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Book Review: 'Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me' by Renee Fisher.

I received a copy of Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me: Finding Freedom in the Journey from Pain to Purposeby Renee Fisher. It's primary audience is young women who've been hurt and need to know how to both accept and show God's forgiveness. Anyone who has counseled young people is aware of how difficult it can be for them to work through the pain of the past; thankfully, this book puts a good tool in our hands. (Our site is still in hiatus, but I wanted to post this review since the book was new.) (More articles at www.ThinkingThroughChristianity.com) http://dlvr.it/65bz6N

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This Blog is Taking a Break

We won't be publishing any articles for a while. I know, you're crushed. Check back later.(More articles at www.ThinkingThroughChristianity.com) http://dlvr.it/5kCgBq

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"The Founders" - Four Reasons You Should Avoid Using Them

It's primary season in Texas, so it's that time again.  That time when we get to hear this phrase over and over again: "The Founders believed..." In any political argument, it's the ultimate evidence; the ultimate trump card; the ultimate way of stopping your opponent in his tracks.  Just start your sentence with these three words. "The Founders believed..." Unfortunately, using these three words is very intellectually risky, and often a terrible blunder. Here are four reasons why you should either be slow to invoke "The Founders," or avoid doing so at all: 1. There is no one recognized club of "Founders" Unfortunately, creating a Founders Club for historical discussion isn't as easy as creating one on Facebook.  Are you talking about some of the common big names, like George Washington, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson? Or, are you talking about some lesser-known but important men like John Witherspoon, Patrick Henry, John Marshall, and John Jay? Or, maybe you're more progressive and you want to talk about Abigail Adams and Mercy Otis Warren. Turns out, hardly anyone is EVER talking about the same individuals when they invoke "founders" in their arguments. 2. There is no one point in American History that can be officially dubbed "THE founding." When people talk about "the Founding" they are often referring to different times, documents, and events.  Could be the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Could be the the nation's first constitution, the 1781 Articles of Confederation. Could be the writing of our current Constitution, ratified 1787-89.  Or, do you mean the settling of Jamestown in 1607, or Plymouth in 1620, or the peopling of America by Indians in the hundreds of years previous to these? Who your "Founders" are will depend on which "founding" you are assuming. 3. The Constitutional "Founders" were a diverse group of people, with a diverse set of beliefs on everything, including the Constitution. The Constitution did not fall out of heaven with everyone in perfect agreement on its divine origin.  You chuckle, but we often forget that the Constitution was not merely written down.  It was forged through months of debates and compromises in every city and state in the nation.  Major Revolutionary leaders like Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams initially rejected the Constitution as antithetical to the ideals of the Revolution. No single man at the Constitutional Convention got exactly what he wanted. What every man did get was a document of compromise that he could settle with, even if he didn't agree with everything in it. 4. The "Founders" were humans, who changed their minds over time. A good example of this is James Madison. In 1787, he was the primary architect of the Constitution, pushing for a stronger national government than many of his contemporaries wanted (like Jefferson and Henry). Only a decade later, in 1798, he helped Jefferson draft the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, now considered classic defenses of the rights of states to challenge the power of the national government. So if you're referring to Madison in your founders argument, which Madison are you referring to - the 1787 Madison, or the 1798 Madison?  We change our minds and thought processes over time, and so did they. The Founders were many, diverse, and human. Appealing to them collectively as biblical prophets or as a historical unified front is ahistorical, unfair, and unhelpful. (More articles at www.ThinkingThroughChristianity.com) http://dlvr.it/5jg9Lg

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Spritual .gifs - How to Survive Church Greeting Time (If You're an Introvert)

The service is going strong until your pastor says those horrible words: "Now, turn and shake hands with your neighbor." Oh, no. The church's introverts sneak out of the sanctuary very covertly. Maybe this is a good time to get a drink of water. No one will notice. You can just wait it out. But what if you come back too early and those extraverts are still in there, waiting for you?   The horror. What if they get too friendly? Seriously. They don't get it. Maybe act really tough and they'll leave you alone. They might walk past you if you pretend you're reading. Or if you act like you're in the middle of a religious experience. Try to blend in with your surroundings. Or, do what I do - learn an instrument. Band members never have to greet people. Too busy rocking out. And now you know the band members at your church are weird. If none of that works, just ask for high fives and wait it out. Greeting time can't last forever. Can it? (More articles at www.ThinkingThroughChristianity.com) http://dlvr.it/5hGrfJ

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Listen to this: Borderland

I'm slow to take to new music -- especially new Christian music. I've heard the name John Mark McMillan floating around for the last couple of years, but I never bothered to listen. This March, McMillan released Borderland, and I started to see and hear his name even more. After two friends with trusted musical taste both insisted, on the same day, that I give this work a listen, I succumbed and watched this video of Borderland's first single, "First/Last." I instantly liked it. As a worship leader, I'm always on the look out for songs that work corporately (that is, they are singable, memorable, and true), but that approach old concepts in a unique way. "First/Last" accomplished this goal nicely, so I looked up the rest of the album, expecting to hear more similar worship songs. What I heard instead was a sonically surprising fusion of rock, pop, folk, and gospel, grounded in McMillan's enjoyably gritty baritone, and lyrics that would more likely appear in a literature class than in Sunday school. All McMillan's songs passed the musical side of my "corporate worship test" with their instant hummability, but the instrumentation -- which starts with contemporary worship's acoustic-guitar-fronted-rock band, but is deepened by lush strings and successful experiments with 80s synth and electronic elements -- would be unlikely in most church worship services. Most unlikely, however, are the beautiful lyrics, that seem to exult in ambiguity, thought-provoking figurative language, and evocative imagery. Take the album's opening invocation, "Holy Ghost:" Dead in the water Like lamb to the slaughter If the wind doesn’t sing her song And I’m speaking in tongues Cause I need a Holy Ghost It's not exactly what you'd hear at church on Pentecost Sunday. Even the album's perfectly singable single, "Future/Past," broadens the Christian vocabulary for speaking about the mysteries of God with lines like, "The constellations are swimming inside The breadth of your desire," before launching into the song's catchy chorus: "You are my first/you are my last/ You are my future and my past..." Here, cliches ordinarily applied to romantic love take on more resonance when sung to a lilting triple meter that, in the chorus's last line, seems to fluctuate and expand, demonstrating musically the mystery of a powerful, benevolent creator who exists beyond the confines of time. And getting beyond confines is really what this entire album is about. Borderland is an album about the space between spaces, the "already-but-not-yet" of life lived between the fall and the fullness of restoration, when Christ's kingdom has come, but is not yet complete. McMillan luxuriates in the tension of this space, the place "on this side of the thunder" ("Holy Ghost"), "on the brink" ("Love at the End"), where we "see the light of heaven's porch" though we're stuck "outside [the] chain-link fence" ("Borderlands"). McMillan underscores the tension inherent in his theme by dwelling in musical borderlands -- between CCM and Indie-pop; between corporate and individual; between stadium rock and coffeehouse folk; between the strange and the familiar. And while you may never hear more from this album than "Future/Past" in a worship service, Christians and non-Christians alike will enjoy and benefit from spending some time in the musical and spiritual limbo of Borderland.  (Note: After looking into Borderland, I realized that I already loved John Mark McMillan for penning the worship song "How He Loves."  See more lyrics here: http://johnmarkmcmillan.com/lyrics) (More articles at www.ThinkingThroughChristianity.com) http://dlvr.it/5gDR71

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Charting 125 Years of Christian Change

One of the more interesting tools on the internet is Google's Ngram Viewer.  It allows you to search words and phrases through about 500 years of book history.  You select your phrase, tell it the time-frame you want, and it will search all the books it has scanned into the system's repertoire.  I decided to put it to the test with some Christian phrases and found a few interesting results. Going into this I thought I could guess how many of these words or phrases would chart, but I was usually wrong.  One major thing that shows on these charts is the drop in use of Christian terms between about 1930 and 1980.  Before and after those years, there are some significant changes in some of the charts, but nothing as drastic. A few technical notes to add.  I used the category "English" which combines both British and American sources.  Also, the Ngram Viewer only goes up to the year 2008 so all of the charts are based off of that year, and 125 years back. I hope you gain some insight.  Please post in the comments anything you see in these charts. ON HEAVEN AND HELL: I find it interesting that "heaven" tracks, for most of the time, higher than "hell" especially since the word "hell" is often used in other phrases or slang sayings.  (For instance the phrase, "go to hell", peaks in the 1930s.) The early 1990s are the only time that "hell" is actually more prevalent than "heaven". 125-year-trend: 1883-2008:   Zoomed-in to 1970-2008: ON CHURCH AND JESUS: You can see two things easily from this chart.  The Ngram Viewer is case-sensitive, so I entered both "church" and "Church".  It makes the results more interesting.  The non-capitalized version of church is now much more prominent than it once was, seemingly representing our more casual writing styles and views of church. The next thing easily seen is that the term "Jesus" is now as prominent as the word "church".  (Although, if you combine both forms of capitalization "church" still beats Jesus.)  It is hard to see on the chart below but "Jesus" actually was ahead of "church" between 2002 and 2007.  This shows a major shift in our overall thinking of how we view Jesus and church interacting with Christianity. 125-year-trend: 1883-2008: Zoomed-in to 1958-2008: THE HOLY SPIRIT VS. THE FATHER On this graph I pit "the Holy Spirit" against "the Father".  Before charting this I thought that "the Holy Spirit" would grow continually throughout the 20th century since Pentecostalist revivals started early in the century.  Instead we see a decline until about 1940 in both terms and then see some growth.  In the 1970s you see "the Holy Spirit" growing faster than "the Father" which, if I had to guess, I would attribute to the growth of the Calvary Chapel and Vineyard movement. 125-year-trend: 1883-2008:   Zoomed-in to 1958-2008: STUDY THE * Below I've listed charts looking at the phrase "study the *".  The asterisk is a wildcard so the system filled the word in on it's own.  This shows a very interesting change in our collective thought process.  Only two terms, "study the effect" and "study the history", appear in all the charts when broken into 25-year categories.  I have a chart at the bottom comparing those terms with rise and fall of "study the Bible". On the 1933-1958 and 1958-1983 charts "study the Bible" does not appear at all.  On the 1908-1933 chart the phrase starts dropping but then makes a major jump to finish fourth on the 1983-2008 chart.  This actually surprised me the most as I though it would be very much the opposite. 125-year-trend: 1883-2008: Zoomed-in to 1883-1908:  Zoomed-in to 1908-1933:  Zoomed-in to 1933-1958:  Zoomed-in to 1958-1983:  Zoomed-in to 1983-2008: The top terms: Only two terms, "study the effect" and "study the history", appear in all the charts.  Here are those terms charted with "study the Bible" for the whole time period from 1883-2008. ---- Those are all the charts I have for now.  Please comment about any trends you catch or why you think some of this happened.  I think the current trends of Christianity are very different than what most of us have seen in our lifetimes.  It will be interesting to do these same charts in another 25 years! (More articles at www.ThinkingThroughChristianity.com) http://dlvr.it/5fPNcN

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Why Harvard's Black Mass is a Harmless Waste of Time

A few of you have been spooked by news that some students at Harvard are going to enact something called a "Black Mass" with help from leaders of a Satanic Temple in New York. Sounds scary. But ask yourself if you've ever heard of a "Black Mass" before assuming it's a threat. Does it conjure up ideas of witchcraft or summoning devils? Does the idea of a Satanic Temple make you think of dark robed figures sacrificing animals at Stonehenge? It shouldn't.

First of all, what's the Black Mass? It's nothing. A lie. The sort of thing a medieval politician would claim was happening behind closed doors in an attempt to give their opponent a bad reputation. For many centuries, the best way to win a court case was to claim that your opponent was involved in witchcraft. It worked well in the Salem Witch Trials, too; no witchcraft was attempted by the accused, but that didn't keep them from being prosecuted and having their land and money given to the bullies who put them on trial. Supposedly, a person performing the Black Mass would do something hideous to the Eucharist. If Harvard performs a black mass, they aren't going to summon Satan or cut open someone's pet, instead they're going to act out Catholic Mass with some profane, disrespectful twist. It should also be noted that the Black Mass is not a tradition of the Satanic church. It's not anyone's tradition, and it never has been. Anyone who thinks that the Black Mass really happened in the past has fallen for (centuries-old) political propaganda, just like the people who believed that devil worship was going on in Salem. Second, who are these so-called Satanists? We've talked about this before - Satanism is not devil worship. It's not witchcraft. In fact, Satanists do not believe that Satan exists. Why on earth are they called Satanists? I have no idea, but they certainly win the award for The World's Most Confusingly Named Religion.(More articles at www.ThinkingThroughChristianity.com) http://dlvr.it/5cw1BM

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The Responsibility of Having Children

Medhelp We recently experienced the arrival of our third daughter and the process from conception to the actual birthing event is quite strenuous. The experience has had me thinking more and more about the new life God has entrusted to our care and the value of all life. Having children is not for everyone, but for those who have them and wish to raise them well, it is both a calling and a responsibility. You may have heard the saying, "children are a gift from the Lord;" if you have children, you may even feel like that statement is true whenever the kids are properly behaving themselves. In reality, children are much more than a gift...they are a miracle. New life is created and with it come the responsibilities of raising a person to be a fully-functioning member of society. If you are a Christian, you have the additional responsibility of doing what you can to teach the child to love God and others as oneself. Christians see value in human life because God is the author of life and all God created was good. However, because we now live in a world tainted with sin, our understanding of the value of life has been broken. We no longer see life for what it is--an opportunity to share in God's blessings. Instead, we toil through pain and strife to find peace and goodness. Christians have a responsibility of sharing the Kingdom of God with the world. In order to share God's Kingdom, they must first understand God's Kingdom. It is a kingdom of peace, light, joy, beauty, truth, and honor. It is a kingdom of where right is distinguished from wrong, where good is distinguished from evil. It is a place where God is glorified in his righteousness and where people share in his rich blessings. Parents must be willing to go through the process of raising their children to see beauty in ugliness, goodness in tragedy, joy in sorrow, and equipping them to chase their dreams, face their fears, and to strive for their goals. We must protect them from evil but we must allow them to make their own choices. We must also allow them to realize or face the consequences of their decisions. We must teach them to be at peace with all people, but to stand up for themselves and their beliefs when others want to challenge them. We must help our children experience new things like riding a bike, swimming, and tasting snow, but we must also let them see that pain accompanies pleasures when knees are scraped or when they eat the snow too quickly and get a cold headache. The things parents do for their children, the sacrifices they make, the experiences they share, the conversations they have, they all point to seeing value in life. Every little thing we do has consequence and the way we handle each situation directs the paths of our lives and relationships. We all desire to be significant and because life is from God, all of life is significant. Everything matters: how we talk, how we act, how we think, how we feel, and what we eat. It is difficult to see the intrinsic value in every person we meet, or at least to consciously keep ourselves aware of it. We must remember that all people are a miracle, that all are here because God chose to share his creation with them, whether they recognize him or not. Children remind us that life comes from the Lord, that he sustains us, and that each new day is a gift. How do you see others? How do you see your children? Below are two of my favorite songs about being a parent and preparing to raise children. I posted the videos with the lyrics. Listen and enjoy. Plumb: In My Arms Creed: With Arms Wide Open(More articles at www.ThinkingThroughChristianity.com) http://dlvr.it/5bpyrG

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Majority of Americans are Skeptical about the Big Bang - But I'm Not. Here's Why.

A very slim majority of Americans are skeptical of the Big Bang. Fifty one percent, to be exact. But not me. I grew up hearing that the Big bang theory was a threat to Christianity. You might think that this came from white-haired, sanctimonious ministers who shouted anti-science agendas from behind antique pulpits, but you'd be wrong. People who don't agree with my religious views are the ones who insist that science is the enemy of my faith.  I had a classmate in grad school who insisted (loudly) that it is better to understand that the earth is really old than to believe in God. (Apparently, when you're a grad student you can just interrupt the conversation to denounce personal beliefs.) I asked him why an old earth model was incompatible with Christianity and he couldn't give me an answer, he just insisted that it was an affront to religion. I disagree. Believe it, or not, I was attending a Baptist University when I learned to relax about the Big Bang. My physics professor explained the theory as well as someone could to a group of undergrads, and by the time he was done I realized that I had no reason to criticize it. Why on earth was the Big Bang theory considered a problem? By all observations, the universe appears to be expanding, so it follows that all of it must have been smaller in the past. How much smaller? I don't know. No one does. But it's easy for me to imagine that the universe began with an explosion that forced space to grow in every direction. If God is all-powerful, then He is certainly allowed to create the universe this way. How about attributing the expanding universe to the God's grand design? Makes sense to me. You know who else wouldn't be skeptical of the Big Bang? Monseigneur Georges Lemaître (d.1966), the first astronomer to theorize that the universe was expanding. Did I mention that he was a priest? And that his work was approved by the pope?

There's no skepticism of the Big bang in my book. I wasn't around when the universe was created, so I don't know how it happened, but why argue with science? A few things to remember. 200 Nigerian girls were kidnapped last week by a man who intends to sell them into slavery. The situation in Ukraine is growing more bloody and more hopeless by the day. 260,000 people in my city are living in poverty. We've got our work cut out for us. Meanwhile, the Big Bang theory isn't hurting anyone.(More articles at www.ThinkingThroughChristianity.com) http://dlvr.it/5bpKCl

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15 Reasons You're Not as Cool as My Grandpa

My grandfather passed away last week. He was easily the coolest guy I ever knew, and it's time you all learned why you'll never live up. He made these bookends by melting down a ford truck engine. He poured the metal into a cast of Lincoln. I asked him what he used to melt the engine and all he said was, "fire." Fair enough. He captured this boat in WWII. Grandpa's the one on with the machine gun. He and his shipmate went exploring (they were somewhere in the Pacific) and found a boat that was being secretly built inland, so they captured it. He saw Louis Armstrong in concert. You never did that. I've seen a LOT of great music (Clapton, B.B. King, Robert Plant...), but none of it can compare to Satchmo. He taught me to love God and science. In his day these two things were not by pushed apart by society. Grandpa was an engineer and a church deacon. He could (and would) diagram an airplane wing to demonstrate lift or talk about water chemistry to explain why the coffee was bland that day, but he was just as likely to explain the Resurrection or something theological. He knew Johnny Cash. It was back in Cash's wilder days so my grandpa wasn't exactly a fan, but it makes him cooler than you. He hired women to do men's work.  My grandfather was in charge of people at a large company that handled engineering and technological challenges all over the world. Long before it was cool, he hired women to solves engineering problems and oversee building crews. I grew up hearing his stories of women who were computer programmers and scientists. He introduced me to Columbo. And I learned that TV's best detective was Grandpa's inspiration for everything. Everything. He couldn't afford a radio when he was younger so he built one. (Not pictured.) I don't even know how to start making my own radio. Not a problem - he was always ready to explain the process. I still don't get it. He stopped to smell the flowers. That's not just a saying - he actually did that. Why pass by a bloom when you can pause and take in its smell? Isn't that why flowers are for? Mind you, it wasn't easy for him to bend over like that due to his age and some severe back troubles, but he thought it was worth it. He also collected art and listened to jazz records, because life should be beautiful. He retired and then spent time every day feeding the needy. Until his back gave out, my grandparents spent every morning collecting food and giving it to a local charity group. It wasn't easy on grandpa because his body was in bad shape, but he never complained. How many mouths did they feed? A lot more than I can take credit for. He went everywhere. Russia. Hawaii. Borneo. Poland. Italy. You name it and Grandpa had been there. He stole hundreds of rolls of toilet paper in the war. His crewmates were out of paper, but a nearby ship had plenty and wouldn't share - Grandpa took care of that. I've kept his secret until now. He taught me to love jazz. If that's not cool then I don't know what is. He enjoyed cartoons. As a result, I didn't always know that cartoons were for children. (Apparently no one ever told grandpa, either.) The bigger lesson? Do what you want - even if it's unpopular - and you'll be happier. He once took me to the park and we played with a little wooden plane that was powered by a rubber band. It was fun, even though the darned thing wouldn't fly straight. When the plane finally flew into the sunset like it was supposed to we both nearly shed a tear. If I could go back in time and re-live one day, it might be that one.(More articles at www.ThinkingThroughChristianity.com) http://dlvr.it/5ZjJ62

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Self Service. Not the kind at the grocery store.

It could just be the timing (the subject has come up in the Digital Age--where everything's public--and at a time when "self servicing" is becoming more socially acceptable), but masturbation is a rather, pardon the pun, hot-button topic at the moment. This is especially true regarding female masturbation, which is being discussed in Christian and secular forums alike in a very public way that, to my knowledge, the subject of male masturbation has never had to endure.  Recently, Christianity Today published an article in response to all this chatter (some of it in house) about female self-pleasure boldly titled, “The Real Problem with Female Masturbation.”  First, the good. Jordan Monge gets several things very right, I think. The first being her premise that reducing women, and especially women's sexuality, to emotional psychology is problematic. White Protestant America in particular has a looooong history of desexualizing women. And Monge rightly observes how this part of our worldview is unhelpfully informing the current conversation surrounding women and self pleasure.Unfortunately, too often the conversation doesn't overcome the unhelpful stereotypes about the female sex drive…or lack thereof. Time and time again, Christian leaders explain that women masturbate because they want to "fill a void" or have "attachment issues." ... Christians remain uncomfortable with the idea of women possessing sexual desire. Even as they talk about the ideal Christian woman being a steamy hot wife willing to fulfill her husband's every desire by not depriving him once married, we don't want to imagine the wife's own libido.The doublespeak here—that women are supposed to be simultaneously sexually adventurous, available, and willing yet without possessing lust themselves—is an impossible contradiction to embody. It treats sex as a man's playing field, reinforcing the notion that women should cater to men's desires without possessing similar desires of their own.To fully address female masturbation, we don't need more psychoanalysis about sex that implicitly negates female sexuality. We need a biblical approach that recognizes both the immense pleasure of the female orgasm and the inherent goodness of sexual desire while reserving its proper place for within marriage.These are, as I said, very old cultural attitudes Monge is fighting against here; they're attitudes that the culture at large has largely moved beyond, but of course, as is sadly the norm, conservative Christians are way behind the curve. All of which is to say, this part of Monge's premise is spot on and very helpful. Unfortunately, where Monge goes right is also where she goes wrong. In an effort to acknowledge and even celebrate the ways in which women and men are fundamentally similar, Monge proceeds to treat male and female sexuality as more similar than they are. After rightly applauding men for calling a spade a spade, Monge takes a leaf from a man's guide to combating lust. She does follow this up with a nod to the distinctions regarding what triggers sexual desire in men and women (presumably visual versus emotional/intellectual or even purely physical stimuli)), and she even provides a valuable tip about the importance for women of (somewhat ironically) knowing their bodies, specifically their ovulation cycle, when a woman is both most fertile and arouse-able. Where Monge falls short, however, is when she states "there is no good moral outlet for these natural [and in some sense good sexual] desires before marriage” perhaps forgetting that men do experience a natural outlet for the sexual tension in their loins... and women do not. And this is why Piper's ANTHEM solution is helpful but inadequate.(More articles at www.ThinkingThroughChristianity.com) http://dlvr.it/5XqTpc

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Individual Rights vs. The Public Good - How do you Draw the Line?

With all the news and political commentary I keep up with, I see one dichotomy which comes up often, and seems to summarize the ideological rift between Republicans and Democrats: "Individual Rights" vs. "The Public Good." In one corner, you have the Republicans, who champion individual rights. For example, one reason Republicans oppose the Affordable Care Act is because it takes away individuals' rights to choose their own health care, and essentially takes away individuals' money and distributes it to the public. In the other corner, you have the Democrats, who fight for the public good. Keeping with the health-care example, Democrats support the Affordable Care Act, precisely because it is for the good of the broader public, even if it does take away some individual rights. Of course, this isn't a comprehensive description, free of exceptions. Republicans like to talk about the public good when defending foreign wars (it's for protecting the public), and Democrats like to espouse individual rights in their support for abortion (the woman's right, that is). Both support an individual's right to free speech, and both support taxes for building roads for the public good. But for the most part, I think this dichotomy sums it up. So, here's my question to all of  you: How do you draw the line between the two? Or, when faced with the choice of one or the other on a particular issue, how do you choose between supporting individual rights, or supporting the public good?  And if you're coming at it from a Christian perspective, how does this influence your thinking? I continue to wrestle with the Bible, church history, and the role of the church in society, and I have come to this simple conclusion: it's complicated.  Policy is complicated.  History is complicated.  Matching religious belief with your take on either of these is even more complicated.  It's way too complicated for one party to have the holistic, right answer.  The one thing I'm sure of is that Jesus has called us to do all of these things in love for our neighbors, even if it's not politically expedient.(More articles at www.ThinkingThroughChristianity.com) http://dlvr.it/5WfWsK

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Christian Music: Not Safe and Fun for the Whole Family

I haven't listened to a lot of Christian music in a long time, certainly not on the radio, for reasons I'm sure many of you can guess. But music is a particularly powerful influencer. Good music often carries a lyric into the subconscious and a song can stick in your head for days. For me (and I suspect for most folks) music is an important habit of my mind, whether intentional or unintentional. For this reason, I've recently been more intentional about the role of music in my need to to "take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Cor 10) and to think on "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable" (Phil 4). Since the stuff on Christian radio isn't my style, among other things, it doesn't have much power to help me in this endeavor. (It does help many, many Christians "set [their] minds on things above" (Col 3:1), so I won't judge it too harshly, and I chide myself for doing so so disdainfully in the past.) Fortunately, there is a good amount of "inde" music out there these days that reaches out to me and others like me (and others not like me!). Thanks to sites like Amazon and Noisetrade with their automatic, you-may-also-like suggestion boxes, out-of-the-mainstream music gets easier and easier to find. Here are some of my recent finds. The Vespers As you can plainly see from the cover of their album, The Fourth Wall, The Vespers belie my bias for folk and bluegrass. They could be described as inde folk, or neo-folk, rockin' out their pickin-n-strumin' instruments in their vintage clothing. What you can't see are their at times haunting, at times playful vocals and lyrics. You can sample those here. The Vespers don't only help us rejoice with those who rejoice, they also help us weep with those who weep, a holistic truth telling. Gungor Note the cover art on Beautiful Things: this is not your typical Christian music scene. Paradox is a significant part of the Christian understanding of truth, and Gungor reminds us of one of the most crucial paradoxes:  You make beautiful thingsYou make beautiful things out of the dustYou make beautiful thingsYou make beautiful things out of us Psalm-like, "Beautiful Things" opens with doubts and a sense of being overwhelmed and beat down by the ugly things in this world and in our hearts, but it is the refrain that remains in the mind---the reminder, the affirmation, the hope. Wilder Adkins Wilder Adkins's Oak & Apple presents new, acoustic remakes of old, beloved hymns. This choice exposes my preference for hymns over other kinds of Christian music. I'm not the only one, apparently, because there have been several projects in this vein of late. I prefer acoustic, folk-oriented albums like this one, but there are a significant number of neo-hymn albums with more pop-rock flavor. One reason I appreciate these kinds of albums is because, along with familiar favorites, I'm always introduced to hymns I didn't grow up with. I love learning new hymns; the hymn is such a rich heritage, and learning the hymns from outside my own tradition links me to the wide, deep heritage of the faith. You can find her latest album here. Christine Hand You might recognize that name. It just so happens that one of my very favorite musicians is our very own Christine Hand. Christine's music appeals to me pretty much for all the same reasons the above albums and artists do: the woman and her band can play their instruments! roots in folk, folk-rock, and blues; soulful, holistic vocals and lyrics. Her song, "The Face of All the World", is one of my long-time favorites, and I often turn to it when I feel overwhelmed by the world and am in need of encouragement and a reminder that God is everywhere and in everything: You're every sweet soundYou are the cold rainAnd every tear that from my eyes will fall for joy or painYou are the best thing that I have foundAnd this world is wide and round I haven't given up "secular" music---as we often like to say, all truth is God's truth. There are many, many songs of all stripes that remind me of Christ or the absence of him, of the glory and the horror of this life; and many songs of many stripes that are just plain fun! But as music is a powerful influencer, it's something we should at times be intentional about. The above albums and artists disciple my mind and nurture my soul.  Your turn. I'm always on the lookout for good music. Share with us in the comments: What have been some of your favorite finds? What music gives you courage and hope? (More articles at www.ThinkingThroughChristianity.com) http://dlvr.it/5SDMP9

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Peeps and the Hope of Resurrection

Every year at Easter, I buy a box of those controversial of Easter candies, Peeps. Large sugar-coated marshmallows, you either love 'em or hate 'em, most folks falling into the later category. Well, they're not my favorite either, but I buy a box every year because they were one of my grandmother's favorites. She passed away several years ago of cancer. My first experience with that disease. Like her favorite Easter candy, she was bright and festive and exceedingly kind-hearted---gooey on the inside, you might say. It's been over a decade---almost two (when did I get this old?)---but typing this just now, I'm getting rather emotional. I miss her. I love celebrating her in this way, at Easter time, anticipating the Great Resurrection when one day I'll see her again. "The Hope of Resurrection" Though I have watched so many mourners weep O'er the real dead, in dull earth laid asleep— Those dead seemed but the shadows of my days That passed and left me in the sun's bright rays. Now though you go on smiling in the sun Our love is slain, and love and you were one. You are the first, you I have known so long, Whose death was deadly, a tremendous wrong. Therefore I seek the faith that sets it right Amid the lilies and the candle-light. I think on Heaven, for in that air so dear We two may meet, confused and parted here. Ah, when man's dearest dies,'tis then he goes To that old balm that heals the centuries' woes. Then Christ's wild cry in all the streets is rife:— "I am the Resurrection and the Life." --Vachel Lindsey(More articles at www.ThinkingThroughChristianity.com) http://dlvr.it/5R7YM1

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That's not in the Bible?! Re-Reading Three Stories You Thought You Knew

We are all products of our environment.  Families, friends, neighborhoods, religious fellowships, and media influence us in more ways than we can possibly understand. One small but telling example of this is in the way many people (including Christians) remember Bible stories.  We would all like to believe that our knowledge of the Bible or any other religious text is based on things we have actually read, understood, and filed away.  But oftentimes, the stories we remember come from a host of influences, and are different from what the text actually says.  Here are three surprising examples of Bible-story elements which you might have had wrong all this time: 1. Noah was not Mocked by Anyone while Building the Ark Thanks to Darren Aronofsky's recent movie Noah, the great biblical shipbuilder is back in the news.  Many Christians have gotten upset about all of the artistic liberties that Aronofsky has taken with the text.  What many Bible-readers don't realize is that they themselves have often taken liberties with the text, including one common story element - the presence of mockers while Noah built the ark.  Go read Genesis, chapters 6-7.  You won't find any  mention of anyone saying anything to Noah during the time he was building.  Might there have been mockers?  Likely.  But the text doesn't directly support it. P.S. - The text also says that there were more than 2 of many animals, including 14 of many kinds of livestock and birds. 2. There were no Wise Men or Magi at the Manger Despite what every nativity scene in the whole world depicts, there were no magi/wise men at the manger the night Jesus was born.  Shepherds, yes.  Angels, yes.  Cows, probably.  But Magi - nope.  Matthew 2 says: "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem...wise men from the east came...and behold, the start that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced...and going into the house they saw the child." By the time the Magi show up, Mary and Joseph had apparently had enough time to move out of the manger and find a more suitable temporary living space in a small house or dwelling.  If you consider that later in Matthew 2, Herod decides to kill all baby boys under the age of 2 in Bethlehem, it is possible that the Magi may not have arrived until Jesus was a toddler. P.S. - The Bible never says that there were 3 Magi.  It mentions three gifts - gold, frankincense, and myrrh - but never says how many Magi. 3. Jesus did Not Enter Jerusalem During his "Triumphal Entry" You know the story about how on the Sunday before Passover, Jesus entered the gates of Jerusalem riding a donkey, and the people cried "Hosanna!" and they laid palm branches and cloaks at his feet.  Well, the part about him entering Jerusalem didn't actually happen.  In Luke 19, we find Jesus telling his disciples to acquire a donkey and colt from the village of Bethphage, outside of Jerusalem.  When the people greet him as he rides, he is near Bethphage, or on a small country road around there.  Then, he approaches Jerusalem and weeps over it from afar.  THEN, he enters Jerusalem and goes directly to the temple, where he proceeds to clean house.  The "triumphal entry" was actually quite humble, and was more of an approach than an entry into Jerusalem. P.S. - You might hear on Easter morning that the same people who cried "Hosanna!" the Sunday before Passover were crying "Crucify him!" before the end of the week.   It's a common sermon example of how fickle human hearts can be (which is true!).  But, because these two events happened in different places, it's very unlikely that there were any people (outside of Jesus and the disciples traveling with him) who were in both places at all, much less likely that the same people changed their minds on something so crucial, so quickly. CONCLUSION What can we learn from realizing that we've had stories wrong all our lives, stories which we thought we had all right?  I know what I have learned - that I can always stand to give my Bible another reading, another careful, focused, and close reading.  As we prepare for Easter, the highest Christian holiday of all, we could use a little bit less of our own concoctions, and a little bit more of what the Bible actually feeds us. (More articles at www.ThinkingThroughChristianity.com) http://dlvr.it/5Q48L0

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What to Read for Holy Week

This year, for Lent, I've been taking the advice of one of our other TTC writers and, instead of giving something up, I've added devotional readings. Like Renea, I've added children's readings from the charming and talented Sally Lloyd-Jones. I've been adding a chapter a day throughout Lent from her Jesus Storybook Bible to my morning routine. If you're looking for something to do to remember Holy Week this week and if you love beautiful, simple storytelling, or if you have children and would like to find something the whole family can participate in, readings from this book are a great idea. If you started today and wanted one reading through Good Friday, you would start with the story of the prodigal son and end with the crucifixion. Then, you could take a break on Saturday and pick up the readings on Easter morning with the story of Christ's resurrection. A word of warning to purists: this book is more storybook than Bible, but that's why I love it so much. Lloyd-Jones's whimsical writing brings back my childhood delight and wonder at the Big Story of Christianity and helps me to see my faith from new perspectives and from old perspectives I thought I had lost. And if you're looking for a Christianity 101 primer, this isn't a bad place to begin, both for children and grown-ups. Happy Holy Week.(More articles at www.ThinkingThroughChristianity.com) http://dlvr.it/5PB02K

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It's Poetry Month! But, I Don't Like Poetry. Except This One Time...

So, this is National Poetry month. Big deal. Since I don't get worked up about poems you may as well tell me that I should spend April celebrating table settings or squirrel noises. But there is one poem I know that I think about all the time. Nearly every day, in fact. It was a poem my mother read to me when I was young. I was trying to play a video game when she came into my room, grabbed a volume from the bookshelf (our house was covered in books), and said she wanted to read one of her favorites to me. I tried not to roll my eyes. A poem? Seriously? It was like being Fred Savage in The Princess Bride when Colombo walks in and says he's going to read a book. "Is this a kissing poem?" I might have asked. It was The Fool's Prayer, by Edward Rowland Sill, and it was everything that I expected it to be - sentimental and metered, filled with words I didn't understand like "knave," and "balsam." It tells the story of a jester who is asked to say a prayer before the king and the royal court. The jester (who must hide his grimness behind a fake, painted-on smile) prays for humility despite his faults, repeating "Lord be merciful to me, a fool." The king, who had been prepared to mock his jester's words, is so moved that he recites the same prayer.

Booooring. I was trying to beat The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, or something equally important, so I obviously didn't have time for poems. And why didn't the poet just start with the last four or five lines and make it shorter? Was it really necessary to write an entire page full of rhymes? Why should I spend my spare time unraveling knotted phrases or counting syllables? Besides, simple prose could accomplish the same thing as this poem in the space of a Post-It note! (Yes, English majors, I'm one of Those people. Also, I am realizing that I was a big jerk when I was a teenager. Sorry, Mom!) Being a teen, I didn't want to understand this poem in the pursuit of some sort of enlightenment, because I was already an invincible genius, wise beyond my years and perfect in every way. But something about the poem's phrasing, the metrical rhymes, and its repetitions caused The Fool's Prayer to cling to the edges of my mind. Though I dismissed it in a moment of youthful arrogance, the poem didn't dismiss me. It was still there, lurking about my thoughts and taunting me with it's lesson. Even though I'm 32, I still enjoy pretending that I'm wise even though I'm not. "I sure was dumb ten years ago," I might say to a co-worker, but in the back of my mind I'm certain that when I'm 42 I'll be saying the same thing. There has been some progress in my life; I no longer think of myself as an invincible genius, but as an absent-minded bumbler who can't find his car in the parking lot. Also, I had to look up the spelling of "genius" five minutes ago. (That really happened. I tried "geneous" and "genious" before giving up. If the NSA ever confiscates my Google searches they'll only find an endless list of misspelled words.) Like everyone else, I think I'm a decent person, but I've proven to be more selfish than caring plenty of times. I've been guilty of hatred and pettiness while claiming to decry those things. When faced with my shortcomings I become aware of a familiar, unrelenting refrain crying out from my memory to teach me the old lesson. The Fool's Prayer might not be great poetry by academic standards - I wouldn't know - but it's a good one in my book. In dark times the poem's refrain will pierce through the haze of self-doubt and loathing, leading me down a well-worn path where I whisper a comforting liturgy: "Lord be merciful to me, a fool." ...But for our blunders -- oh, in shame Before the eyes of heaven we fall.   "Earth bears no balsam for mistakes; Men crown the knave, and scourge the tool That did his will; but Thou, O Lord, Be merciful to me, a fool!"   The room was hushed; in silence rose The King, and sought his gardens cool, And walked apart, and murmured low, "Be merciful to me, a fool!"  (Read the whole thing, here.)(More articles at www.ThinkingThroughChristianity.com) http://dlvr.it/5N6Txr