The Bible as Art?

This story, concept, execution, comments, mentality, etc is so wrong in so many ways. However, it does serve to reveal a great loss in our culture for respect for the Word of God as well as appropriate Biblical categories of thinking, worldview, and belief--not to mention loving the lost.

Shame on Judy

Children's author Judy Bloom is actively soliciting funds for pro-death organization, Planned Parenthood. In a prepared statement for Mother's Day she wrote:

"Say thanks this Mother's Day with a gift that honors her courage by making a donation to Planned Parenthood in her name. I guarantee you that she'll be pleased. I know I would be."

None so blind as those who cannot see. What tragic irony.

Doodles and Drivel

Doddle for Google is a scholarship contest for students to sketch a Google home design with the theme of “What I Wish for the World.” Some of the drawings are quite interesting; some seem to be very advanced for their age. Unfortunately, almost all of them are political messages of gay rights, health care coverage, rebirth in peace and harmony, acceptance of public art (i.e. graffiti), and lots of world peace and tolerance. As one 8 year old put it, “One World One God—I wish religious harmony for the world. We all are equal under one God! Our world will be a better place, if we love and respect each other irrespective of our religion. With respectful coexistence of different religions, peace will prevail in the world.”

It reminds me of all of the graduation speeches at this time of year. “Who knows but in our midst might be someone who finds the cure for cancer (or AIDS or the global fever).” All of the high minded, good intentions and humanist ideals fall flat in the face of sinful man. It makes me fearful of the future generations and their conception of the world.

What do I wish for the world? Jesus.

Bach and Belief

It looks like A.N. Wilson has come full circle in his walk of faith and has returned to the Gospel. Here is an interesting blog about how Bach played a role in that journey.

Christian Nation?

At a press conference this week in Turkey, President Obama casually rebuffed the idea that the United States is a Judeo-Christian nation.

"One of the great strengths of the United States," the President said, "is ... we have a very large Christian population -- we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values."

Targeted Ministry

C.S. Lewis writes the following in his essay, "Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What's To Be Said":

"Some people seem to think that I began by asking myself how I could say something about Christianity to children; then fixed on the fairy tale as an instrument, then collected information about child psychology and decided what age group I’d write for; then drew up a list of basic Christian truths and hammered out ‘allegories’ to embody them. This is all pure moonshine. I couldn’t write in that way. It all began with images; a faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sledge, a magnificent lion."

It strikes me that some people's assumptions about Lewis's writing of Narnia are somewhat similar to the modern evangelical strategy of ministry.

Happy Shamrock Day?

Apparently the name "St. Patrick's Day" has become too divisive and controversial. Since the origin of St. Patrick's Day is the celebration of the Christian Faith proclaimed to the Irish by St. Patrick (who died on March 17, 461), it seems ironic that some (i.e. Disney and card stores) would seek to declare that religion gets in the way of celebrating this day. For more info, click here for a newspaper article.

Role of Music

Music should be enjoyed prudently and in moderation, like wine, because it has the capacity to excite men to evil as well as good, to intoxicate, and to exclude other worthwhile occupations.
—Gioseffo Zarlino, The Art of Counterpoint: Part Three of Le Istitutioni harmoniche, 1558

Cultural Vigilance

The wide world is all about you; you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot forever fence it out.” —J.R.R. Tolkien

The Purpose of Life

“...the chief purpose of life, for any one of us, is to increase according to our capacity our knowledge of God by all the means we have, and to be moved by it to praise and thanks. To do as we say in the Gloria in Excelsis: ...We praise you, we call you holy, we worship you, we proclaim your glory, we thank you for the greatness of your splendour.” —J.R.R. Tolkien

(Thanks to Kay for this quote)

Quote on Song and Silence

We are living in a culture that doesn’t value melody; one that seems to have lost touch with this primal means of expression. We are surrounded by sounds so insistent, so varied in intent and clangor, that we’ve forgotten how to listen to a single line. In fact, we don’t really listen to each other speak anymore because there are too many distractions luring us away from the unadorned human voice. We’ve lost the basic, easy connection between speech and song that makes speech musical and song communicative. We’re perilously close to losing silence: in the electronic world, silence means disconnection…

Through the media’s constant barrage, we are subjected to endless chatter, listening to tune written in an unceasing quest for momentary fame and ingesting surface information that rarely delves below the surface. We are being deprived, through overload, or our principal senses.

—Alice Parker, The Anatomy of Melody

O'Connor Quote

"I have found that anything that comes out of the South is going to be called grotesque by the Northern reader, unless it is grotesque, in which case it is going to be called realistic."

Flannery O'Connor, "Some Aspects of the Grotesque in Southern Fiction"

Street Name Change in Moscow

A street in Moscow renamed for Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn has some residents up in arms--they prefer the former name: Big Communist Street. The Guardian has a story with the details.

Christmas Toy Jeers

Little Tykes has a line of toys for toddlers (6 months and older) that play songs—so far so good. These trains, mobiles, and toy guitars, drums, and keyboards are part of the “Pop Tunes Big Rocker” line of toys. As the advertising line says, “Plays songs to get kids moving with music that parents can appreciate.” These songs include versions of: “Love Shack” by The B-52's, “Hot Hot Hot” by Buster Poindexter, and “Wild Thing” by The Troggs. These are hardly songs or messages appropriate to toddlers.

Bama 12-0

Anxiously anticipating Saturday's game with Florida. Roll Tide!

Europeana Crashes

Europeana, the European attempt to create a comprehensive compendium of knowledge, crashed in its first day--because it received 10 million hits an hour. The Guardian has an article about the intent and scope of this endeavor. It's somewhat ironic that this desire for an indestructible Alexandrian-type Library failed its first day.

The Oak Beams of New College, Oxford

This is a wonderful story of stewardship, thinking multi-generationally, and laying up an inheritance for future generations.

Tolkien Quote

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.
—J.R.R. Tolkien

CA Kindergarten Curriculum

Fox has a story about the use of pledge cards given to 5 year olds to prevent harassment against people of alternative lifestyles. Apparently it's never too early to start defining the thought categories of future citizens.

Thoughts on Religion...

by children's book author, Philip Pullman. His anti-Lewis, anti-Christian trilogy is being made into films, with The Golden Compass (2007) as the first installment.

"My basic objection to religion is not that it isn't true; I like plenty of things that aren't true. It's that religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always evil, but only religion makes doing evil feel quite so good."