In Old News. . .

Via the "I Wish I Had Said That Files" comes my take on the over-commented, over-played, over-blogged case of Carrie Prejean. I've come to the conclusion that Perez Hilton has become a byword. (According to my 10th edition of Mirram Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, a byword is "one that personifies a type.") In this case, he--or at least his actions--personifies the type of person who is zealous towards his cause, and will defend anyone who contradicts that for which he stands. There are many people as such. The reason he has become a byword, however, is that he embodies the contradictions of postmodernism. The Life Sherpa said it best:

"[Miss California] promptly got stomped on by the Politically Correct Liberal
Action Tem. The team motto: 'We respect your right to express an
opinion--as long as that opinion is the same as ours.' "

I have a feeling we're going to see more Perez Hilton questions in the future regarding abortion, same-sex marriage, and all those things of which Christians are opposed. I guess we shouldn't expect to win any beauty pagents any time soon.
By the way, anybody know who DID win?

'Cause Your Mamma Don't Dance And Your Daddy Don't Rock-n-Roll

An Ohio boy may be suspended from his Christian school if he takes his girlfriend to her public school prom. The Christian school forbids dancing; therefore, he would be in violation of his school's handbook which says that rock music "is part of the counterculture which seeks to implant seeds of rebellion in young people's hearts and minds."
I'll grant you, there's something to be said for some of the rock music which is out there. If one can actually understand the lyrics, there are some songs which are not edifying. On the other hand, there are plenty of Christians who imbibed in rock when they were young, and have grown up to be responsible members of society and the church. I admit--I still "rock out" to Queen. I don't necessarily hold to their life philosophies, but that doesn't stop me from the clap-clap-stomp sequence at a baseball game.
As for the prom--sure there will be rock music and other temptations. Drinking and driving, renting a hotel room after prom with the girlfriend. These are problems associated with proms across the country. Is it because the kids listen to rock-n-roll that they are tempted to drink, even though they are under 21? Is it because of a bass guitar and a drumbeat which tempts a couple to have post-prom sex? I venture to say that is not the case. It may be that there are lyrics which encourage behavior; however, the decision is the student's decision, and the upbringing is what guides the behavior. Sure, even good Christian kids make mistakes. Whatever happened to training a child in the way he should go? Christian adults need to give the children the tools they need to do the right thing rather than shelter them from the world "out there".
Another aspect of this story does bug me. What sort of witness is this school making? They have the American right to believe, teach, and confess what they want. On the other hand, how does it look when they are threatening to suspend or expel a student for doing what high schoolers do? Maybe they should be commended for sticking to their beliefs. On the other hand, there is something to be said for the freedom of the gospel.

Call Day

Call day at the seminary. The angst is over, but then again it is just beginning. I remember call day 10 years ago and when the congregation location was read, I thought, "Where's that?" Ten calls days have now passed. Graduates from St. Louis and Ft. Wayne have been sent across the country and around the world. Now a new group have been assigned, they are looking toward graduation, ordination, installation--and then, the immense task before them. There's only one thing wrong with the church today: It's full of sinners. As a wise pastor perpetually repeated, "They are sheep." I think of what these men may face in the parish. Maybe the angst hasn't subsided quite yet, or maybe it has morphed into apprehension.
Theories are fairly easy to handle. It's that whole "putting in to practice" thing which is a challege. Sitting in the church as the whole congregation boldly sings Easter hymns to raise the roof is quickly replaced with sitting at home watching the news which informs us that 17-year-olds may now buy the "morning after" pill.
The Lord is still Lord of the church, and he knows the men who will be "in the stead and by the command" and serve His people. Regardless.

"I Protest!" He Said Revoltingly

Warning: the statements you are about to read may be considered radical by those who are radical.
We wonder what kind of environment we will leave our children. We will leave them the environment we create for them.
The lesson is simple biology. There is a male and a female, they mate and produce offspring. Humans must be the exception to the rule. There are still male and female humans; it’s just mating and producing offspring aren’t what they used to be. In times past, humans married to make it official: the expectation was that only after this step was procreation acceptable. Sure, there were aberrations from the start—Lamech and his two wives, Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his daughters, Judah and his daughter-in-law, and the list goes on.
Yet what of our children? Society has created new rules for marriage. Don’t bother: move in together, try it out for a time. If you have kids, so what? If you plan to make it legal, you can always change your mind. There will be no fault, no blame, just a judge who will help you split the assets equitably.
These new marriage rules even fudge when it comes to male and female. That’s just a trifle. If you want to go male/male, female/female that’s fine. If you want some combination—well, that might be taking it a bit too far. . .for now. . .we have to have morals, after all.
Then there’s the whole mating part. Why wait for marriage since it’s outmoded anyway? Embrace your sexuality. We’re all to sexy for our [insert noun here], so if you got it, flaunt it. Email it. Kiss your date goodnight somewhere other than the lips on the first date, even if you are only a pre-teen who still thinks you can be Miley or Selena in a year or two. Experiment. Please your partner or significant other as necessary. If it feels good, do it, is our mantra. Spouses are so passé.
Don’t forget about the offspring part. We no longer need offspring on “baby come when ready” terms. If the baby comes when the mother or father is not ready, kill it. If the baby cries too much after it comes, shake it to death or drown it (this, ironically is still illegal in most states). If the baby doesn’t come, manufacture it in a test tube, Petri dish, and surrogate womb. It still does take two to tango, so if half of the components are not available the natural way, beg or borrow the necessary components. No thought of the children who have to accept that they may never know their paternal inseminator, maternal donor, or even the reality of their conception. How does one think a child will react to this when he is older? Children have many familial issues growing up to begin with. How might this effect them?
It seems to me that global warming and cooling are not the only environmental issues we need to consider when pondering our children’s future. More importantly, we need to consider the familial environment we want for them. We can’t connect the dots whichever way we desire, for our sake and theirs.

1 Year

What a difference a year makes. The only thing that seems to be similar between today and a year ago is that it is raining. There is a different President with different challenges, a differing ideology from mine, and we wait to see what happens . There is a different principal at my school. I am not on spring break right now. The economy has altered much of the country's outlook. Issues, Etc. is back up and running (although I have missed it quite a bit lately due to the hectic schedule I have been keeping recently), and our church body is facing some unique challenges due to economy and ideology--I sense a theme here. It will be interesting to see what transpires in the next 365 days.

I take back my second sentence. There is one other similarity, no, an identical fact. Christ is still Lord of all, and He knows what the future holds for each of us.

Ads

Having received junk mail to excess, and having seen the junk mail which arrives at churches and schools, I have wondered what kind of junk mail goes to the main office of a baseball/football/basketball stadium. I bet it's boring ads for trash cans or something.
While sorting the school mail, I found two amusing ads. Often I toss them in the recycle bin, some I keep just for my amusement.
Ad #1: T-shirts and sweatshirts from Apostle in Training Ministries. Their tagline reads, "A Fundraiser that Glorifies God!" Two questions: First, how, specifically, does a fundraiser glorify God? Is it because the product has a cross on it? I'm a bit skeptical on that claim. Second, what's an apostle in training? Is that like training for the marathon? I thought the apostolic age was over. Maybe if it read "Synchronious sinner/saint" or even "disciple in training" I might go for it. I'll pass on the "Follower's Testimony," by the way.
Ad #2: Continuing Education Units for Biblical Credit from "Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram". Among the courses offered are "Why I Believe," "Good to Great in God's Eyes," How to Land the Job of Your Dreams," and "How to be a Christian Without Being Religious." These studies "are rooted in Scripture" and "free of denominational bias." Again, I'm a bit skeptical. "Why I Believe" sounds pretty good, but can it truly be free of denominational bias? I wonder how one could be a Christian without being religious and remain rooted in the Bible. Thanks, Pastor Chip, all the same, but (a) I was always told me not to walk near the edge, especially when the slope is slippery and (b) I'll continue with my Book of Concord study.

The Crucifixion

I discovered recently that the word assassination was invented by Shakespeare. Also recently a friend posed the following question: how important does one have to be to be assassinated rather than murdered? I heard a comment today in reference to a soldier who murdered Jesus. These loosely interconnected ideas made me wonder--was Jesus assassinated, murdered, or executed?
Assassination is politically motivated. [I am defining this myself and leaving Webster out of the picture, which is fine, because dictionaries do not tell what words mean; only how people use them, which is a different blog for a different day.] Assassinations are the killing of politically important people for political purposes. By that definition, Jesus was assassinated. The Jewish leaders wanted this blaspheming, status-quo disrupter silenced. The chief priests are quoted as saying, "If we let [Jesus] go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." (John 11:48, NASB)
Murder is the general taking of a life. Often there is a motive, sometimes it is random. Jesus was murdered. He had committed no wrong, there was no sense to His death. The chief priests had motive to eliminate Him; the Romans, not so much. The soldiers who killed Him were doing their duty.
Execution is the putting to death of a criminal. It is a punishment carried out through the government as payment for wrongdoing. Although innocent, Jesus took on our sin and our punishment. He was executed with common thieves, crucified as a common criminal.
To be executed, murdered, and assassinated is horrible. The tragedy underlying such acts is unthinkable. How much more, then the death of the Son of God? He was guiltless, yet executed for our guilt. He was murdered without cause. He was assassinated, yet His kingdom was not of this world. This is an awe-full mystery.