[+/-] Christmas Stuff

Bruce summarizes Matthew's and Luke's versions of the Christmas story here and here. I don't think I've ever heard the two accounts separated, and it's very interesting to consider the different perspectives of the two writers. (His comment on this post is a sort of a Reader's Digest version.)

My new personal Christmas tradition is listening to Real Live Preacher's audio book "A Christmas Story You've Never Heard", which you can find at the iTunes store. It's raw and real and it really is very different from any telling of the story that I've ever heard before. His new story (the second of a planned seven) focusing on the shepherds, is available for download here.

I think Dave's got it right. This song kills me.

[+/-] Caution, Wet Paint

This blog is officially beta-ized. It took longer than I expected, and it was more frustrating than I expected, but it's done(ish), it's better than ever, and it still looks good.

I will try to refrain from ranting at length about Internet Explorer (aka "the special needs browser"). It's beyond me why anyone still uses the damnable thing. Firefox is better, and it's free. If you're not using Firefox, you're not trying.

Anyways, there's lots of exciting new stuff here. Actually, there's mostly just lots of new peek-a-boo stuff. Click on the [+/-]s for drop-down goodies! Hours of fun! Be sure to check out the Labels and Archives pages, and don't miss the peek-a-boo comments at the bottom of this post. So yes, I'm a blog geek. It's ok because it's a hobby, not an obsession or an addiction or whatever. You're allowed to waste time on hobbies.

Big props to Hackosphere, the source of most of my nifty new gizmos. No props to Microsoft.

[+/-] I Follow Apollos

The idea of a "biblical church" strikes me as odd. If I understand the term correctly, it means something like "a church which tries to mimic those described in the bible in all ways they deem significant". The problem, of course, is that churches tend to disagree on not only which aspects of the biblical churches are significant (I still say holy kisses are a sacrament), but worse, precisely how the important things were actually done. (Did the early church have women deacons? Baptize babies? All speak in tongues?)

I see myriad problems with the desire to be a biblical church, particularly if the term is understood narrowly. For one thing, I think you'd have a hard time getting all the authors of the New Testament themselves to agree on a very precise set of church doctrines and practices. I like to think that if Peter and Paul and John and James were alive today, they might not all be members of the same denomination (not that they'd make a big deal out of it). Which got me thinking about how it would sound if the apostles went church shopping. This is how I imagine some people imagining it:

Hi there, this is the apostle Paul. I'm calling on behalf of the New Testament Writers' Association. We're thinking of relocating to your town, if we can find a suitable church to attend. Can I ask you a few questions? ... Great.

I took a glance at the statement of faith on your website, and on the whole, it looks promising. A few points may need to be clarified a bit - "inspired" can mean a lot of things, you know - but on the whole, I thought it was pretty good.

Ok, first off, you say you're a "Biblical Church". That's good. Can you explain what that phrase means? ... Yes. ... Well good. I'm glad to hear it.

Can you tell me what your church teaches about salvation? ... And at what point would you say that happens? ... Do you believe there is a possibility that a person could lose their salvation?

Can you describe for me a typical service at your church? ... And how often do you do communion? ... Wine, or grape juice? ... Yes, of course. Now, you don't use those awful wafers do you?

And how much water do you use to baptize your infants? ... Right. ... Ya, that was kind of a trick question.

Would you describe your church as charismatic? ... Do you believe the gift of tongues is still given today? ... Oh, I'm glad. ... Yes, I completely agree, but you wouldn't believe what some people do with that verse.

What is your stance on women's roles in the church? ... I see. And do they wear headcoverings? ... Under what circumstances could a women address the congregation? ... What if she was a visiting missionary?

One final thing: could you give a brief description of the end times? ... I'm looking primarily for sequence of events ... Good. ... And would that be the trumpet, or bowl judgments? ... Ok, continue. ... Hold on, what was that? Did you say after the seven years? ... You can't be serious! ... No, no, you've got it all wrong! ... No, it's no use. I'm afraid I'll have to continue my search. ... Yes, quite sure. ... I'm sorry to have bothered you. ... Alright, well, the grace of our Lord be with you. ... Goodbye.

[+/-] Exams, Hell

I'm currently midway through writing exams, and midway through adapting my template to Blogger Beta. That these two events coincide is most unfortunate. I've been spending far less time studying than tinkering with HTML. I am nothing if not undisciplined.

If you're yearning for something to read, I suggest this new post by my good friend Filth-Man (he's really not that filthy). It's about hell (not everyone's cup of tea) and quite long, but I think it's an excellent summary of the problem of hell in biblical Christianity, and various attempts to deal with it. I intend to leave a comment at some point, but at the moment I'm up to my ears in metaphysics. I've actually got a post on a similar subject (hell, not metaphysics) in the works, but between studying, Beta-izing, and my reluctance to dwell on the subject, it's coming slowly.

[+/-] Pied Beauty

Glory be to God for dappled things—
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;
And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.

-Gerard Manley Hopkins

This is my second favorite poem ever.