One problem in many Christian circles today is the approach to and the ideas surrounding suffering. I was searching through some blogs this morning and found this. It's from a 9/11 address given by Pastor Tim Keller in New York City. If you don't know who he is, I strongly recommend you check him out. You have to buy his sermons, but they are well worth it. Heck, I'll burn you one or send you the file if you've never heard him before.
"One of the great themes of the Hebrew Scriptures is that God identifies with the suffering. There are all these great texts that say things like this: If you oppress the poor, you oppress to me. I am a husband to the widow. I am father to the fatherless. I think the texts are saying God binds up his heart so closely with suffering people that he interprets any move against them as a move against him. This is powerful stuff! But Christianity says he goes even beyond that. Christians believe that in Jesus, God’s son, divinity became vulnerable to and involved in - suffering and death! He didn’t come as a general or emperor. He came as a carpenter. He was born in a manger, no room in the inn.
But it is on the Cross that we see the ultimate wonder. On the cross we sufferers finally see, to our shock that God now knows too what it is to lose a loved one in an unjust attack. And so you see what this means? John Stott puts it this way. John Stott wrote: 'I could never myself believe in God if it were not for the Cross. In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it?' Do you see what this means? Yes, we don’t know the reason God allows evil and suffering to continue, but we know what the reason isn’t, what it can’t be. It can’t be that he doesn’t love us! It can’t be that he doesn’t care. God so loved us and hates suffering that he was willing to come down and get involved in it. And therefore the Cross is an incredibly empowering hint. Ok, it’s only a hint, but if you grasp it, it can transform you. It can give you strength. "
Friday, October 27, 2006
Sunday, October 22, 2006
The (Socialist) Three Little Pigs
The theme of my Senior Seminar in Writing is Fairy Tales, and, while that sounds lame, it has turned into something completely fascinating and interesting. We just read a parody of The Three Little Pigs from a book called Politically Correct Bedtime Stories. It's by James Finn Garner. Here are some highlights:
"Once there were three little pigs who lived together in mutual respect and in harmony with their environment. Using materials that were indigenous to the area, they each built a beautiful house....When they were finished,the pigs were satisfied with their work and settle back to live in peace and self-determination.
But their idyll was soon shattered. One day along came a big, bad wolf with expansionist ideas."
"At the house of sticks the wolf again banged on the door and shouted, 'Little pigs, little pigs, let me in!'
The pigs shouted back, 'Go to hell, you carnivorous, imperialistic oppressor!'"
"So he huffed and puffed, and huffed and puffed, then grabbed his chest and fell over dead from a massive heart attack brought on from eating too many fatty foods."
"They [the pigs] gathered together a band of other pigs who had been forced off their lands. This new brigade of porcinistas attacked the resort complex with machine guns and rocket launchers and slaughtered the cruel wolf oppressor, sending a clear signal to the rest of the hemisphere not to meddle in their internal affairs. Then the pigs set up a model socialist democracy with free education, universal health care, and affordable housing for everyone."
Brilliant.
"Once there were three little pigs who lived together in mutual respect and in harmony with their environment. Using materials that were indigenous to the area, they each built a beautiful house....When they were finished,the pigs were satisfied with their work and settle back to live in peace and self-determination.
But their idyll was soon shattered. One day along came a big, bad wolf with expansionist ideas."
"At the house of sticks the wolf again banged on the door and shouted, 'Little pigs, little pigs, let me in!'
The pigs shouted back, 'Go to hell, you carnivorous, imperialistic oppressor!'"
"So he huffed and puffed, and huffed and puffed, then grabbed his chest and fell over dead from a massive heart attack brought on from eating too many fatty foods."
"They [the pigs] gathered together a band of other pigs who had been forced off their lands. This new brigade of porcinistas attacked the resort complex with machine guns and rocket launchers and slaughtered the cruel wolf oppressor, sending a clear signal to the rest of the hemisphere not to meddle in their internal affairs. Then the pigs set up a model socialist democracy with free education, universal health care, and affordable housing for everyone."
Brilliant.
Reformed Rapping?
I bet you've never heard the history of the PCA church in song. Jason Knox (whoever he is) deserves mad props for this.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Lame!
I got a package today (October 21st) that my parents sent me on June 3. 4 months! That is freakin' ridiculous!
Friday, October 20, 2006
Star Struck
I went to the nursing home (which was technically a retirement center) today for the first time in probably 5 years. That's strange because, growing up in the Southern Baptist Church, we went to a nursing home probably twice a month. I must admit, re-entry to the land of the aged found me intimidated and shy. But it wasn't long before I found an outgoing, healthy looking woman (except for a bandage on her leg and a walker) talking to a friend of mine. I kneeled with my friend and soon realized that this woman, while with more experience and much wiser, was the elderly me!
She told us that she had been an English as a Second Language teacher all of her life. Her profession carried her to Taiwan, China, and Bulgaria. She was quick to tell us that traveling the world opened her mind and cured her of many fears she sees in her peers. She loved to talk about how most of her peers were scared to death of us college kids. However, she boldly explained that she had been a leader with the Baptist Student Union for most of her life. We discussed the sociocultural reasons (if I can be as bold as to drop that in here) behind the character type that is satisfied with what she has known her whole like, a.k.a. her town, and the other end of the spectrum, where the person who wants to see the world resides. Both of us being the "see the world" types, we discussed the beauties of learning from other cultures and applying that knowledge to what we experience in our familiar cultures. Like I said, she was me in 60 years.
Now, I had a great time talking to this woman, don't get me wrong; and I learned a ton. But, if you don't already know, time absolutely crawls when you are out of your comfort zone in a steaming-hot room. So, after a good 35 minutes, and the loss of my college-age partner, I was at a loss for words. There was a group singing hymns to accompany an out-of-tune piano, and I began to focus more on what was going on with the elderly singing along. When I turned back to look at my conversation partner, there was a new lady sitting by us. And this is where it gets good (at least I think so).
I didn't know what to say to the new woman, and she seemed quite reserved, but eventually I worked up the courage to ask what her name was. She told me and, after I replied, her friend (me in 60 years) blurted out, "She knew Johnny Cash!" Now, I'm not going to pretend like I'm the biggest fan ever. But I do live in Nashville, TN, I was alive and well when Walk the Line came out, and I do listen to his records, soI was intrigued. I probed for details. The woman revealed that she was JOHNNY CASH'S SECRETARY FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS! WHEREVER HE WENT, SHE WENT. In her humble, bright manner, she made sure I knew that she actually knew June Carter first and then met Johnny.
Now, I'm not sure if this strikes you as incredible, or even very cool, as many of the people I told this to today merely shrugged it off with an "Oh, wow." But, I will say that I thought it was unbelievable! I was actually star struck...by Johnny Cash's secretary. I didn't get to talk to her long because she was enjoying the hymns and I had to go, but I did get the since that she and Johnny had been very close. Crazy.
And thus, I met two very special people today. One led a life of service, building bridges between cultures with the tool of language. The other served an American legend for over 20 years. I stand in awe of both.
She told us that she had been an English as a Second Language teacher all of her life. Her profession carried her to Taiwan, China, and Bulgaria. She was quick to tell us that traveling the world opened her mind and cured her of many fears she sees in her peers. She loved to talk about how most of her peers were scared to death of us college kids. However, she boldly explained that she had been a leader with the Baptist Student Union for most of her life. We discussed the sociocultural reasons (if I can be as bold as to drop that in here) behind the character type that is satisfied with what she has known her whole like, a.k.a. her town, and the other end of the spectrum, where the person who wants to see the world resides. Both of us being the "see the world" types, we discussed the beauties of learning from other cultures and applying that knowledge to what we experience in our familiar cultures. Like I said, she was me in 60 years.
Now, I had a great time talking to this woman, don't get me wrong; and I learned a ton. But, if you don't already know, time absolutely crawls when you are out of your comfort zone in a steaming-hot room. So, after a good 35 minutes, and the loss of my college-age partner, I was at a loss for words. There was a group singing hymns to accompany an out-of-tune piano, and I began to focus more on what was going on with the elderly singing along. When I turned back to look at my conversation partner, there was a new lady sitting by us. And this is where it gets good (at least I think so).
I didn't know what to say to the new woman, and she seemed quite reserved, but eventually I worked up the courage to ask what her name was. She told me and, after I replied, her friend (me in 60 years) blurted out, "She knew Johnny Cash!" Now, I'm not going to pretend like I'm the biggest fan ever. But I do live in Nashville, TN, I was alive and well when Walk the Line came out, and I do listen to his records, soI was intrigued. I probed for details. The woman revealed that she was JOHNNY CASH'S SECRETARY FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS! WHEREVER HE WENT, SHE WENT. In her humble, bright manner, she made sure I knew that she actually knew June Carter first and then met Johnny.
Now, I'm not sure if this strikes you as incredible, or even very cool, as many of the people I told this to today merely shrugged it off with an "Oh, wow." But, I will say that I thought it was unbelievable! I was actually star struck...by Johnny Cash's secretary. I didn't get to talk to her long because she was enjoying the hymns and I had to go, but I did get the since that she and Johnny had been very close. Crazy.
And thus, I met two very special people today. One led a life of service, building bridges between cultures with the tool of language. The other served an American legend for over 20 years. I stand in awe of both.
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