The Burr in the Burgh

Hey, check this out! The Admission Department of Concordia Theological Seminary-Fort Wayne, IN now has a blog. Here it is. It's called Concordia TheoBLOGical Seminary. Cute, eh? Please come by and say howdy to me and the gang. And check back often too because we plan to post daily.

It's a dud, folks. I went to see it today and it's just not that good of a movie. Aside from Pullman's atheistic agenda, this movie is mostly a bore. Seemingly, not many folks are rushing out to see it. Check this out. It only made about 9 million bucks on opening night. The latest Harry Potter flick made over 100 million on it's first night.

I love this reviewer's take. It's hilarious.

The Admission Department of Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, IN is planning to write a blog. I'm pretty excited about. We're seeing it as an opportunity not just to post information but to have a conversation with anyone/everyone but especially those who see themselves serving Christ in a Church vocation.

But here is where I could really use your advice. We want our blog to be funny, serious, edgy, and conventional. So you see our problem.

First, we need a name. I want the name to have a bit of jazz. It needs to be sticky, y'know, to stay in the mind. I've thought of lots of possibilities, but mostly they are dull. Maybe I'm too picky. My personal favorite so far has been The Maggot Sack, a reference to a famous Luther quote where he talks about human frailty. Now that's a sticky name. But a lot of people whose opinions I value have been less than enthused. Weirded out, but not enthused. So give me names people!

My second quandary has to do with which blogging service to use. I've been on Blogger for several years with Burr and I am generally pleased. But I figured this was a good opportunity to examine some of the other main services. The two contenders right now, other than Blogger are Typepad and Wordpress.

Without question, Wordpress seems like the most versatile. But it also seem like you need to be a computer programmer to use it. Which I ain't. As much as I like what I've seen so far, I don't have the time to spend all night trying to update my blog.

Typepad appears to be more powerful than Blogger in some ways and much easier to use than Wordpress for a novice. BUT, the big thing I don't like about Typepad so far is the very limited look. All their templates look basically the same. Typepad blogs are great for content but seriously stink in terms of style. I'm after both. If you know an easy, inexpensive way, to make a Typepad blog look like it did NOT come off an assembly line, please let me know.

Blogger is still a strong option because, like Wordpress, it's free. It's also the easiest to use. It's much more feature rich than it used to be. And here's the biggie, I already know how to use it. My problem with Blogger right now is that I want to host my own domain name. I don't want the word "blogspot" in my URL. Now, I know blogger says this can be done, but i am skeptical and afraid that it'll be a mountain of headaches.

Any suggestions?? I need your help! Pleeaaasseee. Serious suggestions only, please. . . . Why haven't you written a comment yet?

... about one thing. And that is that stories teach. They, in fact, often teach more effectively than any other method I could name.

Here is what the controversial author of The Golden Compass (vol. 1 of His Dark Materials) had to say when accepting an award for it in 1996: All stories teach, whether the storyteller intends them to or not. They teach the world we create. They teach the morality we live by. They teach it much more effectively than moral precepts and instructions.


As the great philosopher Arthur Fonzarelli said many a time: "Exactamundo!"

Too bad Pullman didn't take his own statement to heart. Stories teach. Tolkien knew it. Lewis knew it. Dostoevsky knew it. John Milton knew it. Those were excellent writers. It is usually a sign of an amateur writer when the didactic elements overpower the narrative elements. And I have seldom read published works as tediously preachy as His Dark Materials. He makes the mistake of many well-intentioned Christians who appear to write stories but are really just thinking up premises as a pretext for writing an evangelistic tract. I am a Christian and even I find it objectionable to be tricked by an author into thinking I was going to be getting a story instead of a sermon. Don't get me wrong. I like sermons. It's just that I like stories too. Not only is Pullman's teaching objectionable, but he ruins the story.

There are tons of helpful resources out there. But if you are looking for one more, give this one a try. I wrote it for Concordia Publishing House and the price is right. FREE.

If you read it, I'd be very interested to hear your comments.

Aren't polar bears the awesomest, by the way?!

Tonight, my family attended the annual Boar's Head Festival at Julie and my alma mater, Concordia University in Ann Arbor, MI. Back in the olden days, when we were students, Julie sang in the choir and I wore stockings and carried a spear. Neither of us had been to the Boar's Head Festival since we graduated 16 years ago. What a joy it was to be back!

Pictured to the left is Dr. Neil Skov who has been playing the part of King Wenceslaus at least since, oh... around the invention of dirt. Not really. But for a long time. And he OWNS that part baby!

One of my all-time favorite carols is Good King Wenceslaus. And I blame Skov. I'm not embarrassed to say that I tear up everytime. E-v-e-r-y T-i-m-e!! It moves me and this is because of those years participating in the B's Head Fest.

If you don't know the song, it's about a king who looks out on a bitter wintry day and spies a peasant collecting twigs in the weather. He takes pity on the poor soul and directs his young page to "Bring me flesh and bring me wine!" And he determines to take food and kindling out into the snow to the unfortunate subject.

Following custom, the little servant walks in front of the king. The more important person always walks behind the less important. But the snow is deep and wind is battering the little page so he can hardly make another move. The good king tells the boy to walk behind him and step in the footprints he makes. The king then blocks the wind and moves the snow so the boy can keep up, all so that they can bring charity to a poor, weak subject.

The reason this always gets me - other than Skov's powerful portrayal - is that it is deeply moving to see a strong, powerful person stooping to help someone much weaker than himself. In fact, I cannot think of any greater sign of strength than humbling oneself to serve another.

We are the cold, naked, famished peasant reaching for twigs in the snow. God is the king who has compassion on us. And God reaches into our suffering, in Christ, to bring us relief. What a beautiful image of the gospel.

So who can answer why Good King Wenceslaus is a Christmas carol when it never mentions jesus and has no reference to the nativity story?

My internet browser of choice is Mozilla Firefox. Here are three new (to me) add-ons I like.

• IE Tab. Sometimes I like to check out what my blog looks like on Internet Explorer. And sometimes other websites don't function properly in Firefox. This nifty little button lets me open a tab with an IE view w/o having to fire up the other browser.

• Flashblock. Load pages much faster. Shuts down all those annoying flash ads. If the site you are viewing has flash features that you want to see, you just click and it plays. But what a relief to the eyeballs.
  

• PDF Download. Sweet feature that lets you choose how you want PDFs to open while you're browsing. In a tab? A window? Straight to download? With an external viewer?

Sem Wives Retreat
Evening Suffrages
November 16, 2007
Text: Jeremiah 31:1-34

v. 33 “I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

Martin Luther used to have a saying: “Let God be God.” It sounds pretty obvious. Of course God is God. Who else would He be? Certainly it is true that God is the Great King Almighty whether we know or not, whether we like it or not. God does not require our permission to be the sovereign of the universe.

I think that we all basically understand that at an intellectual level. If someone were to stop you in the street taking a survey and ask you, “Who is the ruler of the universe?” you would probably say, “Well, God is the ruler of the universe.” And if they further asked you, “Who is this God?” you might respond with something like, “He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

But as is so often the case, knowing something in your head is not the same thing and knowing something in your heart. Sometimes the greatest distance for an idea to travel is the 18 inches between your mind and your heart.

Erma Bombeck once wrote a book with the title: If Life is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits? The reality is that life is not a bowl of cherries. Sometimes it is the pits. We live in a badly damaged creation, warped and corrupted by sin and the power of death. The original purity and goodness of humanity has been soiled with a stain no human effort can remove.

Bad things happen to good people. And good things happen to bad people. And we are left scratching our heads wondering why life always seems so unfair. And in those moments of crisis when the pillars of the earth seem to be crumbling around our ears, we try to take charge of our situations and regain some sense of order.

One of the most uncomfortable feelings anyone can have is the feeling of being out of control and people will almost do anything to maintain a sense of control, the feeling of being in charge of your life. You see, it is easy for people to say that they believe in God or that they believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. But when push comes to shove, when the going gets rough, when life is not a cheerful bowl of cherries, then we get the feeling that God may be the Lord, but He must be asleep at the wheel because He’s not doing such a terrific job. When God fails to live up to our expectations, we politely nudge Him aside, say thank you very much, and grab hold of the controls. How often do you say you believe that God is in charge but live as if He didn’t exist at all? How often do we say we trust in God, but then we continue to wring our hands in worry?

There is verse in Psalm 46 that says: "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

And another similar passage nine psalms earlier which says: Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Do you find yourself filled with concern and worry because things are not coming together as you planned? Do you find yourself frequently questioning God asking “why me?” Be brutally honest with yourself right now, and ask yourself, truthfully, don’t you really believe that YOU could do a better job managing creation than the job God is doing today? You do and that’s why you complain. That’s why we grumble and murmur and gossip and nitpick. Because we basically think we are smarter than everyone else… including God. Let God be God.

The Heavenly Father who goes through the trouble of numbering the very hairs of your head will not let you fall into the clutches of the enemy. The merciful God who sent His eternally begotten Son into the world is never going to leave you, forget you, abuse you, neglect you, reject you or betray you. You are precious to Him. Those of you who have children, you love your children. But the love you feel for those dear babies who are so helpless and dependent is nothing compared to the love which God, your Father, has for you. And just as you would never do anything to harm your babies, God, your Father, will never harm you. Oh, sometimes circumstances get so mixed up that you might have to hurt your child in order to help her, but everything you do – even if the child does not understand your reasons – everything you do is for their benefit. And if you who are weak and sinful can love your children that completely, imagine the overwhelming powerful compassion the great King of Heaven, your Father and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has for you. For I am telling you that He spared no expense to save you. He spared not His only Son, the eternal Son. But instead sent Him with a mission to rescue us from ourselves, our bad choices, our foolish mistakes, our stubborn rebellions, not because we deserved it, but because He wanted to. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

People say that the two topics you should never bring up in polite conversation are politics and religion because those are two topics about which most people have strong opinions. With another presidential election around the corner, Americans are becoming more and more passionate about the issues which are important to them.

Whether you are a Democan or a Republicrat, when you pull the lever on election day, you do so hoping that your guy or your gal will win the election and fix the problems of our great but ailing nation.

And quite understandably, during this time, people will wonder what relationship exists between what they believe in matters of religion and what positions they should take politically. We should make a distinction between church and state but we must also recognize that the concerns of the church and the concerns of the state often overlap. And that’s because religion is not just about what happens to you when you die but it’s about how we should live today.

Being a citizen of a nation is an important responsibility and has weighty implications. I have a friend who was born in a foreign country but has lived most of his life in the United States. According to our government, he is a full-fledged U.S. citizen. But according to the country of his birth, he is also a citizen of that nation. So which is it? Is he an American or a Swede? The U.S. government says that he is 100% American and nothing more. But the Swedish government recognizes both scenarios and says that he has DUAL citizenship. So my friend actually has two perfectly valid and legitimate passports. When he travels abroad, which he does frequently, he uses his U.S. passport, but he keep his Swedish passport up to date in case he ever wants to go somewhere like Cuba where U.S. citizens have difficulty. I sometimes kid my friend and ask, “What will you do if the United States ever goes to war against Sweden? Whose side will you be on?” While it seems unlikely that our United States will declare war with Sweden in our lifetimes, one can never be certain of such things. It is possible that my friend will have to decide where his true loyalties lie if the priorities of the two governments ever come into conflict with each other. His dual citizenship could cause a whole smorgasbord of problems.

As Christians, all of us have dual citizenship. We were born into this world as citizens of this present order of things. All living human beings share this citizenship and are our compatriots. But we who have been baptized into Jesus Christ were adopted into the family of God which makes also citizens of heaven. So like my friend, only on a much grander scale, all of us possess DUAL citizenship.

For there are two kingdoms in the universe or two realms. That’s what Jesus is teaching us when he says to render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and render unto God the things which are God’s. There are two kingdoms: the kingdom of the world and the kingdom of heaven. But that is not to say that of the two kingdoms, one of them is good and the other one is evil. There are two kingdoms and both of them are good. That’s because both of them are established and governed by God.

There are two kingdoms. And they do not have identical purposes. They have different functions. Hopefully, they do not work against each other. That would not be pleasing to God. They have different purposes but their purposes complement one another for the ultimate purposes and the often hidden purposes of God.

God has ordained the Church and the State to accomplish his will, but they operate in quite different ways. God has ordained the Church to reconcile sinners to Himself by preaching the gospel and administering the sacraments. God has ordained the state to protect human beings from harm, to administer his wrath and justice against wrongdoers, and to generally provide for the temporal well-being of human beings.

Let me add that God did not establish civil government merely for the purpose of maintaining law and order but ALSO to perform works of mercy for the comfort, provision and assistance of human need. Moses writes very explicitly that it was God Himself who brought Joseph to become Pharaoh’s second-in-command for the express purpose of administering and distributing food during a widespread famine, a social service project which, as a matter of fact, saved Jacob’s other sons from dying of starvation, one of whom was named Judah who became the great-great-great-great grandfather of Jesus. So you could say that the governmental social program of distributing food run by Joseph, by God’s own design, served to insure that the savior would be born. God is even still, daily, working to preserve His creation through civil government.

The civil government is God’s instrument which he holds in His left hand to care for you and me. Thank God for civil government. Pray for our rulers because whether you like them or not, whether you voted for them or not, they are God’s agents established in their offices, not for selfish gain, but to serve you in His name. Like all human beings however, our rulers are flawed instruments, so we can’t blame God for their mis-steps. Even a virtuoso musician will sound bad if his instrument is out of tune. Even so, our rulers are God’s men and women, doing His work, even if they fail to recognize this themselves. And that is why St. Paul urges the believers at the church in Rome to obey Caesar, to pray for him, and to submit to earthly authorities as they would submit to God.

We do not ever have the right to rebel against our leaders or disrespect our leader or to disobey them with only one exception. And that exception is any time the civil government makes laws that interfere or contradict the Word of the Lord. For as the disciples said when they were being beaten for preaching Christ, “We must obey God rather than men.” At such times, we are obligated to disobey our earthly rulers even if it means our persecution or death. We must be ready to die for Christ just as He died for us if push ever comes to shove. Not only do individuals have a duty to obey God, but so do governments. And just because a thing is legal, that does not make it right. Nor does making something illegal necessarily make it wrong. Not only do individuals have a duty to obey God, but so do governments.

Over the centuries, there have been many different forms of government but all are of God. The Scriptures give us no prescription for what type of government we should employ. Americans tend to be a bit idolatrous on this point in that we tend to think that a democracy or a democratic republic is inherently Christian. If anything, one would deduce that the Bible favors having a monarchy because there is simply no other arrangement ever described in either the Old or the New Testament than that. I personally happen to believe that there are great advantages to our American way but that is debatable. The kingdoms of men come and go. Our way of life is not uniquely divine. And if the Lord does not return in between, the odds are that there will come a day when the nation of America will cease to exist. Thus our first love and loyalty is not to any particular earthly ruler or party or form of rule, but to the kingdom of heaven and the King who sits upon its sapphire throne.

There is no such thing as an illegal government for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Even though the Romans had invaded and conquered Israel, Jesus said to Pontius Pilate: "You would have no authority over Me if it had not been given to you from above." The Lord acknowledged not only that Pilate had legitimate authority over him, but he says that it had been given to him by God.

Some disciples of the Pharisees went along with a group of Herodians to ask Jesus a question. The Pharisees were highly religious men who strongly opposed the occupying government of Rome. The Herodians were the exact opposite. They were a party loyal to Herod, Rome’s puppet king in Galilee. Pharisees and Herodians had nothing in common, except apparently their opposition to Jesus.

The coin belongs to Caesar because it bears his image and carries his inscription. And we belong to God because we were created in His image and were inscribed with His promises at Holy Baptism. The Christian Church on earth is the instrument God wields in His right hand for it is the agency by which He calls all men to Himself. It is the agency by which His message of peace is made known. The church is God’s rule of grace and mercy whereby He declares sinners to be righteous on account of the blood of His Son. The church does not exist to make and administer laws, not to raise armies and levy taxes, but to conquer men’s hearts with words of hope and acts of compassion.

It can be difficult and confusing to live as citizens of two realms. But Jesus Christ is the link which bridges heaven and earth. He is Jacob’s ladder, the path to heaven. And He descended from the realm of the angels to subject himself to earthly rule, to suffering and deprivation and hardship and even death, not because of anything wrong which he had done, but to become the substitute for us. He became the sacrificial lamb, the scapegoat, the fall guy who paid the penalty of sin for us so that when our days on this earth are ended, we will enjoy being in the presence of the King of kings forever. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

If you haven't figured out the significance of the whole internet social networking phenomenon, here's an article from TIME mag that will help.

Why Facebook Is the Future - TIME

Many of you have seen the spectacular preview for the upcoming movie, The Golden Compass, which is based upon the novel by Philip Pullman of the same name.

The Golden Compass is the first volume of the well-known and rightfully controversial His Dark Materials Trilogy. I've read the books and expect the movies to be fabulously popular. The trouble is that Pullman is the reverse image of C.S. Lewis. While the author of The Chronicles of Narnia wrote in order to express Christian doctrine in the form of a gripping mythology, Pullman want to unravel Christian faith. If you've read the books, you know what I mean. The question, of course, is whether the films will delete the most egregiously anti-Christian elements in order to be marketable.

According to an article in Entertainment Weekly, religious groups are calling for a boycott. Writer Missy Schwartz cites the fact that The Da Vinci Code made over $200 million at the box office in the midst of a boycott as evidence that such things don't hurt Hollywood in the wallet, where it counts. The Last Temptation of Christ episode would seem to prove otherwise. Admittedly, that was twenty years ago.

One of my goals for 2007 was to re-read the Pullman trilogy and prepare some response material. Alas, I have not met that particular goal. Does anyone know of any substantial, book-length response to Pullman?

Check out Pandora Radio. I'd tried it out once before but quickly forgot all about it.

It's commercial free internet radio where you get to customize the playlist.

I've long fantasized about being a writer of fiction. It's been a dream of mine that I always felt too intimidated to pursue and too embarrassed to talk about. I've tried to start the great American novel on a couple of different occasions. I have folders on my hard drive with sketches, notes, outlines, character studies and assorted chapters of a couple of fairly serious attempts. I just don't have the personal discipline or the passion or the drive to keep up with it. Until recently.

In the last six months or so, a new fire has been lit in my bones, the burning need to be creative. I still don't have anything anywhere near a finished product. But I do have a few really decent short stories in the hopper. And my magnum opus, a fantasy novel with five or six chapters written and another five or six conceptualized. The resident 12 year old boy has given me mediocre reviews. It was cool when he read an unfinished chapter and looked up at me and said, "Uh, what happens next?!"

Don't let the title of this amazing documentary film confuse you. This is not a movie about prostitution. It is a movie about real children. Amazing children.

Originally planning to reveal the plight of women in Calcutta, India, documentarian Zana Briski found herself unexpectedly charmed by the children of prostitutes who were literally Born into Brothels. And you will be charmed as well.

Briski felt moved to try to help some of these children any way she could. So she began to teach a number of them about photography. The film reveals its heart when she gives the children point-and-shoot cameras of their own. The images they capture are heartbreaking, both in beauty and in sorrow. And I defy you not to become enamored with the children themselves.

The movie made me feel a variety of emotions. Anger at myself for being a complainer when God has given me so much. Sadness that there is such poverty and despair in the world. Delight in the sweetness of these kids. I felt hope as I saw people rise out of selfishness to help others less blessed. And hope for the future of children who appear destined for misery. Finally it made me want to do something for others. I was changed a little bit by the experience of watching Born into Brothels and that is the definition of great art.

See this movie.



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But What about Me?
Help and Hope for Women Whose Husbands are Considering the Pastoral Ministry
By Julie Stiegemeyer

“Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. …So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife…” (Gen. 12:1-5).

These verses have always had special meaning for me because they were the basis of the first sermon that I heard in the seminary chapel at the opening service of my husband’s first year at the seminary. I’ve often wondered what Sarai was thinking and how she was coping with this sudden and life-changing journey. Was she crying as she left her mother? Did she see it as an adventure?

The thing I like about Sarah is how honest she was. She was far from perfect; she—along with Abraham—laughed in the face of God’s promise for a son in their old age (Gen. 17:17 and 18:12). But God, in His mercy, blessed her with His gifts, including a son they never dreamed they would have. Hebrews says: “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11). It was God who gave Sarah this faith, who helped her through all of the changes in her life. Over the years, I’ve heard and read a lot about being a pastor’s wife. The common perception is that a pastor’s wife lives in a “fishbowl”—meaning that everyone is always watching her. I’ve had strangers come up to me and feel sorry for me because my husband is a pastor. “Don’t you ever wish you were married to a plumber?” one person asked me.

However, in the first ten years of my husband’s ministry, I can honestly say that I have loved being a pastor’s wife. That doesn’t mean we don’t have problems or that we’re immune from sickness, frustration, and arguments. It simply means that I love my husband and am committed to him no matter what his vocation in life may be.

It is true that a pastor has many challenges and burdens to carry. He visits new babies in the hospital; he also visits teens who have attempted suicide. A pastor teaches the confirmands, and has to deal with their parents who almost never come to church. A pastor works for hours on a sermon, but then watches members of the congregation sleep through the message. These are burdens that your husband as a pastor will have to bear, and sometimes those burdens spill over to his personal life. But there are many more joys than frustrations. He has the joy of sincere gratitude from a member who needed to hear what he had to say. He also watches the children he baptized grow into young believers who share the love of God with their neighbors. He is honored at an anniversary lunch, showered with gifts, and bragged about by his congregation. A pastor’s duties are many and varied, and through each task, he ministers to sinners who come to hear about God’s forgiveness and love for them in Christ Jesus. And these blessings also spill over to the family.

As a pastor’s wife—just as in every other situation in life—we have a choice. We can choose to celebrate the joys in life, or we can focus only on the burdens. As a pastor’s wife I heard recently said: “Your husband is a servant of the King. What other joy in life could there be?” And then I think that Sarah—and I—have it pretty good.

Kramer Chapel
October 8, 2007
Text: Mark 11:12-14, 20-24

Can horror films serve a useful purpose? Jeffrey Overstreet thinks so. And I agree. Oh most horror films are probably, at best, merely entertainments for adrenaline junkies. Rather, most of them are harmful gore-fests that desensitize the viewer to human suffering and feed a broken sadistic appetite to see people cut apart, mangled and eaten.

But there are a few movies within the horror genre which exceed these limits and make a truly beneficial impact on the viewer. Of all genres, Horror is the most difficult to define. That's because it is really the only genre that refers to an emotion instead of a setting or scenario. So there can be horror dramas, horror comedies, horror westerns, horror space operas, horror romances, horror fantasies, etc. Any story that horrifies you is a horror story.

Is it always bad to be scared? Or is fear a useful and even good thing, from time to time? If experiencing artwork reminds you of the curse of death we all share, or if it makes you understand that the devil is real and hell exists, or if it stirs you up from moral relativism to acknowledge the fact that some things are evil and some are good, then that artwork has helped you in a spiritual sense.

And the only way to reach some people is to shock them. Flannery O'Connor said that for the hard of hearing you must occasionally shout. For the morally deaf and blind, a bit of excess in our expression is necessary. Wasn't Jesus going for shock value when he told people they had to chop off their hands and gouge out their eyeballs to avoid going to hell?? That's a pretty creepy image if you ask me.

Overstreet, in his book, Through a Screen Darkly, recalls an anti-smoking billboard he used to pass regularly that showed a photograph of a gross blackened lung filled with cancer. He found it repulsive. Was that an effective way to dissuade people from smoking? I bet it was.

As part of my preparation for a youth retreat I'm speaking at this weekend in Marshall, Michigan, I've been studying a new book by Jeffrey Overstreet called Through a Screen Darkly. I've long been a reader of his blog.

Yesterday, I read his comments on a film I actually have not seen. It's called Saved! I don't want to remark on the particulars of this film since, as I said, I have not seen it. I have only read and heard about it. The reason I have not seen it is not because I necessarily object to it. I just haven't seen it yet.

If I may, the movie is basically a spoof of the Evangelical Christian subculture as exhibited at a Christian high school. I went to a small Lutheran High School myself and spent a great deal of my teen years going to Youth For Christ camps and events. So I think I probably have a grip on the premise. Being Lutheran, I wasn't ever fully steeped in all the subcultural moves the film probably highlights, but I've been around them plenty.

If you guessed that Saved! elicited a firestorm of protest from Christians, you are dead on. So, once again, I remind you that since I have not seen this particular movie, I won't add to the specific controversy. I have a feeling that I would NOT share the same righteous anger of many of my brothers and sisters about this movie, but I don't know that for sure.

Really, I want to respond to some of the insightful observations that Overstreet makes in this part of his book. He highlights the fact that many Christians consider every poke of fun at the church as a direct attack on God. If I read him correctly, he cautions Christians from being hyper-sensitive to legitimate criticisms offered in the form of satire. It is a healthy thing to know how to laugh at one's own foibles and failings. It shows humility. The wise man, after all, delights when someone corrects him.

Overstreet observes that comedy serves a useful role in society. Even silly screwball farces like
Zoolander or Anchorman serve a purpose beyond mere entertainment by putting light on man's various pretensions in an entertaining way. I am reminded of the classic Saturday Night Live sketch during the presidential debates between Al Gore and George W. Bush in 2000. Both candidates were skewered by the show and it was hilarious, not because they were trying to be disrespectful, but because their exaggerated performance was rooted in truth. And it's a testimony to their talent that so many who watched the program recognized its truthfulness, including the advisors to both Gore and Bush.

Let's face it. Christians really are pretty ridiculous at times. I will applaud artists and performers who skillfully pop our balloons from time to time.

I would, however, like to add a couple of cautions. Overstreet recognizes the difference between making fun of Christians and making fun of Christ. While one is acceptable and even welcome, the other is not. Certainly not every protest from the Christians is a result of their being thin-skinned. They may not register their objections in a seemly fashion, but mocking God is a real offense. The Creator does not appreciate having His name abused.

Further, mock the hypocrisies of the Christians. But don't mock the doctrines or beliefs of the Christians. This is a fine line to distinguish at times because so much of what it mock-able in us are the eccentric extremes or deviations we make to the historic creeds of God's people. A bit of fun poking at the ways we express ourselves is at times fitting, but the underlying truths are sacred realities that impart life. Such things deserve a foundation of fear and trembling.

Satire can serve a beneficial function, but it can also be taken too far. I realize that this is subjective. What is "too far" to you, may be appropriately strong to me, but mean-spiritedness does little to advance understanding. It is in this respect, that I find fault with much of what Hollywood produces. While there are notable exceptions, it is generally true that Christians are negatively portrayed in the entertainment media. Are all Christians hypocritical all the time? Are all clergy pedophiles, greedy, insane or dimwitted? And why be one-sided? I don't see many shows or films that ridicule secularism.

I can accept fair critiques that demonstrate the goofs of the Church. But without balance, such comedy strengthens stereotypes. And stereotyping undermines understanding. It effectively kills the thought process.

There's a neat article in the Wall Street Journal about the renewed emphasis on Confession in both Roman Catholic and non-Roman circles. Here it is.

Sometimes when you talk about going to private confession, otherwise conservative Lutherans look at you like you've grown a second nose on your face. It's like they've never heard of such a thing in the Lutheran church, except perhaps in the context of criticizing the Church of Rome.

To a large extent, this confusion arises because of a mistaken view of what private confession is for. It's not a time for God, your pastor, or the church to condemn you. Quite the opposite. It's a time and a means to be set free from condemnation.

The fact is that this is something Martin Luther addresses in the Small Catechism. He says:

"...we receive absolution, that is, forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself...."

One of our seminary professors, Rev. John Pless, has this reminder in an excellent article on the topic. Note the very clear instruction from Martin Luther:

Our practice of confession/absolution must grow out of Evangelical-Lutheran theology. "It is taught among us that private absolution should be retained and not allowed to fall into disuse" says Article XI of the Augsburg Confession. Martin Luther was no less adamant in the Large Catechism: "If you are a Christian, you should be glad to run more than a hundred miles for confession, not under compulsion but rather coming and compelling us to offer it...Therefore, when I urge you to go to confession, I am simply urging you to be a Christian" (LC: "A Brief Exhortation to Confession, 30,32, Tappert).

Prof. Pless's excellent article entitled Your Pastor is Not Your Therapist is located here.

Even though I started to read Jeffrey Overstreet's Through a Screen Darkly this summer, I had to set it aside for a while. But now I'm enjoying it full speed once again. Right now, I'm about half way through it. I've read a lot of books on movies and religion, but this one stands out so far for it's philosophy of art. This is important stuff.

For various reasons, "conservative" Protestants tend to view all the arts with suspicion. Film is certainly no exception. But what role do the arts play in human life? How is the creative nature of God reflected in man's efforts to create (or "sub-create" as Tolkien would differentiate)? Can we learn anything from art? Does it help us or improve us in any way? Or maybe we should step backwards and ask whether movies qualify as art. What is the difference between entertainment and artwork?

Furthermore, I've also appreciated Overstreet's response to those Christians who criticize - or even condemn - him for recommending or commenting positively on particular films, even for viewing them. I am often asked to speak about movies and Christianity with church youth and I always cover the big three objections to movies from parents: nudity, violence, and profanity. I'll post about that at another time.