Live Tweeting Worship?

Saw this tweet today from Tim Challies

RT @challies: What you will soon hear in church: “Our text this morning is Mark 3, so please take out your phone and swipe to Mark chapter …

So here's an interesting article: What Would Jesus Text? Smartphones Are Changing How We Worship

When he attended a Christian conference in Australia four years ago, one of the speakers asked attendees to hold up their Bibles. "There were about 20,000 people there. I looked around the room, and thousands — thousands — were holding their phones and Kindles up in the air. I knew from that point that the context was going to change forever."

If you see someone using their smart phone during a worship service, don't assume they are mentally checking out to look at Facebook or play Words With Friends; They might be reading the Scripture text, or live tweeting the sermon.

About That Cover....

I absolutely love the cover of Elizabeth Scalia's book  Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life

The cover, as you can see to the left,  has a stained glass window- with a difference. Instead of images of saints and biblical characters, there are individual tiny images from our culture's most common diversions, distractions and attractions, including Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. I wonder if it is only a coincidence that we call the little images on our smart phones and tablets "icons."? Are we trying to worship these things, to use them as are sources of meaning and joy? Food for thought, and discussed in the book.

In the Catholic/Orthodox traditions, an icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn "image") is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting designed to symbolize spiritual realities. In the afterword of the book Scalia makes these points about the differences between religious Icons and our little icons, our idols of the heart, as symbolized on the cover:,

• An Icon looks out from Intrinsic light and points to its source; there are no shadows in which to hide.

• An idol looks out from man-created light and points to itself; invites us into the shadows.

• An Icon teaches us how to focus, how to quiet down, collect ourselves, and hear the small, still voice.

• An idol throws noise, images, and issues at us, non=stop, scatters our thinking, and deafens s to any voice but its own.

• An Icon whispers wisdom.

• An idol shouts soundbites and mindless trendspeak.

• An Icon inspires us to chant to the Most High.

• An idol inspires us to chant to it, and to ourselves.

• An Icon looks us straight in the eyes and dares us to pursue truth.

• An idol wears shades and tells us what we want to hear.

I hope that you have enjoyed the posted excerpts from this book that I have been posting over the past few weeks. For many of my readers, reading a book from a Catholic and non-evangelical tradition may be a stretch, and a journey outside of your comfort zone. If so, I think it is a journey worth the effort. I hope that you will consider getting and reading this book.

Papal Tweeting

The Pope is now on Twitter - @Pontifix.  I'm sure our Catholic friends will rejoice at the number of evangelicals now following the Pope!

Only Two Men

The TV sit-com "Two and a Half Men" may soon be down to only two. From CT Gleanings:

The youngest member of CBS's "Two and a Half Men" soon could be walking away from the raunchy show after 10 years—and he's urging other viewers to do the same.

In a YouTube video posted by Forerunner Christian Church, 19-year-old Angus T. Jones calls the show "filth" and encourages viewers to stop watching. Jones says he began to doubt his role on the show—where he earns an estimated $350,000 per episode—after converting to Christianity.

"I'm not okay with what I'm learning, what the Bible says and being on that television show," Jones stated.

He also urged viewers, "If you watch 'Two and a Half Men,' please stop watching ... Please stop filling your head with filth."

According to the Chicago Tribune, "The CBS network and Warner Bros Television, which makes the comedy, both declined to comment on Monday on Jones's remarks."

Does God Care Whether Tim Tebow Wins?

Check out this well-written and theologically astute article by Owen Strachan in The Atlantic on the question of the week: Does God Care Whether Tim Tebow Wins on Saturday?

Tim Tebow succeeds on the football field because of elves.

You can't see them on television. They're tiny. But when the game gets tight and the Denver Broncos need a fourth-quarter miracle, the elves come out and do his bidding. Forming a dense pack, they push 350-pound lineman aside, knock defensive backs off their stride, and give speed to Demayrius Thomas after he catches a pass.

That's why he wins.

What? You don't buy that? It's a lie, you're right. You know Tebow doesn't accomplish what he does because of elves. But when you hear about his faith, and the connection that some make between his devout Christianity and the success he enjoys on the football field, you might think it's about as likely that Tebow succeeds because of God's direct and benevolent intervention as it is that he wins games because of a roaming band of miniature wood elves.

Both sound ridiculous. God doesn't care about football games, right? If he exists at all, isn't he up there making sure that the planets spin in their proper orbits and, I don't know, that there's enough rainwater falling on Argentinean forests? Doesn't he have better things to do than to propel a certain football team to victories?

How often do you find an article in a secular publication that discusses everything from the Doctrine of Providence, the Theology of John Calvin and Martin Luther, Biblical teaching on suffering, and the interpretation of Ephesians 1:11 and Hebrews 11, all in the context of a sporting event?  And, I might mention, with a quote from Tim Keller thrown in for good measure.

This is a very good article! Read it all at the link above.

Top 10 Web-Searched Bible Verses

Do you know what the top 10 most searched for Bible references are on the internet? Can you guess what is missing from that list?

Find out at Top 10 Most-Searched Bible Verses: What’s Missing? – The Gospel Coalition Blog

He's Watching You

Hat Tip:  Anne Jackson at FlowerDust.net:

Does Taylor Swift Matter?

For my readers who are mothers or fathers of teenage girls (or are teenage girls wanting to someday be mothers) check out Why Taylor Swift Matters by Danielle Bean at Inside Catholic.

I think Swift has enjoyed unprecedented success, especially among female listeners, because she's not just a singer, she's a writer. She began her career by winning a poetry contest when she was just nine years old.

But Swift is not just any writer. She's a writer with a rare gift for giving voice to the longings of young girls' hearts and souls. Feminists like Chloe and Jamie may not like it much, but little girls really do dream of being fairy princesses, meeting handsome princes, and . . . getting married and having babies. Just you try to stop them. The flowery details might vary from one young girl to the next, but the longing to find personal fulfillment in loving and being loved in return is a universally feminine one....

...She may not intend to be a poster girl for authentic Catholic living, but Swift has tapped into a uniquely feminine longing and given it a voice, along with a rare sense of innocence. Contrast her particular brand of femininity with the sexual imagery pushed upon us by other popular music stars, such as Katy Perry or Lady Gaga, and you'll soon see what kind of battle is being waged for young women's hearts and minds.

Let's see, little girls: Shall we seek personal fulfillment through a sincere gift of self and a life of self-giving love? Or by using sex as a weapon with which we attempt to dominate men?

Roll your eyes if you must, but my money's on Swift, sappy love songs, and every little girl who dreams of loving others and being loved in return. Women who deliberately choose otherwise in the name of freedom and independence do so at the peril of their own happiness and satisfaction. In the end, no amount of feminist posturing can rewrite the lyrics that are written on every girl's heart.

Read it - if for no other reason it ticks off crazy, man-hating feminists!

Hat Tip:  The Anchoress

Another Movie From a C.S. Lewis Novel - "The Great Divorce"

This should be good! I finally got around to reading this book just two months ago. It was a short read, but I could not put it down.

"Veteran producer and Mpower CEO Steve McEveety will lead the production team. Childrens' book author N.D. Wilson ("Leepike Ridge," "100 Cupboards") is attached to write.

Lewis, who wrote the "Chronicles of Narnia" books and often wove Christian themes into his works, published "The Great Divorce" in 1945. Story centers on a man who learns that the sprawling, dim metropolis where he's been living is actually Hell; he hops on a bus headed for the outskirts of Elsewhere, only to discover that the one place worse than Hell, for a self-absorbed ad executive, just might be Heaven.

Mpower was created by McEveety in 2007 after he'd been a longtime exec at Mel Gibson's Icon Prods. He produced "The Passion of the Christ" and "We Were Soldiers" and exec produced "Braveheart" and "What Women Want.""

Hat Tip: The Thinklings,   Dougwils.com

What to Make of Jennifer Knapp & Larry King

As most have probably heard by now, Christian singer/songwriter Jennifer Knapp has put out a new album after an absence for several years, and at the same time has come out as a lesbian in a long term same sex relationship. She recently appeared on the Larry King show on CNN.

Trevin Wax at "Kingdom People" published a great essay and review of her interview - Jennifer Knapp & Larry King: Why We Always Lose this Debate. Trevin says:

I’m convinced that we continue to lose the argument about homosexuality and Christianity because the traditionalist almost always makes his case within a conversation that has been framed by the opposing viewpoint. The Christian doesn’t lose the argument at the micro-level. The argument is lost from the beginning because of how the discussion is framed

He then makes the following five cogent points:

1. We need to shift emphasis from the truth that "everyone is a sinner" to the necessity of repentance.
2. We must not allow ourselves to be defined by our sexual attractions.
3. We must expose the arrogance and judgmentalism of those who would so flippantly dismiss the witness of Christians for two thousand years.
4. We need soft hearts toward Christians struggling with same-sex attraction.

In conclusion, Wax said:

Even though we continue to hold to the increasingly unpopular view that homosexual behavior is sinful, we recognize that many Christians are involved in the struggle – whether silently or openly – and we should commit to prayerful pilgrimage with them.

All of us are sinners. True Christians are repentant sinners. And God’s grace is mighty to save us and change us – every one of us and every part of us.

I wish to associate myself with Trevin's  opinion and conclusions.

Subtle Bad Theology Worse Than Blatant Bad Theology

For those of you who like Christian radio, especially CCM of the "K-Love" variety, you might need to check this out -Smoking CCM Radio Unfiltered:

"....during a promo between songs, a chipper, female voice said "I like listening to K____ because I don't have to worry about what I'm going to hear". Now I try to give "Christian culture" the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the motives behind our entertainment and marketing, but I could not get this line out of my head. I try to give the benefit of the doubt, but all I hear is "When I turn this station on, I turn my brain off and just set to automatic intake". This flies in the face of the model we have in the Bereans who were commended in the book of Acts for "examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so".

I am making such a big stink for this reason (hear thesis statement): I would suggest that listening to mainstream radio with your guard up and your worldview filter on is safer than listening to Christian radio with your guard down. Subtle, bad theology is more dangerous to unsuspecting Christians than is blatant bad theology."

Extreme Makeover – Heaven Edition

Any fans of the TV show Eextreme Makover- Home Edition" out there.

Stephen Altrogge at "The Blazing Center" presents that show as a parable of heaven at Extreme Makeover – Heaven Edition

Twisting Away Again

From: The Sacred Sandwich | Church News for Small-Town Christians in the Big Bad World

Who is Spiritual (Part 2)

Yesterday I asked the question: What does it mean to be spiritual?

I believe that the two options of traditional religion and experiential spirituality, which are held by most people to be contradictory opposites, are actually two versions of the same approach to spirituality, each to be contrasted with the true alternative which is radically different from both.

My Scriptural text from which I will demonstrate this is Philippians 3:1-16 (ESV). The passage begins like this:

2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh

I have long and often thought that Paul is here defining what true spirituality is in three points: (A) Put no confidence in the flesh, (B) glory in Christ Jesus, and (C) worship God in the Spirit. I still believe that is true. However, I have found a key to better understand the passage by noting a structure to the flow of Paul’s argument that is not easily apparent to the casual or untrained observer.

The key to interpreting the passage is its Chiastic structure. The term comes from the Greek letter Chi, which looks like our English letter “X”. The Chiastic pattern or structure is used in a lot of ancient documents - everything from Beowulf to the Torah - as a way of emphasizing points and making an argument memorable. It is a form of parallelism. Chiastic structure is very common in Psalms and Proverbs, in many of the OT prophetic oracles, and in the epistles of Paul (trained as a Rabbi to use the technique).

Think of the letter X with two lines crossing. A Chiastic structure crosses itself. It repeats its main points in parallel form, but in reversing order. If an argument has three points (A, B,C) then a Chiastic structure would have parallel thought as either A-B-C-C-B-A or C-B-A-A-B-C.

The chiastic structure of Philippians 3 looks like this:

C. Worship by the Spirit of God (Vs 3a)
B. Glory in Christ Jesus (Vs 3b)
A. Put no confidence in the flesh (Vs 3c)

A. Put no confidence in the flesh (Vs 4-7)
B. Glory in Christ Jesus (Vs 8-11)
C. Worship by the Spirit of God (Vs 12-16)

Paul is explaining in verses 4-16 what he meant by the three terms so briefly presented in verse 3. Seeing this structure sheds a brighter light on the meaning of the passage, and what Paul is saying about the nature of true spirituality.

(continued tomorrow)

Are You a HIp Christian?

For the answer to that question see Are You a Christian Hipster?

I think I'm Half and Half, although my kids would probably say I'm more nerd than cool.

Remembering "The Day the Music Died"

Today, February 3, 2009, is the 50th anniversary of "the day the music died." Let's all sing together "Bye, bye, Miss American Pie. Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry..."

The Don McLean song "American Pie" was big in 1971-72 when I was 15 years old. We spent a lot of time on the school bus every day figuring out what each verse meant. Finally discovered that the day the music died was the date of the plane crash that killed three early rock-n-roll stars. McLean obviously didn't think much of the state of popular music in the 60's and really despised Mick Jagger!

I can’t remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride,
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died.

So bye-bye, miss american pie.
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

In Memoriam and Rest in Peace:

Jiles Perry “The Big Bopper” Richardson, Jr. (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959)

Buddy Holly (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959)

Ritchie Valens (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959)

See: 50 Years After His Death, The Boy Finally Meets his Father - Warner_Todd_Huston’s blog
- RedState

Facebook Crime Stoppers

Here's a new use for Facebook - New Zealand police use Facebook to stop crime - CNN.com

(CNN) -- Police in southern New Zealand nabbed a would-be burglar after they posted security camera images of him trying to break into a safe on the popular social networking site, Facebook.

Having removed his balaclava after his efforts made him hot, the would-be burglar looks up at a security camera.

The Queenstown police are calling it their first Facebook arrest. The police department created its online presence on the site just two onths ago, said Constable Sean Drader.

"It's pretty popular, isn't it, this site?" Drader told CNN Wednesday, surprised at the quick success.

Hat Tip: Vitamin Z

One of the Greats

Remembering one of the great Christmas movies of all time!

(Not!)

I remember seeing this in a theater when I was a child. My kids got it on DVD for me last Christmas. It is so bad that it is a perverse pleasure to watch.

Dumb Blond Religion

I heard this week from the Daily Scroll that Jessica Simpson contemplating study of religion.

You read that right. A New York Post blurb about the singer/actress (whose father is a Baptist minister) reads, in part:

“JESSICA Simpson wants to head off to college to study theology - and watching TV was her inspiration. ‘I've been contemplating taking a college course in religion,’ the bubblehead told Marie Claire.”

Fox News has more revealing comments as to why the starlet wants to study religion: "I love religion. I remember whenever the book 'The Da Vinci Code' came out, the Discovery Channel did this three-night piece on it that I TiVoed and then watched eight times."

God save us from such deep theological thinking and insight.

Apologies to all the smart blonds I know.