Be like William February 28, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Children, Movies, Slavery.Tags: Amazing Grace
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Last night when I prayed with my two youngest children, ages 9 and 12, I asked God to help us be like William Wilberforce, to help us see people in our world today who need our help, who need our protection, who need our action.
My wife and I took our children to see the moving “Amazing Grace” about Wilberforce that afternoon. Both children stayed with it all the way even though it was more dialogue driven than action centered. I was so proud of them. Afterword, my 12-year-old said she didn’t know which she liked better, “Amazing Grace” or “Freedom Writers”, another great story.
I must say I wonder something. Would my children be so attuned to history and more thoughtful fare if they were not homeschooled? We started homeschooling this academic year, and I believe I already can see a difference. Before this experience our children already were better behaved and more academically inclined that most children, but the academic interest does seem to have increased.
I give my wife great credit for her work with the children; and I give the children kudos because we have always stressed that they share a responsibility in their education.
No matter how we educate our children, I hope parents will take them to see “Amazing Grace.” Some child watching this movie today may be the William Wilberforce of tomorrow.
It is said that Wilberforce, while still a boy, was introduced to John Newton, who wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace.” Later in life when Wilberforce was “awakened to religious concern and sought the good man’s advice, Newton told him that since their first acquaintance he had not ceased to pray for him.” (from ‘But Now I See’: The Life of John Newton by Josiah Bull, p. 282, Banner of Truth edition)
Amazed by grace February 28, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Movies, Politics, Religion, Slavery.Tags: Amazing Grace
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William Wilberforce. It’s a name most Americans have never heard. It’s a name that maybe millions now will come to know.
The new movie, “Amazing Grace”, is in theaters now and tells the story of Wilberforce’s long but eventually successful effort to end the British slave trade. It’s an inspiring story, one that reveals clearly Wilberforce’s great desire to serve God by serving mankind.
The movie’s title comes from the song that so many of us know and love. Wilberforce was influenced in his work by John Newton, the former slave trader who wrote the classic film.
This is a movie about story. It’s not about special effects and wild action.
More personally, it made me cry. I asked myself who are the vulnerable people of my time who need my involvement on their behalf.
Religion as reconnecting February 24, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Christianity, Jesus, Religion, Truth.Tags: Reconciliation
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Religion, today, is almost a dirty word. Even the religious do not want to be called religious.
Most people would say I’m a religious man, but I have told the Sunday school class I teach that I do not care about religion; I care about relationship. When I do that I am carping the mindset of my times.
It is all rather clear why this has become the case. Religion has developed a bad name. Too many bad things have been done in the name of religion, and we have condemned the word as if nothing good has ever been done in the name of religion.
Well maybe it’s time to resurrect the word, this time with a different understanding.
Brian McLaren’s fictional character, Neo, says the word “religion” is derived from an old Latin root meaning to reconnect. In other words, religion is really about reconnecting a disconnected and fragmented people with God, with others and with self. (A New Kind of Christian, p. 72)
Well it’s not quite that simple. Wikipedia says the etymology of the word “religion” has been debated for centuries. “The English word clearly derives from the Latin religio, “reverence (for the gods)” or “conscientiousness”. The origins of religio, however, are obscure. Proposed etymological interpretations include:
From Relego
- Re-reading–from Latin re (again) + lego (in the sense of “read”), referring to the repetition of scripture.
- Treating carefully–from Latin re (again) + lego (in the sense of “choose”–this was the interpretation of Cicero) “go over again” or “consider carefully”.
From Religare
- Re-connection to the divine–from Latin re (again) + ligare (to connect, as in English ligament). This interpretation is favoured by modern scholars such as Tom Harpur, but was made prominent by St. Augustine, following the interpretation of Lactantius.
- To bind or return to bondage–an alternate interpretation of the “reconnection” etymology emphasizing a sense of servitude to God, this may have originated with Augustine. However, the interpretation, while popular with critics of religion, is often considered imprecise and possibly offensive to followers.
From Res + legere
- Concerning a gathering — from Latin res (ablative re, with regard to) + legere (to gather), since organized religion revolves around a gathering of people.”
So the religare derivation is the one McLaren refers to. Despite the uncertainty as to origins, I like what religare represents. If what we mean by “religion” is reconnecting with God, others and self, then it’s something I want.
McLaren: “I think what Jesus was about … was a global, public movement or revolution to bring holistic reconciliation, a reconnection with God, with others, with ourselves, with our environment. True religion, revolutionary religion. That’s what got them in such trouble.” (p. 73, his italics)
Cross on the high altar February 24, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Christianity, Forgiveness, Peace.Tags: Reconciliation
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I took the photo at the top of this blog when my wife and I visited Coventry, England, in 2005. It’s from the cathedral in Coventry, which stands next to the cathedral ruined in World War II.
When I went online to find out more about the artwork, I could never find another such photo. So I sent an e-mail to the cathedral. Here’s the response about the wonderful place and the cause that it now stands for.
“Your photograph shows the cross on the high altar of the Cathedral. The silver-gilt altar cross is the work of Geoffrey Clarke, and enfolds an original ‘cross of nails’ (now silver plated). …
“The high altar cross was designed to blend sympathetically with the style of Sutherland’s tapestry behind and to reflect the texture of the iconic, wooden charred cross set on the altar in the Ruins. Although not likely to have been intentional, many see the form of a bird in the cross too – perhaps a dove symbolising the Holy Spirit or a phoenix, a common symbol of Coventry’s rebuilding and regeneration after WWII.
“The nails that form the central cross were drawn from the timbers of the medieval roof of the fire-bombed old Cathedral, and have become an international symbol of peace and reconciliation ministry (and the Cathedral’s corporate logo). Coventry was the only Cathedral destroyed in WWII. Its destruction was the result of bombing by the Luftwaffe as Hitler was intent on destroying Britain’s armed vehicle building capacity, much of which was hidden in and around Coventry in ’shadow factories’. From the morning after that catastrophic raid on 14 November 1940, the leading clergyman at the Cathedral, Provost Howard, started to make his now-famous pronouncements that the Cathedral would be rebuilt and that he and the Cathedral community would seek reconciliation and not revenge.
This cross of nails was carried to every Coventry parish in the 40 days before the Cathedral’s consecration in 1962 to encourage prayer for the new Cathedral.”
What a testament to forgiveness, peace and reconcilation. If you go to England, this catheral is worth a visit. The ruins still stand beside it.
Tuning fine February 23, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Music.1 comment so far
My friend Ashli put me onto a great website — http://www.finetune.com/.
You register and create a playlist of about 45 songs that you can play on your computer. You can then share your playlist with others or find people with similar musical tastes. It’s a great way to listen to your favorite songs and to be exposed to new work. Much better to find music than just listening to the radio and having to put up with all of the ads and mindless jabber.
Exercise and rest February 23, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Fitness.Tags: Sleep
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The joy of a full night of sleep is appreciated only by those who seldom experience one.
I remember 24 years ago waking up one morning and realizing that our baby daughter had slept through the night for the first time. She was somewhere between six months and one year old. It felt so good to be really rested.
This morning I awoke and felt the same way. I don’t know how long it has been since I slept eight hours without waking up. I did last night. I turned off the light at an early 8:51 p.m. The alarm went off, like always, at 4:51 a.m. No waking moments in between. Wonderful!
The only explanation I can give is that yesterday, I went on a 30-minute walk and jog. Nothing hard at all. No sweat. But it felt so good to excercise again.
I want more of this.
Driving in the fog February 22, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Christianity, Emerging church, Faith, Postmodern, Religion.Tags: Planning, Strategic planning
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Driving in the fog is dangerous. Living in a fog can be dangerous, too. But is it all that bad?
Yesterday, the fog was pretty heavy when I started for work. It was not terrible fog, but it was not drive-as-fast-as-normal fog either.
I took my time. I focused. No radio. No distractions. Concentrating in the moment. There’s something a bit intense about driving in the fog. You don’t get sleepy. You’re alert.
So what about living in a fog? I’m not talking about a mental fog; I’m talking about moving forward without being able to see clearly what is ahead of you. It’s a pretty good way to live. You take your time. You focus. You live in the moment.
We seem to be a culture caught up in planning, and the ultimate expression of planning the “road” ahead is this corporate nonsense about developing mission and vision statements and all such consultant-contrived devices. I say corporate nonsense because that’s where it had its genesis, but it has taken over churches and religious institutions and even individual lives.
In churches and institutions, my experience has shown that more energy is put into “strategic” statements than in actually getting anything done. We’ve swallowed the planning Kool-aid; and when you swallow the Kool-aid, you end up buying the farm. (Check Jonestown reference to Kool-aid somewhere.)
Astrophysicist Alar Toomre may have a helpful word for us. He tries to make headway in his research by focusing on the little issues, not the big ones.
Denise Shekerjian, in her book Uncommon Genius, paraphrases Toomre’s approach this way: “What is important is to focus your interests on one or two discrete, localized, particularized questions pulled out from a universe of one’s interests. Work on the small matters utterly, he explains, and the large necessities can be left to take care of themselves and of those who trusted accordingly.” (p. 10)
That sounds like good old fashion work. Maybe we need a little more work and a little less strategic planning in our individual lives, our church lives and our institutional lives. Because, it sure seems to me, that we’re not getting much done.
Let’s drive in the fog a little and live in the moment.
Back from Terabithia February 20, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Bible, Books, Christianity, Movies, Religion, Salvation, Scripture, Spirituality, Truth.add a comment
The fam and I just arrived home from seeing the movie, “The Bridge to Terabithia”. Very good. My 12-year-old daughter said she liked it but that it was different from the book.
I am not as literate as my daughter at this level of reading, so the movie was my first exposure to the story. I loved one conversation between the primary boy and girl (Jess and Leslie) and and his younger sister (May Belle). The youngest girl said something like you have to believe the Bible or you’ll be damned to hell. The older girl didn’t believe it, and I agree with her. You don’t have to believe in the Bible, you have to believe in Jesus.
Now I know that last sentence is a rather elementery description, but sometimes I just like to keep it really, really simple. Some of you want to expand that last clause into a full-length book, while others of you are a little uncomfortable with such things being said about the Bible, and still others of you are really hung up on that last “have to”.
I leave you in that discomfort and end with a quote from book during that same conversation. (My wife found it for me.)
Leslie, the one who had never been to church, says: “It’s crazy, isn’t it? … You [Jess and May Belle] have to believe it, but you hate it. I don’t have to believe it, and I think it’s beautiful.”
Bitter food for thought February 20, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Christianity, Democracy, Politics, Religion, Truth.Tags: President Bush, Southern Baptists
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Read a transcript of Ann Goodman’s interview of Chris Hedges. It’s a little long but worth the time.
Hedges’ book, American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America, puts much of “conservative” or “evangelical” Christianity in stark contrast to Jesus-center faith.
If Hedges is right then this should scare any American and sadden any Christian.
My call on the matter: We might quibble with some of the detail, but I think Hedges is right in his basic direction.
Of course, I haven’t read the book; so here’s another for the reading list.
Where to start with C.S. Lewis? February 20, 2007
Posted by Alien Drums in Books, Christianity, Religion, Truth.Tags: CS Lewis
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Diane (see Diane’s Musings) asked a good question in a comment yesterday. Where does a first time reader of C.S. Lewis start? That’s a tough question, but those are the most fun. I’ll give my two cents, and others can give their’s.
I started with Perelandra, the middle volume of Lewis’ Space Trilogy. I started there because I saw it on a dime store shelf 31 years ago and I needed something to read. It was pure romance from there. I loved Lewis’ language and how he helped me think about and understand reality. You don’t have to be a fan of science fiction to like it.
That said, I can recommend Perelandra as a good starting point for those who like stories and language well used. It’s better than the first in the Trilogy and needs to be read before the third.
The Screwtape Letters is an amazing literary work — very accessible but profound. This would be another good place to start. This is about a senior demon writing notes to a junior one. Lewis really is in the head of this demon and helps you see how this demon can get in your head.
Mere Christianity is excellent, one of my favorite books. It’s a bit more work than the other two, but not difficult. It’s about what all believers basically hold in common across denominational lines.
Surprised by Joy is Lewis’ autobiography, and it’s wonderful. And The Great Divorce is a great picture of the afterlife.
Those are my favorite nominees for a starting point. Maybe the little discriptions will help first timers make a choice. Of course, I’m leaving off the Narnia Chronicles. I love them, but I’m glad I came to them after the others.
One final note: I seldom read a book more than once because I am so eager to get to another. But I have read several Lewis books multiple times. They keep paying off.
