Machine Gun Preacher

Thanks goes to my brother Stephen for sharing this:
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/machinegunpreacher/

Now, I know nothing at all beyond the trailer. But I have a few questions to throw out there:

Does this show what a genuine faith could look like which takes the good news to heart that God created and redeemed this world through the work of Israel's Messiah Jesus, and through his Spirit he sets people apart (sanctifies) to be part of his restoring purposes?

Craigs Evans on the "Third Quest" of Jesus Studies

If you're interested in what's been called the "Third Quest" of Jesus studies, or have never heard of the various "Quests," you'll find this short interview with Craig Evans interesting:
The Future of Historical Jesus Studies.

This is something N.T. Wright covers as well in detail in volume 2 of his Magnum Opus, "Jesus and the Victory of God" (isn't that an awesome title?). It's a book I'd highly recommend to anyone who wants to check out the Gospels in a fresh perspective, while looking at the big narrative picture in the Bible and incorporating much of what we know from modern Jesus research and Second Temple sources we've now discovered in the past century.

I've attached an Amazon link below if you want to give it a look:

What Did Jesus Look Like?

I say an article about a week back about Rembrandt's painting(s) of Jesus on Veith's blog (The Face of Jesus). 


What's interesting to me is two things, and they both are related. One, how different people in different ages and countries have depicted Jesus in art. I think it's healthy and good to have Jesus looking different, aka, not ALWAYS a 1st century Galiliean (though those are probably my favorite ones...). This personalizes him and can move people to engage the good news with their senses. Of course, the good news itself that Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead is God's power (Romans 1), but that power works psychologically and through our senses. 

The KJV, Tyndale, and Translating the Good News

The infamous N.T. Wright recently presented a paper in London at the International SBL conference on Bible Translation. I've given the link here: N.T. Wright SBL Monarch's Message.

This is a must read for anyone involved in the current dialog and debates about which Bible translation(s) to use, and whoever has interest into the story and development of the 1611 King James Bible.

That's not in the Bible...

Have any one of you "liturgical" guys out there found yourselves in a similar discussion?

Talking With Biblicists

Quite the Useful Term, Christianism

I just may be slow, but I came across the term "Christianism" in a recent blog post and it caught my eye. The link is here: CHRISTIANISM REDUX. 


The concise definition he gives is: "the fusion of politics and religion for the advancement of political goals." Nifty, eh?

Has the New Atheist Movement Fizzled Out?

As a sort of follow-up to my previous post on New Atheism, The Naive Epistemology of the New Atheist Movement, a recent book was published by Anglican priest Alister McGrath on the sort of "fizzling" of the New Atheist movement. I've only read excerpts, but it looks promising! 


I mean, I have noticed personally that on several (by several, I mean 20+) of the prominent "atheist" blogs (which for the time will remain nameless) I regularly follow that the bloggers tend to keep repeating the same basic ideas, and thereby not really advance much discussion or ideas...


Here is a link to a concise review:
Book Review: "Why Won't God Go Away" by Alister McGrath

Quote of the Day

'When Luther's puppy [n. 116, Luther's dog Tölpel is mentioned again and again in his "Table Talk".] happened to be at the table, looked for a morsel from his master, and watched with open mouth and motionless eyes, he [Martin Luther] said, "Oh, if I could only pray the way this dog watches the meat! All his thoughts are concentrated on the piece of meat. Otherwise he has no thought, wish, or hope.
Luther's Works, Volume 54, Table Talk (Philadelphia: 1967), pp. 37, 38. May 18, 1532

NNIV, Good or Bad? Why?

I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not, but here we go!

I've been following many blogs and comments on the NNIV (or the NIV 2011), and there's a little love, but a lot of hate. And personally, as I've stated in a previous post (http://bibleimmersion.blogspot.com/2011/06/some-other-blog-comments-on-niv2011.html), I haven't been in the habit of reading any Bible translation in general (I read the Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek). So it's hard for me to get behind many who strongly favor this or that translation, because all of them fall so short in so many ways.

Actually, the more I look at the NET (http://bible.org/netbible/index.htm), the more I like that one. But that's a post for another day. This is what gets me. A lot of people saying in general why they don't like the NNIV without giving compelling specific verses. Many just cite "gender neutral language" or "obscures messianic prophecies," etc.

This post is my invitation to all the list ONE specific verse (or a few passages, I suppose, if necessary. But be CONCISE!!!) that the NNIV treats exceptionally well or exceptionally bad. Then we can look at it and get some discussion going. Let's see how this goes...

You, Only You, Have I Wronged - Psalm 51

You can't read through the Psalter without reflecting on this gem here.

Psalm 51 is used heavily in the liturgy, and given King David's awful spiral of lust, adultery, and murder, this Psalm gives us a vivid setting (2 Samuel 11-12) to contemplate how a man so great and after God's own heart went so wrong.

First off, notice how David quickly admits his multi-faceted wrong. He doesn't say, "Change my circumstances." He says, "Change me." He says this because his evil self, the natural self which doesn't have God's renewing Spirit, is conceived in sin and is rotten to the core.

World Trade Center Cross - Should It Stay?

If you haven't heard, recently a steel beam cross has been erected at the site of the World Trade Center as a memorial. It's set to become a permanent exhibit at the National September 11th Memorial and Museum. So the American Atheists have filed a formal complaint to have the cross removed (Atheist group wants to stop World Trade Center cross).


However, proponents claim the cross wasn't chosen because it represents Christianity, but because the symbol "provided comfort to so many people - it is a part of the history of the space." - Joe Daniels, President of the Memorial Foundation. As an interesting point, the cross-shaped girder was left standing in the midst of the wreckage, which is the why the symbol has gained fame (which makes sense given how buildings are constructed).


 He also went on to state that steel girders of other Eastern religious symbols would be part of the museum as well. Plus, proponents have stated that no complaints or concerns were filed during the discussion process. Does that matter here?


This has to do with the issue I brought up in my previous post of an "atheocracy" America's Atheocracy?. Should the government be indifferent towards religious expression in the public sphere, or should it seek to squelch religion expression in the public sphere? What do you think? How is an American Christian to view this?

Have Me Know, Yahweh, My End and The Measurement of My Days - Psalm 39

I don't have anything particularly profound to say about this Psalm, but when I read it yesterday and used it as my morning prayer it reminded me of this: I can't wait to immerse my own kids (future kids at this point) in the biblical texts and have them know the Psalter well.

There's so many good reasons that the Psalter has always been popular, but one is that there's a psalm, it seems, for every sentiment and every situation in life. How many young people today seriously contemplate their end? How many think about their death, and linked to that what or whom there hope is in?

What are other reasons you enjoy (or maybe don't enjoy!) the Psalter?

Michele Bachmann and the Antichrist Fiasco

I'm not really sure what to say about the recent media and blog storm over Michele Bachmann and former membership in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), but due to the number of emails and comments I've received and been asked to give, I figured I've say my two cents here.


First of all, this is purely political, and I think most people realize this. But what makes this more ridiculous is the fact that this is about a church body she LEFT prior to taking office and isn't a hot-button issue. People brought up similar discrepancies, to say the least, between President Obama's (former?) church, and obviously high profile politicians like Vice President Biden and Representative Pelosi belong CURRENTLY to churches with whom their politics don't agree (the Catholic Church declares homosexuality and abortion to be sinful). It's actually quite ironic that members of their party would lambaste a republican hopeful for saying the Pope is wrong...

Come, Let Us Reason Together

So for my personal Bible reading, I've chosen to go with year B, which has a general focus on Evaluation. This year has some big hitter books since it follows the major prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and has Job, along with Romans following. The main reason I'm doing year B now is because this upcoming year at the seminary I will be having classes on both Isaiah and Romans. So I'd like to know at least dominate the Hebrew and Greek by the time we read them in class.

I have to say, so far in reading Isaiah, it's starting to become my favorite book. It might just be my favorite by the end...In a general way Isaiah seems to crystallize very vividly themes that occur throughout the Bible (and imagery!), and give a complete picture of what the biblical texts are about from sin and rebuke, to grace and forgiveness, from judgement to mercy, kingdom and covenant, new heavens and new earth, it's all there. I almost feel that it gives you the grand overview picture of "Act 3 Israel" as I have it on my page http://bibleimmersion.blogspot.com/p/about-bible.html.

America's Atheocracy?

I'm not sure if the author coined the term or not, but I read an interesting article by Denver Bishop James D. Conley where he used the term "atheocracy." The article is found here, http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2011/07/americarsquos-atheocracy

I share here a few excerpts:


But as we celebrate this Fourth of July, we need to recognize that some of the deepest problems in our public life can be traced to our collective neglect of America’s great founding document.