Faith: January 2008 Archives
Reminds me of that old Emo Phillips "man on a bridge" routine, named by Ship of Fools as the "funniest religious joke of all time."
JOLLYBLOGGER: On Identifying Spiritual Gifts
"As far as I am concerned there are three simple ways to understand how you are gifted." Some clear thinking on a confusing topic.
World On the Web: The Burger Kingization of Christianity
"I was having lunch with a friend whose relationship with his wife is incredibly strained. I told him that his wife seems to have a fantasy that he will be dragged off into the woods by a bunch of idealized Pilgrim men, who will proceed to make him into the man she really wants."
Christianity Today: Raising Ebenezer
Why we shouldn't purge hymns of unfamiliar words: "This single word [Ebenezer] ushers the worshiper into both the biblical episode and the greater narrative of God's redemptive dealings with his people. It points us, also, to Robinson's dramatic conversion three years before he penned the hymn, inviting us to reflect upon our own stories and to remember God's faithful dealings with us. By removing the word from the hymn, we likely remove it from believers' vocabularies and from our treasury of spiritual resources." (Via JunkYardBlog.)
JunkYardBlog: Hymnblogging: You Learn Something New Every Sunday
What is an "Ebenezer" anyway? "Christianity has a history, just like it has a future. There's a lot of wisdom in the past and we need to try to understand and remember it. Those old hymns are, I think, one of the greatest treasures that the historic church has passed down to us. It's a shame to water them down to fit our current Top-40 sensibilities."
internetmonk.com: The Temptation to Quit
Resignation as revenge: "Quitting looks good at times. It promises a jolt of power, self-determination and the ability to demonstrate to others the depths of grievance or upset....Quitting suddenly in ministry is very painful to those left behind in shock. It sends messages that are lasting and serious. 'You don't love us.' 'You told us to not give up, and now you've given up.' 'You left us alone, and took the exit out of our lives.' 'Did God tell you to do this? Why?'"
No Blog of Significance: "Negative. You Are Not in My Chain of Command"
Part of a reflection on Frank Schaeffer's memoir, Crazy for God: "I find the doctrines of scripture's inerrancy and sufficiency tremendously liberating. Man always wants to give you one more hoop to jump through, one more command to follow, one more invented doctrine to believe. Man likes to make things up as he goes, to inflate his sense of self-importance and to acquire power. The one thing you cannot do, if you are tired of being told to believe or to do nonsense, is to diminish the authority of the Word of God. It is the only thing that keeps the nutcases off your back..."
