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Monthly Archives for April 2009

Homeland Insecurity

If I didn’t know that there was a God, I’d be really, really afraid at what Obama and his crew are up to, and what it’s doing to the country.  But, unlike the millions of unthinking people who have put their hope in the psuedo-messiah, I do have faith in a higher power (one which the Big O seems reluctant to acknowledge, now that he’s been elected).

I do think that “faith” is the right word to describe O’s following.  With the economy tanking, people losing jobs (of which I am one, by the way), and national security always an issue, I do believe millions of people have put an irrational faith in the O, as a defense against despondency and panic.  I can’t help but draw parallels between Obama’s meteoric rise to power and that of another.

Here’s some of O’s “accomplishments” in his first few months in office:

  • Signed the largest spending bill in U.S. history, (creating many times more debt than Bush did in all 8 years in office)
  • Bowed to foreign leaders
  • Apologized to foreign leaders for America’s arrogance (ironic?)
  • Met and tried to make friends with every wacko leader and dictator he could find (including one who has called O an ignoramus)
  • Announced plans for nuclear disarmament on the same day that North Korea test launches one of theirs
  • Oh yeah, appointed a slough of tax evaders to his cabinet
  • Made Georgetown, a Catholic University, cover up the “IHS” (the first 3 letters of Jesus in Greek) so it wouldn’t be seen while he was speaking.

There’s more, but you know that.  Many of those who voted for Obama-Biden joined in the April 15 Tea Parties (although the “faithful” did their best to portray those attending as racist, redneck morons). Now, we have the Department of Homeland Security’s new report, warning local law enforcement agencies to be on the watch for right-wing terrorists.  This, by the way, from Janet Napolitano, who has refused to say anything publically about “Muslim terrorists” as not to be politically incorrect.

So, who are these right-wing terrorists?  None other than returning soldiers from Iraq, pro-lifers, those concerning with illegal immigration, and those who favor state-rights over Federal rights.

What?

I’m starting to miss Bill Clinton.  At least he wasn’t naive.   Thinking of Obama and Napolitano as naive and foolish is actually giving them the benefit of the doubt; the alternative is more frightening.  But, what I really fear is that if Obama and Co. continue this course of conduct, it will prompt rebellion; in that, the Homeland Security report is probably correct. The Administration can only push people so far before something snaps.  Clinton understood this, and quickly took a more centrist position.  I don’t know that the O is perceptive enough to realize this, or that he cares; I’m hoping he is.

We are undoubtedly in a state of national insecurity; the general populace is insecure about the economy, the national debt, and the real terrorists – the ones with psychotic leaders and WOMDs.  The Administration appears insecure about our own people.  This could be a problem.

Written on 21 April 2009 by me under Politics/Current Events with 3 Comments
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The Lutheral Liturgy, Part 5: The Communion

For newcomers, I’ve been writing a series of posts on the Lutheran Liturgy as found in the 1958 Service Book & Hymnal, filling it in with other liturgical-related posts.  I’m learning much in the process, and will probably continue to explore the origins, progression and meaning of liturgical worship.  I will probably even dig out a rather large book called The Lutheran Liturgy that was given to me many years ago, and which has looked good on my shelf ever since.

In keeping with the earliest known liturgies (which date back to the Apostles themselves, according to tradition), the Lutheran liturgy is in 2 parts: The Liturgy of the Word, which I’ve covered in the first 4 posts, and the Liturgy of The Communion, which begins with The Thanksgiving, which is generally sung:

The Lord by with you
And with thy spirit.
Lift up your hears.
We life them up unto the Lord.
Let us give thanks unto the Lord our God.
It is meet and right so to do.

It is truly meet, right and salutary, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto thee, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty, Everlasting God:

Therefore with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious Name; evermore praising thee, and saying:

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabbaoth;
Heaven and earth are full of they glory;
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord;
Hosanna in the highest.

Then, the Pastor recites the Words of Institution (1 Cor. 11:22-25).  It is interesting that this, indeed, appears to be a part of the liturgy in use in the 1st Century.  This is followed by the Lord’s Prayer, concluding with:

The peace of the Lord be with you alway.
And with thy spirit.

Then the Angus Dei is sung:

O Christ, thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.
O Christ, thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.
O Christ, thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, grant us thy peace. Amen

Hymns are sung during communion, then the Nunc Dimittis is sung:

Lord, now lettest they servant depart in peace:
according to thy word;
For min eyes have seen thy salvation:
which thou hast prepared vefore the face of all people;
A light to lighten the Gentiles:
and the glory of they people Israel.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost:
As it was in the the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end, Amen.

“Then shall be said the prayer.”

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

And his mercy endures forever.

We give thanks to thee, Almighty God, that thou hast refreshed us with this thy salutary gift; and we beseech thee, of they mercy , to strengthen us through the same gift, in faith toward thee and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, thy dear Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end.

Amen.

The Lord be with you.
And with thy spirit.
Bless we the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Then the pastor says or sings the Benediction:

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee.
The Lord make his face shine upon thee
and  gracious unto thee.
The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee,
and give thee peace.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

Amen, Amen, Amen.

A recessional hymn is sung, and we go home, or to Grandma’s for lunch.

Written on 20 April 2009 by me under Church, The Liturgy with 4 Comments
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More thoughts on liturgy

From Sacred Ground Music:

Liturgy is gaining popularity again. It has wide appeal to emergent communities because it seems to make the sacred accessable, and hearkens back to a time where the church seemed to be more…pure…authentic. Whether this is a passing trend remains to be seen. I hope it isn’t! Liturgy has much to offer, and I continue to grow in my appreciation of it.

First, liturgy helps us to keep the facts of faith from becoming muddled. The Apostles and Nicene creeds and hymns like the Nunc Dimmitis and Magnificat witness to a message that doesn’t change with history and trends. Whereas the speed of life seems to narrow our focus to the tyranny of the so-called urgent, what liturgy points to remains unchanged and becomes a vital source for touching the eyes of our hearts and restoring our sight.

Second, liturgy is pedagogy: a repeated reenactment of the redemption story. In this reenactment we are doing more than going through the motions of some kind of divine skit. Redemption happens. Through confession and absolution, scripture readings, the preaching of God’s word, and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper God meets us with his gifts of forgiveness and strength to live our faith. Spiritual amnesia comes easily. The repeated reminder of our need for grace and forgiveness is vital for us to remain what Luther called “pure receivers”. Without this, we so easily drift out of the arena of God’s favor. In a word, liturgy keeps me humble. It doesn’t leave room for the cancer of self-effort.

h/t to Paul T. McCain

Written on 19 April 2009 by me under Church, The Liturgy with 6 Comments
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Easter reflections

In America, we typically look ahead, rather than behind. Once a holiday is over, the decorations are ripped down and packed away, and it’s off to plan the next big event. But, just give me a moment to offer a couple of thoughts about Easter, as I’m still celebrating.

Easter has not been my favorite holiday, aside from maple cream flavored Easter eggs (which I can no longer eat). This was especially true for the last 20-some years, as Easter reminds me of my Dad’s death.  For most of my life I have tended to separate holiday celebrations from any religious significance, being one of those who sees all days alike (Rom. 14:5), in spite of having a very incarnational theology.  However, over the last couple of years I have become more and more incarnational, as well as liturgical. Christmas has taken on a new meaning for me, as has Easter.  I realize that the dates are somewhat arbitrary, but that’s not the point; the point is our meaning and purpose in the celebration.  As it turns out, Easter has become my favorite holiday.

Easter has always remained the focus of the Eastern liturgical year, while in the West Christmas took precedent.  I honestly can see both points; the incarnation is astounding. On the other hand, the Resurrection is the foundation of our faith; as Paul pointed out in 1 Cor. 15, if Christ didn’t rise from the dead, then neither shall we – and then we are to be “pitied more than all men.”

This year, I was struck by a new realization that also emphasizes the importance of Easter: atheists hate the Easter holiday.  This surprised me at first; I expected them to brush it off and go about life as normal. After all, most Evangelical Christians don’t really put a lot of stock in the day itself.  And, like Christmas, Easter has it’s share of non-religious aspects: chocolate bunnies, egg hunts, and so on.  We all know these accoutrements come from pagan fertility celebrations, so what’s the big deal?

Joe over at Debunking Christianity posted an “Easter Sunrise Blasphemy” which gives his perspective. Then, as I perused a few more atheist blogs Easter morning, I started to see a trend.  Whether it’s the whole concept of the cross and what that means – sin, judgment and death – or the meaning of the Resurrection, it apparently hits a nerve wity many atheists, much more so than Christmas.  Perhaps it’s that Easter is exclusive (even though most of us believe Christ died and rose for all mankind); or, perhaps it’s that Easter is intolerant of other faiths, or non-faiths. Or, perhaps Easter is simply the watershed issue in Christianity: either Christians are wrong and celebrating in vain,  or we’re right and non-Christians are missing out.

Whatever the issue, as I read through these posts, I kept thinking, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of salvation to all those who believe.”  Easter is exclusive, in that only those who have experienced resurrection can understand and share in the celebration. Easter is also intolerant and divisive; it says boldly, “we’re right” (and by default, “you’re wrong”).  Or, in other words, “I’m resurrected (and you’re just dead).”  It is the watershed of Christianity.  And I, for one, make no apologies for this; in fact, I celebrate Easter, along with millions of other Christians.  This is not to say that I don’t have sorrow for those like Joe who say, “I hate Easter.”

Easter – the Gospel – also happens to be inclusive: It is available to all.  However, as it turns out, Easter is only exclusive in that requires death in order to celebrate it.

Ay, there’s the rub…

Written on 15 April 2009 by me under Theological Musings with 1 Comment
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Atheist convert A.N. Wilson deconverts (back to Christianity)

Perhaps one of the more famous Christians-turned-atheist is author A.N. Wilson, who wrote biographies of people like C.S. Lewis & Tolstoy, as well as the “demythologizing” Jesus: A Life.   In this morning’s Mail Online, he writes,

For much of my life, I, too, have been one of those who did not believe. It was in my young manhood that I began to wonder how much of the Easter story I accepted, and in my 30s I lost any religious belief whatsoever.

Like many people who lost faith, I felt anger with myself for having been ‘conned’ by such a story. I began to rail against Christianity, and wrote a book, entitled Jesus, which endeavoured to establish that he had been no more than a messianic prophet who had well and truly failed, and died.

Why did I, along with so many others, become so dismissive of Christianity?

He blames the anti-Christian attitudes of Britain for much of his loss of faith, which “lends weight to the fervour of the anti-God fanatics, such as the writer Christopher Hitchens and the geneticist Richard Dawkins, who think all the evil in the world is actually caused by religion.”  He discusses some of these attitudes, then writes,

For ten or 15 of my middle years, I, too, was one of the mockers. But, as time passed, I found myself going back to church, although at first only as a fellow traveller with the believers, not as one who shared the faith that Jesus had truly risen from the grave. Some time over the past five or six years – I could not tell you exactly when – I found that I had changed.

When I took part in the procession last Sunday and heard the Gospel being chanted, I assented to it with complete simplicity.

He then goes on to explain in part why he began to once again believe – and it is not perhaps what you would think, unless you understood the true nature of Christianity, as celebrated in Easter.  He concludes the article with

Materialist atheism says we are just a collection of chemicals. It has no answer whatsoever to the question of how we should be capable of love or heroism or poetry if we are simply animated pieces of meat.

The Resurrection, which proclaims that matter and spirit are mysteriously conjoined, is the ultimate key to who we are. It confronts us with an extraordinarily haunting story.

J. S. Bach believed the story, and set it to music. Most of the greatest writers and thinkers of the past 1,500 years have believed it.

But an even stronger argument is the way that Christian faith transforms individual lives – the lives of the men and women with whom you mingle on a daily basis, the man, woman or child next to you in church tomorrow morning.

Christ is risen indeed!  There is hope; but then, some of us already knew that.

Written on 14 April 2009 by me under Faith, Science & Doubt with 1 Comment
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More Bart Ehrman, Interrupted

I’ve been posting a bit about Bart Ehrman’s ridiculous book, Jesus, Interrupted, and linking to Ben Witherington‘s series (now up to part 4) examining Ehrman’s claims.  In post #4, BW writes,

The early church, as we begin to see already in Papias, was confident that their ultimate source documents went back to apostles, prophets, eyewitnesses and their co-workers, which is why these 27 documents are in the NT. They were composed by Paul (with help of scribes and co-workers), Peter (1 Peter with help of Silas probably), Mark, Luke (both co-workers of both Peter and Paul), the 4th Evangelist (drawing on Beloved Disciple written sources. The Beloved Disciple composed 1-3 John himself), the compiler of Matthew, James, Jude, perhaps Apollos in the case of Hebrews, John of Patmos, and at the very end of the NT period, the compiler of 2 Peter, drawing on Petrine and other materials.

In short, the NT can be traced back to about 8 people, either eyewitness apostles, or co-workers of such eyewitnesses and apostles. Early Christianity’s leaders were largely literate, and some of them, like Paul and the author of Hebrews, were first rate rhetoricians as well.

The post contains an immense amount of information on how to evaluate ancient literature, and specifically on the authorship and integrity of the New Testament documents.  I don’t know who needs this more, the atheists who are waving Ehrman’s book like a flag, or fundamentalists.

Every Christian should have some real understanding of where the Bible came from and why it’s believable; otherwise, fools like Ehrman come along with their incredibly bad scholarship, or claims about “other gospels,” throwing people to and fro.  The Bible is an extremely reliable set of ancient documents, supported by other documents. It doesn’t exist in a vacuum, as many people seem to think.  It didn’t just fall from the sky, and it wasn’t handed over to Joseph Smith to read with magic glasses.

One book I really want to read – when I have time – is Jesus and the Eyewitnesses by Richard Bauckham (mentioned by BW in his post).  Another I am adding to my list is BW’s future book What’s In A Word, whenever that comes out.  These days it’s not enough to slap a bumper sticker on your car or wear a WWJD bracelet (not that it ever was), or live from emotional high to emotional high; Christians are faced with all kinds of ridiculous claims by people looking for reasons not to believe. We should all be ready with enough knowledge of the truth to call a fool a fool.

Written on 14 April 2009 by me under Faith, Science & Doubt, Reviews with 1 Comment
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The Great Divorce

I think my favorite book of all time has to be C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce.  In fact, if there were ever another book to be considered inspired, I would have to give it my vote.  Lewis does a remarkable job of seeing into the hearts and minds of men, and I suspect all of us can see ourselves in one or more of the characters.

Tonight I had the pleasure of seeing Anthony Lawton bring Lewis’ fable to life in an 80-minute one-man dramatization.  Lawton did a marvelous job of condensing the story without losing its impact, and of playing all the characters.  You can go here to see a 9-minute video clip.  Tonite I was amazed not only by Lawton’s performance, but also – again – by the story itself.

The point Lewis is making in the story is that people who end up in hell would rather be there than in Heaven, and to force them to live in Heaven would be an act of cruelty.  As Lewis develops his characters, you can see that this in fact would be the case.  At the very least, people who end up in hell do so by choice.

I subscribe to a number of atheist blogs, because I’m interested in seeing if anyone has come up with a reasonable reason for not believing in God. So far, even from those who claim to be quite rational and logical, I’ve yet to find one. In fact, I keep coming back to Lewis’ thinking in The Great Divorce.  Atheism is essentially a moral choice, not intellectual.  I am surprised, actually, at how many times immorality plays in to people’s loss of faith (even though they deny it).  For example, it seems that many people just don’t want to be told they require forgiveness.

I was wondering if reading The Great Divorce would have an impact on peoples’ atheism, but I honestly think that most would simply respond as one of the characters in the book.  I could be wrong, and hope that I am.

Written on 11 April 2009 by me under Faith, Science & Doubt, Reviews, Theological Musings with No Comments

Various views on liturgy

Just in time to fit in to my series on Liturgy, here’s an interesting collection of thoughts on the importance of liturgical worship.

Written on 10 April 2009 by me under Church, The Liturgy with 1 Comment
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As I was saying…

Bart Ehrman is certainly getting his 15 minutes of fame; or at least infamy:

The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Bart Ehrman
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

In my opinion, Bart Ehrman qualifies as a fool.   I haven’t read his book yet, but everything I hear from him is nonsense.   There’s so much good scholarship out there… he apparently avoided all of it- quite a task.

In that regard, Michael Patton offers a look at how the Apostles were martyred as supporting evidence to the truth of the Resurrection.

Written on 10 April 2009 by me under Theological Musings with 2 Comments
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Bart Ehrman and the End of Reputable Scholarship

Bart Ehrman is getting a whole lot of press lately (if blogs count as “press”).  Ehrman is a Bible Scholar who has recently written Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the hidden contradictions in the Bible, where he points out various errors and inconsistencies in the Gospel accounts.  Or, says he does, anyway.  So far, all he’s done is get a bunch of atheists – and others who are either ignorant or just looking for a reason not to believe in God – excited.  Although these folks claim to be wise, they reveal something else entirely (see Romans 1:22), which again leads me to believe that for most atheists, atheism is a moral choice, rather than intellectual.

Even a marginal study shows that the New Testament documents are quite remarkable,  and not the error-filled and questionable documents people like Ehrman claim they are.  Much of the problem, it seems, is applying modern criteria to ancient documents and cultures. (This might actually be good, considering how inaccurate the modern news generally is.  I have learned over the years not to trust anything I read or hear 100%; every single news story I’ve read involving situations of which I have first-hand knowledge, has been incredibly inaccurate.  I can only assume, then, the the stories I no nothing about are just as inaccurate.)

For example, Ehrman criticizes the Gospel authors for not including every single word Jesus said on the cross.  Perhaps someone should have told Matthew, Mark, et al. that this was the expectation of readers in the future.   Here’s a quote from Jesus, Interrupted that was “mined” by John Loftus over at Debunking Christianity:

Why was the tomb supposedly empty? I say supposedly because, frankly, I don’t know that it was. Our very first reference to Jesus’ tomb being empty is in the Gospel of Mark, written forty years later by someone living in a different country who had heard it was empty. How would he know?…Suppose…that Jesus was buried by Joseph of Arimathea…and then a couple of Jesus’ followers, not among the twelve, decided that night to move the body somewhere more appropriate…But a couple of Roman legionnaires are passing by, and catch these followers carrying the shrouded corpse through the streets. They suspect foul play and confront the followers, who pull their swords as the disciples did in Gethsemane. The soldiers, expert in swordplay, kill them on the spot. They now have three bodies, and no idea where the first one came from. Not knowing what to do with them, they commandeer a cart and take the corpses out to Gehenna, outside town, and dump them. Within three or four days the bodies have deteriorated beyond recognition. Jesus’ original tomb is empty, and no one seems to know why.

Is this scenario likely? Not at all. Am I proposing this is what really happened? Absolutely not. Is it more probable that something like this happened than that a miracle happened and Jesus left the tomb to ascend to heaven? Absolutely! From a purely historical point of view, a highly unlikely event is far more probable than a virtually impossible one…” [See pages 171-179]

Ah, yes. This certainly sounds like the kind of scholarship and intelligent analysis that I would expect from a Bible Scholar… but of course I am being sarcastic.  But, it doesn’t have to be intelligent if it tells dunderheads what they want to hear.

Ben Witherington has written a couple of posts that exposes some of Ehrman’s many errors, and from my reading some exerpts and interviews with Ehrman, I would tend to agree with Witherington’s analysis.  I haven’t read the whole book yet, but I will – I am getting a review copy sent to me as part of  TheOOZE’s Viral Blogger network.  I haven’t figured out the angle yet- I know there is one, I just haven’t found it.  Regardless, the book will come, and I will review it – fairly, after I’ve read it myself.

Ehrman may be getting his 15 minutes of fame, but I don’t think he’s gaining any respect from the truly wise.

Written on 09 April 2009 by me under Reviews, Theological Musings with 2 Comments
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