -- needs to unite around an agenda and a candidate who can win.
"The conservative movement is going through a certain degree of reflection and renewal," Madden said. "We need to come together and find some unifying themes."
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
At conservatives' conference, little love is expressed for GOP
By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff March 2, 2007
WASHINGTON -- Leading conservatives yesterday attacked the Republican party as big-government, free-spending coddlers of illegal immigrants and said the country's conservatives should withhold support from the GOP's current slate of presidential nominees to force them to the right.
"I feel very angry and betrayed" by the GOP, some of whose elected officials have backed a "guest worker" immigration plan, abortion rights, and tax increases, said Richard Viguerie , chairman of Conservative-HQ.com . "We should withhold support from all major Republican [presidential] candidates today. Not one of them deserves our support today," he told a ballroom full of activists at the Conservative Political Action Conference's annual meeting yesterday.
Further, he said, conservatives should withhold "all support" from GOP national committees, which Viguerie said have not produced federal candidates who adhere to conservative principles.
Ken Blackwell , a failed GOP candidate for Ohio governor last year, agreed that conservatives should at least wait to endorse a presidential candidate. "The Republican Party -- our natural home in a two-party system -- is in disarray," Blackwell lamented.
At least one conference participant sported a sticker that featured a circle with a line drawn through the words "Rudy McRomney" -- broadcasting the wearer's opposition to the early leaders in polls for the GOP nomination, former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani , Senator John McCain of Arizona, and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney .
Conservatives said they are frustrated and angry, and blamed the GOP's massive losses in the 2006 elections on Republicans who deviated from a hard-line conservative agenda. The mood puts added pressure on a slew of GOP presidential candidates set to speak to the meeting today.
Social conservatives are leery of Giuliani, who supports abortion rights, and of McCain, who authored a campaign finance law that limits interest groups' financial influence in political campaigns. Romney's evolution to a socially conservative agenda pleases some religious conservatives, but some are still unhappy with his earlier, softer positions on gay rights and abortion rights.
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee has disappointed fiscal conservatives for signing tax increases on gas and cigarettes, while Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas has been criticized for his support of an immigration bill that conservatives insist would give amnesty to illegal immigrants. Phyllis Schlafly, a longtime opponent of gay rights and the Equal Rights Amendment, won loud cheers yesterday when she derided programs to provide bilingual drivers' license tests and to offer low-wage jobs to immigrants instead of "our own high school dropouts."
All of the GOP candidates except McCain are scheduled to appear today before the conference. Representative Duncan Hunter , a lesser-known California Republican running for president, will also speak before the conservative activists.
Kevin Madden , a spokesman for Romney, acknowledged that conservatives are frustrated because of the election losses of 2006. But he said the party -- including its conservative wing -- needs to unite around an agenda and a candidate who can win.
"The conservative movement is going through a certain degree of reflection and renewal," Madden said. "We need to come together and find some unifying themes."
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Rumblings of the Third Temple
This is a repost from Joel Rosenberg's blog about how much closer we are to a Temple being rebuilt in Jerusalem, and therefore a clear sign that the End Times are at hand. The Temple Mount Faithful have been trying to accomplish something like this for years, but have never had much support from the Religious Establishment in Jerusalem, but things are changing fast.
PLANS FOR THIRD JEWISH TEMPLE DEVELOPING
By Joel C. Rosenberg (Washington, D.C., March 1, 2007) -- It's been nearly 2,000 years since Jews celebrated Passover at the Temple in Jerusalem, but that will change soon if a growing Orthodox Jewish movement in Israel has its way.
"The present-day Sanhedrin Court decided Tuesday to purchase a herd of sheep for ritual sacrifice at the site of the Temple on the eve of Passover, conditions on the Temple Mount permitting," the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported yesterday.
"The modern Sanhedrin was established several years ago and is headed by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. It claims to be renewing the ancient Jewish high court, which existed until roughly 1600 years ago, and meets once a week. Professor Hillel Weiss, a member of the Sanhedrin, told Haaretz on Tuesday that the action, even if merely symbolic, is designed to demonstrate in a way that is obvious to all that the expectation of Temple rituals will resume is real, and not just talk. Several years ago, a number of members of the various Temple movements performed a symbolic sacrifice on Givat Hananya, which overlooks the Temple Mount from Jerusalem's Abu Tur neighborhood. During the ceremony, participants sacrificed a young goat that was donated by a resident of Tekoa. The participants also built a special two-meter tall oven, in accordance with halakha (Jewish law).The Passover sacrifice is considered a simple ceremony, relative to other works performed in the Temple."
Numerous Biblical prophecies in the Old and New Testaments indicate a new Temple will be built in the "last days," suggesting such headlines have been foretold for centuries. Several Orthodox Jewish groups in Israel are currently making preparations to build and outfit the Third Temple. Some are developing detailed architectural plans for the structure, while others are creating the religious implements and clothing that would be used by Levitical priests to carry out sacrifices once the Temple is in place. Tensions over control of the Temple Mount are running high at the moment, with Palestinians rioting several weeks ago to keep Israelis from building a ramp so visitors can safely access the ancient holy site.
PLANS FOR THIRD JEWISH TEMPLE DEVELOPING
By Joel C. Rosenberg (Washington, D.C., March 1, 2007) -- It's been nearly 2,000 years since Jews celebrated Passover at the Temple in Jerusalem, but that will change soon if a growing Orthodox Jewish movement in Israel has its way.
"The present-day Sanhedrin Court decided Tuesday to purchase a herd of sheep for ritual sacrifice at the site of the Temple on the eve of Passover, conditions on the Temple Mount permitting," the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported yesterday.
"The modern Sanhedrin was established several years ago and is headed by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. It claims to be renewing the ancient Jewish high court, which existed until roughly 1600 years ago, and meets once a week. Professor Hillel Weiss, a member of the Sanhedrin, told Haaretz on Tuesday that the action, even if merely symbolic, is designed to demonstrate in a way that is obvious to all that the expectation of Temple rituals will resume is real, and not just talk. Several years ago, a number of members of the various Temple movements performed a symbolic sacrifice on Givat Hananya, which overlooks the Temple Mount from Jerusalem's Abu Tur neighborhood. During the ceremony, participants sacrificed a young goat that was donated by a resident of Tekoa. The participants also built a special two-meter tall oven, in accordance with halakha (Jewish law).The Passover sacrifice is considered a simple ceremony, relative to other works performed in the Temple."
Numerous Biblical prophecies in the Old and New Testaments indicate a new Temple will be built in the "last days," suggesting such headlines have been foretold for centuries. Several Orthodox Jewish groups in Israel are currently making preparations to build and outfit the Third Temple. Some are developing detailed architectural plans for the structure, while others are creating the religious implements and clothing that would be used by Levitical priests to carry out sacrifices once the Temple is in place. Tensions over control of the Temple Mount are running high at the moment, with Palestinians rioting several weeks ago to keep Israelis from building a ramp so visitors can safely access the ancient holy site.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Breathtaking Arrogance
I repost here the following column I read on National Review Online by Mark Krikorian, articulating a thought I have had before but was never able to express this succinctly. I haven't been following the antics inside the Beltway like I used to, so I hadn't heard this point of view expressed by Karl Rove before, but I think it's incredibly arrogant.
Not Our Kind of People [Mark Krikorian]
According to a congressman's wife who attended a Republican women's luncheon yesterday, Karl Rove explained the rationale behind the president's amnesty/open-borders proposal this way: "I don't want my 17-year-old son to have to pick tomatoes or make beds in Las Vegas."
There should be no need to explain why this is an obscene statement coming from a leader in the party that promotes the virtues of hard work, thrift, and sobriety, a party whose demi-god actually split fence rails as a young man, a party where "respectable Republican cloth coat" once actually meant something. But it does seem to be necessary to explain.
Rove's comment illustrates how the Bush-McCain-Giuliani-Hagel-Martinez-Brownback-Huckabee approach to immigration strikes at the very heart of self-government. It is precisely Rove's son (and my own, and those of the rest of us in the educated elite) who should work picking tomatoes or making beds, or washing restaurant dishes, or mowing lawns, especially when they're young, to help them develop some of the personal and civic virtues needed for self-government. It's not that I want my kids to make careers of picking tomatoes; Mexican farmworkers don't want that either. But we must inculcate in our children, especially those likely to go on to high-paying occupations, that there is no such thing as work that is beneath them.
As Tocqueville wrote: "In the United States professions are more or less laborious, more or less profitable; but they are never either high or low: every honest calling is honorable." The farther we move from that notion, the closer we come to the idea that the lawyer is somehow better than the parking-lot attendant, undercutting the very foundation of republican government.
This is why the president's "willing worker/willing employer" immigration extravaganza is morally wrong — it's not just that it will cost taxpayers untold billions, or that it will beggar our own blue-collar workers, or that it will compromise security, or that it will further dissolve our sovereignty. It would do all that, of course, but most importantly it would change the very nature of our society for the worse, creating whole occupations deemed to be unfit for respectable Americans, for which little brown people have to be imported from abroad. In other words, mass immigration, even now, is moving us toward an unequal, master-servant society.
To borrow from Lincoln, our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. When it comes to this, I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty — to Saudi Arabia, for instance.
Reagan is doing somersaults in his grave.
Not Our Kind of People [Mark Krikorian]
According to a congressman's wife who attended a Republican women's luncheon yesterday, Karl Rove explained the rationale behind the president's amnesty/open-borders proposal this way: "I don't want my 17-year-old son to have to pick tomatoes or make beds in Las Vegas."
There should be no need to explain why this is an obscene statement coming from a leader in the party that promotes the virtues of hard work, thrift, and sobriety, a party whose demi-god actually split fence rails as a young man, a party where "respectable Republican cloth coat" once actually meant something. But it does seem to be necessary to explain.
Rove's comment illustrates how the Bush-McCain-Giuliani-Hagel-Martinez-Brownback-Huckabee approach to immigration strikes at the very heart of self-government. It is precisely Rove's son (and my own, and those of the rest of us in the educated elite) who should work picking tomatoes or making beds, or washing restaurant dishes, or mowing lawns, especially when they're young, to help them develop some of the personal and civic virtues needed for self-government. It's not that I want my kids to make careers of picking tomatoes; Mexican farmworkers don't want that either. But we must inculcate in our children, especially those likely to go on to high-paying occupations, that there is no such thing as work that is beneath them.
As Tocqueville wrote: "In the United States professions are more or less laborious, more or less profitable; but they are never either high or low: every honest calling is honorable." The farther we move from that notion, the closer we come to the idea that the lawyer is somehow better than the parking-lot attendant, undercutting the very foundation of republican government.
This is why the president's "willing worker/willing employer" immigration extravaganza is morally wrong — it's not just that it will cost taxpayers untold billions, or that it will beggar our own blue-collar workers, or that it will compromise security, or that it will further dissolve our sovereignty. It would do all that, of course, but most importantly it would change the very nature of our society for the worse, creating whole occupations deemed to be unfit for respectable Americans, for which little brown people have to be imported from abroad. In other words, mass immigration, even now, is moving us toward an unequal, master-servant society.
To borrow from Lincoln, our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. When it comes to this, I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty — to Saudi Arabia, for instance.
Reagan is doing somersaults in his grave.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Just Finished Reading
The Last Jihad by Joel Rosenberg
The Story:
On a quiet night under a full moon outside of Denver International Airport, a motorcade carrying the President of the United States is suddenly and viciously attacked.
The weapon: a hijacked Gulfstream IV business jet, packed with thousands of pounds of fuel and explosives. A Secret Service agent takes the jet down with a Stinger missile. The President narrowly escapes with his life. But not before terrorists also strike London, Paris, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
...we thought we had won...
...we were wrong...
The CIA quickly traces the attacks back to Saddam Hussein. U.S. forces go on full alert. The President and his top national security advisors fear Iraq is preparing to seize sixty percent of the world's known oil reserves.
Drawn into the epicenter of the maelstrom are Jon Bennett—one of the savviest and stealthiest strategists on Wall Street—and his gorgeous, shrewd, but mysterious partner, Erin McCoy.
Bennett and McCoy have just secretly concluded a billion dollar deal to develop a vast and largely unknown oil field off the coast of Israel and Gaza. The President knows that if the U.S. is forced to go to war against Iraq, he'll need an airtight Arab coalition.
The key: finding a way to resolve the bloody Israeli-Palestinian conflict once and for all. How better to do that than commandeer Bennett, McCoy and their deal, force the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to the table, and nail down a peace treaty that offers a huge and unexpected bonus: oil wealth for each and every Jewish, Muslim and Christian family long scarred by war.
But something goes dreadfully wrong. A U.S. spy satellite picks up an Israeli commando operation in the Western desert of Iraq. The President receives an urgent call from the Israeli Prime Minister.
The good news: the Israelis have narrowly foiled an Iraqi Scud missile attack.
The bad news: the recovered warhead is nuclear, and Israeli intelligence is convinced Saddam has more weapons of mass destruction aimed not just at Tel Aviv but at Washington and New York as well.
The Prime Minister gives the U.S. a blunt ultimatum: melt down Baghdad within one hour, or Israel will do it herself.
The unthinkable scenario has arrived. Will the American President order a nuclear strike against Iraq to protect Israel? How can he, especially with Bennett and McCoy in Jerusalem? Then again, how can he not?
The Story:
On a quiet night under a full moon outside of Denver International Airport, a motorcade carrying the President of the United States is suddenly and viciously attacked.
The weapon: a hijacked Gulfstream IV business jet, packed with thousands of pounds of fuel and explosives. A Secret Service agent takes the jet down with a Stinger missile. The President narrowly escapes with his life. But not before terrorists also strike London, Paris, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
...we thought we had won...
...we were wrong...
The CIA quickly traces the attacks back to Saddam Hussein. U.S. forces go on full alert. The President and his top national security advisors fear Iraq is preparing to seize sixty percent of the world's known oil reserves.
Drawn into the epicenter of the maelstrom are Jon Bennett—one of the savviest and stealthiest strategists on Wall Street—and his gorgeous, shrewd, but mysterious partner, Erin McCoy.
Bennett and McCoy have just secretly concluded a billion dollar deal to develop a vast and largely unknown oil field off the coast of Israel and Gaza. The President knows that if the U.S. is forced to go to war against Iraq, he'll need an airtight Arab coalition.
The key: finding a way to resolve the bloody Israeli-Palestinian conflict once and for all. How better to do that than commandeer Bennett, McCoy and their deal, force the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to the table, and nail down a peace treaty that offers a huge and unexpected bonus: oil wealth for each and every Jewish, Muslim and Christian family long scarred by war.
But something goes dreadfully wrong. A U.S. spy satellite picks up an Israeli commando operation in the Western desert of Iraq. The President receives an urgent call from the Israeli Prime Minister.
The good news: the Israelis have narrowly foiled an Iraqi Scud missile attack.
The bad news: the recovered warhead is nuclear, and Israeli intelligence is convinced Saddam has more weapons of mass destruction aimed not just at Tel Aviv but at Washington and New York as well.
The Prime Minister gives the U.S. a blunt ultimatum: melt down Baghdad within one hour, or Israel will do it herself.
The unthinkable scenario has arrived. Will the American President order a nuclear strike against Iraq to protect Israel? How can he, especially with Bennett and McCoy in Jerusalem? Then again, how can he not?
Revival in Middle East
This is the reprint of a Flash Traffic email I received from Joel Rosenberg, and it's very interesting. Joel Rosenberg is a person with an interesting background. He is an evangelical Christian from an Orthodox Jewish background. He has worked inside the beltway, as well as for people like Rush Limbaugh and former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He wrote a series of political thrillers, the first of which opened with an airplane making a 9/11-style attack on Denver, but was written before 9/11. He has an uncanny ability to read the tea leaves and has a lot of insight on events in the Middle East.
NUMBER OF EX-MUSLIMS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR
Spiritual revolution underway in Middle East.
By Joel C. Rosenberg
More Muslims converted to faith in Jesus Christ over the past decade than at any other time in human history. A spiritual revolution is underway throughout North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. As a result, a record number of ex-Muslims are celebrating Christmas this year, despite intense persecution, assassinations, and widespread church bombings. During the writing of Epicenter, my wife and kids and I lived in the Mideast for three months. During that time, I had the privilege of interviewing more than three dozen Arab and Iranian pastors and evangelical leaders throughout the region. The picture they paint is one of Christianity being dramatically resurrected in the region of its birth. A snapshot:
Iraq: more than 5,000 new Muslim converts to Christianity have been identified since the end of major combat operations, with 14 new churches opened in Baghdad, and dozens of new churches opened in Kurdistan, some of which have 500 to 800 members. Also, more than 1 million Bibles shipped into the country since 2003, and pastors report Iraqis are snatching them up so fast they constantly need more Bibles.
Egypt: some reports say 1 million Egyptians have trusted Christ over the past decade or so. The Egyptian Bible Society told me they used to sell about 3,000 copies of the JESUS film a year in the early 1990s. But last year they sold 600,000 copies, plus 750,000 copies of the Bible on tape (in Arabic) and about a half million copies of the Arabic New Testament. "Egyptians are increasingly hungry for God's Word," an Egyptian Christian leader told me. Last Christmas, I had the privilege of visiting the largest Christian congregation in the Middle East, which meets in an enormous cave on the outskirts of Cairo. Some 10,000 believers worship there every weekend. A prayer conference the church held in May 2005 drew some 20,000 believers.
Afghanistan: only 17 Muslim converts to Christianity before 9/11/01, but now more than 10,000. Dozens of baptisms every week.
Kazakstan: only 3 known Christians in 1990, but now more than 15,000.
Uzbekistan: no known Christians in 1990, but now more than 30,000.
Sudan: more than 1 million Sudanese have converted to Christianity just since 2000, and some 5 million have become Christians since the early 1990s, despite a radical Islamic regime and an on-going genocide that has killed more than 200,000. Seminaries are being held in caves to train pastors to shepherd the huge numbers of people coming to Christ. Why such a dramatic spiritual awakening? "People have seen real Islam, and they want Jesus instead," one Sudanese evangelical leader told me.
Iran: in 1979, there were only 500 known Muslim converts to Christianity, but today Iranian pastors and evangelical leaders tell me there are more than 1 million Iranian believers in Jesus Christ, most of whom meet in underground house churches.
December 2001, Sheikh Ahmad al Qataani, a leading Saudi cleric, appeared on a live interview on Aljazeera satellite television to confirm that, sure enough, Muslims were turning to Jesus in alarming numbers. "In every hour, 667 Muslims convert to Christianity," Al Qataani warned. "Every day, 16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity. Every year, 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity."
Stunned, the interviewer interrupted the cleric. "Hold on! Let me clarify. Do we have six million converting from Islam to Christianity?" Al Qataani repeated his assertion. "Every year," the cleric confirmed, adding, "a tragedy has happened."
One of the most dramatic developments is that many Muslims -- including Shiites in Iran and Iraq -- are seeing dreams and visions of Jesus and thus coming into churches explaining that they have already converted and now need a Bible and guidance on how to follow Jesus. I describe a number of these stories in the book. Having just returned from three weeks in the Mideast, I have heard many more, and will be sharing some of them in the new year. This is in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. The Hebrew Prophet Joel told us that "in the last days, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days....And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved." (Joel 2:28-32)
Bottom line: It's not being reported by the mainstream media, but the God of the Bible is moving powerfully and dramatically throughout the Muslim world. The number of Arab and Iranian Christians is surging despite wars, rumors of wars, and terrible persecution. These fellow brothers and sisters now need our fervent prayers and our practical help as they seek to reach epicenter with the love and forgiveness of Jesus in 2007.
Lynn and I launched The Joshua Fund both to bless the Jews of Israel as well as to communicate the gospel to Muslims throughout the Middle East. If you'd like to learn more -- or to help -- please visit our website at www.joshuafund.net
NUMBER OF EX-MUSLIMS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR
Spiritual revolution underway in Middle East.
By Joel C. Rosenberg
More Muslims converted to faith in Jesus Christ over the past decade than at any other time in human history. A spiritual revolution is underway throughout North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. As a result, a record number of ex-Muslims are celebrating Christmas this year, despite intense persecution, assassinations, and widespread church bombings. During the writing of Epicenter, my wife and kids and I lived in the Mideast for three months. During that time, I had the privilege of interviewing more than three dozen Arab and Iranian pastors and evangelical leaders throughout the region. The picture they paint is one of Christianity being dramatically resurrected in the region of its birth. A snapshot:
Iraq: more than 5,000 new Muslim converts to Christianity have been identified since the end of major combat operations, with 14 new churches opened in Baghdad, and dozens of new churches opened in Kurdistan, some of which have 500 to 800 members. Also, more than 1 million Bibles shipped into the country since 2003, and pastors report Iraqis are snatching them up so fast they constantly need more Bibles.
Egypt: some reports say 1 million Egyptians have trusted Christ over the past decade or so. The Egyptian Bible Society told me they used to sell about 3,000 copies of the JESUS film a year in the early 1990s. But last year they sold 600,000 copies, plus 750,000 copies of the Bible on tape (in Arabic) and about a half million copies of the Arabic New Testament. "Egyptians are increasingly hungry for God's Word," an Egyptian Christian leader told me. Last Christmas, I had the privilege of visiting the largest Christian congregation in the Middle East, which meets in an enormous cave on the outskirts of Cairo. Some 10,000 believers worship there every weekend. A prayer conference the church held in May 2005 drew some 20,000 believers.
Afghanistan: only 17 Muslim converts to Christianity before 9/11/01, but now more than 10,000. Dozens of baptisms every week.
Kazakstan: only 3 known Christians in 1990, but now more than 15,000.
Uzbekistan: no known Christians in 1990, but now more than 30,000.
Sudan: more than 1 million Sudanese have converted to Christianity just since 2000, and some 5 million have become Christians since the early 1990s, despite a radical Islamic regime and an on-going genocide that has killed more than 200,000. Seminaries are being held in caves to train pastors to shepherd the huge numbers of people coming to Christ. Why such a dramatic spiritual awakening? "People have seen real Islam, and they want Jesus instead," one Sudanese evangelical leader told me.
Iran: in 1979, there were only 500 known Muslim converts to Christianity, but today Iranian pastors and evangelical leaders tell me there are more than 1 million Iranian believers in Jesus Christ, most of whom meet in underground house churches.
December 2001, Sheikh Ahmad al Qataani, a leading Saudi cleric, appeared on a live interview on Aljazeera satellite television to confirm that, sure enough, Muslims were turning to Jesus in alarming numbers. "In every hour, 667 Muslims convert to Christianity," Al Qataani warned. "Every day, 16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity. Every year, 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity."
Stunned, the interviewer interrupted the cleric. "Hold on! Let me clarify. Do we have six million converting from Islam to Christianity?" Al Qataani repeated his assertion. "Every year," the cleric confirmed, adding, "a tragedy has happened."
One of the most dramatic developments is that many Muslims -- including Shiites in Iran and Iraq -- are seeing dreams and visions of Jesus and thus coming into churches explaining that they have already converted and now need a Bible and guidance on how to follow Jesus. I describe a number of these stories in the book. Having just returned from three weeks in the Mideast, I have heard many more, and will be sharing some of them in the new year. This is in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. The Hebrew Prophet Joel told us that "in the last days, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days....And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved." (Joel 2:28-32)
Bottom line: It's not being reported by the mainstream media, but the God of the Bible is moving powerfully and dramatically throughout the Muslim world. The number of Arab and Iranian Christians is surging despite wars, rumors of wars, and terrible persecution. These fellow brothers and sisters now need our fervent prayers and our practical help as they seek to reach epicenter with the love and forgiveness of Jesus in 2007.
Lynn and I launched The Joshua Fund both to bless the Jews of Israel as well as to communicate the gospel to Muslims throughout the Middle East. If you'd like to learn more -- or to help -- please visit our website at www.joshuafund.net
Thursday, December 14, 2006
A Very Good Question...
I reprint this column here without permission but giving credit. This was posted on a CNN site and was written by Jay Bakker and Marc Brown (as stated below) I don't necessarily agree with them completely but I think they raise an interesting point that I am starting to hear echoed in one form or another a lot lately.....
Bakker, Brown: What the hell happened to Christianity?
By Jay Bakker and Marc Brown
Special to CNN
Editor's note: Jay Bakker, son of former Praise The Lord leaders Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Messner, is minister of Revolution Church and subject of a new documentary series, "One Punk Under God," on Sundance Channel. Marc Brown is a Revolution staff member.
NEW YORK (CNN) -- What the hell happened? Where did we go wrong? How was Christianity co-opted by a political party? Why are Christians supporting laws that force others to live by their standards? The answers to these questions are integral to the survival of Christianity.
While the current state of Christianity might seem normal and business-as-usual to some, most see through the judgment and hypocrisy that has permeated the church for so long. People witness this and say to themselves, "Why would I want to be a part of that?" They are turned off by Christians and eventually, to Christianity altogether. We can't even count the number of times someone has given us a weird stare or completely brushed us off when they discover we work for a church.
So when did the focus of Christianity shift from the unconditional love and acceptance preached by Christ to the hate and condemnation spewed forth by certain groups today? Some say it was during the rise of Conservative Christianity in the early 1980s with political action groups like the Moral Majority. Others say it goes way back to the 300s, when Rome's Christian Emperor Constantine initiated a set of laws limiting the rights of Roman non-Christians. Regardless of the origin, one thing is crystal clear: It's not what Jesus stood for.
His parables and lessons were focused on love and forgiveness, a message of "come as you are, not as you should be." The bulk of his time was spent preaching about helping the poor and those who are unable to help themselves. At the very least, Christians should be counted on to lend a helping hand to the poor and others in need.
This brings us to the big issues of American Christianity: Abortion and gay marriage. These two highly debatable topics will not be going away anytime soon. Obviously, the discussion centers around whether they are right or wrong, but is the screaming really necessary? After years of witnessing the dark side of religion, Marc and I think not.
Christians should be able to look past their differences and agree to disagree. This allows people to discuss issues with respect for one another. Christians are called to love others just as they are, without an agenda. Only then will Christianity see a return to its roots: Loving God with all of your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself.
The Apostle Paul describes this idea of love beautifully in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."
But don't take our word for it; look at what Jesus and his followers stood for in his time and what Christianity stands for today. Then come to your own conclusion.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the writer. This is part of an occasional series of commentaries on CNN.com that offers a broad range of perspectives, thoughts and points of view.
... They make a few good points
Bakker, Brown: What the hell happened to Christianity?
By Jay Bakker and Marc Brown
Special to CNN
Editor's note: Jay Bakker, son of former Praise The Lord leaders Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Messner, is minister of Revolution Church and subject of a new documentary series, "One Punk Under God," on Sundance Channel. Marc Brown is a Revolution staff member.
NEW YORK (CNN) -- What the hell happened? Where did we go wrong? How was Christianity co-opted by a political party? Why are Christians supporting laws that force others to live by their standards? The answers to these questions are integral to the survival of Christianity.
While the current state of Christianity might seem normal and business-as-usual to some, most see through the judgment and hypocrisy that has permeated the church for so long. People witness this and say to themselves, "Why would I want to be a part of that?" They are turned off by Christians and eventually, to Christianity altogether. We can't even count the number of times someone has given us a weird stare or completely brushed us off when they discover we work for a church.
So when did the focus of Christianity shift from the unconditional love and acceptance preached by Christ to the hate and condemnation spewed forth by certain groups today? Some say it was during the rise of Conservative Christianity in the early 1980s with political action groups like the Moral Majority. Others say it goes way back to the 300s, when Rome's Christian Emperor Constantine initiated a set of laws limiting the rights of Roman non-Christians. Regardless of the origin, one thing is crystal clear: It's not what Jesus stood for.
His parables and lessons were focused on love and forgiveness, a message of "come as you are, not as you should be." The bulk of his time was spent preaching about helping the poor and those who are unable to help themselves. At the very least, Christians should be counted on to lend a helping hand to the poor and others in need.
This brings us to the big issues of American Christianity: Abortion and gay marriage. These two highly debatable topics will not be going away anytime soon. Obviously, the discussion centers around whether they are right or wrong, but is the screaming really necessary? After years of witnessing the dark side of religion, Marc and I think not.
Christians should be able to look past their differences and agree to disagree. This allows people to discuss issues with respect for one another. Christians are called to love others just as they are, without an agenda. Only then will Christianity see a return to its roots: Loving God with all of your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself.
The Apostle Paul describes this idea of love beautifully in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."
But don't take our word for it; look at what Jesus and his followers stood for in his time and what Christianity stands for today. Then come to your own conclusion.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the writer. This is part of an occasional series of commentaries on CNN.com that offers a broad range of perspectives, thoughts and points of view.
... They make a few good points
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Thanksgiving
I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and offer an excerpt from Peter Marshall's The Light and the Glory on the first Thanksgiving and the events leading up to it.
If any one event could be singled out to mark the turning point of their (the Pilgrim's) fortunes, it would have been what happened on a fair Friday in the middle of March. The men were gathered in the common house to conclude their conference on military instruction, when the cry went up, "Indian coming!"
Captain Standish shook his head, even as he went to look out the window - to see a tall, well-built Indian, wearing nothing but a leather loincloth striding up their main street.
"Welcome!", he boomed in a deep, resonant voice. The Pilgrims were too startled to speak. At length. they replied with as much gravity as they could muster: "Welcome."
"Have you got any beer?" he asked them in flawless English. If they were surprised before, they were astonished now. The Pilgrims looked at one another, then turned back to him. "Our beer is gone. Would you like some ... brandy?
The Indian nodded.
They brought him some brandy, and a biscuit with butter and cheese, and then some pudding and a piece of roast duck. To their continuing amazement, he ate with evident relish everything set before him. Where had he developed such an appetite for English food? How, in fact, had he come to speak English? For that matter, who was he and what was he doing here?
But they would have to wait, for obviously he did not intend to talk until he had finished his repast. Finally the time for answering questions came. His name was Samoset. He was a sagamore (or chief) of the Algonquins, from what is now Pemaquid Point in Maine. He had been visiting these parts for the past eight months, having begged a ride down the coast with Captain Thomas Dermer, an English sea captain who was known to the Pilgrims by reputation. He had been sent out to explore the coast for the Council for New England, the company to whom they would now be applying for a patent. Apparently Samoset's sole motivation was a love of travel, and he had learned his English from various fishing captains who had put in to the Maine shore over the years.
Now they asked the crucial question: What could he tell them of the Indians hereabouts? And the story he told gave every one of them cause to thank God in their hearts. This area had always been the Territory of the Patuxets, a large hostile tribe who had barbarously murdered every white man who had landed on their shores. But four years prior to the Pilgrims' arrival, a mysterious plague had broken out among them, killing every man, woman, and child. So complete was the devastation that the neighboring tribes had shunned the area ever since, convinced that some great supernatural spirit had destroyed the Patuxets. Hence the cleared land on which they settled literally belonged to no one! Their nearest neighbors, said Samoset, were the Wampanoags, some fifty miles to the southwest. These Indians numbered about sixty warriors. Massasoit, their sachem (or chief) had such great wisdom that he also ruled over several other small tribes in the general area. And it was with Massasoit that Samoset had spent most of the past eight months.
Who were the Indians out on the Cape who had attacked them? These were the Nausets, who numbered about a hundred warriors. The previous summer they had attacked Captain Dermer and killed three of his men. The Nausets hated the white man, because several years before one Captain Thomas Hunt had tricked seven of their braves into coming aboard his ship on the pretext of wanting to trade with them. He had taken them, along with twenty Patuxets , to Spain, where he had sold them into slavery.
By the time he was done with his tale telling, it was nightfall. Samoset announced that he would sleep with them, and return in the morning. Captain Standish put a discreet watch on him, but Samoset slept the sleep of the untroubled. And in he morning he left, bearing a knife, a bracelet, and a ring as gifts to Massasoit.
That was the last they saw of him until the following Thursday returned accompanied by another Indian who also spoke English, and was of all things, a Patuxet! The second Indian was Squanto, and he was there to be according to Bradford, "a special instrument sent of God for their good, beyond their expectation." The extraordinary chain of "coincidences" in this man's life is in its own way no less extraordinary than the saga of Joseph's being sold into slavery in Egypt. Indeed in the ensuing months, their was not a doubt in any of their hearts that Squanto, whose Indian name was Tisquantum, was a Godsend.
His story really began in 1605, when Squanto and four other were taken captive by Captain George Weymouth. The Indians were taken to England, where they were taught English. When Squanto finally managed to make it back home and stepped ashore six months before the Pilgrims arrived, he received the most tragic blow of his life: not a man, woman, or child of his tribe was left alive! Nothing but skulls, bones, and ruined dwellings remained. In despair he wandered into Massasoit's camp, because he had nowhere else to go. And that chief, understanding his circumstances, took pity on him. But Squanto merely existed, having lost all reason for living.
That is, that was his condition until Samoset brought news of a small colony of peaceful English families who were so hard pressed to stay alive, let alone plant a colony at Patuxet. A light seemed to come back into Squanto's eye, and he accompanied Samoset when the latter came to Plymouth as Massasoit's interpreter, for the chief himself had come, with all sixty warriors painted in startling fashion.
Out of this meeting came a peace treaty of mutual aid and assistance which would last for forty years and would be a model for many that would be made thereafter. Massasoit was a remarkable example of God's providential care for His Pilgrims. He was probably the only other chief on the northeast coast of America who (like Powhatan to the south) would have welcomed the white man as a friend.
When Massasoit and his entourage finally left, Squanto stayed. He had found his reason for living. These English were like little babes, so ignorant they were of the ways of the wild. Well, he could certainly do something about that! The next day he went out and came back with all the eels he could hold in his hands - which the Pilgrims found to be "fat and sweet" and excellent eating. How had he ever caught them? He took several young men with him and taught them how to squash the eels out of the mud with their bare feet and catch them with their hands.
But the next thing he showed them was by far the most important, for it would save every one of their lives. April was corn planting month in New England as well as Virginia. Squanto showed the Pilgrims how to plant corn the Indian way, hoeing six foot squares in toward the center, putting down four or five kernels, and fertilizing the corn with fish. At that, the Pilgrims just shook their heads; in four months they had caught exactly one cod. No matter, said Squanto cheerfully; in four days the creeks would be overflowing with fish.
The Pilgrims cast a baleful eye on their amazing friend, who seemed to have adopted them. But Squanto ignored them and instructed the young men in how to make the wiers they would need to catch the fish. Obediently the men did as he told them, and four days later the creeks for miles around were clogged with alewives making their spring run. The Pilgrims did not catch them, they harvested them!
Now the corn was planted. Pointing spoke-like toward the center of each mound were three fishes, their heads almost touching. Now said Squanto, they would have to guard against wolves, adding that the wolves would attempt to steal the fish. The Pilgrims would have to guard it for two weeks, until it had a chance to decompose. And so they did and that summer twenty full acres of corn began to flourish.
Squanto helped in a thousand similar ways, teaching them how to stalk deer, plant pumpkins among the corn, refine maple syrup from maple trees, discern which herbs were good to eat and good for medicine, and find the best berries. But after the corn there was one other specific thing he did which was of inestimable importance for their survival. What little fishing they had done was a failure, and any plan for them to fish commercially was a certain fiasco. So Squanto introduced them to the pelt of the beaver, which was then in plentiful supply in northern New England, and in great demand throughout Europe. And not only did he get them started, but he guided in the trading, making sure they got their full money's worth in top-quality pelts. This would prove to be their economic deliverance, just as corn would be their physical deliverance.
The Pilgrims were brimming over with gratitude - not only to Squanto and the Wampanoags who had been so friendly, but to their God. In Him they had trusted, and he had honored their obedience beyond their dreams. So Governor Bradford declared a day of public Thanksgiving, to be held in October. Massasoit was invited, and unexpectedly arrived a day early, with ninety Indians! Counting their numbers, the Pilgrims had to pray hard to keep from giving in to despair. To feed such a crowd would cut deeply into the food supply that was supposed to get them through the winter.
But if they had learned one thing through their travels, it was to trust God implicitly. As is turned out, the Indians were not arriving empty handed. Massasoit had commanded his braves to hunt for the occasion, and they arrived with no less than five dressed deer and more than a dozen fat wild turkeys! And they helped them with preparations, teaching the Pilgrim women how to make hoecakes, and a tasty pudding out of cornmeal and maple syrup. Finally they showed them an Indian delicacy: how to roast corn kernels in an earthen pot until they popped, fluffy and white - popcorn!
The Pilgrims in turn provided many vegetables from their household gardens: carrots, onions, turnips, parsnips, cucumbers, radishes, beets, and cabbages. Also using some of their precious, they took summer fruits which the Indians had dried and introduces them to the likes of blueberry, apple, and cherry pie. It was all washed down with sweet wine made from wild grapes. A joyous occasion for all!
Between meals, the Pilgrims and Indians happily competed in shooting contests with gun and bow. The Indians were especially delighted that John Alden and some of the younger men of the plantation were eager to join them in foot races and wrestling. There were even military drills staged by Captain Standish. Things went so well (and Massasoit showed no inclination to leave) that Thanksgiving day was extended for three days.
Surely one moment stood out in the Pilgrims' memory - William Brewster's prayer as they began the festival. They had so much for which to thank God: for providing all their needs, even when their faith had not been up to believing that he would do so; for the lives of the departed, and for taking them home to be with Him; for their friendship with the Indians - so extraordinary when the settlers to the south had experienced the opposite; for all his remarkable Providences in bringing them to this place and sustaining them.
As I said earlier, this excerpt was taken from Peter Marshall's excellent book, The Light and the Glory, the first in a series he wrote on American history.
Happy Thanksgiving!
If any one event could be singled out to mark the turning point of their (the Pilgrim's) fortunes, it would have been what happened on a fair Friday in the middle of March. The men were gathered in the common house to conclude their conference on military instruction, when the cry went up, "Indian coming!"
Captain Standish shook his head, even as he went to look out the window - to see a tall, well-built Indian, wearing nothing but a leather loincloth striding up their main street.
"Welcome!", he boomed in a deep, resonant voice. The Pilgrims were too startled to speak. At length. they replied with as much gravity as they could muster: "Welcome."
"Have you got any beer?" he asked them in flawless English. If they were surprised before, they were astonished now. The Pilgrims looked at one another, then turned back to him. "Our beer is gone. Would you like some ... brandy?
The Indian nodded.
They brought him some brandy, and a biscuit with butter and cheese, and then some pudding and a piece of roast duck. To their continuing amazement, he ate with evident relish everything set before him. Where had he developed such an appetite for English food? How, in fact, had he come to speak English? For that matter, who was he and what was he doing here?
But they would have to wait, for obviously he did not intend to talk until he had finished his repast. Finally the time for answering questions came. His name was Samoset. He was a sagamore (or chief) of the Algonquins, from what is now Pemaquid Point in Maine. He had been visiting these parts for the past eight months, having begged a ride down the coast with Captain Thomas Dermer, an English sea captain who was known to the Pilgrims by reputation. He had been sent out to explore the coast for the Council for New England, the company to whom they would now be applying for a patent. Apparently Samoset's sole motivation was a love of travel, and he had learned his English from various fishing captains who had put in to the Maine shore over the years.
Now they asked the crucial question: What could he tell them of the Indians hereabouts? And the story he told gave every one of them cause to thank God in their hearts. This area had always been the Territory of the Patuxets, a large hostile tribe who had barbarously murdered every white man who had landed on their shores. But four years prior to the Pilgrims' arrival, a mysterious plague had broken out among them, killing every man, woman, and child. So complete was the devastation that the neighboring tribes had shunned the area ever since, convinced that some great supernatural spirit had destroyed the Patuxets. Hence the cleared land on which they settled literally belonged to no one! Their nearest neighbors, said Samoset, were the Wampanoags, some fifty miles to the southwest. These Indians numbered about sixty warriors. Massasoit, their sachem (or chief) had such great wisdom that he also ruled over several other small tribes in the general area. And it was with Massasoit that Samoset had spent most of the past eight months.
Who were the Indians out on the Cape who had attacked them? These were the Nausets, who numbered about a hundred warriors. The previous summer they had attacked Captain Dermer and killed three of his men. The Nausets hated the white man, because several years before one Captain Thomas Hunt had tricked seven of their braves into coming aboard his ship on the pretext of wanting to trade with them. He had taken them, along with twenty Patuxets , to Spain, where he had sold them into slavery.
By the time he was done with his tale telling, it was nightfall. Samoset announced that he would sleep with them, and return in the morning. Captain Standish put a discreet watch on him, but Samoset slept the sleep of the untroubled. And in he morning he left, bearing a knife, a bracelet, and a ring as gifts to Massasoit.
That was the last they saw of him until the following Thursday returned accompanied by another Indian who also spoke English, and was of all things, a Patuxet! The second Indian was Squanto, and he was there to be according to Bradford, "a special instrument sent of God for their good, beyond their expectation." The extraordinary chain of "coincidences" in this man's life is in its own way no less extraordinary than the saga of Joseph's being sold into slavery in Egypt. Indeed in the ensuing months, their was not a doubt in any of their hearts that Squanto, whose Indian name was Tisquantum, was a Godsend.
His story really began in 1605, when Squanto and four other were taken captive by Captain George Weymouth. The Indians were taken to England, where they were taught English. When Squanto finally managed to make it back home and stepped ashore six months before the Pilgrims arrived, he received the most tragic blow of his life: not a man, woman, or child of his tribe was left alive! Nothing but skulls, bones, and ruined dwellings remained. In despair he wandered into Massasoit's camp, because he had nowhere else to go. And that chief, understanding his circumstances, took pity on him. But Squanto merely existed, having lost all reason for living.
That is, that was his condition until Samoset brought news of a small colony of peaceful English families who were so hard pressed to stay alive, let alone plant a colony at Patuxet. A light seemed to come back into Squanto's eye, and he accompanied Samoset when the latter came to Plymouth as Massasoit's interpreter, for the chief himself had come, with all sixty warriors painted in startling fashion.
Out of this meeting came a peace treaty of mutual aid and assistance which would last for forty years and would be a model for many that would be made thereafter. Massasoit was a remarkable example of God's providential care for His Pilgrims. He was probably the only other chief on the northeast coast of America who (like Powhatan to the south) would have welcomed the white man as a friend.
When Massasoit and his entourage finally left, Squanto stayed. He had found his reason for living. These English were like little babes, so ignorant they were of the ways of the wild. Well, he could certainly do something about that! The next day he went out and came back with all the eels he could hold in his hands - which the Pilgrims found to be "fat and sweet" and excellent eating. How had he ever caught them? He took several young men with him and taught them how to squash the eels out of the mud with their bare feet and catch them with their hands.
But the next thing he showed them was by far the most important, for it would save every one of their lives. April was corn planting month in New England as well as Virginia. Squanto showed the Pilgrims how to plant corn the Indian way, hoeing six foot squares in toward the center, putting down four or five kernels, and fertilizing the corn with fish. At that, the Pilgrims just shook their heads; in four months they had caught exactly one cod. No matter, said Squanto cheerfully; in four days the creeks would be overflowing with fish.
The Pilgrims cast a baleful eye on their amazing friend, who seemed to have adopted them. But Squanto ignored them and instructed the young men in how to make the wiers they would need to catch the fish. Obediently the men did as he told them, and four days later the creeks for miles around were clogged with alewives making their spring run. The Pilgrims did not catch them, they harvested them!
Now the corn was planted. Pointing spoke-like toward the center of each mound were three fishes, their heads almost touching. Now said Squanto, they would have to guard against wolves, adding that the wolves would attempt to steal the fish. The Pilgrims would have to guard it for two weeks, until it had a chance to decompose. And so they did and that summer twenty full acres of corn began to flourish.
Squanto helped in a thousand similar ways, teaching them how to stalk deer, plant pumpkins among the corn, refine maple syrup from maple trees, discern which herbs were good to eat and good for medicine, and find the best berries. But after the corn there was one other specific thing he did which was of inestimable importance for their survival. What little fishing they had done was a failure, and any plan for them to fish commercially was a certain fiasco. So Squanto introduced them to the pelt of the beaver, which was then in plentiful supply in northern New England, and in great demand throughout Europe. And not only did he get them started, but he guided in the trading, making sure they got their full money's worth in top-quality pelts. This would prove to be their economic deliverance, just as corn would be their physical deliverance.
The Pilgrims were brimming over with gratitude - not only to Squanto and the Wampanoags who had been so friendly, but to their God. In Him they had trusted, and he had honored their obedience beyond their dreams. So Governor Bradford declared a day of public Thanksgiving, to be held in October. Massasoit was invited, and unexpectedly arrived a day early, with ninety Indians! Counting their numbers, the Pilgrims had to pray hard to keep from giving in to despair. To feed such a crowd would cut deeply into the food supply that was supposed to get them through the winter.
But if they had learned one thing through their travels, it was to trust God implicitly. As is turned out, the Indians were not arriving empty handed. Massasoit had commanded his braves to hunt for the occasion, and they arrived with no less than five dressed deer and more than a dozen fat wild turkeys! And they helped them with preparations, teaching the Pilgrim women how to make hoecakes, and a tasty pudding out of cornmeal and maple syrup. Finally they showed them an Indian delicacy: how to roast corn kernels in an earthen pot until they popped, fluffy and white - popcorn!
The Pilgrims in turn provided many vegetables from their household gardens: carrots, onions, turnips, parsnips, cucumbers, radishes, beets, and cabbages. Also using some of their precious, they took summer fruits which the Indians had dried and introduces them to the likes of blueberry, apple, and cherry pie. It was all washed down with sweet wine made from wild grapes. A joyous occasion for all!
Between meals, the Pilgrims and Indians happily competed in shooting contests with gun and bow. The Indians were especially delighted that John Alden and some of the younger men of the plantation were eager to join them in foot races and wrestling. There were even military drills staged by Captain Standish. Things went so well (and Massasoit showed no inclination to leave) that Thanksgiving day was extended for three days.
Surely one moment stood out in the Pilgrims' memory - William Brewster's prayer as they began the festival. They had so much for which to thank God: for providing all their needs, even when their faith had not been up to believing that he would do so; for the lives of the departed, and for taking them home to be with Him; for their friendship with the Indians - so extraordinary when the settlers to the south had experienced the opposite; for all his remarkable Providences in bringing them to this place and sustaining them.
As I said earlier, this excerpt was taken from Peter Marshall's excellent book, The Light and the Glory, the first in a series he wrote on American history.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Pundit or Prophet?
I recently read a fascinating book by Joel C Rosenberg, a work of fiction called The Copper Scroll. It's actually the fourth book in the series. I was vaguely aware of his first book The Last Jihad but never read it. The guy is an interesting combination of influences. He has an inside-the-beltway background, and is an Evangelical Christian from an Orthodox Jewish background. He also has an uncanny knack for writing things that come true. The Last Jihad opens with Muslim extremists using hijacked aircraft in a Kamikaze attack on an American city. So what you ask? He actually wrote this before 9/11. The Copper Scroll deals primarily with a search for Temple treasure supposedly buried since the destruction of the second Temple in 70 A.D. (C.E.) and the tantalizing clues contained in a scroll that was found at the Qumran site where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. This scroll was uncovered in 1956 I believe, and was unique in that it was made of copper, not papyrus or animal hide like you would expect. It took scholars 4 years to figure out how to unroll the scroll without destroying it, but once they did, they were surprised. It was unlike any other scroll they had found in that it contained clues to the location of 63 ( I believe) different caches of treasure from the Temple, ranging from gold and silver in enormous quantities to the golden utensils used in the Temple. Archaeologists and scholars have dreamed for over 40 years now about finding this treasure, and what is might portend for the future of Israel and that finding it would be the final capstone to a growing interest in rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem.
The book is is quite a page turner and action packed from beginning to end and covers a lot of geopolitical ground very astutely. He also has a new nonfiction book called Epicenter: Why the Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Future. I read the first chapter online and it picks up where his fiction leaves off, explaining what he thinks might happen and why. I'm not sure how this guy stayed under my radar for so long except that, politically, I have kind of unplugged myself lately, being pretty burned out and alienated by what has been going on in Washington lately, so the folks I used to listen to regularly, like Rush Limbaugh, I hardly ever hear anymore. I'm also totally out of touch with Christian publishing these days, and although he didn't start out with a Christian publisher, Joel Rosenberg's books are currently being put out by Tyndale (you know, the Left Behind guys). Anyway if you want a fascinating perspective on what's going on in the world, give this guy a read. I know I've got some catching up to do.
The book is is quite a page turner and action packed from beginning to end and covers a lot of geopolitical ground very astutely. He also has a new nonfiction book called Epicenter: Why the Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Future. I read the first chapter online and it picks up where his fiction leaves off, explaining what he thinks might happen and why. I'm not sure how this guy stayed under my radar for so long except that, politically, I have kind of unplugged myself lately, being pretty burned out and alienated by what has been going on in Washington lately, so the folks I used to listen to regularly, like Rush Limbaugh, I hardly ever hear anymore. I'm also totally out of touch with Christian publishing these days, and although he didn't start out with a Christian publisher, Joel Rosenberg's books are currently being put out by Tyndale (you know, the Left Behind guys). Anyway if you want a fascinating perspective on what's going on in the world, give this guy a read. I know I've got some catching up to do.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Now I'm saying this in Love...
It seems to me that, as dangerous as generalizations are, the Evangelical branch of the Church here in America has lost sight of it's mission in the world, and could stand to spend some time reading the Gospels from a fresh perspective. Standing up for one's values and beliefs in the face of a secular culture is admirable, but lets make sure that we are standing up for the right things. What is really more important? Letting society know that we disapprove of what they stand for and the way they live (even when scripture is clearly on our side), or showing these people the love of Christ? Is it really our primary job to make sure these people know what they are doing is wrong? It seems to me like that is the job of the Holy Spirit. Take a look at how Jesus did it. The main group of people he spent a lot of time pointing out sin to were the ones everyone acknowledged as the religious ones. It seems like we do it backwards. The ones he spent time hanging around are the ones we point fingers at and boycott. Don't get me wrong - moral standards are important, and we should never compromise our beliefs, but Jesus managed to find a perfect balance. He really did love the sinner. These days when "love the sinner but hate the sin" is mouthed, it usually means someone is about to get pounded over the head by someone else's dogma. Jesus loved, touched, spent time with, drank wine with the folks the religious leaders of the day would have nothing to do with. He loved these people, but never compromised his standards. Are we showing the love of Christ by telling someone that because they are a part of a certain lifestyle then we won't do business with them? If Nazareth's local harlot came to Jesus' carpenter shop to commission some new furniture, would he have turned her away because of her lifestyle? I'm thinking not.
It seems that the church is divided into two camps when it comes to certain issues. There are the churches who condone ( or minimize) the sin in question, and there are the churches who condemn the sin and proclaim that they love the sinner in question, but have a funny way of showing it. Scripture is pretty clear that you will know the followers of Jesus by their love, and in my humble opinion, if you have to tell someone that what you are showing them is love, then it might not be. It reminds me of when I hear someone say, "I don't mean to judge." That usually should be followed by the phrase, "but I am going to anyway."
I don't mean to be banging the table over this stuff but it has bothered me for a while. It's kind of like when I was a kid in the Baptist church, and I would read something in the Bible and wondered why we didn't believe that in the church today. I would usually get an explanation when I asked but it frequently sounded like theological double talk.
All I'm saying is that it seems like Jesus reached a lot more people doing it his way than we are by doing it ours. I am currently seeing things being done Jesus' way at the Vineyard more than I ever have anywhere else and it is very refreshing.
It seems that the church is divided into two camps when it comes to certain issues. There are the churches who condone ( or minimize) the sin in question, and there are the churches who condemn the sin and proclaim that they love the sinner in question, but have a funny way of showing it. Scripture is pretty clear that you will know the followers of Jesus by their love, and in my humble opinion, if you have to tell someone that what you are showing them is love, then it might not be. It reminds me of when I hear someone say, "I don't mean to judge." That usually should be followed by the phrase, "but I am going to anyway."
I don't mean to be banging the table over this stuff but it has bothered me for a while. It's kind of like when I was a kid in the Baptist church, and I would read something in the Bible and wondered why we didn't believe that in the church today. I would usually get an explanation when I asked but it frequently sounded like theological double talk.
All I'm saying is that it seems like Jesus reached a lot more people doing it his way than we are by doing it ours. I am currently seeing things being done Jesus' way at the Vineyard more than I ever have anywhere else and it is very refreshing.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Less is More
Well I have officially lost 50 lbs. now, and am feeling much better. I don't get tired quite as easily, and my legs and knees don't bother me quite as much, but I still have a good ways to go...
I set my first goal at 50 lbs. and as an incentive to help motivate myself, declared that I was going to invest in an MP3 player when I hit my mark. Well thanks to the support and generosity of several family members I am now doing my best to fill up a 4g iPod Nano (green, since they don't make a purple one). I actually did do a little research and talked to a few friends who have non-iPod type players as well as my brothers who both have iPods, and decided to drink the Kool-Aid (just kidding, calm down) and buy an Apple product. I have actually been using iTunes for several months and like the way it works. I also enjoy audiobooks, or more accurately, I used to enjoy audiobooks when I worked at a place that rented them many moons ago, but MP3 players are the logical format for listening to the unabridged audiobooks readily available these days so I haven't messed with them much, but now I plan on getting my feet wet.
Back to my first topic though, I have set my next goal and am working on my next 25 pounds. More updates to come!
I set my first goal at 50 lbs. and as an incentive to help motivate myself, declared that I was going to invest in an MP3 player when I hit my mark. Well thanks to the support and generosity of several family members I am now doing my best to fill up a 4g iPod Nano (green, since they don't make a purple one). I actually did do a little research and talked to a few friends who have non-iPod type players as well as my brothers who both have iPods, and decided to drink the Kool-Aid (just kidding, calm down) and buy an Apple product. I have actually been using iTunes for several months and like the way it works. I also enjoy audiobooks, or more accurately, I used to enjoy audiobooks when I worked at a place that rented them many moons ago, but MP3 players are the logical format for listening to the unabridged audiobooks readily available these days so I haven't messed with them much, but now I plan on getting my feet wet.
Back to my first topic though, I have set my next goal and am working on my next 25 pounds. More updates to come!
Bond? James Bond?
Well I have enjoyed Bond movies on TV for years and have several personal favorites that I watch when I see them on, however I don't recall having ever paid to see one in the theater until today. I suppose there haven't been inspiring Bond movies (as far as I'm concerned) since I have been old enough to have a say in what movies I attend. I enjoy most of the Sean Connery ones and the early and mid period Roger Moore ones, but after that they all start to look alike.
I was therefore surprised to find myself interested in the latest Bond movie after having seen a trailer and hearing a little about it. I shrugged when I heard the news about Pierce Brosnan being fired and Daniel Craig being cast. We went and saw it today and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Craig is not another prettyboy who seems afraid to get his suit dirty. The movie starts with him being promoted to double 0 status and portrays him as a efficient, capable killer with a penchant for excessive violence, and he doesn't play to a lot of the standard Bond cliches. When asked the eternal question, "shaken or stirred?", he responds, "Do I look like I give a damn?" Also the plot is actually interesting and not the standard "eccentric rich guy trying to take over the world from his secret hideout" scenario. The movie was a little longer than I expected but it was thoroughly enjoyable and will hopefully breath some life into a franchise that hasn't interested me in years - even when they show them free on tv. I reccommend it. Not deep but lots of fun.
I was therefore surprised to find myself interested in the latest Bond movie after having seen a trailer and hearing a little about it. I shrugged when I heard the news about Pierce Brosnan being fired and Daniel Craig being cast. We went and saw it today and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Craig is not another prettyboy who seems afraid to get his suit dirty. The movie starts with him being promoted to double 0 status and portrays him as a efficient, capable killer with a penchant for excessive violence, and he doesn't play to a lot of the standard Bond cliches. When asked the eternal question, "shaken or stirred?", he responds, "Do I look like I give a damn?" Also the plot is actually interesting and not the standard "eccentric rich guy trying to take over the world from his secret hideout" scenario. The movie was a little longer than I expected but it was thoroughly enjoyable and will hopefully breath some life into a franchise that hasn't interested me in years - even when they show them free on tv. I reccommend it. Not deep but lots of fun.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Baby Harkins
I want to congratulate Carter and Kelly Harkins on the birth of their baby boy, Reagan. I will repost the announcement on his site and recommend that you head over there if you want to see some pictures or video. Their site is aboutthebaby.com. You will both be great parents!
HEAR YE! HEAR YE! A NEW KING IN THE REALM!
Trumpet fanfare would not be enough to herald the amazing moment we witnessed today, at 2:32 pm CST. Reagan Dayle Harkins entered the world at 8 pounds, 20.5 inches long and completely and totally healthy and magnificent. Mom spent a few more minutes in surgery having a cyst removed (the hospital was running a two-fer deal) and is recovering remarkably well. Our hearts are filled with a tenderness and love that I must say is surprisingly protective and strong. I've held many babies and never felt what I feel today. This miracle of childbirth, and the amazing cloud of joy and contentment it brings has swallowed us whole. God is beyond good.
HEAR YE! HEAR YE! A NEW KING IN THE REALM!
Trumpet fanfare would not be enough to herald the amazing moment we witnessed today, at 2:32 pm CST. Reagan Dayle Harkins entered the world at 8 pounds, 20.5 inches long and completely and totally healthy and magnificent. Mom spent a few more minutes in surgery having a cyst removed (the hospital was running a two-fer deal) and is recovering remarkably well. Our hearts are filled with a tenderness and love that I must say is surprisingly protective and strong. I've held many babies and never felt what I feel today. This miracle of childbirth, and the amazing cloud of joy and contentment it brings has swallowed us whole. God is beyond good.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Diverse Tastes
I find myself listening to a lot of different things lately. I continue to dig Miles Davis, but more specifically I've been listening to Miles from the mid to late 50's - the Gil Evans stuff and others. Of course Kind of Blue but also Miles Ahead, Sketches of Spain, and Porgy and Bess. It's just so smooth and cool, its perfect for unwinding at the end of the day. Along the same lines, I've been digging the latest (I think) release by Diana Krall, From This Moment On. I have been familiar with her name, but had not heard much of her music and have enjoyed it. The album contains quite a few standards, including the namesake, and there are a number of arrangements that have some cool horns and swing nicely, but not too hard. She was actually on Letterman last week. (did anyone else catch Ventriloquist Week?)
When I'm in a completely different mood, I have been listening to a group my brother turned me on to, a band that could best be described as Irish Punk, Flogging Molly. Don't get carried away by the name. It comes from the fact that they used to play at an L.A. pub called Molly Malone so often that they felt like they were flogging a dead horse, and wearing out their welcome with the crowd. They feature a full complement of instruments that you would expect from traditional Irish folk music such as a violin, penny whistle, accordion, uilleann pipes and so forth but this is combined with a standard rock band and the effect is lots of fun. They get compared to the Pogues a lot but for my money are quite a bit more interesting. They even have written a few pirate songs. My brother first heard them, I believe, on the soundtrack from Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the Angelina Jolie - Brad Pitt thingy. Dave King, the lead singer/guitarist/songwriter was born in Dublin and was Catholic at least once in his life, based on some of the interesting references in his songs. It's great music in the car and very effective at drowning out the rap music coming from the next vehicle over at the stop light.
From the same general neck of the woods, inspiration-wise I also have a disc of music from the St. Thomas Episcopal High School Pipe and Drum Corps., who just returned from winning a fifth World Championship at the Highland Games in Scotland. ( I also fix their copiers) The album I have is a few years old I believe, but very good. I don't know, some people like bagpipes and some people cannot stand them. They seem to be very polarizing. And no, the disc I have has neither Amazing Grace or Scotland the Brave on it. I have a few other irons in the fire at the moment, musically but that's what's in my CD player currently. Yes I know CD players are so five minutes ago but I don't have an MP3 player yet.
When I'm in a completely different mood, I have been listening to a group my brother turned me on to, a band that could best be described as Irish Punk, Flogging Molly. Don't get carried away by the name. It comes from the fact that they used to play at an L.A. pub called Molly Malone so often that they felt like they were flogging a dead horse, and wearing out their welcome with the crowd. They feature a full complement of instruments that you would expect from traditional Irish folk music such as a violin, penny whistle, accordion, uilleann pipes and so forth but this is combined with a standard rock band and the effect is lots of fun. They get compared to the Pogues a lot but for my money are quite a bit more interesting. They even have written a few pirate songs. My brother first heard them, I believe, on the soundtrack from Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the Angelina Jolie - Brad Pitt thingy. Dave King, the lead singer/guitarist/songwriter was born in Dublin and was Catholic at least once in his life, based on some of the interesting references in his songs. It's great music in the car and very effective at drowning out the rap music coming from the next vehicle over at the stop light.
From the same general neck of the woods, inspiration-wise I also have a disc of music from the St. Thomas Episcopal High School Pipe and Drum Corps., who just returned from winning a fifth World Championship at the Highland Games in Scotland. ( I also fix their copiers) The album I have is a few years old I believe, but very good. I don't know, some people like bagpipes and some people cannot stand them. They seem to be very polarizing. And no, the disc I have has neither Amazing Grace or Scotland the Brave on it. I have a few other irons in the fire at the moment, musically but that's what's in my CD player currently. Yes I know CD players are so five minutes ago but I don't have an MP3 player yet.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
6 random facts about myself
Even though this is a bit late, I thought I'd respond to Mike Hon's post with a list of my own as a way of getting back into the swing of writing posts, and give everyone an update on myself. I've had an eventful month or so. Sunday the 23rd of June I went out to lunch after church, and then over to my wife's parents house. I began to feel poorly and we left early. I figured I had gotten some bad chicken at lunch. Well I began to feel worse as the evening went on, but hoped I could sleep it off. Monday morning dawned after a sleepless night and I knew I had to get to the emergency room. I had pain in my abdomen, but it wasn't localized and I had no idea what was going on. It turns out not only did I have appendicitis, but it had burst. My surgeon said it was the worst case he had ever seen. Well, I stayed in the hospital for four days and spent the next three weeks at home watching Maury Povitch and fighting off pneumonia. They all knew I was feeling lousy because I hardly ever touched the computer. Well, not only am I feeling better, but I've lost 30 pounds. Anyway enough with that. I carry on about being sick anymore and folks will think I'm LBJ hiking up my shirt and showing my scars in public. On to the list
1. Until this event I had never in my life been either in the hospital or emergency room since I was a few months old.
2. I have recently started listening to Flogging Molly, a band best described as Irish punk.
3. When our family first got a VCR in the early 80's the two movies we rented on our initial foray to the video store were 2001 and The Apple Dumpling Gang (Don Knotts and Tim Conway if memory serves)
4. I had a pet tarantula named Jezebel for a few years
5. I have never seen the movie E.T.
6. I used to have two cats named Pork and Beans (brother and sister)
Well that's all for now, but I promise to try and post more often.
1. Until this event I had never in my life been either in the hospital or emergency room since I was a few months old.
2. I have recently started listening to Flogging Molly, a band best described as Irish punk.
3. When our family first got a VCR in the early 80's the two movies we rented on our initial foray to the video store were 2001 and The Apple Dumpling Gang (Don Knotts and Tim Conway if memory serves)
4. I had a pet tarantula named Jezebel for a few years
5. I have never seen the movie E.T.
6. I used to have two cats named Pork and Beans (brother and sister)
Well that's all for now, but I promise to try and post more often.
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