The Burr in the Burgh

Well friends, I write to you from the woods of Northern Wisconsin as I am attending a week-long conference here. Today I heard a stimulating lecture on the Intelligent Design movement (ID) by Dr. Angus Menuge, professor of philosophy at Concordia University, WI. If you've ever heard Dr. Menuge then you know that he is not only very knowledgeable and articulate on this subject but has a lively sense of humor as well.

Dr. Menuge was one of over 15 expert witnesses who talked at the recent hearings in Kansas over the teaching in the public schools of alternative scientific theories about the origin of life. His testimony can be found here.

The Intelligent Design movement is one aspect of the current scientific controversy over Neo-Darwinism. ID, in short, is the scientific recognition of evidence of design in all living organisms. The Neo-Darwinist ideologues refuse to admit that a controversy even exists in spite of a growing body of scholarly literature.

Not long ago, the famous British scientist, Anthony Flew, converted from atheism to theism because, as he himself stated, he determined to follow the evidence wherever it lead him. I applaud his intellectual honesty.

The ID proponents are not asking for the advocacy of any particular religious beliefs in the classroom, only that both sides of this legitimate scientific controversy be presented without bias.

According to Dr. Menuge, one of the individuals at the hearing disapproved of teaching the controversy for fear that it might "confuse" the children. As Dr. Menuge commented, that would be like deciding not to explain the two party political system of American government because it's just too doggone confusing.

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Scientists from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh announced in a press release last Thursday that adult or post-natal stem cells have the same ability to multiply as embryonic stem cells. This is highly significant because of the moral problems associated with using stem cells from human embryos. Basically, this means that there are no advantages to using embryonic cells over adult cells, as was previously believed, and one would hope that research using the stem cells from human embryos would therefore cease.

One other huge advantage to using adult stem cells is that they can be taken from the patient himself which would eliminate the risk of rejection. Embryonic stem cells are foreign organisms which the patient's immune system would attack.

People in the pro-life movement have opposed embryonic stem cell research on the grounds that is is wrong to kill human beings for the purpose of conducting experiments on them, even if those experiments would ultimately benefit some people.

The conclusion is that in addition to being immoral (which is reason enough to stop), researching therapies using embryonic stem cells offers no unique benefits and may actually be the less effective strategy.

But don't take my word for it. Read this from some of the world's top researchers in the field.

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I knew it!! Tom Cruise is the Sith Lord!! Check this out.

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No. It's not. Not if by natural one means that death is the design of the Creator or that it's what is "supposed" to happen to us and thus OK. Every mourner knows that death is not OK. When God created Adam and Eve in the Garden, it was not His purpose for them to die. Death is a result of our sinfulness (sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned - Romans 5). And that's why we hate it. Because it is un-natural. And I'd suggest that God hates death even more than we do.

Russell Moore over at Mere Comments made me think of this with his post today entitled "Death is Not a Happy Ending." He alerts us to some insightful writing in the latest issue of Presbyterians Pro-Life. He quotes Terry Schlossberg's article about the death of Terri Schiavo. Schlossberg states that the Christian faith

"does not welcome death as a friend or as an escape from the burdens of this life. Scripture speaks of death as the 'last enemy,' that which is overcome by the Savior."

That is certainly true. And though I'm unaware of his personal beliefs, I have always found something appealing in the words of Dylan Thomas as he begged his dying father to fight death rather than accept it: "Do not go gentle into that good night.... Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

The Culture of Death is trying to redefine death, to domesticate it. The Culture of Death believes that death is nature's way of making room for life. The Culture of Death believes that a person's value is determined by his productivity so that when a person becomes a burden or a drain, then he should die. It's a "survival of the fittest" thing.

Of course, one must accept the reality that death is inevitable for all of us (except those alive at the parousia). And there are times when a dying person must be allowed to die - though not because it is his/her "right" but because it has become the lesser evil.

At the same as I say all of that, I confess that by His own dying and rising, our Lord Jesus has transformed death so that for those who are baptized into Christ, death has lost its sting. We are set free from the fear of death and, as the Apostle writes, we do not grieve as the world does.

Even Christians may occasionally contribute to this domestication of death when we emphasize that so-and-so has gone to a better place. That's true. And it is comforting. Jesus told the penitent thief, "Today you shall be with me in Paradise." And St. Paul does write that to be absent from the body is to be with the Lord. But we too often fail to recall the promised resurrection on the Last Day, though we confess it in the creed. Russell Moore is right to point out that "The final hope is to share in Christ's resurrection, and so to overturn the curse of sin and the reign of death."

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I'm so looking forward to this movie. Anyone have an inside line on whether the film is loyal to the book?

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Yesterday, I crossed the 10 thousand point in blog visits. More than 10 thousand in almost exactly three months. According to my stat counter, I currently get an average of around 100 unique visitors each day. That has been slowly on the increase. The only other pattern I have noticed is that my traffic usually drop significantly on Saturdays and Sundays. Thanks for reading and keep coming back!

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For the past two weeks, I have been teaching a Bible class on the Ten Commandments at my congregation. And naturally, one of the first things I wanted to do was address the fact that different groups enumerate the commandments differently. Did you know that Roman Catholics and Lutherans number them one way, the Protestants another, and the Jews yet another? So when people debate whether the Decalogue should be inscribed on civic monuments or displayed in government buildings, they will have to make a decision as to which enumeration to follow. One argument could reasonably be made, I suppose, that by choosing one listing over the others, an endorsement is being made of a specific church or religion.

In my digging, I uncovered an old Washington Post article about this topic. You should give it a look because it shows the three different ways of numbering the commandments. Does this mean there is some kind of discrepancy in God's Word? No. Reading the Biblical accounts in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, one finds that Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Protestants and Jews all have the same commandments. But since the scriptures themselves do not delineate how they should be numbered, there may naturally arise differing listings.

It appears to me that the main difference between the Roman Catholic/Lutheran numbering and the Protestant numbering is that the Calvinists and the more radical reformers wanted to place emphasis on the whole graven image part, presumably to condemn Rome's proclivity for statues. But since the Lutherans, while not praying to the saints, found no objection in 3-dimensional church art, they understood the graven image prohibition as simply part of having no other gods.

I'm most intrigued by the fact that in the Jewish tradition, the first commandment is not a commandment at all, but a statement of gospel: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." As a Lutheran Christian, I can appreciate that very well. The commands then become less imperative and more indicative. A Christian might understand it this way: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of slavery to sin and the grave by the death and resurrection of my Son, your Lord, Jesus Christ." In that case, the commands become descriptive of how God's children live, not just how they should live or must live. It's a statement of who we are in Christ Jesus. Or as our Lord Himself put it: "You are the light of the world. You are the salt of the earth."

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Here's something clever floating around the blogosphere. Book tag. Bob Waters over at Watersblogged tagged me.

The game is this:

1. Citizen Soldiers by Stephen Ambrose. I always enjoy Ambrose's Word War II books. This one in particular because he highlights the characteristics and virtues that not only make America great, but were the foundation for our victory in that great crusade. An excellent and engaging look at the everyday Americans who saved Western civilization (and France).


2. Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand. I read this one myself as a teenager. I don't recall it well enough to vouch for all its theology, but it really opened my eyes to what Jesus meant when He said, "Take up your cross and come follow me." As Bonhoeffer famously said, "When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die." Wurmbrand was a Lutheran pastor (Romanian Jewish convert) who was imprisoned and tortured first by the Nazis and then by the Communists. He later testified about his sufferings before the U.S. congress and, when some found his account hard to swallow, he stood up to remove his shirt in that august assembly to reveal his scars. Having been briefly to the Sudan myself and knowing that more Christians were martyred in the 20th century than in the previous 19 combined, I think today's youth need to read this book, or one like it. It's short too.


3. How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must) by Ann Coulter. This one is to fulfill the humor requirement. Not only do I think Ann's perspective on politics and culture to be generally very clear-headed, but her acerbic wit slays me. Her bit on Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ is the number one best review essay I saw. She totally gets it. Her understanding of the atonement is refreshingly blunt. I quoted her in a sermon once. Her earlier book, Slander, is good too.


4. Table Talk by Martin Luther. This could also fit under humor, in a pinch. I'd more likely file it under wisdom literature. The Blessed Reformer offers pithy dinnertime comments on theology, marriage, politics, and beer.


5. Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel by C.F.W. Walther. It's a classic. And no one explains this better. Frankly, this book opened Scripture to me unlike anything else before or since.
   


6. Novels no human should fail to read: Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (substitutionary atonement); Lord of the Flies by William Golding (original sin); 1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell (the threat of totalitarianism); The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (Jesus); The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (friendship); Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (grace); The Telltale Heart short story by Edgar Allen Poe (guilt); Merchant of Venice play by Wm. Shakespeare (mercy); The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (depression); A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (divine surprise).

The reason I hate making lists like this is because I know full well that five minutes after I post this, ten more books will come to mind. So be forewarned that there may be a sequel.

And now I get to tag someone. Your turn Preachrblog, Confessing Evangelical, and CyberBrethren.

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So, last night I watched a German movie called Run Lola Run from 1999 starring Franka Potente (who was with Matt Damon in the Bourne movies). It's a clever film about how the outcome of one's life can often depend on the minor details.

The plot is simple. Lola gets a panicked phone call from her boyfriend, Manni, who says he's going to die in 20 minutes unless he comes up with 100,000 deutsche marks. It turns out he was supposed to deliver the money to a gangster promptly at noon, but on his way to the meeting point, he'd been scared off the subway by the sight of two police officers. In his fright, he left the bag of cash on the train where it was purloined by a homeless man. Now Manni is convinced that the bad guy will suspect him of stealing the money and will certainly kill him unless Lola can help him. His other option, he figures, would be to rob a bank before 12 o'clock. The rest of the film shows Lola frantically running from one point in the city to another to come up with the cash Manni needs.

What makes this interesting is that the film tells the story three times with three very different outcomes, all depending on the smallest of details. It's very creative, edited like a rock video, and surprisingly entertaining.

Another film that covers the same motif is Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow. Two stories are told with the same characters and the same setup, but one detail early on totally changes the way things unfold.

It reminds me of a science fiction short story I read a long time ago (Asimov?) about a man who invents time travel and goes back to the age of the dinosaurs. While there, he accidentally kills a single insect, but that minor incident alters all of human history. I don't buy the evolutionary premise, but the idea is intriguing.

For instance, in college I used to go on Monday nights to sing hymns and read scriptures at a local nursing home. One night, a friend of a friend was visiting from out of state. If I'd missed going just that one time, I might never have met my wife, my son would never have been born and who knows how many other things would be different?

In our Gospel reading yesterday, from Matthew 10, Jesus told His disciples that their Heavenly Father governs the life of every sparrow and has numbered the very hairs on their heads. It's comforting to know that our benevolent God has the details in control.

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Something quick for Father's Day. Check out these two posts from Pr. Paul McCain:

Post 1 Why Dad is So Important

Post 2 The Truth About Men and Church

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Not if you belong to the United Church of Christ, apparantly. The UCC (sometimes facetiously called Unitarians Considering Christ) is about to debate a resolution on this very matter.

For two millenia, whatever Christians may have disagreed on, everyone would have at least been willing to say that Jesus is Lord. Some "conservative" UCC pastors have submitted a resolution to their July denominational meeting which affirms this traditional bedrock belief and requires all clergy to accept it. This may seem like a no-brainer to you and me, but some observers say they think the measure will fail.

This boils down to whether the clergy in the UCC believe that Jesus is God or not. Apparantly many of them do not.

See here for details.

Russell Moore over at Mere Comments summed it up eloquently: Still, it is sad to know that in the United Church of Christ Arius would be considered a moderate.

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Today, Scott Edmund Stiegemeyer (the first) turned 36 years young. I know; I know. You can hardly believe that I'm that old. I get that a lot. I was most recently carded at a restaurant less than twelve months ago. So although it absolutely positively stretches the limits of credulity, I am 36 years old today. And luvin it.

Actually, as I think about it, I really think of myself as nothing more than an overgrown teenager... for better or worse. I still like rock-n-roll (my son tells me to TURN THAT MUSIC DOWN). I still enjoy many of the same types of movies, television and books that I did when I was 16. Of course, at that age, I was an avid reader of theology and history.

Here's what I did:

• My wonderful wife and son took me down to the Three Rivers Arts Festival. I love that kind of stuff and bought a silver bracelet for my wonderful wife. We're planning to go back down in a couple of days to hear Aimee Mann.
  
  
• We went to my son's baseball game. He got a double, a ground out, a walk, and a strike out. He mostly played 3rd base and had a good throw to 2nd getting out a runner. His team won. Two wondeful people from my congregation showed up to cheer for my son. It was great to see you Joy and John.


• My wonderful wife and son took me to dinner after the game to Nakama, a Japanese steakhouse where I had miso soup, salad, hibachi shrimp appetizer, rice, veggies, filet mignon, and two glasses of my favorit beer: Guiness stout.


• Got home around 10 p.m. and opened gifts. A lovely day.

One major highlight: Eating deep fried Oreo cookies and a deep fried Twinkie at the Art Festival. Ain't life grand?

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You have to admit that this is a pretty ridiculous headline: Terri Schiavo Autopsy: Manner of Death Undetermined. Again, I'm not a doctor, but I'm pretty sure we do know the cause of her death. Maybe being denied food and water for two weeks had something to do with it.

Michelle Malkin, once more, sheds light on a cloudy subject. She writes, "Terri Schiavo, a profoundly disabled woman who was not terminally ill and who had an army of family members ready to care for her for the rest of her natural life, succumbed to forced dehydration at the hands of her spouse-in-name-only.

We know she died of dehydration. And we know that she was severely brain damaged. What the 39 page autopsy did not answer is what caused Terri Schiavo to collapse 15 years ago. We will probably never know that.

The autopsy does not tell us what degree of awareness Terri experienced. But some will ask, "wasn't she a vegetable?" Experts have reminded us that an autopsy cannot determine the existence of PVS.

Supporters of Michael Schiavo now mock those "extreme right-wingers" who wanted to keep Terri alive. I guess they forgot about the legions of lefty Democrats who also defended her life such as Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Joseph Lieberman, Nat Hentoff, Lanny Davis, and Alan Dershowitz. Only extremist left-wingers think this was a right/left debate.

Some good thoughtful comments from Captain's Quarters, who wrote:

Terri had never requested to die, not with any transparency or formality. All we had for witnesses on her state of mind was a husband who waited until after he had won a substantial lawsuit to recall a conversation in which Terri made an offhand comment about not wanting to live on a respirator, and two of his relatives who corroborated him. The husband had a conflict of interest in the matter, having started a new relationship with another woman and fathering two children. On the other side, Terri's parents and siblings were willing to take over her medical care and the responsibility for its costs.

Amd most of all, as the coroner affirmed yesterday, Terri was not dying.

Despite all of this, Florida decided that it would deliberately kill Terri on the basis of her husband's wishes, without any living will or formal indication of her state of mind....

And when the state decides to kill someone who isn't dying on their own -- as opposed to stopping artificial breathing/cardiac support for those who lack any ability to survive without it -- it should have more substantial oversight before doing so, and it should have more to rely on than an estranged husband's belated recollection of a superficial, general conversation as its basis.

Why do you suppose 26 national disability rights organizations spoke in favor of preserving Terri's life? Because, if we don't check ourselves, this really can become a slippery slope.

Other good insightful commentary can be found at Polipundit and Gatewaypundit.

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Y'know what? Terri Schiavo died of ... drum roll ... DEHYDRATION. The announcement was made today that she had severe brain damage - which we already knew.

Look here to read the official autopsy report. It's in pdf.

The report does specify that Terri's brain was quite atrophied. I'm not a doctor, but I wonder how much of that may have been the result of dehydration.

In any case, I don't see how this news changes the moral status of what was done to Mrs. Schiavo. As Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life states, Terri didn't die of an atrophied brain. She died of the atrophied compassion of her husband.

We'll hear a lot, I'm betting, about the Persistent Vegetative State (PVS). Lifesitenews.com reports that, "In a March 31 article in MedPage Today, Dr. Michael De Georgia, head of the neurology/neurosurgery intensive care unit at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, warned his readers against a PVS diagnosis, saying that it "cannot be confirmed by autopsy." Dr. Mouhammed Kabbani, a neurologist at the University of Missouri, concurred, saying "an autopsy can show the degree of brain damage and how much brain tissue survived the injury", but that "it cannot by any means tell about the patient's clinical status."

Again, remember that the dear woman was not brain dead. She was not dying (anymore than any of us). She was not in pain. No machines were keeping her alive artificially. She was severely brain damaged. I'm glad we got that cleared up.

Thanks to prolifeblogs.com for reporting on this.

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In England, a man named Leslie Burke, is suing the government to ensure that they will not withhold food and water should he need it administered through a tube. Did you catch that? This man is concerned that his doctors will dehydrate him against his wishes. You see, the government's point is that it is just too doggone expensive to keep all these hopeless patients alive. Mr. Burke is currently able to feed himself, but his health condition is such that he may well need a feeding tube. And he is afraid the tax-supported National Health Service will kill him. I wonder what would have ever given him that idea. The terrifying thing is that the British government is fighting him over this. Apparantly, they would like to reserve the right to starve him to death - against his wishes - if he becomes a burden on the taxpayers.

Michael Schiavo argued for the right to murder his wife and it was granted. He wanted Terri to have the "right" to die. Well, what many Americans refuse to see is that the line between "right" to die and "duty" to die is imperceptibly fine. Today, we say we want to kill the hopeless cases for their own good. Tomorrow, we will say we want to kill the hopeless cases for OUR own good.

Read the article here. Thanks to Michelle Malkin for pointing this story out.

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I have always been a fan of U2 as a rock band. They've been at this for over 20 years and still put out consistently awesome music. Some of their songs are the greatest rock-n-roll songs ever penned. Can I get an Amen?!

For those of you cave dwellers who don't know, Bono is the name of the charismatic frontman of the Irish musical group. Some days I want to be Bono. And it's not because he's one of the most famous pop culture icons in the world, singing in one of the most talented and successful bands of all time (although I could probably get used to that). And it's not just because I sincerely admire his work on behalf of the poor in Africa. Many celebrities adopt pet social causes, but usually their ignorance does more harm than good (see Laura Ingraham's book "Shut Up and Sing"). But Bono is different. He's the real deal in my book. In my humble opinion, President Bush should try to pull some strings to get Bono put in charge of the U.N. (sorry Kofi).

The main reason I want to be Bono is because he's a good writer. He truly has a way with words (forget for a moment his accidental use of the f-word at the Grammys). Words are my life and my livelihood. I'm a professional communicator. And I strive to express classic timeless truths in fresh attention-grabbing verbiage. If I could say what I want to say with the panache of Bono, I'd be thrilled.

The first time I read some of Bono's prose was when Rolling Stone magazine had a special issue a while back on the 100 greatest rock-n-roll artists. They had current blockbusting stars write articles about other blockbusting stars and Bono wrote the page on Elvis Presley. And Bono's ability to paint a portrait of another man's soul using text is unsurpassed. Let me tell you that I read that whole issue, all 100 articles, and no one came close to Bono's craftsmanship as a writer.

The second time I read Bono's prose was in an issue of Modern Reformation (unfortunately I couldn't find a web link [c'mon Mikey!]) when they published something he'd written about the Psalms. The theme of that particular issue was the role of sorrow in the Christian life and contra contemporary happy-clappy praise music, Bono's article on psalms of lament nailed the truth square on the head. This guy gets it. And frankly, anyone who can get himself published in both Rolling Stone and Modern Reformation must be AWESOME. George W. Bush is someone I'd like to have a beer with (though he doesn't drink) and Bono is someone I'd drink a Guiness with and smoke clove cigarettes.

Every once in a while you hear rumors of Bono's Christian faith, but his many charitable works notwithstanding, I hadn't seen a lot of evidence for this myself. Until today, ten minutes ago, in fact. Jeffrey Overstreet's Blog, Looking Closer Journal, has a terrific excerpt from a newish book of published interviews with the Irish songster. The book is called Bono in Conversation and I've just added it to my already freakishly long must-read list.

I don't vouch for Bono's orthodoxy regarding every article of Christian doctrine. But go to Overstreets blog (HERE) and tell me that Bono's defense of the gospel is not clear, articulate and persuasive. Absolutely fabulous. He and Mel Gibson need to do lunch and I'd give my right pinky to be a fly on that wall.

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Father John Parker of Holy Ascension Orthodox Church (OCA) was recently asked to give a benediction at the graduation of the Medical University of South Carolina. But when the school officials found out that Fr. Parker was planning to say a Christian prayer (gasp!), they un-invited him, ironically, in the name of tolerance. Read more here.

Imagine the arrogance it takes to ask a Christian cleric to pray while insisting that he make no mention of his God. There is no generic god. The only God that exists is the Holy Trinity, confessed by Father Parker. To ask him to pray without mentioning Jesus or the Trinity would be asking him to break the First Commandment.

Fr. Parker says it best, "Slowly, like the proverbial frog in the kettle, we are being taught that it is the pinnacle of erudition and public good to believe anything, but it is indeed the nadir, not to mention simply dangerous and offensive, to believe something."

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When a dioceses of the Episcopal Church -USA consecrated an openly gay man as their bishop, Anglican leaders in Africa raised a protest. Now, in spite of the fact that the U.S. church grants up to 70% of the financial support for many Anglican ministries in Africa, the more biblically conservative bishops south of the Eqautor are saying, "no thanks." Look here for more info. I applaud their integrity and courage.

Their point is that the Episcopal Church-USA has disgraced the gospel of Jesus Christ by blessing something which God has not blessed. The African bishops have sharply rebuked their American colleagues and feel it would be hypocritical to then accept their money. It is encouraging to note that the more conservative parishes and dioceses in the EC-USA are helping to take up the slack, though it remains, to date, only a drop in the bucket.

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Dave Schiflett has written a book with this jarringly straightforward title, Exodus: Why Americans are Fleeing Liberal Churches for Conservative Christianity. I haven't read it yet, but I'm gonna.

From the description on Amazon, it reminds me of a book I did read a couple of years ago called, The New Faithful: Why Young Adults Are Embracing Christian Orthodoxy, by Colleen Carroll. Both authors demonstrate that liberal churches in America are - on the whole - dying out while conservative churches are growing. They argue that this is because people who bother to go to church generally prefer to go somewhere that has definite ideas about doctrines and morals.

Schiflett's article on the same topic at National Review Online is a must-read. It's God-Lite Doesn't Cut It. Go there as soon as you finish reading the Burr.

Conservative believers can't gloat, but should see this as a warning to resist the temptation to loosen up and water down their absolutes.

Personally, I'm glad liberal churches are dying. The wider church will be the stronger for it. The "God-Lite" they offer may taste great, but it is definitely less filling.

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Thanks to John H over at Confessing Evangelical for pointing this out. It's another whopper post from Mere Comments of Touchstone. And I will long be grateful for that wonderful snippet from George Herbert.

As a parish pastor who routinely preaches at least once a week, often more frequently, I will say that preaching proper sermons is always a challenge. I would even say that sermon preparation is about 90% of what I do. Oh, don't misunderstand, I visit the shut-ins, teach catechism and attend meetings too. But the more I do this, the more I find that all of that is sermon preparation as well in the sense that it prepares the preacher - if that makes any sense.

The pastor is called to construct faithful, biblical, Christ-centered, Law/Gospel sermons which are skillfully applied to the hearers. But the longer I preach, the more I believe it is important to do the above in a way that people can actually comprehend. Correctness is often easier to achieve that clarity.

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Pastor David Petersen over at Cyberstones posted on this subject a couple of days ago.

I STILL have not yet seen Star Wars: Episode III, but I'm getting closer. We just re-watched Episode II this evening. And I felt that I needed to see that again first. Now we're in business.

Episode III has raised questions about whether young children should see such a violent film. It is rated PG-13, I believe, for that reason. The parents of a child are generally the best ones to discern what a child could/should view. But I agree with the post from Touchstone's blog, Mere Comments, to which Pr. Petersen refers. Though the writer, Russel Moore, is referring to Star Wars, he could just as well have been writing about The Lord of the Rings, Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ and numerous other films.

The point is that violence is not always a bad thing. In line with the whole feminization of the church critique, contemporary folk keep trying to re-imagine God as a tree-hugging hippie peacenik, when the reality is that God is not a pacifist.

Now here's the part where I put in the expected caveats about God's truest nature being one of love and mercy, not judgment and wrath. And I'm not trying to be flippant. I believe that wholeheartedly. I also believe it was good and right for God to command the Israelites to slaughter the Canaanites, for Elijah to butcher the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, for David to slay and behead Goliath, etc.

There's a war taking place that's more dangerous than the War on Terror. And that's because our biggest foe is not Osama bin Laden. It's the dragon, the ancient serpent, the accuser of the brethren, the adversary, the father of lies, the lord of the flies, the proto-murderer himself. And he hates you royally and is prowling like a lion seeking whom he may devour. And frankly, I'm glad that God is not taking the win-win approach with Satan. It's the ultimate all or nothing battle between good and evil, though the victory is not in doubt. It's a certainty, even a present reality. And every well-told story of good defeating evil is, at its best, an echo of the one true myth.

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Or as I like to call it, America's salvation of Western Civilization (and France).

I should have posted this yesterday, but better late than never.

I admire the men and women of our armed forces who serve, sacrifice and suffer for their country. May God bless America!

Everyone should go get and read Stephen Ambrose's books (their Amazon links on the sidebar):

D-Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of WWII
Band of Brothers
Citizen Soldier

I also direct your attention to Michelle Malkin's website for this set of links honoring this historic date.

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In recent posts, I have directed you to journalist Michael Yon's website where he shows moving photos of our American troop interacting with and helping Iraqi children. He is the one who said that the joy the children exhibit when a U.S. military vehicle rolls into town is comparable how an American child reacts when he hears the jingling bell of the ice cream man.

Then I discovered the blog of 2nd Lieutenant Shawn Richardson. Below are some of his photographs. I thank him for his devoted service and for giving me permission to post his photos on my blog.

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A friend of mine, Darren Eliker, who has an excellent way with words, offers his thoughts below on The Revenge of the Sith. I still have not seen the film, but once I do I will add my own reactions. I just thought Darren's observations were interesting and needed to be shared.


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Last weekend my wife and I caught the final episode of the Star Wars sextology (yes that is a word and get your mind out of the gutter), the ‘Revenge of the Sith’.

George Lucas has left an impact upon the way we watch films in a way few others have. He may not be a prolific director like his friend Steven Spielberg, but it’s Lucas’ groundbreaking strides in the realm of special effects that have made way for all of the incredible CGI graphics and THX technology used in most films today. Watch the credits of major blockbusters and you’ll probably find Skywalker Sound or Lucasfilm Ltd listed.

Lucas is not a great director. He’s a good storyteller and a very good merchandiser. He’s created an indelible mythos that has captivated minds young and old around the world by a galaxy far, far away. But he’s at his best when he steps away from the work and lets someone else direct. That’s what made the second film ‘Empire Strikes Back’ arguably the best in the series. It’s also what makes ‘Revenge of the Sith’ a tedious and rather boring conclusion to the Star Wars saga.

The story of Star Wars is important and personal for Lucas, and this is what keeps him from getting out of his own way. While Spielberg churns out picture after picture, Lucas labors for years over each release. He’s too careful, too precious with it. It was the reason why the first Star Wars almost failed before it began. The stars of that movie know well the pressure Lucas brought to the set with almost catastrophic results.

There were things to admire about ‘Sith’. The effects are breathtaking. Especially at the beginning. But the problem with effects is that they can overwhelm a film to the point where they become monotonous. So much is going on that the eye focuses on nothing and everything at once.

I’m also convinced that much of what is likeable about this film is due mainly to the nostalgia of the characters created in the first and second movies. Sith is mainly a movie that ends with a beginning. Our delight is in watching the characters become who they are when we first saw them years and years ago.

Lucas is at his worst getting a performance out of an actor. A good director knows how to get a performance out of a bad actor…except perhaps Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker) who is probably hopeless. But Lucas seems to excel at making good actors look bad. How can someone as talented as Samuel Jackson or even Jimmy Smits come off with as much personality as a cardboard cutout? You know it’s reached a new low when Yoda’s performance beats out the real live people.

Lucas lucked out with Ford, Fisher, and Hammill because they created a chemistry together that made Star Wars a success in spite of their director.

Where Lucas fails the most are in pivotal scenes such as Anakin’s final capitulation to the Dark Side of the Force. It’s all too easy. One might say George ‘gave into the dark side’ in creating those scenes. There is little to care about.

And as if the overweening effects, bad performances, and melodramatic turning points weren’t enough, Lucas adds a certain level of moralizing, which is out of place. It comes off as social commentary by the director rather than organic beliefs of the characters.

One such example film critic Michael Medved and I both noticed, is when Anakin (now Vader) is in a ferocious light-saber battle with Obi Wan and delivers the line, “If you’re not with me, you’re my enemy.” To which Obi Wan responds, “Only the Sith deal in absolutes.” Well aside from the petty political message it’s attempting to send, it is a totally incongruous point that is at odds with itself. Lucas is of the generation that is uncomfortable with hard and fast ideas of right and wrong, while at the same time his movies are all about right and wrong. But I guess the prerogative of preaching is reserved to those like the more enlightened Lucas.

The statement “Only the Sith deal in absolutes” is itself an absolute statement. The character goes on a few lines later to say that the Emperor who Vader has sold out to is ‘altogether evil’. Whoa! Sounds pretty absolutist to me. If you don’t believe in absolutes, Obi, what exactly are you planning on doing with that light saber? In fact, it’s a belief that is completely contrary to the whole world of good and evil that Star Wars represents.

In the end, ‘Sith’ is not the film it might have been. Weighed down by technology, low-level performances, and an ideology at odds with itself, ‘Revenge of the Sith’ only serves to create a cosmic dissonance of galactic proportions.

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I almost classified this one under the "no comment" section, but I guess just the fact that I'm putting it here is a comment of some sort.

The latest news from Athens. The Greek Orthodox Church recently declared that men who desire to enter the priesthood from other professions are welcome to apply...unless they are politicians, gynecologists, actors, coroners, lawyers, soldiers or wine-shop employees. Welcome are bee-keepers, candle makers, and cobblers. (I'm not making this up). Apparantly the listed professions are "unsuitable" for future clergymen.

I don't get it. Is the suggestion that all politicians are dishonest? Or that there is something lewd in being a gynecologist? As I see it, there are very few professions which are inherently wicked. Prostitution, for instance. In most other cases, it depends upon the individual. If a man should be disqualified purely on the basis of his former profession, then maybe Jesus shouldn't have chosen a tax collector (St. Matthew) to be one of the big twelve.

In Lutheranism, we commonly speak about the doctrine of vocation. And this is the biblical notion that God uses us as His instruments for preserving His creation. Not only did God create the world we inhabit, but He continues to bless and keep it. Believe it or not, but God uses politicians, lawyers, gynecologists, coroners, soldiers, actors, and even wineshop employees as the means to serve your needs. And he uses you to serve theirs. We are flawed utensils, to be sure. Poorly tuned instruments. But each person should view his daily work, his ordinary responsibilities, his mundane tasks, his station in life, as a divine calling to serve his neighbor.

When I read about this in an Australian paper, I thought it must be one of those satire publications like The Onion. But it's reported in the Greek news too. I'm still not sure if it's real.

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I've only been at this new hobby for about two months and have recently stumbled across several blog sites full of helpful hints. So if you are just starting out, give these a peek:

• Basic definitions from Technorati. Start here.


• "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Blogging But Were Afraid to Ask." SimonWorld has this slightly tongue-in-cheek yet extremely helpful list of suggestions.


• Joe Carter at Evangelical Outpost has these six helpful pages for beginning bloggers.


• Before You Begin
• The Beginning Blogger's Toolbox
  
• How to Become an A-List Blogger
  
• The Art of Marketing Your Blog
• Owning a Micro-Niche
• Three Essentials of Blog Design
  



• Harvey of Bad Example gives 12 steps to better blogging.
• And here he has a good guide to comments.
• And here is how he recommends "fighting invisibility."
  


• John Hawkins at Right Wing News offers these three cardinal sins of blogging.


• Adrian Warnock at UK Evangelical Blog has this five part series on How to Be a Successful Blogger: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
  

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St. John's church in Cardiff, Wales has opened a Pandora's box that they won't be able to close. Supposedly in order to attract people to attend their services, they have installed wireless computer networking equipment to make it easier for people to use their personal laptops to retrieve e-mail or surf the net. Check here and here.

All the minister asks is that folks keep it quiet during worship services. Here's the quote that slays me: "I have no problem with people quietly sending an email or surfing the Internet in church, as long as they respect the church."

That's like saying it's OK to watch TV while your spouse is trying to talk to you, just so long as you respect marriage. Duh! The very act of composing e-mail to your uncle Henry or surfing the internet, viewing who knows what, while the Word of God is being proclaimed or the Holy Eucharist is being administered is the very definition of NOT respecting the church. Why isn't this obvious to everyone?

Technology is great, but can't a person get away from the world for even one hour to hear the Gospel?? Jesus said if you will not forsake all for Him, you cannot be His disciple. And some folks can't even disconnect long enough to sing a few hymns and say a few prayers. Gee, I'm glad God doesn't ask for our undivided attention while the flogging and crucifixion of His Son is being proclaimed.

I'm with those four churches in Monterrey, Mexico who have installed cell phone jammers so that people in their building are unable to receive a signal. It used to be the biggest distraction one had to tolerate during the sermon was a crying baby, but now the words of Jesus have to compete with a sudden burst of "Who Let the Dogs Out?"

Thanks to Bunnie Diehl for the story.

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Yesterday, the family and I happened to catch not one, but two movies. It was a day off school, you see. But don't think we observed our Memorial Day only with self indulgence. Earlier in the day we visited the Soldiers and Sailors Museum for a patriotic celebration.

• The Pacifier starring Vin Diesel was playing at the local dollar theater. And let me say that I thought it was a terrific family film. I enjoyed it A LOT. Admittedly, I'm kind of a Vin Diesel fan already because Saving Private Ryan is one of my all time faves.

• Why I liked it: No cursing (that I can recall). It was clean. It was very pro-family. And I would say that it was pro-military too. And it was funny, with a decent story and enjoyable characters. Occasionally, over-the-top silliness, but that's OK.
  

• Criticisms: A bit too much diaper humor. Gets a laugh the first time, maybe, but then after that it just reveals the laziness of the writers. Y'know, whenever you get stumped, just throw in another poop joke.
  
  And I suppose some might suggest that the subplot with the oldest boy is a subtle attempt to encourage acceptance of homosexuality, as was purported for Shark Tale. And that may well have been the producer's intent, but it could also just be a way to encourage the audience to accept that people are different and have different likes and dislikes. I guess I'm just not in the mood today to find a cultural boogeyman behind every bush.



• I, Robot with Will Smith. Watched on DVD. Second time for me. Not really based on the Isaac Asimov collection of stories of the same name, only "suggested" by it.


• Why I liked it: Awesome action sequences and special effects. Good story. And Will Smith remains an outstanding action movie hero but has something Arnold and Sylvester could never quite achieve, and that is humor. Bruce Willis is another one who can deliver in the rough-and-tumble department and still also deliver a funny line.

Another thing the movie did well, in my opinion, was to illustrate the classic Science Fiction theme that technology dehumanizes us. There's a note of warning in there somewhere. (It's ironic that I'm stating that on a blog.)


• Criticisms: Bad language all over the place.

I don't know if this is so much a criticism as an observation. The movie had almost no connection, plot-wise, to the Asimov book it was named for. However, the three laws of robotics which play a central role in the film do come from Asimov. Overall, a good flick.

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In the media, Islam has been called the religion of peace. I suppose destroying all the infidels is one way towards creating harmony.

Here's an excerpt from a "sermon" delivered by Sheik Ibrahim Mudeiris on Palestinian television. I've talked about this general issue with Christian leaders and laity I know in Muslim countries and they agree that any Americans who think this "sermon" represents a small lunatic fringe is living with their heads in the sand. When my son was three years old, he believed that if he covered his eyes with his hands, it made the person he'd be looking at disappear. It just seems to me that there are a lot of people who think that if they don't think about this, it won't become a problem. Denial is not just a river in Egypt. It's a state of mind.

Jesus said, "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world (Joh 16:33)." True peace is only available in Jesus Christ. He alone has reconciled sinners to the Heavenly Father.

I tip my hat to The Volokh Conspiracy.

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Michael Yon is a journalist travelling with American soldiers in Iraq. You should click here to read what he writes about the Muslims who are intentionally killing Iraqi children and using them as shields and doing it in the name of their false god. Jesus talked about men who would do evil and think they were doing God a favor. Their god is the devil.

Yon also writes how the children in Iraq LOVE the American soldiers. He says that they come running filled with excitement when they hear the tanks rumbling the same way American children run when they hear the bell of the neighborhood ice cream man. And the soldiers are sadly forced to tell the children to stay back. Why? Because the evil ones they are fighting use the children as shields and have killed many.

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Yep, you read that correctly. A Danish Lutheran pastor was under scrutiny by his ecclesiastical supervisors, apparently, for denying the afterlife and the resurrection. He is also quoted as saying that there is no "heavenly God."

William Shakespeare said that not everything that glitters (he actually wrote "glisters") is gold. Likewise, not everyone who calls himself a "Lutheran" is one. Not everyone who calls himself a follower of Christ is one either. Jesus said that on the last day there will be many who say, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out devils and perform many miracles?" And He will say to them, "I never knew you. Depart from me you evildoers."

One Danish bishop said that although he disagrees with this pastor's views there should be room for him in Denmark's state church. Are there no limits to diversity of belief in the Lutheran Church in Denmark?

My understanding of what makes a person a Lutheran is not merely his heritage but that he or she believes that the Holy Scripture are the inerrant Word of God and the Book of Concord of 1580 is a faithful and true exposition of the Scriptures.

Hat tip to Rev. Paul McCain for his analysis of an Associated Press story dated May 29.

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Question: What was the number one song on the U.S. pop charts the day I was born (June 16, 1969)?

Go here to see what was the top of the pops on your birthday.

Hat tip to: Territorial Bloggings

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Today I saw a photo that made me cry. It was of an American soldier, Major Mark Bieger, holding and hugging a little dead Iraqi girl that the animals we are fighting murdered. A Muslim suicide bomber decided to attack our troops at the exact moment when about twenty children were crowding around them.

I have asked the journalist, Michael Yon, for his permission to include the photo (and maybe others) on my blog. But here is a link to his site. You should read it and scroll down to view his pictures of the Iraqi children. I was literally brought to tears. They are beautiful. Looking at his site only made me want to go there myself. At 35, I'm too old to enlist, even as a chaplain (I think), but only a stone could look at these images and not want to do something to help them.

Tomorrow I will be writing checks to Operation Iraqi Children and Wounded Warrior Project as my way of honoring our brave service men and women on Memorial Day weekend. Another excellent charity is Ollie North's Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund. They provide college financial aid for children of our soldiers who've died or been permanently disabled.

Many of you will get a three day weekend for Memorial Day. And some of you will have picnics and have fun and drink beer with your friends. Think of those who cannot be with their families because they are serving their nation and take AT LEAST the price of a case of beer and give to these worthy causes.

Hat tip to Michelle Malkin, one of my new favorite people.

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The Gitmo prisoner who'd originally accused his captors of flushing the Koran in a toilet as a means of intimidation has now recanted. At least that's what the Pentagon now says. I noticed that yesterday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette top front-page headline was about supposed FBI corroboration of the original claim. Today's headline was about Bolton, but a smaller headline - still front page and above the fold - did at least allude to this new information.

Hugh Hewitt, in his important new book Blog: Understanding the Information Reformation That's Changing Your World, says that mainstream media (MSM) is increasingly impotent. News cycles are not 24 hours, but 15 seconds or less. So while I knew about the Pentagon's latest claim yesterday from scanning the blogosphere, this morning's paper includes an editorial by E.J. Dionne Jr. based on the now irrelevant FBI documents released yesterday. Hewitt offers the frankly indisputable argument that blogging makes the morning paper taste like day-old bread (and the news weeklies like stale week-old hot dog buns - And not the kind you keep around to make into homemade croutons either).

Of course, I realize the Pentagon could be lying, but who should I give the benefit of a doubt to? The Pentagon or Al Quaeda?

Don't like the news? Wait five minutes. It may well change again.

Hat Tip to Michelle Malkin.

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The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis are wonderful fantasy stories written for children, but enjoyable for adults as well. I loved reading them as a young person, but I think I've loved them even more sharing them with my son. We've read and re-read them together. Go to my Chronicles of Narnia Amazon.com link on the right of my blog if you have never read them.

Lewis wrote The Chronicles as allegories (sort of like extended parables) to illustrate basic tenets of the Christian faith. He once said that since people have little interest in Christian doctrine these days, you sometimes have to smuggle it in to them. And that's what he does.

The Chronicles of Narnia are really seven books. Originally, the first book was "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." Disney is about to release Lion as a movie this December. Here is the first glimpse of its preview:

Lion in Quicktime

Viewing Options at "Coming Soon"

The Narnia Movie website

Thanks to Beggars All for bringing this to my attention.

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I've been hearing and reading certain dismayed braying over the alleged incident of U.S. interrogators in Guantanemo Bay flushing the Quran in a toilet.

It's wrong to desecrate religious symbols and texts... unless they're Christian, of course. In that case, it's not only acceptable. It's hip. If you want to, for instance, immerse a crucifix in a jar of urine or smear elephant dung on a picture of the Virgin Mary, that's not disrespect. That's art. (What're you, some kind of Cretan?) The taxpayers will give you big dollars too.

When the Baptist church in Danieltown, NC put this message on their church sign "The Koran Needs to Be Flushed," it raised a ruckus. One local college professor criticized the Baptists for their "intolerance" and "aggressive disrespect for other citizens' deeply held views." I hope he complained about the NEA funded projects I mentioned above.

Call me nuts, but sometimes I detect a double-standard. When you bash Christianity, it's free speech. When you bash Islam, it's a hate crime. Personally, I think we should ALL be nicer. But there is that whole Voltaire thing about not agreeing with what you say though defending to the death your right to say it. (I'd previously attributed that saying to Patrick Henry, but now I think I was in error and that it was actually Voltaire.)

The top cleric in Saudi Arabia, one Grand Mufti Adul-Aziz al-Sheik, said, "We condemn and denounce this criminal act against Muslims' most sacred item." Is that the same guy who called fire and brimstone down on those Palestinians who used pages from the Bible as toilet paper while violating the Church of the Holy Nativity in Bethlehem three years ago? I guess not.

And for the record, we should note that the government of Saudi Arabia routinely burns Bibles whenever such contraband is uncovered. In late April, 40 Pakistani Christians living near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were arrested for "trying to spread their poisonous religious beliefs to others through the distribution of books and pamphlets." Apparantly, Christians are supposed to respect Islam, but the favor need not be returned.

Trashing someone's sacred book is not torture. It's not illegal (in America, that is). It might even be an effective interrogation technique. I don't know if the Newsweek account is true. Probably, it's not. But if they did do it, the Saudi cleric is wrong. It wasn't criminal. It was just rude.

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Someone just alerted me to a stunning website called By the Fireplace - An Online Library. It's got 1710 books and 1193 short stories by 287 authors. All in the public domain. There are some outstanding classics such as:

The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Animal Farm by George Orwell
And dozens of hilarious Wooster and Jeeves books by P.G. Wodehouse

Dozens of science fiction novels by H.G. Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jules Verne, and Jack London.

Short stories by O Henry, H.G. Wells, Jack London, Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe (including my favorites, The Cask of Amontillado and The Tell-Tale Heart) and many others.

Plays by Ibsen, Moliere, Chekhov (including my favorite Uncle Vanya), 4 Greek comedies by Aristophenes, and almost 40 masterpieces by the bard himself, Wm. Shakespeare.

The incredible poetry section includes: Beowulf, The Divine Comedy by Dante, Homer's Odyssey and selections from Emily Dickenson

Non-fiction from Martin Luther, St. Augustine, and G.K. Chesterton

Oh great! Just what I needed. Another reason to sit for hours in front of the computer.

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I'm not feeling like Mr. Creative today so I thought I'd just point you to some interesting stuff I've bumped into lately:

• Two new Lutheran blogs on my blogroll. Incarnatus Est by Pr. Greg Alms. He's new so not lots there yet, but he is posting some pretty insightful theology. And CyberStones by the meek, soft-spoken, ever winsome rose petal, Pr. David Petersen. He'd be alright if he'd ever stop beating around the bush and just say what's on his mind, geesh!

• In honor of yesterday being Trinity Sunday, here is a nice essay by Dr. David Webber on the filioque clause of the Nicene Creed. He offers a Lutheran perspective on the controversy.
  

• As the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) moves toward ordaining practicing homosexuals and blessing homosexual unions this summer, you'll be reading a lot more stories like this one. Pastors, congregations and individual laypeople are gonna bail out. And if it doesn't happen this summer, it will soon enough. With the ELCA's low view of the authority of Scripture, there's really nothing to prevent it. They'll just keep "studying" the issue until they come up with the answer they want.

• Dr. Gene Veith's review of Star Wars: The Revenge of the Sith. You should subscribe to WORLD magazine, if for no other reason, to read Dr. Veith's culture reviews and columns each week.

• Roman Catholic priest denies communion to supporters of homosexuality. He did the right thing. According to St. Paul, if an unrepentant person communes, he is eating and drinking God's judgment onto himself.
  

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The son of one of my parishoners is serving his country with the USMC in Iraq. Here's wishing a happy birthday to Jesse Macklin. May the holy angels guard you in all your ways.

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Or maybe I should have entitled this piece, "The Media's Intolerable Arrogance."

By now, everyone has heard about the Newsweek story that claimed that some of the U.S. interrogators at Gitmo flushed a Koran down the toilet in order to rattle their detainees. When this story broke internationally, there were anti-American riots and upwards of 20 people were crushed or trampled to death. And now Newsweek is retracting their story claiming that their anonymous source cannot be sure the allegation is factual.

In the Washington Post's coverage of the Newsweek disgrace, they report: "The intensity of the anti-American riots, fueled in part by outraged Muslim clerics and radio broadcasts by elements of the ousted Taliban regime, took many Western analysts by surprise (emphasis added)."

And all I can say to that is, "WHAT??!!" Who exactly was surprised that reports of desecrating the Koran would foment riots? Muslims view the Koran as sacred, as the very words of God. All Muslims are taught to treat the book with the utmost respect. Christians in Muslim countries are even advised not to place their Bibles on the floor because no Muslim would do that to the Koran and if a Christian has such low respect for his sacred text, it would convince them that Christians don't take their faith very seriously. In some Islamic countries desecrating the Koran is a crime punishable by death. And many Western analysts were surprised?!

That would be comparable to me shouting "FIRE!!" into a crowded theater and later saying I was surprised to have caused such a panic. I might be forgiven for the ruckus if my warning were based on fact, if the theater truly were burning. But if I carelessly hit the alarm and were thus responsible for the ensuing havoc and admitted later that I really had no evidence that the theater was on fire, I ought to be penalized.

The problem, as I see it, is that many of those who are reporting on Islam don't know much about it. In fact, the mammoth ignorance of religion by those who report on it is, at times, frankly staggering.

Newsweek Editor, Mark Whitaker said: "I suppose you could say we should have foreseen the consequences of the report, but we didn't." Y'think?

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You can rest assured that once I actually view the final chapter of George Lucas' magnum opus, I will post my review here. I haven't seen it yet, but I am almost done reading a book based on the screenplay to my 9-year-old son, so I have seen it in my mind's eye.

I usually appreciate everything Fredrica Mathewes-Green writes and lately she's been doing movie reviews for National Review Online. Her reviews are always very well-written. I enjoy her's more than anyone else's. Sometimes I enjoy her reviews more than I enjoy the movies themselves.

Here is her take on The Revenge of the Sith.

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I am usually reading at least two or three books at the same time. I'm not boasting. In fact, I consider this one of my flaws (though not one of the greater ones). I typically have one religious book at hand as well as one work of fiction. Occasionally, I may also be into something political or a biography. I wish I could focus my attention on one thing at a time, but alas, I cannot.

The two book occupying my mind at the moment are:

Journey Back to Eden: My Life and Times Among the Desert Fathers by Mark Gruber

The author is an American Benedictine monk who teaches anthropology at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA. For his doctoral research, he spent a year or so visiting and living in Coptic monasteries in the Sahara desert. This wonderful book was the result. It is his log of his time in Egypt.

Personally, one of my great desires is to visit Egypt and at least see the types of ancient desert monasteries he writes about. He focuses on the liturgical life of the Coptic monks, their forms of piety, and some of their theological reflections on sin, temptation, and grace. He gives insights into their cycles of fasting and feasting, their austerity, and their tremendous joy under hardship. He noted that Coptic monks are quite a bit more rigorous than Western monks. For instance, they go to pray for up to six hours at a time, standing, singing the entire psalter every day. He tells of attending a Christmas Eve service that lasted from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.

I have often been intrigued by the life of the Christian churches in Muslim countries. Christians in Egypt are a despised minority, though they probably fare somewhat better than in many other countries in the region.


Windswept House: A Vatican Novel by Malachi Martin

This is the second time I've read this fascinating and exciting book. Malachi Martin, now deceased, once worked closely with Pope John XXIII at the Vatican, so he is well acquainted with life in that most rarified of settings.

I was previously blown away by his documentary dramatization of several true modern case studies of demonic possession and their exorcisms in his work: Hostage to the Devil. That's well worth reading too, as long as you don't mind being completely freaked out.

Windswept House is what I would call a Vatican thriller. The halls of Vatican City become the battleground between good and evil, boiling over and scalding characters and settings around the world. It could have been re-titled Satan at St. Peter's. In a near apocalyptic drama, Martin uses the occasion to comment sagely on real spiritual issues undermining the Roman Catholic Church (and the rest of us too). It's fiction. . . I think. A real page-turner.

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Question: What's your favorite television theme song?

Some people collect stamps or desiccated insect carcasses to pass the time. Not me. No sir. I just blew the last 40 minutes listening to the most awesomest T.V. theme songs of all time. Check this out baby!

So what's yours? And don't give me something obvious like Cheers or Welcome Back Kotter. Surpise me!!

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Rev. Tom Chryst has offered this marvelous service.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A free service with which you can submit your Lutheran Blog listing.

Guidelines:
Lutheran Blog Directory will list blogs pertaining to Lutheranism.

Personal blogs are welcome from clergy and lay alike, but content should reflect a Lutheran perspective.

Sites listed should be blogs. Church websites, and other site formats will not be listed.

All blogs submitted must be approved by the webmaster. I reserve the right to refuse listing for any reason.

Please feel free to link to us, and tell your Lutheran blogging friends!

If you have questions, comments, or complaints, contact me:
Rev. Tom Chryst, Owner: tomchryst@yahoo.com

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Today, a Lutheran pastor asked me about a movie I had recently recommended, The Addiction, so I decided to post a comment about it.

I’m not a film critic and I don’t particularly fancy horror films, but I did become intrigued by the genre after being assigned to write an article for Higher Things magazine. I found that there are some distinctly biblical notions underlying many of the better horror movies. I know that might sound strange to some, but it’s true. Check out my previous post to read where I’m coming from.

The Addiction is a vampire movie, pure and simple. I stand by my recommendation, but with this word of caution: It is a gory movie and has some quite unpleasant scenes. The fact that it is black and white helps a bit. But the easily rattled may want to stay away.

The vampire motif is the film's way of portraying Original Sin. The disposition of fallen man toward evil is a bit like an addiction, a craving that must be fed. One of the reasons I recommend the picture is because it does not buy at all into this modernist notion that people are good. Enlightenment optimism regarding man's nature is simply not borne out in our experience.

Don’t misunderstand, human nature is essentially good. If I said otherwise, I’d be accusing God of creating something evil. Even more, I’d be saying that God Himself is evil. We were created in the image and likeness of God after all. But since our first parents took the forbidden fruit, our pristine human nature has been corrupted. Now, as St. Augustine said, "Non posse non peccare," (“We are not able not to sin.”)

And that is what this movie is about. Why is that beneficial to the cause of Christ? Because we live in a society that is in denial. By failing to recognize our corruption for what it is, we fail to understand our need for a savior. As long as I can remain even the slightest bit optimistic about myself then I will not seek Christ. Martin Luther once said, “It is certain that man must utterly despair of his own ability before he is prepared to receive the grace of Christ (Heidelberg Theses).” To recognize your need is the first step toward recovery.

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Members of my congregation, Concordia Lutheran Church, and I marched today to raise funds for the Pregnancy Resource Center of the South Hills here in Pittsburgh. This is an outstanding organization which provides services for women in crisis, considering abortion, and in need of guidance and help.

[The beautiful banner you see above was made by Debbie Malenky.]

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Am I speaking in tongues? No. The above word (Paraskevidekatriaphobia) refers to the irrational fear of Friday 13th. Today was mostly over before I realized that it is the loathsome date. And I’m not particularly worried. Nothing bad has happened. I have read that the fear of this date is still quite common. Can anyone offer an explanation for this?

I think it is bizarre that many modern people eschew Christianity (organized religion) because they find the story of the Israelites crossing the parted sea, the virgin birth and the bodily resurrection of Jesus difficult to digest and yet they wouldn’t schedule their wedding on Friday 13th. Many office buildings don’t have a 13th floor (which is silly because calling the floor after the 12th the 14th doesn’t mean it’s not still the 13th floor). How many people do you know who believe unquestioningly in space aliens in area 51, ESP, and ghosts but think Christianity is for little kids and old women? It simply demonstrates that human beings are insatiably religious. The trouble is that we prefer the weird, exotic and ridiculous to the much more familiar Christian orthodoxy.

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I'm sure that you, like I, have used light sabers in a variety of ways. Slicing bagels. Heating coffee. Lighting your cigar. Even trimming hedges. Haven't you ever wondered exactly how these useful tools work? The answer can be found here. Hat tip to The Terrible Swede.

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A flea and a fly in a flue
Were imprisoned, so what could they do?
Said the fly, "Let us flee!"
"Let us fly!" said the flea!
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.
-Ogden Nash

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I love the STAR WARS movies. I think I like them even more than my nine-year-old son and that's saying a lot. But don't we need to keep a distinction between Christian worship and cinema? Check this out. And this.

What does the Force have to do with the Holy Spirit? What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem?

I believe there are many times when Christians can and should use the products of popular culture in order to "build bridges" and begin to communicate the message of Jesus Christ. Paul in Acts 17 is the perfect example. In preaching to Athenian philosophers, the apostle quotes pagan Greek poets in order to make a point, to gain a hearing. He spoke their cultural language. And this lead to proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus - at which point, of course, he lost most of his audience.

And that's not the only instance where he does that. In 1 Corinthians 15:33, St. Paul quotes from the Greek comedy Thais written by Menander. Obviously, the apostle saw or read the play and knew it well enough to quote it. That's like me using a quote from Forest Gump or Spiderman or Lord of the Rings in a sermon. It's like refering to American Idol or CSI:Miami. Or a familiar song from the radio. I do that all the time. Some people like it. Some people don't.

Based on the way Jesus used irony and humor and examples from daily life, I don't doubt that He might draw illustrations from STAR WARS if He gave His Sermon on the Mount today. But would he have St. Peter dress in a wookie suit, charge people to watch a film in worship, base sermons on major concepts of the movie, and suggest that the Bible is irrelevant? No. Jar Jar might, but Jesus wouldn't. Every bad thing is really just a good thing gone too far.

To their credit, the folks at Epic Church did alter their website blurb. It originally said, "No long boring sermons filled with Biblical terminology you don't understand, just messages that relate to real issues in your life!" Call me wacky, but I believe the Bible is relevant. Yes, we need to be careful of cliche preaching and over-use of jargon that the unchurched are not familiar with, but we can't encourage the notion that the Bible doesn't speak to real life human needs.

And "Join the Rebellion" is a terrible motto for a church. The apostles weren't the rebels. Everyone else was. Let's keep this straight. Christianity is not a rebel movement. We are not rebelling against the devil. The devil and the world are rebelling against God and His Church. Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers," not "blessed are the insurgents."

I know the dear well-meaning Christians at Epic Church think they are being edgy and inviting people to swim against the mainstream. But face it, tying your religion in to the biggest pop culture phenom of the year is hardly the way to invite people to a life of dying to self.

My fellow blogsters Bunnie Diehl and Pastor Jeff Warner have good stuff to say too.

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In Iraq, a 1400 year old custom of Shi'ite Muslims has seen a resurgence: Temporary Marriage. Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, had outlawed this practice, but now it's back in vogue. The way it works is this. If a man sees a woman he wants to have sex with, he "marries" her for an hour or a night or a couple of days. He then has sex with her. And he pays her for it. Naturally, there are some restrictions. She must be unmarried at the time. A married man can do this, but a married woman cannot. A widow is good. A virgin is OK as long as her father consents. They say they do this to cut down on promiscuity. After all, it's not fornication if she's your wife - even if only for the hour. I'm not making this up. (I mentioned this practice in a class I was teaching 6 months ago, and people laughed. I think some thought I was kidding.) The other reason they say they do this is so that widows can make money and provide for themselves. I'll make an outrageous suggestion. If we're concerned about the plight of widows and orphans, why not just GIVE them the money?

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Today, we had a congregational one-day retreat on the topic of vocation. That's "vOcation," not "vAcation." All of us have various vocations or callings from God. For instance, I have a divine call to be a pastor. But I am also called by God to be a husband, a father, a son, a citizen, a neighbor, etc. And each person's various vocations have particular functions and responsibilities. Martin Luther's "Table of Duties" in his Small Catechism spells this out quite well.

Each one of us is a "mask of God" as, through us, the Creator continues to sustain His creation. How does God take care of you in the world? Through the farmer who grows your food. Through the grocer who stocks and sells you your food. Through the policeman who protects your life and property. Through doctors and nurses who treat you when you are sick. Through your pastor who applies God's Word to you. And so forth.

Our relationship toward God is defined by faith, the passive reception of God's gifts through His Son: namely, forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. Our relationship toward our neighbor is defined by love, expressed through good works. God uses your good deeds, as you faithfully fulfill your vocations, to sustain those around you. God, after all, does not need your good works. But your neighbor does.

Hearty thanks to Rev. Mark Sell, book editor at Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.

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I'm taller than Pastor Sell.

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Rev. Mark Sell, retreat leader, man-o-God, cool-shirt-wearing, super book dude

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Just because I dig cats...

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The ancient Christian Church grew by leaps and bounds on account of the sword. Of course, the sword was aimed AT the Christians, not BY them. Yes, that's right, in the first 3 centuries after Christ's ascension, the Church was hotly persecuted, first by the majority of the Sanhedrin, then by the Romans (and other sundry lovelies). The second century theologian, Tertullian, once said that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.

But the persecution of Christianity is not just an ancient phenomenon. More believers were killed in the 20th century on account of Christ than in the previous 19 combined.

I guess one of the things that concerns me is that not only do most people ignore the plight of persecuted Christians, but many of us refuse to acknowledge one of the chief sources of this strife: the Muslim world. That's why I am very cautious about this new movie on the crusades, "The Kingdom of Heaven." From what I have read thus far, it is revisionistic and soaked in political correctness. WORLD magazine has a good piece on it. And so does columnist Debbie Schlussel. If you only read one thing today (other than the Burr), read Schlussel's article.

I'm not defending the crusades or the acts of the crusaders. The fact of the matter is, insofar as they were guilty of rape, murder and theft, they were acting contrary to the faith of the New Testament. Never once does Jesus Christ or St. Paul urge their followers to take arms. The same cannot be said about Mohammed or the Koran. The ancient church was badly battered by their opponents, even as Jesus had foretold, but they didn't raise militias. They endured their sufferings, mirroring their Savior, with strength supplied by God.

Study the history objectively. In the sixth century, Turkey, the Middle East, northern and eastern Africa, were all heavily Christianized. Within a century or two of Mohammed's birth, his armies had overtaken all these lands. And now they remain the hottest beds of persecution toward Christians and Jews. People forget that Spain was dominated by Islamic occupiers for 800 years. Even in the 16th century, Muslim armies were advancing against Vienna. Dr. Alvin Schmidt records the details of violent Islamic expansion in his book, "The Great Divide." This article from Issues, Etc. gives a pithy summary.

So if you go see "Kingdom of Heaven," please consider doing a bit of study first so your brain won't be confused by the dis-information. Better yet, don't go see it. And keep the iconography in mind. The symbol for Christianity is the cross, the sign of one Divine Man's suffering for the sins of all. The symbol for Islam is the scimatar, a means of inflicting suffering upon all. Hmmmm...

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Since everyone on earth (and then some) has read Warren's book, it is necessary to offer some reactions. Actually, not everyone has read it, because I have not. But you probably have. Go to the Preachrblog to find some thoughtful, well-crafted responses by pastors, theologians and laypeople. I don't know about you, but I find meaning for my life in what Christ has done for me, not what I do for Him.

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If anyone is interested in listening to Christ-centered, unashamedly Lutheran radio, I have a couple of recommendations for you.

First of all, check us out at "Let's Talk About Jesus." That's the Sunday night radio program on which I am a regular guest with host, Rev. Don Matzat, aired here in Pittsburgh on WORD-FM.

And secondly, I will be interviewed next Wednesday (May 11) from 5:00-5:30 p.m. eastern, on the KFUO radio program "Issues, Etc." in St. Louis about my recent article in Higher Things magazine on the topic of horror movies.

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Since I am new to blogging, I have been amazed by some of the awesome Lutheran blogs that are out there. I encourage you to check out the links I post to the right. But here are a few recent highlights:

• Pastor Tom Chryst in Racine, WI over at Preachrblog posts some very edifying sermons and original hymns he has written. I keep meaning to ask his permission to use his hymns in our worship service here. And he said some nice things about the Burr.


• Seminarian Steve Parks over at Sceleratissimus Lutheranus has been writing some interesting things about Mormonism.


• Pastor Jack Kozak from Akron, OH has a very cleverly titled blog: Pastor Kozak. I giggled furiously reading his "Latin You Can Use."
  

There's a ton more cool stuff out there in the Lutheran Blogosphere; I recommend you "do something while you're doing nothing" and check it out.

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