is such that I find this quite amusing:
YouTube - library ninja episode 1
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
Something I Hate
First off, Aunt Martha always told me I shouldn't use the word "Hate". This was one of her favorite mini-lectures, right up there with the evils of sugar *and* artificial sweeteners (no sweets for the wicked?). That said, I've looked up the word hate, and it means "extreme dislike", and as I won't be applying the term to individuals, but rather to things, I think I'm on pretty solid moral ground with this post (uh, wait, was I just being arrogant?). Anyway....
I hate...Glossy Christianity: I think the production quality of Jesus' ministry was nil. Can you see Jesus scouting out a locale, saying to Himself "Yeah, I think with the dramatic backdrop of this historic place, a few lepers to heal, and a couple of numbskull scribes to throw me some lame questions which I will summarily knock out of the park, I should be able to really do a great work for the Father!"
Yet production quality seems to be the rallying cry of Evangelical Christianity in America. How much energy goes into 'producing' a worship service? Into 'producing' successful (i.e. lots of people in attendance) church programs?
Of course, being thoughtful and deliberate are important, and God wants us to use our minds. Still, there is a thin yet critical line between being thoughtful and considerate and being contriving and manipulative. In the former instance we leave the results to God and seek to honor Him with the means while in the latter we don't trust God with the results and as a result feel licensed to play with the means in order to achieve the "good" results we're after (aka the end justifies the means).
I'm not saying churches shouldn't use modern technology or modern music, I'm just saying I think we've all gone a bit overboard trying to be 'hip' (that means 'dope' for all you millenials) and impressive. I know the generation under 40 is very 'visual' and that they are impressed by high-quality multi-sensory presentations. But as impressive as our powerpoints and videos may be, they will never have the power or impact of God's truth and love, and if we spend too much time tweaking dials to produce a desired effect we might miss the chance to do great things for God.
I hate...Glossy Christianity: I think the production quality of Jesus' ministry was nil. Can you see Jesus scouting out a locale, saying to Himself "Yeah, I think with the dramatic backdrop of this historic place, a few lepers to heal, and a couple of numbskull scribes to throw me some lame questions which I will summarily knock out of the park, I should be able to really do a great work for the Father!"
Yet production quality seems to be the rallying cry of Evangelical Christianity in America. How much energy goes into 'producing' a worship service? Into 'producing' successful (i.e. lots of people in attendance) church programs?
Of course, being thoughtful and deliberate are important, and God wants us to use our minds. Still, there is a thin yet critical line between being thoughtful and considerate and being contriving and manipulative. In the former instance we leave the results to God and seek to honor Him with the means while in the latter we don't trust God with the results and as a result feel licensed to play with the means in order to achieve the "good" results we're after (aka the end justifies the means).
I'm not saying churches shouldn't use modern technology or modern music, I'm just saying I think we've all gone a bit overboard trying to be 'hip' (that means 'dope' for all you millenials) and impressive. I know the generation under 40 is very 'visual' and that they are impressed by high-quality multi-sensory presentations. But as impressive as our powerpoints and videos may be, they will never have the power or impact of God's truth and love, and if we spend too much time tweaking dials to produce a desired effect we might miss the chance to do great things for God.
Interesting Quotes
“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.” Albert Einstein - 20th Century
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much." Jesus Christ - 1st Century
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much." Jesus Christ - 1st Century
Friday, March 02, 2007
Claims swirl around 'tomb of Jesus' | csmonitor.com
Now that my faith has been utterly destroyed by Linda Hamilton's ex, I suppose I will have to choose between a life of existentialist hedonism or Wicca (free Stevie Nicks solo album for the next 1000 new converts).
The frightening thing is how poor the science and reasoning behind this particular claim is. I find the position that states "I just don't believe this Jesus guy came back from the dead, if he existed at all" much more reasonable than this cockamamie conglomeration of half-evidence. But then again, we Christians are a fool-hardy group of ninnies, and maybe the scathing condescension of Richard Dawkins and intriguing voice-overs of the latest Discovery Channel special will be what it takes to finally stop the insanity of believing God exists and that He came to earth 2000 years ago to reconcile us to Himself.
The frightening thing is how poor the science and reasoning behind this particular claim is. I find the position that states "I just don't believe this Jesus guy came back from the dead, if he existed at all" much more reasonable than this cockamamie conglomeration of half-evidence. But then again, we Christians are a fool-hardy group of ninnies, and maybe the scathing condescension of Richard Dawkins and intriguing voice-overs of the latest Discovery Channel special will be what it takes to finally stop the insanity of believing God exists and that He came to earth 2000 years ago to reconcile us to Himself.
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