Sinner and Saint

Comments on "'Da Vinci' film version kicks up storm of e-mail"

The Da Vinci Code... i know what your thinking... ughhh not again. If your not...well...maybe you should be. I'm tired of the DaVinci Code. I'm tired about hearing new things, i'm tired of the press it gets...i'm just tired in general from school too...whatever thats worth. This article (http://www.suntimes.com/output/roeper/cst-nws-roep15.html) talks about an email that is circulating (i haven't seen it though) that asks Tom Hanks to rethink his role in the movie. Part of me says...oh well... Hollywood has it...it will come out no matter how bad it is or who in Christianity it might offend. Part of me also agrees that Tom Hanks should reconsider at least if He is a Christian.

The DaVinci Code. Yes, I have read it. Yes, I think it is a good mystery novel read. Yes, I know it was published as fiction. The problem is that once you get into the book you read Dan Brown (author of The DaVinci Code) spout off that He believes what he is writing is truth and that his book, although fiction, contains many truths. How do you write fiction and add...by the way... i believe this fiction is really true and contains truth. This book can and does have an adverse effect on many Christains.

Richard Roeper's, artice has some truth to it, but he does go wrong.  He says,

Really, though, if your faith can be shaken by a pop novel, it was already more wobbly than a Jell-O mold in an earthquake. Even if you're a casual Christian and you haven't set foot inside a church since Wham! was topping the music charts, it's unfathomable that your beliefs could actually be shaken by this goofy book.

I know many Christians that had questions to ask after reading this book. I know many strong Christians that had questions. I know many weak Christians that had questions. This book is written in a way that makes people question! That is the strength of the book...its a way of writing a "Jesus" Conspiracy Theory and there are others that have also written on this same topic.

I believe that the movie will come out no matter what pressure Christians put on Hollywood. Yet, I think that we should let it come out, let there be questions, but also let us be prepared to answer these questions. I know i complained earlier that i'm sick of all this, and I am, but I also know the importance that our Christian witness has and know that yes, we must be ready to answer.

Update on Devotion or Worship

The student led "devotions" were not held in the small Rogate Chapel at Concordia University Wisconsin, but in the very large, beautiful, ornate, Chapel of Christ Triumphant.

Comment on "Who kidnapped Baby Jesus?"

This Article is found at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-gleaner,1,1375290.story?coll=chi-news-hed and is written by a Tribune columnist. I think its an interesting article following yesterdays comments and article. The author, Charlie Madigan, has a very intersting story to tell us about Christmas, what is missing, and what we now have...from China no less. Now, I am concerned about the out-sourcing of jobs, but that is not what my focus is. My focus is, once again, that Christ is being taken out of Christmas. It even seems that we are beginning to be "lucky" just to find Him in church as well. It is horrible to see a Day that is supposed to be joyful because of the Savior's birth turn into a day that focuses on "me" and my presents. We all need to take a step back and ask "Who kidnapped Baby Jesus?"

Comment on "Let 'Em Have X-mas"

This is a post that I recently put up on "the evangelical outpost" which you can access through this link: http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/ . Just from my own point of view I wish that people would stop using X-mas and put Christ back into CHRISTmas. That is just a personal pet peeve of mine. This article has alot to say to us about the battle of showing Christianity publically while offending others or as the author of article says,

When the ACLU sues to remove the Christmas tree let’s give them the nativity scene as well. When the secularists fight to stop the Christmas pageant let’s let them have the caroling too. Let’s let them have X-mas. Because maybe then we can finally show them Christ.

Now, I don't know about everyone else's opinion on the matter, but i'm tired of giving in to the ACLU, non-Christians, and the government for that matter when it comes to my Christian faith, heritage, and right of free speech. We live in a society that now taunts and condemns anything that remotely condemns Christianity.  We live in a country that has the motto of "don't offend anyone." All the while it is alright to bring up Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the Lunar New Year, or whatever other non-Christian religion wants to celebrate but no...not CHRISTmas...make it X-mas or something so it doesn't offend.

The point that i'm making is not that we should force our Christianity onto others, but we also cannot condone other religions as Christians either. The Gospel is a double edged sword and offends on its own. The question I have to the author of "Let 'Em Have X-mas" is where do we stop. Where to we make a stand if we give up Christmas trees, nativity scenes, and carols? When the Gospel offends others do we give in to them? When the Gospel says that we are saved by Christ do we add the words "or any other name you would like to call him?"

It sickens me to see how much Christians are willing to give up. I do not believe that by giving up on these "less important" things will help us to show them Christ. If they do not accept Christ from the Word of God and the Spirit working in their hearts they will never accept Him. Maybe we should just try to do miracles so that these non-Christians, atheists, and others would believe. But then again, Scripture tells us in Luke 16:

29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

As Paul proclaimed "We preach Christ and Him crucified." We must continue to show the world Christ in any way we can and that does include Nativity scenes, the ten commandments, and the like. We must not give up marks of the Church. If we continue to give up these marks we will have much more then Gay Marriage and Civil Unions, we will have much more then Kwanzaa and Muslim holidays. In the end Christianity will be pushed away and blend into the New Age. Maybe the author is right..."Let 'Em Have X-mas" but let me have CHRISTmas.

Nativity of Christ

Here is a new diddy that I happened to read this morning from Newsweek.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6653824/site/newsweek/ I found it to be interesting although I cannot say I agree with much of anything said. The writer, Jon Meacham, appears to have a good knowledge of Scripture, although reading his arguments seems (at least to me) to be biased, not have a firm grasp of the Old Testament and doesn't understand Scripture or "know" it as a Christian. He makes many assumptions as to what Christians believe (only citing a few different views of denominations) and believes all of Christendom to agree or disagree with a given statement. He does not understand that Jesus had to be God (second person of the Trinity) in order for His life and death to earn Salvation. He doesn't understand that Jesus had to be born of a virgin and not have a human father because Jesus couldn't be born with original sin. He also does not understand how often the Old Testament speaks of the virgin birth. What worries me is that in mainstream media, the only way you get published is to speak out against Christianity. Maybe that is just my own opinion but it does seem to be the popular move.

Homosexuality and Evolution

I have this question that has been bugging me recently. I haven't heard this argument or anything like it nor do I really know that much about it per say. I am not a scientist or anything of the like. I do not believe in Evolution but that does not take away from my curiosity. I have been wondering what Evolutionists think about homosexuality. With their theory that includes survival of the fitest, how do they react to humans that are homosexual and cannot procreate together? Do they see this as something that hurts the theory of evolution? Or do they see homosexuality as a driving force into an evolution of humans (humans being able to procreate individually or with the same sex)? I really have no answers on this question. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable on this issue can post a comment or two and help us out.

Devotion or Worship?

Concordia University Wisconsin, my beloved alma mater, has Pre-Seminary students leading "devotions" on Wednesday nights in the schools small Rogate Chapel. Some of the students that are in the program are concerned that they are preaching without a call or proper preparation. I would have to agree that they are. The school says that they do not hold the same rules as the Seminary (Concordia Theological Seminary) for preaching and that many of the faculty lead daily chapel that are not called or Seminary trained. Is this to say that neither the Wednesday night service or daily chapel services are not worship? There are some women faculty members that are pushing for the allowance of leading chapel. I would have to say that they have a strong case for this if daily chapel is just some big devotion. The same is also true for the Wednesday night service. My whole complaint is not that i'm some biased Sem student that is offended by all this (which I am to an extent) but that it can severely harm the Pre-Sem students that are leading these "devotions." I am not sure what can be done about this situation as I have already complained to the University, but cannot sit back and shut up on the matter either. I guess this stuff just irks me. What does everyone else think?