Christmas or Easter … GO!
Which is more important: Christmas or Easter? I ask because Easter will be here in a little over a month, and I found myself today comparing the state of things right now with the state of things in any given mid-November. A month before Christmas, there are 17 radio stations doing 24-hour carols (both religious and secular), and a lot of churches have switched to all Christmas music all the time, too. People are acting stressed out, sure, but that peace and goodwill thing is not imaginary; lots of folks start increasing their charitable giving, preparing celebrations with family and friends, trying to be nicer, getting ready to hail the birth of the savior. And here we are, with Easter coming up on April 4 — crap, Easter is April 4? Well, no biggie....
On Fundamentalism and Reconciliation
I originally posted this on my own blog a few weeks ago. As you know, I am not a big fan of fundamentalism. To me, it’s theological school yard bullying. However, sometimes my hatred of fundamentalism makes me do stupid things, like hurt people. First, let me start with my definition of fundamentalism. To me, a fundamentalist is some one who thinks that their interpretation of the Bible is the infallible word of God. Folks who believe that they’re always right and if you don’t fit into their cookie-cutter image then you’re a bad person. Those judgmental, holier-than-thou, authoritative, pious, “I’m right, you’re wrong, get used to it” folks. In the words of Barney Frank, trying to have a conversation with them...
Season 6 of LOST is helping me understand God a bit
So I have always enjoyed the TV show LOST which has serious themes of good vs evil, redemption, guilt and the consequences of our choices, but this season has helped me to understand God a little better. Let’s see how fast this community can tear this up. Last week, Slice of Infinity ran a great article on Plan B (http://www.rzim.org/usa/usfv/tabid/436/articleid/10511/cbmoduleid/1133/default.aspx ) which presented a great way of looking at God’s plan for our lives. I remember as a teenager in the youth group community / college community and frequently the question of “What is God’s plan in my life?” came up. The article addresses this question in the following unique way. A wise friend of mine once wondered if following God was not something like...
Evangelism
Has anyone else looked at the Doable Evangelism website? I find the idea really intriguing. I first heard about it on an episode of This American Life entitled “Bait and Switch.” They were interviewing a guy who described his former involvement with bait and switch evangelism projects through the years. I’ve always known how important it is to spread the Gospel, but I have never really wanted to evangelize. When I was a teenager, I remember learning about telling others about Christ using a kind of sales technique. The problem was that the other person really needed to know the script we were using or they would never get saved! Most of the other times that I have looked at any evangelism material it all seems like sales programs. ...
Facebook, Porn and Phone-sex
The digital realm has been a mainstay in my life for as long as I can remember. I have “friends” who I have never met in person, that I have known for 10 years. The internet, mainly social networking sites like facebook, have created a new classification of relationships that I sometimes confuse with actual relationships. Facebook is to relationships as porn and phone-sex is to intimacy. It gives off the sensation that this is real and we really do have a good relationship, but its all fake. I’m not saying that you can’t keep up with old friends and family who you no longer live near on facebook and things like that. I’m just saying it can never replace real relationships and don’t decieve yourself into thinking it has.