Thursday, July 26, 2012

The Best Blog on Wilson, GC and all that jazz

Jonathan Martin, apart from having a cool first name, writes really interesting stuff. Annoyingly he is stuck in web 1.0 and so one finds oneself unable to comment on his otherwise marvelous blogging. Oh well, maybe he is just too good looking for comments, maybe he needs no comments,

anyway, he is absolutely right about the incredible irrelevance of the storm-in-a-teacup that a certain  misogynistic collection of Calvinists drum up with their constant blogging. no one really cares, they are all just fighting over the same piece of slowly shrinking pie, flavoured raspberry and belligerence. So read it for yourself.

PS Kiwis looking for a post on the other GC will be disappointed, but not much.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Doorways to Demonic Possesion

While I am very grateful to the huffpo for helping propagate this important teaching, I do feel some things are missing from this list,

doorways to demonic possession

not least

  • Reality TV
  • Cooking shows
  • DIY
  • CCM
  • Michael Bolton
  • Shania Twain
  • Square Dancing
  • Blogging
  • Chihuahuas
if, like me you are wondering what "trilateralism" is, don't worry, it is nothing sexual, it is simply "The political and economic policy of encouraging friendly relations among three nations or regions, especially the United States, Western Europe, and Japan, or North America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim." Thanks online dictionary.

Also I think the Twilight films are probably so bad that they would drive even the worst demons away.

OTOH don't think I take evil forces lightly, but I tend to side with the half baked reformer Luther on this one:
Luther loved mocking the devil. He is known for it. Here is one of his most awesome quotes, “ Tell the devil he may kiss my ass.” Or this gem quoted at the beginning of the Screwtape Letters, ““The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn.”
Luther thought that fear of the Devil equalled devil worship. He believed that if you fear the Devil, you are treating him as God’s equal, deserving of some back handed glory. Luther felt the devil must always be reminded of his place and Luther felt the best way to do that was through scripture and severe mockery.  It’s my opinion he would feel that Christians running away from what scares us would be equal to putting those things in God’s place. Therefore, we actually worship Halloween and death while trying to avoid it. 

In a very real way these silly fundies handing out leaflets with a straight face warning against LOTR seem to be giving more credence and fear to the devil than even those satan worshipping mushroom eating levitating trilateralists do.

Sunday, July 22, 2012

New Abomination to Hit Stores!

Zondervan are really on a roll these days, if the insolence and idolatry of the playful puppies Bible wasn't enough for you you can now buy a Bible adorned with the (literal) graven images of the false gods and prophets of the "American Way." Zondervan, because without blasphemous bits added the Bible just doesn't sell well enough for us. 

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Team Tower Challenge



This is a team building/leadership exercise or game with a point (and as many twists as you like). But you don't have to do it for the point it is fun in itself. Also there'll be other points you could make out of it. I ran this last night for three teams of 4-5 and had screens up so that they couldn't see what the other teams were doing. It was lots of fun (and this was a group of adults not kids),


Thursday, July 19, 2012

The Uniqueness of the Cross of Jesus

As a 'blasphemer', Jesus was rejected by the guardians of his people's law. As a 'rebel' he was crucified by the Romans. But finally, and most profoundly, he died as one rejected by his God and Father. In the theological context of his life this is the most important dimension. It is this alone which distinguishes the cross from the many crosses of forgotten and nameless persons in world history.

Jurgen Moltmann, The Crucified God (Fortress 1974/1993), p152

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Do you really know what a world view is?

I am reading my second Leslie Newbigin book, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (1989). Reading Newbigin is everytime like a conversion experience, like having bandages taken off your eyes. I have heard a lot of talk about "Christian World View" both in college and in the wider Christian world, but the problem is that what is most often meant by this phrase is having a set of magic spectacles that allow you to come up with the correct Christian answer on a contemporary issue. So for many a Christian World View is simply really a case of having the "correct" Christian opinions on various subjects. E.g. in a Christian World View abortion, homosexuality, marijuana, etc are wrong. Of course if you already have a list of right and wrong opinions there is not much need to develop a world view because that world view is just an end to being right about stuff, and if you already know you are right, what's the point?

But as I'm reading the Newbigin book I am realising that many who claim to have a Christian World View are actually still just as hostage to the rationalistic, violent and satanic hegemony of the prevailing western mindset as everyone else. They may have "Christian opinions" but their world view, that is their reflexive cultural linguistic reasoning, is actually distinctly un-Christian. Kim Fabricus gives testimony to this condition in this doodling
Sure, theologians may, in good faith, advance weighty arguments against same-sex relationships, but it is overwhelmingly clear that, among the pewtariat, homophobia is sustained by ignorance and prejudice.
Now I need to stop blogging and do the dishes, but my point is I don't think having right opinions is any substitute for having a mind transformed and renewed into the image of Christ - where every thought is taken captive. Perhaps no one would disagree with that, but here is the more controversial idea: is the one with the right opinions but the wrong thinking better off than the one with the right thinking but the wrong opinions? Or even, with which is the world better off? Better an orthodox bigot than a liberal saint?

Let me know what you think,
but for now . . . suds await.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

brick-a-brack 040712: Can of Whoop Ass Edition



Well bloggers all over the internet have been handing out some juicy cans of you know what . . . just don't look if you are squeamish.

Jesus treats the Syrophoenecian Woman as a Disciple

[This is an extract from my essay "Breaking Bread: The Power of Hospitality in the Gospel of Mark" which you can read in full and ...