The Burr in the Burgh

True conversion is not just giving up the bad. It means also giving up the good, in a sense. Giving up the notion that we bring our good works to God to win His favor. Good works are the natural, spontaneous and unavoidable result or fruit of being in God's favor, not the means of gaining it.

On December 16, 2005, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa preached before the pope the preeminence of faith. I don't know that he quite preached that justification is Christ's righteousness imputed or credited to unworthy sinners, but this illustration is a keeper.

Father Cantalamessa told a familiar Italian story about the shepherds near Bethlehem going to visit the newborn Jesus, each of them trying to outdo the others with the beauty of the gifts they offered.

One poor shepherd had nothing and was ashamed.

"Mary could not figure out how to accept all the gifts, since she was holding the baby in her arms," he said. "So, seeing the poor shepherd with his hands free, she handed Jesus to him."

"Having his hands free was his fortune and it should be ours as well," Father Cantalamessa said.

I love dogs and I love cats. I have one of the former and two of the latter. I'm not quite sure it's accurate to say I "own" two cats. I certainly own the dog, but I think the cats might own me. I think to them I'm just staff.

Here is how a dog thinks: "Hmmm. This man feeds me, plays with me, and cleans up after me. He must be god." A cat thinks: "Hmmm. This man feeds me, plays with me, and cleans up after me. I must be god."

Go here to see a page from a dog's diary beside a page from a cat's diary. Sums it up.

This man is a genius. He sells a DVD with two hours of nothing but himself sitting and drinking beer. That way you never have to drink alone. His web store says:

Rough day at work? No job? You've come to the right place. Steve has found a loophole that blurs the line between the casual drinker and the raging alcoholic! Simply pop in the video, choose how many beers you feel like having and relax with your new drinking buddy. No stupid chit chat, no crying about ex girlfriends, just you and Steve tipping a few back. Enjoy.

My wife, Julie, over at Jottings and Such said what I've been thinking. That happens a lot, by the way.

I'm all for rooting for the home team, but some of the signs seen in the Burgh around the Steelers big win are a bit much.


I kind of like Julie's alternative suggestion.

New Line has selected a director, Catherine Hardwicke, for their movie project The Nativity. It covers the two years leading to Mary and Joseph's trek to Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus. See here. And here. Jeffrey Overstreet at his blog Looking Closer asks who we would cast as the Virgin Mary. In my opinion, it should be a relatively unknown actress. Not someone with a body of previous work. She should be young. She should look semitic. Possibly an Arab actress. She could be pretty or plain, but she should not be sexy. My two shekels on the question.

[I always liked Olivia Hussey in Jesus of Nazareth above.]

Charles Colson wrote a very decent Breakpoint article on the invasion of substandard songs in church and how they are wreaking people's faith. Good insights.

Go here.


Musical Mush
Are We Impairing Our Capacity to Think?

February 6, 2006

When church music directors lead the congregation in singing some praise music, I often listen stoically with teeth clenched. But one Sunday morning, I cracked. We had been led through endless repetitions of a meaningless ditty called, "Draw Me Close to You." The song has zero theological content and could be sung in a nightclub, for that matter. When I thought it was finally and mercifully over, the music leader beamed at us and said in a cheerful voice, "Let's sing that again, shall we?" "No!" I shouted loudly. Heads all around me spun while my wife cringed.

I admit I prefer more traditional hymns. But even given that, I am convinced that much of the music being written for the Church today reflects an unfortunate trend—slipping across the line from worship to entertainment. Evangelicals are in danger of amusing ourselves to death, to borrow the title of the classic Neil Postman book.

The trend is also true of Christian radio, historically an important source of in-depth teaching. Many stations have recently dropped serious programming in favor of all-music formats. For example, a major Baltimore station dropped four talk shows to add music. A respected broadcaster recently dropped "Focus on the Family," claiming it had become too focused on "moral issues."

When a Cincinnati station replaced "BreakPoint" with music, I told the station manager that believers need to think Christianly about major worldview issues. Her reply? Younger women want "something to help them cope with life."

This view was confirmed by a Christian homemaker during a TV special on evangelicalism. She is so busy, she explained, with her kids, Bible study, cooking, and all, that she does not even get to read the newspaper. Church for her is getting her spirits lifted. Now admittedly, modern life creates enormous stress, but can't the Church offer comfort and help people confront the culture? Of course, music is important in the life of the Church. But it cannot replace solid teaching.

The decision by Christian broadcasters to avoid moral controversies could result in the Church withdrawing from the culture as it tragically did a century ago. The great strength of radio, as with books, has been to present in-depth teaching that engages Christians cognitively. Unfortunately, thinking analytically is something Christians find increasingly difficult. According to a government study, the average college graduate's proficient literacy in English has declined from 40 percent in 1992 to 31 percent ten years later. The study defines proficient literacy as the ability to read lengthy, complex texts and draw complicated inferences.

This is horrifying. The Gospel above everything else is revealed propositional truth—truth that speaks to all of life. Sure, the Gospel is simple enough for a child to understand. But if you want to study doctrine and worldview, you need the capacity to engage ideas cognitively. Doctrine and biblical teaching does not consist of dry, abstract notions. It is the truth that must be carried to the heart and applied. And there is no escaping that it is truth that must be learned.

When Postman published his book two decades ago, he feared television would impair our capacity to think. He was right. But can we learn from this—or are we destined to follow suit, with the Church blissfully amusing itself into irrelevance?

I like cats. Right now, I'm reading a book on the psychology of cats. Here's a super quote:

To human beings, communication is a means of expressing ideas. To cats, it is, too. The major difference is that for cats, the principle idea that is usually in need of expression is, "Get out of my face."

Not really. My headline is bogus. But I wrote it to make a point. It is contrary to the Hindu religion to kill and eat cows. But they don't plot to murder me at the McDonald's drive thru lane. Nor do they burn down my consulate in Lebanon.

Christians consider it blasphemous to portray Jesus as a girlie-man, wimpie, California, surfer dude, in touch with his inner puppy. But to my knowledge, angry mobs of Presbyterians did not wear veils and carry banners saying "Go to hell" in front of the NBC headquarters over The Book of Daniel.

Jews consider pigs to be unclean animals. But the hasid did not threaten to behead anyone when British office workers had coffee mugs brandishing the image of Winnie the Pooh character Piglet. [See here.]

Jeff Jacoby, columnist at the Boston Globe, penned this satire:

HINDUS CONSIDER it sacrilegious to eat meat from cows, so when a Danish supermarket ran a sale on beef and veal last fall, Hindus everywhere reacted with outrage. India recalled its ambassador to Copenhagen, and Danish flags were burned in Calcutta, Bombay, and Delhi. A Hindu mob in Sri Lanka severely beat two employees of a Danish-owned firm, and demonstrators in Nepal chanted: ''War on Denmark! Death to Denmark!"In many places, shops selling Dansk china or Lego toys were attacked by rioters, and two Danish embassies were firebombed.

Why is it that the ONLY major world religion that routinely uses violence and the threat of violence against its adversaries is Islam?

For a good read, check out The Great Divide: The failure of Islam and the Triumph of the West by Alvin Schmidt.

Found on Filibustercartoons via Little Green Footballs.

Arab newspapers publish horrendous anti-semitic cartoons all the time. See here. Naturally, THAT is OK. HT: Michele Malkin.

Get your championship Steelers gear here.

Thanks to Intolerant Elle for these real questions asked on job interviews.

These lovely signs are from a protest in London, England - not Tehran!! Listen, if I'm ever going to threaten to cut off someone's head, I'm at least going to be man enough to show my face.

All of this is a response to a series of cartoons making fun of Islam in a Danish paper. I get irked when Christianity is mocked (which it routinely is) and I will write letters, blog, boycott, etc. But what you see above is from the devil. Let's be honest.

For a good read, check out The Great Divide: The failure of Islam and the Triumph of the West by Alvin Schmidt.


HT: Michelle Malkin

The movie people at Christianity Today have posted what they consider the ten most "redeeming" movies of the year just past. By "redeeming" they mean that these are films about redemption - more or less. Here's their article.

I've seen five of the ten and I agree that those selections are good films that portray - either implicitly or explicitly - themes that parallel central Christian themes.


I must add that based on their recommendation, I am definitely going to rent Millions.

What is this world coming to?!?!

Check it out.

This is why I don't mess with the squirrels in our backyard. I'm telling you, these things are military geniuses.

I think the following piece by Charles Colson from his Breakpoint website is on the button!! Read it, please. The whole thing.

Ever wonder what Jesus meant when He said, “Let him who has ears, hear?” Well, an experience relayed to me by my good friend R. C. Sproul helps us understand the words of Jesus in today’s culture.

Some years ago, Sproul offered a rigorous course in Romans. Two hundred serious disciples signed up. Half-way through the course, Sproul took a week off to enroll in Evangelism Explosion (EE) courses. When he came back, he told his students about EE, including conversation openers like, “Why should God let you into heaven?” On a whim, he asked class members how they would answer.

Anyone who knows Sproul knows he teaches the great evangelical doctrine in Romans, justification by faith alone, in unmistakable terms. Every student should have known the answer. Not so. There were awkward pauses; some people mumbled about living a good life. Only thirty out of two hundred answered correctly. How could this be?

The answer may be found in two contemporary trends. First, modern evangelicalism puts undue weight on experience; if somebody lacks a personal testimony—and the more dramatic the better—he is made to feel like a second-class believer. This heavy reliance on feelings carries over in discipleship and worship. Contemporary music is intended to—and often does—whip people into a spiritual frenzy.

Our literature talks about “feeling” the presence of the Spirit—or experiencing God’s presence. This is all to the good when it results in people making a personal commitment to Jesus. But it can be dangerous when that is all there is. Doctrine may be seen as abstract and inaccessible because it seems unrelated to personal experience.

The second trend has to do with our high-tech age. Today, information is transmitted by images—pictures on televisions and computer screens. Modern technology teaches us in the same way cartoons teach us: images, rather than demanding that we wrestle with tough, analytical concepts. Experts tell us that learning through images rather than words results in a diminished capacity for complex thought.

Department of Education surveys tell the shocking story. In 1992, only forty percent of college graduates were deemed literate; that is, able to read and understand complex arguments and to give comprehensive answers. That is shockingly low. But even worse was the 2003 study, when literacy had declined to an astonishing 31 percent. This is why a group of today’s college graduates could sit through a course on Romans and complex doctrine and not get it.

Of all people, Christians must learn how to engage the mind and to employ reason and logic, to understand difficult concepts and grapple with complex propositions. After all, the Gospel is revealed propositional truth, communicated to us in a complex book. This is why Christians have always championed public education and launched so many institutions of higher learning.

And, want some good advice? Make your kids read books. Following the barbarian conquest of Europe, Irish monks preserved books in their monasteries. As the barbarian hordes receded, they sent missionaries back to the continent to teach reading and the Bible.

Perhaps it is time again for Christians to prepare missionaries—to teach people to think.

He who has ears—let him hear.

Uh ... if you find me with my head severed from my body, you'll know why. This bit of Koran Karaoke is brilliant. You have to watch this.

UPDATE: If the link above does not work, go here instead.

HT: The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns

Just as the battle is underway in the United States over whether Intelligent Design should be included in the public school curriculum, we read this article from BBC News which states that less than half of the Britons polled believe that evolution is the best explanation for the origin of life. This is remarkable considering the relative secularity of England over against the U.S. Even in a nation where far fewer people attend religious services, a sizeable minority (39%) believe in some theory of origins other than Darwinism and over 40% believe alternate theories (creationism or intelligent design) should be included in public education.

FYI - On Saturday, April 1, Dr. Angus Menuge will give a day-long seminar at Concordia Lutheran Church, 3109 Brownsville Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15227, (412)881-3005 on the question of science and faith, particularly as this relates to the current Intelligent Design controversy .

HT: Jame's M. Kushiner at Touchstone's Mere Comments

I have to admit that my first thought when I read this article is that the guy is a bum. On second thought, that's my second thought too.

E.J. Park has written a fine article for the latest issue of Christianity Today called A Tale of Two Kitties. Now, I love this article for so many reasons. First, because I have two kitty cats and anything with the above title is going to make me say, “Awww.” But seriously, the article touches on two fictional cats that mean a lot to me, for vastly different reasons. The article’s subtitle sums it up: “Lovers of Aslan should heed the warnings of the creator of Hobbes.”

Bill Watterson is the creator of the much-loved comic strip (retired in 1996) Calvin and Hobbes. As fans know, Hobbes is a stuffed tiger toy for the impish Calvin and who comes alive – in Calvin’s imagination? – when they are alone. Hobbes is Calvin’s conscience, the better angel of his nature.

Even though there are countless millions to be made, Watterson has not permitted his comic strip to be used for merchandise. You won't see Calvin wishing you a happy birthday on the front of a Hallmark card. You won't find comic strip panels on coffee mugs or T-shirts. According to Watterson, it would ruin the characters he has created to pull them from the comics and put them into another medium. Giving voices to an animated Calvin & Hobbes Halloween special, for instance, would change them in some fundamental way. Or so Watterson believes.

I have been a huge fan of C.S. Lewis's Narnia books since my youth. I was delighted when I learned that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was being made into a film. And over all, I was happy with it. But now, I'm thinking hard about what Bill Watterson has to say about his characters and the CT article by E.J. Park.

Transforming Aslan from the medium of text to film was always a risky idea. Aslan is a Christ-figure and generations of readers have deeply felt attachments to him as an image of the Savior. Since in my opinion, the film does a fair job, I have given it a pass. But now, seeing Hasbro Aslan action figures and Aslan t-shirts, and Aslan plushy dolls, that changes things. There is something troubling, maybe even sacreligious, about playing with an Aslan toy amidst the Barbie dolls and army men. Or is there? It's just a lion. No, it's an imaginative portrait of Jesus that is being marketed, commercialized and profited from. As Parks says, "Of course, this article is not really about Aslan at all. It is about the Lion behind the lion. For it is one thing to commercialize fictitious kitties; it is quite another to commercialize the way of God."

Is the medium the message? To some extent, I think so. Parks writes: "The fact is, the spirit of a work always differs between forms, because every form has its own characteristics and limitations. ... The story and character might be similar in two works, but they are distinctly shaped by each work's form. Reading a book is never the same experience as watching a movie, which is never the same experience as playing a video game, which is never the same experience as wearing a T-shirt."