Benazir Bhutto 1953-2007 - R.I.P.

What a tragedy for the people of Pakistan! Physically striking, very intelligent, visionary. We've always been impressed by this woman, not perfect, but certainly brave and pro-West. The future in Pakistan is very unclear in her absence; she was irreplaceable.

UPDATE: Not every one was so fond of Ms. Bhutto. Read a critical op/ed piece here.

"Santa Died for your Mastercard!"

Do you get it? I think I do, and his point is well made. (See the story at FOXNews here.)

My wife told me today she struggles with materialism more at this time of year than any other.

I think we all do.

49 Years!

My parents celebrated 49 years of marriage on December 20th. Wow. Congratulations, Mom and Dad! What a rarity in this day and age. We all wish we could have been in your area to help you celebrate.

Romney and the "Cult" of Mormonism

I've read some panicked Christians asking the question, "Do you really want as president someone who is in a cult?" I think this issue needs to be addressed a bit. Here are my thoughts on the matter.

The word "cult" can be used in several senses.

1. "Cult" as "religious practice." The word can be used to describe any religious observance, and is not used pejoratively. This is what we mean when we talk about the "cult" of Ancient Israel; we simply mean the "religious practices" of Mosaic religion, i.e., the traditions in the Pentateuch.

2. "Cult" as "non-orthodox, sectarian religious belief and practice." When used in this way, "cult" refers to Jehovah's Witnesses and the like. The beliefs and practices of these "cults" are heterodox vis-a-vis orthodox Christianity.

3. "Cult" as brain-washing, kidnapping, weird sex, religious nut-cases. I think of David Berg and "The Family of God International," Victor Paul Wierwille and "The Way International," or David Koresh, and the like. These still exist, and we need to watch for them, but we also need to be careful with our terminology.

Now, I am no expert on Mormonism, but I know a little. I may be wrong on a few things, and will gladly admit so if someone wants to point it out. Mormonism is certainly a cult; the question is which kind of cult? I suppose we could use definition #1 to describe it, but that wouldn't mean very much. Definition #2 works much better. Mormonism is a pseudo-Christian religion that shares very little teaching at all with traditional, orthodox Christianity. My biggest problem with Mormonism, and its myriad of missionaries, is the deception. Mormonism uses many of the same terms of orthodox Christianity but attaches to these terms vastly different definitions. There is certainly internal pressure on a Mormon to remain in Mormonism, but the same is true in Christianity. Nevertheless, people are free to leave, if they so choose, even if it may take a deep emotional and social toll on a person.

The "polygamy" of Mormonism is apparently largely a thing of the past, though we hear of it still going on in secret. One gets the idea, though - at least I do - that the impetus for Mormon polygamy is not a raw sexual urge for multiple partners but a theology based on birthing "spirit children."

So, although I in no way want to downplay the heterodoxy of Mormonism, I think we need to be careful about using the term "cult" to define it. We may be treating people as we ourselves would not want to be treated, and we may be using emotive language to scare people and discredit others. I think it is much wiser to explain clearly that Mormonism has about as much in common with orthodox Christianity as Hinduism does. Mormonism is a different religion than Christianity.

"Malcolm Quotes" #2

Here's another installment. Lewis writes to "Malcolm":

Broaden your mind, Malcolm, broaden your mind! It takes all sorts to make a world; or a church. This may be even truer of a church. If grace perfects nature it must expand all our natures into the full richness of the diversity which God intended when He made them, and heaven will display far more variety than hell. (Letter II)

I'll never forget the "cognitive dissonance" I experienced when I first arrived in England for a year of Bible training. I immediately mixed it up with all sorts of European Christians, some of whom even (gasp!) baptized babies! Having been raised in a "believer only" baptismal tradition, it was difficult to accept when I found out that these people were clearly brothers and sisters in the faith. "The church must be bigger than I thought," I said to myself. I learned to hang out with Christians who had a pint of beer with their lunch, or smoked cigars, or...baptized babies!

I wonder if I have completely learned this lesson. Of course, there are theological convictions that I will never, NEVER jettison, but sometimes I wonder if our denominational differences are rooted more in tempermental differences than theological. In other words, I wonder if our denominational differences (dare I say, our "denominational richness"?) are almost necessary to display the full panoply of God's richness.

Now calm down, my baptist brethren. I'm not at all suggesting a doctrinal relativism; I'm suggesting a packaging relativism. Is the ONLY way to do a God-glorifying worship service to have three hymns (or choruses), an offering, and a sermon? Is it really wrong to repeat the Lord's Prayer every Sunday, along with the Apostle's Creed, or Nicene Creed?

I'm very comfortable in my Southern Baptist situation (though that is not the tradition in which I was raised); I'm just trying to be a "Christian," in the fullest historical sense of that word, or as F.F. Bruce once said, "I want to be an un-hyphenated Christian," as opposed to "Baptist Christian," or "Lutheran Christian," etc.

How to Write a Movie Review

A secret fantasy of mine is to become a movie critic. I would love it if a newspaper would hire me - part-time, of course - to go watch movies and write reviews of them. Here's a site telling a person how to write a movie review. Here's a summary:
1. Watch the movie.
2. Give your opinion.
3. Who is your audience?
4. Give an outline of the movie.
5. Who are the actors?
6. Describe the structure of the movie?
7. Describe the cinematography and lighting.
8. Comment on any music in the movie.
9. Read, read, read your review!

"Malcolm Quotes" #1

I'm going to record a bunch of quotes from C.S. Lewis's Prayer: Letters to Malcolm (I bought my copy in England; in the US, I think it was published under the title, Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer) that I've been reading. I'll write the quote, then make some comments on it. Here's the first one.

Speaking about the liturgy of the Church of England, Lewis writes:

And it [the liturgy] enables us to do these things best -- if you like, it 'works' best -- when, through long familiarity, we don't have to think about it. As long as you notice, and have to count, the steps, you are not yet dancing but only learning to dance. A good shoe is a shoe you don't notice. Good reading becomes possible when you need not consciously think about eyes, or light, or print, or spelling. The perfect church service would be one we were almost unaware of; our attention would have been on God. (Letter I)

This introduced me to the idea of a church service as a means to an end, not an end in itself. Our worship services should be just that: worship services, not concerts, performances or club meetings. The problem is that very few churches, it seems to me, make a conscious effort to do this. We are very - sometimes VERY - focused on keeping people entertained, keeping them coming back, keeping them happy, or whatever. In this sense, I'm afraid many of our worship services are functionally atheistic; if God wasn't there, I'm terrified to admit that many of us wouldn't notice. He simply isn't the focus.

[I should be careful to explain that when I say "our worship services," I'm not necessarily referring to the church where my family happens to be attending right now in our lives. In fact, our worship pastor works hard at getting people in touch with God, at making people aware that we are to be encountering God during these services.]

I've internalized Lewis's idea here and applied it to worship leaders and so-called "worship bands." I think very few people who are "worship leaders" are really gifted at it; they too often need to be the center of attention. "Worship bands" too often try to dominate the worship. More often than not, "less is more." Recently at the school where I teach, we had a break from the usual rock group worship band, and instead, a small ensemble of singers stood on risers and sung some accapella numbers. I was surprised at my response; I got all teared up. In thinking about it later, I realized that what moved me was the beauty of the music. Rock bands are rarely beautiful, though they are often loud.

I've also started to think that worship leading is a spiritual gift. Perhaps we should work harder at identifying people who have this gift, instead of anointing anybody who has a "worship band" as a "worship leader."

Here's my personal dilemma: I am from a "low church" worship tradition, but that tradition doesn't seem to be giving me the intellectual / spiritual food to sustain my worship of God on Sundays. I find myself thinking about many things other than God. The service is "predictable," as Lewis wants, but the forms of worship that sustain the intellect don't seem to be present. On the other hand, the "high church worship" churches I know of are usually theologically liberal, so I can't very comfortably change churches.

As a compromise, I've been attending a local episcopal church on Sunday mornings, one that has a service late enough that I can still teach SS at my church and attend most of the worship service; I slip out of our service early and drive quickly to this other church where there is very traditional Anglican worship. I'm not quite comfortable enough with the liturgy to "not notice it," but I'm getting there. Besides that, the beauty of the worship is very compelling.

In any case, Lewis, many years ago, introduced me to the idea that our worship services are not only (though they are partly) for preaching, but also for worship, and they do that best when we aren'y always wondering what is coming next. But, for my part, I also need some intellectual fodder (which the BCP provides) and beauty.

World View Competition

Rick Warren wrote a short article for CT in which he lists the six world views we Christians are up against. Read the article here. I'll list them briefly.

1. The One with the Most Toys Wins - Materialism
2. I've Got to Think of Me First - the "Me Generation"
3. Do What Feels Good - Hedonism
4. Whatever Works for You - Relativism
5. God Doesn't Exist - Naturalism/Atheism
6. You Are Your Own God - Humanism

I would add, at least, a seventh, "Spirituality," a nebulous movement that allows people to think they are "spiritual" as long as they have some kind of transcendent reality in their lives.

Anglicans who deeply influence(d) me

In thinking about and studying the BCP recently, and attending an Episcopal Church for the last few Sundays, I began to realize just how much of my own spiritual development I owe to men from the Church of England. Here's a list of a few:

J.I. Packer

John R.W. Stott

John Wesley

George Whitefield

N.T. Wright

C.S. Lewis (a layman)

Bishop J.B. Lightfoot

I'll include others as they come to mind.

Take the "Theological Worldview" Quiz

I am a "Reformed Evangelical." Click here to take the quiz.

Here are my results:

What's your theological worldview?
You scored as a Reformed Evangelical
You are a Reformed Evangelical. You take the Bible very seriously because it is God's Word. You most likely hold to TULIP and are sceptical about the possibilities of universal atonement or resistible grace. The most important thing the Church can do is make sure people hear how they can go to heaven when they die.
Reformed Evangelical 79%
Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 71%
Fundamentalist 64%
Neo orthodox 54%
Emergent/Postmodern 54%
Charismatic/Pentecostal 46%
Classical Liberal 39%
Modern Liberal 18%
Roman Catholic 14%

Some cool maps

Check out these two cool maps at the blog "strange maps." One is a fictional map of the "island" on "Lost." The other is a satellite picture of North and South Korea; what a difference! The site is worth visiting in general.

Romney's Race to Lose

I agree more and more with this idea. Read Patrick Ruffini's post at Townhall.com. I think Romney acts more presidential than all of them combined, and he doesn't suffer from the liberalism of Guiliani, the rogue-ness of McCain, the laziness of Thompson, or the kookiness of Huckabee. Yes, he has made some flip-flops, but no Republican could be elected in MA without making some serious lurches to the center. He has great business sense, he's got a great family, and he gets things done. His big problem is his Mormonism, which, despite Huckabee, I hope will shrink as an issue. Huckabee is a theological/social conservative and an economic liberal; Romney is conservative (or fairly so) on all three fronts. I would rather have in the WH a general conservative I disagreed with theologically than an evangelical I disagreed with economically.

However, this is no endorsement...at least not yet.

Another Good Weekend!

Cleveland 8; Buffalo 0.

Jacksonville 29; Pittsburgh 22.

Records:

Cleveland = 9-5

Pittsburgh = 9-5

Hmmmmmmm.

"Those Were the Days!"

My sabbatical started yesterday, kind of, last official day of the semester and all, but I have a box of hermeneutics final projects awaiting my attention, plus a myriad of grading details. My "sabbatical" isn't official until I've entered final grades.

In any case, as many of you know, I've been studying The Book of Common Prayer for several months now, and have even begun attending an Episcopal church on Sunday mornings (after I teach SS and attend "our" morning service). I have much to think and write about on that score, but not now.

Last night I picked up a copy of C.S. Lewis's Prayer: Letters to Malcolm, which I haven't read for at least 15 years, but which I remember being a very stimulating read, the last of Lewis's books. I remember him writing a bit about Anglicanism, so I thought I would indulge myself.

(I've pasted in a copy of my favorite picture of Lewis, him lighting up. He couldn't have taught where I teach!)

Several things: First, I was surprised at how much of my thinking about church/prayer was influenced by just the first letter or two in that book. Sometimes when we read things, we internalize major points, then forget where we got those ideas. Someone once said, "Creativity is the art of forgetting your sources." True enough in my case.

Second, having read a letter or two last night, then a few more this morning, I began to recall affectionately how "internal" my life used to be, how "reflective." I used to spend my weekends, and even weeknights, reading in quiet and then conversing with friends about what I/we had been reading.

How life has changed! Now my life consists of "putting out fires," and the "immediate." No wonder I don't listen to classical music anymore; it takes TIME! Oh, well, "complain, complain, complain," right? I'm not sure these are complaints, just observations. Life has brought new blessings, talking with Matthew about girls at his High School, having lunch from McDonald's with Andrew while sitting in the Jeep: all great things, just very different than reading C.S. Lewis.

Third, have we lost the art of correspondence? Do emails really count? I know, I know - Letters to Malcolm is a fictional correspondence, but still, people really did used to write intentional, well-thought letters like this. Even I did! Again - back in college - I used to write deep, reflective letters to a small cadre of friends. I can remember how I used to watch the mail with eagerness (I just saw the mail truck stop at our house), and how my heart would leap in excitement at the sight of a letter from ole so-and-so. I would go somewhere in the sunny cool breeze, sit on bench and read with joy the continuation of our literary conversation. Could I recognize all the literary allusions (was that Milton or Donne)? Who could quote from Luther, Calvin, and Lewis the fastest? Could I recall the Biblical references without looking them up? I could picture the particular friend in question saying what he/she had written, and I would laugh. And of course, those letters were handwritten. Sometimes there would be smudges of mud, a blade of grass or two, a coffee stain, a smeared drop of blood from where the author had cut herself trimming hedges or had raked his knuckles while laying brick (remember those college jobs?). Sometimes the handwriting would clearly be different because the letter had been started, then stopped, then resumed at a later date. All that is lost on emails and blogs.

I must be getting old.

I'm Melito of Sardis!

What to know which Church Father you are? Go to the quiz and find out. I'm Melito of Sardis, I guess (though I actually have no idea what that means!).

I'm "Chalcedon Compliant!"

Are you a heretic? Check out the quiz here. I scored 100% Chalcedonian! See?

You scored as a Chalcedon compliant
You are Chalcedon compliant. Congratulations, you're not a heretic. You believe that Jesus is truly God and truly man and like us in every respect, apart from sin. Officially approved in 451.
Chalcedon compliant 100%
Donatism 50%
Monophysitism 50%
Pelagianism 33%
Nestorianism 17%
Modalism 17%
Apollanarian 17%
Adoptionist 8%
Albigensianism 0%
Monarchianism 0%
Arianism 0%
Gnosticism 0%
Docetism 0%
Socinianism 0%

Why So Much Religion?

Well, here's my theory on why there is so much "religion" in the Republican party primaries: No one has inspired us enough to get us excited about the big issues. We aren't happy with anyone, so we have started looking for things that make us feel "comfortable." I don't want a Christian in the White House at all costs; I want a Christian person (male or female) who is skilled at running the country according to conservative principles. Because we can't rally around someone who we know will do the latter, we are instead looking for the former only. Actually, I would accept someone Catholic, Jewish, Christian-general, Buddhist, etc. if I knew that person would run the country with sound Republican ideals. All this talk of "religion" is a distraction, and the Dems are happy about it. They would love it if we descended into a theological debate.

Just for the record: I still don't think Mike Huckabee will be a factor. If the GOP nominated a theologically conservative former Southern Baptist pastor as the general election nominee, it will be SUICIDE. It is a two man race: Guliani/Romney.

1/2 lb. Jalapeno Cheddar Double Melt

UPDATE: I got a picture of one!

Here it is. A picture of the 1/2 lb Jalapeno Cheddar Double Melt, from a certain fast food chain. Just thought ya'll would be interested in how one looks in real life. My son, Matthew, and I were disappointed a weekend or two ago when we purchased a certain well-advertised sandwich (not the one featured here) from a certain fast food chain. We were majorly turned on by the picture on the TV screen, but were sorely disappointed by the reality. The actual burgers we got were pitiful! So, we thought from now on we would take a picture of our burgers and compare them with the advertised pictures. Unfortunately, this particular fast food chain (whose burger is featured here) blocked my attempt to copy a picture of this particular burger from its website. To be honest, this one was not so bad, and it was rather tasty to boot.

Not A Bad Weekend!

Cleveland Browns, 24; New York Jets, 15
Pittsburgh Steelers, 13; New England Patriots, 34
All in all, not a bad weekend!

Crutchfield Family Christmas List

OK, Mom and Dad, here it is:

AJ:
PlayStation Games
1. Marvel Ultimate Alliance
2. Bionicle Heroes
3. Transformers
4. Godzilla Unleashed

DVDs
1. Transformers – the Movie
2. Spiderman 3 – the Movie

Other things:
1. Electric trooper clone blaster (a gun)
2. Optimus Prime (a transformer action figure)
3. Ant Farm

AE:
Movies
1. Meet the Robinsons
2. Pride & Prejudice (A&E version)
3. X-Men movies
4. Bourne movies
5. Hidalgo
6. Gladiator
Books
1. Devotionals
2. Journals
3. Art Books
CDs
1. “Say It” by Britt Nicole
2. The Village Soundtrack
3. Bianca Ryan (self-titled)
Other
1. Gel Pens
2. Necklaces (I don’t do bracelets…)
3. Clothes (Fuzzy toe socks! Colorful gloves!)
4. Digital Camera
5. Snow
6. Mad Gab
7. Big, stuffed horse
8. Starbucks Gift Card

MD:
cd- End of Silence, by Red
MP3 or IPod
Money
Dvd-Rudy

DJ:
Money
Digital camera
cd-Toby Mac, “Portable Sounds”

DM:
Hot pads
Pajama pants
Wool socks

JC:
A cool letter opener
Dvd-Chariots of Fire
A cheap flask (so I can carry water in my pocket)
New leather belt
Flip or razor phone
money

Andy's Poison Ivy

Here's our little chipmunk, and this is not the worst he's looked. Hopefully, the swelling will start to go down soon.

Romney on Religion in America

Governor Mitt Romney gave a speech today on faith and politics. Here's the text (thanks to Hugh Hewitt's website), and here's a link to Romney's website where you can watch the whole speech. I watched the speech and followed along at the same time. I was impressed. Romney has a great stage presence, and looks and sounds very presidential. I'm not endorsing him, but he seems to have many of the qualities I look for in a leader. For the first time in a long time, I felt proud to be a Republican. I thought he was almost Reaganesque. Well done. I notice that CNN has not listed it among its headlines. I think I know what that means.

UPDATE:

Check out all the responses to Romney's speech listed on Hugh Hewitt's site and Justin Taylor's site.