Four Views on Hell BOOK REVIEW ALERT

BOOK REVIEW ALERT

I have just published an article about a book on the topic HELL…

What is Hell?

Do you view Hell literally…as metaphor…is there purgatory…is there annihilation?

Read our book review Four Views on Hell…

Check out our book review blog The Purple Bookmark…

In Flanders Field: Lest we Forget

Remembrance Day…

Thank you to the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces….

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

- - In Flanders Fields by John McCrae

Lord…thank You for those who serve our nation…thank You for their commitment even under tyranny and terror…thank you for freedom…may we use such freedom to Your glory….

amen

Church Worship Music: U2 Spiritual Spectacular Experience vs Churchianity

This past week I had an opportunity to experience the U2 360 Tour in concert here in Vancouver (for more commentary and photos click here). The extravaganza of music, sound, light, visuals and theatre was spectacular. Bono and his cohorts (note here that “his’ is not capitalized…I don’t want anybody thinking I am worshiping Bono or U2) were amazing…with the highlight for me being Bono singing Amazing Grace along with most of the rapt full capacity crowd at BC Place Stadium.

The fans were enthralled to the magnificence on display…God was in the house as they say…I personally knew at least four pastors that were in attendance and many other people from my local Church and others…

I understand that for many followers of Jesus…many who much prefer to label themselves as Christians…the songs and the persons of U2 often make them feel…uncomfortable…it is this discomfort that I find so alluring…and I mean this for the proper theological reasons…

I did not become a Jesus follower till in my late 20’s (presently, gulp, 45). I was profoundly touched and transformed by studying the Word of God…the Bible. I was completely unchurched and did not trust the Church in many ways…However over time I grew and understood the role of the Church and my life within it…I embraced this life…unfortunately churchianity is alive and well. The North American church subculture has many unbiblical tendrils within it and these began to attempt strangling my Jesus following.

It was at this time when churchianity tried to strangle my spiritual life that I encountered U2 afresh…before being a Jesus follower I had a distinct dislike for the band…but I found my new encounters with their music etc to be invigorating to my faith and my spiritual walk grew healthier, deeper and exceedingly sublime…while transforming my thoughts words and actions…this I found was because of the way the music outwardly manifested the hard truths of Scripture in creative ways…it was Biblical without being churchy…Kingdom here living transformed my life in a way that no churchianity religiosity ever could.

Surely U2 and Bono are not worthy of worship, but I applaud them for their creative and artistic representations that have worked through me in innovative worship. I hear all the time that style of music does not make the worship any more or less significant…if this is so then why does the Church not drop playing continual adult contemporary music? Let U2 and the boys into the House…you may be surprised… 

Holy Kiss Church Culture Counting Christians

Holy Kiss Church Culture Counting Christians

1 2 3 4 how we Christians like to go counting…come with me lets go counting…

1 2 3 4 we count your sins and ignore my sins…

1 2 3 4 we count the offering like we keep score…

1 2 3 4 we count attendance to measure how successful we are…

1 2 3 4 we count the laws like we think we can keep them…

1 2 3 4 woah oh oh how we like to count…

1 2 3 4 we count the pounds of the preacher…

1 2 3 4 we count the minutes of the sermon like it matters…

1 2 3 4 we count how many programs the Church offers…

1 2 3 4 we count how many Sundays our neighbors have missed but not our own…

1 2 3 4 we count the ways we think we have made ourselves more holy…

5 6 7 8 ok…so we don’t do these things…do we?

…woah oh oh….1 2 3 4 Counting Christians…. 

When Holy Kiss Church Culture and Pop Culture Intersect: Church Reimagined: Battlestar Galactica Video

A collision between Church Culture and Pop Culture via a Battlestar Galactica Video…

“What is your favorite TV show?” I was asked…I knew my answer immediately…I did consider who the question was coming from so I knew my answer may not be taken pleasantly…“Battlestar Galactica” (the reimagined 2004 TV series) I responded…

“That pagan program that has sensuality, espouses Mormonism and uses fake words to hide their profanity?” came the outraged response.

I then responded “well the Bible speaks of sensual issues, speaks about paganism and uses ‘profanity’…would you prefer Battlestar Galactica actually use profanity?” Certainly the Bible is not promoting such things but it does speak of them. “Battlestar Galactica also frequently shows the consequences of immoral behavior…it frequently raises moral issues including of the spiritual dimension…would you prefer a program that ignores such topics?”

Now I am not saying that I agree with everything on the program, far from it, however this raises the question of being in the world but not of the world…I’m certainly no supporter of Mormonism…but does this mean I should never read their information and be ignorant of their beliefs?

I can actually say that personally observing Battlestar Galactica has deepened my spiritual walk…my faith has grown as has my conviction as a Jesus follower…The outlandishness of pagan beliefs and practices is exposed…the sandy ground upon which life is built when not built upon Jesus is exposed…an understanding of creative processes, thinking styles and philosophies under girding a system that is not attuned to Jesus following is as I have seen been profitable. I have applied this knowledge when speaking of my faith to others…I have learned how to speak their languages…I have used this program as a launch pad for creative Biblical conversations…

In the Bible we have the uncomfortable questions and comments of Ecclesiastes and the uncomfortable intimate conversation of Song of Songs…

Does watching Battlestar Galactica make me less “holy” or “worthy”? Should I not watch TV…should I never leave my home…what is your favorite TV show?

Can this help us view Church Reimagined?

If you would like an example of “profanity” in the Bible guess and/or ask…. 

The Simpsons Video: Will there be Animals in Heaven?

The Simpsons video entertainingly asks the question…Will there be Animals in Heaven?

This question is asked so often I should develop an auto reply email for it…for children and equally so for adults…

Pets have become so much part of the modern family in so many societies that their significance to people’s lives cannot be overlooked. Why are pets so important to people? Why is there a felt need to have pets in our lives? What is the theological significance of this?

Animals were placed in our lives in the garden…actually no…we were placed in their lives…typically pets come into our lives but back in the Garden the animals were already frolicking in the water, running in the woods, sniffing flowers, soaking up the sun and chasing cars before we came around…alright allow for some artistic freedom here alright?

The animals were being animals and we decided to play dice with the universe…we willingly and prideful fell for Satan’s slithery plan and declared war against God…the animals didn’t do this…we did…so let us take this into consideration when some in the Church get carried away with dominion…

To learn more about Biblical-Guardianship-Stewardship-Cultivation click here

Animals were protected by laws put in place within Scripture, working animals feed etc was to be taken into consideration and cared for…animals are of such incredible importance that they were placed at an essential position within Temple life…their blood is deluged with our own…Noah took care to bring animals in the ark with him…The Holy Spirit chooses to use animal terminology to symbolically speak of Jesus the Lamb and the Lion…indeed the Holy Spirit takes on the representation of a Dove…clearly animals are of great importance to God their Creator…

Will there be animals in Heaven? The question arises and is frequently answered as “no” since they do not appear to be precisely placed in Heaven from Scripture…However they were in the Garden…before us…and they were not the ones committing cosmic treason…Of course as a follower of Jesus I am pleased to bend my knee to whatever His will is…but it seems the default position is there probably will be animals in Heaven…they were in the Garden and in the Temple…and they are here with us now…why would they not be in Heaven?

St Paul’s Cathedral London: Amazing Grace: Amazing Respect?

After having just arrived home from vacation in London I wanted to share a flavour of this great city and its plentiful Christian heritage. We visited St Paul's Cathedral and were struck by the amazing beauty of its architecture and art. We took in the abundant sights such as the memorials to Lawrence of Arabia, Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington, Horatio Nelson 1st Viscount Nelson among others….

While there we witnessed that upon the hour the priest would speak over the loud speaker system announcing that he was going to pray and invited others to do so with him but if they chose to not take part to please be respectfully quiet during that time.

As he prayed the Lord’s Prayer I found myself praying along then was struck by the fact that people did not quiet down but carried on as if he had not spoken and was not praying. It was not a linguistic barrier as the vast majority were speaking English with some form of accent although there were obviously some who did not speak English so did not understand what was going on. I should mention that there must have been many hundreds if not over a thousand people in the entirety of the cathedral so the talk was loud…however the priest continued with the prayer which was audible, gracious and short…

This lack of respect I found of interest and I ruminated upon buildings such as this and their current status in the world…could it be that since people paid to enter the building they felt they had the right to ignore respect for its purpose? Is this part of the Christian heritage of London?