“I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.”
Was Noah a preacher or not?
Growing up I always heard that Noah preached of the coming flood and the need for repentance. No one ever made a great case for this claim. Rather, it was taken as an obvious conclusion.
Was Noah one of the first preachers? One writer thinks so. Another writer makes a persuasive case that Noah probably didn't preach at all.
Aronofsky's "Noah": Bible or Kabbalah?
I've not seen Darren Aronofsky's Noah film yet, and probably won't until it comes out on blu-ray. The reviews have been too mixed to risk wasting a night out with the Missus on a sub-par movie.
I have, however, been reading with interest the back and forth among Christian reviewers about whether the movie takes too many liberties with the biblical story and about whether or not Aronofsky's vision stays true to the spirit if not letter of the biblical text.
But what if the Bible wasn't Aronofsky's primary text at all? What if his vision was more shaped by the literature of Gnosticism than by the Judeo-Christian faith literature?
That's essentially the claim being made by Dr. Brian Mattson, whose résumé suggests he likely knows what he's talking about. Mattson argues (here and here) that the images and themes of Gnosticism and the Kabbalah throughly permeate Aronofsky's Noah film.
Give Mattson's a listen. He's more hipster theologian than stereotypical stodgy academic. He's got an interesting take well-worth considering.
Time to visit more garage and estate sales?
Saved from the scrap heap.
One of the eight missing imperial Faberge eggs will go on show in London next month after it was purchased by a scrap metal dealer in a flea market in the United States.
London antique dealer Wartski said the man bought the egg a few years ago for about US$14,000, completely unaware that it was worth about US$33 million (24 million euros).
That's quite a profit.
There's also a sermon lurking in there somewhere... saved from the scrap heap of life... something of no worth to everyone else but found to be priceless by someone who saw true value...
Scot McKnight on the Church
Scot McKnight reflects on Dietrick Bonhoeffer's Life Together:
Leaving the church because it does not meet our expectations is failing to understand what a church is; we have a church because we have failed to meet God’s expectations. Failed expectations, then, are the foundation of the church and the reason for its existence.
Leaving the church because it does not meet our expectations is to create a church for ourselves. It is, if I may be so bold, idolatry.
Many enter into ministry with the ambition to make a church what they think it could be instead of what it is.
Until we understand what the church is — a fellowship of sinners at different locations in a journey — we will not understand what the church could be and can be. No two Christians are perfectly compatible — in theology or praxis — and therefore there will be tension in the church, which is precisely where we need to begin to see what the church is. Not a fellowship of those who agree or who are alike but a fellowship of those who don’t agree and who are not alike. When we demand the church be like us, or like our vision for what it is, or we leave, we create our own church — and eventually (if we have the guts) we start a church that begins the same old process of a fellowship of those agree who eventually become those who disagree and who split.
Monday News: medieval poop
“Time may be able to heal all wounds, but it apparently can’t alleviate all smells…”
Ancient Greek outhouse... it was a communal affair.
The UPI reports, "Archaeologists excavating in the town of Odense, Denmark, the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen, unearthed some medieval barrels that were being used in the town’s old toilet area." And, yes, they still smell.
In case you were wondering,
The excrement in the barrels is still in "excellent condition" and has been analyzed to provide some clues about what life was like in Denmark 700 years ago.
"Preliminary results of analysis show that raspberries were popular in Odense in the 1300s. The contents also contain small pieces of moss, leather and fabric which were used as toilet paper," Lauridsen said.
Calling Indiana Jones!
Spaniards Margarita Torred and Jose Ortega del Rio claim to have found the cup from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper. There are still a few minor difficulties to be worked out:
The age of the cup in question is estimated to be between 200 BC and 100 AD. However, the first 400 years of the cup's history remains a mystery and scientists cannot prove whether or not Jesus actually ever drank from the cup.
The goblet in the Basilica of San Isidoro in León, northern Spain. Photograph: Cesar Manso/AFP/Getty Images
The Guardian reports
Made of agate, gold and onyx and encrusted with precious stones, the object in León is formed by two goblets joined together, with one turned up, the other down.
It has been known until now as the goblet of the Infanta Doña Urraca, daughter of Fernando I, King of León from 1037 to 1065.
If these two intrepid archeologists can nail down where that cup was rattling around for a paltry four hundred years, they might really have a find on their hands!
A penitent Pope
(Photo: Vatican Press Office via AFP/Getty Images)
The theological gulf which separates Francis and I is huge. Nevertheless, the more I hear about him and how he conducts himself, the more I enjoy him. I note the way he protects and guards himself from the temptations of power, and seeks to lead by an example of humility, authenticity, and simplicity.
Recently, Francis was preaching on the importance of the Catholic sacrament of penitence (rite of confession), and chose once again to live what he teaches by becoming the first pope to publicly submit himself to confession during the Eucharist.
Francis preaches that the rite of confession "is not a court of condemnation, but the experience of forgiveness and mercy!"
I'm not a Catholic but I do understand at least in part the theology and heart that informs the Catholic Church's practice of confession. I wonder how our Evangelical communities would be transformed if we were a little less confident, a little less self-assured, self-righteous really, in the certainty of our election. I wonder how much more winsome our outreach would be if, like Francis, we spent less time condemning the sins of others and more effort in being truly penitent for our own sins.
(HT: Rocco Palmo)
Worship & millennials
Thom Rainer writes on What Worship Style Attracts the Millennials. His findings might surprise you.
- They desire the music to have rich content. They desire to sing those songs that reflect deep biblical and theological truths. It is no accident that the hymnody of Keith and Kristyn Getty has taken the Millennials by storm. Their music reflects those deep and rich theological truths.
- The Millennials desire authenticity in a worship service. They can sense when congregants and worship leaders are going through the motions. And they will reject such perfunctory attitudes altogether.
- This large generation does want a quality worship service. But that quality is a reflection of the authenticity noted above, and adequate preparation of the worship leaders both spiritually and in time of preparation. In that sense, quality worship services are possible for churches of all sizes.
Signs of times to come
So, Mozilla forces the resignation of its new CEO, Brendan Eich, because it came to light he was a supporter of traditional marriage. Robbie George, a leading supporter of traditional marriage quickly weighed in on FaceBook. Carl Trueman, a theologian at Westminster Seminary, joins the Mozilla story with the Word Vision story from last week and offers the following thoughts.
... how should Christians react? A few thoughts come to mind. First, both Christians and their opponents have the right under the First Amendment to express their disagreement with the actions of World Vision and Mozilla without government interference. That does not seem to be in jeopardy at this point and we should be grateful for that freedom. Second, we should understand that to live in a free society means that all have, among other things, the right to withdraw economic support from a group with which they disagree. As a result, Christians should accept that those who live by the sword of legitimate economic sanctions in one context might well find themselves dying by the same legitimate economic sword in another. That is the price, or the risk, of freedom. Third, given the above, the pastoral response is surely to start now to strengthen Christian people for the hardship and marginalization that is likely to come, as it would seem that these kinds of events are set to become more frequent. Yes, we should lament the moral malaise of society; we should use our freedoms to try to reverse that; but we should also acknowledge that the methods we use to gain influence ourselves are also open to our enemies. And thus we should think twice about crying foul on that particular point when the results are not to our liking.