The Burr in the Burgh

Last year, I recall reading about a school district in Washington state which was banning the celebration of Halloween. If you think this was done to appease some Christian fundies, you'd be wrong. The fact is, the decision was made because Halloween depictions of witches were offensive to . . . witches. The Wiccans complained. This year, the same thing is happening in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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As many of you know, my wife, Julie, has written a number of children's books. She has several more in the works now. But I thought I'd bring these holiday books to your attention since we are entering that time of year. Note especially the Saint Nicholas book. St. Nick day is Dec 6.

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Thanks to Wendy at Tales from the Dorkside for bringing this to our attention. The editors at Time magazine have compiled a list of what they consider the 100 greatest English language novels from 1923 to the present. Here is the whole list.

These are the ones I've read. What about you?

• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• The Assistant by Bernard Malamud
• The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
• 1984 by George Orwell
• The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
• Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
• The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I number 15. Should be more, I suppose, but I can't help thinking of all the great books not on their list too.

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Thanks to Beggars All for bringing this to our attention. There is a new trailer out for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe movie. Go here. The book has long meant a lot to me. So I'm on pins and needles waiting for the movie. If it is well-made and sticks to the text, this could be a very useful tool for the Church.

First, because it is a ripping story. Full of strange creatures, an evil witch, mighty wonders and bloody battles.

Second, because it conveys Christian truth expertly in the narrative:

• Sin. The character of Edward illustrates the hold that sin has on our nature. It is like an addiction. It's a hunger, a desire, a passion, lust, envy, greed, pride, idolatry. It's all the same. Sin is being curved in on oneself. Sin is - at its core - looking for fulfillment in anyone or anything other than God through Christ.
• The Devil. Satan has control over the world, but not complete control. Ultimately, he is still God's devil. And God is supreme. Yet, under the devil's sway, all of creation is cast into a winter-never-Christmas. All color is gone. Life no longer blooms. Warmth is a memory.
• Substitutionary Atonement. The one eternal Son of God submits to the law and is cruelly murdered in place of the sinner. His death releases the sinner from his bondage forever.
• Resurrection. There is nothing at all remarkable about the resurrection of God's Son. What else would "The Life" do but live. The remarkable thing is that He died in the first place.
  
• Christus Victor. The Lord will crush the serpent's head. The witch and her followers will be damned.

Others who've written about C.S. Lewis and Christian theology in The Chronicles of Narnia can expound on this much further and much better. But all of what I've mentioned is clearly portrayed in the narrative of the upcoming film (assuming it remains faithful ot the book).

And that is why I believe this film has the potential for being a much better tool for Christian evangelism than Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ. Gibson showed. This tells. And I think telling is better than showing alone.

Gibson showed us the crucifixion, but never explained its meaning. Image has value. But without explanation, the image alone can easily mislead. Luther complained that people meditate on the passion of the Christ and either feel sorry for Jesus or get mad at the Jews, neither of which were the intent of his suffering and death.

I admire Lewis's accomplishments. Hopefully this film will help us tell about Christ to a generation who simply don't know anything, though they think they know enough.

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People are complaining that there are no black players on the Houston Astros's lineup. See here. Apparently, this is the first time this has been the case for a World Series team in fifty years. Now I could understand the complaint if someone were alleging that qualified black players were being discriminated against and kept off the team on the basis of their race. That would be terrible.

But, as yet, no one has made that allegation. Even those who are complaining about the situation state that the cause is that the majority of black athletes are going into other sports, such as basketball and football.

The Astros general manager said,"I think it's a huge, huge problem for baseball." I'm just not seeing the point. Why is this a problem if we're not talking about discrimination? Are black athletes bad people for choosing other sports to pursue? There aren't a lot of African Americans playing professional hockey either. So what? How many Asian-Americans play football? What's the problem?

Baseball is a fine sport and an American tradition. And I'd be delighted to see plenty of talented African American players on every team. But are there not enough legitimate reasons for outrage in this world that we have to get stirred up over this?

HT: Bunnie Diehl

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A terrific treat. My wife wrote a brief review here. And a film geek friend wrote this review. Check them out.

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As a Pittsburgher, this article concerned me very much. Particularly the bit about FUMA's incompetence. FUMA = Federal Undead Management Agency.

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This is something I've been meaning to do for a while. There are millions of blogs out there. Many of them quite good. It's just not possible to put every worthwhile blog on one's blogroll. I do try to promote my fellow LCMS (Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod) bloggers. But tonight I added a new category. Simply Blogs of Interest. They are mostly religious in nature, but not necessarily. I don't necessarily endorse or agree with every single thing they write. But I do read them on a regular basis and encourage you to check them out.

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Blog carnivals are great ways to discover new and interesting blogs. Go see this week's Lutheran Blog Carnival hosted by Be Strong in the Grace.

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Antonio was in kindergarten at Baldwinsville Elementary School in New York. Antonio was assigned to draw a picture about saving the environment. Antonia created a poster of people holding hands around the world with recycle bins, etc. And along the edge was an unidentified bearded man reaching his arms toward the earth. Antonio acknowledged that the bearded man represents Jesus. The school did allow Antonio's picture to be displayed with all the others but someone first folded down the side that had the Jesus figure so he couldn't be seen. None of the other posters were censored in any way. And Antonio's parents have been fighting this in court since 1999. Here is the news release.

Am I bonkers or is this just getting out of hand? IN WHAT SENSE does a five-year-old's drawing of Jesus break the law? The Constitution simply says that Congress shall not establish an official religion or prohibit the free exercise thereof. It says nothing about children drawing pictures of Jesus. Simply allowing a child to express his beliefs does not mean the state is imposing a religion on anyone else. Let the Jews draw Moses. Let the Muslims draw Mohammed. Let the Mormons draw Joseph Smith. Let the Jedis draw Yoda. Good grief! Before you know it, they'll be telling us we can't say "under God" in the pledge of allegiance or something.

Hat tip: Lost Budgie Blog

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Someone I know has in his e-mail signature this quip: I like cats. . . they taste just like chicken.

Some people are dog people and others are cat people. I must be a pet hermaphrodite because I own some of each. Actually I think I'm just compensating. I don't like dogs so much as I like wolves and dogs are the closest I can get. And I don't like cats so much as I like lions. You get the idea.

A few days ago, I posted a link to a funny vid of kitty cats doing wild and crazy things. So a friend sent me this link. It's about some German inventor who claims he's found a way to make cheap diesel fuel out of dead cats. My friend is yanking my chain.

But if the bizarre story is true. I don't have a problem with using cat carcasses for fuel. Set up a system so all the pets that are euthanized by veterinarians every day get picked up and shipped to the conversion station where the cheap diesel fuel is produced. Why not?

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Have you ever noticed that many cultists like to use the Christian bible to try to prove their errant positions? The Mormons, for instance, quote the King James Bible to you in your living room while you politely offer them coffee, tea or Pepsi.

In the second century, St. Irenaeus wrote against the gnostic heretics. And he too noticed that false teachers love to throw out bible proof texts. A couple of centuries later, the Arians were tying to make the bible say things it doesn't say. This is a common thing.

St. Irenaeus used this illustration. He said to imagine a large and beautiful mosaic of a king made from many gems and stones and precious metals. Now imagine that some rascal sneaks along and craftily re-arranges the tiles into something new, a picture of a mangey dog. All the pieces were the same. They'd just been misused and put out of order.

That is what the heretics do with God's Word. They use faulty or idiosyncratic translations. They quote half a verse. They pull things from context. They misapply and mislead. Anyone could quote the bible to justify nearly anything. In order to understand the Bible, there are rules of interpretation that must be followed. And chief among them is that no reading shall counter the analogy of faith, the kerygma. In other words, the Bible must be understood in light of the Gospel. I firmly support sola scriptura. But that does not change the fact that we have a fundamental understanding of the faith handed down from the preaching of the apostles, encapsulated in the historic creeds, and confessed through the ages. By this approach, no reading of scripture may contradict the analogy of faith.

And that was the point of St. Irenaeus. You can twist the bits and pieces all you like, but without the grand design, you won't see the picture correctly.

All of this came to mind when I discovered a trend in the blogosphere. Somehow people are creating new movie trailers for old movies and doing so in a way that completely changes your impression of the film. They use only footage from the film but arrange it in a new manner so that it appears to be something it is not.

Here is Alfred Hitchcock's famous thriller Psycho presented as a tender love story.

Here is the syrupy love story Titanic presented as a horror movie.

And here is the nightmarish Stanley Kubrick flick, Shining, presented as a warm-hearted family dramady.

Further info here.

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As almost everyone in the English-speaking world knows by now, C.S. Lewis's classic The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is being adapted into a feature film, due out this December. Naturally, one is concerned that Disney not mess it up. Why would anyone think that? Because of how they almost always mess up fairy tales and folklore with their sappy and often soul-less renditions. Turning Pocahontas from a devoted Christian into a tree-hugging new ager is a key example. However, the initial reports from those who've seen major bits of the film are that the Christian doctrine contained in the story has not been removed, watered-down or ruined by the Disney Imagineers.

While most Christians who are familiar with the book are delighted (if mildly skeptical) that it is being launched on the silver screen, not everyone is pleased. Writer Philip Pullman claims that C.S. Lewis's fanatasy classic lacks any evidence of - get this - love. I suppose giving one's life for the salvation of all doesn't count as love. Jesus said, "There is no greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Let me see here. Pullman or Jesus? Jesus or Pullman? Which one is right about this whole definition of love thing?

Philip Pullman is an outspoken atheist whose own fantasy trilogy, His Dark Materials, portrays the Christian Church as evil and God as a demented fraud. It seems that he is like many contemporary folk who equate love with being nice. And since Aslan is not always nice, he is not loving enough for Pullman. The books says that Aslan is not a tame lion. And I would say that God is not a tame God. He is dangerous. He is merciful, but He is also severe.

I love the Narnia books precisely because they portray Christ as spiritually muscular. He is very compassionate, but never weak. And He will do anything it takes to save us, even if that means he has to hurt us (or kill us) to do it.

What Pullman wants is not the Jesus of the Scriptures, the Jesus of authentic Christianity, but a vegan hippie Jesus who is in touch with his inner puppy. A live-and-let-live Jesus. A Timothy Leary Jesus. A flower power Jesus who exfoliates with his loofah in between group hugs.

Pullman is not alone in this. Many folks today are turned off by the blood, sweat and tears of Biblical Christianity (not that you actually find much of this anymore). What they really seek is nice-ianity. And when true religion does not match their poppy-induced caricature, they say the church is wrong.


UPDATE: I've written a new article discussing the controversy over "The Golden Compass" movie. Go here. It will take you to a link where you can download my article.

Hat tip to Jottings and Such

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Right.

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This is a notice to all the Lutheran bloggers out there. What would you think about us scheduling a get-together? Many of us already know each other, but this would still be a great chance to meet and greet.

Here's the idea. The annual theological symposia at Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne is already a big event. Many of us go there every year. Ft. Wayne is also relatively centrally located. The symposia begins Tuesday morning. How about we have a mini-conference on Monday? We could get a couple of us to speak on blog-related topics. I already have some interesting ideas in that regard. I can contact the seminary to see about getting space, etc. But first, I want to know what sort of interest is out there. So, leave a comment if this is something you'd attend. And contact other Lutheran bloggers who might not see this message and have them come and give their input too.

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Madonna has now become a prophetess of doom. Not The Madonna, as in St. Mary the Mother of God. But as in Madonna Ciccone, pop super-star, aka Esther.

According to Matt Drudge, Madonna has proclaimed that everyone will go to hell if they don't turn from their wicked ways. Uh, yeah. That's true. I believe that. And frankly, I'm glad to know she's figured that out.

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that she has discovered the solution. Of course, admitting you have a problem is the first step toward recovery. So maybe she's made that crucial first step.

But the answer to hell is not the esoteric, Jewish, mystical cult, Hollywierd celebrity freakshow she has embraced in Kabbalah. Or Kabbalah-lite as is the version most of these movie hipsters are tinkering with right now. From things I've read, Madonna (I'll keep calling her by her Christian name, thankyouverymuch) is probably more serious about her religious pursuit than many of her entertainer colleagues. For so many of them (Britney, Paris, Demi), one gets the impression that Kabbalah is just the latest semi-religious fad. Kind of like the Jesus is My Homeboy T-shirts everyone was wearing a year ago.

Madonna, if you're out there reading my blog (as if), I am very happy that you have apparently had some new spiritual awakenings. However, the gnostico-Judaism you have entered holds no true enlightenment. Jesus Christ is the light of the world, the light that scatters all darkness. I sincerely pray that you will return to your Christian roots and discover the great blessing your namesake, the Theotokos, bore into the world. Be like our Lady and magnify the Lord Jesus Christ with us.

Turn from your wicked ways, yes. But do not turn toward a pack of deceptions for relief. Turn to the one who bore your wickedness in his own body to atone for your sins and mine.

[Note: If any of you have Madonna's e-mail address, please forward this post to her.]

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Someone kindly sent me a link to this hilarious video. If you want to see a clip filled with funny cat incidents, go here.

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It's been a while since I've had a new poll. Please scroll down. It's on the right. The question is "What is Your Favorite Anthony Hopkins Performance in a Film?" Please vote and then comment here on why you made the choice you did.

I voted for "The Elephant Man." But I could just as easily have chosen a half dozen others. What do you think?

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Lutherans are occasionally accused of being antinomians. Antinomians are people who are "against the law." During the Lutheran Reformation of the Church, the reformers were calling people to a living faith in the Christ whose death fully atoned for the sins of the world. Martin Luther tells us that at the time, the only sermons one heard were either about the saints or good deeds, but little was said or known of Christ as Savior. So the Lutherans preached Christ crucified, the gospel of free salvation through faith in Him.

But then, for some, the pendulum swung too far the other direction. Over-reacting to Rome's hyper-emphasis on good works, some Lutherans talked about Jesus well enough but failed to say anything useful about living the Christian life, about sanctification.

My friends, the gospel is not a license to sin. And Luther's own writings against the antinomians of his time demonstrate that this is not Reformation doctrine.

Now today, there are some Lutheran antinomians once again. Sometimes these are the liberals who are guilty of gospel-reductionism. To them, as long as you preach justification by faith alone, everything else is negotiable. So you might hear a decent sermon about God's grace, but nothing about sin, wrath, judgment. This is what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called cheap grace. It is grace without discipleship. Forgiveness without repentance. And it ain't Lutheran. It ain't biblical.

But even amongst the traditionalist conservative Lutherans, there is a sort of antinomianism. Just about every heresy in the church is a good thing taken too far. Those who so treasure the work of Jesus on the cross can, if not vigilant, give the impression that it is not OK to talk about sanctification and living in the world as a Christian. They'll say, "Oh, that's what those Catholics do." Or more likely today, "Oh, that's what those evangelicals do." It used to be that "good" Lutherans were afraid of being identified as Romish. Now the "good" Lutherans are afraid of being compared to fundamentalists.

So the Romo-phobes among us (particularly in the first two-thirds of the 20th century) over-reacted by tossing out traditional vestments, liturgies, rites, practices, etc. Don't wear a crucifix or else you'll be thought a Catholic (O Dread!). That is ridiculous. Is it possible that today, the evangelico-phobes are so concerned about not being thought of as baptists in fancier robes, that we neglect preaching the whole counsel of God?

Being anti-anti-nomian, as I am, is not so much about what I'm against. It's about being FOR preaching the law of God, first as a mirror which reveals my sin, but also as a rule for life. It's about preaching the work of the Holy Spirit in the Christian, through the Word. It's about vocation. It's about understanding the two realms we inhabit.

Pastor Paul McCain has an excellent post with a link to an excellent article on this very subject.


Addendum: I just wanted to add a few words to this post as a result of some of the sage comments readers have left.

It has been correctly pointed out that the law always accuses us. Every time you hear the law of God proclaimed, the Holy Spirit will use it to convict you of your sin. The law always accuses. It accuses us even if the preacher's intent is not to accuse, but to inform or instruct. Since we can never fully adhere to the instruction of God, the law always accuses us.

The law always accuses, but it does not only accuse. When I preach a sermon (Law and Gospel with the Gospel predominating), I don't figure "well, here I will use the law to accuse" and "here I will use the law to instruct in holy living." I just preach as clearly and faithfully as I am able and trust the Holy Spirit to apply it to the hearer.

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