He would look and sound like this monstrosity.
This kind of performance gives carols a bad name.
Category: Christianity
How to pick up (Christian) ladies: tips from Greg D
This slightly creepy guy named “Greg D” runs a slightly creepy website (which is now “under construction” so you might need to check out the cached version. And also includes video tips. His “meetup” group is still running.
Conversation starter: “Are you in a gang”…
Defining Faith
My biggest problem with the New Atheists boils down to this:
That’s not faith. Here’s how Hebrews 11 defines faith:
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
I would suggest, humble readers, that this definition of faith – belief in the unseen – is not the same as deliberately not seeing. Which is the way most atheists seem to frame it. Seeing something and denying it is not faith – which is a problem for some Christians, I’ll admit. But thought and faith are not in opposition – faith simply deals with that which we hope and do not see. I don’t have faith that a chair will hold me. I trust that it will. Because I have watched it, or experienced it, holding me. That’s where, I think, faith and trust are different.
If I had found any contradictory evidence (ala point 1 of the above definition), ie if I had seen it – then it would no longer be faith keeping me in a position (according to Hebrews 11) but stupidity. Taking something “on faith” does not mean not seeking to confirm the thing by investigation, or observation – and it does not mean holding a position contrary to logic, reason, or observation. This is where I think Atheists 2.0 have it most wrong. At least second most wrong. I think not believing in God is where they have it most wrong…
That is all.
Kids say the darndest things about Christmas
This cute little nativity story pretty comprehensively sums up the modern confusion about Christmas. I walked into EB (a computer games store) yesterday and noticed their current catalogue reads “What Would Santa Do”…
Trials and Tribulations
After a few days holidaying in Airlie Beach and catching up with friends in Townsville, which have been really nice, tomorrow sees me “trial for license” – part of the ongoing process of becoming a Presbyterian minister.
I’m preaching at a fairly old school Presbyterian Church in Townsville in front of a few members of the North Queensland presbytery who will “appraise” my performance and pass judgment on my ministry suitability.
I’m preaching on the Beatitudes. Here’s a paragraph from my sermon.
“But I want to suggest, at this point, that we’re not looking at the beatitudes right if we understand them as a set of rules to follow to be part of God’s kingdom. I grew up thinking that the word “beatitude” was a description of what these verses mean – I thought they were a set of instructions for how we should behave, and what our attitudes should be. The beatitudes. But I think the meaning of these verses does hinge on what the word beatitudes actually means. It’s latin. It means “blessings.” And it picks up on that repeated “blessed are” phrase at the start of each verse.
The beatitudes aren’t about what we have to do to be in the kingdom – and in fact, as soon as we read them that way we’re slipping into the same trap as the Pharisees. We’re making rules and regulations for belonging to the kingdom.”
Then I say that the beatitudes are about God’s blessing of us, through Jesus, whose life and ministry are modeled on the beatitudes. Doesn’t seem heretical to me… how about to you?
Moses: The Waterbender
I didn’t see that movie about the kid who could play with air. Who needs that stuff when you’ve got the Bible.
Check out Moses. From Zero-Lives’ Flickr.
Study finds Christians less likely to be brand fanboys
So, it turns out that having some sort of religious affiliation is likely to mean you’re not really excited about brands.
I have two immediate thoughts when reading this story:
1. Christians are too busy being fanboys about Christian brands (like theological movements, and ministry figures).
2. These people obviously didn’t focus enough on Apple in their research.
“The researchers theorized that both brands and religion contribute to a sense of self-worth and that the two sources of support would be in competition. Their findings confirmed that people who find more solace in religion are less entranced by brand names.”
“In an Internet-based study, 356 participants (68% Christian, 19% nonreligious, 4% Jewish, and the balance Buddhist, Muslim or “other”) were asked to make six choices between brand-name and generic goods, with realistic price differences. The researchers classified the products as either “expressive” (Ralph Lauren sunglasses vs. WalMart’s) or “functional” (Motrin vs. CVS ibuprofen). Subjects then answered 10 questions designed to gauge the importance of faith in their lives.”
The survey seems to suggest that quality is more of a factor for Christians (or people from other religions) than identifying with a brand. I suspect it’s because the more Christian you become the less you need a brand to create or reinforce your identity.
“A subject who attended worship services at least weekly was roughly 20% less likely to select an “expressive” brand than one who did not; there was no difference in the functional category.”
Are you a Christian and into Social Media?
If you are, and you have thoughts about how to use Facebook and Twitter in ministry – then you should totally head to Venn Theology (which I assume you all read already) and comment on this post. Do it.
Image: Well timed Dilbert from Church Crunch.
In a week or two I’ll start not cross promoting so much because I’ll assume you’ve all been made aware of it. But in the meantime, I like this post a lot. And I think it’s important and I’d like to make it a bit of a resource post when I have conversations with friends who are in ministry and are thinking about how to use “social media”… I have those conversations often.
How to keep your congregation in line
I imagine being in ministry is like training dogs to be obedient. All those pesky independent thinkers to keep in line. Which is why I’m glad this guy preached this sermon. So I can point people to this post – to remind them to RESPECT MY (future) AUTHORITY.
Jesus is ___: Fill in the blank
In an advertising campaign reminiscent of Australia’s Jesus All About Life campaign – a church in the states is running a “Jesus is ____” website asking for people to submit their ideas about who Jesus is. A nice idea. Hijacked by atheists. So if you’re not an atheist, and you don’t think Jesus is a baseballer hitting at 0.216, then head on over and try to even out the numbers. This is the problem with user generated content in the day and age of pharyngulation. Atheists are aware of these campaigns and hit them pretty quickly. For giggles.
I like the campaign.
Here’s their blurb:
“What goes in the blank?
Everyone has an opinion of who Jesus is. That’s why this website exists: as a platform for people to express who Jesus is to them.
Jesus is a lot of things, but the answer is in the Bible. It says that Jesus is the Son of God, who came to earth on a mission to restore mankind to God. By living a perfect life, dying on a cross, and coming back to life, His mission was a success. We can know God because of Jesus.
So maybe the reality of who Jesus is remains too big for the blank.”
And the promo video.
JESUS IS ___. from The City Church on Vimeo.
Outnumbered: Discussing Religion
I like it when comedians and television shows talk about Christianity – because it gives a real insight into what people actually think/are prepared to laugh at when it comes to the gospel.
The BBC show Outnumbered doesn’t see Christianity as a taboo.
This one has been around for a while…
Save Christmas: Kill an elf
Findo found this story about a minister so keen to defend the honour of Christmas that he’s executing a satanic elf to make the point.
Elves, of course, are servants of Satan. Just like Hitler.
This weekend, Knudsen’s hatred for the creature he says “comes from the devil” manifested itself in the form of a mock execution by hanging of a Christmas elf outside his church.
Around the elf’s neck was a sign reading “we reject Satan and all his works and all his empty promises”, a reference to the Christian baptism rite.
Knudsen said decorating with elves at Christmas was “comparable to decorating with Nazi flags”, and described elves of all sorts as “poltergeists that come from the devil and make children sick”.
Driscoll on engaging culture
Following on from the excellent video about politics, Driscoll just posted this on his blog regarding a Christian approach to culture. It is, in my opinion, a thoroughly Pauline approach, in the next few days I’ll be posting an essay I wrote (at Venn Theology) unpacking Paul’s approach to areas of gospel freedom.
Read Driscoll’s whole post. It’s worth it. He apparently said he liked Jay Z’s music the other day on Facebook, and the crowd went wild.
“What I’ve found over the years is that whenever I speak about something culturally related from a Christian perspective, a debate rages. This has been the case since the earliest days of my ministry. This is because I consider myself a missionary in culture.”
“As a missionary, I do not view culture passively, merely as entertainment. Rather, I engage it actively as a sermon that is preaching a worldview.”
So, as a missionary, I find it a good thing to be aware of what is going on in culture in general as well as in music in particular. Though not a musician myself, I have some five thousand songs on my iTunes account from a wide range of genres and styles. Music is among the most defining and revealing aspects of any culture, and so in addition to enjoying some music, I study lots of music.
“As a missionary, you will need to watch television shows and movies, listen to music, read books, peruse magazines, attend events, join organizations, surf websites, and befriend people that you might not like to better understand people whom Jesus loves. For example, I often read magazines intended for teenage girls, not because I need to take tests to discover if I am compatible with my boyfriend or because I need leg-waxing tips, but because I want to see young women meet Jesus, so I want to understand them and their culture better.”
“The attitude we have for our children is the same we have for our church. This is why we have a pastor leading film and theology discussions. This is why we have a large contingency of Christians who are in the music business but do not wave the flag of Christian music. Rather, their theology informs their songwriting and artistry. Like our children, our goal is not to create a safe Christian subculture as much as to train missionaries to live in culture like Jesus.”
“As we engage culture (watching films and television, listening to music, reading books, shopping at stores, and so on), we must do so as theologians and missionaries filled with wisdom and discernment, seeking to better grasp life in our culture. We do this so we can begin the transforming work of the gospel in our culture by contextualizing the good news of Jesus. Not compromising. Not changing. Contextualizing. Practically, this means doing what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:22–23, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”
The truth is that every ministry is contextualized, the only difference is to which culture and which year of that culture. Everything from pews to chairs, sound systems, projectors, suits, and a printed Bible in the English language are very recent missiogical contextualizations in light of the two thousand years of Christianity.
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