Brief Overview of Palestine in the First Milena B.C.

In my bible reading I have come to the intertestamental period. It was a good time to try and gain a better understanding of the context into which Jesus was born and did his ministry. I don’t guarantee that this is completely accurate, but the following is my best understanding gained from a couple of different reference materials.

Political Setting
For several centuries around 1200-900 B.C. there were no major empires in the Middle-East. Relatively small states continually battled each other for control. The united kingdom of Israel under David and Solomon could be thought of as a mini-empire since they ruled over typically independent areas. Even the division between Judah (including Benjamin) and Israel went back to tribal Continue reading →

Church for Men

I was asked to respond to an article by David Murrow titled “Where Have the Men Gone?”. I’ve been considering writing my thoughts about his ideas anyway and this provided a good catalyst. In this article, he touches on most of the major points I’ve gathered from reading his blog. (He is also the author of “Why Men Hate Going to Church” which I have not read.)

Goal and Audience
First of all, I have to wonder if Murrow’s goal is to get women dating and married, since the article is bookended by comments related to this. This isn’t a bad goal in and of itself, but I don’t believe we should be changing church simply for the goal of getting more men who fit women’s personal attraction preference. (I don’t believe Murrow is saying this, but Continue reading →

Worship or Concert?

I recently overhead a friend of mine commenting about the worship band at church. Basically, he felt that it was too showy. He mentioned how one of the guitarist “struts around stage”. This quickly got me thinking. Being a committed Christian who has attended a lot of church services and being a musician who has played in praise bands and led worship, the topic of worship is one which I’ve certainly encountered. I understand what my friend was expressing. However, as I pondered it, I wondered if we aren’t trying to draw distinctions where they don’t really exist. Do we try to separate things which are really inseparable?

People might criticize contemporary worship for being like a concert. But traditional music is, of course, very much Continue reading →

Book Review: Singled Out, Part 2

Singled Out: Why Celibacy Must Be Reinvented in Today's Church(In this second part of the review, I summarize the paradigm contained in the book Singled Out.)

It would be difficult to argue that “love” (romance) and sex aren’t the primary values in our culture today (only challenged by money and power). We know virtually everyone deeply desires to be loved, and we believe the highest love is that of romance, with the highest expression of love generally being sexual intimacy. Therefore, the key to fulfilling one’s longings is the hope of romantic and sexual relationship. Romance and sex are fine and good in their proper place, however as Christians, we must believe that what we really need is not romance and sex, but love and community. This is the key thesis.

In addition to the above, a Continue reading →

Book Review: Singled Out, Part 1

Singled Out: Why Celibacy Must Be Reinvented in Today's ChurchSingled Out is the best book I’ve read in years—I can hardly say enough good about it. It directly addresses a couple of issues most fundamental to those of us living in our western culture, and does so in a way no one else that I am aware of has done. Beyond that, the conclusions that the authors, Dr. Christine Colón and Bonnie Field, come to are Christ-centric and in line with the new testament in contrast to the vast majority of churches and Christians today, particularly within conservative evangelicalism. Unfortunately, the title and promotion of the book focuses on singles and celibacy. I say this is unfortunate because I fear that this will limit its audience. While these things are central to the discussion in this book, the Continue reading →

Movie Review: Tangled

Tangled is of course Disney’s adaptation of the classic fairy tale of Rapunzel. It fits right into the classic Disney animated musical style with princesses, love, villains, and a happily ever after. I’m trying to process what I think about the movie, which is the reason I’m writing this review.

I felt the way they portrayed Rapunzel was in many ways a fairly accurate representation of many young women in our culture. In one early scene we see Rapunzel cleaning, reading, playing music, painting, baking, and brushing her hair (I think maybe exercise is also mentioned), all within the course of a morning. Though we’re looking at women in particular her, I believe that many of us feel the desire and need to be good at everything.

I also Continue reading →

Black Friday Overshadowing Thanksgiving

A friend of mine pointed this out: it’s ironic that the holiday focused on being thankful is becoming overshadowed by a day most focused on getting things we don’t have. It’s like “We’re thankful for all the black Friday sales and thankful for all the money we have, so that why can go buy a bunch of stuff.” As a culture, are we thankful for what we have or focused on what we don’t?

Thanksgiving, Communion, Church, Family

Tomorrow Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. The holiday has become known as a time to gather with one’s extended family and have a feast. I heard someone (Frank Viola in Reimagining Church I believe) say that the Thanksgiving holiday is probably the best representation we have of what communion ought to look like. Imagine communion as loving, accepting, welcoming family gathering in order to celebrate. I know this picture is a world away from what communion (or the Eucharist) has become, but hang with me for a moment.

There are a few terms used for what we think of as communion in the new testament: the Lord’s supper, the breaking of bread, and koinonia. The phrase “breaking of bread” referred to a meal, and is only assumed to refer to a Continue reading →