Owl Post 11-6-12

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Principles for Voting:

In Acts 14, Luke sets forth for us the events that took place on Paul’s first missionary journey, a journey on which Barnabas accompanied him. We’ve seen this pattern emerge over and over again. The apostles would come into the synagogue or the public square known as the agora. They would proclaim the gospel openly. And there would always be some people who responded in faith by the power of the Holy Ghost while others in attendance would stand up in outright hostility and oppose them. Indeed, it was through great tribulation that the gospel bore fruit in places like Antioch and Iconium. And everyday Paul and Barnabas were subjected to threats, insults, hostility and even physical danger. We can see how things degenerated to such a degree here in the latter part of chapter fourteen: the Jewish leadership actually convenes a kangaroo court and imposes the death penalty upon Paul! A rioting mob is gathered and begins to throw stones at Paul with deadly force. Paul is knocked down by the repeated blows to the face, arms, torso, and head. His would-be executors then drag him out of the city, leaving him for dead.

Truth, Voyeurism, and Beauty: Why Everyone Loves The Hunger Games:

Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games is easily dismissed as a bad book, the type of junk-thriller that captivates audiences with mere sensationalism and little else. Nonetheless, its internal logic clearly captivates millions of readers and viewers, and that alone demands an account of the book’s resonances, its movement, something that philosopher D.Z. Phillips called “possibilities of sense”, a shorthand for what it is about a work or idea that so enthralls its devotees. With many pulp bestsellers, simple appeals to violence, clichéd romance, or tense but tired plotlines fuel the mass appeal. Collins both plays into these bestseller stereotypes while simultaneously protesting them, and the juxtaposition of violence and classical virtue is an enveloping conflict of the book.

A Year of Biblical Womanhood-Book Review-Kathy Keller:

Rachel Held Evans had at least two stated goals for writing A Year of Biblical Womanhood, according to the promotional material accompanying my advance review copy. Under “Why She Wrote the Book,” Evans says:

I’ve long been frustrated by the inconsistencies with which “biblical womanhood” is taught and applied in my evangelical Christian community. So . . . I set out to follow all of the Bible’s instructions for women as literally as possible for a year to show that no woman, no matter how devout, is actually practicing biblical womanhood all the way. My hope is that the book will generate some laughs, as well as a fresh, honest dialogue about . . . biblical interpretation. (emphasis mine)

Evans wants to show that everyone who tries to follow biblical norms does so selectively—“cherry picking” some parts and passing over others. She also says she wants to open a fresh, honest dialogue about biblical interpretation, that is, how to do it rightly and well. Rachel, I tried twice to get in touch with you when you were in New York City on the talk shows but wasn’t able to connect. So here’s what I would have said if we could have gotten the chance to open that dialogue.

Simultaneously Righteous And A Sinner?

My good friend Jono Linebaugh (New Testament Professor at Knox Theological Seminary and content manager for LIBERATE) wrote a thoughtful post on Martin Luther’s famous phrase Simul iustus et peccator–simultaneously justified and a sinner (you can read it here). One reader questioned whether “sinner” is an appropriate term to describe Christian identity. This is an important question. After all, Paul writes to sinful Christians and calls them “saints.” Once God saves us, aren’t we new creatures?

Five Things Worth Celebrating on Election Day (Plus One More):

Well, here we are: Election Day. Some of you have followed the ins and outs of the campaign for months, if not years. Today is more exciting than the Super Bowl and March Madness and college rivalry week all rolled into one. For others, the excitement of the Summer Olympics every four years is only matched by the tedium of the presidential race in those same years. At this point you’d rather get habanero eye drops, sit next to a starving baby on the plane, and go the dentist every day for a month than be subject to any more campaign ads. Whether we’ve been engaged in the process since Ames or disconnected until today, we are all ready for this thing to be over.

The Dark Knight Teaches

I have seen The Dark Knight Rises three times now and each time, I am struck by how much this film has to say.Since I have already written my review and pointed out some of the things that struck me while watching the film,  I wanted to share some of the posts from around the web that I have read. Each of these is very good and I hope it will help you continue to think through this film. Christopher Nolan has does us a great service in Batman and given us much to wrestle with. Click on each part to read the full article.

A Path Through Three Prisons: Bruce Wayne in Nolan’s Batman Trilogy:

Part One:However strong and intelligent and wealthy and resourceful Bruce Wayne may be, his journey is one continually marked by failure. In fact, in each of Christopher Nolan’s three Batman films our protagonist’s path takes him into a different prison where he is confronted with his own guilt and weakness. In the first prison, a lost Bruce is invited to walk the road that will make him a legend. In the second, he is manipulated into a game that ends in tragedy and infamy. Bruce is sent, bleeding and broken, to die in the third prison, and yet it is from this final incarceration that he emerges to become the savior of his beloved city, a city that many don’t believe is worth saving. While Batman may be a persona created to battle injustice and symbolize the hope of freedom from the oppression of crime and fear, his identity is forged in imprisonment. Moreover, it is there, in prison, that we are shown glimpses of what Bruce Wayne scarcely realizes he is struggling to be free from.

Part Two:The Dark Knight opens with a swift and violent bank robbery masterminded by the Joker. We watch as a group of masked men execute an intricately planned heist and then double-cross each other (to death) until, finally, the Joker kills the last hired thug and makes off with millions of the mob’s money. It would appear that a new breed of criminal has emerged in Gotham–and Bruce Wayne will discover that even the training and tools of the Batman are inadequate to contain him.

Part Three:When the final installment of Christopher Nolan’s Bat trilogy opens, eight years have passed since the events ofThe Dark Knight. Bruce Wayne has been physically and emotionally battered by his campaign against crime as Batman, and has gone into seclusion and self-imposed exile. He pines for his lost Rachel, believing that she was going to wait for him, not realizing she had in fact chosen Harvey Dent. Bruce has upheld his end of the plan to exonerate Dent by allowing Batman to shoulder responsibility for Two-Face’s crimes. As a result, the Dent Act is given the public momentum it needs to pass, and Gordon receives the power he needs to dismantle organized crime for good. But as an increasingly frustrated Alfred tells Bruce Wayne, “Maybe it’s time to stop trying to outsmart the truth and let it have its day.”

The Dark Knight Rises: 5 Characters

Alfred:I think Christopher Nolan’s direction for Michael Caine was “make James Harleman cry every time you’re on screen” because from the first moment he realizes Bruce is in the cave again, descending in the elevator with a hovering tear in his eye that won’t quite fall, my “guys-don’t-cry” throat-clearing reflex kicked in. One of the things that truly stood out in this film was the loving relationship between Bruce and Alfred, and the reality that in many ways, he really is Bruce’s father, having raised him for more years than Thomas and shepherding him through adult years as well. It’s not a well-meaning butler admonishing Bruce for trying to be Batman again, or spurring him to move on: it’s an imperfect father desperately trying to seek the best for his son, prodding and yet realizing that the younger man must make and OWN that decision.

Bruce:While most of us aren’t billionaires suffering the loss of a dead loved one as well as our “superhero” identity, many of us have been at this place in life where we don’t know who we are, or what we have to live for. Whatever earthly activities or people we’ve built our life and meaning upon have faded or failed and we’re left adrift, lost in a confusion of identity. Bruce is also stuck because he’s been deceived about Rachel’s last conclusions and decisions,  and so out of something akin to “Catholic guilt” he’s placed himself in his own form of purgatory and assumes it’s a permanent condition from which he’ll never emerge.

Gordon:Jim Gordon had already made other mistakes in The Dark Knight, errors one might say contributed to Harvey Dent’s downfall. The District Attorney warned Jim some of his men weren’t reputable, but Gordon blows this off because he sees no alternatives. Trusting in a few of these officers leads to abductions and death. This isn’t to suggest you or I would have handled it better, but these times when Gordon settles or compromises truly come back to haunt him and have tortured his soul for eight years as the movie begins.

Blake:How many of us have idealized a person, or an institution, filled with hope and naiveté as we dive in like a “hothead” and find lethargy, lack of wisdom, compromise, corruption and even lies that have built the system? We’ve all had these moments of dismay when we see behind the curtain and really meet the wizard. John Blake obviously became a cop in light of events and heroism on the heels of good cops like Gordon and the actions in The Dark Knight. As the third film begins, we see he’s becoming burdened by the way people, and details, don’t add up like he thought. In light of this, what kind of man is he going to become? The question reflects back on the viewer as we often wonder what kind of person we’ll turn out to be in the topsy turvy cities we live in.

Selina:Although I remained uncertain she was the right choice, Anne Hathaway nails the role of “Catwoman” from the moment she burgles Wayne Manor and demonstrates her character’s ability to shift disposition and personality to best fit the occasion. One minute she’s a house pet, the next feral and deadly. As the movie progresses we see her as a virtual chameleon, showing people what they want to see in the way that best forwards her unfettered advance. Adding a touch of film noir and necessary levity to the otherwise heavy narrative – adept and deceptive and opportunist – she may not seem like the character most viewers would identify with. In some ways, though, both who she is and who she becomes are great representations of our nature and need.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: Ecclesiastes 3:1 ESV

Backpacking Burdens

The question of whether or not to go on had been taken away; the situation was, get to water or continue suffering; a rock and a hard place. There was nothing else to do but sling the backpack back over our shoulders and amble on. Some broke down along the path. There was nothing left in reserve, it had all been consumed. There were those who could not saddle up, the pack was just too heavy and it could no long be shouldered. Someone else was going to have to carry the load and someone did.

It is interesting how much can be learned from backpacking in the mountains. When you are in the wilderness there is very little you are in control over. The weather, the accuracy of the map, the amount of water you need to drink, the terrain, the exhaustion, the amount of oxygen in the air, all of these and so much more is mostly out of your hands. It is a good lesson for life’s journey; you are in control of almost nothing. Job found this out when he questioned God and God probed him with some very hard questions:

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Dress for action like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:1-7 ESV)

God made it very clear; it is he that is in control of this world and not us.

Yet this is does not satisfy the souls longings and groaning, especially when the burdens of life get too heavy and collapse feel imminent. The Heavenly Father has an answer for that as well. Jesus says;

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV)

Just like Jesus, there is a call for believers to carry one another’s burdens. Like the backpacking trail, the pack of life can get too heavy to carry and another step cannot be gone, so the call is to unload not only on The Father but one another.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:12-13 ESV)

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. (Galatians 6:1-3 ESV)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9 ESV)

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 ESV)

So, brothers and sisters do not walk alone. Remember what Paul says in Corinthians;

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. (1 Corinthians 12:12-26 ESV)

Carry one another, bear the load that is too heavy for each other and love one another just as Christ loved you and took our burdens to the cross and paid the ultimate price for our freedom to walk in newness of life. Feel the freedom of a pack-less back and the view from the top!

100 Years of Titanic Dreams

It was evening, over 100 years ago, in the summer of 1907 when some of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful people sat in a mansion and started down the path that would lead to the greatest ocean liner of its time. This liner would be the envy of the shipbuilding community, cater to the richest of society and set the standard for everyone else. On March 31, 1909, in the Harland and Wolff shipbuilding yards in Belfast, Ireland, the keel for the Titanic was laid. The hopes, dreams and ambition of many men were poured into this vessel. This ship was a crowning achievement in Victorian engineering, a floating dreamland and a ship that God himself could not sink.

On April 10, 1912, this monument to the ingenuity of man was at full steam on its maiden voyage. On April 14, 1912 at 11:40 p.m. an iceberg was spotted. First officer Murdoch shouted, “Iceberg right ahead.” All engines where thrown in reverse, but it was too late. The ship’s starboard side was compromised and the dream became a nightmare. The Titanic reported her location at 41° 46′ N, 50° 14. On April 15, 1912, exactly 100 years ago today, the mightiest ship of its time, the colossal floating palace, sank and became the poster child for the foolishness of man.

“Everyone has a dream,” Billy Joel sings. There are so many things that we long to do or experience. Like those who conceived and built Titanic, we have big dreams. These dreams are mighty enough to drive much of our lives. They help inform where we will go to school, if we marry, who we marry, where we live, who we are friends with, what the priorities of our lives will be, and what presuppositions we will hold to. The fulfillment of these dreams are what we believe will make us happy and satisfied in life. “Happiness is the driving force behind everything that you do. Anything you do has the desire for happiness at it’s center.”

Inevitably, our ship of dreams runs into disaster. We are forced to abandon them and jump into a lifeboat for safety. We are separated from the protection of the liner and become much more susceptible to the squalls of life. We are tossed around, capsized or just left to drift endlessly. The separation is not just from our dreams, it also from each other. Sitting alone in our little boats we cling to the hope that we will run across land or someone else. We long to join our hearts to something beyond ourselves.

The question for many of us becomes, “What is the purpose of this suffering? Why have my heart’s desires not been satisfied? Is there a chance that this devastation has some meaning?” And we answer these questions by buying, “into the philosophy that what we need to finally be happy is more of what we already possess.”* So we pursue more money, more power, more sex, more things and it leaves us even more isolated and unhappy than before.

“The majority of human beings believe that people and circumstances exist to make them happy. We believe the brokenness inside will be satisfied by things outside.”* God needs to allow us to run to the end of ourselves in the hope that we will stop looking to our dreams and to other people to fill what only he can. God wants us to stop worshiping the stuff he created and reorder our lives. It is by placing ourselves under this divine order that we can truly be free to live life to the fullest.

“God gives gifts to all men. Whether you believe in God or not, you are living, walking, and wearing his stuff. He gives gifts to all: food, drink, work, friends, family. He gives gifts to all, but only the children of God, only those who believe in Jesus, receive the gift of lasting enjoyment. Why? Because if we’re oriented around Jesus, our satisfaction is not tied to anything but him. We can actually enjoy God’s good gifts the way they’re designed to be enjoyed, because they are in orbit around the right sun – not our self, but our Savior.”*

Jesus said,

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:9-11 ESV)

*Quotes from The Explicit Gospel – by Matt Chandler

Owl Post

Owl Post is something new. I come across a lot of things that I think are worth sharing from the web and so each week I will link them here. Hope you enjoy it!

Picture Prefect Marriage : 

“This morning I am going to begin just a short series of articles on marriage. Having read several books on marriage in the past few months, I found myself really intrigued by what Paul says about the topic in his letter to the Ephesians. I’ve since had the opportunity to study it and wanted to share what I’ve learned along the way.” Part one, Part two, Part three

Government and Its Rivals: 

“WHEN liberals are in a philosophical mood, they like to cast debates over the role of government not as a clash between the individual and the state, but as a conflict between the individual and the community. Liberals are for cooperation and joint effort; conservatives are for self-interest and selfishness. Liberals build the Hoover Dam and the interstate highways; conservatives sit home and dog-ear copies of “The Fountainhead.” Liberals know that it takes a village; conservatives pretend that all it takes is John Wayne.” Link.

The End Has Come For Chuck: 

“Chuck‘s five-year plan has reached its end.
On Friday, series creators Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak saw the end of their beloved spy comedy that inspired nerd culture and Subway sandwich diets. True to form, they still kept up with the fans who made the continuation of the series possible.”

What We do in the Face of Suffering:

“For many people living in the West where the cultural bias is towards an expectation of everybody being healthy and living longer, sickness readily becomes seen as the main focus of one’s “suffering”. But, suffering is a far broader concept than struggling with physical, emotional or mental illness.” Link This is an amazing paper on the subject of suffering; it is long, but it is well worth the time.

 5 Things We Do Today Instead of Preaching the Word:

“I wish I could tell you that most pastors are preaching the Word. I can’t—some are not. Here are five things we may choose to do instead of preaching the Word.” Link 

Well that should do it for now. Look for more every week.